Low Sunday 2011

I hope you had a very pleasant Easter, where ever in the world you celebrated the Resurrection. Holy Week was an incredibly busy week. Easter Week provides a chance to recover! So my postings over the Holy Days were scant. I will put my notes and ideas together at some stage and post them. All in all, this Easter was very special! Good weather and good sized congregations added extra to the celebrations. We arise with Christ and keep going, knowing He goes before us.

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"In union with the whole Church we celebrate that day when Jesus Christ Our Lord, rose from the dead in His human body" The Roman Canon. 


There are so many things to celebrate today. The last day of the Easter Octave makes this an Easter Day. The celebration of the Divine Mercy reminds us of the greatness of God's love and the pledged of love and forgiveness we have received in Jesus. The Gospel tells us today that we are blessed because we have not seen. Easter joy is all over the place! One extra celebration today is the beatification of the Servant of God, Pope John Paul 11.

It only seems like yesterday we heard of the tragic news of his death. I had the privilege of being in St Peter's Square that evening. As long as I live I will never forget it. It was an event of mystical proportions. I was ordained to the deaconate the previous Easter Monday (this was now Saturday). My family had all returned home, the previous evening a number of students form the Irish College had remained in the Square all night, joining with hundreds of others, praying, singing, keeping vigil with someone who was special to us all.

He died about half nine, or twenty to ten. The rosary had just finished. After a pause of a few seconds some extra prayers were offered ad hoc, then came the announcement "Our beloved Holy Father has returned to the House of the Father." Many cried, the Italians clapped in accordance with their tradition, the entire crowd united in prayer, sorrow and mourning. I met people whom I had had known in college, people who until this I had only know by sight - that night we were brothers and sisters, united in the loss of a common father. It was a profound experience of what it means to be Catholic - people from every tribe and people and tongue and nation, formed into one by a common faith

I have often reflected on that night. Particularly I have often reflected on that phrase 'returning to the house of the father'.

Pope, soon to be Blessed, John Paul II procalimed one thing and one thing only - Jesus Christ. In his love of Mary, his condemnation of evil, his striving for the truth to prevail against all odd,  all pointed to the reality of the the love of God made visible in Jesus. You may say that this is a radical simplification of the achievements of a great man, possibly a doctor of the Church, but the essence of what he was about was Christ. In all his journeys he was an apostle of the Lord. From the first moment of his Papacy he challenges us all to open wide the doors to Christ, the only one who will not let us down.

I have not read, nor will I probably read but a fraction of John Paul II's writings. So many of his encyclicals and sermons, which we studied in college, plumb the depth of the heart and mind. The one thing I will learn from him however is; in a world filled with darkness and disappointment, of short cuts and half values, there is a possibility of living the Gospel to the full. The life and death of this great man reminds me  that there is another way - a way of life, a way of truth, a way of hope. Pope John Paul II points us to Jesus; to Calvary and beyond.

The day he took up his sacred office as Successor to St Peter he said "DO NOT BE AFRAID, open wide the doors to Christ" May Blessed John Paul help us in our fears and encourage us by his prayers to open wide the doors to Christ.

The man himself:

This song always reminds me of Pope John Paul II:

Palm Sunday and Holy Week, 2011

Indifference to the Passion


When Jesus Came to Birmingham

When Jesus came to Golgotha, they hanged Him on a tree,
They drove great nails through hands and feet, and made a Calvary;
They crowned Him with a crown of thorns, red were His wounds and deep,
For those were crude and cruel days, and human flesh was cheap.

When Jesus came to Birmingham, they simply passed Him by.
They would not hurt a hair of Him, they only let Him die;
For men had grown more tender, and they would not give Him pain,
They only just passed down the street, and left Him in the rain.

Still Jesus cried, 'Forgive them, for they know not what they do, '
And still it rained the winter rain that drenched Him through and through;
The crowds went home and left the streets without a soul to see,
And Jesus crouched against a wall, and cried for Calvary.

G. A. Studdert-Kennedy

I am always amazed at the relative indifference people show towards the great events of Holy Week. Even some who attend Church on a regular basis seem to trivialise the events of Salvation as just the happenings of another week. Some lament the fact that the ceremonies of Holy Week are longer, some bemoan that the Easter Vigil is at 9pm not the regular 7, others just do not care and stay away, popping in for a while on Easter Sunday.

It is however this very week that we live for. In the Liturgy we actively play our part in the Gospel events of the first Holy Week. There are so many roles in the drama we can identify with. At one time we can be untied with Jesus in His sufferings, bravely carrying our crosses usque ad mortem. At other times His cry from the Cross can be  our prayer of abandonment and loneliness. We can be soldiers of Rome or women of Jerusalem. We can sell Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (or less) or lovingly wipe his face on the road to Calvary. We can identify with the centurion, acknowledging Christ as the Son of the Most High, or we can be like the people hurrying into Jerusalem, passing the crucified saviour of the world, ignoring or avoiding the price of our redemption.

If one of our loved ones was to die within days, we would not think of leaving their side. This week as we carry the palms into the Jerusalem, may we not leave Jesus' side. When the crowds change their tune from adulation to bitter cries of condemnation, we will be faced with the choice; do we stay or do we leave. Christ suffered for us all, may we have the faith to go up to Jerusalem with Him.

5th Sunday of Lent

Lazarus, here!  Come out.


Fifth Sunday in Lent: March 21,1999 (Cycle A)

This is an exegesis I have found useful:

Exegesis of Gospel: John 11:1-45
The literary structure of sign (semeion) and discourse that is common to the previous narratives (5:1-47; 6:1-59; 9:1-41) is reversed in the raising of Lazarus. Here the dialogical structure of chapter 11 concludes with Jesus' command: "Lazarus, come out" (v. 43). In this seventh sign, Lazarus' illness is inextricably connected with a manifestation of  God's glory: God's power working through Jesus' sign (v. 4). According to the narrator, Jesus' hour of glorification begins proleptically since the raising of Lazarus is the catalyst for plotting Jesus' death (11:45-53).
The dramatis personae in chapter 11 symbolically constitute a full range of responses to Jesus. The unnamed disciples who accompany Jesus play a minor role by misunderstanding his work (vv. 7-10). Martha's belief in Jesus, however, is based on his word (vv. 25-26). Unlike the other disciples, her belief preceded Jesus' sign and enabled her to witness his glory (11:40) as the other disciples had experienced it at Cana (2:11). Martha's comprehensive confession parallels Nathanael's (1:49): "I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (v. 27). Her statement is a variation of the Petrine confession at Caesarea Philippi (Matt 16:16 par.). Her confession at Bethany (near Jerusalem) is an additional response which supersedes that of the Galilean official. His belief in Jesus' word was following by the confirming sign which restored life to his son (4:46-53).
In contrast to her sister Martha, Mary is a secondary, two-dimensional character. She does not advance the drama either by her actions or her speech that are stylized to repeat Martha's character, and draw attention to her significance in the narrative (cf. vv. 20 and 29, 31; 21 and 32). Lazarus, their brother, is the only voiceless character in the narrative. His restoration to life essentially links him with Jesus to the extent that the chief priests also plot his death (12:10-11).
The Jews are additional characters in the narrative. They are generally described in a positive light: consoling Martha and Mary (v. 19);staying with Mary in the house and accompanying her to the grace (v. 31); showing Jesus Lazarus'  tomb (v. 34); and acknowledging Jesus' love for Lazarus (v. 36). As the narrative ends with its climax extending into  chapter 12, the description of the Jews changes. Some blame Jesus for not preventing Lazarus' death (.v 37).
The disagreement over Jesus (vv. 36-37) develops. The raising of Lazarus elicited faith from one group who had been present at the tomb (11:34; 12:11). They witnessed to Jesus because of his sign (12:17). The tense of the verb (emarturei) suggests that their faith in Jesus prompted a continuous witness. Some of those present at the tomb, however, reported Jesus action to the authorities (11:46). His sign did not lead to belief for them. A third group, "a great crowd" appears in chapter 12. In Jerusalem for the Passover, they are drawn to Jesus because they have heard about Lazarus (12:12, 18). Although they greet him enthusiastically with palm branches and acclamation (12:123), there is no indication from the narrator of their subsequent belief. The final group described in the narrative, the officials (11:46; 12:10, 19) realize that Jesus' signs are dangerously persuasive: "Everyone will believe in him" (11:47-48; cf. 12:11, 19). This is the group that plots Jesus' death (11:45-47).

Lazarus and Martha are the only individuals in the narrative whom Jesus addresses directly. While Lazarus' response to Jesus' command is not recorded, Martha's response is a confession, a genre appropriate fore revelation. How does Jesus identify himself? "I am (ego eimi) the resurrection and the life" (v. 25a). His statement that discloses how he is the life (vv. 25b-26) is the culmination of the "I am" (ego eimi) sayings in the Book of Signs (1:19-12:50).
First, to satisfy the basic needs of hunger and thirst, Jesus himself supplies the nourishment: "I am (ego eimi) the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst" (6:35). The parallelism of "whoever comes to me" and "whoever believes in me" suggests that the believer is sustained and satisfied by Jesus' teaching. This sapiential interpretation for the bread of life is complemented by he Eucharistic interpretation of 6:51-58. In both interpretations, hunger and thirst are negated and life is given in abundance.
Second, to free individuals from final condemnation, Jesus cancels the judgment (3:18). Judgment occurs during an individual's life. Believing in Jesus means participating now in eternal life; conversely, those who do not believe condemn themselves as long as their failure to believe persists.
Third, to dispel the darkness experienced in life, Jesus offers himself as the source of light: "Whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness" (8:12;9:5,39). The present experience of the believer can also be described by considering 12:46 in tandem with 6:37b: "The one who comes to me I will not cast out." The verses contain an element of final judgment imagery--being cast out into the darkness. From the Johannine perspective, the judgment is realized now. No one who believes will be subject to darkness now or eternally.  
Fourth, to deal with death itself, Jesus promises that death is not the ultimate condition: "Whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (3:16b). The death implied in "perish" is clarified in 11:25-26 where physical death is not denied; rather, the assurance of everlasting life beyond the grave is emphasized.
The believer, then possesses the resources that are needed to face the experiences which threaten life (hunger and thirst, moral judgment, darkness, and spiritual death). In addition, the believer receives eternal life (3:16, 36). According to 6:40, belief in Jesus is the basis of eternal life while 11:25-26 emphasizes the definitive absence of death for the one who believes. Correspondingly, a refusal to believe means a rejection of life (5:40). Whether or not the noun "life" (zoe)is continuously qualified by the adjective "eternal" (aionios) is not significant since whenever "life" appears in any verse it signifies the life common to the Father and Son which is shared by the believer. Finally, participation in divine life is a present reality for the believer. The Prologue describes this reality: "To those who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God"(1:12).
Professor Mary Margaret Pazdan

4th Sunday of Lent.

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

We are often moved by the sight of a blind person with a white cane or a guide dog, making their way across a busy street.  We marvel at their courage and trust, to be able to arrive safely on the other side.

Jesus cures the man born blind.  The Pharisees had problems with Jesus.  He mixed with publicans and sinners, where he preached mercy and forgiveness and he healed on the Sabbath.  They refused to believe that he had cured this man, whom the brow-beat with all kinds of allegations.

We are all born blind until our Baptism, when the life we receive gives us the power to bring Christ to everything we do and every person we meet.  Jesus came to show us that He is the light of the world, but some of us either refuse or are unable to accept Him as “the Way, Truth and the Light”.  This Lent let us listen to what the Lord wants of us and come out of the darkness.

“I am the light of the world, says the Lord

Anyone who follows me will have the light of life”. (Jn 8:12)