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4th Sunday of Lent

This weekend we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Lent that is also known as Laetare Sunday and this mirrors Gaudete Sunday in Advent because the mood and theme of both days is one of hope and rejoicing. So what is the cause for rejoicing this Sunday? The cause for our rejoicing is that we are getting close to the great events of Holy Week and Easter that have brought us salvation. But on a more secular  note we are rejoicing because we are beginning to slowly emerge from the restrictions that COVID19 has imposed on us for the last year or so. We thank God that we are at this stage but as we are thankful r we pray for all those effected by the pandemic especially the families of all those who have died.

The Gospel reading from John tells us that a person is condemned because that  person did not  believe in the Son of God. God the Father has no desire to condemn, but people condemn themselves by putting God and the ideals of faith out of their lives.

Over many centuries so many people have said there is no  god or in situations that seemed hopeless  they have asked where is God and all of us have done this especially since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic and we know in faith the God is with us. There are so many people out there in our so called modern world  who have turned out the light of faith in their lives permanently for many reasons.  I know people of all ages who have been brought up in the Faith and then have left it all behind and yet we as people of faith know that there is a  god and he is there among us in the people who are in our daily lives though sometimes we do not realize it . He is there in the good and bad times that we have in our lives and helps us to get through whatever happens. At the Easter Vigil we proclaim the risen Lord as Christ our Light and we celebrate with joy.  Jesus is God’s own Son given to us and for us, the one who wants to restore the people who are  in exile. He wants to bring light to those who live in darkness. He wants to bring life to those who are perishing.

This is the good news, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” This is the reason that we are trying to be faith filled people even though it is hard going. This past year has been hard going for everyone but we try to keep the faith knowing that God is with us in all our troubles. This Sunday is a cause for rejoicing in the midst of our Lenten efforts to renew ourselves so that we may bask in the light of Christ at Easter.

THIRD SUNDA OF LENT

This weekend we celebrate the third Sunday of Lent and we are almost at the 12 month point since the restrictions around COVID19 began here in NI. I get the feeling that we are coming out the other side with the slow return of all the things we value. When all this started we really did not know what was going on and all of  had to make the best of what has happened. Now as we begin our slow return to normal we are asked to hold firm and stay with the changes that have taken place as we do that we are also asked to be a friend to those around us who might be in any difficulty especially when life is not so good  during and after the pandemic.

This Sunday’s gospel shows us that Jesus was really tuned in to our human nature: He knew what was going on in the hearts of those around him. He knew what they thought. He saw what they did to the Temple. The Temple was supposed to be a place of celebration celebrating the spiritual presence of God in the world. The reading tells us that  the people changed the Temple into a marketplace when it should have been a place of spiritual encounter.

For many in our modern world the day of the Lord Sunday has been replaced with so many secular things taking the place of God religion and faith.  Jesus knew that people would see the signs that he worked, the miracles he performed, but the same  people would refuse to see the messages behind the signs and the miracles that were there if front of them in plain sight. Instead they would see him as a wonder worker, a superman, a good show and Jesus wasn’t about any of that. Many people have left the faith behind but in similar fashion many are returning again. It is often said that in order to really appreciate something we have to leave it behind and then go back to it again later on when we understand the thing we have left behind was a better deal than the place we went to.The portrait of Jesus in today’s Gospel is a world away from the storybook caricature of Jesus, the meek and mild figure. An equal caricature is to use this passage to make Jesus into a godfather of violence, a revolutionary willing to support annihilation for the sake of the cause and that was not the case. Jesus did use force in the Temple; he was certainly aggressive. But he did not use force because he was not a political leader. Nor did he use aggression to gain power for himself because his kingdom could not be established by violence.

Our faith is not about a good show instead it is about our relationship with God and how we bring the love of God to those around us. Jesus shows us  what real love is as he went on to die on the cross for us on Good Friday.  Our dying to ourselves during Lent is an identification with the power of Christ crucified. Our calling, then, is to be strong in faith, not weak. God gives us signs both people and places as anchors of faith even during this time of pandemic. We must trust the Lord to cut us free from everything that stops us going to him and allow him to guide us through the rough currents of life especially the ones we are going through these days. So we go forward with hope and certainty towards Easter as we do that we remember that our god is a god who is with us in good and bad times and he won’t let us down.

Second Sunday of Lent

Here we are at the second Sunday of Lent. It is hard to believe it but time is marching on and yes its nearly a year since all the COVID19 restrictions began. In the Gospel reading for this weekend we hear about Jesus going up the mountain taking Peter James and John, with him and we hear the voice of the father identifying  Jesus as “my beloved Son.”  the God who speaks to the disciples on the mountain directs all of us to “Listen to him”. Our journey during lent is a journey of listening to scripture and listening to one another as we tell our own stories of faith.  Mountains were  always seen places of retreat and encounter with god.  Moses and Elijah were no strangers to mountain encounters with God. They met God on the mountain, but struggled to make God’s plan a reality back down among the people on the ground. Moses, the lawgiver and Elijah, the prophet, symbolized the rich religious tradition of the Jewish people.

Through them, that tradition is in dialogue with Jesus.  The voice of god from the heavens identifies Jesus as “my beloved Son.”  Jesus invites us to an exciting journey our lives lived in faith should be an exciting journey from birth right until we get to the pearly gates when we die. “The kingdom of God is at hand, Repent, and believe the Good News are all about Lent and in a particular way it is our call to take up the spiritual journey.  We’re not invited to go on  a trip to Disneyland or any other holiday place we might want to go to especially during the Pandemic when a great number of us are in lockdown. Instead we are called to explore the great depths of God’s love for us as we try to move and live in God’s Love as we climb the mountain of the Lord which is represented by our annua observance of Lent. Every year we hope to rise again from the ashes of our sins and failures “to recreate ourselves anew.” Every year we take a six week journey, a pilgrimage of faith that takes us through the penance, self-discipline, prayer, and  good works of Lent that lead us  to the refreshing waters of Easter.

As Jesus taught a lesson in patience and hope to Peter, James, and John, so He teaches us to listen and wait, as we wait we are encouraged to listen to his message. In our Lenten journey we remember Jesus transfigured on the mountain and listen to what he is telling us! May we keep in mind that God and the community around us provide us with encouragement and strength to continue in faith through all the adversities that have been thrown at us especially in this past year with the COVID19 pandemic with all the hassle it has brought to us .

First Sunday of Lent

This Sunday is the first Sunday in Lent and we would normally begin with the ashes on Ash Wednesday but this year things are very different. With covid19 around and an ever present danger we began Lent with  the Ash Wednesday services online but as usual we were asked to  repent and be faithful to the Gospel. This year lent is different  for all of us little did any we realize that we would be in the various restrictions  for so long. Nor did we realize that so many would be saying goodbye to their loved ones who died from the Corona Virus over the last 11 months. This Year Lent will be different as we go into the wilderness with Jesus and that is where we seem to have been for the last 11 months or so with the restrictions in place.

Many of us feel that we have been in the wilderness we also remember that Jesus has been with us in that wilderness and is journeying with us in all we have gone through as we look forward to more hope and joy filled times. Lent throws out many question to challenge us and the questions I often think about  around this time of year is Why do we have Lent every year? Why penance? Why fasting? Why almsgiving? What does that have to do with us? If we take our faith seriously then Lent, penance, fasting and almsgiving have a great deal to do with us. This reading from the Gospel of Mark also tells us that the time has come for us to repent and believe in the Good News. It is an ancient custom in the Church that the story of the temptation of Jesus in the desert should be read on the first Sunday of Lent. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness. At the beginning of the forty days of Lent the Church always puts before us his time of solitude and it also puts before us a time for renewal.

We ask ourselves what in our homes, at work, local, and parish communities needs to be changed for so many are out there in the wilderness of a godless faithless life. During the season of Lent we take stock of where we are in our lives and where we really need to be as people of faith who believe in God. These next few weeks will be a time of refreshment, a time of repentance and also a time of renewal that prepare us for Holy Week and Easter. So now as we begin Lent we are invited to commit our lives fully to God and God’s ways remembering that god’s ways are not our ways.  Jesus preaches “Metanoia which requires change of heart, mind and Spirit. Let us ask ourselves whether we are open to be really changed as gods people s so we will be able to enter more fully into the great ceremonies of our redemption during Holy Week and Easter.

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we celebrate the 6^th Sunday of ordinary time as we finish the first part of Ordinary Time as the Holy Season of Lent begins again with the Ashes of ash Wednesday next week. We have now come full circle and here we are facing into Lent with all its opportunities. However Ash Wednesday and Lent will be different this year because of the COVID Pandemic.

Our Gospel story tells us  about the Leper going to Jesus who healed him but it is about much more than just the healing, it is about the faith that the leper had in Jesus. It is also about the faith we have in Jesus.  After he heals him Jesus tells the man to be silent. He wants the miracle to be personal and quiet for a purpose. The man is to go first to the priests and go through the ritual cleansing prescribed in Leviticus (14:1ff.) Maybe the priests would ask the man how he was cured and then they would hear about Jesus. Who better to give witness to Jesus than someone whose life has been changed by him? Who better to witness to the strength, joy, encouragement, hope and direction that Jesus gives us than one who has been transformed by him?  

It is interesting to note that during his healing of the leper Jesus reaches out his hand and touches the man. This is a clear breach of one of the rules set down by Moses; touch was forbidden for fear of passing on the infection. But, of course, touch is often an important part of the healing process and Jesus does not hesitate to touch the man he is healing. In hospitals the doctors carry out the physical treatment but it is often the tender loving care given by the nurses that actually brings about the real healing. This TLC, as we call it, cannot be truly given without touching. When we consider the disease of leprosy we can see too that it has many similarities with that other great disease that afflict mankind, namely sin. Leprosy separates human beings from each other, but sin separates us both from God and from each other. Sin brings division and damages the cohesion of the community.  The lepers life was changed by Jesus’ compassion, touch and words but Jesus told him not to tell anyone. We have to ask ourselves are our own lives changed when we hear the words of Jesus?  Do we allow ourselves to be transformed by the words of Jesus in order to show his compassion to others? The man who Jesus cured became an evangelist.

He “proclaimed and spread the word.” In the context of Mark, the cured man brought others to faith even though he was told not to tell anyone. So many, in fact, Jesus could not travel in the open for fear of a mob. Yet, they came to him from every point in Galilee. Jesus continued his ministry despite restrictions placed on him. But he could not visit new territories and preach. Word of his power preceded Jesus and brought the needy to him. May we share the healed man’s enthusiasm to make known the goodness of God. As we begin the season of Lent  next Wednesday Let us pray for a spirit of compassion and understanding as we journey through Lent to the great celebration of Holy Week and Easter especially during the covid19 pandemic.

5TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

This weekend we hear from Job who believes there is nothing left for him but a life drudgery and grief. Like Job in the first reading, we all come upon times of chaos, times of stress. There are so many aspects to life for which there are no solutions especially during the COVID19 pandemic. Like Job we all experience what he called months of misery and it has been like that for so many people and countries for the past year or more as we endure  COVID19 .Perhaps, we do not suffer to the extent that Job seems to have suffered, but life these days brings many challenges, including challenges to our faith that God will get us through. The Lord is aware of our difficulties. He sees our turmoil. He wants to heal us, just as he healed all those people in this weekend’s Gospel.  In the Gospel Reading for this Sunday, Jesus comes to Peter’s house, he finds that Peter’s mother-in-law is sick, and he heals her. The whole town hears of her healing and rushes all their sick to Peter’s house. The house is surrounded, and so is Jesus. Now, all of a sudden, Jesus seems to have become a one-man hospital the man who heals all their ills.

He is so besieged that he can’t even pray in the house. He has to head out into the countryside secretly in the dark of morning. When his absence is detected, his disciples go looking for him. when they find him, they tell him “Everybody is looking for you!”  We Christians of today have many advantages over the people of Capernaum. They saw Christ with their eyes as a man of power amongst them; we see him with the eyes of faith as he really was and is the Son of God who came on earth in order to make us the family of God. We know who he really was and we know the full meaning of his mission. We have seen that mission completed amongst us by his death on the cross and his resurrection. By his death he conquered death by his resurrection he opened the gates of heaven for us and shows us  how to get there. The road we have to take is not easy and many people have chosen other roads. But I believe that people of all ages are out there looking for Jesus seeking the things of lasting value they are out there looking for Jesus and they are finding and following him. The questions of the suffering Job are not answered in the Gospel. Jesus may have his own questions about the suffering that surrounds him, as he will have his own questions when his own suffering becomes his passion on good Friday.

But whatever his questions are, Jesus stays committed to caring for the sick. That is his witness. Through the witness of Jesus we hold fast to the truth that God loves us in our weakness and fragility, in our sickness and suffering. We can see a reflection of God’s care in the commitment of doctors, nurses, healers, hospital chaplains and all the people who tend to the suffering of others especially in these times of the COVID19 pandemic. They are God’s compassion in flesh, God’s care in action on the ground. No doubt all of them have reason to wonder, to protest, to be angry when they see the innocent suffer. But they carry on. That is their enduring witness. Last Tuesday  we celebrated the feast of the presentation of Jesus in the temple and we blessed the candles. The candles represent the light of Christ will we be the light of Christ in all the places and situations we will find ourselves in  as we head towards the season of Lent that starts on the 17^th February? Will we be the people who point others along the right roads that lead to Jesus  in what we do and what we say during the season of Lent and beyond?

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week we have been taking part in Catholic Schools week, over these days we have been celebrating what it means to be a catholic  school. This year with the schools closed there have been a number of celebrations online as most of the learning at home has been online and we pray for our teachers, parents, grandparents and the young people  that make up our school communities. For all our young people and their parents this past year has been a tough one but we should not forget that things will get better as we go forward and we pray for all those involved in education wherever they are.

in this Sundays  Gospel we hear about the authority of the Lord to cast out demons and devils. The reading is taken from the Gospel of Mark. As Jesus begins to teach in Capernaum. The people are spellbound because he spoke with authority, not like the scribes. A man comes to Jesus who is in the hand of an evil power and Jesus makes the devil come out of the man. The bystanders are amazed because Jesus has such authority.  What do we mean when we speak about the authority of the Lord? What do we mean when we talk about authority in general? What ways do we exercise authority in relation to those around us? What ways do we exercise the authority of the Lord as Christians?  The word authority comes from the Latin word auctoritas. The basic meaning of this Latin word is creator, the word author also comes from this word. In general, authority is intimately connected with its source that source is the person who gives another the authority to do something so the authority that Jesus has comes from his Father. Jesus, speaks for God through his divine nature. His entire public life was about compassion and mercy. He despised arrogance, fought hypocrisy, and he believed the heart was stronger than the law.  He brought God’s mercy compassion and love to the earth and in the process brought us forgiveness from our self-interest, our scapegoating, our manipulation of frayed emotions, and our insecurity in the face of diversity of language, race, and nationality. Are we going to ignore the calling of Jesus to be prophets in our own place or will we step up and be the prophets of god for our own time here and now where we are? Recent events in America show us that we need prophets for our time people who are not afraid to stand up and be counted when it comes to pointing out the errors that people make as they need to hear us  speak truth to power. We are truly prophets when we stand for the truth, for the marginalized, for the alien, for the victim of war, for the victims of capitalism that serves only the capitalist when it should serve everyone. We are stronger when we show that there is another way and that way is the way of forgiveness it is the way of compassion and it is the way of love that comes to us from god the authority for all we do and say as people of faith hope and love we who are the people of god.  

When we find ourselves depressed by the evil we see in others, perhaps we best hear the authoritative teaching of Jesus when we hear it as a call to conversion of heart mind and spirit bringing God’s mercy compassion and love to the people around us as well as ourselves. If that call seems to touch us when we are at our weakest, let us be encouraged that such weakness is an opening for God’s healing and liberating power so let us be the prophets of gods healing in our broken world a world that needs healing more than ever these days of the uncertainty that comes with COVID19 and many other things and people as well.

3RD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

As we continue our journey with the COVID19 virus we continue our prayers for everyone wherever they are who is affected by the pandemic. This Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of ordinary time  and we celebrate the Sunday of the Word of God in which we emphasise the centrality of Gods word in our lives, the Second Vatican Council gave great impulse to the rediscovery of the word of God, thanks to its Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum. The Constitution clearly expounds the nature of sacred Scripture, its transmission from generation to generation, its divine inspiration embracing the Old and New Testaments, and the importance of Scripture in the life of the Church . Pope Benedict convoked an Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2008 on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church”, and then issued the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini. That document emphasizes the particular character of the Word of God, especially in the context of the liturgy, in which its sacramental character comes to the fore.

May we listen more attentively to the voice of the lord in the Scripture readings as we travel the roads of life during these difficult times and they will provide a lamp for our feet.

In the Gospel  for this Sunday we hear the call to get up and get going. That is to get up and leave family friends and go out to the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Of course in today’s world the church and faith in general mean a lot less in people’s eyes and many tell you that the faith they had in God has got up and gone and for a great number that was a long time ago!! So many have placed their trust in the worldly things whilst leaving the lasting things that is things of god behind.  The  second reading for this Sunday tells us that though we live in the world and are of the world we need to remember that all of us  who have to deal with and live in the world should not become engrossed in it as the worldly life has often taken  people down the wrong road and that road  leads away from a god and his ways.  In the Gospel we learn the names of the first four disciples, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and the brothers James and John.

Christ saw something in Simon James Andrew and John that led Him to entrust them with carrying out His mission at the beginning building His Church when he called them to be fishers of Men. Each person had their unique role to play in that process at the beginning, just as each of us have a unique role to play  now.   The fishermen abandon both their work, and their family ties. Something momentous is happening in their lives and they see the Call of Jesus as just that, a momentous event that they cannot ignore. It was amid the preoccupations of each day that the Lord called his disciples. It is also true for each of us that amid the preoccupations of our time many people are called by the Lord to be fishers of men. So are we prepared to take up the call of Jesus to be fishers of men where we are? Being fishers of men does not necessarily mean that we leave our families and our lives behind though many take up this part of the challenge as priests or religious serving gods people in that particular way.

 The challenge for us as followers of Jesus in the modern world is to be an example of faith in all we do and say and as a result of this we will be fishers of men because the people out there will see how we live our lives and they will want to follow us to see where we have come from and where we are going and when we finally finish our journey all of us will find lasting things of great value that are the things based in faith in God and his Church.

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

After the anticipation of Advent and all the fuss of Christmas and the new year here we are back at ordinary time. With the COVID 19  pandemic continuing and the recent events in Washington it is good to note that no matter what happens faith in God continues and we as people of faith pray for those affected by the Pandemic as well as praying for peace in the USA and the world.

In this Sunday’s Gospel the apostles asked Jesus “Where do you live”? his reply was “Come and see”.  Invitations as we know come in all shapes and sizes. Some come in the mail or in e-mail. Others come on the street corner by word of mouth. Others come in unexpected ways. Some are personal, almost intimate. Others are general and impersonal. No matter what the invitation means, an invitation tells us that you are invited please come. We see Jesus inviting the apostles to come and see by association through faith  all of us  are invited and welcome to  come and see what’s going on in our Faith Communities.

When we accept the invitation of Jesus we have to ask ourselves why do we come and what do we seek? The early disciples of Jesus must have asked themselves those same questions. Living in a culture that distrusted novelty, they would go and see something new and that was the public appearance of the Messiah. We in our turn live in a culture that distrusts faith and people of faith as well as many other things and I often wonder what Jesus would think if he was here today. The people in this gospel story like you and me are out there looking and searching for God. Like the disciples we are seekers who want to stay or at least try and stay with Jesus. John’s disciples were seekers and it is late in the day for them as the gospel tells us. All of us remember special moments by recalling the date and the time they happen. John tells us, “It was about four in the afternoon,” when the disciples received their invitation from Jesus. They need rest from their search and Jesus is offering it to them. The “four in the afternoon” possibly refers to the beginning of the Sabbath the next day.

The invitation to come and see is an invitation to deepen our friendship with God and find rest in his presence. It is an invitation to enrich our belief in the faith that we profess each time we celebrate the sacramental life of the Church wherever we are in the world.  We, are being invited to follow Jesus with all that is going on in our lives and our world at this time, Invited to spend time with him and to discover who he is here and now, not dwelling on the  past or looking to the future the past is gone and the future may never be ours to have. The big question for us this weekend is will we accept the invitation that Jesus gives us in our time to come and see the one who has the message of eternal life or will we just ignore the invitation?