It is shaping up to be the kind of weekend that you need a weekend tor recover from. However in this run up to Advent and eventually Christmas there is no chance of that happening. There are somethings that I believe are worth the constant and relentless running on a tread mill (if only it was the fitness kind). I have not chosen to sacrifice my career and future to support my husband and the Church for fun, I believe in it, passionately and there is rarely a time when I go to a gathering of The Society of St Wilfred and St Hilda and/or Forward in Faith when I am not reminded of why this is so.
The heart of Catholic Mission is the sacraments, primarily the sacrament of the Holy Mass. A daily sacrifice of Christ on the altar. A chance everyday to encounter Christ in our daily lives, the totality of his forgiveness and his love given to us, as we receive the Sacrament. It is life changing and dare I say it world changing. The passion and energy with which Society Bishops and Priests do this, in some of the most deprived and distressing places to work is astounding. Yes, there are candles, vestments, incense and glory but so there should be. It is surrounding the little earthly glimpse, the tiny window of heaven on earth, of Christ before us, redeeming us. It is awesome and it should look awesome.
We need our time of prayer and our encounters with Christ, like we need time with anyone with whom we want to build a relationship. It is that time that equips us with understanding, a closeness and a familiarity. It is only by spending those hours spent on bended knee that we can begin to take Christ out with us. It is only by experiencing the true and expansive love that God has for us that we can begin to share that love with others. It is that love, that all encompassing love that leads us into compassion for others, acts of genuine kindness and sacrifice. If we can not encounter that daily, if we can not spare the time to develop that relationship what hope have we of taking Christ's mission out with us.
That mission, the dedicated love of others, the rebuilding of fractured lives, the absolution of sinners, the sitting with the mourning families, the aiding of the desperate, the hand holding of the addicted. That mission is what our Priests do everyday, strengthened by Christ. They grow and nurture faith in the darkest of corners and on the lightest of paths. They bridge the gaps between the rich and the poor, they sacrifice themselves and their families. Their energy and enthusiasm is born out of prayer and receiving the Sacraments. As in turn is the mission of the laity, we all have a mission, a charism given to us in Baptism. The sacraments are at the very epicenter of all Mission and Evangelism, without Christ we can not carry Christ Incarnate out in to our communities.
Like the Virgin Mary, when Gabriel came down I feel our lives should be lived with those words "Be it done unto me according to thy words" It might not be the life you first envisaged having, but spending time in prayer often does that. It sends you of in directions you had not ever thought you would. It is hard, it is relentless and it is often thankless, but it is a life I would not swap. It is a life I believe in and it is a mission I believe in. A growing deepening understanding of our faith, found through the Sacraments and born out in our Mission and Evangelism. That is beating heart at the center of Anglican Catholic Faith. Long may it remain so.
