Fullerton T

THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS

At the end of this week we have two feasts the feast of All Saints on Friday and the feast of All Souls on the Saturday. On November 1st the Church celebrates all the saints: and the great multitude of those who are in heaven enjoying the beatific vision that are only known to God. During the early centuries the Saints venerated by the Church were all martyrs. Later the  1^st  November was set  as the day for commemorating all the Saints. We all have this “universal call to holiness.” What must we to do in order to join the company of the saints in heaven? We “must follow Jesus footsteps and try to conform ourselves to His image as we seek  to do  the will of the Father in all things. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history” (Lumen Gentium) The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope.

Among the saints in heaven are some  people whom we have known such as Pope Saint John Paul or Padre Pio who both lived in the last 100 years.  Padre Pio died in 1968 and of course John Paul died in 2005. But there are so many ordinary people who show us how to be saints by the way they lead their lives and we try to follow their example as well.  After rejoicing  with the saints in heaven on November 2^nd we  pray for all those souls who in the purifying suffering of purgatory await the day when they will join the company of saints. in a special Part of  the eucharistic prayer the priest remembers all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, the priest implores God to grant them a place of happiness, light and peace. In a special way we remember our families and friends who have passed on and we also remember all those who have died whoever they are throughout the whole month of November which is known as the month of the Holy Souls. So at the end of this week we pray with the saints in heaven as we remember all who have died may they rest in the peace of the kingdom of God.

30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of October with the schools in our locality having the midterm break for Halloween next week. It is also hard to believe that next Friday we celebrate the feast of All Saints closely followed by all souls the next day. The readings in our Liturgy for this weekend are all about the HUMBLE person of faith that God calls all of us to be in our own time and place. That means that we shouldn’t lose the run of ourselves when dealing with people and the situations that we might find ourselves.

What does the Gospel Reading about the tax collector and the Pharisee say to us today ? Also and I think more importantly what about the words of the Tax Collector who said in a simple humble way  God be merciful to me a sinner what do these humble words  say to us? I think that the Tax Collector despised by the people because of the job he does (nobody likes the tax man even now) is saying to us that we need to have the humility to be humble before God who knows that we are sinners even before we say it and we also have to be humble with other people dealing with them with real humility.

Real humility is about facing  the truth  about the person we are and often times we don’t like to hear the truth about ourselves or any situations we might be in.  The person who is truly humble will always see pride in him or herself as a bad thing.  The person who is humble believes him/herself to have nothing, when in fact he has God, who is for him and in him!  The person who knows  how to be dependent on God humbles himself so much,  putting himself in his proper place before his Creator, that God cannot  leave him in this state:  the Lord lifts him up to his own Glory in order to make him his adopted child.  In a word, he who humbles himself, God justifies! The more someone makes himself small in the eyes of god, the more the Lord is pleased to come and live in him and to make him shine with his divine light before other people.  In our modern world, Pride which was very strong in the words the Pharisee spoke dominates the world, and it is this pride which often leads many people the world over down a long lonely path. The old saying rings true that pride comes before a fall and we see this  in so many places and situations we might find ourselves or perhaps we have seen other people in. Today, the same as  every  other Sunday, we shall receive within us Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist.  We shall approach the altar of the Lord with humble hearts and minds. This approach testifies at once to our humility and to our grandeur.

It testifies to our humility, for we humble in believing that what we see as bread is not bread but rather the Body of Christ.  It testifies to our grandeur, for, in communion, we truly become the Body of Christ, adoptive sons and daughters in the only Son of God!  May this approach be our justification, for the salvation of the world! I finish with these words from Micah which really sum up the gospel reading for this Sunday and what does the Lord require of us? He requires us To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God? The Lord requires us in the same way to be just, kind in our dealings with other people and to walk humbly with our god so let us go forth into the world with true humility in our hearts and minds so we are able to serve those who need us most where we are.

MISSION SUNDAY 2019

This Weekend  we celebrate the international missionary effort of the Church throughout the world. Here in Ireland for many centuries there have been so many great Irishmen and women  who have gone to foreign lands to bring the faith of our fathers to those who might not have got the faith otherwise. The same faith that was brought to us in our turn by the missionary efforts of Saint Patrick many years ago. This Sunday celebrates the great missionary spirit that has brought the faith to all corners of the world over so many years.  we remember all those who have gone into the mission fields from all the countries of the world, members of the religious orders such as the Columbans, Mill Hill Fathers, St. Patrick’s  Kilteegan Fathers the Medical Missionaries of Mary and all the other religious orders who along with the Lay Missionary movements such as Viatores Christi have brought Christ and the light of his message to the far corners of the world.

Mission was understood as going abroad, to countries where the Church was not yet strong or to places where people suffered from poverty or conflict. This is indeed still necessary and valid today and we pray people will continue to give their lives to mission in this way. Mission was also seen as the task primarily of priests and religious, with a  few lay missionaries, and their work was and is still supported by the generosity of the people especially those at home. Mission is essentially faith in action, and to this we as baptised are all called to be missionaries at home where we are. There are many ways in which people live mission today, both at home and overseas. These include being involved in action to prevent trafficking, various kinds of social and community work with the poor and marginalised, reaching out to refugees and migrants and action to care for the earth. Some of those people who are engaged in these activities may not profess a formal Christian faith, but it is evident that their activities are inspired by Gospel values and they are promoting the reign of God.

Mission Sunday gives us an opportunity to ask ourselves what is our mission perhaps we should be asking ourselves what are we doing to promote the kingdom of god where we are and do we support those engaged in mission activity by our prayers and other help.  Mission Sunday gives us the opportunity to thank god for the faith that we have as well as acknowledging and thanking god for all those faithful missionary men and women who left everything in order to bring the faith and the light of Christ to the far corners of the world. We pray that the Lord of the harvest will continue to inspire many people to join the missionary effort both at home and abroad  as we go forward with faith .

28TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

This Sunday our readings are all about gratitude and the attitude of gratitude in our Gospel Reading we hear the story of the ten Lepers and their lack of gratitude for their healing. This is one of many such examples of ingratitude that occurred during Christ’s public ministry, most of those he cured forget to thank him. In today’s incident there was one who had the decency to return and thank his benefactor, and he was the one least expected to do so. This pleased our Lord and led Him to remark on the ingratitude of the others. This Gospel story is not only about the Lepers it’s also about our lack of gratitude for the many good  things that we have in our lives given to us by God. When we were youngsters growing up we were taught to say, “Thank you” by our parents when they gave us a sweet or whatever, when we didn’t we would be dutifully reminded, “What do you say?” and of course we said the magic words ‘Thank You.’

All the lepers showed great faith and confidence in Jesus’ power to heal but only one of them said thanks. They had not heard Him preach nor had they seen any of His miracles. They lived in isolation camps because of the leprosy, yet they believed the reports they had heard.  The nine lepers were appreciative of what Jesus had done; we don’t know, why they didn’t bother to show their gratitude to Jesus. We can only look to ourselves to ask why we are often reluctant to say thank you for all the good things we have. There is seems to be great deal of awkwardness surrounding the attitude of gratitude and saying thank you. Personally I find that to be thanked means more to me than being given a gift for a task just done. Whatever the reason for our own ingratitude, we know that it diminishes us and those who help us. All of us have reasons to give thanks for so many things yet very few turn to the Lord with words and hearts expressing our thanks for all the wonders he has done for us in our lives.  Do we have the attitude of gratitude which thanks god and those around and us for their goodness to us.

When we gather each Sunday we come to join God in the midst of the assembly with gratitude in our hearts. We give praise and thanks to God and we thank him for all those who have given us their help. May all of us have the attitude of gratitude for all the good things that we have in our lives which means that we are thankful for all that we are and all that we have especially in these times when so many have little or nothing at all.

26TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

This Sunday the gospel story tells us about two people, a rich man and a poor man it is a good reflection on the situation in the world at the present time where those who are rich are getting richer at the expense of the poor who are getting poorer. The rich man is wealthy in clothes and food; he is also rich in privilege and  freedom he is free from the worry that besets those who are poor even though he was poorer than the poorest man because of the way he lived his life. You can imagine Lazarus praying: “Give us this day our daily bread.” But he didn’t get  a crumb. You cannot imagine the rich man praying, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Because the privilege he has blinds him to Lazarus the man who lies at his own gate. Both men eventually died as all of us will.  Lazarus went straight to heaven to the joy  of endless happiness.

On the other hand the rich man fares very differently. His enjoyments are over. He is now in Hades and he is told that he can expect no relief. Abraham tells him why he is in his present state: he abused his time on earth he acted as though there would be no judgment day of course there was and he sees the truth of this. He knows that he has no one to blame but himself which adds to his torment. It is also a cause of additional grief to him that his bad example will lead his brothers that is his fellowmen to a similar fate. All the parables of our Lord are based on everyday happenings. While we hope and pray that the case of the rich man described here is not an everyday occurrence, there is no doubt that such cases have happened and will happen again especially these days when the few have so much and so many have little or nothing at all.  This rich man is in eternal torment because he let his wealth become his master and forgot God and his neighbor and his own real welfare that leads us all to eternal life. There are people like the rich man in our world today, men and women young and old who completely ignore their real future. While they know that their stay on this earth is of very short duration and that they will have to leave it they still act and live as if they had a permanent home here. There is a lovely scripture verse that tells us that when the tent of our earthly dwelling is folded up we will come to our true home in heaven and this is so true.

For all of us today there is a simple question are we going to be like the rich man and ignore those around us who are the Lazarus’s of our own world. There are times when our lack of Compassion and action is our crime think of how we react to The homeless, the refugees or those who don’t have enough daily bread. All of them all worthy of our thoughts our prayers and a share of our resources. Christ, shared his riches with everyone we should do the same and not be like the rich man in the gospel story!!!

25TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

Our gospel story for this Sunday tells us about the rich Man and his dishonest steward. The steward who looked after his master’s estates is accused of wasting his employer’s goods; he is dismissed, but before he goes he must submit the final account of his stewardship.  In this time of crisis the steward takes firm and immediate action to ensure his own future. He is praised not for his dishonesty, but for his resourcefulness in coping with an emergency with such speed. If a dishonest man can use his employer’s money to ensure there will be people to welcome him when he’s out of a job, how much more should honest people use their money in such a way that they will be welcomed into the kingdom of God when they arrive there. This parable invites us to examine our use of material possessions. One of the central themes in Luke’s gospel is the suspicion Jesus conveys towards worldly wealth.

Material things can divert our attention and in some cases they can take the place of what truly matters in life. These particular words of Jesus are a warning to those who follow him on the road to heaven, the warning is that we shouldn’t be the slaves of earthly things and this is applicable to all of us. Most of us may feel that this warning is for millionaires and business magnates. Our Lord didn’t say who he was warning and his words at all times are meant to be a challenge for all of us where we are. What Jesus warned against was not the just acquisition of this world’s goods but their unjust acquisition, and the dishonest use of them when they were justly acquired. There are wealthy people in Luke’s gospel who seem to follow the thrust of the parable and make wise use of their time, their talents and their wealth. They use their possessions to serve Jesus as sons and daughters of God.

Stirred by teachings like today’s gospel story  they decided to act quickly and decisively to help others and journey with them in their time of need. This gospel story gives us an example of someone who knew what he had to do in a crisis situation and Jesus asks all of us to remember no matter what situations we might find ourselves in that we shouldn’t become slaves to the processions or wealth that we might have and that we shouldn’t be afraid to use whatever our resources are for the good of everyone especially those in need and there are many people who are in need around us these days.

24TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

In our reading from the Gospel of Luke on this Sunday we hear the story of the Prodigal Son. This story is about 2 things  the mercy of God  the Father as well as being about us seeking the mercy of the father. Many people today become so entrenched in their opinion on many subjects that they see no other point of view apart from their own and find it impossible to come back or start to take the steps to return. At times the steps necessary for our walk back to the Father may seem too many and too arduous for us and we hesitate even to make the first move. Perhaps it is only when we see, like the Prodigal Son, that we are then willing to rouse ourselves to say sorry  and to take the path of conversion that leads to the merciful embrace of our heavenly Father.

When we make even the slightest effort in sorrow, with God’s grace, it is then we see the Father waiting with love to embrace us and welcome us home. Rejection of the love and presence of his father, in the communion of life and love as a family, was a terrible choice for the prodigal son. He desired things over people, his share of the inheritance in preference to a life in communion with the father who gave him life and loved him. He wanted the father to be as if dead to him. Having said that let us remember that God celebrates every time  that we return to him.  Jesus said, “I tell you that there will be more celebration in heaven over one sinner who repents then over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”  The tax collectors and sinners did not come to hear the  Pharisees and scribes, because they knew that they would find only judgment. They came to hear Jesus, because he was happy that they wanted to change their lives.

God did not give up on them and he does not give up on us as well.  He will not give up on us, calling us to him personally Seeking us out. Nor does He give up on anyone, even those who have been far from the faith.  He calls us all to join Him in the joy of His Presence, the Joy of the Banquet of  the Lord. The return of those who have had been away is a time for celebration. The cause of their leaving no longer matters.  They have returned. The family is back together.  We need to celebrate. We need to remember that no matter who we are or what we have done  that all of us need the loving mercy of God in the same way as the prodigal Son needed the mercy of his Father who welcomed him back with open arms.

23RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

This weekend there are a number of protests taking place in Belfast against Abortion being brought into Northern Ireland. If we had a working assembly this would not be happening in this way as I do not believe that it is the will of the people of Northern Ireland. We pray for our Politicians and the people they represent at this difficult time in our history in terms of what is happening in Northern Ireland regarding Abortion and Brexit.

In this Sundays first reading the author of Wisdom reflects that it is hardly surprising that we have trouble figuring out the intentions of God when we have so much trouble figuring each other. He warns: “It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach.” There are times such as these when those within our reach puzzle us. And even though God has revealed himself through his Holy Spirit, nobody can claim to fully understand the mystery that is God. We still have much to figure out in so many things especially the things that relate to God.

 In the Gospel there is plenty of figuring out to be done too. Jesus gives people notice that they have to work out for themselves if they are equal to the demands of discipleship. That means that first they have to figure out the cost of discipleship, then consider whether they have the resources to meet that cost.  To drive the point home, Jesus uses twin parables Anyone intending to build a tower would “first sit down and work out the cost”. If he started without finishing, the sum of his achievement would be a monument to his own stupidity. Likewise, the king who discovers that his forces are outnumbered would “first sit down and consider” whether the opposing arithmetic is too heavy. If he wants to be a smart survivor he will practise his speeches on the wonders of peace! In both instances the advice is clear: take the time; sit down; look at the demands; figure out whether you can honestly meet them.  Much of our lives involve figuring out what is within our reach and what we ourselves can realistically achieve. Jesus knows that his disciples must prefer following him to following in their fathers’ footsteps.

He calls them away from the primacy of the family because discipleship means a new and all-consuming loyalty. It means following Jesus who makes his way of love with the cross on his back. So the moral for all of us in these days of uncertainty around so many things that matter is that when we come to make life changing decisions we need to stop and do what this gospel tells us and that is to take the time; look at the demands the decision to be made will make on us as individuals and communities; and figure out what is within our reach and what we can realistically achieve that will help us to go forward in faith and in hope rather than backwards in fear. In these days when so much is at stake let us redouble our efforts in Prayer and action to make those who are responsible for the mess that we are in sit up and take notice so they will make good decisions for the common good of everyone based on proper consideration of what is possible rather than some unachievable ideal that will never happen.

22nd  SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

This Sunday we celebrate the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. This is a time for new beginnings with the youngsters going back to school or college and their  parents breathing a big sigh of relief that the long holidays are now at an end .Many of us have the feeling that time is passing by so very quickly and it seems like a blink of an eye since the end of June when the schools and colleges closed.

The  readings  for this Sunday are all about humility, a virtue that doesn’t seem to be valued that much in our world. These days, it’s all about how many “friends” we have on Facebook, how many followers we have on Twitter. But for all of today’s technology we can still pick up on someone whose humility is done for show, whose humbleness is not the real thing and there are people like that around and about. Humility is about: being real, being grounded. Accepting and sharing our gifts without fanfare; acknowledging and accepting our  own faults without undue self-recrimination.

If we live a virtually unrecognized life of goodness and quiet service, sooner or later someone will praise us in some way.   We thank God for all the things that come to us and humbly acknowledge that we were using the  gifts of God for the good of all.  It is his grace that has produced the right attitude within us to live in a humble way. To me, generosity involves the giving of one’s time, talent, or money for the common good without thought of personal recompense and without thought of scrutinizing the recipients. For people who want to seek a more human and fraternal world, Jesus says that welcoming the poor and needy must rank before all other relationships or social conventions.

Many people do this quite effectively and seem to match Jesus’s expectation perfectly.  Some people, however, widen their giving to include the less fortunate but maintain a certain  level of superiority to the recipients which is wrong.   Jesus’s message in this Gospel Reading is  unconditional giving of oneself and one’s resources and it needs to be done willingly according to Jesus’s direction rather than to further one’s own motives as those who were seeking the best seats in the Gospel were trying to do.  Being humble is something we learn through living fully with our successes and our failures, and never forgetting our dependence on God our merciful Father.   St. Augustine once said, “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues; hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” Without humility, our compassion is meager; our mercy, condescending. Real humility takes awareness and acceptance of our real selves which is why it is so hard for us to achieve. May we be the Humble people that we are called to be in the Gospel of this Sunday accepting our real selves so that that we may use our  God given gifts wisely in the service of others.