Are we the living stones?

For reflection from this Friday, a week until Good Friday, Fr. Dom asked the congregation to reflect on the ‘stone’ stated in Gospel of John 10.31 “the Jews then took up stones to stone him”. He said that throughout the journey this Lent, we see the word “stone” appearing on several occasions. Recapitulating on the temptations of Jesus in Mat 4: 3, –the devil came to him and said, “If you are God’s Son, tell these stones to turn into bread.”and   Jn 8: 1-11, “the crowd wanted to stone the adulterous woman”; the stone could be used to harm people or build something.

In our lives, have stoned anyone with harsh words and thoughts? He asked the congregation to pick a stone from the entrance of the church, to look carefully at it and reflect how we have stoned others with words or judged others. Have our hearts turned cold and hard as these stones? Or are we the living stones who have helped build others through our presence, words and encouragement. He then asked the congregation to place the stones at the cross outside on Good Friday and ask God to soften our hearts and transform us into living stones.