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A business man was late for his flight. He reached the boarding gate just before it closed. Sweating and out of breath, he scanned his boarding pass at the counter and quickly made his way to the plane. Arriving at his seat, he greeted his companions including a little girl at the window side. After the flight took off, he began a conversation with the little girl. The little girl appeared to be about the same age as his daughter and was busy with her colouring book. He asked her a few of the usual questions, and he found it strange that such a young girl would be traveling alone.
About an hour into the flight, the plane suddenly began experiencing extreme turbulence. The pilot announced that everyone should fasten their seat belts and remain calm, as they had encountered rough weather. Some people began crying and the man was sweating and clenching his seat as tightly as he could, and exclaim Oh my God! with each increasingly violent shake of the plane. Meanwhile, the little girl was sitting quietly beside him in her seat. Incredibly, she didn't seem worried at all. The pilot came on a few minutes later to apologize for the uncomfortable ride and to announce that they would be landing soon. As the plane began its descent, the man said to the little girl, “You are just a little girl, but I have never met a braver person in all my life! Tell me, dear, how is it that you remained so calm while all of us adults were so afraid?” Looking him in the eye, she said, “My father is the Pilot, and he is taking me home." Let us approach Jesus with the same strong faith in His ability and availability to calm the storms in our life. It is the presence of Jesus which gives us peace even in the worst situations: times of sorrow, doubt, tension and uncertainty, when we are overwhelmed with anxiety and dread, filled with anger and despair, or struggling with temptations. Storms reveal to us our weakness, or inability to save ourselves and lead us to rely on the infinite ability of God to rescue us. When we take notice of Jesus in our turbulent times, we find that we gain strength to do the seemingly impossible. St. Mary MacKillop whose feast is on 8th August, had this most extraordinary trust in the providence of God. The deep relationship that St Mary of the Cross had with Jesus Christ led her to face her many situations of heartache and disappointment with an amazing attitude of hope and perseverance. Her faith did not only encourage her to face whatever needed to be faced but also to overcome the difficulties. Our 25th anniversary of the parish in 2020 will be well remembered as the year when, as a result of the COVID- 19 corona virus, our churches were closed for a significant period of time and we learnt new ways to connect with each other and to nourish and grow our faith and our relationship with our loving God. Thank you, all dear parishioners, for your support and love towards our parish family. Happy feast day to all ...... Following on from the Newsletter note a couple of weeks ago, this week we convened the first Working Group meeting to consider the proposal for the closer collaboration between the Birkdale and Alexandra Hills Capalaba parishes. The meeting was an open and frank conversation with robust discussion on the topic. The outcome of the meeting is that we need to gather more information and ensure that we are considering the best option, so that we might deliver a considered recommendation for the right way to move forward in the region. Overall, it was a very positive session with a lot of talking and a lot of listening. The next Working Group meeting will be in three weeks’ time. Feel free to engage with our parish representatives (Chris Mahoney and Steve Kemp) if you would like to know more. Blessings, Fr. Dantus Thottathil.
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