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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

31 Jan 2025

The Presentation of the Lord

The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord is an ancient celebration in the Church. It is also called Candlemas because, on this day, candles are blessed in many parishes. The feast is celebrated on February 2nd  forty days after Christmas. It recalls the day when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him to God. This event is rooted in Jewish tradition. According to the Law of Moses, every firstborn son belonged to God. Jewish parents were to bring their son to the Temple and offer a small sacrifice in thanksgiving. By bringing Jesus to the Temple, Mary and Joseph followed God’s law faithfully. This act shows their humility and obedience to God.

The Church has celebrated the Presentation of the Lord for many centuries. In the early Church, people gathered in the evening for a candlelit procession, honouring Christ as the Light. February 2, exactly 40 days after Christmas, was chosen because of this tradition in Jewish law. It also marks the end of the Christmas season for some Catholic communities.   In the First Reading the text, taken from the Prophet Malachi tells us, “I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; and suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord who you seek” (Mal 3:1). From the Gospels, we know  that the precursor was John the Baptist who was born 6 months before Jesus, we also know that God sent John to prepare His way. So, soon after the Baptist’s birth, God entered His temple. Jesus’ presentation signifies God’s entrance to His temple. God made man entered the temple, presenting Himself to those who were really searching for Him. In the Gospel reading  from Luke we are introduced to different people and events that in themselves provide numerous pointers  for  reflection. First of all, Mary and Joseph respect the Mosaic Law by offering the sacrifice prescribed for the poor: a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Simeon and Anna were two venerable elderly people dedicated to prayer and fasting their strong religious spirit rendered them able to recognize the Messiah when they saw him.

  Simeon blessed God and said “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.” We are familiar with the beautiful symbolism associated with light. Light in the spiritual sense means Christ and the supernatural life of grace. The Presentation of the Lord connects the Old Covenant with the New. In the Old Covenant, people followed the law to be close to God. But Jesus brings the New Covenant, where people are saved by faith in Him as the Son of God and what he teaches. By being presented in the Temple, Jesus shows respect for the Old Covenant while also opening a new way for the people to follow.  In the Presentation of the Lord, we see that Jesus came to bring light, hope, and salvation to the world. Through Mary and Joseph’s faithfulness, Jesus’ mission begins humbly but with great purpose. This feast invites us to embrace the light of Jesus and to trust in His saving plan for us and for the world. It also prompts us to ask ourselves how can we, as the Body of Christ be Light and Hope for others especially in the darkness of our current times.  

We are also invited to present ourselves to God, offering our lives in joyful hope filled service and love. We remember the call to live as “children of the light,” walking in hope, faith and trust lighting the path for those around us to follow the god of hope and joy.

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24 Jan 2025

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

This Sunday we celebrate the 3rd Sunday of ordinary time as well as Word of God Sunday. Today’s readings make an unmistakable directive that we are to seek joy that comes from faith.  They provide insight  to how we are to go about instilling joy into our the core of our being.  In our first reading from Nehemiah,  we find ourselves at the Feast of Tabernacles at a time of true revival.  God had intervened and had brought the Israelites back to Jerusalem.  Not only had they returned home from captivity in Babylon, but God had miraculously provided all the resources needed to rebuild the temple and the walls of the inner city. In the Psalm we are reminded again of the power of God’s Word as it “refreshes the soul”.  His Words bring “Spirit and Life.”  They provide “rejoicing to the heart,” “enlightenment”, a “fear of the Lord which is pure, enduring forever”. 

All of these reminders point us to God’s Holy Word, which is the ultimate source of the overflowing joy we need to not only rejoice, but to effectively point others to our Lord and Savior the reason for the hope and joy that is within us. In our Second Reading from 1 Corinthians, we see how our joy is to be lived out.  We are reminded that our church the  body of Christ is made up of many  unique individuals, all with unique talents & purposes.  We are instructed that there can be no divisions, but rather shared concern for one another.  True joy is found only when we focus upon others, allowing our joy  to flow into their lives both in their good times and their challenges. In the Gospels for this Sunday and next, Luke tells the story of Jesus’ visit to his hometown of Nazareth. Luke wants to make very clear to his readers what drives Jesus the Prophet from Galilee and what is the goal of his action. We as Christians need to know in what direction the Spirit pushes Jesus, since following him means that we are walking down the same path as he did and often times it will be in opposition to what is going on in the world.  With the Spirit poured upon him at his baptism, Jesus would proclaim freedom for captives, sight for the  blind, and help for those who are oppressed.  When Jesus spoke, hearts and minds turned to God and health of mind, body and spirit were restored.

There is an immediate life implication in this gospel passage  that is easy to overlook and that is the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jesus and the Church in order to bring the good news of hope and joy to us and we are called to bring it to the people of our time and place. The “today” of Jesus that the Gospel speaks about is not only the day he was speaking. It is our “today” as well here  right where we are in 2025. As pilgrims of hope in this Holy Year we are called to bring the joy of Christ that we have as people of faith into the lives of others. Wherever we are that is our challenge it is the challenge of hope filled joyful people who proclaim freedom for captives, sight for the  blind, and help for those who are oppressed.   

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18 Jan 2025

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA

In the First Reading we hear Issiah telling us for the sake of Zion and Jerusalem, I will speak until their righteousness shines. Nations will see their glory. The Lord will rejoice over them as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. In the Psalm we Sing to the Lord, proclaim his salvation, and declare his wonders. We give him glory, worship him, and say to the nations: The Lord is king who rules with justice. In the Second Reading we hear that it is the same Spirit that gives different gifts to each person for the benefit of all, such as wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and their interpretation.

The  gospel story of the wedding at Cana was the first time that Jesus worked a miracle when he changed the water into wine. We hear Mary telling Jesus that ‘they have no wine’ Jesus said ‘Woman, why turn to me? My hour has not come yet.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’   This story is not just about Mary asking her Son to help with the wine it is also about us here today. Mary told the servants to do whatever he tells you and she says the same thing to us here and now. In Lourdes in the Rosary Basilica right above the altar there is a huge icon of our lady with the inscription to Jesus through Mary. Though Mary was the mother of Jesus she did not claim any of the limelight for herself instead she pointed the people around her to her son as she told them to do whatever he tells you. Mary, who asks for help when she tells Jesus “they have no wine”, Mary the faith filled disciple, has trust in divine providence.  

In her response at the wedding at Cana Mary shows herself a model disciple who trusts in God. She shows that trust with the words that are meant for all of us even now as we read them again “Do whatever he tells you.”   At the end of this Gospel passage, John tells us that Jesus’ action in turning the water into wine was the first of the signs he gave.  In John’s Gospel there will be six more. All of them to do with healing, saving, restoring, feeding and giving life to human beings. None are empty displays of Jesus’ power. The ‘glory’ of Jesus lies in revealing the God of love, especially in moments of real human need. The signs show that the power of love which comes from God are always at the service of human beings. We, too, are called to allow the glory of God to shine out through us in loving, healing, transforming and hopeful words and actions.

Today what does Jesus ask us to do as we think about the wedding at Cana are we like Mary prepared to trust in God the Father who can give us all things or are we prepared just to go along accepting the things that happen to us. I think that we should be prepared to learn and understand the message that is given to us through Jesus whose mother asks us in the gospel to ”do whatever he tells you.”

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10 Jan 2025

The Baptism of the Lord

This weekend we celebrate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by John. This celebration is also a reminder of our own Baptism which for many of us took place a long time ago when we were babies but I am sure we have been to a baptism of a child. Some of us  may have been to the baptism of an adult during the Easter season as part of the RCIA process where people come into the faith communities where they live after a time of preparation during Lent. In the First reading from Isaiah We hear an ancient description of the mysterious “servant” who is endowed with the spirit of God. His mission is to bring true justice to the nations, and he will accomplish this in quietness and gentleness. In the Second reading  from the Acts of the apostles Peter addresses the household of Cornelius and tells them how Jesus began his public ministry after John the Baptist’s preaching when he was anointed with power by the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven upon Jesus.

The gospel for this Sunday uses the simple phrase that “the heavens were opened,” the voice of the Father was heard saying this is my Son in whom I am well pleased and it is a powerful statement. This particular gospel story is the beginning of the journey that Jesus was to undertake and it brought him to Calvary and the cross.  Through our own baptism, each of us is asked to travel a spiritual journey of hope and faith though we won’t end up on the Cross. The sacrament of Baptism is the is the foundational sacrament key to all the other sacraments. Baptism has three essential results, firstly it wipes us clean from original sin and secondly it makes us members of the Church. It also opens up the opportunity for us to receive the other sacraments, most particularly the Eucharist which is the sacrament that we most frequently experience and which is the main way that our souls are nourished by God’s grace. We remember that John foretold Jesus  coming and he is acclaimed on earth by John and Jesus links himself to John by being baptized by him.  Jesus is acclaimed from heaven by the voice of the Father with  the presence of the Spirit.   Most of us rarely think about our own baptism, Through our baptism we died with Christ and have been reborn into a whole new life (Romans 6). We, the baptized, are made a part of the body of Christ.  We are called to imitate Jesus, who St. Paul says, “went about doing good.” We don’t need a detailed rule book to know how we should act in each situation of our lives, for in baptism, we have the companionship of the Spirit who is our wisdom, our help and our guide to do good and enable us to do what is right in all the situations we may find ourselves in.

Our personal faith journeys have one great purpose and the purpose is to try and live our lives as sons and daughters of the living God brothers and sisters of Jesus enlivened by the Holy Spirit. Today we are invited to renew that first encounter of our own baptism and look at it  in a new light. In baptism Christ has made all of us his own. He invites all of us to a deeper relationship with Him, a relationship that throws new and perhaps unexpected light on the grace of that first encounter in the baptismal font.

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04 Jan 2025

Second Sunday after Christmas

Here we are at the second Sunday after Christmas as we look forward to the arrival of the three wise men on the feast of the Epiphany which takes place on Monday 6th January.  By long standing  tradition Christians celebrate Christmas as a season, with the twelve days between Christmas and the Epiphany as one long “Christmas feast.” The season ends with the Baptism of the Lord which is also the first Sunday of ordinary time and that takes place next Sunday.  In the first reading this weekend we hear that  wisdom speaks her own praises in the great assembly, this reading tells us  how Wisdom personified as a woman speaks about her role as she glories in herself in the presence of the mighty one. The reading goes on to tell us  from eternity in the beginning he created wisdom and for all eternity wisdom will remain.

In the Second Reading Paul begins his letter to the Ephesians with a hymn which praises God for choosing us in Christ. He prays that all will be blessed with the spirit of the heavenly blessings `so that through wisdom we will get to know God, so that we can see the hope that his call holds for us. In the Gospel we hear the magnificent Prologue to John’s Gospel: how in the beginning there was the Word and through the word all things came to be and then in the fulness of time god sent his Son. When John comes to speak about Jesus notice how he goes back beyond the time of Jesus’ birth and conception to the very beginning of time itself. He sees Jesus as the Word that was with God, the Word that was God. John rejoices in his Gospel that this Word which made the beginning now comes into the world.   The Word is not only had a great power that makes all things; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The Incarnate Word comes among his own people in the person of Jesus the Son of God the only Son of the Father.  At Christmas we celebrate the humility of Emanuel  God with us who came to be one with us in the good and bad times that are part of our lives.

As Christians, we will very often find ourselves living in contradiction of so many things that are part and parcel of this present age.  Regrettably we have to get used to the fact that we will face conflict among friends, and even at times within families, as we seek to live out and the Christian life more generously and we know that if our words fail, the Word of God never fails. May we not be afraid in the Holy Year of Hope that has just begun to seek  and find the wisdom that God wants to give us, so that we can see the hope that his call holds for us so that we will have the wisdom to follow Jesus the light for the world the hope of all who believe.

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28 Dec 2024

Feast of the Holy Family

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family our parish feast day as we begin the Holy Year of Hope in our diocese. I struggle with the disparity between the holiness of the Holy Family as reflected in many pictures and religious art compared to the reality of family life in the present day. In the First Reading we are told that respect and care for our parents brings great benefits, including answered prayers and a long life. In the Second Reading we are called to Embrace the virtues of compassion and kindness, and forgiveness so that Christ’s peace will rule our hearts.  In Luke’s gospel we listen to the story of boy Jesus stepping outside the family circle to engage elders in the temple. That had to be more exciting for Jesus than helping in the workshop or bringing in water from the well.

When Mary and Joseph find him in the temple 3 days later  they discover him talking with the teachers of the law busy with his Fathers work. The challenges for families today are as insistent and more intense than ever before in human history.  The drumbeat of consumerism focuses us on things you possess  instead of relationships with other people. Technology focuses us on how many “likes” we can collect as if those “likes” amounted to being truly loved and cared for which they really are not about.  Mobile phone technology removes the need to “listen” to one another in face to face conversations as Individuals control their contacts. We quickly learn how to “unfriend” people who annoy us. Even though voices from the past are loud and insistent, some parts of our world seems to be  moving towards authoritarian leadership fuelled by divisive rhetoric. On this day when we celebrate the Holy Family  we can only hope to find in the good news a way to transform our families. In Luke’s gospel, the return of Jesus to  his parents and in his listening to them is a model for not only children but also parents. In his rule Saint Benedict put it well when he said you should listen with the ear of your heart.

We need to listen to our children, to our spouses, to our extended families. If we listen with the ear of our hearts we learn from them, share with them, help them in their personal struggles as we share in their accomplishments hopes and dreams. Then when they look they will see that the road we are taking is the better road and join us along the way. As we think about the Holy Family we recognize the sacrifice that Joseph and Mary  made for Jesus, in the same way as we recognize the many sacrifices our own parents made for us  and many more  are making for their children today in our I want I get world.   Our families would find the disagreements, stressful relationships, and resentments that spoil the joy of family harmony so much easier to solve by trying to imitate the faith, love and trust of the Holy Family. So now as pilgrims of hope we pray for our families “Lord Jesus, you came to restore us to unity with the Father in heaven. May all our families find peace, wholeness, and unity in you, the Prince of Peace during this Holy Year of Hope.

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24 Dec 2024

CHRISTMAS 2024

This Christmas we begin the Holy Year of 2025 with the opening of the Holy Door is St Peters in Rome. The theme of the year is Pilgrims of Hope and Christmas is all about Hope and Joy. At Christmas the Christian Churches throughout the world celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ,  as we remember “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” The Son of God became man to give us a share in that divine life which is eternally His in the Blessed Trinity. Throughout the Advent season we have waited for the coming of our Savior. Now on the 25th of December we celebrate His birth with unrestrained joy.

The readings for the Nativity of the Lord emphasize the joyous celebration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, God becoming one of us. Christmas is all about  the saving grace of Jesus, and the light and salvation brought by the birth of our Savior. During the Christmas season there is an extensive exchange of greetings, gifts and good wishes among friends. These greetings are a reminder of those “good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people, for this day is born to you a Savior Who is Christ the Lord” (Lk. 2:11). They are a reminder, too, that all blessings and graces come to us from Christ. With the exchange of gifts comes the responsibility to remember those who have little or nothing at all in terms of a roof over their heads and food in the cupboard. During Christmas we are reminded  of the mystery of Mary as Mother of God, mother of the Incarnate Word, and mother of His mystical body, the Church. Christmas encourages us to contemplate Jesus together with Mary and Joseph reflecting on Jesus with ‘His mother’, as recounted many times in the Gospels.

Our faith cannot neglect a profound devotion to the Mother of God, as she shows us the easiest way to reach Jesus. Christmas reminds us of the great mystery of God’s people, the Church animated by the life giving Spirit. So, why do we celebrate Christmas? It is more than the birth of Jesus. It is a celebration of God with us. It is the realization that God’s love for us and faithfulness to us dwells among us. It is a sign that we are to carry that love and faithfulness to other people. Like the Baptist, we, too, are to witness to God’s living, breathing Word and we are called to be faithful so let us adore the Lord Jesus in the manger the reason for the season and bring his love and joy to those we meet in the days ahead as we begin the Holy Year as Pilgrims of Hope.

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20 Dec 2024

4th Sunday of Advent

This weekend we light the third purple candle on the Advent wreath as the anticipation grows to a crescendo as we  draw closer to the celebration of the Christmas mysteries. Christmas is almost upon us: yet are we ready in the true sense of the word remembering that Jesus is the reason for the season? Christmas we are told is a time for so many things  yet for many it is a time of stress and pressure with all the extra work to sort out every­thing that needs to be done.  For many it is a time when we are fearful that the children won’t be disappointed or that there will be tension in relationships or there will be a breakdown in the ceasefire with the in-laws.  

In the first reading from Micah Jerusalem was under siege and Davids dynasty was in peril. The prophet said that salvation would come from an insignificant place and that was Bethlehem from there a new leader would gather the nations together into one people.  In the second reading from Hebrews the sacrifices mosaic law were unable to purify the people from sin. Only Christ himself was able to bring the reconciliation between  god and his people. We  meet Mary and her cousin Elisabeth in our Gospel reading. Mary, who herself had been prepared for the coming of the Messiah. She has heard the angel’s greeting, and his strange news, and has accepted her role in God’s plan.  Now she hurries to her kinswoman, Elizabeth, who herself bears John the Baptist in her womb. John, alerts us to the presence of the Lord, as he leaps for joy in his mother’s womb. His joy is that God has kept his promise, and is with his people.  That two women were chosen to play such a role in the story of salvation is remarkable, as women were often marginalized in the society of their time.

In all these events we see the great mission that Mary undertook as a privileged instrument in the hands of God. Mary is not only the mother of the source of grace; she is the very model of what a Christian heart should look like. We look to Mary to see our fullest Christian dig­nity. In Lumen Gentium 68, Vatican II describes our contem­plation of Mary as an act of entering our own deepest mystery, catching a glimpse of what we shall he at the end of our faith journey. Over the next few days the journey to Christmas will have many pressures for everyone especially those who are worried about so many things family and otherwise.  Mary in her calm gentle way encourages us to trust in God’s word and to believe in God’s promises as she did. The great Christmas feast is almost here. As always in Advent, what is promised in the first reading is brought to fulfilment in the Gospel reading. We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. We will end it at Christmas with the joyful shout, ‘God is with us!’

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14 Dec 2024

3rd Sunday of Advent

On this the 3rd Sunday of advent we light the rose coloured candle on the advent wreath and the vestments at mass may be Rose as well. This Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday as we rejoice that the Lord is near.  Last week we heard about John’s ministry of preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. The idea of repentance is about turning around and facing in a new direction. John’s call to the people was to turn away from the old ways of life and to turn towards God. The Gospel opens with the people, the tax collectors and some soldiers, having heard the call to change their lives, all asking John, ‘What must we do?” We should also be asking ourselves what must we do?

 Both John the Baptist and Paul share one belief: that the Lord is very near. God’s nearness didn’t act as a threat to them, but gave them a infectious  source of joy that no one could take away  from them. Their joy in the closeness of God gave an edge to their preaching and teaching. It gave them a vision to see the far side of disaster; it moved them to draw others into that sense of joy.  None of them was closed in his own joy they moved out going round in the hope their  inner joy would be caught by the people of their time and place and many people were caught by the joy they had to pass on to them. The picture of John the Baptist as a man of joy is not one you hear about very often. John is usually portrayed as a lonesome figure, with a weird wardrobe and weirder diet, who rants and raves at anyone with ears  to hear. But John was a character who intrigued people and as a result they would seek him out and follow him. People don’t journey into the wilderness just to get insulted; you don’t become disciples for the wardrobe and diet.Here was a man who cared nothing at all for comfort, money or fame, who could not be bought, and who would speak the truth without fear. In John people could see something of God.

John spoke in words they could grasp when he told them exactly what they should be doing.  He made such a deep impression on the crowd that word goes around that he might be the Christ. That expectant feeling is a measure of John’s effect on people around him. John did not  claim to know who the Messiah was going to be instead he tells the people that he is not that person. That role is for someone else, someone greater and more powerful than he was.  And as we know that person was Jesus the Son of the Father. We are called to be joyful witnesses to Jesus but as we know with all that is going on around us these days that is not easy. There are many things that continue to block the presence of the Lord within us. It’s time for us to answer the question what must we do and that is to  prepare the way so that we will be able to welcome Jesus  into our lives our hearts and our homes at Christmas. Let us  Rejoice in the lord always because the Lord is near.

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06 Dec 2024

2Nd Sunday of Advent

This Sunday we light the second purple candle on the Advent Wreath The sense of preparing is very strong in our readings this weekend. The Gospel highlights the role of John the Baptist as the one who prepares the way for Jesus. The first reading from the prophet Baruch is a call to do the same. It talks about taking off the dress of sorrow and distress and putting on the beauty and glory of God. It’s a call for the people to become God’s people.  In the Responsorial Psalm we hear about the  marvels the Lord worked for us! When the Lord restored Zion, they were overjoyed. Nations acknowledged God’s great deeds as they rejoiced, knowing that their sorrow would turn into joy.  

In the Second Reading  from St Pauls letter to the Philippians Paul says I joyfully pray for you, confident that God will complete His work in you. He goes on to say I pray your love grows in knowledge, so you can discern what is best and be righteous in Christ. John was  the herald of the Lord calling the people of his time and ours to  repentance John the Baptist plays a prominent role in all the gospels, but particularly in Luke. John hears the word in the desert and preaches throughout the whole region of the Jordan prepare the way for the Lord make straight his paths. The Jordan was another important place in the faith life of the Jewish believers. After their desert wanderings the people crossed over the Jordan river into the promised land. They left behind slavery, came to know God in the desert and were finally prepared by God to cross into new life.  Blessed John Henry Newman reminds us that “Advent is a time of waiting; it is a time of joy because the coming of Christ is not only a gift of grace and salvation it is also a time for commitment because it motivates us to live the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance.  

We all need help and encouragement to leave behind all the things that have become destructive in our lives. We need help in thinking about ourselves differently. We have to take time to reflect on the kind of person God wants us to be and what God’s plan is for us as we prepare the way for the Lord in 2024. This  means as we prepare the way for the Lord we prune away all that hinders us from making Jesus welcome when he comes at Christmas .  Our Advent journey is showing us how to prepare our hearts for a fresh discovery of God’s presence in our lives; how to recognise the presence of Jesus among and around us; showing us how to turn around and face towards God with faith, hope and love; and how to be the living presence of Jesus in our moment of history. As we continue our  advent  journey we ask ourselves what are we waiting for. Are we waiting for the presents and razzmatazz that the secular part of Christmas bring or are  we preparing spiritually for the greatest gift of God, his Son, Jesus the light in the darkness who John the Baptist foretold.

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