Padre Pio Parish Glenmore Park

Before I use public toilets I have a major dilemma. It takes me a few minutes to decide which of the 5 cubicles would be the least used before I would enter one. So I walk in and I think maybe the furthest one away will be the least used. But maybe there are others like me who also think this, so the second last might be the least used. Maybe others also reach this conclusion so I decide on the middle one. But perhaps everyone reaches the same selection and choose the middle cubicle. (This decision is further compounded if the toilets have even number of cubicles). I have a complicated process decision making to go through before settling on which one I will utilise and enter that one. Even door handles are opened with a tissue, such is my OCD in relation to hygiene and public toilets. But when it comes to shaking hands I never think twice.

“No minister will ever get close to a person who he is unwilling to physically touch. If you are not willing to touch a homeless person, or an alcoholic, or a terribly dirty person, you psychologically are unwilling to minister to them.” These are the words of an eminent psychologist, Dr Charles Gerkin of Emory Divinity School. His student, Larry Daniel, who became minister of First United Methodist Church in Murray Kentucky, learnt this lesson the hard way in 1988 when one of his church members was diagnosed with AIDS. He had gone to the hospital to visit with the sick man and the nurse advised him to put on rubber gloves before entering the room. He did. The sick man was so happy to see his pastor and immediately extended his hands in welcome. But when the pastor extended his own hands all he saw was the latex gloves. Instantly the initial feeling of joy and comfort turned into that of embarrassment for both of them. The pastor apologised. In future trips to the hospital he wore no gloves. “I simply felt that I could not be Christ’s representative in that situation,” he later explained, “unless there was direct touch contact.”

I feel very annoyed to know that some churches are making changes to the way they worship together on the basis of their paranoia created by the sporadic cases of “swine flu” identified throughout the world. By giving in to prevalent hysteria they are expressing a certain fear which is unworthy of a Christian. I saw at one church that a person’s outstretched hand offered at the “sign of peace” was declined by the fellow worshipper who kept his arms firmly behind his back. For a person who trusts in God, fear is an unworthy emotion. To imagine that sickness and death could come from the contact offered by a fellow Christian is to believe the power of sin to be stronger than God’s power.

Touching, like hugging and other forms of gentle, direct bodily contact, express love and acceptance of the other person in ways that words cannot. Touching is two-way traffic; it affects both the person touched and the person doing the touching. Traditional societies regulated touching by making rules regarding who and what could or could not be touched. It was believed that touching the wrong persons and things would defile the one doing the touching and render him or her “unclean”. According to ancient Jewish ritual law, certain people were in a state of impurity and any person who touched them or anything that had come in contact with them was instantly rendered impure (Leviticus 15:19-30). Holy people such as priests were forbidden to touch dead bodies or they would incur defilement (Leviticus 21:1-12). In the gospels, there are many story of Jesus giving and restoring life by doing exactly what he was not supposed to do, namely, touching and letting himself be touched by those whom the Law had declared unclean and untouchable.

Let us not allow the hysteria of swine flu destroy the neighbourly relations that we enjoy here in Glenmore Park.

Today, John Meighan (the foreman) took myself and Bill Hardy to the top of the church roof to see the panaromic view on offer. This view will be similar to the one you will get from the Campanile (Bell tower) once the church is completed. We are blessed to be part of the project which will give glory to God and stand as a constant reminder to the people of Glenmore Park how much we value our Catholic faith and how central God is to our lives. A church stands as a signpointing to the after-life and symbolises the community who worship there. Many special ceremonies will be held in this church. Many people will be baptised, confirmed, confess their sins and be reconciled with God, married and buried from this building. It will hold special significance with many people from the time it is first opened. That is why I feel particularly privileged to be the parish priest but also see it as an enormous responsibility and honour.

Part of the importance of the church as building is in its prayer space. A building totally dedicated to God and reserved as a place of worship for God, especially one of size and artistic merit says to the surrounding community, "These people really love their God! And they have made a sacrifice to give God His rightful place and glory". Our church is our testimony to our faith which will show future generations the strength of our commitment to our church and Catholic faith.Giving up time to be with the community and to worship God together shows you value your relationship with God and love the people you are with.