Cultivating the garden of our souls

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 

Matthew 12:24-43

“I love watching things grow.” If that disposition is typical of gardeners, no wonder God is portrayed in the first pages of the Bible as creating a garden, and who then goes on to provide and maintain vineyards, olive groves and fig-trees along with verdant pastures for grazing. As we hear in the Book of Wisdom today, there is no god, other than you, who cares for everything. What encouraging words, words that give us a real insight into the very nature of God!

Jesus too promotes this same wonderful image of God as universally caring. In our Gospel, the first impulse of the servants’ (excitable mere humans) is to tear the darnel out from amongst the wheat. But the master won’t have it, No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest.

No-one wanted darnel in their crops because it was a poisonous weed. Our landowner in fact had been very careful to obtain only good seed. It was his enemy who came in the dark of night and sowed the darnel among the wheat. Botanically, darnel and wheat are related and therefore the two are very similar in appearance – until they mature.

 

...each of us is a mixture of both wheat and darnel. In other words, we can ever so easily subvert and endanger all the great care and goodness the Master has put into our growth. However, even more importantly, we must never lose sight of the confidence God still has in us as his handiwork, as people created in his very own image and likenss. There is something of God in absolutely each and every one of us, and its always there at work prompting us to yet more growth and fruitfulness even when its little more than the size of the smallest mustard seed! So, trust in God’s work and grace, and never rely simply on your own innate sense of how spiritually weak, or strong, you are!

To conclude, here is a prayer written by a young woman only sixteen years old expressing a wisdom and faith well beyond her years.

“Father, help me to know myself, what I am and what I can become. Enable me to see the good in myself and rejoice in it, to see flaws and change them. Teach me to live with myself and to accept myself. Remind me that becoming what you want me to be is more like cultivating a garden than chopping down a great forest.”

Let us all say, ‘Amen’ to that! Here is someone expressing a desire to really know all of who she is but who also takes to heart the very nature of God – the ever skilled and patient gardener. A God who truly loves to watch, and enable all of us, to keep growing in ever more radical acts of faith, hope and of course, love.

Excerpts from the homily given by Father David Kennerley sm at St Gerard's Church on 17th July 2011.

Goodbye School of Mission 2011! Hello New Adventure with Jesus!

GLORY TO GOD 

FOR HE HAS DONE WONDROUSLY 

IN THE LIVES OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE!

SCHOOL OF MISSION 2011, NEW ZEALAND

 

It has been an awesome 5 months of School of Mission 2011!

Participants with Father Peter who celebrated the Closing Mass and Ju, the SOM leader.

The scripture from Revelation 21:5, “See I make all things new!” rings true for every participant as they have experienced being loved by God into personal healing and restoration, challenged and empowered by the Spirit to overcome language barriers, fears and self-doubt to boldly and creatively proclaim the Good News to prisoners, school kids, college teenagers, teachers, strangers on the streets, parents and grandparents, etc.

For many of them, the parish mission in Hornby, Christchurch was especially significant as they learnt to walk by faith, trusting in God’s protection in the earthquake zone, and thankful to have been sent by Him to bring His message of hope and peace to His people.

We are thankful for the doors opened to us in the schools and colleges in the Wellington area, namely St Patrick’s Silverstream, Viard College, St Catherine’s College, St Francis de Sales Island Bay, St Francis Xavier Tawa and St Benedict’s Khandallah. It was a definite boon for the kids and young people that we have 14 vibrant and dynamic young people on our mission team. God does all things well! 

 Words cannot fully express our awe and gratitude at seeing the magnitude of God’s transforming power in each of these 14 participants’ lives.

As you read this, please lift up a prayer for them as they move on from here, that they continue to seek God first above all else and let Him direct their lives for His glory.

Each of them has a beautiful testimony and here are a few excerpts of their testimonies. May you be encouraged wherever you are, to keep trusting in the Lord who never fails.

 - Helena, Korea -

During the school God touched my past which had made me shameful and guilty. He has removed the negative voices that said that I was not good enough and not worthy to be loved.

I have come to accept the truth that my value and security is in Jesus and Jesus is my only Saviour. I realize that through my struggle to speak and understand English, God has been teaching me to rely on Him and be a humble servant and to thirst and hunger for Him. He has filled me with a deeper desire to seek and know Him so that I can evangelise and serve others. 

This 5 months journey has been an awesome experience that I will never forget.  I will step out in faith like a child trusting in God.  Jesus is the purpose of my life! 

Kyle, USA: God has radically changed my view of Him. He is not only a powerful God far off in heaven, but a loving Father here with me always, caring about everything in my life. 

One day I was given this revelation for my life on faith, which for some reason never occurred to me; back home I used to say "Hey God...do something!", to which He replied with silence. I have come to find that His silence speaks very clearly, and is translated "Hey Kyle...believe I can!". 

Faith is now not just a thing in my head to which I say "sure" but don't believe by word or action, but it is now a proactive love for God and for His people. The School of Mission has changed my life without question. If anyone was to ask me if they should attend the program, I would tell them that Christ works here in this place and changes lives...so, absolutely! 

Bona, Korea:

I experienced His love overwhelm me. It was as if He was breathing new life in me.  He was giving me a second chance and he continues to give me a new chance every day. 

 

I am beautiful,

I am precious,

I am loved.

I don’t need to get every worldly value to compare with others.

Jesus is enough for me.

I am not afraid anymore to be alone,

slower or weaker than others

but I am grateful to God when I am able

to be faster and stronger.

I believe He is my almighty God

who really knows everything about me,

and he will give me what I need

at the time I need it the most.  

As I journeyed in ICPE School of Mission, I have come to realize that I am more than just a pharmacist. I am a son of God, His precious creation. This has also helped me after losing my earthly father in 2005. – Adri, Indonesia

A testimony on the power of prayer:

Without prayer I was successful but I was a completely blind man. So, the first marvellous thing given by Jesus to me through the regular personal prayer was to clean my past from the dust and to start a new life in personal freedom. 

 

I received a big peace into my heart, peace that I had never got through all activities I did before. I never understood people as deeply as I understood people with whom I prayed.

After all this, I know that praying with my heart I will not be lost in my life as I was before. Through prayer Jesus acted in my life very tangibly. He made me grow as a person as well as a man. During the last 2.5 years of living a life of regular prayer, I received from Jesus so many good things that I didn’t managed to get myself in all those 30 years before.

If you want to experience anything similar, it is very easy. Just do it, just start praying and building a relationship with God and see your life change. – Pavel, Czech Republic
 

 

 ALL GLORY TO YOU KING JESUS!

YOU ARE THE ROCK ON WHICH WE STAND!