Let Me Tell You A Story

We all love to be part of a story.   Stories are so important in our lives.  Without exception, all of us have treasured stories that we tell and retell, embellish and exaggerate.  When we get together as family, at reunions and with friends, these are the stories we love to tell because they have shaped our lives.  These stories also help us keep in mind who we are and, importantly, where we have come from.  Indeed, our personal identity comes from our memories.  The people we love, the people we hate, the people we admire and the people we can’t stand all have a story!

When I worked in the West Indies, I was a stranger in the story of the people. As an outsider, I had to listen, learn and observe. It took years before, suddenly I realised, I had became part of the story! More importantly, I began to know the story behind the story!

This was also my experience when I was appointed parish priest of our Sunshine Coast parish.  When I arrived I was a stranger in your midst.  I did not know the community, I did not know this part of the North Coast, let alone the issues and history that had formed and shaped you.  This only takes place by taking the time to listen, learn and observe.  It is by  baptising your babies, burying your parents, marrying your young lovers, sharing a meal, that I have got to know the story (and the story behind the story).

In the same way, every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we tell the story of God’s saving love for his people. We listen, we learn, we observe.  We tell that story by proclaiming and listening to the Scriptures. We continue to recount that story throughout the liturgy, especially in the great Eucharistic prayer.  The centre of that story is Jesus Christ, in his self-offering for us. All of us give our assent to the truth and significance of that story, as we sing the “Great Amen” at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer.

I think one of the many reasons why we need each week to celebrate the Eucharist faithfully is so that, more and more, we will allow this story to become our story. If we truly enter into the mystery of the Eucharist, the truth of Jesus Christ begins to shape our vision of ourselves, of others, of what is really significant in life.

As a parish family, we are in the middle of telling the story anew to 100 of our younger members as they prepare to receive their First Holy Communion next weekend. We share the story and allow it to shape the ways we see, decide and act.  Hopefully, as parents, family, friends and importantly, as a faith community, our respect for the story and how it guides our actions and attitudes will provide a memorable example to the younger members of our parish.

We all love to be part of a story. What brings us to Mass today is the greatest story ever told –  and we are part of it!  As we journey through this coming week, though the life we live, may we allow this story to become our story.

God Bless,

Fr Peter Brannelly