July 30. SEE.    Blanche loved to allow her grandchildren to come to her pottery studio and create “beautiful things” as she would say.   She would tell them to feel the clay in their hands and to shape all kinds of things.  Gradually they did come to make some quite beautiful pots, vases and statues too. David once told her he felt a little bit like God, creating, looking, feeling, even tasting and touching his creation lovingly. 

JUDGE. Reflect and share. Scripture. The vessel he was making was spoiled in the potter’s hand and he reworked it  The Lord said, “Behold like the clay in the potters’ hand so are you in my hand.”  Jere 18:1-6.   Pope Francis:    Rigidity can hinder the development of an individual’s abilities to the point of leading him or her to think for example that it is not really masculine to cultivate art or dance or not feminine to exercise leadership. AL286.  Pope Leo:   invite everyone to cherish places and times where physical presence remains crucial, such as shared meals, Christian community gatherings, time spent with the lonely and serving the poor. These are signs of a humanity that continues to believe that every person’s body is a dwelling place of God and a temple of the Holy Spirit. It is precisely this covenant between glory and fragility that becomes the criterion for evaluating the anthropological models offered by contemporary culture.   MH239  

ACT AND PRAY.  Promote and cherish creativity and thank God for the beauty of creation. Pray the Prayer of St Francis, pray for grandparents and the elderly.  We pray for God’s blessing on the grandparents and elderly of our families and community, bless them with peace and contentment and an acceptance that their lives were well spent in your service. We ask St Joachim and St Anne, the grandparents of Jesus, to pray with us.