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