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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

06 Aug 2016

19TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

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This Sundays Gospel begins with some of the most beautiful of Jesus’ words: “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. “What love, what tenderness in these few words Fear not, little flock! “. These particular words fear not little flock are so full of meaning especially in these days when there is so much fear and distrust around with so many people promoting fear and distrust in many different spheres of life. The words of our Lord should make us all sit up and take notice. He has taken us into his household. He has made us his “little flock.” We are invited guests in his home, the Church, rather than just being mere servants. Jesus also warns us that we must always be busy about our vocation and there are many vocations in life religious priesthood marriage or whatever. We also remember the reason why he invited us into his home. We are Christians, we are members of his Church, God, through Christ’s Incarnation, has put us on the road to heaven. He is always helping us on the way. We don’t know in advance what God may do with us and our own often times selfish plans a friend of mine always told me that Man proposes and God disposes in other words the will of God will happen no matter what you or I might want.

To those who have faith, all things are possible the old saying that faith moves mountains but we should keep on climbing is certainly true. Faith helps us to rely on the limitless power and mercy of God, not on our own limited power. The gospel also points out; we should live in this world as strangers who are on the way home. People who move from one place to another get rid of all they can from their old house and focus on furnishing the new house. They joyfully give away what they once cherished we have to be the same getting rid of the baggage that stops us from being the people we are called to be by our heavenly Father. We don’t know when personal illness, bereavement or some other trying experience will put us to the test. But we do know that our life will be a success if we set our hearts and minds on values that go beyond all the transitory goods of this world. Our faith, is leading us onward, always pointing to something still to come, and at the end of our pilgrimage on this earth we will find where our true treasure is and we will simply discover that where our heart is there our treasure is as well. In these days of uncertainty these words of the gospel fear not little flock are a call for us to place our trust in God and he will do the rest for us and help us along when we come to the trials and tribulations of our lives.

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23 Jul 2016

17th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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The Gospel story for this Sunday has the disciples asking Jesus to teach them to pray. In response to this request Jesus teaches them how to pray in the words of the our Father. He also encourages them to be unwearied in their prayer because the Father who loves them will pay attention to their pleas. Prayer for all kinds of things is good, because it is faith in action and trust in God. As we pray, we are changed. Many people have told me that they have prayed for this or that intention but didn’t get what they wanted when they wanted that particular thing. My experience is that we often get the thing that we pray for not when we think we need it but when god sees that we really need it and it always brings a change for the better in the person who made the prayer. There are so many different forms of prayer and praying such as the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross etc each of us will have a particular favorite.

The greatest example of prayer that has been passed down to us through the generations is the Mass. Each time we gather as a community of believers to take part in the Mass we reaffirm our belief in God made incarnate in Jesus his Son. We also bring all our intentions with us and we leave them for god to answer in his own time. Persistence in prayer is a worthwhile exercise because the God we believe in is not some sulky, withdrawn figure who is unmoved by what he hears and sees remember that our God is with us. Behind Jesus’ advice on prayer is his image of a God who really does want to help and journey with us as part of our lives. The message of Jesus in the our Father is that our God is one who cares for us as well as concerned about us and those who are close to us. So can we depend on God’s providence to feed us, to shelter us, to clothe us, to save us from violence? If we pray hard enough will God see to it that we have a new car, a better house, maybe win a lottery? God doesn’t work for us in that way and we shouldn’t expect him to either. The most important part of our human life is what we become day by day through faith in the will of the Father.

Of course we need to survive and flourish. When things don’t go the way they should, we benefit from our prayers. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. He prayed what was coming his way would not happen. He also added he would abide by God’s will when he said Abba, Father let it be done as you not I would have it. If we stay in sync with the will of God we will grow day by day, despite what good or bad things come our way we will know that God is for us a refuge and our strength in all things.  These days when so many parts of the world are hurting for many reasons let us remember the power of prayer to help us to do the right thing in the situations we might find ourselves.

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16 Jul 2016

16TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

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In our Gospel reading for this Sunday we hear all about Martha and Mary. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus led his entourage into the village to call at  the home of Martha. As the good host, she served them but, her sister, Mary, sat listening to Jesus. Martha tried to shame Mary into helping with the work but Jesus would have none of it. Instead, he praised Mary’s choice when he said leave her alone for she has chosen the better part. Martha loved Jesus as much as Mary did, and it is clear that he treasured them both. Her mistake was in not trying to find out how Jesus wanted to be entertained, while visiting her house. Her sister correctly senses that when Jesus comes on a visit the last thing he wants is to have people fussing over how to feed him. So, while Martha makes the greater housekeeping effort, Mary understands better what is expected of her by him. Her contemplative intuition grasps instinctively the real reason for Jesus’ visit.  He is there not to receive but to give, not to be served but to serve. He has something he needs to say and the one thing necessary is to listen to his voice.

There a whole theology of contemplation in this gospel reading, on how to receive the Lord’s visit. It starts off from the basis that, no matter who our visitors may be, there is always something to be learned, something from them. The one who comes knocking on our door will have something to tell us, should be listened to and understood. When Jesus comes to us he wants to talk to us in the quiet of the evening or the freshness of the morning, to share with us the Word that brings us to salvation. He comes not because he needs us but because we need him. We too can be “distracted with all the serving;” we too can “worry and fret about so many things.” We may, like Martha, miss the better part, the one thing necessary, which is to submit to the Word of God. If we are to make people welcome in our community it will be by being attentive to who that person is are what they seek rather than giving them the impression that their presence is disrupting our well ordered lives. let us not be afraid of being like Mary and be attentive to what Jesus is telling each of us today.

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09 Jul 2016

15TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

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In our Gospel reading for this Sunday Jesus is asked the question ‘who is my neighbour?”  Given the migrant crisis in Europe along with the Brexit vote in UK this is a very timely question for us to ask ourselves, who do we say our neighbours are. This is an easy question to ask but there are many complex answers. When I was a youngster your neighbours were the people that lived next door to you or those who lived in your street or road they were the families you would go to when you ran out of milk or sugar to borrow some or to share the news about the people and happenings in the area.  The Gospel story tells us about the Good Samaritan it is a story that all of us are familiar with. It was the Samaritan who stopped with the man who was lying on the side of the road it was the Samaritan who was moved with compassion to help him. The Priest and the Levite walked on and passed by on the other side of the road because they felt that it was beneath their dignity to help the man. What does our Gospel story tell us about love for one’s neighbour today?

First, it tells us that we must be willing to help even if others brought trouble on themselves for whatever reason. Second, our concern to help others in need must be practical. And lastly, our love and mercy towards others must be as wide and as inclusive as God’s love and mercy towards us.  We remember that God excludes no one from his care. So we must be ready to do good to others just as God is good to us remembering that his love and mercy are without end. Jesus not only taught God’s way of love, he also showed how far God was willing to go to share in our suffering and to restore our wholeness in life and happiness. Jesus overcame sin, suffering, and death through his victory on the cross on Good Friday. True compassion not only identifies and empathizes with the one who is in pain, it also takes that pain on in order to bring freedom and restoration.  Our world is moving towards ways of acting that hurt more people time after time. We are members of this world so we cannot pretend that it’s got nothing to do with us for it has everything to do with us.  

In these days with turmoil and confusion in so many places we need to reach out in order to show friendship to our neighbours and those who have come to be our neighbours from other places. We should be telling them that they are valuable to us in our time and place and we will not tolerate those who tell them go away home. At the end of the Gospel Jesus asked the Lawyer Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbor to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’ There it is in the Gospel we are called today in this place wherever we are to go and do the same as the good Samaritan to show compassion and mercy not to walk on by like the Levite and the priest.

 

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02 Jul 2016

14TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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This Sunday’s Gospel tells us about Jesus appointing the 72 others and then sending them out in pairs to the towns he was going to visit. As he gives his missionary instruction Jesus seems under no illusion about the territory compared to the wolves roaming around, his own crowds are like lambs. He tells the 72 to lead the radical lifestyle of the wandering preacher who must face homelessness and renunciation of family and property. When they enter a house they should bless it with peace. The Gospel also tells us about the practical things to direct the seventy-two as they proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom and in rebuilding community life. Jesus told them to carry no purse, no haversack, and no sandals. Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom and rebuilding community life are two sides of the same coin. One does not exist and cannot make sense without the other.  When Jesus sends out the seventy-two you might wonder how ready they are for the demanding task ahead of them. Because he doesn’t have all the time in the world Jesus depends on the various talents of his followers; he must depend on their understanding and their resolve to get it right.

Perhaps if we were in charge of that first Missionary outing the seventy-two would still be waiting to get going! There is a clear urgency about the task in hand Jesus says, “Start off now” with urgency in his voice. On their return the disciples were delighted that their mission has actually worked! Their joy demonstrates that people do welcome the word of God and that the word of God is their real resource for mission. Jesus counsels them to rejoice not because their mission has worked but because their names are written in heaven. These words at the end of today’s gospel are addressed to each one of us. Jesus empowers us in our day to do his work, and to work in his name. Jesus assures us that we have a passport, visa, and “green card” for heaven. Our names are already registered there and our mission is to proclaim the good news of salvation to others.

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18 Jun 2016

12TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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There is great uncertainty in the life of our nation these days. Polls show not only a general distrust of leadership and institutions as they battle it out to stay in the EU or make a BREXIT. The polls also show a breakdown in a general belief of progress. The mood in the country is bleak because we see so much loss of life first of all in Orlando and then the murder of Joe Cox MP as she went about her work during this week there just seems to be a lot of suffering at this time in so many places in the world. In our Gospel reading for this weekend we hear Jesus asking ‘Who do the crowds say I am?’ And the apostles answered, ‘John the Baptist; others Elijah; and others say one of the ancient prophets come back to life.’  He then asked his disciples the same question as he wanted to know who they thought he was and so he asked them who do you say that I am? It was Peter who spoke up and said ‘The Christ of God’. But, given the popular overtones of this title within a tradition which spoke of triumph rather than suffering, Jesus insists that he has to suffer for his identity. It’s not that Jesus plans it; rather, he knows that suffering is inevitable if he is to face the future honestly. And he states further that those who become his followers will have to suffer for their identity like their master.

The fact that the disciples still followed Jesus is a measure of the continuing impact that Jesus has on them. The disciples are not following someone who is programmed for failure: they are not idiots. They follow someone they sense is not kidding them; someone who faces real situations that are part and parcel of life with enormous courage and commitment. Every commitment to love means a willingness to suffer for a while. And it’s that kind of commitment that Jesus still expects of all who follow him. Over so many years we have seen so many people perhaps family members friends or other people leaving or at least not practising the faith. The questions for us who are following Jesus today are who do we say Jesus is and how do we make the Jesus of the Gospels alive in the lives of those around us. Many  people who have left the faith blame this priest or that scandal within the Church for leaving but when hardy comes to hardy the Church must face up to its own shortcomings and that includes you and me as members of the church.

In the face of the dark anxiety of these and other days, more people pray and attend weekly worship. While polls show faith in the secular world might be down, they also record and remind us that faith in God rising. The polls show that people need to place their faith in something. When the world lets them down, they return to God. I think it is the same for all of us there have been many occasions that I have felt down but I have been lifted up by the Faith that I have. All of us are asked to take up our crosses and follow Jesus as best we can and remember that none of us will be able to avoid the many crosses that will come our way. Yes, it might be tough to pick up the cross and follow Jesus day by day. But, in doing so, we who follow grow closer to him because we begin to understand his walk to suffering and death. We realize that he understands our troubles. We begin to realize we have a friend and fellow traveler in the Lord who does not let us down whether we are near the Church or even far away.

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11 Jun 2016

11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

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This weekend we celebrate the 11th Sunday of ordinary time and our Gospel Story tells us about the woman with a bad reputation. Having said that we also hear about the attitude of the Pharisees in this gospel or should I say the wrong attitude of the Pharisees. In this Sundays Gospel story Jesus is at the house of a Pharisee, one of those who emphasized love of law rather than the law of love. It was certainly no place for a public sinner to show his or her face. The woman who did show her face was outside the pale, of a group despised by devout Jews. Jesus frequently said that he had come to call sinners, and to befriend them. Not only did Jesus befriend the woman, but he even let her serve him. There was something about him that stirred a profound reverence within her, and she showed that reverence and respect by the anointing with oil, which was the highest expression of reverence one could show to another. Jesus had a ready-made, real, living object lesson right there, and he took full advantage of it. He was aware of the shock and horror among the onlookers, and he used the occasion to drive home a central point of his teaching.

Why did a woman with a bad reputation approach Jesus and anoint him with her tears and costly perfume at the risk of ridicule and abuse by others? The woman’s action was motivated by one thing, and one thing only, namely, her love for Jesus – she loved greatly out of gratitude for the kindness and forgiveness she had received from Jesus. She did something a Jewish woman would never do in public. She loosened her hair and anointed Jesus with her tears. It was customary for a woman on her wedding day to bind her hair. For a married woman to loosen her hair in public was a sign of grave immodesty. This woman was oblivious to all around her, except for Jesus and her gratitude for the mercy he showed towards her. There are two other lessons in this Gospel reading for us. The first lesson is that the pardoned sinner should show gratitude to God. One of the greatest proofs of gratitude is the firm resolution to avoid offending our God. The second lesson is for those amongst us who succeed, thanks to God’s grace, in avoiding serious sins is that we must avoid the sin of the Pharisees. They were, on the whole, devout men and did many a good deed. However, they took all the credit themselves instead of giving God the credit. They grew proud of their good works and despised all others who did not do as they did. The question for us this weekend is who are we like in this particular story are we like the woman who loved Jesus with a heart open to god’s mercy. Or are we like the Pharisees taking all the credit and giving God little or even none at all with our hearts closed to the love and mercy of God.  I would hope that we would be like the woman in the Gospel who wasn’t afraid to show her love for Jesus despite all that was going on around her at the time.

 

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28 May 2016

Corpus Christi

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In our Gospel story this weekend we hear the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The readings and the feast itself are full of richness. Jesus fills us with nourishing food, We are sent out to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom to all around us, in doing this we provide food for others. Like the circulation system of a body, the Word and the Eucharist continue to live in our communities and in the world. The Eucharist  or the Bread of life is the sacrament of thanksgiving and spiritual journeying. When we see the Eucharistic Bread, we believe that it is Jesus who is there before us such is our faith in the Blessed Sacrament.  

The Church tells us that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” (CCC 1324)  At the Eucharist God sees our hunger and feeds us through Word and Sacrament. We offer our prayer of thanksgiving. Remember, the crowd was first taught, healed and then fed. Their hungers were both spiritual and physical. Now it is our turn, well-nourished disciples, to find ways to address the physical and spiritual needs of the hungry we have noticed along the way. These needs can seem overwhelming. But, as with the bread and fish in the gospel story we take what the Lord has given us and give it freely to others. He will do the rest and all will be satisfied. The meal is also a promise: one day we will sit at the banquet feast where there will be no more hunger, no more illness and our satisfaction in God will be complete. Corpus Christi is the solemn commemoration of the institution of the Eucharist on the first Holy Thursday in the upper room. It is the Church’s act of homage and thanksgiving to Christ, who by instituting the Holy Eucharist gave us the members of the Church our greatest treasure.

 

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22 May 2016

TRINITY SUNDAY

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This weekend we celebrate Trinity Sunday which is all about the triune god Father, son and Holy Spirit. When my Father was alive he  often had a small tin of oil which was called three in one oil and it reminds me what the trinity was about  that is three divine persons in one. The Father is equal to the Son and the Son is equal to the Spirit three in one and one in three we hear this in the breastplate of St. Patrick. Saint Patrick, with a brilliance that we Irish are justly celebrate found in the three leaf shamrock rising from the one stem an image of the Trinity, father, son and Spirit one The feast of the Trinity goes back to 12th century England and St Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Historians say the great Thomas celebrated a Liturgy in honor of the Trinity in his cathedral. So the observance was born. In the 14th century, the feast came to be observed by the universal Church.  We open each Liturgy especially the Mass invoking the Trinity . We close Mass and so many other liturgies by calling upon the Father Son and Spirit in blessing us as we go out into the world.

Throughout the Christian world infants will be received into our faith communities  through Baptism in the name of the Trinity. The Christian belief that God is a trinity helps underscore how rich the mystery of God is and how our experience of God is always richer than our concepts and language about God.  The doctrine of the Trinity affirms God as loving and knowing, giving and receiving.  When the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, it is an attempt to summarize the whole mystery of our God into one day.  This is not just a “theological feast” ` but a feast which should speak to us of this simple fact of faith: the Father loves us, has revealed that love in his Son, and has called into a relationship sustained by the Spirit. Each Trinity Sunday, we only scratch the surface of this great mystery of our faith. In gratitude and faith, let us begin and end every prayer with greater faith and reverence “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

 

 

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14 May 2016

PENTECOST SUNDAY

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This Sunday we celebrate the decent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles which heralded the beginning of the apostolic mission to bring the Church to the world at Pentecost. It is the birthday of the church so maybe we should sing happy birthday instead of Veni Creator Spiritus and blow out the candles on a birthday cake instead of blowing out the paschal candle because it’s the end of the Easter season!! With the feast of Pentecost the seven weeks that is the 50 days of the Easter season have come to an end with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, manifested, given, and communicated as a divine person. “Peace” was John’s prayer for his readers as it is for us as we listen to this gospel reading on Sunday. With the sight of Jesus their fear turned into great joy, and their Anxiety turned into relief.

The lack of spiritual direction turned into a sense of deep spiritual grounding. The divine presence stood close to them and with the divine presence came a great sense of peace of spirit mind and soul. We too have the divine presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and it brings Joy and spiritual grounding to all those who come to meet him in the Eucharist. We can’t ignore our own or the problems  other people have.Most of the time the problems in our lives just don’t go away by themselves very often we need to stop and think and pray things through.  If we pray through the problems as well as thinking them through we will find that they are much easier to get through.  Simply put Prayer Moves Mountains but we must keep on climbing. Gathered at Mass week in week out we bring our prayers of intercession to God all of us have our own needs, Family and friends, someone we know may be sick, people need work.

Perhaps the person who has been in our lives for so long has died. We bring these and all our concerns in prayer to church because they remind us of our need and they raise our hope in the power of God made real to every generation through the Holy Spirit.  Through the Holy Spirit our relationship with God has satisfied our longings, and brings us the peace of God which is beyond all understanding. Because of God’s faithfulness, we give thanks, offer sacrifice, and once again present our needs this Pentecost Sunday as we remember the presence of God with us in all our lives through the good bad happy and sad times and we thank God for his enduring presence among us.

 

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