"Rejoice in the Lord, always"
Gaudete Sunday,
Bartlemy & Rathcormac,
15th December 2024
My friends,
A columnist writing in Friday’s Examiner wrote under the bold headline,
“Life is about larger purpose, not about happiness.”
The writer in question is a senior public health doctor with the H.S.E. under whose remit comes mental health and wellbeing.
Sometimes the best sermons are heard outside the confines of church buildings simply because the speaker has road tested his/her findings with experience. Such is the case with Dr.C. Condon. She begins her reflection with a statement of what we already know and experience and concludes …
“The world is obsessed with happiness. The health and wellbeing industry spends billions researching it, creating diet, exercise, and sleep regimes for us to follow and spouting the latest trends.
Yet, despite our wealth, our burgeoning sophistication, and expanding opportunities, over the last two decades there has been an epidemic of loneliness, mental illness, and unhappiness across every tranche of society.
How can this be?”
Having drawn from the thoughts of notable thinkers – so quotes one who posits that we all are in need of our ‘North Star’ – by which she means;
“need for a north star that leads us to a meaningful, fulfilling life; “It is an ideal to aspire to, something higher to aim at. Something to reach toward. Something beyond the horizon, lifting our gaze up instead of down. It cuts through the noise. It solves the dilemmas. The weather will change, but the stars do not.”
Finding a north star means finding meaning and fulfilment far beyond wealth, prestige, or pleasure. It is what makes a difference to you and others. It is that tiny ripple that can expand into an ocean.
Christmas is a good time to set your sights on the north star in your life.”
These thoughts and observations of Dr. Condon have no reference to religious faith yet speak so powerfully to us who gather on this Gaudete Sunday – a Sunday of Joy as we nudge to the full celebration of the Bambinelli – the Baby Jesus.
We bring the Figure of the Christ – child for blessing that the Crib in our home will be blessed with his presence.
Gods presence to the world is a mystery that has been simplified by a little child – a mystery that the little ones can understand because they know and trust that a gift is the assurance of being loved. Gods gift of the baby Jesus indeed is love incarnate.
Dr. Catherine Condon spoke/wrote of our need of our ‘North Star.’ Clearly her conclusion is that so many she encounters have no ‘North Star’ to guide them. In a world cluttered with so much artificial light – it is difficult for many to distinguish truth from falsehood – Dazzled by glitter makes it hard to search in the right places.
This reality is personal but also characteristic of our evolving society. We need people of integrity who have the courage to be counter cultural in pointing to the falsehood and superficiality.
On a personal level – people in leadership in family, education and social policy need to step up to the plate in naming the social support and capital that is being lost and eroded in pursuit of tired and failed ideology. Bad ideas, flawed foundations lead to cracks and fragmentation – individual people are the victims.
On a societal level we have had an election that’s have had money and services at its core. Infrastructure, housing, childcare alone will not lead to a balanced society. More fundamental thinking is required to ensure that our economic boom will attend to the needs of the ordinary people rather than the investors.
Our ‘North Star’ is an ancient heritage of truth about the dignity of each of us. It is spiritual and human – we ignore its loss at our peril.
A Christmas Crib
Let us pray;
Father, you are Lord of heaven and earth.
You guide the stars; you have the whole world in your hands;
You take care of all your people.
We thank you for all your gifts of love;
here today we thank you in a special way for this crib.
We thank you for those who made it and for those who erected it.
We thank you for leading us to praise you with the help of this crib.
We thank you most of all for the birth of your Son.
We pray, Father, that you bless this crib.
May it inspire all who pass by with the memory of your love.
May it brighten the hearts of our people and lighten their burden.
May there always be room in our hearts for your Son, and for all your children in need.
Bless us with the peace the angels announced.
Teach us to recognise your Son as the shepherds did.
May the light of your word guide us to him,
Make us generous with the gifts you have given us.
Filled with wonder at the nearness of our God in Mary’s newborn child, may we now offer him our praise, worship and thanksgiving and give him the love and loyalty of our hearts.
AMEN.
