Friday 1st June, 2012
St Justin. Day of penance. 1 Peter 4:7-13. The Lord comes to judge the earth—Ps 95(96):10-13. Mark 11:11-26.

  
Meditation: mp3 | podcast
Readings: Text | mp3 | podcast

Now let us praise our ancestors …

In recent years there has been a revival of interest in the founding figures of our Australian Commonwealth. We need to know something about those who helped form our national traditions so that we may understand ourselves and our own directions better, especially when we are at a crossroads.

The Jewish leaders before the time of Jesus made sure that the great figures of faith in their tradition were known to the youth and especially to the future leaders of their people. Those ‘famous men and women’ are also founding figures of our Christian tradition, which seeks to build on the Jewish insights.

With our strong emphasis on the resurrection and life after death, we remind ourselves that these people Ecclesiasticus mentions are not just long-dead heroes. They are living still and active members of that wider reality we call the communion of saints.