7 December.   Isaiah and the prophets.  Fr Pius shared, “The Greek word metanoia literally means turning and going in another direction.  That is what repentance really is.   How do we know what true peace and repentance are?   At the recent COP 30 Climate conference one bishop, in a truly prophetic way, reminded the gathering of world leaders and others.  ‘The way to deal with problem of climate change, is the same as we do for sin and confession.  We need to admit and express our guilt and experience remorse for our actions. God will always forgive, but we should decide to change our behaviour that contributes to the negative effects of climate change. We talk about it all the time, how to protect, save and not waste, plant trees and care for animals. In this time of 16 Days of Activism against gbv do we take responsibility for our actions. That is the call of integral conversion.” 

Reflect, share,  Scripture:   There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse.   With righteousness he shall judge the poor and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.   The wolf shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the lion and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them.  from  Is 11: 1-10 Catechism Conversion after baptism is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church, which is at once holy and always in need of purification.  The endeavour of conversion is not just a human work.  It is the movement of a contrite heart drawn and moved by grace to respond to the merciful love of God who loved us first.  CCC 1428.   Jubilee: The judgement of God, who is love will surely be based on love, and in particular on all that we have done or failed to do with regard to those in need, in whose midst Christ, the Judge himself, is present . In the words of Benedict XVI: “At the moment of judgement we experience and we absorb the overwhelming power of his love over all the evil in the world and in ourselves. The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy”. SNC22.  Act and pray:  This holiday time is a good opportunity to practice repentance, evaluate how eco-friendly we are and what changes we can make. Our Christmas confession or a Family Reconciliation service can focus on this