The gospel reading of today invites us to reflect on the story of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, so that we may experience Jesus as the Living Water that quenches our thirst. We can recognise the 7 steps that serve as the template to understand the gospel encounters with Jesus. Our focus today is on the journey: this simply shows that our experience of God is a process. It is ongoing. It has its stages. Let us first enjoy this text by paying attention to some details then we will focus on the aspect of journey.
Empty Jar: The Thirst
To begin with, an important detail to pay attention to in the opening verses of John 4 is the time of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. […]
Jesus Experience Retreats: Contents
Jesus Experience
St. Barlow’s Mission Week – Day 2 – Pointers
In most cultures, one of the games that children play is “hide and seek”, with many variants – tag, sardines, or hidey (inScotland). There is a lot of fun in finding hidden objects and people! God seems to play ‘hide and seek’ with human beings.
Isaiah cries out, “Oh God of Israel, you are a God who lies hidden” (Is 45:15). And the Psalmist prays, “It is your face Oh Lord that I seek, hide not your face from me” (Ps 27:8b,9). This was the situation of the old dispensation. But suddenly there is a surprise in the history of salvation. God is made visible in the form of a little babe.
The story in the text that we have chosen for our reflection today tells us of three wise men from the East […]
St Barlow’s Mission Week – Day 1 – The Thirst
INTRODUCTION
What is the core of Christianity? I asked myself this question after being a Christian for almost forty years. Better late than never!
Is the core of Christianity, being good? My mother always told me to be good. “If you behave well, God will love you!” She said. This was a way my mother convinced me – I convinced myself – to follow Christian morality. Is Christian morality, enshrined in the Ten Commandments, the core of Christianity? At a particular stage in life I realized that Christianity is not merely a moral system. Morality is only one aspect of it. And, Christian morality is not based on just obeying rules, but on love. So, is love the core of Christianity? Today I know love is not the core but only the consequence. I cannot love truly if I have not […]
St. Ambrose Barlow – Parish Mission Week – Introduction
A SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
What is the core of Christianity? I asked myself this question after being a Christian for almost forty years. Better late than never!
Is the core of Christianity, being good? My mother always told me to be good. “If you behave well, God will love you!” She said. This was a way my mother convinced me – I convinced myself – to follow Christian morality. Is Christian morality, enshrined in the Ten Commandments, the core of Christianity? At a particular stage in life I realized that Christianity is not merely a moral system. Morality is only one aspect of it. And, Christian morality is not based on just obeying rules, but on love. So, is love the core of Christianity? Today I know love is not the core but only the consequence. I cannot love truly if I have not experienced the core of Christianity. Trying otherwise would be putting […]