Clergy Notes — Sunday, September 3, 2017

What a gift it is to have a long weekend and an extra day to spend with our families and friends this coming Monday. With such fast paced lives, with technology and production ever more becoming the focus in our work, stat holidays like Labour Day become quite sacred.

If something is sacred it is considered to be holy or blessed. In the day to day life of our church we celebrate the Mass, something we consider to be most holy in our tradition where we seek to live “a Christ centred sacramental life rooted in the Anglo-Catholic tradition.”

To lead a sacramental life “literally means to keep the sacred (sacra) in mind (mental). In other words to seek mindfulness – a mind full – of God’s presence.” An extra day free from the demands of our work gives us the opportunity to find time to centre ourselves, clear our minds and focus on being mindful of God’s presence in our lives.

Where have you seen God at work recently? There are few of us who experience a burning bush type experience where God reveals Godself in a bold and unmistakeable way, but ask yourself, if God did appear to us in such a way today, are we mindful enough that we would notice? Do we recognize holy ground when we find ourselves upon it? Where do we find it in daily life?

Last Sunday, Fr. Kevin challenged us to spend some time considering how we would answer Jesus if He put us on the spot and asked us: “Who do you say that I am?” In wrestling with questions like these I believe we step onto holy ground.

I hope you have been able to find the time to sit with this question this week, and if not, I hope that the gift of this Monday will give you the time to mindfully dwell in God’s presence and consider your answer, so that when someone asks you why you go to church, or what you believe you will be able to answer in your own words not only the person asking the question, but Jesus as well.

Mother Lucy

Phillip Yancey, A Skeptics Guide to Faith, 2003, p.44.