In today's Psalm, we are reminded that 'The Lord is close to the broken hearted'. What a beautiful and necessary message for these times!
Thanks as always to Fr Martin Pender for these readings and homily available in audio form.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN:
https://soundcloud.com/user-297441672/readings-for-friday-27-march-2020
Life without Labels - by Fr Jim Cogley
Society tends to value labels less than it values people. The more prestigious the label the more respect is afforded to the bearer. Instead of labels being attached to persons the reverse has happened and persons came attached to their label. This created the hierarchical society with which we were so familiar. We so bought into it that we learned to value ourselves more in terms of what we did than who we were. We allowed our labels to define us as persons.
Many have managed to see through this fallacy and begun to find their identity more in terms of who they were, rather than what they happened to be doing. To engage in this kind of process, while quite painful, is also most rewarding. This coming home to myself is the essence of the spiritual journey. For those who defined themselves until now, only in terms of roles, this current time when labels are worthless can be excruciating. If I am not what I do, then who am I? As difficult as this question may be, it can be the beginning of an inner journey. It may even completely change the direction of our lives from an outer pursuit to an inner quest.