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5th Sunday of Easter

This weekend we pray for Pope Leo as he begins his ministry as our Holy Father with mass on Sunday morning to inaugurate his ministry as the successor of Peter. We pray the Holy Spirit will guide him in his leadership of the Church as our shepherd and Father in faith. We also stop and say a prayer for all those who are doing exams over the next few weeks. Our world puts great store on education and often forgets the pressure that this puts on our young people especially at exam time. We pray that they may be inspired to do their best and know that there are people out there family, friends, teachers and lecturers who value them no matter how good or bad  the exam results might be.

On this fifth Sunday of Easter, the scripture readings continue to describe the growth of discipleship and the conditions for the Kingdom of God. Membership in the Kingdom comes about by becoming members of the Church. The term church comes from the Hebrew word Qahal. It comes from a verb meaning called together. So, the Church is a group of people who gather together in faith, hope and Joy. In the First Reading from the acts of the apostles we hear that Paul and Barnabas revisited cities, encouraging disciples and explaining hardships they would endure for the  kingdom of God. They appointed church leaders, entrusted them to the Lord, and shared their mission success in Antioch, emphasizing God’s outreach to non-Jews. In the Second Reading John describes a new heaven and earth, with the old gone. He sees a splendid New Jerusalem and hears God proclaim His eternal dwelling with people, erasing all pain and making everything new. In this Sundays Gospel Jesus calls us to a new way of living when he tells us to love one another as I have loved you.  At one level this is a simple call to love, at another it is a big challenge for us with all that we see going on in our world. This means that we should love as Jesus loves, in order show the face and heart of Christ to a war torn hurting world.

 The love Jesus speaks of seems to be narrow and restrictive. He is addressing his disciples when he says, “love one another.” This love may seem insular and applicable just to an inner circle of his followers. But this is not the case as Jesus wants us to be united with him and one another in love today right where we are. Jesus’ command to love one another is central to Christian life. He taught this lesson at a time when He knew He would be betrayed. Instead of focusing on His own troubles, Jesus emphasized the importance of loving others as he loved them. This teaches us that love should be the foundation of our relationships, even when life gets difficult. Helping and supporting one another in our faith and life journeys means being there for each other through both good and bad times. It means offering a listening ear, a helping hand, and a kind word. By doing this we follow Jesus’ example and build a community rooted in love and care. By loving and supporting one another, we live out the true essence of our faith and strengthen the bonds of faith within our communities. We are called as pilgrims of hope to build and  become that community of love showing the love of God to those around us especially during this Holy Year and at all other times as well.

5th Sunday of Lent

In the first reading God, who controls nature and armies, urges us to forget the past and see His new works: providing for His chosen people, made to praise Him. The exiled people of Israel felt that God had forgotten them, but the prophet Isiah was sent to assure them that God was still concerned for them and would rescue them. The Israelites returned to Jerusalem to make a new beginning in faithful service to God. In the second reading everything is considered a loss compared to knowing Christ. Righteousness comes from faith, not law. Striving to know Christ’s power and share His sufferings, we press on towards eternal life with Him. Paul had placed all his dependence on the Law of Moses until Christs call changed the foundations of his life. He began putting all his trust in Christ.

This Sunday in our Gospel story we hear about the woman who was caught in adultery and we hear Jesus telling us ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.’ Jesus did not deny the Scribes and Pharisees the right to carry out this prescription of the Law, but he insisted on one condition, namely, that they have no sin on their consciences. “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” So many of us today are like the Pharisees in that we are prepared to lift the stone and be the first person to throw it despite our own shortcomings. This story is about so much more than throwing the stones it is really about God’s mercy towards the woman and by association God’s mercy to us. When Jesus and the woman were left alone, he looked up and said, “Woman, where are they?” Ironically, the self-righteous observers of the Law, so eager to throw stones, could not measure up to the requirement that Jesus had laid down and all of them had left.  After they had gone, Jesus lifted up his eyes to the woman looking at her with the eyes of gentleness; he asks her, ‘Has no one condemned you?’ She replies, ‘No one, Lord.’ And he says, ‘Neither do I condemn you.

What does this say to you and me today as so many of us are prepared to throw stones of condemnation at so many people and of course there are also people who would throw stones at us as well.  This gospel teaches us that we should consider what we say and do and their effect on other people. Sometimes the things that we say can be more hurtful than any stones we might throw especially in today’s world of Facebook, Twitter and instant communication. If we remember what Jesus tells us when he says let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw the stone then we won’t go far wrong. The simple truth whether we like it or not is all of us are sinners and none of us are in a position to throw the stone even though we might think we are! The woman caught in adultery expected to die as the Law of Moses prescribed. Through the mercy of Jesus she was able to make a new beginning, her sins forgiven. By the mercy of Jesus  we are also called to our own new beginning. Then, like Paul, we have to forget the past and put our trust in Jesus, crucified and risen again. This new beginning is often difficult, but our strength is in Christ in the eucharist the bread of life. The Gospels of the last two Sundays were parables about God’s forgiveness and tender care in nurturing us back to life. We are called, not to be judges, but people who show God’s compassion and mercy to others.  As we continue our Journey  of hope let us ask the Lord to show us his merciful hopeful way as we head towards the life giving events of Palm Sunday and Holy Week.

8Th Sunday of ordinary time

Next week we begin the season of Lent with the Ashes on Ash Wednesday and we begin our annual  journey of repentance and conversion for 2025 as pilgrims of hope. All of us will have many opportunities to strengthen our spiritual lives over the 6 weeks of lent as we ponder what our faith really means to us as individuals and as a community. We also continue our prayers for the health and wellbeing of Pope Francis.

In the First Reading  this Sunday we are told that a persons  speech reveals their faults and true character. Do not praise someone before hearing them speak as this is the test of men. The Responsorial Psalm is  Psalm 91 and we hear that  It is good to thank and praise the Lord, whose kindness and faithfulness are constant. We are also told that the righteous flourish and bear fruit, proclaiming God’s justice and reliability to those around them. In our Second Reading  we are told that Through Jesus, we have victory over death. Again we are called to be steadfast and devoted to the Lord’s work, knowing all we do is not in vain even though sometimes it might look that way for in the Lord we do not labour in vain.

This Sunday in our Gospel Reading Jesus is coming to the end of what, in Luke, is called the “Sermon on the Plain”. He has instructed his disciples to love their enemies, turn the other cheek, treat others as they would want to be treated, not judge them, etc. Jesus is the wise person teaching the disciples a practical wisdom on how to live their lives as his disciples. Jesus says, in summary, a person’s words and actions will reveal their character. The Gospel tells us There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.’ God’s love is effective, it produces good fruit for the benefit of others. The good we do is the  way to spread the faith to others. Jesus sends us to be witnesses to the faith we profess to practice what we preach in all we do and say. Jesus words to us in this weekend’s gospel  show his concern for the integrity and quality of our lives. We cannot, he says, teach others if we ourselves are not witnesses to what we teach. There are many people out there who were witnesses to the truth of the gospel who have turned away and betrayed the truth and become rotten fruit.  Lent is the time to renew our  selves in terms of faith so that we are able to move forward in the certain knowledge and hope of being true witnesses to the faith. Lent is all about moving forward in a spirit of conversion and prayerful return the spirit of metanoia.

 During Lent we are provided with many opportunities for spiritual renewal but that will be for the weeks ahead. But for now let us stop and reflect on the good we do for others and how that becomes a way of  bringing the faith to the people where they are. As we continue our journey as pilgrims of hope we remember  that  God’s love is effective, and it produces good fruit for the benefit of others and we are called to show gods love through all we do and say for one another.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we celebrate the 5^th Sunday in Ordinary time and we remember and pray for all those who are sick as we celebrate the world day for the Sick on 11^th February. We ask God through the intercession of Our Lady of Lourdes to bless our sick and all those who look after them. The 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time readings highlight important themes. These themes help us understand our faith and God’s call in our lives. In the  First Reading from Isaiah  Isaiah saw the Lord on His throne, felt unworthy, but was cleansed by a seraphim. When God asked for a messenger, Isaiah offered to go. In the Responsorial Psalm I will thank and praise God for His kindness and truth. He answers me and gives me strength. All will praise Him for His great glory and enduring kindness.

The Second Reading from Corinthians tells us that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose on the third day. Saint Paul says He appeared to many, including me. By God’s grace, I preach, and you believed. Our Gospel story for this Sunday recounts the story of the of Peter’s calling to be a fisher of men. After a fruitless night’s fishing, Peter obeys the word of Jesus and catches a huge number of fish. He feels unworthy before Jesus; but he is now called to be a fisher of men. Peter recognises the hand of God in what has happened and at the same time realises his own sinfulness but Jesus comes to show us the mercy of his Father. Jesus did not come to be a hermit with an unreachable address in the desert; rather, his whole mission moves in the opposite direction, for he has come “to seek out and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). So Jesus travels into our lives not away from them.  He entertains sinners he enters their homes, meets their families, eats at their table, listens to their stories, and calls all of us to a new way of life when he says follow me. Throughout his life Jesus is never far from sinners he is not far from all of us as well for are sinners too. Jesus doesn’t write us off because we are sinners; Jesus has other plans because he knows that we sinners have a future, not just a past. Simon Peter received his call while he was doing his work. He said, “Yes,” and responded by changing his life.

Every day, in the midst of our routines, at work, home, school there are opportunities to respond to Jesus’ call to follow him. In innumerable ways our Christian vocation must guide what we say and what we do. In all  our decisions big and small, we are asked to live what we profess as Jesus’ followers; to be attentive to what God may be asking of us at that moment of our lives. This may entail being faithful to the commitments we already have; responding to a need we see, or taking the opportunity to witness to what we believe. Our responses may seem small and insignificant. They may be small, but they are never insignificant! In addition, who knows where the next “Yes” we say to Christ may lead us?  Our call as disciples is not only to personal holiness but also to partnership with Christ in transforming the world with words and actions of  justice, peace, integrity, forgiveness, mercy, tolerance, hope and love. We must allow ourselves to be caught and taught by Jesus. The response that is asked for, is to be prepared to give up everything in our quest to know Jesus. In spite of our sense of sinfulness, unworthiness and lack of faith in ourselves, we are called to trust in God’s choice of us and in God’s faith in us who are his beloved daughters and sons.

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 6^th 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.