Archbishop: Put God first in your lives

ARCHBISHOP Jason Gordon says people need to put God first in their lives and stop placing insignificant things as priorities ahead of God.

He made this comment during Ash Wednesday mas at the Lady of Perpetual Help RC Church, Harris Promenade, San Fernando on March 5.

Gordon told the congregation the next 40 days of Lent was an important time for Catholics to get their priorities right and put God first before anything else in their lives.

"People have lost sense of what their priority really is."

God, he continued, must be the top priority in everyone's lives.

Gordon asked the congregation how many people waste their time on social media, phone calls and idle gossip.

He smiled when several people nodded in agreement or gave a reply of "ouch".

Gordon acknowledged many people try to juggle 1,000 things simultaneously.

He suggested many of those things are unimportant.

"God is not one of ten things on a to-do list."

Gordon said some people say they because they are busy with things in their daily lives, they do not make time to pray.

He smiled again when he saw people in the congregation agreeing with him about time for prayer taking precedence over other things.

Gordon said this is why the Bible speaks about "seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and all the rest will fall in line."

He repeated, "God has to be first."

Gordon said, "The whole season of Lent is given to us so that we can recognise the truth."

That truth, he continued, is "we have shifted our eyes and ears from God and God is no longer first in our lives."

Gordon asked what is first in people's lives if not God.He suggested people are allowing their egos to push God into the background of their lives.

Gordon said when ego is filling the space meant to be occupied by God, people are "not loving and kind"

He added this is what is being witnessed in recent times.

Gordon made no specific reference to any event.

He said ego is filling that space and when that happens, there is no room for God."

While describing Lent as a season of grace in the life of the church, he said this year is particularly important because it is a jubilee year.

Pope Francis has declared 2025 a jubilee year for the Catholic Church.

A jubilee year is traditionally proclaimed by the church every 25 years.

The most recent ordinary jubilee was in 2000, with Pope Francis calling for an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015-2016.

jubilee years have been held at regular intervals in the Catholic Church since the 1300's.

Gordon said prayer is an essential part of Lent.

He also urged people to set aside some money during Lent and when enough has been saved, give it to the poor.