Learning from the sparrows

 

Article by Father Jonathan E Moore - LINK HERE

12th Sunday of the Year 2026

"Learning from the Sparrows"

Do the names Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja mean anything to you? Maybe not, but I’ll bet you there are a lot of people in this country who envy them. According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Messrs Hinduja, with a personal fortune of £38 billion are the richest men  in Britain!  In everyday speech, it would be said that the Hinduja brothers  are “worth more” than anyone else  in these islands. Now I don't know them, so it would be quite wrong for me to express any opinion as to their characters and personal lives. Many very wealthy people are exceedingly generous to charity and provide employment and educational opportunities for thousands of people, so I say “Good luck”  to them, and wish them well. But there is a question in my mind. Can we really and truly believe that the Hinduja brothers, because of their £38billion, are “worth more” than anyone else? Does lots of money give someone more worth than a police Officer doing his duty, a busy nurse in A and E, an Aid Worker in Africa, or a Contemplative Sister who spends her entire life praying and doing penance for others? Are they “worth more” than a poor baby in a South American shanty town, or an elderly dementia patient in a Nursing Home? Of course not! Yet if we aren't careful, we can find ourselves increasingly inclined to believe it. 

This highlights one of the great obstacles to spiritual growth in every age. As human beings, we are much inclined to define and value ourselves and others by what we have, what we do, and what we get. Having, doing and getting are the standards by which a materialistic society judges. “A spiritual person” says Saint Paul, “can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others”  (1 Corinthians 2:15). To live a spiritual life means to see as God sees. In the Old Testament, the Lord God told Samuel: “Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). Anyone who wishes to follow in God’s path must accept the need to set aside the “getting, doing and having” mentality. The priest who brought me into the Catholic Church, the late Father Patrick O’Hanlon, used to warn repeatedly against what he termed “The false maxims of the world.” The worth of every single human person, the value of every single human life springs from nothing other than who we are, and who we are is the Children of God. When we encounter distractions in prayer, or disturbances of the heart or mind, don't they almost always come from that “getting, doing, having” mentality? Yet how often do we simply sit down and thank God for who we are, and what we are: “Thank you, God, that I am alive, and thank you for the life you have given me.” 

At this time of the year, I enjoy watching baby birds in my garden. Just off the nest, able to fly on their own, they explore the garden, and just love it! Everything is new, everything is exciting, and they behave as though everything existed just for them. Their lives are so much shorter and uncertain than ours, and perhaps it is for that very reason that they just love  being alive. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that not one of those tiny balls of fluff and feathers is insignificant in the Father’s eyes. Better still, He reassures us  that we’re worth more than hundreds of sparrows. 

If we are worth more than hundreds of sparrows, ought we not to be enjoying the simple fact of being alive hundreds of times more than they do? St. Ignatius Loyola can teach us a lot about this. In his Spiritual Exercises he recommends what he calls a “Daily Examen”. Rather than thinking of this as an “Examination of Conscience”, we might rather call it an “Examination of Consciousness”. Every day, pause in the presence of God and reflect on your attitudes and feelings. What is helping you on your journey towards God, and what is hindering? Maybe the "Getting, having and doing” trap is holding you back. If so, it’s time to start looking through the eyes of God and valuing yourself and others for who you are. Be warned, however, that “Getting, doing and having” is habit-forming. The habit can take a lot of breaking, but it has to be done. Saint Teresa of Avila tells us categorically that we must pass through what she calls “The Room of Self-knowledge” (“The Interior Castle” Ch 2) before we can make what Dag Hammerskold described as “The longest journey, the journey inwards of him who has chosen his destiny, and who has started on his quest for the source of his being.” (“Markings”)

The journey towards self-knowledge will involve humiliation, failure, often a sense of guilt, and a lessening of self-confidence. If we are to persevere on the journey, it's essential we understand that we don't have to “make ourselves worthy” in God’s eyes because He already values us beyond measure. Neither do we have to try and “redeem ourselves” because Jesus is our Redeemer. 

“What does it profit a man,” asked Jesus, “to gain the whole world and lose his own self?” (Mark 8:36) 

God has given you the precious gift of life, don’t waste it chasing after rubbish. Live every day with joy and gratitude. Learn from the sparrows!