Wishing all who have visited this blog over that last few months God's blessings this Christmas. I will remember you all at Mass in the coming days.
This is a frantic time of the year for all. For those of us in ministry there are many extra pressures. From school plays to, confessions, to sick calls; it is important to cover all bases. It is also a time of the year when we try to put the best foot forward when it comes to the preaching. At Christmas many people who rarely hear the preached Word come to Church. It is a time to preach Christ to a fresh audience almost. The Christmas story is so vivid, so powerful, so holy that it captures the imagination of young and old. If it were to remain in the realm of the fairly tale, however, it could lose some of its awesome power. I think the most important message to convey at Christmas is the fact that what we talk about is real. Matthew begins his account of the Nativity "This is how Jesus Christ came to be born". He is recounting something that happened; an event in time. In the Holy Mass we come face to face with the exact same Jesus that was born in Bethlehem. We adore the exact same Jesus who was to die and the Cross. We worship and love He who sits at the right hand of the Father in Glory - God with us - here and now.
The power of the Christian message is that we preach what we have seen with our own eyes and have experienced ourselves. This Christmas there is an opportunity to proclaim the greatness of God all over again. Our witness is the same as Christian witness has been since the beginning: Hodie Christus natus est pro nobis! Today Christ is born for us! We have seen His glory.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
4th Sunday of Advent
Mt 1:18-24
"Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as you wife."
St Joseph is a remarkable character. Not one word of his is uttered in the scriptures. After the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke we hear nothing more about him. Still he has managed to be a source of great devotion over the centuries. He is inextricably linked to the story of the Nativity. He is Mary's wife and the protector of the Holy Family. His life is thrown upside down at the Annunciation as much as Mary's is. Just like Mary he had to trust in the will of God; and after being reassured took Mary home as his wife.
St Joseph, I think, is a model for us at this moment in history. Here in Ireland, we have had a momentous year; and not always for positive reasons. There is a great sense of foreboding as we face the future. The world has not ended, and most people get on with their lives, but there is a general feeling of unease and disappointment in the ether. Of course this is not helped by the a constant bombardment of grave and serious news in the general media; 'it has never been as bad', 'it is going to get worse'.
What has this to do with St Joseph and the forth Sunday of Advent? Well, allot, it could be argued. Without any deep exegesis on the meaning of words, I would like to share with you my take on what is happening in the Gospel. St Joseph is terrified. All the social conventions and mores are clicking into place, because the woman he is hoping to spend the rest of his life with is pregnant; and all he knows is - he has nothing to do with it. Even if he is a man of honour he wants to run. The Angel in the dream reassures him and he stays.
If we as preachers believe in God-with-us, we have to reassure those to whom we speak that this is so. As we approach Christmas, every preacher at every Altar or in every pulpit must scream GOD IS WITH US! And no matter what should happen to us as individuals or as a community this does not change. The new and ever lasting covenant written in the blood of the Lamb is the guarantee of this. As we approach Christmas, this is what we celebrate. It is not a case of the Baby being born again, as if He is not here already. The Word as made flesh, and in that flesh we have become part of God's eternity. St Joseph had to believe that the plan of God unfolding in his life was blessed. He had to trust that what was happening to him was part of the plan God had for him too.
St Joseph was afraid. He was ready to skip town, but the voice of assurance that God was with him gave him strength and courage. May we who believe listen for the voice of the angel and reassure all with whom we share our journey know that the Virgin is with child - God is with us.
"Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary home as you wife."
St Joseph is a remarkable character. Not one word of his is uttered in the scriptures. After the first few chapters of Matthew and Luke we hear nothing more about him. Still he has managed to be a source of great devotion over the centuries. He is inextricably linked to the story of the Nativity. He is Mary's wife and the protector of the Holy Family. His life is thrown upside down at the Annunciation as much as Mary's is. Just like Mary he had to trust in the will of God; and after being reassured took Mary home as his wife.
St Joseph, I think, is a model for us at this moment in history. Here in Ireland, we have had a momentous year; and not always for positive reasons. There is a great sense of foreboding as we face the future. The world has not ended, and most people get on with their lives, but there is a general feeling of unease and disappointment in the ether. Of course this is not helped by the a constant bombardment of grave and serious news in the general media; 'it has never been as bad', 'it is going to get worse'.
What has this to do with St Joseph and the forth Sunday of Advent? Well, allot, it could be argued. Without any deep exegesis on the meaning of words, I would like to share with you my take on what is happening in the Gospel. St Joseph is terrified. All the social conventions and mores are clicking into place, because the woman he is hoping to spend the rest of his life with is pregnant; and all he knows is - he has nothing to do with it. Even if he is a man of honour he wants to run. The Angel in the dream reassures him and he stays.
If we as preachers believe in God-with-us, we have to reassure those to whom we speak that this is so. As we approach Christmas, every preacher at every Altar or in every pulpit must scream GOD IS WITH US! And no matter what should happen to us as individuals or as a community this does not change. The new and ever lasting covenant written in the blood of the Lamb is the guarantee of this. As we approach Christmas, this is what we celebrate. It is not a case of the Baby being born again, as if He is not here already. The Word as made flesh, and in that flesh we have become part of God's eternity. St Joseph had to believe that the plan of God unfolding in his life was blessed. He had to trust that what was happening to him was part of the plan God had for him too.
St Joseph was afraid. He was ready to skip town, but the voice of assurance that God was with him gave him strength and courage. May we who believe listen for the voice of the angel and reassure all with whom we share our journey know that the Virgin is with child - God is with us.
Friday, December 10, 2010
3rd Sunday of Advent
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice!
This is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, meaning 'rejoice ye', comes from the first word of the opening antiphnon of the Mass. St Paul tells us to 'rejoice in the Lord always' and if that was not enough he says 'again I say rejoice!' There is almost a break in the waiting of Advent, so we can jump up an dance around at the thoughts of what we are about to celebrate; the longing is about to be fulfilled - Christ is near. It is fair to say that Christmas looms large on the horizon; not in the cheep commercial sense of 'buy, buy, buy', but the real sense of God is with us!
So what is there to rejoice about? We could ask that question of St John the Baptist in prison. The great Prophet, languishing in his cell, asks of Jesus 'are you the one, or have we to wait for another?' Instead of a straight yes or no, the Lord asks in return 'what have you seen?' and lists out the signs associated with believers. He points out that the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.
The Kingdom is not just announced by rhetoric, the kingdom is proclaimed by the Word which is active. Christ's Kingdom proclaimed makes itself effective. When God created the world He said 'Let there be light!' and there was light. When the Kingdom is proclaimed it is made manifest in the action of believers. The Word also becomes flesh in the way we live.
As we rejoice in the fact that Christ is the one who has come, may our joy be infectious! May we proclaim what we believe in our hearts in the practice of our lives.
This is Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete, meaning 'rejoice ye', comes from the first word of the opening antiphnon of the Mass. St Paul tells us to 'rejoice in the Lord always' and if that was not enough he says 'again I say rejoice!' There is almost a break in the waiting of Advent, so we can jump up an dance around at the thoughts of what we are about to celebrate; the longing is about to be fulfilled - Christ is near. It is fair to say that Christmas looms large on the horizon; not in the cheep commercial sense of 'buy, buy, buy', but the real sense of God is with us!
So what is there to rejoice about? We could ask that question of St John the Baptist in prison. The great Prophet, languishing in his cell, asks of Jesus 'are you the one, or have we to wait for another?' Instead of a straight yes or no, the Lord asks in return 'what have you seen?' and lists out the signs associated with believers. He points out that the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor have the Good News proclaimed to them.
The Kingdom is not just announced by rhetoric, the kingdom is proclaimed by the Word which is active. Christ's Kingdom proclaimed makes itself effective. When God created the world He said 'Let there be light!' and there was light. When the Kingdom is proclaimed it is made manifest in the action of believers. The Word also becomes flesh in the way we live.
As we rejoice in the fact that Christ is the one who has come, may our joy be infectious! May we proclaim what we believe in our hearts in the practice of our lives.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
2nd Sunday of Advent
In his recent post-synodal Apostolic Extortion Verbum Domini, the Holy Father advises and encourages preachers not to give abstract and generic sermons that give more questions than answers. It is an easy trap to fall into; one I find myself tottering into myself. How do we make our sermons concrete? By rooting them in the scriptures, in the context of the lives of the people. In Ireland, for example, there is huge confusion about the future. Politics is in turmoil. Economies seem to be imploding. Society is sick and tired of disappointment. And still, Sunday after Sunday, preachers ascend the mighty steps of the Word of God. May the Holy Spirit always give us the strength, faith, conviction and integrity to make God's mighty deeds know - in so doing grow in discipleship and encourage our brothers and sisters in the faith.
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Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
One of the choirs in the parish sing a very appropriate Advent hymn with a very catchy refrain "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King". Its one of those tunes that gets into the brain, like a mantra, and helps me remember what Advent is all about. In this part of Advent we remember that as Jesus came among us as a man in humility, one day, maybe soon, he will return to judge the living and the dead - and 'all eyes will behold his glory'. There should be nothing abstract about that. The mystery of faith "Christ will come again!"
A brief thought on the 1st reading: Such beautiful thoughts from the Prophet. The child putting its hand in the hole of the snake. The cow and the bear being neighbours. The lion eating straw like the ox. We cannot imagine Heaven, but we can almost imagine these things. Take the Lion, for example, eating straw. A remarkable image, of peace. Not only does the Lion not eat the Ox, he shares in the Ox's meal of straw. Peace, gentleness, kindness are all Heavenly. And the thing is they are all around us if we have the faith to see and the courage to live them.
On the Gospel: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make His paths straight. In order for us to let Christ our light enter into our hearts: what bends do we have to take out of the roads? In my part of the country the local council spends a lot of time and effort taking corners of roads to make them safe and to help the free flow of traffic. Some bends can be so big that large vehicles cannot get through. Imagine if the Lord's train could not get round the bends of our hearts; would he have to turn back? He is knocking. Do we let him in?
******************
Soon and very soon we are going to see the King!
One of the choirs in the parish sing a very appropriate Advent hymn with a very catchy refrain "Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King". Its one of those tunes that gets into the brain, like a mantra, and helps me remember what Advent is all about. In this part of Advent we remember that as Jesus came among us as a man in humility, one day, maybe soon, he will return to judge the living and the dead - and 'all eyes will behold his glory'. There should be nothing abstract about that. The mystery of faith "Christ will come again!"
A brief thought on the 1st reading: Such beautiful thoughts from the Prophet. The child putting its hand in the hole of the snake. The cow and the bear being neighbours. The lion eating straw like the ox. We cannot imagine Heaven, but we can almost imagine these things. Take the Lion, for example, eating straw. A remarkable image, of peace. Not only does the Lion not eat the Ox, he shares in the Ox's meal of straw. Peace, gentleness, kindness are all Heavenly. And the thing is they are all around us if we have the faith to see and the courage to live them.
On the Gospel: Prepare a way for the Lord. Make His paths straight. In order for us to let Christ our light enter into our hearts: what bends do we have to take out of the roads? In my part of the country the local council spends a lot of time and effort taking corners of roads to make them safe and to help the free flow of traffic. Some bends can be so big that large vehicles cannot get through. Imagine if the Lord's train could not get round the bends of our hearts; would he have to turn back? He is knocking. Do we let him in?
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