Author: Editor, Kingdom Revelator

My aunt died recently. She had lived most of her life as a nun and a teacher outside her congregation in a big Irish town. For me as a child she was my clever, funny aunt, who was wildly cunning at card games and a friendly ear in all our family dramas. Over the years she became a spiritual friend to me, someone who accompanied me in the ups and downs of living a Christian life in the middle of all the things most people live through: job hunting, romance, sickness, finance problems and the pursuit of happiness. I say she was a spiritual friend and not a spiritual director; I didn’t go to her for advice and direction – I went to have a laugh and some company, to get a feed and then sometimes to see what insights she had on various situations. This was because I knew that behind all her light heartedness and unassuming good nature was a saintly person who had faced profound challenges in living her vocation and had been a true Samaritan to many deeply troubled people.

This is what I learned from my aunt about personal prayer. You feed prayer not with lofty expectations but by bringing everything in your life in prayer to God and you should never think any little thing is unworthy of His attention. God is your friend, not your schoolmaster. Friends are there for little things as well as big things. The big conversations start with little conversations. My aunt wasn’t all that interested in whether or not people spoke in tongues. She didn’t go to seminars or to Medjugorje. Her routine was Mass, Rosary and the Divine Office. She went to Adoration daily and did her work. In all these things, she gave everything to God, and she waited. Most of the time she felt that prayer was about waiting- in the security that God is working. She knew that when we experience darkness or temptation or block in prayer, we are actually a step closer to the grace of prayer. The closer grace is, the closer we see our sinfulness and limitations, and this is a great gift to us. Prayer done well will make us humble and loving: even if our sin and weakness seem the same, our response to them will be different. We will be different in our interaction with others: we can express love and solidarity to others and give practical support in their suffering and brokenness because we can see that they are much closer to Christ on the Cross in their situation than we are. Half the town came to my aunt’s funeral, and many there were in tears. Through a life of simple but effective prayer, she transformed her life and the lives of many others.

by Dr Ted Lynch, Ireland,

Recently, I noticed a child who was crawling on her knees around the church during Mass. As she passed her mother, she would give a sideways glance to see what her expression was. I realized she was indirectly seeking permission to roam around like that. This made me think. Are we like this with God? Do we seek the will of God in every decision we make? Do we invite the Holy Spirit into all aspects of our lives? Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

I sat down to reflect on what it would be like to be a child before Jesus. Matthew 18:3-4 says, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” I wondered, why do I have to lay down my ego and humble myself? Can I not just come to God as I am? I understood that if I can lay aside my ego and come as a humble child, I could sit on the lap of Jesus. However, as an adult I cannot. As an adult, I have habits that I don’t want to give up, which then hinders my closeness to Jesus. But through the humility of childlike innocence, I have the privilege of hearing the whisper of Jesus’s voice.

If this is really true, then it brings me to another question. Jesus says that the prerequisite for entering the Kingdom of God is to become like a child! Now I wonder, what is the requirement to remain in it? For me, the answer is that I must always remain a child before Jesus. Children always dare to ask. For them it doesn’t matter if they like the moon, they will tell their parents without hesitation, “I want to have the moon!” There is something about a child asking his Father that melts his heart, it is the same way with our Father in Heaven. Children are also very trusting; if their parents or elders say something or teach them a theory, they believe it as they have such unwavering trust.

When children are afraid, they always flee to their parents. They do not think of fighting the danger by themselves, instead they seek help. Likewise, when we face temptations, we must remember to seek the help of the Holy Spirit. Many times we think we can overcome the problem by ourselves and end up making mistakes. Instead, if we ask God for help, we will be successful because He is a loving Father. In Romans 8:15-17, St Paul explains our identity in Christ as sons and daughters of the living God. He says that since we are His children, we are also heirs of the Kingdom of God. We have a Father in heaven who delights in His children. May our Heavenly Father delight in us and take pride in carrying us on His shoulders!

Joyal Joseph, UK

When Mother Mary and St Joseph lost the child Jesus, they went searching everywhere for Him. They could not find Him for three days. However, on the third day, they found Him sitting in the Temple, talking with the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law. They were relieved when they found Him, but He posed this question to them; “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s House?”

Where is Jesus?
There are many instances in our lives where we are constantly trying to find God. We attempt to find Him in our hectic lives, and we search everywhere to seek His presence. Mother Mary and St Joseph spent three days searching through all the marketplaces and the alleyways within Jerusalem to find Jesus. On the third day, they had the thought of looking for their son at the Temple. To their surprise, He was there. St Paul says in his writings, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) The Lord is already within us as we are His Temple. May God give us the grace to always remember this and to keep our bodies clean from all impurities.

Search Within
Although Jesus knew that His parents were searching for Him, He did not go looking for his parents, but remained in the Temple. Since Jesus was God himself, He would surely have known the anguish they suffered during the whole three days, however, He didn’t take a single step out of the Temple. Those three days represent the times that we are lost and can’t find the Lord in our daily life as we search for Him. But once we open our eyes and realise that He is in the Temple, waiting for us, all our worries will disappear, and we will be happy that we are reunited with God once again. He is waiting for us to return to Him. Jesus is giving us the responsibility to find Him and realise who He truly is with our personal effort. As St Augusine of Hippo says in his book, Confessions: “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”

Prayer
Jesus, give us the grace to sense Your presence in our lives. Help us to have full faith and trust that You will always be there for us, through our ups and downs. Take us on that three-day journey just like your parents did and bring us to your presence at the end of that third day. Lord help us to know that we should search for You in our daily lives so that our faith will become stronger. Lord You are already in our hearts, give us the wisdom to understand this. Amen

by Allan Jomon

Regardless of age, we have become familiar with words such as lockdown, isolation, handwashing, masks and two metre distancing. After all, it was the only topic being talked about in mainstream media for the past few months! As I sat contemplating the phrase “two-metre distancing”, thinking what the world would be like if this situation was to become permanent, a thought came to my mind – “Did we keep sin at a two-metre distance during this lockdown period?” Upon deep reflection I concluded that sin was, in fact, closer than I had thought. On many occasions, I did things that I should have never done. I had plenty of time, but I had become so lazy! I spent too much time watching television, neglected my prayers and even at times ignored the presence of God. My heart had in fact, strayed away from Jesus.

I suppose some of us, especially children, may have had this type of experience since we did not have to attend schools or colleges. We may have spent more time playing games or watching television, sometimes disobeying parents and elders. Parents might have had no time to check on us because they had been busy with their work. We might have stayed up later than we ought to have and woke up late in the morning. All our routines could have been ruined. Sin, the uninvited guest, would have been much closer to us. Our eyes and ears may have been shut to what Jesus had to say. Did I wear a mask to prevent sin from entering my soul or did my washing techniques fail in my spiritual life? Many such questions have arisen that need to be answered.

For those of us who did not keep a two – metre distance to sin, the good news is that we can avail of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, now that our Churches have re-opened. Let us examine our conscience and run to the confessional,asking God for mercy and forgiveness, just as the prodigal son ran to his father saying, “Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you. “Yes, dear friends, “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). Once we truly repent of our sins, then we can start listening to God’s voice which says, “And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’ (Isaiah 30:21)”.

by Matilda Dominic