I THOUGHT my days of writing to the Leader were behind me but J.J.Williams’ letter in the Leader on August 9 has prompted me to get out my pen again.
Mark’s Gospel begins with the words “The beginning of the Good News about Jesus”.
I could find no rejoicing in the Good News in that letter which is so factually wrong and which expresses views so foreign to the community I worship with.
In Jesus the fullness of God’s love is shown to us and, in his death and resurrection, God’s love and God’s Kingdom are unconquerably present in our world.
The Vatican Council was one of those special experiences of the Holy Spirit in a Church always striving to be the Church Jesus wants it to be and always striving to find better ways to proclaim the Good News about Jesus.
The laity and their pastors have ever since been striving to implement the vision of the council, admittedly sometimes with difficulty.
How marvellous it is to worship God in our own language. That is what Jesus did. He prayed in Aramaic. The many languages of the world and the cultures they express are surely part of the beauty of God’s creation.
How wonderful it is to see people active in their parishes today. They are involved in sacramental programs, Gospel discussions, meditation groups, liturgy groups parish councils, reaching out to the elderly, people with disabilities and many other parish activities.
It is wonderful to see people coming to first-Friday Mass and staying for adoration and benediction, coming to novena devotions on Saturday and sung Evening Prayer on Tuesday night. I must admit there is no need to book a seat on Tuesday night.
The faith has always been centred on the Good News about Jesus with the Eucharist as its summit and source.
I am grateful for the leadership that bishops of my own diocese have shown.
A book “The Good Shepherds”, published on the occasion of the sesquicentenary of the Church in Brisbane and Queensland shows how each bishop in his own way sought to proclaim and spread the Good News about Jesus.
Of course that does not mean that they did not have faults or did not make mistakes.
Of course there are problems. There always have been but Jesus is risen and that is Good News.
FR RAY KEARNEY
Sunnybank, Qld
