On the morning of the monthly JPII Foundation Mass, I found myself battling with my dishwasher. I wanted to load the dishes and start the washing cycle while I was at Mass. However, 10 mins before I was set to leave the house, a piece from the machine broke off. Try as I might, I just couldn’t fix it.
I looked at the clock and saw time running out. I found myself praying to Jesus. I felt almost embarrassed to implore His help for such a trivial matter. Yet two minutes later, the piece I was struggling with suddenly clicked into place, and it was fixed with minutes to spare. With profound gratitude in my heart, I turned the dishwasher on and headed to Mass.
Forward to arrival at church. For many months I had hoped and prayed that the John Paul II Foundation in Sydney would grow in number, however here we are years down the track, still only averaging around 15 -20 people. I felt disheartened looking at the scarcely-filled pews.
It was then that I thought of the dishwashing incident; God was so awesome in granting me a favour that – in the scheme of things – was quite small. Surely God would see the same “smallness” of the people gathered at the church and hear our prayers just the same?
Too many times I worried about the Sydney Chapter being “successful” and feared that the low turnout was seen as a failure. But Saint Teresa of Calcutta said, “God doesn’t call you to be successful, He calls you to be faithful”.
And with that realisation of God’s love and how He takes care of anyone who turns to Him with a childlike trust, I immediately stopped my despairing at the few people at Mass and moved my attention to what was happening on the Altar.
According to Lumen Gentium 11, the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Thus, there is no greater prayer than the Mass. It didn’t actually matter how few people gathered around the Eucharistic table that day (or will in the future). As long as our focus is on Jesus, especially when we receive Him in Holy Communion, we have Everything!
That is the lesson I learned that morning – no prayer is too small, nor is any amount of people “too few” for God to hear us. The key is the faith in which we make our prayer.
In conclusion, our parish priest prayed not only for the Sydney Chapter, but for the Foundation worldwide. May God hear our prayers and keep the members faithful, and true to the vocations to which we are called.
Shirley Fernandez, president of Sydney Chapter
