Headline

This month, Kieran leads us through a reflection on the idea of tribes and tribalism. We are mostly familiar, in one way or another, with our own idea of tribes and tribalism. Maybe it is American Indian tribes so familiar to us from the great western movies of times past (they don’t seem to make them any more!), perhaps we think of present day tribal groups in, say, the South American jungles or in the countries of Africa.

For sure, these are tribes, and, in a way, Kieran draws some of his ideas from these examples of tribes and tribalism. But he takes us a little further on this journey, away from these stereotypical images and look at the ideas through the lens of the life that we each live, our lives in our families, the places we live, our country. Having set the scene, he then invites us to consider how these tribal instincts (our DNA?) affect how we live, what we think, and what we do.

At the end, Kieran brings us back to the Gospel, to the person of Jesus and His message to us, who encourages us – challenges us – to step outside the direction of our human flawed genes and truly live in accord with his greatest command, to love one another.

For our reflection this month, Fr Kieran draws inspiration from the writings of St Paul, especially in his letter to the Ephesians, and using St Paul as his example, Kieran takes us into the land of metaphors.

Our normal discourse might be seen as somewhat bland if we did not resort to metaphors from time to time. And it isn’t just in our everyday speech. Can anyone say that she or he is unfamiliar with Elvis Presley’s hit: “You Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog.” And it might be argued that literature too, would be too plain with recourse to metaphors. Even the title and first line of Emily Dickinson’s poem is metaphor: ““Hope” is the thing with feathers.”

And so, Kieran explores this idea and reaches into the Gospel stories, illustrating his reflection with metaphors and their first cousins, mixed metaphors, to give us an insight into how St Paul uses them to draw us ever closer to Christ.

In this month’s reflection, Fr Kieran considers what it means when we speak of acting in accordance with our consciences. As Kieran writes, we are quick to recognise the principle that we cannot be the judge in our own case!

He then guides us to what St Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians. St Paul speaks of the importance of conscience and then goes on to point out that: “True, my conscience does not reproach me at all, but that does not prove that I am acquitted.” Why does he say this? In the following words, he writes: “The Lord alone is my judge.”

We can all to easily point to acting in accordance with our conscience, as if it is infallible. But is that true? Can our conscience be in error?

And so to our role and responsibility as Christians, doing our best to follow and live the Gospel. Kieran writes of the need, not just to act in accordance with our conscience but to recognise the importance for an informed conscience. Our presence at Mass, listening actively to the Word of God, is one part of informing our consciences and thus, making decisions that reflect the Gospel values that are core to our baptismal promises.