18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today Jesus says to the disciples: "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." (Mtt 14: 16) We can rightly take this to mean that Christians should meet the physical needs of others using their own resources. We can also consider that people in today are starving for the Word of life. They are frequently lonely, isolated and despairing with little sense of personal worth and meaning. For too long Mass-goers have, generally speaking, delegated the task of communicating the Gospel to clergy, religious, RCIA, base ecclesial communities and the Catholic schools. If you are going to participate in the great mission of feeding the world with the Word of God what are you to do? Are you being asked to go in pairs knocking in the doors of strangers? No, you are not. You are asked to invite family, friends, work mates and, yes, strangers to participate in Alpha or similar courses. Alpha invites people to consider the deeper questions of life as well as feeding them the Word. Many lapsed or resting Catholics need to rediscover the mercy and love of God that is mediated through Christ. It is only then that they can reconnect with their ancestral faith and the birthright of their baptism. The first step, however, is to acknowledge that I too am hungry for the Word. 

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

St Paul tells us: "We know all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose." (Rm 8: 28) This message of hope is vital for us when we encounter trials and sufferings of our own or of the Church. St Thomas Aquinas taught that God does not cause evil but allows for it to happen so that a greater good may arise from it. This does not mean that we should cause evil ourselves! It means that the power of God which raised Jesus from the dead is also at work in our present day to bring about his purposes so that even the schemes of the devil are turned to the benefit of God's Kingdom. It remains that Creation, despite the disturbance caused by sin and death, is predestined to be re-created and glorified according to God's plan. This includes us who are united with Christ in baptism and are sealed with the Holy Spirit in confirmation: "For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first born among many brothers and sisters." (Rm 8: 29) The promise of being united with Christ in the resurrection means that we can endure patiently the challenges to our faith confident in the power of God to vindicate those who believe in him: "And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." (Heb 9: 27-28)

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we hear that parable about the weeds and the wheat.  Apparently, the weeds referred to in the story look very similar, in their early stages, to the wheat. This makes it very difficult to tell the two apart prior to harvest. Just as in last week's gospel the sowing of seed occurs but the harvest is not guaranteed. This uncertainty is not the fault of the sowers but is brought about through the variables of the soil on which the seed is sown or by the evil one. In both cases the workers are instructed to keep sowing . It will be up to the Lord of the harvest to determine the fate of the weeds and the wheat at the end of time. The need to withhold judgement is not just collective but also individual. St Paul writes: "I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore so not pronounce judgement before the time, before the Lord who comes, who will bring light the things hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each will receive the commendation from God." (1 Cor 4: 3-5) As we strive to live our lives in a manner worthy of our baptismal/confirmed vocation let us strive ever onward and leave the harvest to the Lord who will gather it in his own good time. 

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week we continue our reading of St Paul's Letter to the Romans. In the excerpt we have today St Paul says: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it..." (Rm 8: 19-20) We realize in this that our present reality is not our final destination. God has given us this life so that we may participate in His divinity in the next: "For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." (Heb 13: 12) To expect perfection, fulfillment and satisfaction in this life is foolish. There is so much advertising that offers us present happiness but there is no product or way of life other than that found in Jesus Christ that can truly meet our needs. The Good News is that God has sowed the seeds of eternity in our hearts and we long for him. It is this hope that we share together in our Sunday Mass as we are drawn up into the great act of love which is the Passion death and resurrection of our Lord who loved us so much that he was prepared to suffer the Cross so that we might have hope. For the suffering of this age is allowed so that a greater good may arise from it: "... in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." (Rm 8: 21)