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32nd Sunday of Year A

What do you see on this black and white picture?
No, no, this question is NOT meant to be a psychology test.
Its aim is to illustrate the theme of our reflection on the 1st reading of this Sunday (32nd Sunday of Year A – Wis.6:12-16).
We will try to: SEE THINGS IN A DIFFERENT WAY.

Looking at the black and white illustration here, some people will say they see the profile of two identical faces.
Others will tell you that they can recognize a white vase with a large opening.
Are the people of both groups right?
They are! They simply look at the design in a different way.

What if we did the same… with God?!
You wonder in which direction this reflection is going.
You ask yourself what is involved in ‘looking at God in a different way’.

We are often told to search for God.
We are reminded to look for him till we have found him.
We are taught to follow his ways.

Today’s reading of the Book of Wisdom tells us:

“Wisdom (is) quick to anticipate those who desire her,
she makes herself known to them…
She herself walks about looking for those worthy of her…
In every thought of theirs coming to meet them.”

Here, Wisdom – in fact: God’s Spirit – is the one
who anticipates,
who is first to search for us, looks for us, comes to us.

We should NOT be put off by the words “those worthy of her”,
The previous line says clearly: “those who desire her”.
We can never be worthy of God!
What he looks for is not worthiness but eagerness to meet him.

He does not ask for our merits – he is the one who can make us pleasing to him!
What he wants is simply our desire, yes, our desire answering his!

So, how about… LOOKING AT GOD IN A DIFFERENT WAY, this week?…
Seeing him as the one who is always the first, taking the initiative –
the initiative in searching for us, coming our way and finding us…

Source: Image: marriageprepbeginnings.com

 

15th Sunday of the Year, A

The words we use can express different levels of meaning.
Some words go deeper than others, we know it.

To get a glimpse of something or to catch sight of someone, is different from truly looking at the thing or the person.
Looking at a scene, staring at somebody, this too is different.

Seeing itself is also different from perceiving which implies something more…
And we all know that we may be looking… without seeing!…

This reflection came to me as a few words of today’s gospel caught my attention (15th Sunday of Year A – Mt.13:1-23).

A single line suddenly caught my sight.
It is the one which gives Jesus words as he says:

“Happy are your eyes because they see.” (v.16)

 

I stopped reading, there and then I paused…
I paused and… I asked myself whether this ‘beatitude’ is mine!

My questioning led me to ask whether I truly see the sights, the scenes, the situations of my daily life, as God would want me to…

More still, do I perceive there God’s presence?
Do I discern God’s message?

Perhaps much of life is about SEEING… as God sees!…

Source: Images: Dissolve, Masterfile, goodtherapy,org, Masterfile

World Theatre Day – March 27

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute ITI. It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centers and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace.
On this special occasion, FIA wishes a happy World Theater Day to all theater lovers and professionals.

Here is the Message of World Theatre Day 2017 by French theatre and cinema actress Isabelle Huppert:
« So, here we are once more. Gathered again in spring, 55 years since our inaugural meeting, to celebrate World Theatre Day. Just one day, 24 hours, is dedicated to celebrating theatre around the world. And here we are in Paris, the premier city in the world for attracting international theatre groups, to venerate the art of theatre. »

Paris is a world city, fit to contain the globes theatre traditions in a day of celebration; from here in France’s capital we can transport ourselves to Japan by experiencing Noh and Bunraku theatre, trace a line from here to thoughts and expressions as diverse as Peking Opera and Kathakali; the stage allows us to linger between Greece and Scandinavia as we envelope ourselves in Aeschylus and Ibsen, Sophocles and Strindberg; it allows us to flit between Britain and Italy as we reverberate between Sarah Kane and Prinadello. Within these twenty-four hours we may be taken from France to Russia, from Racine and Moliere to Chekhov; we can even cross the Atlantic as a bolt of inspiration to serve on a Campus in California, enticing a young student there to reinvent and make their name in theatre.

Source: Text: FIA   Image: BC Alliance for Arts and Culture