The vision of Towards Peace: - Thomastown Parish

The vision of Towards Peace is to provide a safe supportive space where people who have been affected by abuse in a Church context can be accompanied as they seek their own experience of spiritual peace one step at time. Towards Peace provides a spiritual direction service. Up to nine sessions with a specially trained spiritual companion can be made available; there is no fee. Spiritual direction offers a safe space to attend to your own spiritual life and sense of the Sacred. It
is an ancient practice in many religious traditions. Within the Christian tradition, spiritual direction offers a way to tune into the presence of God’s love within your own life. Phone 01 5053028; email towardspeace@iecon.ie web www.towardspeace.ie

Reflection

“And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. …” Why does Pope Francis say Jesus was not concerned with this? Was Jesus’ interest more with hearts than with kettles and beds and rubrics?
We too could ask ourselves: why do Jesus and his disciples disregard these traditions? … Why is Jesus not concerned with such things? Because for him it is important to bring faith back to its centre. We see it repeatedly in the Gospel: this bringing faith back to the centre. And to avoid a risk, which applies to those scribes as well as to us of observing outward formalities, putting the heart and faith in the background. Sometimes we too “put makeup” on our soul. Outward formality and not the heart of faith. This is a risk. It is the risk of a religiosity of appearances: looking good on the outside while neglecting to purify the heart. There is always the temptation to “deal with God” with some outward devotion, but Jesus does not settle for this worship. Jesus does not want outward appearances; he wants a faith that touches the heart.
Pope Francis