Releasing the Arrow

HOMILY for Thursday 7th Week per annum (I) Sir 5:1-8; Ps 1; Mark 9:41-50 Jesus speaks in very...

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:17:12 +0100

HOMILY for Thursday 7th Week per annum (I)

Jesus speaks in very dramatic language, employing hyperbole, to highlight the great damage that scandal does. Our translation of today’s Gospel doesn’t quite convey this, because the phrase translated as “causes you to sin” is really rendered from the Greek skandalon (cf Mk 9:42-47). And this carries the sense of an action or situation that causes another person to stumble or fall, which is what skandalon means. So, Jesus is pointing to the severe damage that sin does to another (and indeed, to ourselves), not least because it is the means by which one stumbles in their faith, or falls away and loses their faith in Christ altogether.

We are all too painfully aware of how true this is. Scandalous behaviour in the Church has affected us all as a body, and our trust in the Church and her teachings are affected, and many people have been put off the Church’s message of salvation, or have even left the Church because of scandal. And scandal, of course, disturbs the peace of the Christian community, and leaves us wounded, hurting, in pain. So, because of scandal, it is the Body of Christ, the Church, that is maimed and wounded. Members have cut themselves off from Christ’s Mystical Body because of scandal, and she is left wounded, bleeding, and open to infection. For if the wound of scandal is not healed, it can spread, leading to gangrene and further amputation.

Hence Jesus says that we need to be “salted with fire” (Mk 9:49). This is a rather arresting phrase, because it’s so odd. But we can apply it to our current situation. Salt, or a saline solution, sterilizes wounds and prevents infection. It purifies and promotes healing. So, the wounded Body of Christ, we, the Church, needs to be salted. We need to be purified and healed; the wound must not infect and spread. To do this, we’re to be salted with fire, meaning that the work of purifying and healing the Church of scandal will be done by the Holy Spirit. It is he who will bring healing and new life by revealing to us our sins, gracing us with true repentance, and leading us deeper into the Truth, i.e., converting us to a more authentic following of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to be “salted with fire”.

But salt applied to a wound stings too. Hence the reforming action of the Holy Spirit, by which he purifies and disinfects the Church, will sting. However this salt of true conversion to Christ is necessary for our healing and spiritual health. “Every one”, Jesus says, needs to be “salted with fire”. Thus, we’re each being called, from the Pope down to the catechumen, to reform our life and to be more authentically converted to Christ and alive in the Holy Spirit. For we are all members of this one wounded Body. And it is only through a more perfect union with Christ, through this one Body being animated by the Spirit and drawing grace, life, and strength from Christ the Head, that we shall “have salt in [ourselves], and be at peace with one another” (Mk 9:50).

This conversion to Christ, being salted by fire, is the great call of this Year of Faith. So, let us pray to the Holy Spirit, and ask him to come so that we, the Church, can immerse ourselves in the Spirit’s saline solution and be made whole, indeed, holy.

HOMILY for Tuesday 7th Week per annum (I) Sir 2:1-13; Ps 36; Mk 9:30-37 The disciples were afraid...

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:34:32 +0100

HOMILY for Tuesday 7th Week per annum (I)

Sir 2:1-13; Ps 36; Mk 9:30-37

The disciples were afraid and fearful, and so, they did not understand Jesus’ talk about being arrested, killed, and rising again from the dead. So that, when these things took place, they fled for fear. They feared the Cross, persecution and suffering to such an extent that they were too afraid to even ask Jesus what he was talking about. And such fear is indeed perfectly understandable, and quite humanly reasonable. For it is natural to want to avoid suffering for fear of its evils; it’s reasonable and sensible to flee from harm and danger.

And yet, there are times when we willingly sacrifice our comfort and ease for a greater good. There are times when we do stand our ground, face our fears, and not flee. One only has to think of the diets and strenuous exercise inflicted on oneself for the sake of one’s health… Or, more significantly, I think of new parents who will give up sleep, or people who give up careers to care for a sick parent, child, or spouse. Indeed, at this sad time, I think, too, of the relief and emergency services hard at work to rescue and help those affected by the tornadoes in America. In all these situations, and so many others including the sitting of exams, we need the virtue of courage. It enables us to press on, to endure pain and discomfort, quite literally, for goodness’ sake.

But in addition to the natural virtue of courage, which we can acquire by our own human efforts and perseverance over a lifetime, there are those supernatural gifts from God which strengthen and perfect the natural moral virtues. They are inspirations or promptings of the Holy Spirit to move us towards our greatest good and our final end, which is to share in God’s divine life through Christ-like love.

Along with the six other gifts of the Holy Spirit, it is fortitude that was given to the disciples at Pentecost so that they emerge from their locked rooms, overcoming their fear to openly preach the Gospel. Mindful that “if [they] come forward to serve the Lord” they must be prepared for trials (cf Sir 2:1), the disciples now had the courage to risk imprisonment, beatings, ridicule, and even death to witness to Christ’s Gospel, that is, for the sake of truth. Ultimately, they were willing to sacrifice all, even martyrdom, for the sake of the greatest good, namely, eternal life with God. Courage like this, of course, would be foolish and rash if it were not based on truth. But it is: the truth of Christ’s own life; Jesus’ own sacrificial death and resurrection, which he had spoken of in today’s Gospel.

The disciples, when they were still afraid, had not understood this, but after Pentecost, filled with the Spirit and his gifts, they understood. They had faith in Christ’s life and witness, and hope in Christ’s promise that we would share his glory. And so, with fortitude and the other gifts of the Spirit, they were inspired to model their lives on Christ’s. They willed to forsake their own comfort, to suffer and even to die, not just for the sake of goodness, but for the sake of Love.

Today, we may not be martyred like the apostles were, but we do still need fortitude for the daily living out of our Christian calling, to remain faithful to Christ especially when it is difficult and demanding. This, too, is a martyrdom, as our lives bear witness to the Gospel with sacrifice, as we die to our self, our fears, and our egocentric desires. Thus, it takes fortitude to persevere in marriage, to be a true friend, to stay committed to our religious vows, to be faithful in our jobs and in all the daily tasks we don’t necessarily enjoy. It takes fortitude to confront our sins, repent, and go to confession. But when we’re faced with difficulty and trials, we can either flee from them into an easier, more comfortable way, avoiding the challenge, or we can confront our fears, stand true, and choose to act with love.

If we choose love, then we will need fortitude. So, let us pray to the Holy Spirit, and ask him to re-kindle in our hearts the gifts he first gave us at our Confirmation.

HOMILY for Pentecost Sunday (C) Acts 2:1-11; Ps 103; Rom 8:8-17; John 14:15-16. 23-26 Pentecost...

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:00:24 +0100

HOMILY for Pentecost Sunday (C)

Acts 2:1-11; Ps 103; Rom 8:8-17; John 14:15-16. 23-26

Pentecost is often called the birthday of the Church, and so, we tend to think of it as commemorating something new, as marking a beginning, a birth. But in fact, if we consider what the Jewish feast of Pentecost, also called the feast of the First Fruits, was about, we can look at it differently. Pentecost was the the completion of a seven-week long celebration begun just after the Passover, and it marked the harvest season, when the first fruits of a new harvest were offered to God in thanksgiving. As such, Pentecost was a day of expectation and a culmination; it marks the kind of ending that harvesting implies rather than the beginning that is implied in sowing.

Hence the great signs of Pentecost when the Spirit descends on the Church are also evocative of harvesting: wind, as from a winnowing fan to separate the wheat from the chaff (cf Mt 3:12), and fire, as in traditional harvesting methods to bring fertility and new life to the harvested land. So, at Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit comes as the harvester and he comes to “renew the face of the earth” (Ps 103:30).

But this Pentecostal harvesting is the culmination of what began fifty days earlier on Easter Sunday. For the risen Christ is, as St Paul says, the “first fruits” of a new creation (cf 1 Cor 15:20). And it is he, as first fruits, who was offered to the Father, being taken up into heaven at his Ascension. And now, on the fiftieth day, the climax of the Paschal celebrations, the Spirit comes to harvest and offer up to the Father those first fruits of Christ’s new creation, namely, Christ’s holy Church who stand for a humanity renewed and transformed by the power of Christ’s resurrection. Thus, the Spirit comes to harvest you and me, we who are baptized into Christ. And, so, we are being offered with Christ as first fruits to the Father; we’re being raised up by the Spirit to new and everlasting life with God. As St Paul put it: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also” (Rom 8:11).

However, if the day of Pentecost was the great moment of God’s harvesting, then this is a moment which continues to this day. For the Church, who is animated by the Holy Spirit, lives ever in the Pentecostal moment, called in every age to renew and transform the whole world through the preaching and living out of the Gospel. Time and again, Christians have failed in this calling, but the Spirit comes as wind and fire to separate wheat from chaff, to burn out impurities with God’s fiery love, and to renew the face of the Church. Thus, the Church, and each of us individually, must call out each day: “Lord, send forth your Spirit, and renew us”.

And the Spirit who comes, and who renews us by bringing to our remembrance all that Jesus has taught us (cf Jn 14:26b), will also send us out as labourers into God’s harvest. This missionary imperative was put into action on Pentecost day. The tongues of flame loosened the tongues of the disciples so that they could preach the Gospel to all nations. It is in this sense that we can speak of the birthday of the Church. Because the Church was born for mission. She exists to “bring to remembrance” before all peoples what Jesus said and did. You and I, as members of the Church, are here for others, for the good of the world; we exist as a Church to be sent out to serve our brothers and sisters by bringing them the Gospel. As Pope Paul VI said: “[The Church] exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection”. Our chapel, which looks out onto the world, and with the Altar of Christ’s sacrifice and the tabernacle of God’s dwelling with us so visible to all passers-by, is a constant reminder of this: that we, the Church, exist to evangelize. We’re here in order to go out into God’s harvest, into the world, as labourers, collaborating with the Holy Spirit to “renew the face of the earth”.

But what does this renewal, this collaboration with God, mean concretely? Let us look again to the Biblical origins of Pentecost. This day was not just about the harvest and the offering of first fruits, but also about liberation and social justice. For the fifty days from Passover to Pentecost are reminiscent of the fifty year intervals between each Jubilee, which was a time for the forgiveness of debts and the release of prisoners. So, as Christ has forgiven our trespasses, and released us from our sins at Easter, hence, we who have received God’s Spirit at Pentecost are also to forgive those who trespass against us, to release others from what they owe us. In doing so, the Spirit moves us to behave as true children of God who is our Abba (cf Rom 8:16), the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3).

Bringing mercy and comfort to others is thus an important aspect of Pentecost. In the book of Leviticus, the Jewish law concerning the observance of Pentecost says: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field to its very border, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger” (23:22). So, we Christians, living in the Pentecostal moment, are called to renew the face of our Father’s earth by not exploiting it but by being mindful to use the planet’s resources sustainably. This shows a care for the stranger, for those future generations whom we will never know but who will inhabit the world we leave to them. And we’re being called, also, to remember the poor, the refugees, those who are alienated and unloved. We’re called to ensure that they, our brothers and sisters, are being fed and sustained, both spiritually and materially; that they are being loved.

In these ways – preaching the Gospel of salvation in word and deed – we collaborate with God’s Spirit in renewing the face of the earth. Through such works of love and mercy we keep Christ’s commandments, thus showing that we love God and that we are truly children of a merciful Father (cf Jn 14:16, 23). For this reason the Spirit is sent into our hearts, and into Christ’s Church. For he comes to fire us up with God’s passionate love so that each of our lives might experience a perennial Pentecost and be offered up as a “spiritual sacrifice” (cf Rom 12:1) to the Father, resulting in a Church that is renewed and fruitful, doing what it was born to do.

Therefore: “Come, Holy Spirit, and renew us”.

HOMILY for Thu 7 of Easter Acts 22:30. 23:6-11; Ps 15; John 17:20-26 One of the characteristics of...

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:31:15 +0100

HOMILY for Thu 7 of Easter

Acts 22:30. 23:6-11; Ps 15; John 17:20-26

One of the characteristics of friendship is that friends share important aspects of their life with one another and reveal things about themselves to one another. So, Jesus has said that he calls us his friends because he makes known to us all that he has heard from his Father (Jn 15:15). And that is what he is doing in today’s Gospel, showing us friendship by revealing to us the beautiful intimacy of the life of the Holy Trinity, and leading us to see what friendship with God entails.

The verses I want to concentrate on are these, the final words in Jesus’ long Last Supper discourse and prayer. He says: “I made known to them your name, and I will make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” (Jn 17:26). Here, Jesus is speaking of the person of the Holy Spirit, who is Love itself, the perfect love of the Father and the Son. It is the Holy Spirit who is the mutual bond of love between the Father and the Son, so that, as St Thomas says: “The Father and the Son love each other through the Holy Spirit”. Thus, the Holy Trinity is a communion of love; “God is love”, as St John says (1 Jn 4:8).

So, Jesus says that the Holy Spirit, the love with which the Father loves the Son, comes to dwell in us. And this happens when Jesus has made known the Father’s name to us. For this is what the Son has come to do: to reveal to us, his friends, that God is Abba, Father, and to teach us how to live as God’s sons and daughters. Through Christ, then, and through faith in his Word, we are able to have the same relationship of divine Sonship that he has with the Father.

This faith, this knowledge of the Truth, comes from Christ for he is Truth. And faith precedes love because we cannot love who we do not know – which is why it is important to read the Scriptures, to engage in theology and learn about God and the Faith. Because as we come to know the Father; as we profess the Truth that Christ and his Church teaches us; and we become converted to the mind of Christ, so that we think and see as he does; then the Spirit comes to us too. The Spirit comes as Love itself to hold us in a mutual bond of love with the Father, and to empower us to love the Father as the Son does, that is, through him. Hence, St Paul says: “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal 4:6).

The result of this coming of the Son and the Holy Spirit to dwell in us is that we know and love the Father, and so, we are united with the one God, dwelling in the communion of love that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this is what we mean by the life of grace, which is given in Baptism, and for you and me to be in a state of grace, which is only lost through mortal sin. But Confession restores this grace to us if we’ve lost it, so that we have communion and friendship with the Holy Trinity once more.

This life of grace is, quite literally, heaven on earth, and eternity right now; it is our humanity being sanctified and made divine so that God doesn’t just call us his friends. He calls you “my beloved son”.

HOMILY for Wed 7 of Easter Acts 20:28-38; Ps 67; John 17:11-19 There seems to be, even among...

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:43:18 +0100

HOMILY for Wed 7 of Easter

Acts 20:28-38; Ps 67; John 17:11-19

There seems to be, even among Catholics, a contemporary tendency toward agnosticism about God and the articles of faith, because it is thought that the truth about God and faith cannot be known with certainty. So, to make dogmatic statements of faith would be arrogant because we cannot really say what is true. And yet, today, Jesus says: “Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17b). This is to say, that truth can be known and found in him, the Word of God. And truth, as such, is discovered with and through the Church who continues and incarnates in every place, culture and age, the Word of God.

But how do we know this to be true? Jesus says: “For their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth” (Jn 17:19). The first sense of ‘consecrate’ in this sentence is that of a sacrificial offering set aside for God. So, Jesus is referring to his Passion, to his sacrifice on the Cross, and to his resurrection. And Jesus says that he undergoes this Paschal Mystery for our sake, in order that we might be “consecrated in truth”, that is to say, that we may know; be certain of; be set apart for God through the truth. And the truth that we know from the historical fact of Jesus’ sacrificial death and re-creating resurrection is that God is Love. All who witness to this and profess this, are thus united. For we are one through this truth that God is Love, one in our faith in the incarnate Word of God; made one Body, one Church in Christ. Since this unity comes from our common witness to the truth of the Cross, St Paul can thus say in today’s First Reading that “the church of God [is] obtained with the blood of his own Son” (Acts 20:28b). For the Church who is consecrated in truth is born from Christ’s witness on the Cross, born from his sacrificial witness to the truth of God’s undying love.

And the fruit of knowing the truth, of being consecrated in the testimony of God’s Word, is two-fold. Firstly, the Church is held in unity. For there is a unity between what is and what we believe, such that all who hold to the faith also concur on what is, and are united. And the second fruit is that we are kept from the Evil One. For the devil is the Father of Lies (Jn 8:44) who seduces us through un-truths and half-truths, through agnosticism about the faith. So, we are kept safe from the devil’s trickery if we seek and find truth where it is to be found, namely in God’s Word and in the Church of the incarnate Word.

Hence, to learn and to expound the doctrines of the Church, to contemplate her dogmas, is not arrogance, as some seem to think. This might be so – indeed, it would be dangerous foolishness – were the Church’s doctrine merely opinion, or if truth were a weapon of the Church which she can manipulate at will. But the Church of the incarnate Word does not possess truth. Rather, she is possessed by Truth, in love with her Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, and so, treasuring every word that he speaks. Through the centuries, then, all who have loved Christ have desired to know the Word of God intimately; to study and share the Church’s dogmas; to ask questions so as to deepen our understanding of them. The task of theology, and especially dogmatic theology, as such, is not arrogance but a humble desire to be consecrated in the truth, to be protected from the Evil One, and to seek unity in Jesus Christ.

Moreover, in this theological quest for truth, one is merely being human, for Mankind has a natural desire for truth. Thus, as St Thomas says, Truth, especially the ultimate truth of God and being, of life, death, and our final end must be knowable, if Mankind is not to be simply absurd. Thus, Jesus consecrates himself, revealing the truth of who God is, “for [our] sake” (Jn 17:19a), so that humanity might not be absurd but have meaning, purpose, and direction.

HOMILY for the Feast of St Matthias Acts 1:15-17,20-26; Ps 112; John 15:9-17 preached during a Mass...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:32:14 +0100

HOMILY for the Feast of St Matthias

Acts 1:15-17,20-26; Ps 112; John 15:9-17

preached during a Mass with the Confirmation & First Communion of a student

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit” (Jn 15:16). For the Lord chose us even before we were born, he called us into being, and then, in our baptism and confirmation he appointed us to go and bear fruit. He called us, just as St Matthias was, to be a witness to the whole world of the resurrection; to be his friend, able to delight in his company and have the joy of eternal life. We get a foretaste of these heavenly delights in the Eucharist, and through the sacraments of the Church, we encounter the living Lord Jesus.

St Matthias was not one of the Twelve to begin with, but he was one of Christ’s disciples who followed him, who knew and saw Jesus; he walked in the company of Christ and his apostles. So, in a similar way, through our communion with the holy Catholic Church, in which the preaching and teaching of the Twelve apostles continues in an unbroken Tradition to this day, we also become one of Christ’s disciples. We follow Jesus, and we come to know and see him with the eyes of faith, in the faith of the apostles.

For it is within the community of the Church, as sharers in the living memory of the Church, that we experience and see the Lord Jesus, that we abide in his love (cf Jn 15:9). As we read the Church’s Scriptures, listen to her teaching and reflection of the Word of God, and are nourished by her sacramental and liturgical life, we come to know and see the authentic Jesus Christ, the Living One whom the apostles knew and saw, and to whom they bore witness, down to us today.

But if we dwell in the Church, we don’t just know and see Christ, we also learn to love him. For although faith precedes charity, because we cannot love what we do not know, love is more important, because charity takes us right into the heart of God to participate intimately in the life of God who is love. So, the apostolic faith that we receive in baptism, is strengthened by the personal gift of God’s Love, his Holy Spirit, in the sacrament of confirmation. And our faith bears fruit when we receive the Eucharist with proper dispositions. For through this sacrament, which is the beating heart of the Church, we can come to know, see and experience God’s love for us. We will receive his love, given to us abundantly in Holy Communion, so that we, in turn, can love one another as Christ has loved us (cf Jn 15:12b) – with a self-giving sacrificial love for others. This is our mission in the world, given to us in Confirmation, that we should be witnesses of God’s love to all peoples, calling them to become God’s friends, loving others as Jesus does.

We’re called, in other words, to be true icons, faithful images, of Christ to the world. Which is what your Confirmation name, Veronica, means. Indeed, every Christian is called to be a veronica, a true image and likeness of Jesus Christ in the world. And if we are like Christ, loving as he does, and united to him in love, then we shall bear fruit: the fruit of everlasting life in communion with the Holy Trinity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

HOMILY for the Feast of the Ascension Acts 1:1-11; Mark 16:14-20 First preached at an...

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:38:56 +0100

HOMILY for the Feast of the Ascension

Acts 1:1-11; Mark 16:14-20

First preached at an Extraordinary Form Mass

in St Birinus’, Dorchester-on-Thames on 2 June 2011

Today is a day of paradoxes. It is a day of sorrow at the Lord’s departure from this earth, but also of great joy because he has gone into heaven to prepare a place for us. As the Preface puts it: He “was lifted up into heaven so that He might make us partakers of His divinity”. Today too, we are called to beChrist’s witnesses – something which normally involves firsthand knowledge through the senses – but today he is taken from our sight… That is to say, he is beyond the perceptivity of our senses. But although he is out of sight, he is not absent or unknowable. The Gospel of St Mark told us that after the Ascension, the disciples “went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it” (16:20). And that is what the Lord is doing now in this sacred Liturgy. He is working with his Church, and confirming the Gospel that is being preached with signs, above all, the most sublime Sign of the Blessed Sacrament in which he is present.

If we think about the Eucharist, what the Liturgy calls the Mysterium Fidei, we can understand how we can still be witnesses to Christ, even though he is taken from our sight. Regarding the Eucharist, St Thomas says in the ‘Tantum ergo’: “Faith, for all defects supplying, where the feeble senses fail”. So, we recognize the presence of God, and know divine truth, not by sight, not by the senses, but by faith. As St Paul says: “We walk by faith and not by sight”. For Christ has been taken from our sight, but we can still come to know and love him, and to experience his living presence in the world through Faith. And faith is a power which is given to us only by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Hence in the reading we’ve just heard from Acts, the Lord says: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses…” (1:8) What the virtue of faith gives us is an understanding of divine truth. It is a kind of firsthand knowledge that comes from an opening of the heart and mind to trust in what the Incarnate Word reveals, because Christ is God’s Word of Truth. As St Thomas says: “Truth himself speaks truly, or there’s nothing true”. So, with faith in Jesus Christ, the One whom the book of the Apocalypse calls “the faithful witness”, we too can become faithful witnesses to divine truth.

But to be faithful witnesses, our acts of faith have to be directed properly towards true and authentic objects of faith, and our most sure teacher of the Faith is the Church. For she is the Mystical Body of Christ, the visible presence of Christ in time until he returns in glory. United to her Head, she bears faithful witness to the truths he revealed in his life, death, resurrection and ascension.

How does the Church bear faithful witness to Jesus Christ? I want to consider just two ways. Firstly, through her sacred Tradition, which is like a living memory of what Christ has done and handed on to his apostles. For the Church not only has her Scriptures, which are a written witness to the mystery of Christ. But the message is confirmed by signs; what the Dominican cardinal Yves Congar referred to as “witnesses of tradition” such as the Fathers and the Magisterium. In particular, he was convinced that “the liturgy is tradition itself at its highest degree of power and solemnity”. Which is why the usus antiquior is such a precious gift to the entire Church. For it is the witness of tradition, an ancient sign which the Church has done in memory of Him, so that we can come to know and love Him, our Lord. So that we can become faithful witnesses ourselves when we partake of sacred Tradition.

The Church bears witness to Christ in another way – one which flows naturally from faith, and from participation in the Liturgy. This is the witness of Christian lives of holiness. The saints are pre-eminent witnesses to Christ, and they are signs of the power of faith, and of divine grace at work in the world. Resplendent in sanctity and charity, the saints are Christ’s work in the world, his signs that confirm the message of the Gospel.

How we behave, then, witnesses to the truth of what we believe in. We heard in St Mark’s Gospel that the disciples are to “preach the gospel to the whole creation”, which is an act of mercy and charity. But they are also to “cast out demons”, and heal the sick. So, the practical things that we might do to alleviate the spiritual and physical suffering of those around us are a sign to the world of Christ‘s presence and activity in the Church. And it is through her charity that the Church is more clearly seen to be a communion of saints, a “cloud of witnesses” (12:1), as the letter to the Hebrews says.

After today’s beautiful, heavenly liturgy, we might be feel like the Men of Galilee, gazing rapt into heaven. Like them, we are asked: “Why do you standlooking into heaven?” (Acts 1:11). Because like them, we have the same mission. Filled with the Holy Spirit, we are to be the witnesses of Christ “to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We are to manifest his presence in the world through charity, to attract others to Christ through the beauty of holiness, and through the holiness of beautiful, faithful preaching and signs. Then, enlightened by faith, others too might see - indeed, witness - Christ coming among them, living and acting in his Church…

Christ, our Eucharistic Lord, coming on clouds of incense, for every Liturgy is a Parousia, a coming of Jesus Christ in the midst of his disciples.

HOMILY for 7th Sunday of Easter (C) Acts 7:55-60; Ps 96; Apoc 22:12-14. 16-17. 20; John...

Sun, 12 May 2013 14:14:23 +0100

HOMILY for 7th Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 7:55-60; Ps 96; Apoc 22:12-14. 16-17. 20; John 17:20-26

One word recurs in our readings today: glory, from the Latin gloria. But what, really, do we mean by glory? Usually, I think this word evokes light, brilliance, and splendour. And these are related to the Greek word for glory, which is doxa. But if we look at the Scriptural origins of glory from the Hebrew word kabod we find something rather unexpected. Glory, coming from kabod is related to weight. So, in contrast with our association of glory with soaring flights of angels, light, and uplift, glory, coming from the Hebrew kabod, denotes a quality of being heavy with weight, wealth or nobility, or with exceptional goodness. Glory, in this sense, implies the wealth and power of the king, his riches and worth, because of what he has done. Or we can think of an Olympian or a soldier who has achieved glory in athletics or combat, and is weighed down with medals; their weightiness proclaim what he has achieved, they glorify him.

If we translate this idea to God, then kabod, glory, signifies the wonderful work that God has done in creating all that is, and it tells of what Christ has achieved in dying, rising again and ascending into heaven. For God’s greatest work, his heaviest impact, his glory is seen in the salvation of sinful humanity; in our being brought from the death of sin to the fullness and abundance of new life in the risen Lord Jesus. Thus St Irenaeus said that “the glory of God is Man fully alive”. The glory of God is you and me, being re-born through grace as sons and daughters of God, sharing in the divine life of Christ, being one with him in the communion of love that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (cf Jn 17:26).

This tremendous work of God’s grace that lifts up a sinner to become a saint, beckoning Mankind to “Come” and enjoy freedom and life in the Trinity (cf Apoc 22:17), brings about the glory of God. And the effect of God’s grace is glorious, and this is probably why the word ‘glory’ has come to connote light, brilliance and uplift, because the effect of what God has done for us, what his grace causes, is to raise sinful Man up to share in God’s light and divine life.

However, the idea of God’s glory, kabod, is still related to weightiness because each saint is like a shining medal glorifying God, signifying who he is – our Creator and Redeemer – and what he has done – united the saint to God’s self through grace. For each and every saint, beginning with St Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, witnesses to the triumph of God’s grace. Stephen’s life and death testifies to what God has done for weak, frightened and sinful humanity through Jesus Christ, which is to re-make each human person in Christ’s image, strengthened with his virtues. Thus, Stephen’s death, which completes and seals his life’s work, is deliberately portrayed by St Luke as mirroring Jesus’ death: both innocently condemned, executed outside the city, and died forgiving their killers.

The work of God’s grace that re-fashions us in Christ’s image is weighty, heavy business; the work of our sanctification and our salvation is impressive, world-impacting, life-changing. As such, it’s also glorious. And kabod does carry this notion of being heavy with goodness. In this sense, we might speak of the weight of our vocation as Christians. For we’re called to be holy, we’re made for glory, and this will involve a certain expectation of what we’re called to do. This gives a certain weightiness to the moral choices we make, and heavy sacrifices will be necessary. For love demands sacrifice, as the life of Christ and of St Stephen shows us, but it is only through love that we become like Christ, that we are united and become one with God who is love.

But this call to holiness, to imitate Christ – the weightiness of glorifying God – can become a heavy burden if we’re weighted down by sin. But Christ has set us free from the burden of sin, so let us not be weighed down and shackled to them again. And if we are bound by sin, let us repent and go quickly to Confession, for in that sacrament Christ sets us free again and he lightens our load. We can also lighten our Christian calling if we empty ourselves of those things that bloat us and make us heavy – pride, our desires for worldly status and ambitions, our self-importance. As St John the Baptist said: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn 3:30). Thus, we need to learn to let go and reduce those things which weigh us down to this world and its fading glories, so as to make room for Christ and allow God’s grace to increase in us so that we can be united to Christ in everlasting glory.

Love, which means giving ourselves to another, sacrifice, and self-emptying is precisely what lightens us and unites us to Christ in glory. Through love, we’ll find that our path to holiness is easier, less burdensome, and altogether joyful because love unites us to Christ. So, as Jesus said: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Mt 11:29f). And Christ’s yoke is the Cross, perfect sign of God’s sacrificial love. So, if we share in Christ’s Cross, loving God and neighbour as Jesus does, even to the point of dying for the sake of the good and the true, then we will also share in Christ’s glory just as Stephen and all the saints do.

Therefore Jesus can say of his saints: “The glory which [the Father] has given me I have given to them” (Jn 17:22). For from Christ flows the grace that potentially makes each of us saints, and thus, capable of bringing glory to God, weighing him down, so to speak, with our sainthood. That, ultimately, is what you and I – all of us – are called by our baptism to be: a saint. We’re each called to become a beautiful, brilliant medal, every one of us individually crafted and intricately different but similarly heavy with love and good works, resplendent with a holiness that glorifies God. The question is, do you want to become such a medal that proclaims God as our champion? Because this is what it actually means, as we say so often, to give: “Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.”

adaltaredei: Alleluia, alleluia.Go ascended in triumph, and the...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:41:04 +0100

adaltaredei:

Alleluia, alleluia.
Go ascended in triumph, and the Lord at the sound of the trumpet.
Alleluia.

The Lord on Sina, in his holy place, ascending on high, hath led captivity captive.
Alleluia.

HOMILY for the 6th Sunday of Easter (C) Acts 15:1-2. 22-29; Ps 66; Apoc 21:10-14. 22-23; John...

Sun, 05 May 2013 09:00:35 +0100

HOMILY for the 6th Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 15:1-2. 22-29; Ps 66; Apoc 21:10-14. 22-23; John 14:23-29

The Holy Spirit is called the parakletos, the One-Who-Is-Called-Alongside you and me. He stands beside us, as our friend, but also as our counsellor and advocate. The language being used here is deliberately legal, and one calls to mind a courtroom situation in which we stand accused. Often, many people think that God accuses us of our sins, or we might blame ourselves and feel downcast because of what we’ve done, or it may look like the Church is pointing fingers at people to condemn them as sinners. But this cannot be; it’s diabolical. Because, quite simply, the one who accuses us, the one who blames us, and points fingers at us, and wants us to stand condemned of sin is not God, and not his holy Church, but the Devil. The Devil is the diabolos, the one who hurls his accusations across at us. It is he who attacks you and me with recriminations, and so, causes fear and troubles us. But Jesus says: “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Because against the prosecution of the Devil stands the parakletos, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in Jesus’ name to defend us, to raise us up through his grace, to restore us to peace.

For the peace that Christ gave us, which he won for us through his death and resurrection, and which we have through baptism, had been disturbed through sin. We experience a kind of disintegration in ourselves when we listen to Christ’s words, hear his teaching and say we love him, but we do not keep his word; we do not love him enough. So, sin splits us apart, and that is what the diabolos, the one who throws things apart, always wants to do – divide, splinter, and disintegrate. Thus, we find that we might know something to be good and true, we want to behave as children of the light, redeemed by Christ, but we don’t. We use our human freedom to choose our older ways – those more familiar and comfortable sins that our wills are too weak to resist. St Paul describes the situation vividly: “ I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…” (Rom 7:15). And then, when we fail and fall, the Devil keeps us down, standing on our backs and telling us how rotten, how guilty, how hypocritical we are. It’s the kind of thing an unforgiving and judgmental Press metes out on public sinners, only far worse.

But in this darkness of sin and despair, as we’re being prosecuted and accused, we need to call out for our defence attorney; we just lack the ability to defend ourselves against so wily an Enemy. The Holy Spirit, we’re assured today, is the parakletos; we just need to call on him, and he will come alongside us as our defender. He comes to plead our case, to counsel and convince us. And what does he say?

Jesus tells us that “[the Spirit] will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. So, the Spirit comes to remind us of Christ’s redeeming love; of his desire to save us if only we would turn to him and allow him to raise us up; of the simple fact that Jesus has “not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk 5:32). Jesus was born, suffered and died for one like me… and you. And he rose from the dead, and said to us: “Peace be with you”, extending his forgiveness and mercy to all sinners, so that we might also rise to new life, new hope, new potential through his Easter grace. All this, the Holy Spirit, reminds us of and teaches us to understand more deeply. He fights our cause against the Accuser by proclaiming what Jesus has done for us, how he has redeemed us by his precious blood, and made us his own. As St Paul says, then, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

The Holy Spirit, as such, is leading us into all truth (cf Jn 16:13). He teaches us the truth of God who is love, and so, he teaches us of God’s justice, of our human freedom, and also of God’s mercy and grace. The Spirit also opens our eyes to see ourselves and our own sinfulness truthfully, convincing us of our sins (cf Jn 16:8). But he does this, not in an accusatory way as the Devil does, but in the light of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection so that we see our sins in tandem with God’s saving love and divine mercy made visible in Jesus Christ. For in truth we must consider both who we are, and who God is.

Therefore, whenever we become aware of our sinfulness, the worst thing we can do is allow our hearts to be troubled or frightened. That is the Devil’s work, causing us to flee from God’s grace and sacraments, to think we’re unworthy of God’s goodness and mercy, and to feel that the situation is hopeless because we can’t do better. But “perfect love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18), so let us call on the Holy Spirit. He, the parakletos will come alongside us and remind us of the truth of our situation as Christians, as precious children of God, so that we neither despair nor presume, which is just as bad, but hope in God’s mercy, even if we fail repeatedly. For as St Francis de Sales said: “Do not despair over your shortcomings. Start over each day. You make spiritual progress by continually beginning again and again”.

Gradually, then, the mercy and forgiveness of God, which is the gift of the risen Lord, changes us if we let it. The new creation begun at Easter becomes a reality in our lives when we are renewed by grace such that we love God more, we avoid our old sinful habits, and we choose to keep Christ’s word. So, let us call on the Holy Spirit, who will convince us of our sins and counsel us to repentance, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And let us rely on the Spirit to give us the grace to keep Christ’s word.

Thus, through the activity of the parakletos in our lives, we are made whole again – united, and re-integrated in heart, mind, and will, in what we know and love and what we do, so that we enjoy Christ’s peace once more; so that, with our hearts enlarged by God’s Holy Spirit of love, we might have room for the Holy Trinity to come and make his home in us.

HOMILY for the Feast of Pope St Pius V Acts 14:19-28; Ps 144; John 14:27-31 “Peace I leave you,...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:43:00 +0100

HOMILY for the Feast of Pope St Pius V

Acts 14:19-28; Ps 144; John 14:27-31

“Peace I leave you, my peace I give you” (Jn 14:27), says the Lord in today’s Gospel. And some might say that the pope we remember today, an Italian Dominican friar, wasn’t a man of peace. After all, Pope Pius V is remembered in England for excommunicating Elizabeth I and releasing Catholic subjects of their allegiance to the queen (in 1570), and he is also credited with having rallied the forces of Christendom, the so-called Holy League, in a great naval battle at Lepanto in 1571 against the Muslim Turks who threatened to overrun Europe.

And yet, St Pius V wasn’t really a belligerent man. He had been a shepherd before he joined the Dominicans, and he remained at heart a conscientious, austere and diligent shepherd, eager to maintain the safety and the peace of his flock. Even when he was serving as grand inquisitor under the previous pope, Paul IV, as Eamon Duffy notes, “he had fallen foul of Paul IV for excessive leniency”. And during the battle of Lepanto he had remained in Rome and gathered the people of the city in prayer, saying the Rosary. The feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on 7 October was instituted by Pope Pius V in thanksgiving for the victory at Lepanto, which he ascribed to Mary’s intercession.

For St Pius V’s primary concern wasn’t so much with the peace of the world – perhaps he felt this was not his duty. After all Christ had said: “Not as the world gives do I give [peace] to you” (Jn 14:27). Rather, Pius V’s concern and duty as pope, to whom Christ had entrusted his little flock, was to secure for God’s people the peace that only Jesus Christ could give; the peace that comes through a saving faith in him, through knowledge of the fullness of the Truth he taught, through a loving communion with Christ’s holy Church. So, as far as Pius V could see, Elizabeth I and the other Protestant leaders disrupted the peace and unity of the Church, and would prevent Catholics from practicing the fullness of the Christian faith in peace. This was even more certain with the Turkish forces who threatened the future of Christianity in Europe. Hence, St Pius bravely did what he felt he had to on these two fronts in order to secure peace for the Catholic faithful.

But even among his Catholic flock there was disturbance and turmoil brought about by moral laxity, poor theological formation, and corruption among the clergy. This seems to be a recurring theme in Church history, for the Church was once more in need of reform, and Pius V was elected in 1566 to implement the decrees of the reforming Council of Trent. In his six year pontificate, he radically reformed the Roman curia, reduced its costs, and disciplined wayward cardinals and clergy. Looking to the faith education of the laity and clergy, he published the Roman Catechism and promoted as a solid formation for seminarians the Summa Theologiae of St Thomas Aquinas. He also promoted the unity and renewal of the Liturgy, putting in place an edition of the Roman Missal that remained essentially unchanged until Vatican II. Finally, he upheld the unity of theology in both the Eastern and Western Church.

All these works, which St Pius V laboured over until his death in 1572 were aimed at restoring unity and peace to Christ’s Church so that all within her Body might experience the unity and peace that Christ gave to his disciples. For Christ’s peace is found through the unity of faith, in the one saving Truth that Christ entrusted to his Church, and also in the consolation of her Liturgy and sacraments, for in these we encounter Jesus Christ who is our peace.

So, today, we give thanks to God for Pope St Pius V who shepherded Christ’s flock with such diligence and personal holiness of life, and we ask him to pray for the Church that she may be ever more united in the peace of Christ.

HOMILY for the Feast of St Catherine of Siena In 1970, Pope Paul VI did an unprecedented thing....

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:54:00 +0100

HOMILY for the Feast of St Catherine of Siena

In 1970, Pope Paul VI did an unprecedented thing. He declared not one but two women saints to be Doctors of the universal Church, and we celebrate the feast of one of those women today: the lay Dominican saint and mystic, Catherine of Siena, who is also patroness of Europe.

St Catherine lived in the turbulent 14th-century when there was much warfare among the Christian states of Europe, and under the influence of the powerful French monarchy, the pope no longer lived in Rome but in Avignon. This came to a climax in 1377 when French and Italian factions competed for the papacy and cardinals under their influence ended up electing two popes, thus bringing about the Great Western Schism that lasted until 1417. But this schism could only have happened because the Church was in serious need of reform: the clergy was corrupt, beset by scandals, and the laity were morally and doctrinally lax.

Hence, through deep prayer, penitential austerity and mystical experiences, Catherine was called by God in 1370 to care for the spiritual sickness that was then afflicting the Body of Christ. She was to be a doctor to the Church, called to heal the Church’s disunity and corruption which, in her words, disfigured the beautiful face of Christ’s Bride with leprosy. The disunity of the Church and the sins of her members – lay and clerical alike – were a great wound to Christ’s Body, and St Catherine bore this wound in her own body. For in 1375 she received the stigmata – the wounds of Christ – and she bore these invisibly until her death in 1380, when she would die at the same age as Christ, thirty-three.

For the last decade of her life, Catherine wore herself out travelling throughout Italy and France speaking and pleading with influential people, writing almost 400 letters to urge Christians to seek peace and unity, and imploring the pope to reform the clergy and to return to Rome – the symbol of the Church’s unity – which Gregory XI did in 1377. But his death shortly afterwards led to the schism, which weighed heavily on St Catherine.

So, she’d laboured to heal the Church’s disunity but she seems to have failed at the end of her short life. Yet, she is a Doctor of the Church because in her saintly life she taught us a most important lesson, and one which is ever relevant, especially today.

St Catherine knew that the reform of the Church was not primarily about politics and structures and bureaucracies. Rather, the Church is animated by the Holy Spirit, and so, she has to be healed spiritually, made whole by God’s love first. Hence, St Catherine offered her whole life of austerity, penance, fasting and prayer, as well as her ministries out in the world, for the love of God’s Church. So, Jesus promised her that “With these prayers, sweat and tears, I shall wash the face of my spouse, the holy Church”.

For Catherine knew, too, that reform was not ‘out there’ or the problem of the Roman Curia, or the warring cardinals. There can be much hand-wringing about the need for institutional reform, but St Catherine knew, rather, that the problems were also very much hers. As she put it “I have slept in the bed of negligence. This is why so many evils and ruins have befallen your Church”.

Thus, Doctor saint Catherine’s remedy for the sins of the Church was to look to her own sins, and to repent and change her ways. Because she knew that the only soul she could change and cause to co-operate with God’s grace, to conform to Christ’s will, was her own. So, reform of Christ’s Church comes through each of us as members of the Body of Christ striving to be faithful to Christ and our Christian vocation; each of us allowing Christ the divine Doctor to heal us so that we can play our proper part within his holy Body. Hence, through the “prayers, sweat and tears” of the saints, Christ himself will purify and reform his Bride; it is his Church.

With this fundamental knowledge and faith in Christ, and love for Christ’s Mystical Body, St Catherine became a saint, and so can we today. May she pray for us, for God’s Holy Church, especially in Europe, and for our lay Dominicans for whom she is patroness.

HOMILY for the 5th Sunday of Easter (C) Acts 14:21-27; Ps 144; Apoc 21:1-5; John 13:31-33a....

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:00:00 +0100

HOMILY for the 5th Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 14:21-27; Ps 144; Apoc 21:1-5; John 13:31-33a. 34-35

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Jn 13:34). The last time we would have heard these words in the Liturgy would be on Maundy Thursday in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, just before the Gospel account of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. These words, then, re-enforce what was heard in the Gospel of Maundy Thursday: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:14). Hence, it is rightly understood that Christ’s commandment that we love one another is borne out in serving one another, in works of social justice.

Therefore, our parish embarked on a charitable project this Lent that sought to serve the needy and poor – not so much to wash their feet as to help provide feet, in the form of prosthetic limbs. We have raised about £3500 for Olivia Giles’ ‘500 Miles’ project through a variety of initiatives. And as Olivia suggested on Friday night when we presented a cheque to her, it is through such acts of generosity and love in a Christian community that we demonstrate that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. For the Lord says: “all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35).

But this understanding of love as social justice is not new. It is already found in the Old Testament, and it is rooted in the Jewish prophets. For example, Micah 6:8 says: “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” What is different is that the New Testament adds a mystical dimension to this because in serving the marginalized and oppressed it is our poor, naked, hungry God, Jesus Christ himself, whom we serve and love.

However, vital though it is, there is more to Christian love than just social justice. Hence, our Liturgy re-visits these words of Christ, his new commandment to us, in the light of the resurrection. What has changed? Christ has risen from the dead, and so, destroyed death. He has put an end to the hold that sin, evil, and death had over Mankind. He has made “all things new” (Apoc 21:5a), re-creating the heavens and the earth. Because of Christ’s resurrection, “death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away” (Apoc 21:4). The disciples of Jesus Christ, who touched and saw and heard the risen Lord, knew all this to be true. Through faith, we also experience the risen Lord and know his Word to be true.

With an Easter faith, then, how is Christian love expressed? What more needs to be done in addition to serving one another and doing justice? Love is expressed through bringing hope to others: hope in the resurrection; hope that comes from faith in the new creation brought about by the risen Jesus; hope in God’s mercies that are ever new.

Therefore, the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows us how we’re called to love one another as disciples of Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Love impels the first disciples to travel far and wide, risking the perils of the journey, to preach the Gospel. They could have been content to just keep the faith to themselves, or considered it too risky and imprudent to stand up against the Jewish authorities and the mighty Roman empire. And, as we’ve seen in previous weeks, after the Crucifixion, they were full of fear and confusion. But once the Holy Spirit had descended on them there was no stopping them.

They were inflamed with the love of God, fired up with love for everyone, the same love that took Jesus to the Cross. And so, with love, they risked even their own reputation and lives to preach the Gospel of the resurrection to all peoples, Jew and Gentile alike. Because, even as the risen Lord had consoled and strengthened them through his resurrection, so now, they had to go forth and comfort and encourage others by telling them the good news. So, we see that in today’s first reading, Paul and Barnabas are out and about preaching the Gospel, and giving hope to fellow Christians. They are “strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith”, especially in times of hardship and difficulty (Acts 14:22).

It’s significant, I think, that the apostles’ preaching missions begin and end in Antioch. Because it is in Antioch that Christ’s disciples were first called ‘Christians’ (Acts 11:26). So, it is from a place where we are first recognized by others as distinct, as Christ’s disciples, that the Christian work of love in a post-Resurrection mode resounds. Hence, “all men will know that [we] are [Christians] if we have love for one another”; if, through our words and our deeds, we preach hope in the risen Lord, hope in our God who renews the whole of creation through his forgiveness, mercy and love; hope for the joy of everlasting life with God.

The fullness of Christian love, therefore, is shown in two modes. Through acts of social justice we serve Christ in the poor; we love one another as God has loved us. And through the preaching of the resurrection, we allow God to love his people, to comfort Mankind in his need and poverty. For by raising Jesus from the dead, God has wiped away every tear from our eyes (cf Apoc 21:4). So, whenever the Gospel of Christ’s resurrection is heard and accepted, wherever it is seen and experienced God is at work, through us, to comfort humanity; he is acting in our words and witness to wipe away tears, to love us, and to give Easter hope to men and women.

So, as a parish community, as an Easter people, we’re called to love one another and to show that love to others particularly through sharing our faith and hope in the Risen Christ. As Pope Francis said, every Christian, every parish and religious community must be open to the Holy Spirit so that we proclaim Jesus with joy and avoid being “closed in on ourselves”. For only by going out to others in evangelizing love, will all people know that we are the risen Christ’s disciples.

HOMILY for Sat 4 of Easter Acts 13:44-52; Ps 97:1-4; John 14:7-14 “Whatever you ask in my name, I...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0100

HOMILY for Sat 4 of Easter

Acts 13:44-52; Ps 97:1-4; John 14:7-14

“Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son; if you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn 14:13f). For many people there can be something disturbing about this statement. Because how often have we asked, begged, and prayed for something, and nothing seems to happen? Our prayer, it appears, is unheard and unanswered. And this issue can lead to one’s falling away from God and the loss of faith. So, it seems to me that how we understand Jesus’ words is crucial.

Much, I think, depends on our perspective of life and its purpose. This life, as yesterday’s Gospel says, is a journey and we are on our way home to the Father’s house where Christ has prepared a room for us. So, we are preparing now to live with God, to share his deathless life, to have the endless joy of communion with Him. Life, then, is a preparation for eternal love, and Christ has come to show us the Way and teach us the Truth on how we might have Life, and have it in abundance; eternal life. So, this life is, in a sense, the journey, the preparation, the anticipation of something far greater to come: Life itself – being one with God through Love. And this, we might term ‘salvation’.

This perspective isn’t intuitive. Because the prevailing view is to think that this life is all that there is, and you get one stab at it, so we should enjoy it to the fullest and have life in abundance now. Or some might propose the idea of re-incarnation, in which case we have many chances at life until we learn and evolve into a higher state. But Christ who is the Truth teaches us that there is just one life – this one, right now – which is why every free choice we make, every human act, matters. And what road we take today affects where we shall go. Jesus is the Way to Life, so the Christian follows in his footsteps, desiring to make the same journey as Christ. This journeying we might also call ‘sanctification’.

Now, if this is our perspective, what might be the aim of all prayer? If we are on a plane travelling to a nice sunny destination, what do we hope for? That we get there safely. And this, I believe, is what prayer is fundamentally about. We pray, ultimately, that we might be saved by God’s grace. This is why Jesus says: “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do it”. And Jesus’ name literally means ‘God is salvation’, or ‘God saves’. Hence the angel Gabriel says at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel: “You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21).

And Jesus adds that what we pray for, that is, salvation, is brought about so that “the Father may be glorified in the Son”. As St Irenaeus says, “the glory of God is a living Man”, that is to say, a person who enjoys eternal life in heaven. So, the Father is glorified in the triumph of his grace when a sinner becomes a saint through following in the Son’s footsteps. And Irenaeus adds: “the life of Man consists in beholding God”, for it is only in heaven that Man can see God’s face.

This, of course, is what Philip asks for at the start of our Gospel passage. He wants to see the Father. And Jesus’ response is to exhort Philip to have faith in him, to co-operate with the Spirit so that even now in this life he can begin, practice, prepare to live the life of heaven through works of love, and to pray, in faith, for salvation at last in Christ’s name.

Everything else that we pray for is ordered to this end – our final salvation. And we should pray to God for salvation because this is the one thing that only God alone can grant; we can never earn it or win it. On the other hand, bodily healing, material goods, world peace, and so on, are works which can be brought about by Man in partnership with God’s grace, or sometimes through some miracle. So we may certainly also pray about these things. However, in praying, let us not forget that the lives of the apostles and saints, and of Christ himself, tell us that we will not necessarily be spared illness, pain, suffering, humiliation, and death. Hence, we pray in Jesus’ name that we may endure these trials, which are part of our human condition, with Christ in faith so that finally we may see God face to face, and rest in Love. Now, about this kind of prayer, Jesus answers: “I will do it” (Jn 14:14).

HOMILY for Fri 4 of Easter Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2; John 14:1-6 There can be so many things that...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:41:48 +0100

HOMILY for Fri 4 of Easter

Acts 13:26-33; Ps 2; John 14:1-6

There can be so many things that trouble and disturb us: exams, job prospects, relationships; worries about the future and about what we’re called to do. Many people wonder about what is the right thing to do, and about their vocation in life. In a sense, Thomas articulates our fears when he asks: “How can we know the way?” How can we know the way forward in a world that seems increasingly complex and fraught with difficulties?

Jesus’ response, if we’re weighed down with worry, is to broaden our horizon so that we can put our worries into perspective. He says to us with tenderness: “Let not your hearts be troubled”. We worry because we’re losing control, or because we feel helpless and lost, or perhaps because we experience a lack of security. But God assures us: “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”. For God is our Father, which means that he loves and cares for our final good today. So, he is always providentially guiding all things to a good end, bringing us home to himself today, so that we can dwell securely in him for ever. Thus Jesus says to us, his disciples, his friends: “I go and prepare a place for you [and] I will come again and will take you to myself”. So, when we’re shaken by life’s uncertainties, we’re called to anchor our hope in God’s Word, and to be certain of Christ’s promise. Hence, Jesus says to you and to me: “Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me”.

But you might well think, our faith does not take away our needs for finance, food, friends. No, it doesn’t, and we do need to work together and attend to these things, but faith in Christ does alleviate our anxiety over these genuine human needs. For, with faith, our perspective changes so that the ups and downs of life, its many unexpected turns and plateaus can be seen in Truth as part of the journey that we make to the Father, going along the Way to God’s house where Jesus has prepared a room for us. Life’s journey, with its many trials as well as beauty, as such, is a preparation for our homecoming when we shall be united in love to our Father, our God who is love and Life in the fullest.

Hence, Pope Francis said this morning, the Lord is preparing our hearts “with trials, with consolations, with tribulations, with good things”; preparing us and forming us to love God, to trust and believe in him, and to seek him, “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3). This, of course, is how Jesus lived his life among us, with complete trust and obedience in God, enduring all things for the sake of love. Thus, he is “the Way, the Truth and the Life”; he shows us the way forward, he lived the truth as he taught it, and his life gives us hope and new life.

All this is expressed in the simple act of the Mass and especially through Holy Communion. For it is here that we remember how Christ lived and loved; here that we look in hope to the resurrection and eternal life; and here that Christ, our food for the journey, comes to us. And, as he promised, he comes to take us to himself, to dwell in him and he in us. So, here, today, Jesus is saying to us: “Let not your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me”. Then, as we receive him in the Host, let us wholeheartedly say: “Amen”.

HOMILY for the Feast of St Mark 1 Pt 5:5-14; Ps 88; Mark 16:15-20 A roaring lion is unlikely to...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:21:00 +0100

HOMILY for the Feast of St Mark

1 Pt 5:5-14; Ps 88; Mark 16:15-20

A roaring lion is unlikely to successfully stalk and surprise its prey but lions do roar in the evening to proclaim their territory. So, in comparing the devil to a roaring lion, perhaps St Peter has in mind the devil roaring as he prowls around in the darkness of sin, proclaiming that sinful humanity belongs to him. After all, in St John’s Gospel, Jesus acknowledges the devil to be “the prince of this world” of sin (Jn 12:31). Or perhaps St Peter has in mind the devil roaring with fierce persecutions and difficulties so as to strike fear into our hearts and to shake the faith of men and women. For lions do roar so as to strike fear into the hearts of their prey and to stun them just before they pounce on them. Again, there is a suggestion of this in St Mark’s Gospel, that “Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them” (Mk 4:15) or “when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away” (Mk 4:17).

But into a world darkened by sin, a wilderness in which we are fearful and suffer tribulations, another lion has roared.

For the traditional symbol of today’s saint, the evangelist Mark, is the lion. Because his Gospel begins with “one crying in the wilderness”, like a lion roaring and proclaiming its territory in the desert. This is the roar of the evangelist, of the herald of Christ, of any who would proclaim and preach the Gospel of salvation.

But the good news that St Mark proclaims concerns another lion, Jesus Christ, who is called the Lion of Judah (cf Apoc 5:5). This Lion roars to claim humanity for God. We belong to him, and are marked out as his, saved from sin and the lies of the devil, through baptism. Hence, St Mark’s Gospel opens with the baptism of Christ through whom we too are called God’s beloved sons and daughters, with whom God our Father is well pleased (cf Mk 1:11). And the Spirit descends upon the waters, just as he did at the dawn of creation, for the world has been redeemed by Christ, reclaimed from the devil, and re-created in grace by the Holy Spirit. And as a sign of this, right after Christ calls all to “repent, and believe in the gospel”(Mk 1:15), and after he calls the Twelve apostles, Jesus performs a series of exorcisms, driving out the devil.

For the Lion of Judah is stronger than the prince of this world, infinitely greater than that lion who seeks to devour us. St Mark says: “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house” (Mk 3:27). Jesus has done this, binding the devil, conquering sin and death, and plundering his house. Hence, all evils and even death itself has no lasting hold over humanity; we have been set free and our persecutions and sufferings – frightening and terrible though they may be – are only temporary. For Christ is victorious and has risen. So, as St Peter says in our first reading: “[A]fter you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you” (1 Pt 5:10).

Therefore, today, we give thanks to God for St Mark and his Gospel. Through his writings, God, in his grace, has called us to his eternal glory in Christ. So, let the roaring of the lion of St Mark overcome our fears and difficulties, for armed with the Gospel, we can resist the devil, “firm in [our] faith” (cf 1 Pt 5:10), empowered by the Lion of Judah.

HOMILY for 4th Mon of Easter Acts 11:1-18; Ps 41; John 10:1-10 In the Old Testament, God is...

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:06:00 +0100

HOMILY for 4th Mon of Easter

Acts 11:1-18; Ps 41; John 10:1-10

In the Old Testament, God is referred to as the Shepherd of Israel (cf Ps 80:1, Eze 34). But the notion that the one God favours one nation, one people, and sets them aside to make them holy is gradually expanded to include all of humanity, both Jews and non-Jews; Jew and Gentile alike. Hence, in today’s First Reading, St Peter recounts how the Holy Spirit descended on the Gentiles in the same way that he descended on the Jews at Pentecost (cf Acts 2). So, it is clear that people from every nation, of every race, language, people and culture are called into God’s sheepfold, an “Israel of the Spirit” as the great Jesuit theologian Henri de Lubac put it, through faith in Jesus Christ.

And Christ is the reason that God’s call to holiness, once given just to Israel now encompasses every human person. For what was initially given through the Law of Moses and the wisdom of the patriarchs is now given to all through Jesus Christ who embodies and perfects the Law, and who is the Wisdom of God made flesh. For in Christ, God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, united himself for ever to our common humanity so that through his Incarnation, Jesus now claims all humanity for God. We belong to him, we are the “sheep of his pasture” (Ps 99:3), and every human person is now called to enjoy “life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Because if our humanity is united to Jesus Christ, then we also share in his divinity. And God’s divine nature is life itself in its fullest abundance and perfection.

As Jesus alone – and no other – is true God and true Man, so only through Jesus can humankind be united to God. Thus, he alone is the gate to eternal life and the happiness and peace of heaven. As Jesus says in today’s Gospel: “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (Jn 10:9). There is no other way to salvation, then, for Jesus is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn 14:6).

Christ also says that he “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out”. And this is precisely what it means to be Christ’s Church. Because the Greek New Testament word that is translated as ‘church’ or ‘assembly’ is ekklesia, meaning ‘those who are called out’. Hence, we, the Church, are a gathering, an assembly, a calling-together of those have been “brought out” of the world, or even out of other religions, by Christ into a living relationship with him who alone can save us. He “goes before” [us] so that we can follow him, listening to his voice which calls each of us by name (cf Jn 10:4). If we follow Jesus throughout our lives and are not misled by other voices – by the Thief, that is, the devil and his lies – then Christ, our Good Shepherd, will lead us to enter into the living pastures of heaven.

Therefore, as St Ignatius of Antioch put it, Christ is “the door of the Father, through which have entered Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, prophets and apostles and the Church, and all of them to the unity of God”.

HOMILY for 4th Sunday of Easter (C) Acts 13:14. 43-52; Ps 99; Apoc 7:9. 14-17; Jn 10:27-30 It’s...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 09:15:00 +0100

HOMILY for 4th Sunday of Easter (C)

Acts 13:14. 43-52; Ps 99; Apoc 7:9. 14-17; Jn 10:27-30

It’s been so blustery lately that if you’re withdrawing money from the cash machine you need to be careful to hang on tight to the cash. A few days ago, I saw someone lose his grip and the wind snatched the notes away, and they were blown out of his reach! So, we need to keep a firm hold, particularly on valuable things, and especially in bad weather.

This is what Jesus does to us. He holds on tight so that nothing and “no one is able to snatch” us out of his hands. Because we are so precious to him, each and every single one of us. For every human being – all life – is created by God. So, he is our Father and his love sustains all that is. And we have been given to the Son, meaning that we belong to Christ. “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture” as we said in our psalm response. And because we’re his Christ “the Good Shepherd… laid down his life for his sheep and willingly died [for us] his flock” (cf Communion antiphon). He does this so that we are redeemed from sin and death, so that we can have eternal life, so that we can be for ever united to him in love. That’s what we call ‘heaven‘ – being one with God in perfect love.

So, we’re hard won, and bought at a great price – through Christ’s own suffering and death – and Jesus did this for us because he loves us. Therefore, because you and I are loved into being and sustained in love by the Father, and loved into salvation and eternal life by the Son, and united to God through the love of the Spirit, we are precious. You and I, and every human person is of infinite value to God, created to share in his divine dignity. And we, who have been baptised, have been elevated by grace to share in divine Sonship so that we’re not just sheep but are one with the Lamb, one with our Lord Jesus Christ on his Father’s throne.

Hence, because we’re so precious to Jesus, he hangs on to us, and he will not let anyone or anything snatch us away from him. As St Paul said: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? […] No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:35. 37-39).

Rather, in all our trials and pain, Christ is hanging on to us. For he keeps a firm hold, particularly on us who are precious, and especially in stormy, windy, turbulent conditions. When we are suffering and sick and stressed; when we are demoralized, depressed and doubtful, Jesus is holding on to us very tight. So, in today’s Gospel he assures us that he knows us, his beloved flock. He knows how we suffer and what we endure in this life. But he wants us to know, too, that he loves us, especially in difficult times, and that he will never let us be snatched away by evil.

Because, he, the Lamb that was slain, is with us, sharing in our suffering. And he, the Lamb on the throne, the Risen One, promises that death and illness and pain does not have the last word. He, the Word of God who is raised from the dead has the last word. And his Word is that God’s love conquers all, even death. His Word is that we shall be conquerors with him, strengthened and purified by his precious blood. His Word is that he will shepherd us and guide us to “springs of living water” (Apoc 7:17).

In fact, if we have faith we shall recognize that Christ is doing all this right now. Because it is he, the Good Shepherd, who has gathered us here as one flock. Here in the Mass we hear his voice and recall God’s love for us, and his Word refreshes us and consoles us. Here at the Altar we behold the Lamb of God; we behold him who was slain to take away the sins of the world, and we receive the Body and Blood of the Risen Lord. Here in the Eucharist God unites himself to us intimately, and he fills us with his love and life. And all this God does for us in the Mass as a promise, a pledge of future glory, a glimpse of the Resurrection and of heaven. Hence, we come to Mass, even every day, in order to hear Christ’s voice, to be reassured by his love, and to let him hold on to us more firmly. Otherwise, if we don’t come to Mass, we’re liable to forget Christ’s promises, to become too distant to hear his voice, and to become so hurt by the world and its pains that we can’t even feel Jesus holding on to us anymore. And then, we despair, we lose faith and hope, and we think that we’re unloved, and that God has let us down.

But he hasn’t – he can’t. We’re too precious to him. Jesus is keeping a firm hold on us, and he will let nothing and no one snatch us away from him. For “nothing can separate us from the love of God”.

However, notice that in the First Reading, it is possible for people to hear God’s Word of love, and yet, mysteriously, reject it. As St Paul says, they “thrust it from [themselves], and judge [themselves] unworthy of eternal life” (Acts 13:46)! Let us beware to never do this. Never reject God’s love through what we decide to do, through choosing seriously sinful actions. For only our free human choices can thrust God’s gift of eternal life from ourselves. This does not mean that God stops loving us. As I said, he can’t. But because he loves us, he doesn’t force us to accept his gifts. Terrifyingly, God gives us human freedom, which includes the free choice to reject him and choose grave sin instead. Therefore Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). This means that we have to respond to his voice, respond to his love, and follow him by choosing to avoid sin and live according to his word.

So, today, gathered once again for the Holy Mass, let us hear with new vigour the loving voice of God’s Word. Let us listen to Jesus’ promise of resurrection, and with faith and trust, let us believe his word, and so, be strengthened in hope. Hope in his mercy and forgiveness whenever we fail and sin; hope in the joys of eternal life after the struggles of our short earthly mortal life; hope that, by God’s grace, we shall never perish, never be overcome by evil. For Christ has promised he will never abandon us nor let the Evil One snatch us away. Because he loves us. Therefore, let us love him in return and so, be united to God for ever in perfect love. In other words, let us follow Jesus Christ and be shepherded into heaven.

HOMILY for St Agnes of Montepulciano Acts 9:31-42; Ps 115; John 6:60-69 The name ‘Montepulciano’...

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:47:00 +0100

HOMILY for St Agnes of Montepulciano

Acts 9:31-42; Ps 115; John 6:60-69

The name ‘Montepulciano’ makes me think of wine because when I was in my early teens I remember touring the vineyards of Tuscany with my parents, and being told that the wine from the town of Montepulciano, the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano was especially fine – not that I was allowed to taste any of it! And today we celebrate and honour another fine vintage from that town, dating to the 13th-century: Saint Agnes of Montepulciano.

At the age of just 9, St Agnes entered a convent in Montepulciano. In fact, she’d been begging her parents to allow her to become a nun since the age of 6. This is a recurring theme in the life of many saintly nuns. They all knew from a very young age that they would only find happiness in giving their lives entirely to Christ. In this way, St Agnes lived up to her name: innocent and pure as a lamb, giving her whole life as a sacrificial offering to God.

However, we probably wonder what it is that enables such a young person to dedicate her life to God. If we live according to the flesh, seeing things from a worldly perspective, then the religious life, and especially the hidden contemplative life of a cloistered nun like St Agnes doesn’t make sense. But as the Lord says: “It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail”. So, it is the Spirit who inspires the religious vocation and gives it life and meaning. It is as though one were intoxicated with love for Jesus Christ, drunk on the new wine of the Gospel. Just as wine gives one boldness or folly, so the saint who is filled with the Spirit, as Agnes was from her youth, is emboldened to live a life of heroic virtue, a life of prayer that seems like a folly to the world.

In the convent, Agnes lived a life of ardent prayer that was an expression of her love for the world. And this is the heart of the contemplative vocation and its beauty: a humble withdrawal into prayer because of one’s Christ-like love for the salvation of souls and of the world. Hence, St Catherine of Siena wrote concerning today’s saint: “She had a taste and a hunger for souls. She was always assiduous at keeping vigil in prayer. There is no other way of acquiring the virtue of humility, because there is no humility without charity; the one nourishes the other”.

The Montepulciano wine is said to have a strong bouquet of violets, and I might allude to the witnesses who said that violets, roses and lilies blossomed about St Agnes’ feet as she prayed. But, the wine is also one that matures beautifully, aging from a good young wine into a truly fine and noble vintage. Might I suggest, not too cheekily I hope, that this is reflected in St Agnes’ life too? Because, I was amazed to discover that the convent she entered at the age of 9 was a kind of primitive Franciscan convent, and at 15 she was called (with papal approval) to set up and head a new Franciscan convent in Proceno. She was prioress there for 20 years. But in 1306 she had a vision. The Lord called her to establish a new house in Montepulciano itself, but it was to be a Dominican convent. Thus, this young wine of Montepulciano, as it were, first laid down in the cellars of the Franciscans matured into a saintly Dominican vintage. St Agnes would live out the last 11 years of her life as a Dominican, and so today, our Order honours her.

May she pray for our Dominican nuns, that a new monastery might be established in our Province, and for the Order worldwide. And may she pray, too, for us, the holy Church of Christ.

HOMILY for the 3rd Mon of Easter Acts 6:8-15; Ps 118; John 6:22-29 St Stephen is described as...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:49:31 +0100

HOMILY for the 3rd Mon of Easter

Acts 6:8-15; Ps 118; John 6:22-29

St Stephen is described as being “full of grace and power”, as speaking with a “wisdom” that could not be bettered, and he also “did great wonders and signs”. St Luke, in his Gospel, says similar things about Jesus, whose surpassing wisdom was evident in the Temple when, as a boy, he taught the scribes; who also performed miracles – wonders and signs – with power throughout his ministry. And, interestingly, the identical Greek phrase that St Luke uses to describe Stephen, pleres charitos, “full of grace”, is also used by St John to describe Christ, the Word become flesh who is “full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). And tomorrow, we will hear that Stephen died forgiving his killers, and commended his spirit to God at his death. Hence, St Stephen is portrayed as being very much like Jesus Christ, even identical to him in many respects.

But if Stephen is like Christ, this is because St Luke wants us to understand that Stephen is the model Christian. Thus he is truly another Christ. And he is only able to be like Christ, to do great things, and to preach truth compellingly because he is “full of grace and power”, that is, full of the Holy Spirit. For it is the Spirit of God who is grace, power and wisdom, and it is the Spirit of God who does wonders, miracles, and signs through men and women. So, what is true of Stephen is also true for us as Christians. For, at our baptism and each time we make a good confession, we also become, like Stephen, pleres charitos, full of grace. We have each been given God’s Spirit so that we can become like Christ; be another Christ, truly participating in Jesus’ grace and truth.

However, we might well ask, as the people in today’s Gospel did: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God” (Jn 6:28) as Stephen does? How do we tap into the power that has been given to us, the power of divine charity? Jesus answers: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). So, if we want to see God’s power at work in our lives, we need to believe.

Because God does not work against our will but with us; his grace builds upon and perfects our human nature. So, belief, faith, is not purely a work of God. Rather, belief involves both God and Man; it a human act, a free choice and decision, made in co-operation with God’s grace (cf CCC §§153-155). As St Thomas says, more precisely: “believing is [a human] act of the intellect assenting to the divine truth by command of the will moved by God through grace”. There is a fine balance here of grace and nature. For although we can do nothing at all without the grace of faith, which is a gift of the Holy Spirit, it is also true that even after the gift is given, we must be open to God’s grace and not resist it. As our Collect for today says, we must “[put] off our old self with all its ways”, and, so, freely choose to “live as Christ did”. It is thus that we co-operate with grace; this is what it means to believe in Christ.

So, conscious of the many times we fail in this, and aware that without God’s grace to help us we can do nothing, let us pray these words from St Mark’s Gospel: “[Lord] I believe; help my unbelief” (Mk 9:24b).