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."

****************************





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.