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3RD SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME

The readings for this Sunday are all about the call to get up and go. That is to get up and leave family friends and go out to the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus as told to us in the old and new testaments. 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 that is faith 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 big question for the Churches is how do we reconnect with our people especially with those who have left for whatever reason, but that is a question that is for another time but it is also worth thinking about.

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 one  away from a god and his ways.  Our gospel reading tells us about Jesus calling the first disciples they respond immediately to Jesus’ summons they don’t waver and think should we do this as they are taken away abruptly from their daily work of fishing.

The call of Jesus is irresistible and many people have found this to be so true over the generations who have taken up the Call of Jesus in their lives as Christians. We learn the names of the first four disciples, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and the brothers James and John. They 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 calls his disciples, and calls them by name. It is also true for each of us that amid the preoccupations of our time and place within the world that many people are called by the Lord to be fishers of men.

Christ saw something in Simon James Andrew and John that led Him to entrust them with carrying out His mission and 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 and job to do today.  We too are fishers of men by what we do and what we say. One person doesn’t do it all, but that small part that we play is as important as the person who has the big headline role.

So the question to be asked of each of us is are we prepared to take up the call 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. As followers of Jesus the challenge for us 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 people out there will see how we live our lives and will want to follow us to see where we have come from and where we are going and when we get there all of us will find the lasting things of great value that are the things of God and his Church.

2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

This weekend we celebrate the second Sunday of ordinary Time and in the Gospel Reading we see that Jesus is asking his followers including you and me who do you say I am? In the first Reading it took Eli to tell Samuel to answer the call from God after he thought it was Eli and the reading tells us that ’ Samuel answered, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’ How many of us are listening to the word of God and not hearing it even though we may be listening? The two searchers in the Gospel ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?” When Jesus responds to the Baptist’s disciples, “Come and you will see,” he is not speaking of the house where he lives. He is inviting them and us in our present time to come to experience him on a deeper level to discover where he is and that is to follow him and  finding where he is staying is really about  a life with God in it. 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. I wonder how many times Andrew and John repeated the story of their first encounter with Christ and concluded their witness with, “It was about four in the afternoon”?

We don’t need to know the time of the day the call happened. But for Andrew and John that moment was very important because it began the journey that would forever change their lives. By giving us the time they were invited to go and stay with Jesus and so the gospel is underlining the importance of that moment for the disciples. The evangelist also seems to be suggesting the importance of the call they and each of us in our turn has received. It may not have been at a particular moment but, even if we experienced the call spread out over our lifetime, the invitation is to go with Christ and “stay” with him has been, or should be, life-altering for each and every one of us and for many people this has been the case as they take up the call of their own vocations in life and those vocations are varied and many. When we reflect on the beginnings of our own faith in Christ and of our own particular relationship with him, we remember the people who introduced us to Jesus. Most of us can think of a particular person, our mother or father etc who enabled us to begin our faith journey. As Christians that is people who are called to be Christ Like we all come to him by way of generations of Christians who have shared their experience of Jesus. In their turn they were introduced to him by others and through time they have introduced other people  to Christ and in time we will do just that. The story of Christianity, is  a story of a great chain of witnesses linked through the ages from Jesus himself and the apostles at the beginning right up until ourselves here and now in 2015. We too are witnesses and are called to tell others by the spoken word and by the things that we say and do.

This Sunday’s Gospel and readings invite us to remember that our personal vocation is founded on God’s original and absolutely free choice.  This means that we are totally free to accept or deny the invitation he gives to us to take up is his call for our lives.  A call that might lead us to be a priest or religious a call that may lead us to be a father or mother or whatever there are so many vocations in life and many of them are not vocations of the religious sort. Let us ask the Lord, that we will be able to see and  receive Christ as the  as the way the truth and the light as we follow our vocation in life wherever the calling will lead us.

The Baptism Of The Lord

JESUS IS BAPTISED BY JOHN IN THE JORDAN

This Sunday we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and this feast marks the end of the Christmas season. For those of us who have carefully prepared through Advent for a joyful celebration of Christmas and Epiphany, it’s with a sense of sadness that we let go of the childhood of Jesus. Mary and Joseph must have seen all of this coming as they hear Jesus’ excuse after their three-day search for Him in the Temple: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s House?” And now, some years later, Joseph is dead, and a sword has pierced Mary’s soul as she bids goodbye to her Son. I often ask people what did Mary say to Jesus when they found him in the temple and the answers I have got are never the simple answer that I would expect and that answer is simply Mary asking Jesus where have you been your father and I missed you. I think that this is the question that Jesus will ask all those who no longer practice the faith when they return to the faith but that is for another time.

The baptism of the Lord marks the beginning of the public life and ministry of Jesus as he set out to do the Father’s will announcing the arrival of the kingdom of God. The beginning of the messianic work of Jesus is marked by the moment of his baptism in the Jordan. We remember that John the Baptist 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 and the presence of the Spirit.

None of us remember when we were baptized when we were infants but that said we may have known an Adult who was baptized at the Easter Vigil or at another time.  Most of us rarely, if ever, think about our baptism. Through our baptism we died with Christ and thus 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, whom Paul says, “went about doing good.” We don’t need a detailed rule book in order to know how we should act in each situation of our lives, for in baptism, we have the companionship of the Spirit of Jesus who is our wisdom, impulse and help to do good, That same Spirit will enable us to do what is right in every situation we may find ourselves in.

This weekend we stand with the French people after the attacks in Paris outrages against the ideals of free speech and brotherliness. But as we stand as one with the French we must also recognize that we should not answer hatred with hatred but instead answer hatred with love. This is the ideal that we try to put into our lives but it is so very hard for all of us who call ourselves Christians. We ask god for the strength to approach our problems and those who attack us and our way of living in a way that promotes love, and promotes the Kingdom of Jesus Christ whose baptism in the Jordan we celebrate this Sunday.

2ND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS Or The Feast of the Epiphany

Well here we are with the Christmas and New Year festivities of now a distant memory, and I am certain many people  out there are asking themselves the time honoured question  why did I make such a fuss!!!  So many make such a fuss about  the secular part of Christmas and as a result they may have missed and are missing the essential message of the season.  The message is that Jesus Emmanuel was born in the stable in Bethlehem at Christmas and  that is the reason for the season. Some places the feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on this Sunday so we reflect on the three wise men.

In the gospel reading for this feast the Magi or the Wise men represent the “mystery” made manifest in concrete human beings. By their very nature they are seekers, people who came looking for the “king of the Jews.” Where would they find this royal child? Not in the courts of the powerful, like Herod. He was an example of how those in power would react to the gentle one who would draw all people into his realm.

Jesus was not born in a mighty city, nor was he an heir to a powerful ruler. Instead, he was born  in Bethlehem, 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. 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 message, the humble message that lies at the heart of our faith It is the message that Pope Francis is proclaiming in our own time and place.

Today, the call of the Saviour is extended to each of us. What do we hear? With what gifts will we welcome him? Will we be humble enough to believe in visions and prophecies, and daring enough to work toward their 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 FEAST OF THE MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD 1st JANUARY 2015

On Thursday January 1^st we celebrate the feast of the Mary the mother of God It is also the beginning of the New Year. We pray in a special on this day way for Peace in a world that seems to be always at war with itself. Pope Francis speaks in his message for this day of being brothers and sisters instead of slaves; the message is worth reading and can be found on the Vatican website. In the West we celebrate January 1 as the inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of the New Year and exchange “new year” greetings. However,  while we exchange the new year greetings with each other we should try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings an expression faith in that regard there is no better teacher of faith than Mary the Mother of Jesus. Mary teaches us that being a disciple of Jesus is a matter of the heart: contemplating Jesus and allowing his presence to transform the thoughts, words and actions of our lives.    On New Year’s eve in our parish we have a holy hour at 11pm concluding with the first Mass of the new Year at midnight as the fireworks go off and the  Church bells ring in the areas around us.

On this feast we ask a special favor of Mary our mother and intercessor:  that the love we have for Jesus her son will Grow in our hearts and lives!  As We thank God for all that has been over the last year we pray  through the intercession of Mary mother of the Church that God  will be present with us in the good bad, happy and sad times we might encounter in the year that is ahead .

HOLY FAMILY 2014

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family, and it is as 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 now we have the same sex marriages which are a recent  and maybe a not so good thing. We stop and remember exactly what the Christian family should mean for us who are people of Faith.

This Sunday, we commemorate a family in deep stress because their Son is seen as a threat to a jealous king: 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 the Great 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 cruel and 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 their son, 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 Marriage and  the family means is constantly under fire. More and more we see single parent families and now we have the so-called equality agenda which is challenging the Christian concept of Marriage by its promotion of same sex marriages which by their definition are wrong.

For us who have come together to celebrate the feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the feast is a reminder of all that Christ has meant to us, and all that he continues to mean to us.  We came into his presence and company on the day we were led into the House of God to be baptised.  We have met him many times since. For example, in the guidance protection, the goodness and kindness, and the love and support, of our parents!  In the friendship of many other family members and of many other 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, and especially those of Reconciliation, Eucharist, Anointing, Marriage and for some ordination to holy orders.

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. 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; we hope that they will be happy. 

As we think about family life as we knew it when we were growing and what it is now we pray that the great ideal of the Family, that is the Father Mother with their children will continue to be cherished and not diminished. 

CHRISTMAS DAY 2014

At Christmas the Christian Churches throughout the world celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ, it is the first day in the octave of Christmas as well “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. Then on the 25^th of December we celebrate His birth with unrestrained joy. But as joyful as we might like to be we should remember that for a large number of people young and not so young Christmas is not a happy time. Not happy because many are homeless, because they are not able to provide for their families the way they would like. We need to remember that in many houses throughout the country things are not as good as they might be. Children are not unwrapping the presents as they may well have none. Many families are not preparing to sit down to a big Christmas dinner because they are going hungry again as there is not much food in the cupboard and the little food that they may have may well have come from a food bank or other charities such as St. Vincent DePaul and the Salvation army and we remember the charities and their outreach as well.

During the Christmas season there is an extensive exchange of greetings 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. During the Christmas season there is also an exchange of gifts. But 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 Incarnated Word, and mother of His mystical body, the Church. Christmas encourages us to contemplate Jesus together with Mary, 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. In the Rosary Basilica in Lourdes the inscription on the mosaic over the Altar is to Jesus through Mary and the mosaic shows Mary with open arms and again at the wedding at Cana  Mary told the attendants as she tells us do whatever he tells you. These are two pointers for us in our modern day as to what we should do in order to follow the light of Christ Christmas also reminds us of the great mystery of God’s people, the Church animated by the life giving Spirit, governed by the legitimate shepherds in communion with the successor of Peter.

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 rejoice and 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.

2ND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Here we are at the second Sunday of Advent as the seconds, minutes, hours and weeks continue to pass away as we hurtle towards Christmas at breakneck speed. Just think about the amount of money the various shops and many other places  and people are making but as the shops make their money I wonder how many of the people spending that money without rhyme or reason really understand the meaning of Advent and Christmas. Advent is all about WAITING and this weekend we continue our wait as we light the second purple candle on the Advent Wreath. In the gospel reading John the Baptist the voice in the wilderness takes centre stage as he calls us to prepare the way and make the paths straight for the lord. He also tells us that there is someone coming after him who is more powerful than he was and that he was not fit to undo the strap of his sandal. So are we making the paths straight for the lord as we try to make sense of all the ongoing razzmatazz or are we going with the flow, just too busy with all the secular preparations to really take notice of the importance of the preparation that John the Baptist talks about? 

We need to remember that John the Baptist was called to reawaken the sense of expectation among a people that had grown tired and distant from God as many have done in our present time.   John was called to bring renewal to the institutional expressions of religion which, at the time, had so often become fossilized into mere formulae or external ritual.  This too is what has happened to a large extent within the Church these days. However having said that at the present time under Pope Francis our Church is being renewed for the work that needs to be done in our time and place with all its problems and opportunities. The Church in every age must become like John the Baptist, an uncomfortable reminder of how we must allow the truth of Jesus to break into our lives to enlighten the darkness that can at any moment enter into our own lives or the life of the Church.

As the journey of Advent continues we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Christ, John the Baptist’s call to conversion sounds out in our communities. As we continue our preparations for the razzmatazz of Christmas let us not forget the true and lasting message of Christmas a message that has lasted for over 2,000 years and the message is that god came among us.

All of us are called to take up the Baptists call of renewal, it is the call to reawaken within ourselves the fact that Jesus is god with us Emmanuel who will make the glory of his voice be heard and seen through us in the Joy we give to others and the Joy of that is there in our own hearts.  Christianity is a religion of anticipation. We await the coming of the Lord in glory. We also await that magical razzmatazz of the Christmas season, a time of peace. So as we continue our preparation for Christmas will it be the secular razzmatazz that will take over our celebration of Christmas or will it be Jesus the Child in the Manger the reason for the season who will take his  place amongst our families friends and  all the other things? We need to refocus ourselves as we try to prepare the way for the Lord doing our best to make his paths straight, especially in the our own lives.