24th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 12th September 2010,

This is a special weekend in our community and in furthering God’s Kingdom among us. It is VOLUNTEERING WEEKEND at St Joseph’s. It is certainly about doing various services and ministries but it is also a day when we hold up the mirror of the Gospel to see who we are and who we are called to be. Maybe I could suggest two aspects of our profile for our prayer at Mass today:

• A Faithful Person – the 1 st Reading today tells the sad story of the chosen people who had apostasised. They had begun to worship, “a calf of molten metal”. For religious people, including a priest, idolatry is always a temptation. Who is the God I am praying to and worshipping today? Is this the God of the Bible and Tradition or over the years have I created my own god that suits me better? As a priest, am I preaching a God whom I have invented or the true God revealed in Jesus? In the 2 nd Reading today, Paul acknowledges that faith comes from God – “I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has given me strength, and who judged me faithful enough to call me into His service”.
• A Servant in our Community : It’s not easy being a servant in a community at any time. Take Jesus in the Gospel today. He is bitterly criticised because He “welcomes sinners and eats with them”. Jesus was doing His very best to reach out to those who were lost in many and different ways. He wasn’t ashamed to be seen in their company. Each of us is asked to do the same, to seek out any who are lost or hurting in any way. If St Joseph’s was a community where we are all perfect, a service of searching and seeking out the lost would not be needed. I can’t speak for you, but there are aspects of my life and faith journey where I am lost and need the help of others. It is awful to feel that nobody is there to help us and bring us home to Jesus to be welcomed and healed.

This weekend marks a new beginning for our community of faith, hope and love. Each of us is asked to hear the call of God to faith and service in this community of St Joseph’s. This is our Vocation Sunday!

We are aware of the sheer generosity of many volunteers who have over the years have made St Joseph’s what it is today. There have been generations of dedicated Passionists who have also served generously at St Joseph’s. Since the 1860’s this community has continued to pray, to worship, to assist needy people, to feed the hungry, to dry the tears of the broken-hearted, to enlighten the minds and warm the hearts of the young, to bring the sacraments to people and to assure all, sinners included, that the Jesus of the Gospel is to be found here.

This weekend can also be a new beginning following the recent wounds caused to the People of God by some clergy and religious in parts of the world. Aware of how far this has left the path of Jesus, who is Truth, Way and Life, we can become witnesses to many people who have lost hope and are feeling lost and confused. We can offer reparation for such sins.

All without exception are called. Of those worshipping at St Joseph’s this weekend, just two are priests. So feel at home and do all you can to build this community into a place worthy of Jesus to be worshipped, praised and served.

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhán Ó Troighthigh, C.P.]

Aidan Troy, C.P. [Aodhn Troighthigh, C.P.]