23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we have the second of two healing miracles of Jesus that follow on from the declaration of Jesus regarding the priority of religion of the heart over a religion based on ritual purity, as well as declaring all foods clean (Mk 7: 19). The first miracle involves the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman and the second being the healing of the deaf-mute. In both cases Gentiles approach Jesus asking him to cure someone who is unable to speak for him or herself. For people who are outsiders or marginalized there is the possibility of being "of a fearful heart." (Is 35: 4) There is seemingly no way for them to be heard by God and they suffer in silence. In both cases Jesus effects a healing with one being from a distance and the other from laying on of hands, etc. Either way, the Gentiles, who are outside of the Jewish religion find that in the messianic age, manifested in healing and vindication for the lowly, is also for them: "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy." (Is 35: 5-6) It is through faith in Jesus that they gain access to the gifts that God has for those who love him, despite not belonging to the Chosen People. Ultimately, it is through the cross that this treasure of grace is made available to all peoples which unites them as one family: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall that is the hostility between us. he has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it." (Eph 2: 13-16) This family is manifested in a sacramental way in the Church which serves the mystery that has made it one. Like those who were witnesses to the healing of the deaf mute we cannot help but testify to the marvels that the Lord has done and proclaim the joy of the Gospel: "They were astounded beyond measure, saying, 'He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak'." (Mk 7: 37) 

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 The key to today's Gospel is not some binary opposition between institutional and "Gospel" religion. The most important factor is the human heart. Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah: 'This people honours me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me'" (Mk 7: 6) and later adds: "For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come." (Mk 7: 21) The heart is the centre of the person. It is there that God speaks to us and from there we respond. The Italians say that "the habit does not make the monk." Our prayer and other religious practices are fruitless if our hearts are not engaged and we are not acting out of love. A number of times I have had occasion to counsel people about their marriages and the conclusion I arrived at was that in order to endure in the relationship that the person needed to act not out of duty but from love. It is love that transforms the heart and makes us able to live according to the Gospel and bear the fruit of the virtues: "If I speak in the tongues of mortals or of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor 13: 1-3) 

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we hear one of the most disturbing phrases in all of the New Testament: "Because of this many of his disciples turned back, and no longer went about with him." (Jn 6: 66) On this particular occasion it happened to be Jesus' teaching on the Bread of Life which he reveals is, in fact, his flesh for the life of the world. It is this mystery which is the key to the life he has to offer: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (Jn 6: 53) The discussion is no longer about nourishing the body but about experiencing the life that the heavenly Father desires for us through his Son in the Holy Spirit. What, however, is the teaching that proves to be an obstacle to faith in Jesus Christ in 2021? Throughout history the ecumenical councils have shown that different ages have different questions and those who assail the Catholic Church are often convinced of their correctness of doctrine whether it is of faith or of morals. It is then that the Church is called to be truly prophetic. I can think of Pope St Paul VI who stood up for the teaching of the Church on sexuality in Humanae Vitae. For many then and still today it is a hard teaching. Yet, his words have proved in subsequent decades to be prophetic. I expect that the teachings of Popes St John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis will also prove in time, despite their hardness, to be likewise prophetic. I do not pretend to know nor understand entirely the mysteries of the faith and for me, too, some of these are heard teachings. Nevertheless, mindful that the Church and God's truth is so much greater than me, I find myself conforming to the reply of St Peter: "Lord, to who can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6: 68-69)

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The key to this great feast I think is to be found in the second reading where St Paul writes: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died." (1 Cor 15: 20) If I do not have a proper understanding of the Resurrection then I will not be able to make sense of the Assumption. That Jesus had truly a human body, just like ours, which was transformed and glorified to leave an empty tomb is the supreme manifestation of divine power. It cannot be explained in any other way. That Our Lady, truly possessing a human body, just like ours, can also be transformed and glorified through association and cooperation with her son Jesus shows that the action of divine power is not restricted to the person of Jesus, Jesus was not divinized in the Resurrection but his divinity was vindicated in the face of evil, death and corruption. The Assumption reveals in an unequivocal way how the Resurrection was not just some divine party trick but a fulfillment of the mission and teaching of Jesus which reveals God's action and plan in history in a whole new and irrevocable way. His plan, his life, his glory are unstoppable. The Assumption is the first fruits of his everlasting Kingdom. The question for us is: do we have enough faith and love to be subjects of that Kingdom so as to continue to be part of the harvest for eternal life?  

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

We hear today that: "The people began to complain..." (Jn 6: 41) and that they do so among themselves (Jn 6: 43). They do not want to challenge Jesus face to face. Jesus, in response, makes a connection with the Hebrews in the desert during the Exodus. There we find that from very early on the people complain against Moses and Aaron (Ex 16: 2; 17: 3; Num 11: 1; 20: 3) Jesus' teaching, like the hardships in the desert, test the faith of those who listen to him. They can accept that he has fed them with bread but they cannot believe that he can feed them with himself as the Bread of Life. Likewise, the Israelites could accept being brought through the Red Sea out of Egypt but do not believe that God will sustain them in the desert. The question for us, as missionary disciples of the Lord, is what are the limits on our faith. We accept that Jesus died and rose again but can he guide the Church today? Can he rescue us from all of the perils of atheistic materialism and other hostile ideologies that surround us and seek to marginalize, if not destroy, the Faith? Our faith has to be real. Our trust in Providence and power of God to save must find expression in our day to day conduct and not just in a ritualized faith that affirms the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We must also testify to how God has worked in our own lives to bring joy, healing and love that liberates and consoles. If we do not, we risk being like the Israelites who complained against God and the Jews who complained about Jesus.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we continue with the Bread of Life discourse by Jesus at the synagogue in Capernaum. That this discourse is recorded as having taken place in a specific place at a specific time by a specific person is important. We are constantly amazed, if not scandalized, by the Incarnation and the miracle that is the Holy Eucharist. We can, perhaps, empathize with the congregation at the synagogue who complain just as their ancestors did in the desert, about the power of God. Surely, it is reasonable to say: "How can this man give us his flesh to eat." (Jn 6: 52)? Nevertheless, the fullness of God, revealed in Jesus Christ has power to save and to do so through something so unlikely as the Cross and the Eucharist, in which he gives us the fruit of his sacrifice. As Catholics we need to sit with this discourse and use it to help us reflect on what the Mass is for us and how we receive it: "Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life." (Jn 6: 47) We need not marvel at those who do not believe. All they see is bread and wine. For us, the People of God, the Eucharist is Jesus Christ and we come to know and love him through it as we receive him under the form or bread and wine: "Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else's scrutiny. 'For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Cor 2: 14-18)