Seize the Opportunity
In this weeks Coracle Fr Kingsley Chigbo encourages us to not let an opportunity slip, we read about prayer and the Man With No Name, and a brief history of Pluscarden Abbey. Welcome!
An opportunity that shouldn’t slip from us
Lent is a season in which we reflect deeply on our life and our relationship with God. It is a time for us to recollect ourselves, think about our lives, how close we have been to God or how far we have drifted from him, it is a time of reparation for sin, a time of spiritual reinvigoration. There is no doubt about it, that the season of Lent touches something deep down in all our hearts, as it presents us with the challenge to reject sin and to be faithful to God who loves us and who is compassionate towards us. Lent prepares us for the glorious celebration of the paschal mystery at Easter. Therefore, a Lent well done leads to an Easter well begun.
Lent as a season for reparation for sin, draws my attention quickly to the story of Jonah, who God gave an assignment to warn the people of Nineveh whose sins had angered Him. This story is one of repentance of a whole people who listened to God’s warnings through his prophet and changed their way of life. It is good to remember that their repentance can be traced back to the repentance of Jonah the prophet, who had earlier refused to obey God’s word; but when he repented and followed the instruction of God to preach to the people of Nineveh, there was a grand experience of remorse and penance by the people, who fasted and prayed for God’s forgiveness. The word of God told us that God saw their genuine acts of repentance and relented from His anger.
There is the power of conversion in the word of God when we bear it in our hearts in all honesty. I can imagine how God’s word pierced the hearts of the people of Nineveh, from the king to the least of the people. I can imagine their actions: changing into sackcloth, sitting in ashes, making a decision to observe fast, and praying for God’s forgiveness. God’s word changed their generation and drew them to have a closer relationship with God. It reminds me of the words said on Ash Wednesday when we are receiving the sign of the cross with the blessed Ash. The priest/deacon/leader says, “repent and believe in the gospel”. Like the people of Nineveh, we have been called to believe God’s word which calls us to have a relationship with God and repent of our sinful ways.
Traditionally we have been taught the practice of fasting, prayer and alms-giving as the central elements of Lent for the Christian. They are the tools which we have been taught to use, to edge closer to God, as we continue our journey through life. There is no better time to draw closer to God than this moment. “Seize the opportunity”.
It is important to develop during this season of Lent, a practice of reading a portion of the Scriptures each day and allow God’s word to guide you. St Paul writing to Timothy told him (and all of us too) “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2Tim.3:16-17). We need to allow the word of God to form or reform us.
Seek the word of God daily, like the queen of Sheba sought for wisdom, leaving her comfort zone and coming to King Solomon (Luke 11:30-31). Go out of your way, create time for yourself and encounter the word of God in the Scriptures and also encounter Jesus the word of God made man through prayer.
Don’t forget to fast, be kind to people and give alms during this time, so that your life will be awesomely pleasing to God.
Fr Kingsley Chigbo | St Peter’s Buckie
New writer to the Coracle, Ruairidh Maclennan discusses the Man With No Name and how that concept relates to anonymous prayer. Chris Akers gives us a brief history of Pluscarden Abbey and Sister Rosario, of the Sisters of St John based in Aberdeen is celebrating 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, her country of birth.
The Necessity of Anonymous Prayer
By Ruairidh Maclennan
It is a cinematic paradox that the character who quasi-embodies the spaghetti western genre and who moviegoers recognise instantly and associate with the genre – as well as the great three-part series in which his story is told – is most widely known as ‘the man with no name’…
Pluscarden: From ‘Bare ruin’d Choirs’ to Restoration
By Chris Akers
The Wolf of Badenoch, enraged by land and marital disputes with the Bishop of Moray, set Pluscarden Priory alight in the late 14th century. Scorch marks at the now-Abbey, which lies in a secluded valley outside of Elgin and is home to a community of white-habited Benedictine monks, are said to be remnants of the assault…
500 Years of Christianity: The Philippines
By Sister Rosario, Sisters of St John, Aberdeen
In the Philippines 82% to 85% of the population profess the Catholic faith. It is a small country but has 7,100 islands and 109 million people. Christianity arrived in the Philippines in Cebu in March 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan came, the Portuguese explorer who brought Santo Nino (Child Jesus of Prague…
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