NOTES AND QUOTES

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
The reason that we need God is because we need to know who we are, where we come from, and where we are going. So in a sense it doesn’t matter whether you become conscious that you are looking for God at the beginning of your journey, or at the end, so long as your journey is leading you back to him. The truth is that God is loving us back into life every minute of every day, whether we know it or we don’t know it.
(Cormac Murphy O’Connor)

O Lord our God, grant us grace to desire you with our whole heart; that so desiring, we may seek, and seeking, find you; and so finding you, may love you; and loving you, may hate the sins from which you have redeemed us.
(St Anselm)

Grumbling at God is a recurring theme in the scriptures. Whether it’s the Hebrews hankering after the food and drink of their captivity or the Israelites moaning that they want a king like every other nation, the refrain is constant. On a positive note this murmuring does point to the very real expectations of the covenant, and is usually resolved by recognition of God’s already existing benevolence in the face of adversity.
(Grace Durnell)