Fullerton T

THE FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY

The three kings

On the 6^th January we celebrate the three wise men and their visit to Jesus, as we know they brought him gifts of Gold Frankincense and myrrh and these were very great and valuable gifts.  As we reflect on the Magi and their gifts we should also remember for all the Gold and Silver that is in the Church of the here and now we should remember the humble start of it all: Jesus was born in a stable as there was no room in the inn. Jesus gave us the Eucharist at the Last supper in the upper room not in any great Cathedral and certainly not wearing elaborate vestments!! He simply told his apostles as he tells us do this in  his memory and he said this after washing the apostles feet and in the time of Jesus the Master DID NOT wash the feet of anyone. Jesus died on a simple wooden Cross with two thieves one on each side of him no Gold frankincense or Myrrh there just the words of the thief when he said  Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom. In the gospel reading for this feast the Magi or the Wise men represent the “mystery” made manifest in the lives of  human beings.

Jesus was not born in a mighty city, nor was he an heir to a powerful ruler. Instead, he was born  in Bethlehem, it was a backwater in the eyes of those of Herod’s court and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Through the “least,” and the poor, Christ comes to us in our own time. That’s a lesson the church needs to continually learn and proclaim. We, like the Magi, will find Christ among the “least.” and this is the humble message that lies at the heart of our faith It is the message that Pope Francis is proclaiming in the world. Today, the call of the Savior is extended to each of us. What do we hear? Will we be humble enough to believe in the word of God, and daring enough to work toward its fulfillment? Will we believe? With God’s grace, we  that is all of us together can do all these things for nothing is impossible for those who have faith.

THE HOLY FAMILY

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, and it is a  good time to stop and reflect on the meaning of the Christian Family. In past times the family unit consisted of the Mother and Father and the children and these days the family unit consists of maybe one parent and we have the same sex marriages which are a recent thing. We stop and remember exactly what the Christian family should mean for us who are people of Faith. We in Ireland have a particular reason for celebrating the Holy Family this year as we will be hosting the world meeting of Families here in Ireland in August 2018 and as we prepare for this great event it is a good to reflect on Family and what it means and these days there are more than one meaning for the word Family. This Sunday, we commemorate a family in deep stress because their Son is seen as a threat to a jealous king as Joseph and Mary are running for their lives from Herod the Great. Tradition says that after three years in exile, another angel informs Joseph that Herod is dead.

The Holy Family returns to their homeland, not to Bethlehem, since the new king who reigns in his father’s place is also a barbaric ruler. Joseph brings Mary and Jesus to his native town of Nazareth in Galilee. There, they lived a simple ordinary life, Joseph as a carpenter, and Mary as his wife and mother of Jesus. Jesus grew in holiness and in knowledge of God’s will in the same ordinary ways that families do in our day. We  also remember the care that Mary and Joseph gave to Jesus. We recognize the sacrifice they made for Jesus, in the same way as we recognize the sacrifices our parents made for us  and many more  are making for their children today in our I want I get world.    As the world continues to change so too the idea of what the family means is constantly under fire. For us who have come together to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the feast is a reminder of all that the Christian Family has meant to us, and all that he continues to mean to us.  We remember that we have come to know Jesus  through the guidance and the love and support, of our parents! 

In the friendship of many other family members and of many other friends and significant people in our lives! And in things that have happened to us good and not so good!  We have also met Christ in the sacraments we have celebrated as a community and as individuals. In this Sundays  Gospel reading Simeon makes his prophecy about Christ’s destiny and as it says, ‘the child’s father and mother stood there wondering about him. Every parent wonders about their children and every parent is full of hope for their children. Over a period of time this might turn in to fear and anxiety, but the fundamental feeling of hope is still there. We hope that everything will turn out well for them; we hope that they will make a success of life; we hope that they will be safe and keep out of trouble; and that they will be happy.  As we think about family life and what it is now we pray that the great ideal of the Family  will continue to be cherished and not diminished and that we will celebrate it in our own lives and the lives of our families as we prepare for the World Meeting of Families In August 2018.

4TH SUNDAY OF ADVENT

This weekend we celebrate the 4^th Sunday of Advent and we hear the story of the Angel Gabriel coming to tell Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus. But as we listen to this story we should stop and spare a thought about how Mary felt when she got the news that she was to have a child who was the Son of God. Luke tells us that, ” she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.” In that uneasy world of Galilee, a place of conflict and struggle, Mary’s personal response showed confusion and doubt and that was why the angel reassured her. Mary did not get a roadmap of the future – neither do we. All her questions weren’t answered – nor are ours. Gabriel announced the conception and birth of the Son of God. Mary’s child would be “great”. He would be Son of the “Most High” a title for the greatest God, the highest concept of divinity one could have at that time. Mary made room for God in her life do we make room for God amongst the general hustle and bustle of life and living not forgetting the Christmas preparations that are part and parcel of this time of year.

Mary and the saints are more like us than the arts or literature about them tell us or we might like to think. They are amazingly human that is like you and me and it is among us, in all our human limitations, that God wants to dwell – among people who despite struggle and doubt, say “Yes” to him. Scripture suggests God wants to enter more fully into our lives; our not-so-neat and orderly lives but our messy untidy lives with all the good and bad and happy and sad times that are part and parcel of our lives. Mary accepted, and proclaimed, God’s will in her life. She placed her future completely in the hands of the Father and we are called to do exactly the same. Her example should be our inspiration to stand firm as Catholics in today’s world of ever-changing fads and fancies especially as we face up to the secular razzmatazz that we see in the run up to Christmas. Remember, the words of Mary when she said ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ May we accept the word of God and try to put it into action in our lives this Christmas Time.

1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

This Sunday we begin the church’s new year as we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. At the beginning of the Liturgy we bless the Advent Wreath  and light the first purple candle we also place the first symbols on the Jesse Tree. In the secular world Advent seems to begin the season of Christmas and the measuring of Christmas-time profits in the business sections of our newspapers. We will hear happy, silly jingles in stores and malls. While at church, this season’s sounds will be different sober hymns and Scriptures, that help us “Prepare the way of the Lord.”  Though the vestments are purple and there is a certain penitential feel running through the next few weeks there is also a sense of joyful expectation as we await the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.   The main theme for our readings this Sunday is  waiting and watching in hope. Hope is the basis for a watchful and vigilant spirit.

In our anticipation for the Lord’s coming, we hope that our faith will help reveal the Kingdom and prepare others as well as ourselves for eternity. Our efforts alone will not bring about the Kingdom, but, God, acting through us, will reveal the Kingdom.  Blessed John Henry Newman reminds us in a homily for the Advent Season: “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 but it is also a time of commitment because it motivates us to live the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance. This ‘vigilance’ means the urgency of an industrious, living ‘wait’. To make all this happen, then we need to wake up, as we are warned in the Gospel reading to stay awake for we do not know when the master will return.  Advent poses some basic questions to us today: do we still trust that God is in charge, is faithful to us and will finally draw us into a loving and lasting embrace?

The Advent liturgies and scriptural texts encourage us to trust in God. They keep our hope alive, despite national and international headlines of gloom and doom and closer to home reports of family arguments and break ups and many other things. Advent doesn’t look back to a former time when things seemed better. Advent really is the time to look forward. What do we have to look forward to? We look forward to the birth of Jesus the son of God, the child in the Manger who is the light in the darkness of our world and our lives. I hope that at the end of this Advent when Jesus arrives at Christmas he wont be the stranger in the Manger but a welcome friend for all of us.

THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

This Sunday  is the last Sunday of the liturgical year as we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King. Before parents leave the house they usually give parting instructions to their children: “Don’t fight. Don’t turn on the stove. Don’t let a stranger in, etc.” In a way, that’s what this Sundays readings are, important reminders for us as we close this liturgical year. The theme of the kingship of Christ should not be misunderstood. Jesus is not king in an earthly sense of the word. The acclamations of the crowds that took place and the enthusiastic endorsement of the disciples that Jesus is the Messiah might mislead us. Jesus is king; 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, then we will be living lives of sacrificial love, the love of Jesus Christ. 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 there. The kingdom of Christ, 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. Still there is hope in the grace God offers. Our past selfish ways can be overcome.  Now is the time for  conversion of heart and mind as we look to the season of Advent. Now is the time to give ourselves to the work God and his kingdom where all are valued and no one is left behind.

May all of us take up the challenge that the feast of Christ the King gives us. That challenge is to reach out to others showing them that the ways of Jesus are what we as Christians are really all about instead of being selfish and self-centred people which all of us can be at times.

33rd SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

This week in our parish we remembered all those who had passed on during in our annual Mass for  those who died during the year and we prayed with and for their families and friends. We pray for all the dead during November and we remember in a special way all those who have no one to pray for or remember them. We also remember all the members of our own families who have died that all of them our friends relatives and all  those we don’t know at all will rest in the peace of the love of god.

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? 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 and they are many.  Sometimes we feel God’s blessing. Sometimes we feel he is away out there in the distance. There are even times God may feel like the enemy. We enjoy times of intimacy 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. So let us be fearless in our living out the gospel in our lives where we are and remember that even in our darkest times God is near to those who love him.

32ND SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

At the beginning of this week there was  a programme on the Irish TV channel RTE which paid tribute to a number of people who have been married for 50 years. my own mother and fathers would have been married 58 years had my dad survived. 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 difficult, or 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, the news on the car radio, 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?