My dear parishioners, the door to a house opens inward. However, the door to the human heart, it seems to me, must open outward. The phrase ‘reaching out’ expresses how human beings are to be with one another. The more one reach out to other human beings, the better off he is. We are more energetic, more positive and more forward looking in the company of others. Our Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock” and “if any one hears my voice and opens the door . . . “ [Rev 3:20] And when Jesus steps over the threshold of your heart, what then? No one opens the door to a guest, someone he knows and likes, without welcoming him and making him feel at home. Recall how our Lord said he wants to eat with you and you with him. [cf. Rev 3:20] Our Lord is referring to the challenging relationship shared between himself and everyone who professes to believe in him: “My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.” [Jn 4:34] Accordingly, prepare a great feast for our Lord Jesus, a feast of the heart: ardent faith, steadfast hope and virtuous love. And when you enter into conversation with Our Lord in the depths of your heart—we call this prayer—do not do all the talking. Keep your silence so God himself may receive your faith in him and reveal his will for you. It is not mere coincidence that listen is an anagram of silent! Jesus already knows everything about you, including your very thoughts and desires, your joys and anxieties. Nevertheless, don’t hide anything from his searching love. The words God knows! express very well our Savior’s power to read the human heart. We speak of Jesus’ glory for good reason. Whereas exterior human activity so often is subordinated to human praise, a soul’s interior perfection is illumined by God’s glory much as the sun day by day draws open the beauty of a flower. Open your mind and heart to the glory of Christ! Let God’s radiance shine in every thought and activity of your life. Your every thought, every word, every deed should be a window through which the glory of Christ shines. Thus all persons will know “you are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in you”. [1Cor 3:16] When our Lord Jesus Christ dwells in your heart, he will not fail to bring you the gift of his life-changing mercy, the pardon you’ve always desired. Then he will bestow on you and your household the gift of his wisdom which brings surpassing peace to the human heart. If you walk in peace borne of divine wisdom—”Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” [Jn 14:27]—then and only then will Christ reveal his justice—pouring out before you all the good your loving heavenly father desires for you. Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker. +++
My dear parishioners, the door to a house opens inward. However, the door to the human heart, it seems to me, must open outward. The phrase ‘reaching out’ expresses how human beings are to be with one another. The more one reach out to other human beings, the better off he is. We are more energetic, more positive and more forward looking in the company of others.