ALL ONE IN JESUS CHRIST – Reflection for February 2009
ALL ONE IN JESUS CHRIST – Reflection for February 2009 This year has been established by the Church as the Year of St. Paul. It is a year when we are given the opportunity to think about and honour the life of this great missionary and apostle of the 1st century.
As a person he may not have been the easiest to work with but we know that he gave his all to Jesus Christ and to making him known. He did this by establishing communities of Christians in the larger towns of the eastern half of the Roman Empire. These were to be communities of equals – ” neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but…all one in Christ Jesus”. Christians, in other words, stand out as people who welcome others.
What would he make of us today, with our many social divisions, rich and poor, old and young, Irish and “foreigner” or “non-national”? Paul taught his communities to be welcoming, to look out for the weaker, and to support those who were in need. He taught the virtue that we Irish used to be renowned for: hospitality.
“Hospitality ensures that we welcome others as persons – and in some cases also as brothers or sisters in the faith – and that we do not consider them as cases, numbers or mere components of the workforce”. (Archbishop A Marchetto, Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Oct. 2008.)
Now in this time of recession may we not let this precious gift of hospitality and welcome disappear, or lose completely our former title of “Ireland of the Welcomes.”
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent. Cookie Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.