26th Sunday (C ) 28 September 2025 Multiculturism. Today is the 111th world day of migrants and refugees, and we celebrate it here in this parish, combined with the main theme of the Jubilee year - Pilgrims of Hope.
In this parish we have a lot of evidence of different cultures blending harmoniously. We take the chance to pray for all the relevant and connected themes of the day.
That we can all live in peace is a constant prayer. Whenever we look at any country or region we see too many signs of discord.
Everyone should treat everyone with respect, but it does not always happen. Through our prayer we express the hope that it can be done differently; that the change brought about in the human condition by the coming of Christ will penetrate hearts and change will result at the ground level.
The place to start is to recognize the common humanity which binds us, either in an already established peace, or in a peace which is waiting to be realised.
St Paul tells us that now there is no Jew or Greek, but only Christ (Ga 3,28).
Christ made us one, and can keep us one if enough people will unite themselves with Him.
We can speak of two things that need to happen.
One, as we have been saying, is that we learn to live in peace, so that no matter how many people are in one area they can learn to get along.
Two, is that as many as possible, and potentially the whole world, can come to an explicit complete union with Our Lord Jesus Christ, through faith and baptism. This is the source of unity that St Paul was speaking about.
We offer to those of other religions, or no religion, the greatest gift of all – the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the pearl of great price (Mt 13,45-46), for which we should give up all we have.
Our primary method of influencing others to believe in Christ is to be the very best disciples we can be.
We are to be Pilgrims of Hope, one of the main themes of the Jubilee year.
We can achieve peace (important) through faith, hope and charity (even more important).
Christ is the overall source of culture, if we take ‘culture’ to mean the way people live, the way they set values, make decisions.
We can still celebrate our differences on less essential matters. So nations have different customs on matters of art, literature, food, clothing, music, language, history, geography, sport etc.
Being Christian does not mean we have to be the same on all points. As long as we have that unity with Jesus Christ we can then expand into other areas, never losing our focus on Him.
We are one when we need to be, and diverse when appropriate, but never forgetting where all this richness comes from.
We become more like Him, and meet in the middle, where He is found.
Mentally it is easy to see that we are all one, or should be, but who is going to live like that?
We have to forgive everyday, seeking a standard of holiness which is demanding but also rewarding.
History has been pushed out of shape many times, and the world we have now is very different from that which Christ would have wanted for us. But such is the marvel of God's mercy that from any position on the spectrum He can forgive us and give us a new start.
Genuine repentance, seeking the approval of God is the key. Always we are saying, Lord have mercy. Always He is granting it. Today, may He forgive all sins against unity in Him.
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