Reverence in Church - 2

“Lord, save us or we perish”, cried the terrified Apostles and Jesus, with a gentle rebuke, calmed the raging storm which had threatened to overturn the fragile boat and drown its occupants. This familiar story is, surely, in a way, a picture of everyday life, filled as it is with ups and downs which sometimes seem almost overwhelming.
 
We live in a very busy, sometimes overactive and often noisy world; the storms that threaten us may be the cares, challenges and troubles of life, whether they be living out our Marriage vows, paying bills or bringing up our children so that they will influence those around them for the better rather than being influenced by those who regard God and Religion as nothing.
 
For many, Sunday, maybe their sole possible weekly visit to church for Mass, those few minutes before Mass starts provide a rare opportunity for a moment of quiet calm contemplation; perhaps it is their main respite from the hurly-burly of life. They may come early because they recognise that they have a real need to prepare themselves for the Holy Sacrifice, and to ask for God’s Grace to help them in the sacrifices they may be called to make during the week ahead.
 
Whether we, personally, feel the need to pray or not (although we all need to prepare ourselves for, as the Fathers of Vatican II, spoke of, “…full, conscious and active participation…” in the Mass) charity surely demands that we consider those who do wish to speak with God, those who need this weekly oasis in which to rest in God's Embrace, the calm in the eye of the storm of life!