August 22 | 
0 COMMENTS 
print
We are the jam that can hold lives together
It began with a plum tree and it became the jam that held lives together. At a recent funeral the celebrant looked back on the life of a great-grandmother whose happy married life produced six children, several grandchildren and one great-grandchild for her to enjoy before she passed away last week. She had indeed led a fruitful life, simple but not necessarily without its challenges—including the loss of one daughter in infancy—and all its wonders.
Her garden had been her and her late husband’s pride and joy, their plum tree provided a reason to visit friends and talk to neighbours after a bumper crop and its fruits were also turned into the jam for the empire biscuits she made with her grandchildren.
In an age and a world where headlines are often bad news and life’s problems can seem too daunting, we can all benefit from thinking on this woman’s life and her plum tree when we feel overwhelmed. For what constitutes success? We all have the ability to take what God has given us and offer it to the world for the greater good. Our legacies may not be the stuff of fame and fortune but we all can make a difference by touching the lives of others at home and abroad.
Look at the youth and volunteers who helped the pilgrims from Glasgow Archdiocese travel to Lourdes this year for inspiration (pages 1 and 6) and consider Harry Schnitker dedicating his article this week to the persecuted Christians of Iraq and Syria (page 20) and encouraging support for Aid to the Church in Need. Our own bishops are praying for ‘our own flesh and blood,’ Christians fleeing for their lives in the Middle East.
Pope Francis has just rallied the youth of Asia on his first visit there. During his first Mass last Friday in South Korea he urged them to renounce the materialism that afflicts society today and to reject ‘inhuman’ economic systems that disenfranchise the poor.
Later in his homily his at Haemi Fortress, the Holy Father said ‘do not be afraid to bring the wisdom of Faith to every aspect of social life’ and discern ‘what is incompatible with your Catholic Faith… and what aspects of contemporary culture are sinful, corrupt and lead to death.’
If material success is relative and is not necessarily the key to happiness, then surely sharing what we have and connecting with others—like the branches of a tree—to create a more just world is the answer.
RSS Feeds