Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (CACS)'s Podcast
The Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (CACS) is a centre for research and formation that promotes spiritual formation and renewal, drawing on the rich resources of the venerable Carmelite tradition.
It is an apostolate of the Anglo-Irish Province of the Discalced Carmelites, based at the Carmelite Priory at Boars Hill, Oxford, England.
OUR MISSION
CACS strives to achieve its mission through structured study and formation programmes in spirituality from the Carmelite perspective, especially Prayer and Spiritual Direction. At the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality, you are welcome to enter into the silence where God’s voice is heard in prayer, word and sacrament, inviting you to journey ever more deeply into a place of growth and wholeness. Our goal is to bring people to experience a life-transforming friendship with God through a lived experience of Carmelite spirituality that is authentic to its biblical roots.
Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality (CACS)'s Podcast
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
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SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR A
Word & Wisdom is a weekly reflection on the Sunday’s scriptures and the wisdom of the Carmelite tradition. It promises to offer you real spiritual food to sustain you on the journey.
This Word and Wisdom Podcast is brought to you by the Centre for Applied Carmelite Spirituality, Oxford (carmelite.uk.net).
To receive audio and written copies, subscribe by emailing podcasts@cacs.org.uk
To connect with our Living Prayer Podcast on Youtube, kindly click: https://www.youtube.com/@CACSOxford
Today, the liturgy shifts our gaze from the hidden life of Jesus to the moment his public mission begins. We stand on the bank of the Jordan with John the Baptist, who sees Jesus approaching and utters words that have echoed through centuries. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
We hear these words at every Mass, but do we really hear the paradox they carry? Our first reading provides the backdrop. God speaks to these servants. You are my servant in whom I shall be glorified.
In the darkness of exile, God promises these servants a mission that is not merely local but cosmic, to be a light to the nations. In the Jewish context, this creates a riddle. The Messiah was expected to be the Lion of the tribe of Judah, bringing political emancipation.
Yet, Isaiah describes a suffering servant. The New Testament unites these seemingly opposing metaphors. Jesus is the Lion of Judah because he is the Lamb of God.
Victory through the mystery of sacrifice becomes discernible. Saint Edith Stein, the great Jewish convert and martyr, understood that true reconciliation is not found in the ritual slaughter of goats and boars. She saw that salvation lies in the will of a true Paschal Lamb.
God desires a heart willing to yield unreservedly. She writes that to follow this Lamb is to mount the cross. The Psalmist's cry, Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will, is not a whisper of resignation.
It is a battle cry. It is the decision to obey the Father's will, even when it leads to the death of our ego. This is a path to victory over the vices that threaten peace in our families, our world, and even in our church today.
Saint Paul's letter to the Corinthian church reminds us that we are called to take our place among the saints. When the world points us towards greed, dominance, division, hypocrisy and lies, John invites us to simply behold the Lamb and follow wherever He leads. In the way of perfection, Saint Teresa of Avila advises, I am not asking you now to think of Him.
I am asking you only to look at Him. To look at Him is to admire in that pure gaze what we are not, and to see how we ought to respond to the demands of every relationship. Through this mutual gaze, Christ imbues our souls with the freedom to navigate our sinful proclivities.
This is the essence of Eucharistic spirituality. Every moment can be enriching if we quiet our inner emotions to heed the Baptist's call. And each time we behold the sacred horse, to not just see a piece of bread, behold the servant of Isaiah, the light of the nations.
Behold the psalmist who says, Yea, I am Lord, I come to do your will. Behold the lion who conquered death by refusing to return its violence. In that little horse is the solution to all the problems of the world, says Pope John Paul II.
Behold Him and become what you adore.