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 When
the Prodigal Son returned home, his Dad clasped him to his breast and
the repentant son was comforted by the heartbeat. Imagine that strong
steady pulsing of his Dad's excited and thankful heart for his lost son
who had at last returned to the nest called HOME.
Cindy heard a heartbeat this week. She was listening to the swollen belly
of her pregnant daughter. The pulsing of her daughter's blood giving sustenance
to a grandchild not yet born was a pregnant moment in itself. A moment
filled with promise and future — a moment full of the unknown, the mystery
of a baby growing in the darkness. Will the baby be a boy or girl and
what will be its very special name? By name I have called you.
Whilst falling asleep later that night Cindy could hear the regular thumping
of her own heart beating. Again it was comforting as Cindy thought of
it beating away all night while she slept. She thanked God for her healthy
heart and prayed for those whose hearts do not function as they should.
A heartbeat is a very comforting sound. Mothers know when a baby is restless — sometimes placing a clock under the mattress of the crib will bring
the baby to peace. The clock has the familiar regular pulsing sound it
heard for 9 months while in the womb of the mother.
Even little kittens and puppies can be settled by the sound of a ticking
clock. As we grow older a loud ticking clock may be very annoying and
make sleep difficult. Perhaps we have grown up and no longer need that
kind of 'mother' comforting.
Whilst pondering the miracle of our hearts beating around eighty times
a minute, every hour of every day for up to as long as one hundred years,
Cindy cannot understand how anyone cannot believe in a God.
Sharing in the “sacred heartbeat”...
Perhaps what Cindy wants to say this week, is that if we are the children
of God, then we too share a sacred heartbeat. The pulsing loving heartbeat
of God is also our heartbeat. We are all pregnant with God. Deity bursts
forth from within each one of us. The Spirit of God is growing and maturing
within each human heart, soul and mind. It is up to us to bring this Spirit
to birth in our world. We are the heartbeat bringing truth and justice
into our society. We each have a sacred commission in this world, to bring
the very heart and spirit of God alive wherever we are and in whatever
we are doing.
At St Michael's this week, parishioners are feeling anxious. Fr Cunning,
the strong heartbeat at the very heart of the parish, is moving on. People
have become used to the regular rhythm and pulse of how he likes things
done. Change is threatening. The parishioners don't know yet who the new
priest will be, though the Bishop has assured them that he will send a
priest as the parish is enormous. The heartbeat of a new priest may pulse
with a different beat — parishioners will need to fall into the pattern.
The parish will continue, the dance will go on, the beating heart of
God will be heard all over the world in people and nature and virtue.
Maybe people will sense the power of nature in the bushfires raging in
most States of Australia.
Meanwhile, preparations are now underway for Advent. Is it really almost
a year since last Christmas!
Cindy
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Cindy the Sacristan is the pseudonym of one of the long-time members of our community. In real life she has spent many years in a voluntary capacity as sacristan in a large outer suburban parish. |
We welcome your thoughts in response to this column in our forum.
[Index of Commentaries by Cindy the Sacristan]
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