Speak Lord: speak mercy and hope…

The second reading at Mass on Sunday, the 22nd of Ordinary time, invites imperfect us to keep on striving for perfection. Oh, by the way, Paul is, of course, speaking to his sisters and not only to his brothers!

Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

Romans 12:1-2

So often we don’t think. So often we simply go with the flow. Or is it just me?

St Paul names what is supposedly one of our distinguishing features as human beings – that we are thinking creatures; that we can consider alternatives and, presumably, try to go for the better ones. But often we don’t – or, again is it just me?

When we don’t the failure is ours. There may be, and usually are all sorts of contributing factors. But to a greater or lesser extent the responsibility for failure lies with us. Acknowledging that, openly, can be a great relief. Especially when we experience the love and mercy of God there for us in response, because we need it and God loves us.

• In what have you failed this week?
• Have you found a way of admitting your failure? To yourself? To others? To God?
• What encouragement has come your way this week?
• And for what at Mass tomorrow, do you want to give God thanks for?

The photograph is of a glass window by Le Corbusier in the Cité radieuse de Marseille. The design uses the Modulor system which provides ‘a harmonic measure to the human scale, universally applicable to architecture and mechanics.’ Related to the Golden Ratio, the system seeks to discover a proportion system equivalent to that of natural creation, and in this case based on human proportions. The window gestures towards the system!

Photograph (c) Allen Morris, 2014.