19th Sunday Year C 2019

19th. Sunday of Year (C)

(Wisdom 18:6-9; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12; Luke12:32-48)

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Today's readings afford us both encouragement and warning: the warning, however, is only given to help us hold fast to the hope we are encouraged to treasure:

Do not be afraid, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We know that the Father has indeed chosen to give us the kingdom because He has called us to become disciples of Jesus:

No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him (John 6:44);

and we actually became disciples of Jesus through Faith and Baptism:

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (and we are) justified as a gift by (God's) grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (Romans 3:23; John 3:5)

What about the warning I spoke of?  It was contained in those words of Our Lord:

Be prepared; for, on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour, the Son of Man will come and punish the (unprepared and disobedient) servant severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

What then is this gift of Faith that we have been given?  In the second reading we heard:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

How can we have a faith-based conviction about things not seen?  Because God has solemnly promised us that these blessings can be ours in Jesus by the Spirit.   Therefore, we see that faith is very, very, important, it is a personal, existential acknowledgment of God's absolute truthfulness and utter reliability; whereas to refuse to have faith in His promise would be the same as saying that if He exists He could be a liar, or at the very least, that His promises cannot be trusted to the extent of life-long faith and obedience.  For us, however, who believe whole-heartedly in Jesus, faith in Him and His Good News proclaimed by His Church opens up for us a totally new awareness and appreciation of our human life, its meaning, and significance.  By faith we can more delightfully admire and humbly appreciate the glory of creation all around us; and what is immeasurably more than that great blessing, we can actually experience something of what God has promised for heaven: that is, we can be given a  Spirit-bestowed foretaste of what a heavenly relationship is like.  We, no longer mere earthlings but now children of God redeemed by and renewed in Jesus, can experience and gratefully embrace – even here and now -- something of the BEAUTY and WONDER of our ‘sonship’ in Jesus with the Father by the Gift of God’s most Holy Spirit

Therefore, faith is not only a supreme witness to God, it is also a sublime calling for us to discover something wonderful; indeed -- as unbelievers mockingly at times but truthfully say -- an opportunity to experience and live something truly "out of this world".

Jesus Himself told us something of the wonder of faith:

If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, "Be uprooted and be planted in the sea", and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

All things are possible to him who believes. (Mark 9:23)

And the Scriptures give us examples of the very many men and women who trusted God and lived by faith.  In the first reading we heard that:

The night of the Passover was known beforehand to our fathers that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they had put their trust, they might have courage.  Your People awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes.

Their faith was not misplaced: God did indeed bring them to arrive at, and take possession of, the Promised Land.  And in the second reading we heard of Noah and then of Abraham "our father in faith" as we hear at Mass:

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac his only begotten son.

Because of his faith, Abraham was given the promised fulfilment from God: descendants as numerous as the grains of sand on the sea-shore, through Isaac, whom he had been prepared to offer in sacrifice trusting in God.

There are striking examples of the need and power of faith in the Gospel accounts of the disciples' life with and response to Jesus in the course of His Public Mission.  After Jesus had miraculously fed the five thousand, He had remained behind on shore, alone in prayer. The disciples, crossing the Sea of Galilee in their boat, suddenly found themselves in distress when a severe storm arose unexpectedly, and it was then that Jesus came walking over the rough waters to the succour of His struggling disciples (Matthew 14:28-31):

Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."  And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, " Lord, save me!"  Immediately, Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"

On another occasion:

As they were sailing along, He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.  They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.  And He said to them, "Where is your faith?" (Luke 8:23-25)

On those two occasions, the disciples of Jesus, becoming frightened by what was happening around them, began to doubt God, and very many Christians, and too many Catholics, show the same weakness today.  They quickly lose faith because they want to see, experience, faith-blessings now, whereas faith requires, indeed demands, HOPE and TRUST in the supreme goodness and power of God the Father Who is in charge of our lives.  Many so-called Christians basically want what this world has to offer, and therefore the promises of God for life-after-death gradually mean less and less to them as they yield to and indulge the weakness of their faith or the clamour of their worldly desires and/or sinful lusts.  This selfishness even leads some, in their search for present satisfaction, to renege on the most solemn promises, break the closest bonds of love and commitment, and even to destroy their own humanity as they stumble around in the clouds of drug-addiction.  Such people who imagine that this world is all that we can possibly want or aspire to, that this world can fulfil all our longings and desires, will never accept the offer of faith or aspire to what is intangible and unseen.

An even closer likeness to the Twelve is shown in the attitudes of other religious people today who fear just what the disciples' feared: the imminent threat, not indeed, of the swelling waters of Galilee, but of the uproar and tumult of the world's criticism, opposition, and mockery.  Many let go of their hold on faith in the face of such threats, whilst others feverishly seek to change their faith in such a way that it fits in comfortably with what the world around thinks and feels.

If, however, there is something in YOU that makes you long for something "better" than this world; a longing that lifts you up from, makes you somewhat independent of, this world, then there is for you the option of faith, because, as St. Paul tells us (Timothy 2:4):

            God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

True humanity, that humanity which knows itself to be more than the things of this world, is ever able to lift up its head again, and even today one can hear some young people expressing the desire to give themselves wholly to some worthwhile purpose, cause, or person.  Such young persons are the hope for our Christian civilization because they are capable of appreciating God's gift of faith.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness. (Galatians 5:22)

For them and for all of us there is the example of Our Blessed Lord, Who has won for all humankind the possibility of life, eternal and full beyond all human measure.  He, indeed, is the author of our faith, and:

It was fitting for Him, for Whom are all things, and through Whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the Author of their salvation through sufferings.             (Hebrews 2:10)

He went to the sufferings of death for our sake, trusting entirely in His Father; and we who have faith in Him must, like Him, trust God the Father totally, we must, like Jesus, have unshakeable faith in His promise of the Kingdom:

Do not be afraid, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.

However, our faith is not meant to be a stoic refusal to yield to whatever trials may come our way; it should not involve cultivating a stiff upper lip and a ramrod back whereby we might able to hold on to God no matter what the mockery or criticism of those around us; for God Himself has told us:

I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)

The Father has chosen gladly to give us the kingdom and we must likewise joyfully take up that promise: our response of faith must be not only firm but joyful, lit up with love because founded on true knowledge.  In this Our Lord is Himself the example, for we are told in the Letter to the Hebrews (12:2):

(Let us) fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We too, like Him, should find such joy in what the Father has promised us, in what He has already given us in Jesus, that we not only endure the sufferings we must shoulder in this world, but positively despise them as nothing in comparison with what awaits us in heaven.  This was the attitude of St. Paul who tells:

I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)

The daily practice of responding by faith to all that may occur in our worldly experience, can become the supreme joy of our lives because it is the supreme love of which a human being is capable, in Jesus.  There are, as I mentioned, some young people today, and there always will be some, who are not only able -- for all humankind is able -- but also willing and indeed longing, to give themselves whole-heartedly to what is greater than themselves.  Human beings, however, do not remain young for long, and as youth declines so, all too easily, can our longing to give and receive real love and know the authentic truth gradually diminish.  It is so easy for an elderly person to become more selfish with the years and to begin to hanker after that which, in their youth, they had egregiously set aside.  Therefore, we have to listen Our Lord's warning today, backed up by words of St. Paul again:

Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows, because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. (Galatians 6:7–8)

We first embraced the faith with young love, now we need to gradually love it more wholeheartedly, appreciate it more gratefully, and admire it with deeper understanding, as our years come and go and the fulfilment to which we aspire draws ever closer:

            Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

We have to recognize that our faith is indeed a treasure beyond all: it can bring us greater peace, love, fellowship, joy and fulfilment than the human mind can imagine or conceive, a share, that is, in Jesus' Own beatitude with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Kingdom of Heaven. Love, peace, joy, will fulfil our whole being: we will become our true selves, as God destined us to be from all eternity, and we will know that our life and trials on earth have indeed been a wondrous blessing.

            You are My beloved child; in you I am well pleased.     

18th Sunday Year C 2019

Eighteenth Sunday of Year (C)

(Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23; Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11; Luke 12:13-21)

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(Jesus) said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."  

Jesus’ words are very ’scientific’, in so far as they are in close accord with the modern scientific attitude which requires us to know the nature, the type, and the quality of whatever we might be using if we are to get the best working results from it.   Today we are bombarded by governmental warnings about the dangers of smoking and ‘binge’ drinking and recommendations concerning healthy eating and physical exercise, to mention only the least controversial items of advice for personal living.  In industry too the same practice is followed: analyse and control production methods, closely monitor product quality standards, continuously assess the requirements of customers etc. etc.  Jesus, therefore, in His advice to us today is most up to date and also absolutely fundamental:  think about life if you want to get the most out of it; learn from the experience of mankind in general don’t just let personal pleasure or immediate advantage blind you; and above all, seek out and learn from the Giver of all good gifts, that:

            Life does not consist in the abundance of the things (one) possesses.

Notice, in passing, that Jesus, in replying to the man who called out to Him from the crowd in our Gospel passage, did not try to expound on the man’s false appreciation of life, or explain what is the real truth about life’s purpose and its ultimate, heavenly, possibilities;  for, answering a man described by the Old Testament as:

A man with an evil eye, (who) hastens after riches, and does not consider that poverty will come upon him (Proverbs 28:22);

He simply gave him -- and all who were then listening -- something to think about, a word of wisdom:

Life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.

That should have encouraged the man to think, and hopefully re-consider and revise his attitude: for only after having done that, would he then be in a position to fruitfully inquire of the good, the true, and the beautiful; and here, the words of St. Paul in our second reading are most pertinent:

Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him Who created him.

Only one made new by faith in Christ is able to see and appreciate the beauty still to be found in our experience of life in a world so desperately afflicted by the effects of human sin; only one renewed with the guiding and strengthening Spirit of Christ can – through all the personal troubles and trials, social changes, international confrontations and world-wide catastrophes now so much a part and parcel of earthly life – find fulfilment and peace through hope for and delight in the Christian prospect of eternal life and the promise of heavenly salvation.

Until that change had taken place within him, however, the evil man would continue to run after riches totally oblivious to the fact that ultimate poverty was hastening in his direction, eager to meet up with him.

However, Jesus did -- as the Gospel account reports -- go on to explain further to His disciples what could not be given to those with ears that would not hear and eyes that did not see, and Mother Church does likewise for us today in so far as she – for our further enlightenment -- puts today’s Gospel passage together with readings from Ecclesiastes and St. Paul as we have already heard.

What is life?  What -- if we are humble, devout and attentive enough -- can we learn about it that will enable us to use it both rightly and wisely?

First of all, the passage quoted from the book of Ecclesiastes makes a supremely important fact about life abundantly clear:

Here is one who has toiled with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and that one’s legacy must be left to another who has not toiled for it. This is vanity and a great evil.

In other words, our hold on life is uncertain; the number of our years is unknown; and we cannot take our earthly possessions with us when we leave this world no matter what they may mean to us, nor how much time, care, and effort we may have bestowed on them.  Therefore, such a lightly-held legacy, such a tenuous life-heritage, cannot – rationally -- be considered as the ultimate purpose, significance, and fulfilment of our life.

To lead us further, the second reading from St. Paul then told us that, when our time on earth is ended, life itself does not come to an end, for we have a heavenly destiny, a heavenly fulfilment, to attain or to lose:

Set your mind on things above … your (real) life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ Who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Do those words ‘set your mind on things above’ mean that we should seek to build up a treasure in heaven instead of one on earth?  Yes!  After all, didn’t Jesus say:

Provide money-belts for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief can reach and no moth destroy.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also? (Luke 12:33-34)

Jesus did indeed mean and say that, and thereby hangs a tale, so to speak, a tale of confrontation and conflict which has helped to divide, but also, let us pray, ultimately to guide and prosper, Western Christendom. 

In order to understand those words of Jesus we have to remember that He had said immediately before:

Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)

Therefore, our belt-full of good works of whatever sort, will be both ‘a treasure’ for us in heaven, and a gift from God: a treasure, ours indeed, but not exclusively; for our glory, yes, but not a treasure that will enable us to buy our way into heaven, to save ourselves.  On the contrary, our heavenly treasure will be found to be one bearing eternal witness to the Father’s goodness to us, in Jesus, by the Spirit, throughout our life on earth:

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)  WORKS.

He who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (John 14:12)  FAITH.

Today we are very familiar with debate about the need for people to have pensions to help their needs in old age; and many, indeed probably most people, regard retirement as a time to relax and enjoy the fruits which the nest-egg they may have built up over the years will enable them to experience.  They have provided for themselves; all is well!!

That is how Catholic insistence on ‘good works’ appeared to past followers of Luther: Catholic ‘good works’ could apparently guarantee salvation for people who were otherwise living at variance with the laws of God.  That was a failure to understand Catholic doctrine but, nevertheless, such a false attitude by individuals is not absent even among some Catholics today.  Of course, there is no public reliance on indulgences bought or sold, but there is still an excessive and unwarranted personal trust in occasional ‘contributions’ of whatever sort or in passing devotions in no way backed up by faithful Church observance and Catholic obedience.  There are too many, even today, who follow esoteric teachings and practice various spiritualities and devotions, without giving serious attention to building up a personal relationship with Jesus to be assimilated from the Scriptures by prayer, encountered in the Sacraments  -- above all the Eucharist -- of the Church, and nourished by daily, loving, obedience.   Mother Church’s greatest sacrament, the Eucharist, is far too frequently ‘used’ in an impersonal manner: with no response of personal commitment to Him Who sacrificed Himself for us, and no return of sincere personal love to Him Who loved us to the end.

There is only one infallible sign and expression of Catholic and Christian holiness: it is not simply works, it is not just faith, it is LOVE, the crown of faith and the ever-fruitful vine of God-good works:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)

And what love is being spoken of by the Apostle there?  Love of God: seen darkly indeed here on earth, but, nevertheless, to be experienced – as it were face to face -- in a personal relationship with Jesus:

When that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.  Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.  And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:10-14:1)

Why is such love of God the greatest?   Not simply because it is love for God, Whom we shall see clearly, face to face, Whom we shall then know as He now knows us; not even simply because it was said by Jesus to be the fulfilment of the first and greatest commandment:

You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)

The Love of God of which we speak is the greatest, above and beyond all other virtues and excellences, because it is divine charity, a sharing in Jesus’ own love for His Father, and it is that even here on earth.  It is not a human emotional love, it is not an intellectual attraction or scholarly absorption (so attuned to what men think!), it is a sharing in the Holy Spirit of Jesus:

Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)

And, People of God, as we look back on the life and death of Jesus our Lord we recognise that that Spirit of love which drove Him to such lengths for His Father and for us cannot remain inactive in us: if the love of God is truly in us, then He -- the Spirit of Love and Truth -- will be at work in us and through us in some way or other.  And our good works, will be God-good works, accomplished -- not for human appreciation -- but in Jesus and by His Spirit; they will be a treasure for us in heaven indeed, but no cause for personal pride: for they will humble us every bit as much as they delight us, being eternal reminders of God’s wondrous mercy and goodness to us in Jesus throughout our life on earth.  They will be for us an eternal inspiration to gratitude and an irresistible provocation to praise, before the Father Who worked such things for us through His Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, dwelling in us and forming us in His likeness.

                                            

17th Sunday Year C 2019

17^th. Sunday, Year (C)

(Genesis 18:20-32; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13)

Our Gospel reading today is all about prayer: Jesus gave us what we call the "Lord’s Prayer", and then He told us a parable exhorting us to persevere in prayer.

I was very struck by those final words of His:

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

How many people, in their prayers, ask to be given the Holy Spirit?  Surely, most who, in their prayer, ask to be given something, ask for a blessing suited to this world: health, food, success, comfort, strength, or whatever, for themselves or for those dear to them.  Now, it is clear from the prayer Jesus gave us that He does not disapprove of such requests: for He gave us words asking for bread, forgiveness, and protection; and He Himself, in His own personal prayer, frequently asked His Father to strengthen and guide Him.  So how is it then that He speaks, in the verse I have just quoted, as though the heavenly Father gives only the Holy Spirit, no matter what we might request?

We have here a wonderful example of the hidden riches of Holy Scripture!  We do pray for all sorts of blessings for ourselves and, as the example of Abraham encouraged us to do, also for others.  When, in such prayers, we pray according to the will of God, He hears our prayers and grants our requests: but He does this through the Holy Spirit, ever secretly at work in our lives and in our world. 

Even more important, however, is the implicit teaching contained in those words of Jesus: namely, that we can ask for nothing better than the gift of the Holy Spirit: and this is because He is, Personally, the "Gift of God" which means that He, the Holy Spirit, is the Gift-above-all the Father wants to give us, and Jesus wants us to receive; and therefore He is, indeed, the supreme Gift for which a disciple of Jesus can, and should, pray.

Let us try to understand why.

In the first reading we had the vague hint of the Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity - three Persons in one God – found in the furthest layers of the Old Testament:

The Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the outcry against them that comes to Me.  I mean to find out.”  Then Abraham’s visitors walked on farther toward Sodom, but the Lord remained standing before Abraham.

Three "men" had come to Abraham's camp in the heat of the day and had accepted his hospitality; then, as you heard, they spoke as one: "The Lord said … I will go down to Sodom."  Not, "we will go down", but "I will go down".  However, we are then told that it was two of the three who "turned away and went toward Sodom” while Abraham was still standing before the Lord.  Somehow those heavenly guests of Abraham were one and three. 

As you know, the Son and the Holy Spirit were sent by the Father on earth -- as it were to sinful Sodom -- for our salvation.  The Son was born of Mary and was called Jesus because He it was Who would die and rise again to free us from our sins.  And in fact, after dying on the Cross Jesus rose to heaven as He had foretold (Luke 22:69):

               

Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God. 

Then it was that the Holy Spirit came down upon the Church to extend Jesus' salvation to all mankind.

This had been foreshadowed in Psalm 110:

The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand till I make Your enemies Your footstool."

Jesus, therefore, having conquered sin and death, is now seated at the right of God the Father in glory, while the Holy Spirit -- working in and through Mother Church for all men and women of good will -- makes His enemies and the enemies of our salvation into a footstool for His feet.

Now, perhaps, you can begin to see why we should want to receive, above all other gifts, this Gift of God, the Holy Spirit, into our lives.

For He is, first of all, the Spirit of Truth, Who alone can lead us to the fulness of truth concerning Jesus, His purposes, and His will:

When the Helper comes, Whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. (John 15:26)

Again, He is the Spirit of holiness:

Jesus Christ our Lord was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:4)

Who, therefore, can lead us to holiness of life more surely than the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Holiness?

Moreover, He alone knows God's will for us, what He expects of you and me individually, and what He has prepared for us:

            No one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11)

The Holy Spirit knows us through and through: for if, according to the Scriptures, no other human being can know us as we know ourselves:

What man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?

           

How much more true is it then, that the Holy Spirit -- Who knows the things of God Himself and Who dwells in the hidden depths and secret folds of every human heart -- knows us infinitely better than we could ever know ourselves?

Finally, we should pray for God's Gift because Jesus Himself has put this request first and foremost in the prayer He taught His disciples:

            Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

Only the Spirit of holiness can hallow the Father's name; and He, moreover, is the One Who has been sent by the Father to make Jesus' enemies a footstool under His feet and thus bring in the Kingdom of God:

            Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

People of God, Mother Church is suffering greatly today for the sins of the world no doubt, but also for the sins of too many of her own children.  Mother Church suffers in, and is influenced by, a society that today, is bound, thwarted, and corrupted by a self-righteous political correctness, moral abandonment and spiritual lawlessness, which grows ever stronger among men in our western world.  The law, politicians, and government ministers of all sorts, here and abroad, strike attitudes and use pretentious words that, often enough, serve no other purpose than to hide, cover up, not only human ineptitude and institutional malfunctions, but also personal greed and malpractice of all sorts.  The desire for power over others and personal pleasure can and does lead men and women of apparent rectitude to do great evil in secret; while the desire for popular acceptance together with the fear of public disapproval, motivate many much more forcefully than does obedience to God or respect for their fellow man.  Therefore, we must remember:

We have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12)

We must treasure "the things freely given to us by God", that is, our faith, His truth and grace, and the hope which it inspires in us.  We have to reject the worldly craving for power, pleasure, and popularity if we would hope to have the Holy Spirit of God at work in us: forming us, secretly but surely, in the likeness of Jesus.  The world loves to plan and plot now for its own future profit and advantage; we, as disciples of Jesus, must live in the present in such a way as to give witness to the truth of Jesus’ Good News, and to sustain and nourish our hope for an eternal destiny of human full-filment and heavenly beatitude in the family of God our Eternal Father, with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Spirit of Divine Love and Life.   And that, we can only do by the active rejection of sin in the present and the persevering practice of prayer for the future.  

Which one of you convicts Me of sin? (John 8:46)

We can, as did Jesus in the desert, turn away from temptation and reject sin in our lives by His grace and the power of His Spirit Whom He shares with us; and in thus fighting to overcome sin in our lives we will, ultimately, grow in true virtue. The acquisition of holiness, however, is not within our sphere of competence, so to speak: we cannot plan to become holy of and for ourselves, for such endeavours, be they moved by spiritual simplicity or, more likely, by spiritual ambition, by virtue of their being fatally flawed with presumption, can result in nothing more than an imitation holiness for human appreciation and praise.  God alone is Holy, and true holiness for a child of God is not a worldly commodity to be humanly conceived and fabricated, so to speak; neither is it even the faithful following of a predetermined path apparently walked by saints or taught by spiritual guides: it is a human sharing in the very nature of God, and only persevering prayer can help us toward that which is essentially God’s Gift alone;  and even then, such prayer is largely a matter of listening and longing, looking, waiting and aspiring, trusting and delighting, come what may.

The Holy Spirit, the Gift of God, alone can lead us to that holiness which God wants of us individually: He is the Spirit of holiness; indeed, He is the Spirit of Love, and the love of Jesus is the only truly authentic holiness for human beings.  We have to humbly and perseveringly pray for that; firmly trusting that the Father, of His great mercy and goodness, will give it to us for Jesus' sake, in His own way and to according to His own measure, not as the world or our own pride would have it.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on a day such as this, let us confidently and whole-heartedly renew our hope in His promise:

If you who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

16th Sunday Year C 2019

16^th Sunday of Year (C)

(Genesis 18:1-10; Colossians 1:24-28; St. Luke 10:38-42)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, if you remember, last Sunday’s Gospel reading about the Good Samaritan taught us that love of neighbour should be the norm of any authentic Christian life; and St. Luke now continues in today’s Gospel reading to tell us how Martha and Mary expressed their love for their very near and very dear friend, Jesus of Nazareth.  This is of supreme importance for us since all love of neighbour must spring from love of God and Jesus is uniquely our Neighbour, being both our God and our nearest and dearest Friend, Who comes closer to us in Holy Communion than any other can possibly do.

Yes, in the Eucharistic Sacrifice Jesus, by the power of the Spirit and out of love and obedience for His Father, gives Himself entirely to us and for us.  Oh! How our Catholic and Christian faith reaches to the very marrow of our human life and being!  For, as life in human society would teach us, the greatest sign of love for another is not doing things for people, but giving oneself to or for them.  One can have friends who would gladly and generously do things for us, but only one spouse or supreme friend who will actually give themselves to us or for us.  Again, one can pay many to do things for us, but if one were to try to pay such a spouse or friend for their gift of love, then it would be a great insult. 

Martha was intent on doing something for Jesus; Mary was so taken up with Jesus’ presence and teaching that she forgot everything else: she forgot her own self and her own sister’s expectations and opinion as she sat engrossed. listening to His words.

The Catholic Church has always had, fundamentally, a very concrete response to her Lord and Saviour, and that is why she has always considered and taught that the contemplative life – one given over entirely in love and attention to Jesus – is a supreme manifestation of Christian love, and her Tradition has always seen this story of Martha and Mary as teaching and vindicating that attitude.

Martha was a capable and industrious woman who loved Our Lord.  She seized every opportunity to do things for Him.  Mary also loved Our Lord but she was more inclined to:

            Sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to His teaching.

To sit at the feet of an authoritative person was to be that person’s pupil, disciple, as St. Paull tells us that he, as a young Jew:

Was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel and educated according to the strict manner of the Law of our fathers. (Acts 22:3)

Martha was concerned about Jesus’ physical needs most especially as she saw them affecting her.  Mary, on the other hand, had forgotten all about herself as she heard Jesus’ teaching which demanded her listening.

Do you remember how King David, once securely settled on his throne, thought that now he would do something for Israel’s God: he would build God a proper house to dwell in, a splendid new temple.  However, God sent the prophet Nathan to remind David who was who.  He, God, would build David a house; as for Himself being offered a temple He had not asked for, that could come later when it would be given more appropriately.  You noticed, I trust, that there had been a measure of condescension in David’s attitude to the Lord and Master of All?

Mary, however, had no such tendency to forget her place before the Lord: He was the One giving as He spoke, she was the needy one who should listen with love and gratitude.

For Jesus was not just sitting around waiting for something to eat; no, He was teaching everyone in the house and although Martha would not consciously say that such teaching was not for her, nevertheless, her basic attitude was showing itself, was being revealed.  She loved Our Lord, undoubtedly, but with a tendency to make Him dependent on her, not really and certainly not fully, realizing her need of Him.  And what was making things worse was the fact that Mary was not following her lead as the elder sister!  Martha obviously thought that there would be time enough when the food had been given and the household work finished … though we may suspect that Martha was one of those persons whose work is never finished.

Jesus, fully aware of Martha’s emotional involvement, urged her to get her priorities right, by saying quite bluntly the simple and necessary truth … how many Bishops and priests water down the Faith by trying to make things sound nice, fearing they might possibly offend listeners by proclaiming the Faith truth-fully!! …

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.

Dear People of God, as we continue with this Mass let us pray that we may love Our Lord truly as did both Martha and Mary; let us also pray that -- with Mary - we may never allow ourselves to be distracted by the cares of this world, above all by self-imposed and self-satisfying tasks that are not part of God’s plan; let us pray too that we may ever be ready both to listen when He speaks to us and work when He calls on us; and finally, let us beseech our heavenly Father that, as His true children in Jesus by His Spirit, we may come to ultimately experience the joy of finding that we too have chosen the better part.

15th Sunday Year C 2019

 15^th. Sunday, Year C

(Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37)

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in our first reading from the book of Deuteronomy we heard:

The Word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Now listen to the New Testament and recognize the difference:

The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  (John 1:14)

That first reading almost all religions can accept, for all have their own teachings which they hand down over the generations with like encouragement: ‘the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it’.  And the peoples thus shepherded do think that they can obey the teaching they have received -- whatever it may be -- and find the salvation promised by, for example, Mahomet, Confucius, Buddha, and others; all following the same principle: listen, learn, do, and you will find what is promised.  And, in the book of Deuteronomy, we heard what actually was promised in the Old Testament:

The Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock, and the crops of your land.   The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as He delighted in your fathers. (30:9)

Promises were made which would attract mankind: prosperity, children, success and security ... everyone can appreciate such things, and most indeed want them ardently.  Such promises were given to encourage the Chosen People to do what all religious mankind likes to think they can do: listen to the teaching, learn from it, and then practise it in order to then receive the promised rewards.

However, the People of Israel were God’s Chosen People and though they tried for nearly two thousand years they never fully succeeded in keeping God’s Law, and that was the purpose of God’s Providence, because they alone of all peoples had to learn and could learn the existential fact and spiritual truth that sin was in the world and was indeed ruling over men:

            As it is written, ‘There is no one righteous, not even one.’ (Romans 3:10)

The revelationary fact is that God was leading His Chosen People – ultimately for the good of mankind -- to a previously unappreciated awareness of the human  condition and the unfathomed depth of human sinfulness; and thus –  most gently and gradually -- opening their minds and hearts to an initial comprehension of the hidden presence and power of sin in mens lives and of Satan’s personal dominion over them ... before ultimately leading them to a stark and crystal-clear realization that their need for salvation and the price of their redemption could only be met by the infinite goodness, power, and faithfulness of the one true God of their fathers: ‘don’t think you have only hear the truth and you will recognise it and be able to practise it; you are in far, far greater need than that!’

The Word became flesh and lived among us; and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.  (John 1:14)

The Word was not just audible sounds making instructive teaching; no, the Word was a Person, the very Person of the Son of God, and Christian salvation would come from faith in Him, communion with Him, and obedience to the Spirit He bestows on His disciples:

Jesus answered, ‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  (John 14:6)

The promises made in the New Testament are not for earthly joys on a bigger and grander scale, for as we learn from St. John (1:12-13):

To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God; children born not of natural descent, not of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

Through faith in, communion with, Jesus, we are called -- by His Spirit -- to love God our Father as His adopted children:

With all our heart and with all our soul, and with all our strength and with all our mind.

And for the ultimate glory of the Father Who loved us and sent His beloved Son among us as our Saviour and Redeemer, we must also come to:

           

To love our neighbour as ourselves. (Luke 10:27)

Only thus would the ultimate prayer of Jesus (John 17:23) be fulfilled:

That they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that You (Father) sent Me, and have loved them even as You have loved Me.

And so, People of God, let us all clearly recognise that we are not just to hear the teaching handed down – the teaching of Jesus and of His Church – and try to keep it of ourselves; because we most certainly cannot keep it of ourselves and any attempt to do so would be thinking presumptuously of ourselves and showing no true appreciation of Jesus our Saviour.  We have to aim in all things at communion with Jesus, that is why He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist:

Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  For My flesh is real food and My blood is real drink.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remain in Me and I in him.  Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me. (John 6:53-57)

Through Jesus’ presence, and obedience to the Spirit He bestows on us in the Eucharist, and through the manifold helps provided by our sharing in the life and communion of Mother Church, we can, and must, learn to love Him supremely Who became a human being like us, because, as St. Paul tells us (Colossians 1:16, 20):

All things were created through Him and for Him, and God the Father wants all things to be reconciled through Him and for Him;

and then will be fulfilled those words of the Psalmist:

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn and your cause like the noonday sun. (37:5-6)