Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

My Dear parishioners of St Matthew’s and all visitors,

The reading of today provides us with one of the very moving, dramatic and instructive stories of such acceptance in the Gospels.

The woman who had a bad name comes to Jesus and kisses and washes his feet with tears. The sign of repentance.

Every saint is a reformed sinner. A saint is the one who recognises the ‘sinner’ part in himself or herself.

Today Jesus invites us to cancel debts and forgive those who have trespassed against us: Yet our wounds may be deep.

Forgiveness may seem unthinkable. But if we do not forgive, then how can we say the Lord’s Prayer and truly mean it?

May God Bless each and everyone of you,
Fr Joseph

Work is much more than employment, say Catholic Bishops

This week Catholics will receive a pastoral letter called ‘Working for Life’ from the
New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC).

The bishops look at the Catholic concept of work in the contexts of the collapse of
the international money market, redundancies, and the effects of economic
instability on the good of people.

“Work is most often identified with employment, but it is much more than that.
Work has a dignity of its own in that it expresses the self-worth of a person,
something that can never be reduced to an economic value,” say the bishops.

They emphasise that there will always be people who cannot work and support
themselves, and that concern for the common good requires workers to look after
these people as brothers and sisters.

“We hope this letter will reaffirm the priority of work over employment and of men
and women over work,” the bishops say.

Work is discussed in relation to lifestyle, dignity and the common good, and is
described by the bishops as a gift.

The letter states “My work” must never be thought of as being for me alone. Nor can
I regard work as being my own creation. In the invitation to partner the Creator in
caring for all that exists, God has gifted work as a creative, healing and renewing
resource”.

The bishops encourage Catholics to question their consumer lifestyles, the effects of
their purchases on those in the production line and the impact of their waste on the
environment.

“We want to emphasise the relevance of the concept of the common good, and to
reinforce the inherent dignity of work,” say the bishops.