LOVING GOD AND EACH OTHER
by Bishop David Chislett SSC

November is the month when our earthbound vision is blown apart by the Catholic Faith. Some people have it easy in this life, others trudge most of the way. Each of us has our joys as well as our sorrows, our failures as well as our successes. But one mistake we all make is to allow our vision of reality to be narrowed down to the little bit of creation that we have already experienced, with the result that even as followers of Jesus we end up living as if this is all that there is.

Not that this world isn't amazing and breathtaking in its own way. Looking back to when God made it we see that he was actually rather pleased with what he had done - he "saw that it was good" (Genesis 1:25). Then, looking up ahead, St Paul says that in some mysterious way the world God made will ultimately share in the "glorious liberty of the children of God." (Romans 8:21)

But the Bible and the Catholic Faith tell us that real reality is bigger than this world. It is bigger than outer space. It is infinite, eternal. It is also bigger than inner space - the world of the tiniest spurts of energy that quantum physics assure us are the real building blocks of creation. The ancient Profession of Faith we say at Mass each Sunday affirms that God is the maker of "all things - visible and invisible."

The wholeness of creation includes heaven, the world of God, the angels and the saints. St Augustine said, "Heaven is the country of the soul." From one angle, heaven is all around us; it is a transcendent, deeper dimension of reality, communion with which gives our lives in this world the greatest possible sense of purpose, even in the midst of tragedy and defeat. From another angle, heaven is "the eternity of God's love" seeping into every soul that seeks him.

During this last week we celebrated All Saints' Day (1st November) when we gave thanks to God for the triumph of his grace in the lives of those holy men and women of every generation who now gaze upon his glory in heaven. These brothers and sisters of ours also surround us in that great "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1-2), praying for us as we lay aside the things that weigh us down - and the sin that clings so closely - so as to run the race set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

The very next day, All Souls' Day - 2nd November - we offered a Requiem Mass for those departed brothers and sisters in whose lives the cleansing and healing work of the Cross is still going on, preparing them for the dazzling vision of God as he is.

They are Christians, washed in the precious Blood of Jesus, justified by his grace. But, addressing Christians, the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks of "the holiness without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14) - a holiness for which - he says - we are to "strive." Yes, the doctrine of purgatory helps us to affirm with St Paul that he who began a good work in us "will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:6)

So we pray for our brothers and sisters "whom we love but no longer see." The second reading in the All Souls' Day Mass says it all: "I am sure that neither death, nor life . . . nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) If death cannot separate us from God's love, then it cannot separate us from those with whom we are bound in God's love. And the deepest manifestation of this love is our prayer for one another. Death, having been conquered by Jesus when he died and rose again, cannot put Christians out of the reach of each other's prayer.

What a great Mass we had last Sunday! Baptisms, Confirmations and First Communions. The sense of God's love, power, and blessing was so strong. You remember I said that the GATHERING not the BUILDING makes the Church. Well, that's true. But you might have thought I was referring to our gathering as the Patmos House Community in Room 210 of Shafston College. Of course, I WAS referring to that. But not JUST that!

I love our gathering at the Table of the Word of God (the Bible) and at the Table of the Eucharist (the Altar). I get so much strength and encouragement from our time together, especially on Sunday mornings. That strength comes from the Lord "direct", so to speak, (from his Word and from receiving him in Holy Communion). But it also comes through being with YOU, as together we worship the Lord and allow ourselves to be channels of his love and blessing for one another. For those who really want to grow in Christ this is no optional extra. That's why the Bible says NOT TO stay away! (See Hebrews 10:25)

But crowding in upon our worship is that "great multitude which no man can number" (Revelation 7:9), the saints who worship the Lord in glory, together with the angelic choir. The eucharistic veil is parted, and the boundary between this world and the invisible world is blurred. Our gathering and the heavenly gathering are one. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

The liturgy itself alerts us to this when the priest sings, "Therefore with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee and saying . . ." I'll let you into a secret. I go all funny on the inside every time I sing those words. It's as if - just as with St John in exile on the island of Patmos - my vision of reality is re-adjusted again, so as to put my earthly cares and my earthly business into the perspective of eternity. And then it gets even better! You all join in the ancient cosmic song of the angels, singing with them: "Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory . . ." (see Isaiah 6:1-3)

So, do you see what November is all about? Loving God and loving one another is not just a matter of being nice to those with whom we share our lives in this world and helping each other to bear our burdens. It means being bound together by Jesus with ALL our brothers and sisters - on earth, in purgatory and in heaven - in one great fellowship of love and prayer.

May God bless you.

From the Patmos house pew Bulletin 5th November, 2006