Solemnity of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

"This is the sign: a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes"

In the village of Tyrrellspass, Co Westmeath (Ireland) there is a statue. It was erected in 1970 by a committee formed to commemorate the struggle for Irish independence in the opening decades of the twentieth century. At the time there was much debate about the shape, style and size of the monument. Some wanted a war memorial of some sort, others a large Celtic cross or another symbol evocative of Ireland. The monument was to be worthy of the memory of all who died and at the same time one that would remind future generations of the difficult history of the nation. The result of the deliberations was quiet unique, quite special. It was decided that a sculpture was to be commissioned of three little children. They were to stand together, facing slightly to the east. A small inscription was placed near by which read "to the men and women of Westmeath and Offaly who fought for Irish freedom" and on an other plaque "so that future generations of Irishmen [and women] could be free". The children symbolised freedom, hope for the future and at the same time reminding all who look at the statute of the sacrifice made by the children of another generation.

Today [this night] we celebrate the birth of a Child. Not just any child but the Son of the Most High God, Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is 'God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, consubstantial with the Father'. We celebrate the birth of a little baby in Bethlehem, who was born not just to free future generations, but all. Christ's birth begins the final chapter of our true liberation, which comes to its completion in the Pascal mystery. Our Savior is a baby, our Savior is a child.

What difference does it make? All the difference in the world. What did He free us from, the world is as bad as it ever was? Why did he waste His time?

Jesus came, was born, suffered, died and rose again because He loved me! Amazing as it sounds, God became man because He Loved me! Just think, it happened for me!! And why? Because without Him I am a slave. Without Jesus I am not free, I am hemmed in by so much. His presence has made the difference, His life and death has given meaning to everything - to love, to life, to death. God has taken them all to Himself and has made them holy. Because God is there everything and everyone has value. Not only did he come in the flesh, He willing died on the Cross, taking to Himself all that binds us. This child was born, if you like, to die.

What did He free us from? I would say three things, there maybe more, but broadly speaking three things. Firstly, SIN. Sin is what makes us miserable, because when we sin we cut ourselves off from God and each other - and whether we like it or not, the place is full of it. But we are not slaves to sin, we can choose which way to go. Jesus gives us the freedom to see what is sin and the strength to avoid it.

The second thing is fear. We sin. We make mistakes and we have regrets, some which can be carried for a life time. Fear of our past, fear for the future, fear for our loved ones. Without Christ fear would be irresistible. Jesus' love casts out fear, because we are not alone in the darkness of this world. "Even if I should walk in the the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear, for you are there with your crook and your staff with these you give me comfort." Christ has brought the reign of fear to a close. Just like your mother or father turning on a light on a dark and stormy night Jesus very presence gives us light and comfort. I am not afraid of my self, my mistakes, my weakness, because Jesus is with me.

The third thing He frees us from is death. His Sacrifice has brought life in abundance. I know many in our parishes have experienced bereavement in the last year. Christmas can bring the pain of loss into very sharp focus. Our loved ones are not with us to celebrate as we always did, and we miss them. The little Baby, frees us from death. His life has stolen death of its sting. We often think about this at Easter, but in these days, it is as important. We will see our loved ones again. As the Church on earth celebrates Christmas, the Church in Heaven also rejoices. The Church in Purgatory looks longingly towards the end of that journey knowing much better than we do that the 'promises of the Lord have been fulfilled'. Jesus is life in all its fullness and gives it to us today.

The statue of the children in Tyrrelspass was erected to remind children yet unborn of the price paid for freedom - that future generations of Irish people would be free. The Child of Bethlehem brings a greater freedom than the founders of the state could even imagine. This Christmas, let us stand tall, facing the East where the 'loving kindness of the heart of our God, who visits us like the dawn from on high'. Christmas reminds us of what Christ has done for us. 'Freed from fear and from the hands of our foes let us humbly rejoice....CHRISTUS NATUS EST PRO NOBIS.....Christ is born for us. Alleluia!

4th Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:26-38

The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God's favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.' Mary said to the angel, 'But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?' 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you' the angel answered 'and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God. Know this too: your kinswoman Elizabeth has, in her old age, herself conceived a son, and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible to God' 'I am the handmaid of the Lord,' said Mary 'let what you have said be done to me.' And the angel left her.

The Angel left her. 

We can get very excited this time of year about 'the meaning of Christmas', and even though liturgically it is not the Season of the Nativity yet, there is no avoiding the fact; it is Christmasy! At this time many Church people bemoan the fact the feast of the Lord's birth has been hijacked by the commercial word. At best the Christ has been reduced to the sideline, at worst Christmas has been reduced to a mid winter festival when we can eat, and be merry with no reflection on the mystery itself. I have a slightly different take on it. For me, it does not matter a bit what the 'world' celebrates. It does not bother me if the place is falling down with Christmas lights, that people go crazy buying gifts, putting themselves under awful pressure and hardship - for me, what we will celebrate in the coming days is the cause of great joy and happiness, it is impossible for the crassness and superficiality of much of what goes on to eclipse the 'true meaning of Christmas.' And it all starts in today's Gospel.

"The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary". What an event! The Annunciation (not to be confused with the Immaculate Conception, which lots of folks do) begins the Good News of Jesus Christ. Before He is even born, before He says a word in the human language The Word speaks to us. 'The Word was made flesh' and even before His birth 'we see His glory.

Mary is asked to be the mother of God and there is the remarkable dialogue with the Angel Gabriel. 'How can this come about?', says Mary. 'God will do it', says the Angel. 'I will do it' says Mary. And the Angel left her. The Angel left her! She had just agreed to be the Mother of God, to conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Angel left her! Of all times in history when an angel should have stayed around the place, he is gone. Mary was left alone. But was she? The Power of the Most High had covered her with His shadow, and what happened: The Word was made flesh and lived among us. The Angel was gone; but already Christ was there. The Angel left her,  but even before he had vanished Mary's savior, Mary's Lord, Mary's God, Mary's Son was with her. "Blessed be the fruit of thy womb."

We can get very excited about the way the world celebrates Christmas. To me, its not worth a fight. As Christians we celebrate that God is with us. In a world that can be fearful and full of danger and anxiety, the Word was made flesh and lives among us. Let us pray for Mary's faith; the Angel seems to leave us alone, may we always trust that God is with us. The tree will go, the lights will be put way, the presents will be opened and forgotten; but the Word of God lasts forever. Come Lord Jesus.

3rd Sunday in Advent (B)

I am so sorry for not putting as much diligence into the blog in recent weeks.
Hopefully I am back on track as of now!!
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3rd Sunday of Advent: Gaudate!

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.

This is how John appeared as a witness. When the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, 'Who are you?' he not only declared, but he declared quite openly, 'I am not the Christ'. 'Well then,' they asked 'are you Elijah?' 'I am not' he said. 'Are you the Prophet?' He answered, 'No'. So they said to him, 'Who are you? We must take back an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say about yourself?' So John said, 'I am, as Isaiah prophesied:

a voice that cries in the wilderness:
Make a straight way for the Lord'.

Now these men had been sent by the Pharisees, and they put this further question to him, 'Why are you baptising if you are not the Christ, and not Elijah, and not the prophet?' John replied, 'I baptise with water; but there stands among you - unknown to you - the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap'. This happened at Bethany, on the far side of the Jordan, where John was baptising.


Rejoice!

If you live in Ireland, or nearly everywhere in the West in these days, you may ask yourself, what is there to rejoice about. What is there to be happy and jumping about, because the entire outlook is so bleak. It is as if the world is ending, the worst is yet to come, brace yourself for a storm, all the clichés are dished out with relish. The truth of the matter is, we have been like this for the last four years. I came across a little play we put on in the parish four Christmases ago, 2007. I was shocked! The same things we are talking about now were in the lines of that short sketch. Fear about jobs, fear about mortgages, fear about it all. Did you notice that all this fear has one thing in common? There is a thread that unites it all; money! The fear that is projected that we are all supposed to be crippled by is economics. It is as if the only way that we can be happy is by having a healthy bank balance and when that is sorted, all is sorted.  Yes it is true that one of the most serious causes of stress is money; if you have money worries yourself, you know exactly what that means. Sleepless nights, endless calculations and recalculations, hoping the books will balance. However a bit of perspective can help us find the balance between genuinely worried about what we need to survive and what is 'unnecessary anxiety' - a phrase some colleagues were fond of using, after the Our Father in the 'old dispensation'!

John gives us perspective. The Gospel begins :

'A man came, sent by God.

His name was John.

He came as a witness,

as a witness to speak for the light,

so that everyone might believe through him.

He was not the light,

only a witness to speak for the light.'

John came to proclaim his baptism of repentance. He did such a good job, caused such a stir that people had all kinds of ideas about him. Was he the Christ, was he the prophet? Who is this man that has captivated so many. You cant really blame the people. They were so much talk in the air about the coming Messiah, they would have been delighted to have been put out of their anxiety and claim to have seen the Christ. But John says no, I am not he. I am not he, but he stands among you, unknown to you. The Christ is here, the one who will take away the sins of the world; not symbolically, but actually. He is  here. 

Journeying towards Christmas, many voices cry out. Many voices of gloom and doom, voices of despair and fear of the future. Many will hear only these voices. If you were in the crowd all those years ago and heard them saying John was the Christ, what would you have believed? If they are all saying it, must it not be correct! The same goes today, when I hear voices saying, we are all doomed, the country is ruined, the Church is finished, do I listen to them? Do I allow myself to lift up my head and look around? When I do,  might be very surprised to see the good that surrounds us and the reality of the world may nit be as frightening as I think? 

John pointed to the one who stands among us, unknown. As we continue to journey towards Bethlehem, may the courage of John help us to keep firm in faith and hope to remember Jesus is with us, and journeys with us in trial and triumph. A voice cries "a voice that cries in the wilderness:

Make a straight way for the Lord" . This voice is one of authority and hope, it does not permit it to wallow in self righteousness or self pity. Christ has come and will come. He gives us strength to stand and say though I am not fit to undo his sandal-strap, He will never let me go. Christ is God with us, not God away from us. He strengthens every trembling hand and foot. 

2nd Sunday of Advent (A)

PREPARE A SACRED SPACE

During this time of Advent it is very important that if we are to receive the Word of God, we must make space in our hearts so that our meeting with the Lord can take place. In today’s Gospel the Word of God has the power to surprise and to change us.

We all find change difficult and from experience it does not come easily. We can become very attached and convinced about our own ideas. We have opinions and ideas that are as stubborn as the highest mountains and the rugged cliffs. Unfortunately they block us from hearing the Word of God.

During this period of longing and waiting, let us take time to deepen our understanding of the Word of God so that we may be better able to reflect the light of Christ. May the Advent road lead us to the gift of Christmas.

In the Silence let me hear your Voice

In the Peace let me see your Face.

In the Calm let me know your Love.

Advent 

We have tested and tasted too much, lover-

Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.

But here in the Advent-darkened room

Where the dry black bread and the sugarless tea

Of penance will charm back the luxury

Of a child's soul, we'll return to Doom

The knowledge we stole but could not use.

And the newness that was in every stale thing

When we looked at it as children: the spirit-shocking

Wonder in a black slanting Ulster hill

Or the prophetic astonishment in the tedious talking

Of an old fool will awake for us and bring

You and me to the yard gate to watch the whins

And the bog-holes, cart-tracks, old stables where Time begins.

O after Christmas we'll have no need to go searching

For the difference that sets an old phrase burning-

We'll hear it in the whispered argument of a churning

Or in the streets where the village boys are lurching.

And we'll hear it among decent men too

Who barrow dung in gardens under trees,

Wherever life pours ordinary plenty.

Won't we be rich, my love and I, and

God we shall not ask for reason's payment,

The why of heart-breaking strangeness in dreeping hedges

Nor analyse God's breath in common statement.

We have thrown into the dust-bin the clay-minted wages

Of pleasure, knowledge and the conscious hour-

And Christ comes with a January flower.

Patrick Kavanagh

1st Sunday of Advent (A)

Mark 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: 'Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come. It is like a man travelling abroad: he has gone from home, and left his servants in charge, each with his own task; and he has told the doorkeeper to stay awake. So stay awake, because you do not know when the master of the house is coming, evening, midnight, cockcrow, dawn; if he comes unexpectedly, he must not find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake!'

So the wait has begun again. Year after year the journey to the 25^th of December kicks off with the first Sunday of Advent. Churches and chapels all over the place don the purple, the wreath is decorated and lit and some of the most beautiful liturgical music echoes throughout the world. Advent is a beautiful season. The Gospel is however hard hitting “Be on your guard, stay awake, because you never know when the time will come…so stay awake”

Advent prepares us for Christmas, true. Despite the activity that has become a hall mark of this time of the year, the Church invites us all to stop and think. Christ will indeed come at the end of time, but he breaks into our lives in many many ways. What are we waiting for? Christ will of course come at the end of time to judge the living and the dead and ‘all eyes will see Him.’ He comes, however, day after day in the mystery of our lives and our relationships. He comes to us in the face of friend and stranger.

A few weeks ago we celebrated the feast of St Martin of Tours – his conversion story is very well known. When he was a soldier in the Roman army, during the depth of winter he met a beggar. Feeling sorry for him he divided his great cloak, gave it to the poor man and went on his way. That night he dreamed of Christ. He saw the Lord in the face of person he helped. Christ had broken into his life and he was changed forever.

The Liturgy reminds the Church at the beginning of the season of the urgency of the Gospel. It gives us a reminder that a response to the call of the Lord cannot be put off for some future date. It is easy to say to ourselves “there is time, I will change tomorrow”. Every moment of every day gives us opportunities to meet and experience Christ. The end will come and we will see the Lord face to face; before we do, however, we will have plenty of practice. We will have our lines of greetings well learned of; for we will have met him already. If we do not recognize Him now, will we when he returns in glory?

31st Year of Ordinary Time Year A

Addressing the people and his disciples Jesus said, 'The scribes and the Pharisees occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do what they tell you and listen to what they say; but do not be guided by what they do: since they do not practise what they preach. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but will they lift a finger to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing broader phylacteries and longer tassels like wanting to take the place of honour at banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted obsequiously in the market squares and having people call them Rabbi.

'You, however, must not allow yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one master, and you are all brothers. You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will exalted.

We have just completed the first Presidential Election in Ireland in fourteen years. For many people it is the first one they can remember. In the process seven candidates put themselves before the people as potential holders of the most senior position in the land. Seven people put their lives before the electorate in the hope of being selected and each of them had a grueling time. Private details of family and business were explored and examined, and for some of them the experience was to say the very least difficult. Only one could be chosen and after all the campaigning, canvasing and debating the election is over. Only one could be chosen; for the next seven years Mr Michael D. Higgins will be President of Ireland.

Now taking the personalities out of the equation, the entire business of picking a new president was a remarkable business. Some candidates has posters, smiling effigies of would be leaders peering from lamp posts and bridges, everywhere smiling, everywhere presenting themselves as someone to trust, someone to be trusted in. Others sent letters, their faces beaming from the glossy publications, explaining in detail what they wanted us to accept and vote on. There was never a question of a doubt about their ability to be Head of State, what they had on offer made perfect sense. At the end of the day one had to be chosen, obviously the one in the post box or looking in your window from the close by street lamp was the obvious choice. At any given moment there were seven obvious choices for the prized 'No 1' in our prized proportional representation. If not father, teacher or rabbi - they all wished to be called President. 

I cannot help but draw parallels to what I have seen and heard in the last few weeks with the Word of God today. In an election everything is done to attract attention. Be it complaining about the age of one or the record in public life of another, it was most important to be seen and heard, so that the voter will have been attracted to attention. Nice ties and impressive designer dresses, take the place of broader phylacteries and longer tassels. Being greeted obsequiously in the market squares took place in schools and active retirement groups. It did not matter who you talked to once it looked good, garnering another few votes as you move along. 

The Gospel today points to a different way or style when it comes to leadership. Jesus says that to put yourself in the first place can be a dangerous business. Anyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will exalted. To attempt to put yourself in the first place runs the risk of disappointment when the self delusion we create for ourselves turns out to be a bottle of smoke. Every misjudgement, every error, every sin of your life is on display for the whole nation to see.

 No one going for election feels they are not worthy of the post they look for. Despite all the talk of being servants of the people, it is obvious that a candidate must always put them selves forward with confidence. Jesus says 'the greatest among you must be your servant.'  Not just in talk but in action. As a nation reflects, we have a chance to ask the very basic question of ourselves 'am I at peace with myself so that humbled or exalted, because I have always done what was right? if we all lived for the other, how great a world we would have - everyone at the service of everyone else. The crazy thing is that it is possible - only thing it costs and the cost can only be paid in one currency - humility. Rare stuff and like cod liver oil - often hard to take. We have only one master and you are all brothers and sisters. May Jesus give us the grace to be like Him and create a world fit for his Kingdom.

Mission Sunday

Gospel proposed by the Irish Episcopal Conference for Mission Sunday 2011

Matthew 9: 1-8

He got back in the boat, crossed the water and came to his home town. And suddenly some people brought him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'Take comfort, my child, your sins are forgiven.' And now some scribes said to themselves, 'This man is being blasphemous.' Knowing what was in their minds Jesus said, 'Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts? Now, which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"? But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- then he said to the paralytic-'get up, pick up your bed and go off home.' And the man got up and went home. A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for having given such authority to human beings.

Homily given at Confirmation preparation Mass:

An important part of our faith is our relationship with the Saints. Most days of the year there is a specific saint celebrated, an we called these days feast days. Some of these days we know well, for example March 17th is St Patrick's Day, December 26th is the day of St Stephen. If your school is dedicated to a saint or blessed their feast day is usually marked by a special celebration. November 1st is a holy day when we remember All Saints. When you celebrate Confirmation you will take a new name and normally that name is the name of a saint whose story you will learn. I took Martin after St Martin de Porres. He was a Dominican saint from Peru and when I was growing up my mother had great devotion to him. His picture was in our home, he was like a special friend to us, so I took his name and to this day I often feel he is with me in my life.

Why are we so interested in saints? Obviously enough they are close to God. They lived such good lives  in response to their faith, the Church can confidently say they are in Heaven, praying for us and guiding us in our lives. But even more than that the saints are ordinary people, just like us, who were so caught up in their love of God their entire lives were changed by it. They give us an example of how to live as we should and show us that by being close to God - by giving their entire lives to following Jesus - they learned what it really means to be happy. Not only that, being so close to God they were able to help others to come to know Him making Heaven visible all around them. But the Saints are ordinary people just like us. They struggled and sinned as we all do, but being completely open to God, they did not let weakness stop them growing closer to Him. Every saint has a story that we can learn from. There are two I really like.

Once there was a name named Ignatius. He was a young Spanish noble, who dreamed of being a great warrior. In a battle one day he was injured and was forced to spend a long time in hospital. Lying there for days and days, he had nothing to do but think. There were a few books in the place so to pass the time he read them. Some of them were stories of great heroes and battles. He would read them and picture the scenes. He would imagine himself in the stories and pretend he was receiving the glory of the people described. Then he would get bored and put the book away. One day he was given another book, a story book version of the life of Jesus. He started to imagine those scenes, putting himself in the crowd. He began to notice that when he thought of these things he never got bored, in fact he noticed that they made him feel very happy; the more he thought about them, the more he wanted to think about them. Eventually he realised the other stories were of no interest to him at all. All he wanted to think about was Jesus, because it made him happy. He got better, but instead of returning to war, after a long journey, he became a priest and founded one of the great orders in the Church - the Jesuits.

Another story is about a young girl called Therese. When she was young all she wanted to be was a nun, and not just any nun, a Carmelite nun. These nuns lived in a special convent called an enclosure. They never left the convent spending their lives praying, working and thinking about God. One day the superior asked her to write down all she could about her life. She wrote many beautiful things. She wrote that she wanted to do all kinds of things for God. She wanted to go to far away countries to tell everyone about God, she wanted to be a martyr - that means she wanted to die proclaiming the faith- she wanted to do all kinds of things. She realised, however, that God had not called her to do any of this. He wanted her to do one thing - He wanted her to love. He wanted her to be love for everyone around her, and if she was to do this she would change the world. And she did.


The men in the Gospel had faith and they carried their friend to Jesus and they were all changed. All the people praised God when they saw what happened. Not everyone was happy though, some grumbled and complained.

Just like St Ignatius and St Therese, if we allow Jesus into our lives we will be like the people in the Gospel who praised God. We will not be grumblers, there are enough of them in the world.    We call ourselves Christians. When you receive Confirmation you will stand before all the people in the world with a new name; but more that that you will stand before the whole world with a new power in your life that will change you - if you let it! You will be a witness to the greatness of God - if you allow God into your life. If you allow the Spirit to mold you into a genuine follower of Jesus you will be really happy - even when things go wrong. Seeing you people will give praise to God and will desire to have what you have. There is nothing as powerful as a smiling Christian; unfortunately it's a rare commodity! On this Mission Sunday may we let that power shine in our lives and on our faces and witness our world change around us.

29th Sunday of Ordinary Time year A

Render God's unto God.


The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius and he said, ‘Whose head is this? Whose name?’ ‘Caesar’s’ they replied. He then said to them, ‘Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.'

Looking at the protests throughout the world in the last few hours, one cannot but be forced to think about where we are going in the world. Young people, the disaffected and protesters of all kinds (not excluding people who may not have the best interests of society at heart) have taken to the streets protesting against corporate greed and government austerity. A cry seems to echo a voice from people on the ground concerning the state the world is in. It is hard to imagine it is 2008 when the whole system of the world economy started to shake. I came across a prayer service I used in autumn 2008 recently. The theme was fear and anxiety for the future. Dark clouds were amassing. Little did we know that those clouds were going to get very thick and remain would remain in the sky for a very long time. 

Listening to the news and reading the papers it would be easy to believe that economics was the only subject in the world. Of course it is important, we could not function without money; we have to live and eat. The objection that could be made to all the coverage, however, is that there seems to be nothing else at all in the world.  We have become experts in price. 

I remember going to Rome for the first time. It was in the era just before the introduction of the Euro, so for the first few months there, I had the wonderful experience of the Lira! I kept one note from that time; a fresh green 2000lira bill. I brought it to school one day to show the 1st communion class. I told them about this great amount of money, all 2000 of it, and I asked them to guess how much it was worth in euro, I got all kinds of fantastic guesses. The were a bit disappointed when I told them it was worth about 1.20 euro. Not great on the face of it. 

 Somethings we hold very dear; our families and relationships. Often a position or a job is of huge value to us. A car, a house, a boat - there are endless examples. We hold them and treasure them as rightly we should. All of them, however, in an instant can be taken away from us. When look with thanks to God at all we have, we have to remember everything is a gift. If we can have a spirit of gratitude for all we have received, we will never fall into the trap of putting the gift before the giver. 

There is only one thing that lasts.  St. Theresa of Avila once said: "Let nothing trouble you,let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever possesses God lacks nothing: God alone suffices." As we gather to give thanks, celebrating the Eucharist, may we give to God what is God's. The only thing we can possibly give to God is our thanks and our love; He has no need of it our desire to thank Him is itself His gift, as the liturgy says. When we are thankful to God, we will cheerfully give of all that he has given us. With grateful hearts we will receive the gift of Christ's body and blood and prepare to celebrate God's goodness in heaven.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Sorry to have been out of the loop over the last few weeks!

Matthew 22:1-14

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast for his son's wedding. He sent his servants to call those who had been invited, but they would not come. Next he sent some more servants. "Tell those who have been invited" he said "that I have my banquet all prepared, my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, everything is ready. Come to the wedding." But they were not interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his servants, maltreated them and killed them. The king was furious. He despatched his troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding is ready; but as those who were invited proved to be unworthy, go to the crossroads in the town and invite everyone you can find to the wedding". So these servants went out on to the roads and collected together everyone they could find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. When the king came in to look at the guests he noticed one man who was not wearing a wedding garment, and said to him, "How did you get in here, my friend, without a wedding garment?" And the man was silent. Then the king said to the attendants, "Bind him hand and foot and throw him out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth". For many are called, but few are chosen.'

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Many are called but few are chosen.

The king must have been having a very bad day. No matter what he tried to do things seemed to go from bad to worse. For months, maybe even years, he had been looking forward to this wedding. After all the careful preparation and planning that goes into a royal wedding I am sure he was relishing the opportunity to show off his magnificence and exuberance to all who had been invited to share in the festivities. A royal wedding has the added factors of dynasty and politics at play, the love of the young prince and his betrothed may not have been to the fore of discussion. In fact the Gospel text does not deal with the couple that are getting married at all; it was the king’s day.

So you can imagine how he felt when those who had been invited did not show up. They must have forgotten, reasoned the King, so he sent for them. Hearing the petty excuses, he blows! When he was finished punishing, he had everyone else rounded up, if they liked it or not, and marched into the wedding hall. I feel sorry for the character that did not have his wedding garment? I can picture him being bundled up and herded into the king’s palace. Whether he wanted to or not he was on the move. He had not time to think, never mind to change. Unfortunately for him, it did not matter, he was not as he should have been and was thrown out. Jesus finishes by saying many are called, few are chosen

Its all a bit mad, isn’t it? It makes no sense what. What about the man without the wedding garment? Wasn’t the man good enough as he was, after all the King asked him to come and really he hadn’t much choice? Wasn’t the kings action a bit drastic, throwing him out bound and gagged into the darkness? Stay away from that king, if that’s the way he does his business.

By times the Christian call does indeed seem a bit strange. The way we live and love as followers of Jesus Christ is completely different to the norms and mores of our times. As society shifts away from the Gospel, all the more different and alien a life lived by the Gospel appears.  When you think about it, the Gospel demands a lot. It demands that we put ourselves in the second place, it demands hat we act in such a way as to deny what is often better for ourselves in deference to others. As Christians we are to be faithful in marriage or vows of religion. We are to live chastely when the world around us follows another pattern; one of self-indulgence and relative values.

Why was the man thrown out into the dark? That is a question that requires a deeper exegesis than I could possibly offer; however this is what I think. He came to the feast, you would assume by coercion. Maybe there was another motivation, possibly curiosity, possibly following the crowd? There was a free dinner on offer and when again was he ever going to have the opportunity to eat in the king’s dinning room. Before he knew what was going on he was in the presence of the king. But just maybe, his heart was not in it. He was there just for the sake of being there, rather than to share in what was really going on.

We all have an experience like that from time to time. We go too Mass, celebrate the sacraments, and pray the office or our prayers half-heartedly. We are ‘there’ but ‘we are not there’. The call of faith invites us to a much deeper experience of God than a mere going through the motions. It is no wonder that most of the time people have no idea we are Christian at all. If I am honest with myself can I see in my own life the mark of a disciple?

Many are called but few are chosen. I often lament that many of my own family and friends who call themselves Catholic have no more interest or knowledge of there faith than the man in the moon. The Church provides a service of a birth, deaths and marriage office, with the odd first communion, confirmation and Christmas Day thrown in. If the Church was closed there would be a bit of a fuss, but after a few days there would be no discernable difference in life.  If we are really followers of Jesus our entire life should be a living witness to a living faith. Not only should we ‘turn up’, we should come dressed in the garments of faith hope and love, ready to celebrate every good thing the King has to offer. Our very being should radiate gratitude and love for God and for all His goodness and love.

Sometimes we are miserly with our faith; we keep it in the pantry. It is on the shelf - if we need it. When we finally dip into it, we find a stale taste and throw it out. Faith can only be relished if it is fresh and ripe. When we eat what is fresh and green and succulent we will not be content to eat from tins and jars – we will long for the fresh.

If we accept the invitation to the wedding, regardless of how the invitation is given, we have to choose well. Do we go half-heartedly or do we go fully dressed? If we go grudgingly and get thrown out we will spend our lives complaining and giving out about the nastiness of the King; but if we take up the invitation and go rejoicing our lives will be one long canticle of praise – everyone will know we have been to the best party imaginable – and they too will long for the courts of the Lord.


(Not exactly the Royal wedding in the Gospel, but fantastic music!)

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A

Forgiveness is our call. 

Do you remember where you were on 9/11? its one of those days that has become etched into the mind and heart of history. Two generations ago the question was "do you remember where you were when JFK was assassinated?" in our time the question regularly is "do you remember where you were when you heard about the twin towers?" There then follows a blow by blow account of where you were, what you were at, who you were with. 

I was in Assisi in Italy. I was a seminarian at the time and had just begun studies in Rome. We were bundled off to try and learn Italian in the Umbrian town so much associated with 'pax et bonum'. What I remember about the day was not knowing what had happened. I remember going into a shop, the attendant glued to his radio. It was obvious that something had happened. i could not understand. It was only when I go back to our house did I realise the horror that was unfolding for so many people. I had to see the pictures, it had to be explained to me what had happen - and it was very, very scary,. 

The Gospel today paints pictures. It is as if Jesus is painting us a picture about what he wants us to learn. The huge debt versus the small, the ungrateful servant verses his debtor, the compassion of the master and his justice. Each of the comparisons paint a vivid image. On such a significant day a 9/11, we cannot but face this most difficult teaching of the Lord. 

Forgiveness is not easy, in fact it can be so hard, we can spend a life time held captive by feelings of regret and guilt over the things we have done and failed to do.  In Jesus we have been forgiven. By no merit of our own. We share His life because of his Passion and debt. "How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?" Forgive and be forgiven. 

On 9/11, let us ask God for His all powerful forgiveness to touch the hearts of rulers and nations; may 

the God of mercy and compassion guide us into the way of peace. 

23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time(A)

 Bond on earth, bound in heaven 


Every generation 
Blames the one before 
And all of their frustrations 
Come knocking at your door 


I am not sure if you recognize the words of the song, but it is the opening lines of a one that was very popular a few years ago called The Living Years, and it still gets plenty of play on the radio. I find that songs and poems often put words on things much better than I can. The song is about a man’s realtionship with his father. The father has died, and it seems that there was a troubled relationship between them. The singer reflects on their relationship; their differences; maybe the arguments they had. The lyrics are filled with regret and with sadness. Many things were left unfinished and unspoken between them; he regrets all the things that were not said in the Living Years.  Very ordinary things and unfortunately not that uncommon.

Today’s Gospel is about ordinary life. The very first line Jesus says ‘if your brother or sister does something wrong’. Living as part of a family, as part of the community, we will inevitably face situations where people will do us wrong, and of course, there will be times when we do wrong to others ourselves.

Some of the teachings of the Catholic Church are hard for many to accept. Living in a world that does not prize what we hold dear can make the conflict between the spirit of the Gospel and the spirit of the world, to say the least, challenging. Sometimes the hard teachings are presented as the ones about morality, however I would argue that one of the most difficult teachings of all scarcely gets a mention. It is a part of the faith that is fundamental to what we believe, it almost sums up everything we believe as Christians- what is this teaching? It is one we profess in the Creed every Sunday – and that is – forgiveness. While next Sunday’s Gospel asks how many times we forgive, today we are faced with the challenge living with others.

 When I was growing up, we were, as most children are, taught the Our Father. Every night we said our prayers and the first one was always the Our Father. It roles of the tongue, we know it as well as the ABC. In the prayer Jesus gave us, we always say “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”. We had a neighbor who had a big sign on the gate of one of his fields, that said “NO TRESPASSING”, and I remember thinking that that what the prayer was about. As you get older, of course, you get to understand an bit more – that trespassing is much more than trampling on the grass of a neighbors farm.

The Gospel today, Christ brings us into the mystery of this teaching which any normal person will find difficult at least at some time or another. Jesus gives us a plan to resolve trouble that may occur between people. Go and have it out alone, if that does not work bring two witnesses, if that does not work report it to the community, and after all that, if the person you are having grief with does not listen – well, basically, we have to love them all the more.

Sometimes it is hard to go through a process like this, particularly when someone has hurt you. When someone does or says something to you that causes you pain – and the pain of a broken relationship can be as painful as any wound or sickness we might suffer – we often want to lash out, to tell the world and it’s mother what has happened to us and skip right down to the Lord’s last words – treat them like a tax collector or pagan- forgetting how Jesus Himself would have treated them. And that is all very easy to do; it’s certainly a natural reaction.
Jesus says something a bit different. The first port of call is simply to talk things over. How many unnecessary roughs and disputes could be talked over and solved without days and months and sometimes years of hostility and anger?

 Sometimes it is hard to forgive, particularly when we have been hurt by someone close to us. To be hurt by a brother or sister, a parent or child; to be hurt by a spouse in marriage; all these things are very hard to bear. And sometimes, listening to the good News, we can often say “how can I be expected to forgive” “does God have any idea what that person has put me through?”

There is a great poem by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns who wrote about man out with his friends one day and as the day rolled into night, they thought of home and trouble they were going to be in when they got back, he wrote:

We don’t think of the long Scots miles, 
The marshes, waters, steps and stiles, 
That lie between us and our home,
Where sits our sulken, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like a gathering storm, 
Nursing her wrath, to keep it warm.

It is so easy to keep the anger warm. The more we cuddle it and protect it and keep it alive, the more difficult it is ever to let it go. We can be content to spend a lifetime held captive by what others have done to us. The ‘brother or sister’ in the Gospel who is confronted, obviously has no idea of what they have done wrong or at least they don’t seem to care, if the conflict has to go through so many stages.

 The song I mentioned earlier has a very sad few lines:

I wasn't there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say


It goes on:

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Left on our own we can confirm every wrong idea we have of everyone we have ever met. Jesus today widens our perspective to remind us that we do not make that journey alone. Why does Christ make reference to all these other people; witnesses; the community. If I can’t sort out a problem alone, why do I need the help of others? To intimidate our opponent? To make ourselves out the to be better? I hardly think so. The wisdom of God knows that we function much better when we act with others.

 I do not believe for a moment that God expects us to forgive and forget in an instant, as if nothing was wrong. We can often seek peace and the olive branch may not be accepted; that’s where the last bit of today’s Gospel comes in. All we can do, is our best. If we are open to the Spirit, and genuinely wish to be at peace with each other, it will happen. If we can be open to what the Lord wants of us, to be willing to forgive and be forgiven, in time things will work out.

We have no idea what is in store for us:

So Don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be O.K.


Say it loud, say it clear 
You can listen as well as hear
It’s too late when we die 
To admit we don’t see eye to eye 

Jesus concludes:
“If two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”

We do not make this journey alone we do it as part of the family of the Church, we do it with the help of God. And whatever difficulties we face, we do so with God’s help. All we need is patience and courage.

20th and 21st Sunday

Friends,
I am on the way to the World Youth Day in Madrid with a group from the Diocese. I will not be able to post until I get back. Please say a prayer all goes well and that all who go to this great event of faith will come home on fire "rooted and planted in Christ."

19th Sunday year (A)

Jesus walks on the water.

When Our Lord called St Peter to Him across the Sea of Galilee, what must have St Peter thought? Did he regret his bravery, his bravado, in asking the shadowy figure on the water who he was? I am sure the last thing he expected was an invitation to walk on the water. There was a risk involved - like drowning - and a choice to be made. Was it safer to stay o the boat with the turbulent waves or step out on to the water and answer Jesus’ invitation to “Come” (Matt 14:28). Did he really believe it was Christ at all?

It is not always easy to trust. It can be terrifying taking risks and making choices for God, especially when we are going through difficulties in our lives. We can feel much safer in a boat buffeted by waves. The tiny dimensions of the hull of a fishing boat keep us from the water; we would do anything to stay n that boat; we 'don't DO walking on the water!' Do we have the faith of St Peter to stretch out our hands and cling to Jesus? We cannot afford to take our eyes off Jesus for a moment, even though there are times when we find it hard to trust either ourselves of Him.

Are we listening to the gentle breeze of the Spirit guiding and steering us in the right direction or are we caught up in worldly turmoil, darkness and scandal?

The first reading is set on a mountain, the Gospel on a lake in a storm. The Rock, Peter, is even over come by the 'full force of the wind' and begins to sink. Jesus is like the mountain. He can never be over come or drowned by the sea. He is there for us when the waves threaten and scare. He is there when all seems hopeless. He tells us:”Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid”, (Matt 14:27).

Are we listening to the gentle breeze of the Spirit guiding and steering us in the right direction or are we caught up in worldly turmoil, darkness and scandal? Let our faith in His power in our lives, be the light that allows His presence to filter through to us.

There was a book called "The Lost Art of Walking on Water": Jesus, give us the courage to see you, give us the courage to walk towards you.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Nothing can come between us and the love of God made visible in Jesus Christ.

There are reasons for every word written in the Bible. Every book and letter have been arranged in the order of the canon for a specific reason; we call it the Word of God. The second reading, to my mind, is very, very interesting. In a few short verses St Paul addresses a huge amount. Reading it in the 'here and now' you could almost imaging St Paul talking to us, in our situation. So what does he say:

Nothing can come between us and the love of Christ
even if we troubled or worried
or being persecuted
or lacking food or clothing
being threatened or even attacked.
These are the trials through which we triumph
by the love of Him who loved us

Church and society are being buffeted by forces beyond our control. The state of economies and fear of the future make tomorrow a worrying place. There is almost a feeling of 'the worst is yet to come' , and who knows, that may very well be the case. And regardless of what tomorrow may bring, today has enough trouble of its own. The Church, for so many generations a source of refuge has become a place of disappointment and of hard and bitter memories. Even though the good is visible and apparent, a trust has been broken which does not allow many to seek refuge in her. We can ask what is left?

 St Paul continues:

For I am certian of this:
neither death nor life,
no angel, no prience,
nothing that exists,
nothing still to come,
not any power,
or height
or depth
nor any created thing
can come between us and the Love of God
made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

He reminds us as he reminded the Romans, that in Jesus we have the promises of the Kingdom of Heave. In Jesus, the one who will not let us down, we have the hope of a brighter future. In a world that seems to be pulling itself apart these words give us great hope. No matter who has let us down, what institution or person, the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who gives us confidence to look to Christ, to follow him and keep going.

When our faith in God and man is tested the words of St Paul should boom like a clarion call:

"Nothing can come between us and the Love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord."

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Pope Benedict wrote to the young people of Ireland:


"I wish to offer you a particular word of encouragement. Your experience of the Church is very different from that of your parents and grandparents. The world has changed greatly since they were your age. Yet all people, in every generation, are called to travel the same path through life, whatever their circumstances may be. We are all scandalized by the sins and failures of some of the Church's members, particularly those who were chosen especially to guide and serve young people. But it is in the Church that you will find Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and for ever (cf. Heb 13:8). He loves you and he has offered himself on the cross for you. Seek a personal relationship with him within the communion of his Church, for he will never betray your trust! He alone can satisfy your deepest longings and give your lives their fullest meaning by directing them to the service of others. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and his goodness, and shelter the flame of faith in your heart. Together with your fellow Catholics in Ireland, I look to you to be faithful disciples of our Lord and to bring your much-needed enthusiasm and idealism to the rebuilding and renewal of our beloved Church."

17th Sunday in Ordinary Tine (A)

I was away last week so I did not get a chance to post. Here is a short thought:

As children, we were excited by the book “Treasure Island”; following the map, digging for the treasure only to discover that pirates had stolen it.

Treasure can mean different things to different people, for example fame, wealth, status and luxuries of all kinds. This is not what the gospel is about. As followers of Jesus we must seek the treasure, seek the things of real value in our lives. This treasure is not buried in any field or island, it can be found in our hearts, deep within each of us. It is our faith telling us that we are heirs to the kingdom of God.

The treasure of the Gospel can be found in ordinary places, where God is speaking to us in the simple things of life. He is in the bits and pieces of every day, so we have to keep that treasure and help to pass it on to the next generation. The treasure remains hidden for some because they search in the wrong places. C.S. Lewis put it beautifully; “there is a God-shaped emptiness in the human heart. Knowing Christ Jesus is a treasure awaiting discovery”.

X marks the spot on the treasure map.
The Cross is the X of our treasure.

16th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year

The weeds in the crop.

It is difficult to imagine that another Sunday has come when we in Ireland have to address the issue of child sexual abuse in the Church. Unfortunately, this tragedy must be faced again in the light of the publication of the report by the government into the handling of abuse cases in the Diocese of Cloyne. Firstly, it must be said that our prayers and thoughts are with those whose lives have been torn apart by the actions of a few and the in actions of others. Our thoughts also must be with the faithful of the church in Cloyne who first hand must deal with the aftermath of the reports findings.

I am putting these few words together on the feast of St Bonaventure. He was an early Franciscan who rose to great prominence in his day a great teacher and bishop. I was reminded in the words of the preface that in every age the Father raises up men and women outstanding in holiness, whose lives build and rebuild the Church of God when decay sets in. We only have to think of the state of the Church at the time of this great man to realise that ours is not the only age that must deal with the consequence of sin and division. We pray that as St Bonaventure, St Francis, St Dominic responded to the call of grace so faithfully in their day, we too in our own day will help rebuild what is damaged, mend what is broken and heal what it wounded.

At this point in time, we all have a very clear choice to make as regards our relationship with the Church. If we chose to remain- and do not forget that many have left because of the scandals - we must humbly, before Almighty God, pray for forgiveness, make reparation for sin (even if the sins of the reports are not ours, God knows we have enough of our own to atone for) and beg the Holy Spirit to make us worthy of our calling to proclaim Jesus to our time. Because of scandal many, many people have lost the only limited contact they may have had with Christ. We have become so fixated the sins of members of the Church we forget what the Church is - the Body of Christ, the font of grace, the instrument Christ chose to continue His saving work in the world. And it is the world Christ talks about in the Gospel.

The field is the world and the crop of wheat and weeds grow side by side. In the sight of the land owner the two grow. Onlookers almost mock him "was it not good seed you bought". Still the two occupy the same space, the same sun shines on them, the same rain falls on them, the same wind shakes them. In the end the same sickle takes them from the field. It is then that good is separated from the bad.

In every life there are weeds and wheat. When I look at myself, I often think that if the weeds were taken from me, what would be left. There would be holes all over the place,  the ground would be disturbed. All would be different. After a short while I would notice that the wheat of my life would be getting stronger and stronger. The nutrients would make me grow strong as I should, then the crop the Lord spoke of last week would become a real harvest.

We give so much of our time to tending and caring for weeds, we often neglect the wheat. The Church and the world have their dark sides as we all know. We believe, however, that God is not detached from it all. God is not the clock wider that set everything in motion then backing off. God is in the world, in the lives of the faithful, in the life of nations, in the life of the Church. It should be of no surprise that God tends to the needs of His people.

Maybe this is not for a homily, but it is a thought I have, and I cannot claim it is original (and they are just personal musings rather that a theological perspective) Why is clerical sexual abuse highlighted so much? It is obvious that it exists in other sectors of society, but why the Church, the Catholic Church? Is Divine Providence at work in this? Imagine God looking at the world and seeing the terrible plight of so many children; slavery, exploitation in the most evil ways, neglect, infanticide, abortion - the list goes on. God obviously sees it in the place where it most certainly should not be  - in the heart of the Church. Like a vile poison it infects the world. Where would God begin the process of healing and liberation - in the Church. She is to be the light of the world and the hope of peoples. How could She be with such a stain? God pulls the weed from the field of the Church and leaves the wound wide open for every one to see, so that every one Catholic or not will see the terrible effects of sins against little ones. This is not some kind of 'cheap grace', as if to say the Church is offered up as a victim for the sake of the world. Certainly not, the sin is in the Church and needs to be burned out. Ignem veni mittere in terram et quid volo si accendatur.


We as priests and people have a responsibility to make sure the Church is a place where everyone can be safe and grow in holiness. There is no room for ambiguity in this matter. Learning is over. The lesson has been painfully taught and if we have not learned.....there is something very serious at stake - people and people's very relationship with God.

When the weeds have finally been tied up in bundles and burnt in the fire then we will see the field grow gold in the sight of God and prepare for Eternity in His presence.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Isaiah 55: 10-11
"The word that comes from my mouth does not return empty"
Romans: 8: 18-23
"To enjoy the same freedom as the children of God"
Luke 13-1-23
"A sower went to sow...listen, anyone who has ears!"

Jesus teaches in Parables, using scenes that the people are familiar with. They would know whether the seed produced a good crop or not.

The seed fell on a variety of soils, but only one is good soil. This bears fruit and in one case yields a hundred fold, another sixty, and another thirty.

This Parable challenges us! In our lives the seed sown, is the Word of God. How do we receive the Word we hear each Sunday?

In the Parable, the first type hears but does not understand and never really becomes a disciple. The second type is the inconstant person who displays great joy in their Christian life until their faith proves inconvenient. The third type allows the cares of the world. The fourth type is the person who understands and does what the World demands, producing good fruit.

Perhaps this Sunday, we could make a real effort to listen to the Readings and decide what word or sentence we are going to take to heart and apply to our lives during the week. We need to give God time if we want his Word to mean something in our lives.

Lord Jesus, help me this week to make your Word my own.

14th Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

"Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Sion."
"Your interests are not in the unspiritual but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you"
"Come to me all you who labour and are over burdened and I will give you rest."

After the feasts and holy days of the last couple of weeks we have found ourselves in Ordinary time. The Sundays between Trinity and Christ the King are marked by the green vestment and the ever increasing number of the Sunday was we journey towards the years end and Advent. Why do I mention this? Is this just an irrelevant piece of trivia that the members of our congregations need not concern themselves with? Possibly, however, I can see a significance in this season we called Ordinary.

Most of our lives are spent in the realm of the ordinary. Normally our days are plain sailing, day to day, week to week, we just get on with things; our work, our families, our parishes. Now and again this ordinary is punctuated by the less ordinary. Life can take turns and things can happen that make us change. We can experience joys and sadness, sickness and health, disappointment and surprise, things good and bad on the journey.  The Pope recently commented, on the jubilee of his priestly ordination, that the fruit of the vine, the grape, need sunshine and rain to make it mature. But back to the ordinary. Even though our experiences can be punctuated by ups and downs, the majority of our lives are lived in a place between the two. We can feel the presence of God, maybe, more keenly in drama - but there is not one second of our existence that is not touched by the presence of the love of God. It is mostly in the regular that we  find Him, in the regular we have a chance to grow in his love, in the regular we can lean who God is and the life that gives.

God has made himself known to us in Jesus. Sometimes there is a temptation to think that friendship with Jesus is for 'other people'. Sometimes can only imaging the saints or great priests and bishops really knowing God. And while it is true many of the great legends of our faith were blessed with heroic lives of faith, we lesser mortals can have a really intimate and profound experience of God. I could list of any amount of ordinary things that speak to us of God; a visit, a help out, a baby laughing, the dawn chorus, everyone has their own example. In the Word of God and the celebration of he Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, we can come face to face with God who wants us to know Him and love Him, just as He knows and loves us.

The Gospel today says "Jesus exclaimed" that the knowledge of God is revealed to mere children. He exclaimed, he just didn't say or teach, he exclaimed this. Then what does He say? He says what I believe to be some of the most beautiful words ever recorded; "Come to me all you who labour and are heavy burdened..and I will give you rest."

Where ever you are in life as you read or hear this, Christ invites you to come to Him. You may be in the depths or on high, most probably you are somewhere in between, where ever you are he says come. Jesus wants to to learn from Him, to be like Him, to be close to Him and when we do the prophesy of Zachariah in the first reading come true; we "rejoice with heart and soul, because the King comes to you" not in splendour but on a donkey, in the ordinary moments of life.

I can't find a Gregorian setting of Venite ad me, so I include an Ambrosian one. Pardon the quality of the video, but you can hear the magnificent sounds of the Church of Milan's setting to the Gospel acclamation on All Saints:

Corpus Christi

The story goes that when the Feast of Corpus Christi was established in 1264, by Pope Urban IV a competition was held for the music that was accompany the feast - that time of course, it was all Gregorian chant. Two great theologians St Bonaventure and St Thomas Aquinas got to work on the texts and the music. When the day came for the compositions to be heard by the Pope, St Thomas was the first to present. When he came to the end, there was silence in the room. St Bonaventure who was beside Thomas took the text he had prepared and placed it on the ground. He looked at Thomas and said, nothing could compare to the beauty and faith of what just been heard. Whether the story is true or not, it cannot be denied that the music associated with this feast is beautiful.

The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is beautiful. When we pause and think about the mystery of what we celebrate, we can only do what the words of the Adoro Te says; we can only get lost in wonder. I think a problem we have in our words today is that we have lost the ability to get lost in wonder!
When we celebrate the Eucharist  we celebrate the unending presence of God in our midst. Not only that, in the celebration of the Sacred Mysteries we remember all that Christ has done for us.

There are two antiphons associated with evening prayer for the feast. The O Sacrum Convivium from second vespers:

O sacred banquet!
in which Christ is received,
the memory of his Passion is renewed,
the mind is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory to us is given.
Alleluia.

and a less celebrated one from first vespers:

Lord, how good you are and how gentle your spirit.
When you wished to show your goodness to your children
 you gave them bread from heaven filling the hungry with good things
and sending the rich away empty.

Both of these reveal a little of the great beauty of the Eucharist - the memory of the Passion is renewed, our minds are filled with grace and the pledge of future glory is given to us. We are reminded of how generous God is to us, giving us everything in Christ. On this feast day may we have a chance to experience the beauty of the mysteries we celebrate day after day and week after week. Stay with us Lord, for evening is approaching. We are also reminded of the gentleness and the kindness of God. "To ransom a slave you gave away your Son"

The Eucharist is in the heart of countless communities throughout the world. As we celebrate Corpus Christi we remember that Jesus is with us. We partake in His sacred passion. He stays with us to make us one with one another and with Him. The Eucharist is unity; the Eucharist is beauty: the Eucharist is love.

This a good reflection written the Mass by Gregory Dix in his work 'The Shape of the Eucharist'

"Men have found no better thing than this to do for kings at their crowning and for criminals going to the scaffold; for armies in triumph, for a bride and her groom in a little country church; for the proclamation of a dogma or for a good crop of wheat; for the wisdom of a parliament of a mighty nation or for a sick old woman afraid to die; for a school boy sitting an exam or Columbus setting out to discover America; in thankfulness that my father did not die of pneumonia; for the village headman tempted to return to fetish because the yam crop had failed; for captain so and so, wounded and a prisoner of war; while the hiss of scythes in the think June grass came faintly through the windows of the Church; tremulously, by the old monk on the fiftieth anniversary of his vows; furtively, by an exiled bishop who had hewn timber all day in a prison camp near Murmansk; gorgeously for the canonisation of St Joan of Ark - one could fill many pages with the reasons why people have done this, and not yet tell a hundredth part of them. And best of all, week by week, and month by month, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, faithfully, unfaithfully, across the parishes of Christendom, the pastors have done this just to make the plebs sancta dei - the holy common people of God.

Adoremus in aeternum Sanctissimum Sacramentum!




This is a childhood favorite of mine:

Trinity Sunday

On the Sunday after Pentecost we celebrate the mystery of the Trinity. After  Eastertide we have the chance to draw a breath and think for a moment about God Himself. It is a part of our faith that is a huge mystery; One God, in three persons, equal to each other, of the same substance, yet totally distinct. Everything alive has its own mystery - no matter how much we discover and uncover about the natural world, there is always more to learn. The mystery of God’s life is truly on an infinite scale.

But what we do know about God? Has anyone ever seen Him? Not many people I know had Moses’ experience of meeting God in the form of a cloud on the mountain, as we heard in the first reading.  Sometimes we have an idea of God that seems to be straight out of a comic – a nice story for children. God is not just a concept up in the sky that is beyond our reach. We believe that Jesus has revealed God to us and when we look to Christ we see the face of the Father. So what did Jesus tell us? The first thing he revealed was the Father’s endless love for us all. God is love. That is a tremendous statement -  God is Love! Jesus tells us in the Gospel that not only does God love us, but that He sent His Son, Christ himself, into the world not to condemn the world but to save it, in other words to bring the world back into the very life of God, despite our sins and failings. Jesus also says that he does not leave us alone, he has asked the Father to send the Holy Spirit to us to keep us on the right track. Our faith tells us that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit - is near, within our very being, we become living temples of God by the gift of baptism.

The Trinity can be experienced in a million ways.  One of the most special moments of my life, so far, was the birth of my first little niece last December. In the middle of the cold and hardship that we experienced before Christmas little Hayleigh Rose came into to world. Every human life is sacred, and this is most clearly seen in the life of baby. When she was born, just like any little one, there was only one to communicate with her – simply by love. I remember marveling at how her first time parents, took so naturally to their new role. Passing the child to each other, holding her, welcoming her into life – every action was action love. Our very nature calls us to live in family, community and love – a love which reaches out to embrace, holding everything in being.  The ultimate experience of community is the life of God.

 From all eternity the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit live in the happiness of their own presence. In the mystery of creation God opened life to us all, and in Jesus we are invited to share that very life; we become part of the mystery of the Trinity

You know, more than anything in the world we want to be happy. If we had every material thing we ever wanted and did not have happiness my might as well have nothing. Our true happiness is found in love.  What is love? Love is the very nature of God - real love that gives life in all its fullness. The Trinity’s invitation to you and me is to live forever in the happiness of Heaven where all our longings will be fulfilled. We can spend a lifetime desiring happiness, seeking it on the out side. Happiness begins in the depths of our own souls; in our own hearts where God has made his dwelling.

As a society, we have taken a huge knocking. Prosperity and economic success has been replaced with much hardship. No doubt many of you have your own worries and fears – fears for yourself and your loved ones, particularly the young. So much is beyond our control. Life can very hard and despair can seem to be a very easy option.

Today’s feast is a source of great hope. We come face to face with God who is love, not just of Himself, but every human being that is made in God’s image and likeness. Our destiny as God’s children is nothing less than being part of God’s very life. Our hearts are restless until they rest in God, St Augustine famously said, but already in this life we can rest in faith that Father who created us, the Son who redeemed us and the Spirit that makes us holy is with us – in the depths our very being.

Pentecost

Ireland has a new energy.

Ads are great! It is obvious that hours and hours go into the construction of advertisements. On tv, the radio and in the printed media ads are everywhere. You can't look at something on the internet now with out an ad popping up, and even if it lasts 30 seconds, you are coerced into the word of the 'mad men'.
One ad recently has being playing on RTE Radio, for those of you not too familiar with Irish media, that is, the State's national broadcaster. It is amazing that they can pop in ads everywhere. This one comes in just before the weather after the news and Irish people being so preoccupied with the weather, the sponsor  can be guaranteed a very wide audience. The jingle is very simple "Ireland has a new energy" - it is for an electricity provider. It is clever for a number of reason, the most compelling I suppose is a the juxtaposition of 'new energy' with the reality of a county that has taken a bit of a battering of late.

A question came up recently in a parish prayer group; what is the difference between an apostle and a disciple? A disciple follows a teacher, an apostle is sent to proclaim. The Church was built on the foundations of the Twelve, which is continued to this day. The Holy Spirit gives disciples apostolic zeal to go forth and preach the Good News as Jesus as asked us to. On Pentecost the whole Church is invited to open wide to the Holy Spirit to help us make knows to all people the saving message of Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is God. We do not celebrate the feast of the Holy Spirit any more than we celebrate the feast of God the Father or God the Son. We celebrate His coming upon the apostles and Our Lady on this day giving the Church its new energy. On this Pentecost Day we earnest ask the Holy Spirit to enkindle within us the fire of his love. 

A few weeks ago we celebrated the feast of St Charles Lwanga. I often wondered what made these great saints so special? If i was in the face of martyrdom  would I be as brave as they were? Or even saints who did not suffer death for the faith like Blessed John Paul or St Columba, why did these people make such a great impact on the Church and the world? By themselves they were no different to any other Christian. Their response to faith is what made them great. They were truly anointed by the Holy Spirit who made them strong in the face of their own weakness and the threats of the world. We are not all called to such heroism, but we are all called to the be open to the Spirit and working  with his grace we can do more than we could ever dream possible. 

Come Holy Spirit! Fill our hears, fill the Church! Make everyone one of us burn with the love of God and neighbour, so that people will see in us the seeds of the Kingdom and reality of the presence of Christ in the world, to the glory of God the Father. 

Ascension (Word Communications Day)

(My internet has been on the blink the last few days, sorry for the delay.)

The Ascension of the Lord and the World Day of Communications.


When I was growing up, today’s feast day was on a Thursday; Ascension Thursday. Both it and Corpus Christi were holidays from school and more often than not we would get the Friday of; a joyous event! (the day off more so than the Feast)

Today brings to an end this part of the wonderful journey of Easter. While the liturgical season has another week to go, there is now something different about the celebration. We wait for the Holy Spirit as we witness that Lord goes up with shouts of joy. Just like the men of Galilee, we wait for the Lord to return in the same way he has gone. Jesus has not abandoned us, he has gone to prepare the place for us that he told us he would.

Jesus ascends into Heaven the Acts of the Apostles tells us. It’s the second time in just over 40 days he has been taken away from the disciples. The first time they scatter to hide in Jerusalem for fear, this time they go back to wait for the Holy Spirit to give them all they need for the great commissioning they have received from Jesus.

A colleague of mine in the Diocese had an unusual request a few weeks ago. A man called to the door of the presbytery with a medal of St Christopher. He wanted it blessed and the priest duly obliged. The man told him the reason he had gotten the medal and had come to have it blessed was that he was about to climb Mt Everest, as he was setting out on this huge journey we wanted something to him to remind him of God and keep him safe. The faith displayed by the climber can be tied very much into what we celebrate today.

The Ascension, in itself, is a part of the Mystery of Faith. From the earliest times it was included as part of the profession of the Christian faith. Every Mass is a celebration of what we celebrate today. The preface says “today the Lord Jesus, the King of Glory the conqueror of sin and death, ascended to heaven while the angels sang his praises” The Eucharistic Prayers I, III and IV also make reference to it. Jesus ascended into glory and as he ascends we ascend with him. The fruits of faith in Christ are not just reserved for the end of time, every moment of every life is a opportunity of ascension. Of course only in the hereafter will we experience the true meaning of union with God, but even now we can experience that glory.

The man that climbed Mt Everest had in his pocket, or around his neck a tiny piece of metal with the image of a saint, blessed by a priest. In itself it is insignificant, what it symbolizes is infinitely greater. He believed that God was going to help him as he climbed the highest mountain on earth and when he got there, taking in what must be a spectacular view, no doubt he thanked the Almighty for what he achieved.

Jesus journeys with us as we ascend. As we gather to celebrate the Mass we celebrate the mystery of faith; from where Christ is, he will return to bring us home. As we receive the Eucharist we receive his unfailing presence which guides and brings us to the summits and through the valleys of life. Christ has not left us alone. He has sent us the Holy Spirit and has called us into the family of the Church. Unlike Good Friday this time we can return to Jerusalem joyful knowing that Jesus has not abandoned us and will keep us close if we but let him.

All peoples clap your hands
cry to God with shouts of joy!
For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,
great king over all Gods.


God goes up with shouts of joy.
The Lords ascends with trumpet blast
Sing praise for God sing praise
Sing praise to our king sing praise


God is king of all the earth
Sing praise with all you skill.
God is king over the nations
God reigns on his holy throne.