FM's Message | Sunday, June 4th, 2023

There is a story about St. Augustine that I like. Taking a rest from reflecting on and writing about the Trinity, he walked along a seashore near Hippo. As he walked, he met a small child running back and forth from the ocean with a bucket filled with water to a small hole into which he poured the water. When Augustine asked him what he was doing, he replied, “trying to fit the ocean into this hole.” The great theologian said to the child, “But that is impossible!” To which the child responded, “So is your attempt to explain the Trinity”. Then the child disappeared from his sight. Augustine eventually would write that if we spoke about God as someone whom we completely understood, we were not talking about God. 
As we transition into ordinary time, the church invites us to reflect on two of our teachings, the nature of God and the Eucharist. The first topic is God and the way he has revealed himself to us. In the Old Testament, the first sign of God is creation, but also a desire to share a relationship with him. We see across Genesis and all first five books of the Bible, a people who are aware of their deep and close relationship with their creator. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, we see that whenever the people strayed, God, who is so desirous of this relationship found a way to turn the people back to him. In the New Testament, we see it most clearly in Jesus, who declares that He and the Father are one and the relationship between them is the holy Spirit, which is also shared with us. So, God is a mysterious community of Love that is being shared with us. The Good news is that we are allowed to see and experience glimpses of this love and to know that we have a benevolent God who is on our side. Of course, this is balanced against the reality of suffering and the evil that we see, and this brings back to the opening comment by the little boy. The mystery of God is beyond our comprehension and as Isiah the prophet wrote, “God’s way is not our way” (55:8-9).  God is love, and those who see God and his effect in their lives see that he is always loving. 
We have the opportunity in our lifetime to keep asking God to show himself to us. In small ways and large, in tender moments and challenging times, the love of God is present to us and if we look carefully and patiently, we will begin to see more and more of His work in our lives. 
For those who doubt God’s nearness, I would suggest starting each day with a gratitude list. Start with basics, like a warm bed, clean bathroom, food in the refrigerator, etc. (Not everyone wakes up to these incredibly taken for granted things.) Then, go outside and see all that is in nature that is provided for us, but also is supporting our lives, like trees and plants that are beautiful but also absorb carbon dioxide and the ocean that brings its beautiful smell and calming sounds. All this is God’s gift to us and is all around us for our enjoyment and for our use. It is quite extraordinary that people say they cannot see God’s work in the world. I challenge people who say that to count the variety of trees on their street or property and try to make one themselves that does half of what the trees they see do. (Shade, CO2 absorption, etc.) I hope that the exercise will help them to begin to see the presence of God in the world. Next week, we can reflect on the Eucharist and see how God is guaranteeing that he is with us in deeply personal ways. We will try to pour the teaching of the Eucharist into a bucket we can carry back and forth. 
Peace, 
Father Murray 

Building news: This past week the masonry company finished the work on the steps around St. James. As the warmer weather arrives (thank you Lord) we will be doing some more work on the landscaping.