The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

My attention is taken by the Second Reading for today where St Paul sees fit to refer to two aspects of the Incarnation when speaking of God's plan for salvation. He could have simply written "When the fullness of time had come God sent his Son in order to redeem those who were under the law" however he interpolates: "born of a woman, born under the law." That Jesus was born of a woman is the truest testimony of his humanity. Paul does not say he was born to a human father rather the reference point is to Mary and since Jesus is God then Mary as his mother must be Mother of God. Yet, she is truly a woman and not a God/dess. Often people refer to the Greek expression of Theotokos - "the God bearer" however the sheer physicality of pregnancy and birth as well as all the attendant responsibility of care for a baby should not be downplayed. Thus, in this brief reference, the full impact of God's plan for humanity with Mary as the second Eve comes to bear. Both Mary's humility and glory are simultaneously manifested. In referring to "the law" Jesus Jewishness, as well as that of Mary, is affirmed and places Jesus firmly within the promise of salvation, given by the Old Testament, so that in the resurrection Christ might fulfill the purpose of the Law and lead the whole of humanity to its heavenly destination.

The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph

In today's Gospel Mary and Joseph, realizing that Jesus is not with them, "... started to look for him among their relatives and friends." (Lk 2: 44) It is clear that the Holy Family exists within a matrix of relationships both familial and friendship. Nevertheless, those with primary and immediate care for Jesus are his mother and father. Once upon a time this would have been considered as stating the obvious, however, we seem to live in New Zealand in a society where parents, more and more, abdicate their parental duties to the state, schools, government departments, grandparents, in fact, anybody who will let them carry on with their own pursuits. The model of society that this represents is something like that of the kibbutz system in Israel where both parents would work and the children would be looked after communally. This ensured that the children could all be ideologically correct as the school would impart to them all of their values. The Marxist philosophy which underpinned this idea has failed with the family and everywhere else. The present concept of gender fluidity will likewise fail, sadly, not after having left a trail of destruction and wounded adults who crave a stable and loving family connection. It is a blessing that we, like Our Lady, can when it comes to our faith and family treasure all these things in our heart (cf. Lk 2: 51).  

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

The Gospel reading for Christmas during the Day, which is seldom used at Masses in my experience, begins: "In the beginning was he Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1: 1) Taken together with the genealogy of Christ, such as that used for the equally seldom used Gospel for the Vigil of Christmas from the Gospel of Matthew, we are challenged to reaffirm our belief in the awesome event that is the Incarnation. Too frequently, I suspect, Christians lapse into various Christological and Trinitarian heresies such as Arianism, Docetism, and Modalism. This is not helped by the naive and childish interpretations that are given by the wider culture and media. The mystery of the Incarnation is equal to that of Creation and the Resurrection. In both cases God acts in a way that cannot be attributed to any other agency. Furthermore, the God that acts is revealed as one who does so out of a loving plan for human beings and who invites them to acts of worship, love and gratitude in response to that love. Taken together we see, as in the Book of Revelation, that God and his plan will not be defeated by the forces of sin and evil that conspire to frustrate his love such as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, King Herod or the Roman Empire. The babe in the manger, tiny and dependent on his mother, is the ray of light shining on a world darkened by sin and condemned to death and futility. The prophecy given in the First Reading for Christmas during the Night is fulfilled: "For a child has been born for us, a son given us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. " (Is 9: 6)

4th Sunday of Advent

The sense of joy experienced by the two women in today's Gospel is palpable. Mary has the report, given her by the angel of Elizabeth's pregnancy, verified and the older woman acknowledges and reassures Mary that her child is from God. We know that the news of an unexpected pregnancy does not always yield such a happy response. Nevertheless, all pregnancies offer the potential for new life. Every new human being is unprecedented and unrepeatable. Induced abortion is therefore simply not a choice for anyone who values life. It is incumbent on Catholics to defend the right to life for unborn children and to strive in every way to support women, in whatever circumstances, so that they can give birth knowing they have a community to assist either with adoption or bringing up the child themselves. Likewise, Catholics must have compassion and empathy for women and men damaged by the trauma of inflicted by abortion as well as the grief occasioned by miscarriages and still-births. It is not enough to speak words we need to act if children in the womb and their mothers-to-be are to be given a chance to live with dignity and flourish in the future. It is also good to remember that just because something is legal it does not mean that it is moral. This goes for abortion as much as  it does for other things like prostitution that damage the dignity of our fellow human beings.

Christmas Message 2018

As we gather to celebrate Christmas in 2018 it is always with a sense of gratitude that we can reflect on the blessings we have received since last Christmas. This is even the case when we have suffered loss, hardship or illness in our own lives because “Jesus” (Heb. “the one who saves”) is also “Emmanuel” (Heb. “God with us”) who, in his Incarnation, shares our joys and hopes, our joys and sorrows. By the very act of entering our reality he gave us the promise of the love and solidarity of a God whom, led by the Spirit of God, we dare to call “Abba! Father!” (Rm 8: 15) Even more than that we are invited to share in the divine life and in doing so mediate God to the world: “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have love them even as you have love me.” (Jn 17: 21-23) 

The annual celebration also builds on memories of past Christmases so that we are mindful of relationships that have formed us and the desires that motivate us to be our best selves at this time of year. We welcome the messenger of peace and ask that his gift of peace, offered to us after the resurrection, be in our hearts, our families and our world: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’.” (Isaiah 52: 7)  If we cannot exult in our own deeds we can still rejoice in the Lord because our future is guaranteed in Christ Jesus: “For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.” (Isaiah 9: 4)

The challenge for all Catholics, in the coming year, is to go forth in our community as “missionary disciples.” That is, to encounter Christ and to make him known. We do not seek, as Christians, to impose our beliefs on others rather we have had our own lives transformed through faith and we wish others to share the joy: “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” (2 Cor 5: 14-15) It is the joy and love we experience in Christ that makes us want to initiate dialogue with others so as to share this gift, this Good News, which holds out the promise of the wonderful liberation of God’s saving love to all. Our society struggles with loneliness, addiction and mental illness – surely, it remains in great need of such love!

The Christ child did not stay as an infant in the crib. Likewise, we should not remain as infants in faith content to be fed with milk and not solid food (cf. 1 Cor 3: 1-3). Christ is also for us Jesus of Nazareth who went about healing and doing good. None of us will experience the “perfect Christmas” but we can encounter the mercy and love of God that makes us whole: “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5: 31-32) If we are yet to encounter and experience Christ in our own lives let us open our hearts to him this Christmas so that we can say along with the disciples at Emmaus: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” (Luke 24: 32)

I wish you all a happy and holy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Fr Marcus Francis

3rd Sunday of Advent

There is a refrain throughout today's Gospel composed of various sections of the crowd asking of John the Baptist: "What should we do?" (Luke 3: 10, 12 and 14) What is interesting is that he does not ask anything extreme of them even though he lives an austere and rigorous lifestyle himself. We can compare this to St Paul who wrote to the Corinthians: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Cor 11: 1) The distinctive aspect of Christianity is that it is not primarily a moral code but a participation in the mission and risen power of our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that our imitation of Christ is not motivated by typically religious concerns or rules but by obedience to and love of the Father. Jesus points out to his critics that the austerity of John the Baptist had them saying that the Baptist had a demon while they said of him: "Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" (Luke 7: 34)  He goes on to say: "Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children." (Luke 7: 35) Let us vindicate wisdom, therefore, in all we do and say this Christmas.

Second Sunday of Advent

This rather grand announcement of the ministry of John the Baptist, given in the Gospel for today, I imagine, is like a movie camera, directed by St Luke, zooming in from a wide angle, through the clouds. It starts with the whole of the Roman Empire and continues moving to focus on the Middle East, then Israel until finally on the person of John the Baptist preaching by the Jordan River. This is the drama of salvation. The fullness of time has come and the Messiah is about to be revealed to the people. This does not happen in the glittering grandeur of Rome or the Temple but in the wilderness. it is in the desert that a road is to be prepared for the Messiah to "make his paths straight." (Luke 3: 4) Where and how can I find God in my life this Advent and Christmas? Is it in the hustle and bustle of festive preparation? Is it in the cheery greetings of friends? Is it in the giving of gifts? Rather, I suspect, it is in the desert - those quiet moments of reflection and sometimes grief and sadness. The Holy Spirit prompts us to prepare the way of the Lord through reflection, repentance and reconciliation. Let us open our hearts to the Holy Spirit so that we may allow God's love to strengthen and heal us in ways beyond our power.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

This great feast of Our Lady speaks not only to the plan that God had for Mary of Nazareth, daughter of Joachim and Anne, but also to the whole of the human race. Once our first parents had chosen to disobey God and decide for themselves what was good and evil, the consequence was a rupture in relationship with God. This wound to human nature is glaringly evident to anyone who works as a counselor or spiritual director. Instead of becoming Nietzsche's idea of "superman" our first parents knew only fear, nakedness and shame in the presence of God: "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen 3: 10) This wound is not genetic but it was passed on to every human being subsequently and means we cannot please God or know God's love of our effort alone. In the baptismal rite for infants the prayer the priest says: "We pray or this child: set him (her) free from original sin, make him (her) a temple of your glory, and send your Holy Spirit to dwell with him (her)." We do not commit original sin but we need to be freed from it. I think we can also deduce that Our Lady was from the very moment of her existence free from original sin and a temple of God's glory. This is what we all became at our baptism and what we need to continue to aspire to be. Our Lady was not only immaculately conceived but throughout her life she cooperated perfectly with God's grace: at the Annunciation she consented to bear the Son of God, she was joined to her Son in his sacrifice on the Cross and was at the heart of the community when the Holy Spirit descended to manifest the Church at Pentecost. In this way she was the pioneer and exemplar for all disciples who not only belong to the society of the Church but need to be transformed in our hearts, through obedience and love, to be docile to the Holy Spirit. 

1st Sunday of Advent

Jesus speaks of how the end of time will take place in the Gospel today. He prophesies how fear will grip the world: "People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for he powers of heaven will be shaken." (Lk 21: 26) This is not to be the case for those who believe in Christ: "Now when all these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Lk 21: 28) The Letter to the Hebrews puts it this way: "And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that judgment, so Christ, having been offered once for the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly awaiting him." (Heb 9: 27-28) This begs the question: which group will I be in? Those who are quaking with fear or those who stand erect ready to welcome 'the Son of Man coming in a cloud.' (Lk 21: 27)? Not only that, what influence does fear and anxiety have on my life here and now? We do well to listen to the counsel of the Lord from the Sermon on the Mount: "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. today's trouble is enough for today." (Mtt 6: 33) The antidote to fear and anxiety is, in fact, peace. This peace is not an absence of conflict rather it is the fruit of justice. In its perfect form it is a gift from the Lord: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (Jn 14: 27) If I am in a state of fear, confusion or anxiety I need to trust in the Lord and pray that his peace will flood my soul knowing and trusting that his power is sufficient for me. As St Paul states: "... but he (the Lord) said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor 12 9-10)

Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Jesus tells Pilate: "My kingdom is not from this world." (Jn 18: 36) How often, in history, has much suffered occurred for the Church when its members have thought first of worldly power and influence?! We are in the world but not of the world. An Early Christian document called: "Letter to Diognetus" states:

"Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.

And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labour under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives."

I think we must take the idea seriously that we are essentially a pilgrim people. We should not get to attached to the things of this world along with all of its blandishments. rather, we look forward to the fulfillment of a new kingdom where"God may be all in all." (1 Cor 15: 27) St Paul tells us: "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14: 17) As we approach the busy season of Advent let us make room for righteousness, peace and joy in our daily lives.

Church as the Bride of Christ and the Holy Eucharist

In my reflections on the Mass it occurs to me that how we engage with this great mystery has a lot to do with our images of Church. For the Mass in the extra-ordinary form the principle image is that of the Body of Christ. In the post-conciliar liturgy it has often been the People of God. I do not intend to elaborate on these images here, however, each has far reaching implications for both celebrant and congregation in terms of their prayer and Eucharistic spirituality. Neither is wrong but then neither is completely correct or exhaustive. In this blog post I would like to look at the image of the Church as is Bride of Christ as it can be used to help understand the dynamics of Mass in the ordinary form.

To start with the image of Church as the Bride of Christ, who identifies himself in the Gospel as the bridegroom, is clearly a significant part of the official teaching of the Church. In Lumen gentium this image occurs prior to and after the exposition on the Body of Christ in article 8 and therefore can be taken to nuance and interpret it. The Fathers wrote:

"The Church, further, 'that Jerusalem which is above' is also called 'our mother.' It is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb, whom Christ "loved and for whom He delivered Himself up that He might sanctify her,' whom He unites to Himself by an unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly "nourishes and cherishes,' and whom, once purified, He willed to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity, and whom, finally, He filled with heavenly gifts for all eternity, in order that we may know the love of God and of Christ for us, a love which surpasses all knowledge. The Church, further, 'that Jerusalem which is above' is also called 'our mother.' It is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless Lamb, whom Christ 'loved and for whom He delivered Himself up that He might sanctify her,' whom He unites to Himself by an unbreakable covenant, and whom He unceasingly 'nourishes and cherishes,' and whom, once purified, He willed to be cleansed and joined to Himself, subject to Him in love and fidelity, and whom, finally, He filled with heavenly gifts for all eternity, in order that we may know the love of God and of Christ for us, a love which surpasses all knowledge." (LG, 6)

"Christ loves the Church as His bride, having become the model of a man loving his wife as his body; the Church, indeed, is subject to its Head. 'Because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,' He fills the Church, which is His body and His fullness, with His divine gifts (71) so that it may expand and reach all the fullness of God." (LG, 7) 

In the Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum concilium the image was applied to the work of the liturgy:

"Christ indeed always associates the Church with Himself in this great work wherein God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is His beloved Bride who calls to her Lord, and through Him offers worship to the Eternal Father." (SC, 7)

With this in mind let us imagine the Sunday Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist as a "date" where the Bride spends time apart with her Bridegroom to be renewed, refreshed and reinvigorated in her task of continuing the bridegroom's salvific plan.

1. Gathering: The Bride fasts before Mass to prepare herself for the date. She is prompted by the Holy Spirit and gathers to meet with him on the eighth day, that is, the day of the Resurrection. In the processional song she sings for joy to be in the presence of the Bridegroom.

2. Liturgical Greeting: The priest acting in persona Christi capitis greets the people who respond acknowledging the presence of the Lord.

3. Penitential Act: Mindful of her faults the Bride confesses her sins while praising the Bridegroom for his mercy and love that are never ending.

4. Gloria: This prompts the Bride to glorify the Bridegroom in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.

5. Collect: The opening prayer unites the Bride's desires and aspirations thus opening them up to listen to the Bridegroom.

Liturgy of the Word

This part of the Mass is where the Bridegroom feeds the Bride with his Word. In the Constitution on Revelation, Dei verbum we read:

"The words of the holy fathers witness to the presence of this living tradition, whose wealth is poured into the practice and life of the believing and praying Church. Through the same tradition the Church's full canon of the sacred books is known, and the sacred writings themselves are more profoundly understood and unceasingly made active in her; and thus God, who spoke of old, uninterruptedly converses with the bride of His beloved Son; and the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel resounds in the Church, and through her, in the world, leads unto all truth those who believe and makes the word of Christ dwell abundantly in them (see Col. 3:16)." (DV, 8)

"The Bride of the Incarnate Word and the Pupil of the Holy Spirit" (DV, 22).

6. First Reading: Taken from the Old Testament the Bride learns how from the beginning of Creation the bridegroom has prepared her for his coming. During Eastertide the readings from the Acts o the Apostles speak of the Bridegroom working in and with the Church through the Holy Spirit until the end of Creation.

7. Psalm: The Bride responds with ancient songs of praise which speak both of God's power but also the history and struggles of the Bride.

8. Second Reading: The Bridegroom teaches the Bride how he is present to the Church and continues to guide her through history.

9. Alleluia: Again the Bride responds with praise at the workings of the Holy Spirit and the wisdom of the Bridegroom.

10. Gospel: The Bridegroom feeds the Bride with the Divine Word of the Gospels as the public and objective revelation of the Word made Flesh.

11. Creed: The Bride responds to this revelation of divine truth by affirming her faith in the Bridegroom. 

12. Prayers of the Faithful: The Bride manifests the sincerity of this faith by bringing before the Bridegroom her needs and those of the world trusting that he will provide them as she cooperates with his grace.

Liturgy of the Eucharist:

This part of the Mass is where the Bridegroom feeds the Bride with his Body and Blood under the form of bread and wine. There is one sacrifice offered under two different modes: that of the priest acting in persona Christi capitis and that of the bride in persona Ecclesiae or even, I would say Mariae. The sacrifice of praise offered at the foot of the Cross by the Blessed Virgin joins her to her Son. We gaze on the Host and likewise strive to offer ourselves in imitation of her so that we might share in the fruits of redemption.

13. Offertory: Obedient to his instructions: "Do this in memory of me" the Bride brings forward the bread and wine for the Eucharistic sacrifice and prepares the altar.

14: Oblation: The priest, prepares for the sacrifice and praises God thus initiating the self-offering of the Bridegroom to which the Bride is joined.

15: The Eucharistic Prayer: The Bridegroom makes a living memorial of his Paschal Mystery through which he redeemed humanity and brought about the Bride to be the Second Eve born from his side as he hung in the sleep of death on the Cross. The Bride echoes the liturgy of heaven as she offers herself up in union with the Bridegroom in this act of love, gratitude and joy. This is brought to a climax for the Bride in the Great Amen.

16: The Lord's Prayer: United in their prayer and the sacrifice is makes present the Bride is stirred to pray to God as Father trusting in the words of the Bridegroom and adopted into his filial relationship with the Father in the Holy Spirit.

17: Prayer for Peace: The Bride prepares to receive the Bridegroom in Holy Communion by recalling his gift of peace to the Bride and asking that it be manifested in the Church and in the world.

18: Lamb of God: Mindful again of her imperfections and sins the bride asks of the Bridegroom the fruit of mercy and peace. The Host is broken in the ancient action through which the Bride recognized her Bridegroom "in the breaking of the bread." (Luke 24: 35)

19: Reception of Holy Communion: Coming forward the Bride is nourished by the Bridegroom, in sacrament, and longs for the day when she will be united with him in eternity. Individual members echo the Great Amen as they make an individual act of faith in their Lord and Master.

20: Post-Communion Prayer: The desire for this ultimate union with the Bridegroom is expressed in the brief prayer after Holy Communion which also brings the Eucharistic liturgy to a close.

21. Dismissal: The Bridegroom sends the Bride into the world to continue her mission to make present his Kingdom. The Bride sings rejoicing in the love of the Bridegroom.

22. After Mass Hospitality: The members of the Bride extend the immediate unifying effects of Communion with the Bridegroom by sharing an agape meal which recognizes the Bridegroom as now being present in and mediated through the Bride. 

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel today Jesus says: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Mark 13: 31) We can take this statement in a number of ways. The first is the actual words spoken by Jesus. This divine wisdom, revealed primarily through the Gospels, is true for all time. His words, however, are not simply what is spoken they are also an "enactive utterance," in other words, what they say they simultaneous accomplish. "Then God said: 'Let there be light'; and there was light'." (Gen 1: 3) likewise Jesus said: "Take; this is my body." (Mark 14: 22). Furthermore, Jesus is the "Word made flesh": "And the Word became flesh and lived among us." (John 1: 14) he is not the product of creation rather it is creation that was accomplished through him. Having preceded creation, in his resurrection, he continues for all eternity: But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died... For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death... When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who put all things in subjection under him, so that God may be all in all. (1 Cor 15: 20, 25 & 28) The words of Jesus, therefore, subsist beyond the mere spoken word but resonate for eternity.  

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In a previous week I suggested that the evangelist invites a comparison between the rich young man and Bartimaeus. Today I think we have another comparison which builds on the attitudes necessary for worthy discipleship. Jesus points out the grandstanding, attention seeking and competition for status among the scribes. The NRSV uses the expression "to be greeted with respect" whereas I prefer the translation from the Jerusalem version which says: "to be greeted obsequiously." Nevertheless, it is clear that the scribes do what they do not for others but for themselves. Even their long prayers are "for the sake of appearance." (Mk 12: 40) This leads on to the rich who place large sums in the treasury from their abundance. This too, by implication of what has preceded it,  is for the sake of appearance. The poor widow gives from "out of her poverty" and "all she had to live on." (Mk 12: 44) Disciples are invited, like the rich young man, Bartimaeus and the poor widow, to give up everything for the sake of the Kingdom but it is only the poor who are capable of this generosity. The reward of eternal life is theirs. As our thoughts turn towards the end of the year and the festivities, both civil and religious, that surround Christmas it is worthwhile to reflect on what sacrifices we have made, material or spiritual, for the Gospel in 2018. To what extent are we attached to prosperity and material comforts? To what extent is our religious observance or acts of charity motivated by considerations of reputation or appearances? What addictions and compulsions prevent us from living as disciples dedicated to spreading the Gospel and following Christ on "the Way"?

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

The context for today's Gospel is the series of controversies between Jesus and the various Jewish factions after Jesus had announce his messiahship by entering Jerusalem in triumph. The implications of this action are made clear by Jesus bringing Temple worship to a temporary halt through preventing the selling of animals for sacrifice and the exchanging of money that made this possible. To oppose the outrageous presumption of Jesus in claiming messianic status the Jewish parties engage Jesus in debate hoping to discredit him. They are confounded by his responses as well as being divided among themselves. Then: "One of the scribes came near and heard the religious authorities disputing with one another, and seeing that Jesus answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all'?" (Mk 12: 28) It is apparent that disunity is toxic to religious community. It scandalizes believers and leads to mockery of them by those who maintain that religious belief is irrational. St Paul scolds the Corinthians for their divisions accusing them of childishness: "And so, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but rather as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for solid food. Even now you are still not ready, for you are still in the flesh. For as long  as there is jealousy and quarreling among you you are not of the flesh, and behaving according to human inclinations? For when one says, 'I belong to Paul,' and another, 'I belong to Apollos,' are you not merely human?" (1 Cor 3: 1-4) The scene in the movie The Life of Brian comes to mind where the protagonist encounters all the different versions of the People's Liberation Front for Judea. On this occasion Jesus perceives the goodwill and sincerity of the scribe and replies with his summary of the Law. Reciprocating his insight the scribe agrees with him. This is an excellent example of how Catholics should treat one another in debate by being prepared to listen to one another as well as to acknowledge the truths they share. When we are charitable in our differences and keep in mind the essential law given by Christ hopefully we will hear those words from the Lord: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." (Mk 12: 34)  

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I like to think of today's Gospel forming the conclusion of an inclusio starting with the rich young man at chapter 10 verses 17-22. The subsequent verses, chapter 10 verses 23-45 elaborate what it means to have the true detachment necessary in order to be a disciple. This attitude is them exemplified in Bartimaeus who throws aside his cloak, his only worldly possession, and shows the kind of faith in Jesus that is required. He receives back his sight and in contrast to the rich young man who: "was shocked and went away grieving" (Mk 10: 22) Bartimaeus: "followed Jesus on the way." (Mk 10: 52). Immediately, the Gospel narrative switches to the countdown to the Passion with the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem from chapter 11 verse 1. Thus, all who choose to follow Christ  "on the way," including Peter, James, John and Matthew, are also choosing to follow Christ to the cross. They do not aspire to worldly prosperity of glory and are obliged to leave their old lives behind. Bartimaeus possesses nothing yet in Christ he now has everything whereas the rich young man has everything but is so blinded by his bourgeois morality and riches he in fact possesses nothing. St Paul speaks of this dynamic when: "Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish (lit. 'garbage' or 'human excrement'), in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but on that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of the resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Phil 3: 7-11)

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus says to the two disciples, asking to have precedence in the Kingdom they believe Jesus will establish as the Messiah: "You do not know what you are asking." (Mk 10: 38) It is clear that they have misunderstood the nature of his messiah-ship which will be revealed fully in his passion, death and resurrection. Nevertheless, Jesus accedes to their request, interpreting it as a desire to share in his mission. He then clarifies his destiny saying: "For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mk 10: 45) This statement challenged not just James and John but, as a part of the living Word, it challenges us, who wish to be disciples of the Lord, today. Am I prepared to use the grace and charisms I have received to ransom others from sin? There is a danger that I look upon the world, as well as those who are enslaved by sin and death, with judgement. The Catholic Bishops Conference's Pastoral Letter for Respect for Life Sunday says: "Today as shepherds or hepara, we stand close to those of you who carry the heavy burden and grief of an abortion. Sometimes that anguish, when shared, met with a cold detached judgement. That was wrong. We encourage those of you who need the burden of regret lifted, to share your story, and, in the words of Jesus, 'find rest for your soul'(cf. Mtt 11: 29-30 )." Part of our job as disciples is to listen to those who are damaged by sin and have them find in us a compassion heart attentive to the mercy of God. In this way we place ourselves at the service of the Gospel rather than looking for positions of privilege.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel Jesus tells the rich young man: "You lack one thing." (Mk 10: 21) What can that thing possibly be? Being rich, at a material level, he lacks for nothing. Also, he has kept the commandments and so is not lacking morally. Yet, he is kneeling before Jesus asking him: "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life." (Mk 10: 20) He is sincere and Jesus: "looking at him, loved him." (Mk 10: 21) He is not lacking for God's love. What then is he lacking? The simple answer is that he lacks "treasure in heaven" (Mk 10: 21). What is that? In the Gospel of Matthew we hear that it is something  for which a person is prepared to give up everything to possess it. There is the treasure discovered in a field by a person who: "in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field" (Mtt 13: 44) or the merchant: "on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Mtt 13: 46) We cannot inherit eternal life we must make a decision to prefer it to all other things. In the Gospel of John we hear: "Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (Jn 12: 25) This begs the question of each one of us - how attached am I to my worldly possessions? Do I use them as a steward looking out for the good of others and in service of the Kingdom? Or do my possessions possess me demanding all of my time and energy to build them up, protect them and use them for my own pleasure? The Kingdom is not to be found in what is tangible: "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14: 17) Let us therefore place ourselves and our material goods at the service of God especially in the poor so that we might not be found lacking on the day we meet the Lord face to face.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The mystery of marriage is truly profound. For the Pharisees, asking Jesus about divorce, they were not interested in what God wanted regarding marriage but what suited themselves or to which school of thought Jesus belonged to. Jesus points out their "hardness of heart" (Mk 10: 5) and that the state of Jewish law was not what God had wanted "from the beginning of creation." (Mk 10: 6) What then would the Lord say about the state of marriage and sexual mores in our society today? It is not a question of hardness of heart but the lack of a heart! The sexual revolution of the 1960s made possible by the advent of artificial contraception has debased intimate human relationships by commodifying sexual experience and separating the goods of the sexual act: life-giving and love-giving. This has had implications for the whole of society and is threatening even greater chaos through so-called gender fluidity which denies any coherent understanding of the complementarity and mutuality of the sexes. The nature of amorous relationships is also debased by the separation of erotic love (eros) from that of chivalrous self-sacrifice (agape). Instead of becoming fruitful and  intimate relationships have become sterile and self-seeking. I read the following in a book entitled Ratzinger's Faith - The Theology of Pope Benedict XVI by Tracey Rowland:

"Applying this theology one concludes that for Benedict XVI the sexual revolution of the 1960s should be opposed, not on the basis of archaic casuistry, not because sexuality is merely a means to the end of procreation, but rather because the underlying vision of the dignity and meaning of human sexuality offered by 1960's Freudians, Nietzcheans and New Age sex therapists is really not truly erotic. It is not only destructive of human dignity and integrity but it takes the pathos out of the whole experience. It trivializes sex and undermines romance and courtly love because both romance and courtship presuppose spiritual chivalry. Being prepared for heroic self-sacrifice for the good of another is the very essence of chivalry and the very antithesis of the morality of Nietzche's superman or the feminist superwoman. Just as God and rationality either stay together or reason goes off on its own tangent and becomes violent, sexuality goes off on its own tangent and becomes banal and depressing" (p. 72)

What is the answer? Perhaps, we, by the grace of God, need to have a new heart fashioned for us purified of selfishness, pragmatism and self-indulgence: "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land I gave to your ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezek 36: 26-28)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The First Reading and Gospel for today speak of a desire for exclusivity and control on the part of disciples. Joshua says to Moses: "My lord Moses, stop them!" (Num 11: 28) and the John tells Jesus: "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." (Mk 9: 38) On both occasions the response is to allow or the grace of God to be given free rein. The Church is a sign and sacrament of salvation rather than some kind of spiritual Fort Knox. We have the duty of safeguarding the deposit of faith so that all people can benefit from it knowing that what we believe and teach is the authentic Gospel message. It remains that we are always called to cooperate with grace and not control it or set limits to its effects. As Catholics we often need to turn the other cheek or forgive past slights or wrongs so that we bring others closer to Christ even when they have previously rejected the Church and her teachings. Heaven forbid that we find ourselves in the same position as the elder brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son! After all: "You received without payment; give without payment." (Mtt 10: 8) 

More from Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI

In a previous post I quoted a speech of Fr Joseph Ratzinger in 1969. The following comes from a German programme aired on 17 September 2011 where Pope Benedict XVI addresses his fellow Germans in anticipation of his pilgrimage there the following week:

"Perhaps you will ask me: 'But, does God exist? And if he exists does he really concern Himself with us? Can we reach Him?' It is, indeed, true that we cannot place God on the table, we cannot touch Him or take Him in our hand. We can get some idea of  the greatness of God from the Cosmos. We can use the world through technology because the world is built in a rational way; and in the great rationality of the world we get some idea of the beauty, the greatness and the goodness of God. In Holy Scripture we hear the words of eternal life; they do not simply come from men or women, they come from God and in them we hear His voice. Finally, we may also catch a glimpse of God through meeting people who have been touched by Him. I am not thinking of the great ones (of Paul, Francis of Assisi or Mother Teresa) . I am thinking of the many simple people about whom nobody speaks. Yet when we meet them they shine with goodness, sincerity and joy, and we know that God is there and that He touches us. Thus, over these days, let us commit ourselves to seeing God again, to becoming people who bring the light of hope into the world, a light that comes from God and that helps us to live."

 

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel of Mark there are three prophecies of the Passion: Mk 8: 31; 9: 31 and 10: 33-34. Each time the disciples response is disturbing. Last week's gospel had Peter rebuking Jesus. This week we hear: "But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him." (Mk 9: 32) In the Gospel for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time we will hear about James and John responding to the teaching by seeking the right to sit side by side with Jesus in his glory (Mk 10: 35-45). This builds on the argument among the disciples, from today, as to who was the greatest. We therefore have, successively: denial, fear, self-seeking ambition. The question posed by these accounts is: what is my response to the Cross in my life? Has the impact of Christ's saving love for me and the experience of my own cross brought about an appropriate response? If I deny the Cross and carry on with a materialist and selfish way of life, I am not a true disciple. If I turn away out of fear and refuse to seek the truth, I am not a true disciple. If I see the Cross as a means to personal advancement, I am not a true disciple. The litmus test  as to whether I am authentic disciple is to be found in my treatment of others especially those who are weaker or smaller than me: Whoever wants to be the first must be last of all and servant of all." (Mk 9: 37) The gifts that come to disciples from God are not for their own benefit but are to be used for the advantage of others so that they may know Christ and in turn make him known to others.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the Gospel today Jesus asks the question: "Who do people say that I am?" (Mk 8: 27) We can look to the media to see that response or even to the attitudes and comments of people we know including our families and work mates. Inevitably, Jesus will turn to me, look me in the eyes and ask: "But who do you say that I am?" (Mk 8: 29) The answer to this question is important as it will inform both the way that I live and the way I will die. It is a profound and existential affirmation or negation of whether Jesus is Emmanuel - God with us. Are his promises true? Has he risen from the dead? Did he send the Holy Spirit to abide in me? Is he present in the Eucharist? The Mass gives us an answer but it is up to us as a community, in singing the Great Amen at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer, or as an individual when I say "Amen" when receiving Holy Communion, to make the affirmation to all that has been said, sung, prayed and believed in the liturgy. The Christian life, however, is not always "beer and skittles" and is not a question of self-fulfillment of affirmation. We are also mindful of Christ's admonition to his disciples: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves ad take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it." (Mk 8: 35)

Prophecy of Fr Joseph Ratzinger from 1969

I have come across this interview conducted with the then Fr Ratzinger in 1969. His leading of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith and papacy as Pope Benedict XVI lay years in the future. He had been a peritus (expert) at Vatican II and was in the process of falling out with a number of theologians with whom he had founded the periodical Concilium. He would go on the found, with others, another called Communio. His thoughts on the future  are amazing although what he says about priests being ordained and then working in a profession (worker priests) has not come to pass. Otherwise, it is seems like a premonition and we can expect the accuracy of his prophecy to continue to be worked out in the decades to come:

"The future of the Church can and will issue from those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith. It will not issue from those who accommodate themselves merely to the passing moment or from those who merely criticize others and assume that they themselves are infallible measuring rods; nor will it issue from those who take the easier road, who sidestep the passion of faith, declaring false and obsolete, tyrannous and legalistic, all that makes demands upon men, that hurts them and compels them to sacrifice themselves. To put this more positively: The future of the Church, once again as always, will be reshaped by saints, by men, that is, whose minds probe deeper than the slogans of the day, who see more than others see, because their lives embrace a wider reality. Unselfishness, which makes men free, is attained only through the patience of small daily acts of self-denial. By this daily passion, which alone reveals to a man in how many ways he is enslaved by his own ego, by this daily passion and by it alone, a man’s eyes are slowly opened. He sees only to the extent that he has lived and suffered. If today we are scarcely able any longer to become aware of God, that is because we find it so easy to evade ourselves, to flee from the depths of our being by means of the narcotic of some pleasure or other. Thus our own interior depths remain closed to us. If it is true that a man can see only with his heart, then how blind we are!

How does all this affect the problem we are examining? It means that the big talk of those who prophesy a Church without God and without faith is all empty chatter. We have no need of a Church that celebrates the cult of action in political prayers. It is utterly superfluous. Therefore, it will destroy itself. What will remain is the Church of Jesus Christ, the Church that believes in the God who has become man and promises us life beyond death. The kind of priest who is no more than a social worker can be replaced by the psychotherapist and other specialists; but the priest who is no specialist, who does not stand on the [sidelines], watching the game, giving official advice, but in the name of God places himself at the disposal of man, who is beside them in their sorrows, in their joys, in their hope and in their fear, such a priest will certainly be needed in the future.

Let us go a step farther. From the crisis of today the Church of tomorrow will emerge — a Church that has lost much. She will become small and will have to start afresh more or less from the beginning. She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity. As the number of her adherents diminishes, so it will lose many of her social privileges. In contrast to an earlier age, it will be seen much more as a voluntary society, entered only by free decision. As a small society, it will make much bigger demands on the initiative of her individual members. Undoubtedly it will discover new forms of ministry and will ordain to the priesthood approved Christians who pursue some profession. In many smaller congregations or in self-contained social groups, pastoral care will normally be provided in this fashion. Alongside this, the full-time ministry of the priesthood will be indispensable as formerly. But in all of the changes at which one might guess, the Church will find her essence afresh and with full conviction in that which was always at her center: faith in the triune God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, in the presence of the Spirit until the end of the world. In faith and prayer she will again recognize the sacraments as the worship of God and not as a subject for liturgical scholarship.

The Church will be a more spiritual Church, not presuming upon a political mandate, flirting as little with the Left as with the Right. It will be hard going for the Church, for the process of crystallization and clarification will cost her much valuable energy. It will make her poor and cause her to become the Church of the meek. The process will be all the more arduous, for sectarian narrow-mindedness as well as pompous self-will will have to be shed. One may predict that all of this will take time. The process will be long and wearisome as was the road from the false progressivism on the eve of the French Revolution — when a bishop might be thought smart if he made fun of dogmas and even insinuated that the existence of God was by no means certain — to the renewal of the nineteenth century. But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church. Men in a totally planned world will find themselves unspeakably lonely. If they have completely lost sight of God, they will feel the whole horror of their poverty. Then they will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. It may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but it will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death."

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The First Reading speaks of the coming of the Lord: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped" (Is. 35: 5) and this is what Jesus does in the Gospel reading. The implications for us though is, using the Second Reading, does the proclamation of the Gospel in our midst, open our eyes to the suffering in the community and unstop our ears to the cries of those in need of our help? At the start of Social Justice Week, which this year has the theme of "Enabling Communities" we are challenged to see how each one of us can play a part in enabling community in the parish, the church and wider society. So many people are lonely, isolated and deprived of human contact as well as lacking the financial resources to pay for their basic needs. Divorce, drug addiction, mental illness, a lack of religious affiliation or tradition and other factors mean that despite all of the technology at our disposal many people are affected by a lack of community than ever before. Let us discern how we can best meet the needs of others so that our own need of community may be met. Let us open our hearts to the Lord so that the Holy Spirit may guide us and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin sustain us as we work for the Kingdom which is the community of those who will be gathered to God for eternity. 

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

As Gentile Christians of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the Twentieth First Century our cultural and theological context is very different from that facing the community for whom St Mark wrote at the time of his Gospel. For us the washing of hand before eating and the cleaning of dishes is merely a matter of hygiene whereas, for Jews of the First Century, such practices had greater cultural, religious and hence political significance. The squabbles between Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes and Zealots mean that there was no single perspective on how Jews should live and what they should believe. The tendency of these groups to fight for precedence and status, even within their own party, meant that the wider issues of injustice, mercy and love were being ignored as they fought over details of liturgy and custom. I do not think that Jesus and the first Christians were advocating the destruction of custom, tradition and practice since Jesus and the Apostles are shown throughout the Scripture as being observant Jews, according to the law and custom of the time. Rather, the concern is that these find their proper place in service of the mission given by Christ to the Church. We do not want the squabbles between Catholics on matters of lesser importance, let alone with other Christians, to undermine our response to Christs commission to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Mtt 28: 19-20) The last thing we want to hear, when we meet the Lord face to face, to account for our stewardship of the Good News is: "You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition." (Mk 7: 8)

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It is interesting to see in the Gospels how the people and even the disciples "dispute among themselves." It happens when they argues about who is the greatest (Lk 9: 46), when they are confused about Jesus' teaching regarding the multiplication of the loaves (Mk 8: 16) and the request of James and John (Mk 10: 41). Today the argument arises over: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"  (Jn 6: 52) Our minds reel at the incredible claims that the Lord makes for himself but his miracles and the power of his love hold us transfixed. Jesus never backs down or waters down his teaching to make it more palatable. After all his teaching in this Gospel is as offensive and controversial now as it ever was. The Church of today, like the early disciples, needs to listen to the Lord and allow him to open our minds to the mystery of his humanity and divinity. If we lose sight of either we will slip into error. His presence in the Holy Eucharist is what St Thomas Aquinas acclaimed as the greatest of his miracles. Let us not be overwhelmed by the awesome nature of our God but obey his call to follow Christ Jesus and do as he told us to do. I encourage parishioners to have a look at Eucharistic miracles and deepen their belief in and desire for this wonderful gift of the Lord himself. One web page to look at is: www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/a3.html

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In the Scriptures we hear that in Jesus: "we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin." (Heb 4: 15) Yet, his Resurrection was that of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity and was thus of a different character. St Paul writes: "... for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Cor 15: 22-23) The Catechism fo the Catholic Church tells us: "As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power." (CCC 649)The resurrection of the rest of the human race comes about through Christ: "Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself - is the principle and source of our future resurrection" (CCC 655). The Blessed Virgin shares in the fullness of life through Christ and her joining herself perfectly with his sacrifice on the Cross. Having been joined with him in life she is also joined with him in his resurrection. Unlike us she has not and will not experience corruption but has been glorified in her body and spirit as a sign of the Church's destiny: "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians." (CCC 966)To this end she still accompanies the Church through her maternal solicitude and intercession which remains as powerful as it was when she was at the wedding feast of Cana and prayed with the Church at Pentecost.