‘Here I am send me….’
The readings for Mass this week clearly reveal to us that in every generation and circumstance God has called people to offer themselves to serve and proclaim His Word. For the young Isaiah from the Old Testament in the midst of his vivid experience of God’s presence in the temple, he heard a call to be God’s messenger. ‘Who can I send? His generous reply was simply ‘Here I am send me’. St Paul looking back over his years of service reflects on the fact that it is only by God’s grace that he has been effective in bringing the Gospel to others and it was the call of Christ that had made all his good work possible. The Gospel account of the miraculous catch of fish on the Lake of Galilee was a profoundly humbling experience for the disciples. They considered themselves sinful men in the presence of Jesus who was of God. Yet despite their weakness they felt called to follow Christ. This weekend’s readings offer us all an opportunity to renew our dedication and intention to serve and follow the Lord. Within our different vocations and the different expressions of our lives the Lord has called each one of us to be bearers and messengers of his word.
Friday 11th February is the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes which is set aside as a day of prayer for the sick. Located within our Cathedral parish are the Royal University Hospital and the Clatterbridge Centre. We are asked to remember in prayer all who are sick, especially those in these two hospitals and also to pray for those who care for the sick within these two institutions trusts and for the chaplaincy teams who minister within the hospitals.
With the printing of regular volumes of service sheets and newsletters we have had our fair share of typo errors over the years, despite all the proofing that is carried out. Archbishop Patrick used to make a point each year of reminding us of the mistake that was once made in Holy Week for the sung response to the psalm. ‘We shall draw water SINNING joyfully, instead of singing. The dreaded automatic spell check has resulted in occasional mistakes to print runs with phrases such as ‘The feast of the SCARED heart’ and ‘Eucharistic MONSTERS’. Thankfully, this has not resulted in anything more than embarrassment and smiles.
It was reported this week that a company had had many thousands of commemorative plates and mugs for the Queen’s Jubilee produced with Jubilee spelt as JUBBLY. Quite apart from the ‘Luvvly Jubbly’ embarrassing Del Boy connection it was a very costly mistake to make. An amusing mistake that is also a reminder to us in Cathedral House of the importance of continually checking carefully everything that goes out in print or online.
Canon Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean
