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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

Archive for the month “November, 2023”

25 Nov 2023

Feast of Christ the King

We continue to pray for peace in the world this weekend wherever there is war and discord. We also pray in a special way for the children and their teacher who were injured in a vicious attack in Dublin on Thursday .  This Sunday  we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. The theme of the kingship of Christ should not be misunderstood. Jesus is not king in an earthly sense of the word. Jesus is king to the Glory of God the Father; Jesus is Messiah, because he is the anointed one of God, who comes to do the will of God.The gospel parable of the last judgment picks up on the king and shepherd themes. At the end time Jesus, the Shepherd King, will return and surrounded by his retinue of angels, will judge the nations. He will share his glory with those he finds worthy. Will he find us to be worthy of his call to be with him forever? If we are serious about our Christianity, if we are committed to the Kingdom of God, we will be living lives of sacrificial love, the love Jesus Christ has for all of us.

To take Christ as our Shepherd involves becoming a shepherd to others making Christ present to them by reaching out showing the faith and leading them along the path of faith if they aren’t already going down that road. The kingdom of Christ, is a reign of charity and peace, is for all of us where ever we are. We remember that the Kingdom of God exists in every home where parents and children love each other. It exists in every region and country that cares for its weak and vulnerable people. It exists in every parish that reaches out to the needy with a helping hand. This very moment in our history and our lives presents us with a challenge and a choice. We can hear the Lord’s call in the presence of other’s needs. Or, we can turn away and do nothing. Now is the time for  conversion of heart and mind as we look towards  the Advent season. Now is the time to give ourselves to the work God and his kingdom where all are valued and no one is left behind. Jesus directs us Christians today, even if our resources are limited, to ask ourselves:  What can we share with those Jesus so powerfully identifies with in today’s parable  The thirsty, the hungry, the sick ,the poor the prisoners and the weak?

As we reflect on these readings, we are challenged to examine our lives. Do we recognize Christ as our king and allow him to reign in our hearts? Do we follow his example of humble service and selflessness, whether in our families, communities, or workplaces? In a world that often values power, wealth, and success, Christ’s kingship stands in stark contrast. He reigns not by force but by love. He leads not with arrogance but with humility. He serves not for personal gain but for the well-being of others. This is the kind of leadership that our world desperately needs. As we honour Christ the King, let us surrender our lives to His loving rule. Let us allow Him to be the King of our hearts, guiding us in acts of kindness, compassion, and love. Let us be a community that serves the least among us, recognizing the presence of our King in their faces.

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18 Nov 2023

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As we continue our prayers for peace we also remember all our families and friends who have died in this month when we pray for all the holy souls. The first reading this Sunday is from the book of Proverbs. Much of Scripture seems to overlook the contribution of women whose skills and responsibilities in family, community, and the world have always been essential. Yet here in this reading from Proverbs, there is a great shout out to the women of their time as well as the women of today. Though this presentation of a dutiful housewife reflects the culture of the age before the beginning of the Christian era, its message is clear. As the reading also fits in well with the message of the gospel, reflecting as it does the talents, skills, commitment and wisdom of women in our world. Our reading from the Gospel for this weekend  is about the servant and his one talent. The parable speaks first of the Master’s trust in his servants. While he goes away he leaves them with his money to use as they think best. While there were no strings attached, this was obviously a test to see if the Master’s workers would be industrious and reliable in their use of the money entrusted to them. The master rewards. those who are industrious and faithful and he punishes those who sit idly by and who do nothing with his money.

 The essence of the parable seems to lie in the servants’ conception of responsibility. Each servant entrusted with the master’s money was faithful up to a certain point. The servant who buried the master’s money was irresponsible. One can bury seeds in the ground and expect them to become productive because they obey natural laws. Coins, however, do not obey natural laws. They obey economic laws and become productive in circulation. The master expected his servants to be productive in the use of his money. If we stop and substitute the money aspect of the parable with the word faith then we get to what the parable is really about and it tells us that faith is a real and wonderful gift from God that should be treasured. Faith is also given to us according to our ability to deal with it; each in proportion to his ability, as it says in the parable. But the most important aspect of the Parable is that the Master will eventually return and the big question is will we be ready for his return?  In the second reading St. Paul assures us, ” the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.” This is a wake-up call to alert us to stop relying on false security, while missing the ways that Jesus comes into our lives.  Sometimes we feel God’s blessing. Sometimes we feel he is away out there somewhere in the distance. There are even times God may feel like the enemy.

We enjoy times of intimacy with god as graced moments. But in all the moments of our lives  we should try to realize that in times of distance and estrangement God offers us his life.  The Gospel parable about the talents, and Saint Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians both tell us to be at peace with ourselves in heart and mind, for if we are doing the Lord’s work there is nothing to fear. Christ has entrusted us with the Kingdom of God. We are called to work productively with the Spirit so that the Kingdom, the Reign of God’s grace, may be seen and experienced through us, that others also may come to believe. As we come closer to the end of the liturgical year, and the beginning of our Advent preparation for Christmas let us focus on doing the Lords work as we look to see how we can meet the needs of those around us as the new church year begins.

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11 Nov 2023

32nd Sunday of ordinary time

This weekend we have our annual day of remembrance when we remember all those who died in the first and second world wars. Remembrance Sunday reminds us of the need to pray without ceasing for peace in the world especially these days with the ongoing wars in the Holy Land and Ukraine.  The theme of our readings this weekend is not marriage though the Gospel story is about the bridegroom and his attendants. Instead the readings point us towards something very different that is the gift of Wisdom. The first reading  taken from the Book of Wisdom cites watchfulness as the key to a faithful understanding of wisdom according to St. Bernard wisdom lights up the mind and instils an attraction to the divine.  The author of the Book of Wisdom reminds us that we have one unfailing presence to guide us through our lives that is Wisdom. We are told Watch for her early and you will have no trouble; you will find her sitting at your gates. She is “resplendent and unfading;” always there for those who seek her out. The Gospel story for this Sunday is about an oil crisis in the Middle East it tells us about the five bridesmaids who didn’t buy extra lamp oil they were foolish because they weren’t prepared for the late arrival of the bridegroom.

On the other hand the story flags up the wisdom of the five wise bridesmaids who were prepared for the late arrival of the bridegroom as they went out and bought more oil for their lamps. Their wisdom wasn’t extraordinary, but eminently practical. It is true that it is near impossible, to estimate the quantity of oil necessary to keep a lamp lit as we await the bridegroom for an unknown length of time! In this story the Lamp is our faith and how we live our faith is the oil. This Gospel calls us to seize the moment and direct our lives guided by the wisdom that God gives us through the life and teachings of Jesus. What we experience is the routine of work, school, and various activities, rushed family meals, television, shopping, visiting elderly parents, friends and family, church services, etc. It can feel so predictable. But the routine of our daily lives  can also be shattered by the unexpected and sudden demands life puts on us and our loved ones. Will we be ready to respond? It depends on how well we have tended to our “oil” supply. If we have squandered it by neglect, or missed opportunities to get more oil for our lamps then when we look for backup in a moment of crisis, like the bridesmaids we may be left with the sound of the slamming door being locked as the bridegroom tells us I don’t know who you are you are too late.

Only those who were ready went in with the bridegroom to the wedding. When God calls us, will we be ready? The disciple needs to remain alert, vigilant and prepared for the ‘day of salvation’ by continually growing in a faithful and loving relationship with God. This loving relationship with God bears fruit in good works for neighbours. That is what it means to be hearers of the Word of god who take what they hear to heart. The Bridegroom comes when we least expect his presence. The encounters we have with the Lord are frequent. But it takes real wisdom – our flasks of wisdom filled – to see the Lord. We need light to see and the flasks that fill our lamps provide that for us. It is a light that frees us of the need to prove ourselves. What are the results when we seek and discover Wisdom bit by bit in a lifetime, the result is we become whole and at peace. Wisdom will find you if you are not too busy with something else. Wisdom will find you if you allow your mind to be open to the newness she might suggest you try. Wisdom and what she offers is one wonderful way God revives, saturates, and renews our parched, lifeless, and whirlwind lives with the abundance of blessings. So let us rejoice in the gift and blessing that wisdom is for us.

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04 Nov 2023

31st Sunday in ordinary time

Once again we remember all those who are in the War torn parts of the world as we continue our prayers for peace in so many places especially in Ukraine and the Holy Land. At the start of November as we begin the month of the Holy Souls we remember the faithful departed members of our families, friends, fellow parishioners as well as those who have no one to pray for them  may they rest in peace in the kingdom of God. The Religious leaders do not come off too well in this Sundays first and Gospel readings.  Jesus is not accusing them of not knowing their religion. They knew it very well. They were even good at teaching it to others; it is just that they didn’t practice what they preached. In the gospel for this Sunday Jesus warns against this kind of leadership. The atmosphere of hostility towards the religious leaders is evident in this Gospel reading. The scribes and Pharisees are presented as bad examples of religious leadership. Jesus is presented as engaging in violent caricature, arousing the crowds to condemn the scribes and Pharisees. It is a tense and angry scene in which Jesus makes sweeping generalisations: “Everything they do is done to attract attention…”.

Obviously, there were many scribes and Pharisees who were upright and good holy men. Matthew is warning against attitudes and practices which are not peculiar to any religious group they could apply to anyone at any time even to us today. The scribes and Pharisees happen to serve as useful examples especially since at the time of writing they represent the style of leadership Matthew is opposed to within his church. Authority in any organisation, the Church included, is meant to be a gift and used well. It is meant to be shown in loving service in  support of others, not in domination and control. It’s just not good enough to make people simply comply and obey. People may do that on the outside, while on the inside they are seething with rage and resentment which always boils over. The challenge for all Christian people is to get others onside, to win their hearts and minds, to persuade and convince them that following Jesus is the right thing to do. Again and again in his teaching Jesus insists that we must not dominate, lord it over, or oppress others! He teaches over and over again that God invites and calls us to follow him! He teaches us that the greatest in any group are those who love and serve the others! Jesus challenges us to go along the way of humility because, whether we are mindful of it or not, as baptised Christians we represent Christ in the world today.

Jesus challenges all who believe in him because he has high expectations of us as he expects us to be servants not masters.  Even though the Gospel for this Sunday is addressed to the religious leaders of Jesus’ time, it is also addressed to all of us who call ourselves disciples of Jesus who are followers of the way. We must be willing to put everything behind us that prevents us from living in the humble way that Jesus modelled for us.  The true way of life for  any Christian must reflect the life of Christ.  With Christ as our teacher we learn the ways of wisdom and love. We learn how to live, not by the values of the world, but by the values of the Spirit of god. So today as we reflect on the various things that are going on in our own lives and the world let us remember that we are called to be the humble face of Jesus where we are and  not be afraid to pass the good news of the gospel to those we meet when we get the chance wherever we are in the world.

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