Trusting in God’s Providence
This week, the reading (1 Kings 17:10-16) and the Gospel (Mark 12:38-44) are about trusting in God’s providence. Elijah and the widows in the readings show complete trust and abandonment to the Lord. When the widow shares the little she has with Elijah, she never runs dry of food.
Fr. Dom in his sermon said that widows in the two stories showed total abandonment. They had very little and they gave away what they had. He said we are called to give to others and uplift them be it in cash or other ways such as kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, encouragement and compassion.
“The widows have shown us the way forward through obedience to faith,” said Bishop Sebastian in his sermon. Today, we live in a world where some things dominate such as science, technology, mathematics, psychology, philosophy, individualism, subjectivism- all pointing towards a “ fix it yourself mindset”. He said, we have all made a mess and the world needs a saviour because we cannot fix it ourselves. The readings today show us that by obedience to faith, God saves and restores the widow.
Bishop Sebastian reminded the congregation that obedience to faith will restore us too. In light of that, he talked about the journey the church will embark on – a Synodal Church. Pope Francis moved by the Holy Spirit, has invited us to journey together with the church on a mission. We as a church empowered by the Holy Spirit will provide our feedback towards moving forward in our mission.
As baptised Catholics, we are the disciples sent on a mission. The Pope as the leader of the church and the bishops who are the successors of the apostles have a duty to safeguard and promote the primacy of truth, love, unity, continuity, obedience of faith, grace and mystery of the our faith.
At the end of the celebration, Bishop Francis congratulated and reminded the recipients of the 86/26 Exemplary Awards of obedience to faith.
After the presentation of the awards, Fr. Dom presented Bishop Sebastian and Fr. Martin with the 86/26 magazine as a token of appreciation.
