I have not posted on this blog since 2012! Wow! Alot of preaching has gone on since then. The word of God is still alive and active! I want to post a refection I have used recently following the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. It is addressed to an Irish audiance; but it could speak to any nation that at one time could have been descibed as 'Catholic.'

After the Pope's visit:
The Church, Christ's body
is like His own beautiful body on the Cross -
battered, bleeding and disfigured by sin 
not His sin, but the sins of the entire world.
So too her body is gashed, and bleeding and defiled.

In Ireland the lived Faith is and was used to props
The prop of culture
The prop of numbers
The prop of law
The prop of 'respectability'
These props have been washed away in
a tide of scandal and sin
That have left many broken
and many others heart broken.
And because of this many hate the Church
-and I use this word on purpose
hate.
We need to get that.
We are reminded day after day
of the sins and crimes
which should and does fill us horror.
They associate her with every kind of wickedness.
Many have walked away.
And to be honest; who could blame them.
The world tells us the Church is dead
and is happy to dance on her grave.
But she is his bride.
The Church is built of living stones,
and Christ is the corner stone.
It is built on rock.
The rock is St Peter's profession of faith -
Jesus is the Son of God
This is the unassailable truth of the Catholic faith
Jesus is the Son of God
Everything else comes from this
our liturgy
our morality
our view of the world
If we do not believe that Jesus is Lord
nothing makes sense.
The Church has nothing to offer except
Jesus Christ.
Now is the time, more than ever in our history,
to discover Him
Not as a myth
Not as 'good man'
Not as source of
'thoughts for the day'
But as Lord
as God
as Saviour
as Brother
and as Friend
Only in this
ONLY IN THIS
Will the Church be what it should be
Salt and light for the world
Christ will and does lead His Church
from the valley of the shadow of death
to green pasture beside flowing water.
And there are many painfully years ahead.
But He goes before us
with crook and staff.
We must humbly follow.
There is only Christ,
he is everything
he is in everything.
And no matter what the world says to us
only in Him do our hearts find rest.
Lord Jesus, have mercy on us,
and on your Church.
Lead her home.

1st Sunday of Lent 2012

Jesus he noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting by the customs house, and said to him, 'Follow me'. And leaving everything he got up and followed him.

In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house, and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples and said, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' Jesus said to them in reply, 'It is not those who are well who need the doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the virtuous, but sinners to repentance.'

     Luke 5: 27-32

Lent. Again. 

On the first Sunday of Lent, we are reminded how, at the beginning of His public ministry, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.  There He spent forty days in prayer and fasting, while He endured the repeated temptation of Satan.During the forty days of Lent, we are called on to deny ourselves some of the pleasures of life, and spend time in prayer with Jesus in our ‘wilderness’; repenting our sins and being reconciled with God and with our neighbour.; in preparation for the celebration of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. We recall that as Jesus proclaimed the Good News of Salvation, He warned us that: “that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.  Repent, and believe the Good News.

But what dies all that really mean? Archbishop Sheen said once "there are no plains in the spiritual life; you are either getting better or you are getting worse. If you are the same as you were last year, then you arr worse." Lent follows Lent and do we really grapple with what it means to be a follower of Jesus?  Most of the time, if we hare honest the answer is now; we plod on; the seasons come and the seasons go and we stay the same. Lent, however, gives us an opt out of this 'never ending circle'. We have a chance to look at ourselves and say 'look, I need to do more'. Lent is a fantastic challenge and. with God's grace, it can bring us great heavenly rewards.

So what have we to do: nothing except what the the Church says: pray, fast and give alms. As long as you have been going to Church you have heard sermons on these things, and all sounds very nice and tidy - say a few extra prayers or go to Mass a bit more. Give up sweets or drink or maybe meat on Friday. Give to the poor with the money we save. Heard it all before! We sanitize these great gifts to such an extent that we hardly notice we are doing them.

We should feel Lent! What is one of the most exaggerated understatements recorded; when the evangelist says (not in this Gospel) that after forty days in the desert with no food.....Jesus was hungry. I'd say he was crippled over and bent with hunger. There is a drama in Lent, that if tapped into can do wonders for the soul. But we have to push our the boundaries much more. In former times people were compelled by the penalty of sin to fast and abstain. The Church has granted us great freedom to choose our penance. In this freedom most do not take up the challenge. If we do, however, and respond with generosity how much more will the Lord support us.

Jesus left the desert and proclaimed the Kingdom; may the Lord grant us the grace to battle temptation and so emerge from this Lent radiant in the glory of the Cross. 

Catch Up!

It has been a while since I have put my notes together for this blog. Here is a summary of the last few weeks ideas:

Jan 22nd - 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Change.

We have all heard this Gospel many times over the years but did we really hear what Jesus was asking of us?
“Come, follow Me” Mk 1-17

Were these words just for the first disciples? Have I already taken them on board in my life and am I committed to using the countless gifts He has given me? We are not all called to go out into the world to fulfill our destiny; we can follow Him from where we are.

The response of the first disciples was immediate; their focus was on Jesus, not on their ability to deliver. Although some of us are like Jonah, diverted from His call, He eventually wins us over.

Today we are invited to launch out into a new way of life; coming alongside Jesus; trusting Him to help us to change and cooperate with His plan for us.

“Repent, believe in the Gospel”, Mark 1-15

Jan 29th - 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Service and healing.

In today’s Gospel Jesus begins to teach. He speaks with authority and there is a presence of God’s power in His words. His divine authority is shown when He cast out the noisy unclean Spirit from the possessed man. Demon possession was an accepted fact in the New Testament. Whether I believe in personal demons or not, I am conscious of being pulled away from God, eg by being dishonest or envious.

The Psalm is an invitation to pray. We are invited to kneel and bend low to the God who made us. We are told to listen to His voice.... as Jesus told the possessed man to be quiet. “Be still in the presence of the Lord. The Holy One is here...”

Jesus from the beginning of His ministry revealed how the gift of power is to be expressed in healing, service, compassion and mercy.

Feb 5 (reflecting on the  First reading) - 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Lord is close to the broken hearten

Job gives a good description of a hopeless, broken-hearted person and at times we may feel rather like him. However, as Christians, we have something Job hadn’t got - a sure hope, and that hope is Jesus. In today’s Gospel we see His power to heal at work.

Sometimes it is no harm to find ourselves in a Job-like situation - it reminds us of our need for Someone greater than ourselves. We can know about Jesus, but it is much better to know Him personally. This way we can learn by experience that He can be trusted absolutely. It means that when we pray to Him in sickness or distress we know for sure that our prayer is always heard. Sometimes we may be blind to the answer because it is not what we think we need, but what we really need, that He answers.

Practically, there is something we can do with our suffering. Remembering what Jesus suffered for us and that we are part of His Body, we can use our suffering as a prayer and leave it in His hands. It may help someone in great need or maybe someone who has asked us to pray for them. As a result, that person may experience in a special way that “the Lord is close and can heal all our ills”.

Feb 12 - 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

"If you want to, you can cure me."

The leper came to Jesus, fell to his knees and pleaded for a cure. His words were almost suggestive of a challenge to the compassion of Jesus but confident of His power. Today's readings continue to present Jesus as a new prophet, a man of compassion, full of mercy, forgiveness, hope and renewal. The man suffering with leprosy did indeed risk his life, in order to be cured. What great faith, courage, determination and humility were shown by him? In a sense he is the model of someone seeking reconciliation. The highpoint of our readings is the compassion of Jesus. The challenge he poses to each one of us is to be imitators of His love and forgiving spirit in our relationship with each other. May our encounter with Christ today bring healing and peace to our lives.

Whatever you do…do it for the Glory of God? (1Cor 10:31)

Feb 19th - 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time

 Who can forgive sin? 

Jesus forgives the paralytic his sins - and the trouble starts!  The scribes, with a “front seat” view of all that had happened, questioned what Jesus had done.  Who does He think He is? - only God can forgive sins.  Many people agree with this but do we, too, believe in a God who doesn’t want anyone else to forgive?

For Jesus, forgiveness is the shared duty of  all who would follow  Him.  He wants us to imitate God’s  forgiving of sin and not to let ourselves off the hook about forgiving those who sin against us.  When we pray to our Father don’t we ask for forgiveness as we forgive?

Forgiveness is the deepest healing anyone can experience.  We know how we can remain “paralysed” in spirit when we live without forgiveness.  And we know that our unwillingness to forgive others can keep them imprisoned and chained.  So the problem is not God’s forgiveness but ours.  God is an outstanding “forgiver” and Jesus wants to involve us in the same work of forgiving those who sin against us.  This is what Jesus shows us in His person and in His ministry.

Do we put limits on what God expects us to do?

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time (B)

 John 1:35-42

As John stood with two of his disciples, Jesus passed, and John stared hard at him and said, 'Look, there is the lamb of God.' Hearing this, the two disciples followed Jesus. Jesus turned round, saw them following and said, 'What do you want?' They answered, 'Rabbi,' - which means Teacher - 'where do you live?' 'Come and see' he replied; so they went and saw where he lived, and stayed with him the rest of that day. It was about the tenth hour.

One of these two who became followers of Jesus after hearing what John had said was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Early next morning, Andrew met his brother and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' - which means the Christ - and he took Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked hard at him and said, 'You are Simon son of John; you are to be called Cephas' - meaning Rock.



Who's image and likeness? 


Sometimes you can get into wonderful debate about religion. You don't have to be in the Church or the school for a hotly contested argument on the points of faith. I have found myself discussing the same in the most unusual of circumstances; the barbers is a great place for it; or even the gym! Where ever it takes place, there seems to be genuine interest on behalf of the parties involved to talk about faith - even if they profess to have little or none themselves. People like to talk to people of faith about faith. Maybe they are looking for some answers (maybe a fight?), who knows.

I had a little incident a few months ago in the parish. A couple were getting married and in the course of the preparation the question of the practice of the faith came up; put very bluntly, I asked 'do you go to Mass?' A deep discussion ensued. One of the parties told be out straight that they did not go to Mass, because they like to meet God in their own way, not in a way that is dictated to them. What way was that, I asked? Lighting a candle now and then and doing no wrong, was the reply. I asked was that enough, I was told I was bordering on being interfering. I replied, I'm a priest - that's my job!

It is not uncommon for people to describe themselves as religious or spiritual. A relationship with God for most adults is no more that a passive acknowledgement that 'there is something there'. For whatever reason many have not even a basic understanding of the what it means to be a Catholic, let alone what and why the Church teaches what it does. In days gone by when a 'cultural piety' existed it was not as necessary to ask the hard questions about what we believe. The faithful attended Mass and said the prayers and that was enough to make them very holy and good people. With fewer people attending Mass, that great mainstay is gone. The support of the community has dissipated and in its place a myriad of competing voices. God is up for grabs. If there is a God at all, some are happy to look for Him alone - on their terms.

John did not keep the disciples to himself. They saw Jesus and he told them to follow. The Lord was not content to answer their question "where do you live?" by giving them the address, he said "Come and see?" They came and spent time with Jesus, the rest of the day. Whatever they heard, or whatever they saw must have been very impressive, because Andrew the very next day was on the mission.
I find it interesting that he called Peter to come and see Jesus. He did not want to tell him about him, he wanted to introduce him, so that Peter could see for himself the Messiah.

From the very beginning of the Church apostles have been bringing people to Jesus. Andrew, John and Peter all went on to do great and wonderful things in Jesus' name. They worked great miracles, went on long and dangerous journeys. Andrew and Peter were to give their own lives for the faith. In all of this they pointed to Jesus. He was their reference and their message. No matter what they kept bringing people to Christ.

It is very easy to say, I will meet God in my own way- I will do it myself. If we do that we will inevitably be wrong. The image of God I will have will more likely be made the image and likeness of myself. God will vindicate all I do and say, hopefully he will smite my enemies for me - the thoughts of which gives some kind of wicked comfort. God is to be discovered not invented. We do not need to start from scratch, figuring out who God is and what we wants from us. It is already done. Jesus has revealed the face of the Father. In his Church - One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic - the Good News is preserved intact. Of course the history of our family the Church has it's darkness. Many have failed badly to reveal Christ as they should; despite all this the Church remains to point the way to the Father.

The Apostles saw Jesus, they met Him, they knew Him and loved Him. They have given us a complete and trustworthy faith to hold on to, so that in a world that changes the presence of God is real and alive. As we celebrate the Eucharist may we remember that we do not and should not feel as if we do it alone. By being part of the Church we will not stray and if we do the Shepherd, who's voice is known to the flock will bring us to green pasture.

(The large bell at St Peter's is called St. Andrew.)

January 8th - The Baptism of the Lord

In the course of his preaching John the Baptist said, 'Someone is following me, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to kneel down and undo the strap of his sandals. I ,have baptised you with water, but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.'

It was at this time that Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptised in the Jordan by John. No sooner had he come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven, 'You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.' (Mark 1: 7-11)

 

Root and Branch


Last week there was some pretty bad weather. Nothing, thankfully like the snow that afflicted us during Christmas 2010, but the weather was bad. The most significant aspect of this meteorological unpleasantness was the wind.  For about three days, heavy Atlantic wind and rain lashed the countryside. As the storm passed  a considerable amount of damage was done. What took most of the brunt of the gusts were trees. In parts of the country many roads were blocked of partially blocked by falling trees – thank God, no one was hurt.

I noticed something about trees during the storm. There are no leaves this time of the year.  It is very impressive the sound the wind makes when it blows through the naked branches of trees. Most of the trees could bend and resist the tempest, not falling to the ground. If the storm had come in June or July, when there was a think blanket of vegetation, the trees may not have fared so well. Nature, in its own way,  knows what it is doing when autumn becomes ‘the fall.’ The sails, as it were, were down.  Most of the trees that did tumble were old and rotten, or wrapped in ivy and weeds making them easy prey for the fury of winter.

Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and in so doing we have a chance to reflect on our own baptism. Christmas has been celebrated, the Magi have presented their gifts, today God is revealed in a most spectacular way in Jesus. We all have a share in this glory, by the grace of the Sacrament of Baptism.  The trees I referred to, can possibly be used as a little reminder of what we are about when it comes to baptism.

In the waters of Baptism we sink deep into the very life of God. We are submerged into God’s eternal life. The Spirit is poured into our hearts and looking at Jesus we can also hear the voice of the Father. The roots are deep and strong. We are in God and God is in us. We are also rooted in the Church. We are baptized into the faith of the Church, so that even if we do not always understand what we are about, we have the support of the community, which is the Body of Christ. These are the roots that keep us firmly on the path of salvation, the roots that give us strength when the wind blows.

The second thing is the leaves. When a tree has leaves and there is violent wind there is every chance that just the right amount of force applied will bring it to the ground. When our lives are laden with sin, worries and anxieties, it is far more likely that we will fall. If my life is choked with regret and guilt,  how can I rejoice in the presence of God? Baptism washes sin away. It takes away the sins that obscures us from the light of God. We are free to choose what is right and what is wrong, we are no longer slaves to sin – we have an innate freedom as a child of the Most High. Of course, we have the capability to sin (and we do sin) but we also have the gift of freedom.

So what am I saying? A dead tree in winter is the perfect model of the Christian life?! Not exactly. Our call is to live to the very fullest, to bloom and grow, to reflect the beauty of our Creator. The fullness of that life will be revealed in the presence of the Trinity in Heaven. There we fear no wind or storm. As we journey though this world on our pilgrim journey, the weather is not always fair. Wind often buffets us left and right. There are so many decisions and choices we have to take. Rooted in the Church we have a safe dwelling where we can encounter God in the Word and the Sacraments. Trees in a wood will survive a storm better that it would out in a field by itself.

The faith we receive in Baptism as wonderful thing. God is our refuge and strength. Rooted in Christ, with our sins forgiven we can weather the storms until at last we can rejoice in the Eternal Springtide of the Father’s house.

January 1st, Mary, Mother of God.

Happy New Year to one and all. This Sunday I would like to share a very powerful part of the Holy Father's Message for the World Day of Peace, addressed to young people:


Raising one’s eyes to God

Before the difficult challenge of walking the paths of justice and peace, we may be tempted to ask, in the words of the Psalmist: "I lift up my eyes to the mountains: from where shall come my help?" (Ps 121:1).

To all, and to young people in particular, I wish to say emphatically: "It is not ideologies that save the world, but only a return to the living God, our Creator, the guarantor of our freedom, the guarantor of what is really good and true … an unconditional return to God who is the measure of what is right and who at the same time is everlasting love. And what could ever save us apart from love?"9 Love takes delight in truth, it is the force that enables us to make a commitment to truth, to justice, to peace, because it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (cf. 1 Cor 13:1-13).

Dear young people, you are a precious gift for society. Do not yield to discouragement in the face of difficulties and do not abandon yourselves to false solutions which often seem the easiest way to overcome problems. Do not be afraid to make a commitment, to face hard work and sacrifice, to choose the paths that demand fidelity and constancy, humility and dedication. Be confident in your youth and its profound desires for happiness, truth, beauty and genuine love! Live fully this time in your life so rich and so full of enthusiasm.

Realize that you yourselves are an example and an inspiration to adults, even more so to the extent that you seek to overcome injustice and corruption and strive to build a better future. Be aware of your potential; never become self-centred but work for a brighter future for all. You are never alone. The Church has confidence in you, follows you, encourages you and wishes to offer you the most precious gift she has: the opportunity to raise your eyes to God, to encounter Jesus Christ, who is himself justice and peace.

All you men and women throughout the world, who take to heart the cause of peace: peace is not a blessing already attained, but rather a goal to which each and all of us must aspire. Let us look with greater hope to the future; let us encourage one another on our journey; let us work together to give our world a more humane and fraternal face; and let us feel a common responsibility towards present and future generations, especially in the task of training them to be people of peace and builders of peace. With these thoughts I offer my reflections and I appeal to everyone: let us pool our spiritual, moral and material resources for the great goal of "educating young people in justice and peace".

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen

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!!
++++++

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.'

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


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."