Every life Matters

Black lives matter.   No one can be left untroubled by the awful events we have all witnessed in the USA in these last days. As Christians we believe every human being is made in the image a likeness of God. As Pope Francis has forcibly reminded us, there can be no place for racialism in our hearts or communities. In our own nation our Black and Asian citizens have suffer dis-proportionately during the Covid 19 pandemic. This is a cause of concern for us all. We need to understand why this is the case. For when one brother or sister suffers we all suffer in some way.

As we reflect on the mystery of the Most Blessed and undivided Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit we are invited to ponder on the gift of the divine life of grace that lives in us all. Made in the image of the Triune God every life matters. From the unborn child in the womb to the person preparing to die.

When we talk of God we are dealing with the greatest mystery. Yet any child can grasp it in such a way as to be able to pray it and live it. St Augustine wrote If you want to see God you have the means to do so, Look at your neighbour. Your sister or brother.

We can talk of God as our Father. A Father who loves us without reserve. We think of Jesus as our brother who gave his life for us. And we can describe the Holy Spirit as a friend who helps us to live like Jesus, and who binds us together as sisters and brothers in a community of faith and love. As Christians this is the atmosphere in which we live and move and have our being. This is who God is, the ground of our being. We are not souls trapped in matter, but dust breathed in to shape. We are Physical beings with a spiritual purpose and meaning. That purpose is Union with God. That is why we can say every life Matters because God made it matter.