In this Spirit-filled homily - “CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP BEGINS WITH ME”,
Rev. Fr. Michael Payyapilly V.C., Director -- Divine Retreat Centre, Somersby
NSW, Australia, exhorts every Catholic to remember our faith is based on a
community and not of our individual relationship with God only. “Today, if you
go to parishes, after the Blessing is over, immediately people have disappeared
and the priest will go outside thinking the people will be outside. But forget
about the people, even the cars are not around! Everyone has disappeared – no one
is talking. That is when we realize how individualistic we have become.”
“That is why even after the Holy Mass, the feeling of
oneness is not there because we have become individualistic. We do not have the
‘time to spare; the time to waste’ – we are very time-bound Once we become
individualistic, there will never be an experience. We are only praying for our
own needs; we are praying only for ourselves. When we come for Mass, we do not
even know who is sitting next to us!”
“What we do inside the church is what we do outside.”
“What did the early Christian community do? Why were
they so vibrant? ‘They devoted themselves to the Apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, to the breaking of Bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42)’ Fellowship is
where the difference is today. In our parish communities, there is no
fellowship. If there is n fellowship, the parish community will always be
incomplete.”
“Are our parish community increasing? Why?”
“It starts with each of us to make the difference in
a parish community. There has to be fellowship. It has to start from you!
Are you able to help build up your parish community?”
This timely message of God share by Fr. Michael shows
how critical it is for each of us to make our Catholic Church vibrant as it was
in the early Christian community days.
Next Sunday, Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran V.C.,
Director of Divine Retreat Centre, Kerala, India will be sharing the Word of
God on “PRAYER
- STAY ROOTED AND CONNECTED TO GOD”
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