Feast of Mary, Mother of God

 Of all the feasts in the Church calendar this is the one that brings home the truth of the Incarnation and the mystery of the Holy Trinity. However you put it, "God bearer" or "Mother of God," the fact remains that Jesus of Nazareth, who existed before all time as the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, was born of Mary, an historical person, who gave birth to him. Someone recently relate to me that another had commented how St Paul never spoke of Our Lady! Yet, we read in Galatians: "But when the fulness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if  child then also an heir through God." (Gal 4: 4-7) The logic is inescapable. Jesus is both Son of God and son of Mary. We, who have been baptized in Christ, have God as our Father, thus, we can also call Mary, "Mother." She is Mother of Jesus, who is God and Head of the Church, and Mother of the Church, which is the assembly of the baptized united as the Body of Christ. Truly, this is a great mystery when we ponder its implications both for the lowly handmaid of Nazareth and for ourselves as sinful and weak human beings afflicted by suffering. The feast today recognizes the glory of Our Lady s Mother of God and that shall not be taken from her.

Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

 I have used the title for today's post rather than the usual word "Christmas" because I feel the need to emphasize some detachment from the secular idea of Christmas which continues to be distorted and debased by retailers and advertisers. The mystery of the Incarnation is great and to power it draw us into both the mystery of God as well as wonderment at how human beings are able to respond to God's love as they do. In the readings for during the night the prophecy of Isaiah speaks of a royal child who will be named "Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Is 9: 9). In the gospel Luke tells us of the birth of a little baby in a manger to a couple of Jewish artisans descended in the line of David but living in obscurity. The story could have ended very soon especially if King Herod had managed to kill the boy. Nevertheless, by the end of the New Testament we hear of that child being described as the Lamb who is both "Lord of lords and King of kings." (Rev. 17: 14) The Gospels relate how this comes about in due course however at Christmas we have an opportunity to contemplate the lowliness of the Christ-child and his parents. The wonder and promise of new life is evident not just in Jesus but in every new life brought into this world.

4th Sunday of Advent

 The readings today contrast the stubbornness of King Ahaz with the obedience of the just man Joseph. Both men are facing difficult circumstances. Ahaz is under threat of a war that he is unlikely to win while Joseph is faced with public humiliation with the infidelity of his fiancée. Ahaz refuses to listen and will not ask for a sign from God. Yet, a sign is given and Jerusalem is saved from destruction. Joseph does listen and he cares for Mary and Jesus. The challenge for us as believers is to be open to God and trusting in him when, on occasions is simply does not make sense. When we trust in God we stay true to his commandments and in doing so we are open to how his grace can work through those who trust in him.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

  Today's feast is a great mystery that says much about the Church. The collect for the day states: "... as you preserved her (Our Lady) from every stain by virtue of the Death of your Son, which you foresaw, so, through her intercession, we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence." This speaks of the cosmic nature of Christ salvific death on the Cross and the great plan of salvation that existed for all time: "... just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love." (Eph 1: 4) It is Christ expiation of sin that is the cause of the removal of all sin including that of Original Sin in his own mother. This cleansing also has implications for us because it is through not only her child bearing but through her intercession that we too experience the mercy and presence of God. The feast also bears testimony to the Catholic Church as being the authoritative voice on divine mysteries to do with the Incarnation. In 1858, four years after the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary by Pope St Pius IX, Our Lady appeared to Bernadette Soubirous and identified herself as the Immaculate Conception. Therefore, we can go to her with confidence of her heavenly intercession and protection.

3rd Sunday of Advent

 Today is Gaudete Sunday in which the Church is exhorted to rejoice in the Lord. The opposite of rejoicing is grumbling. St James warns his congregation: "Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged." (Jm 5: 9) He also tells his flock to be patient. In a time of commercialism and secularization Catholic can sometimes have the tendency to turn on one another. We blame each other for the decline in Mass attendance and the failure to pass of the faith we love so much to the younger generations. The season of Advent asks us to turn our minds and hearts to God. By focusing on him and how he is vindicated in history and his promises kept we can have the faith to hold on and remain true to the Gospel. This, however, means that we cannot place our trust in human ways of doing things. The Incarnation meant that Jesus became one of us in all things but sin. This ultimately leads to the cross. If we want to celebrate Christmas, implicitly, we need to embrace the Cross as the key to our salvation and not worldly political or cultural ideologies. St Paul told the Corinthians: "For Jew demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jew and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than man's wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength." (1 Cor 1: 22-25)

2nd Sunday of Advent

 In the gospel for today Jesus tells the Pharisees: "... for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." (Mtt 3: 9) He is warning them against presumption and entitlement. Given that in the gospels a Pharisee often indicates a misguided disciple, with the original Pharisees having passed into history with the destruction of the Temple before Matthew wrote his gospel, we can apply this to ourselves. St Paul also tells us, in the second reading: "What ever was written in former days was written for our instruction..." (Rm 15: 4) Therefore, it is good for us to ask: Do we take pride in belonging to the Catholic Church or being Christian and think that makes us righteous by definition? Do we excuse ourselves for our sins while pointing out the shortcomings of others? Do we presume forgiveness and take God's love and forbearance for granted? As a penitential season Advent should be an antidote for such erroneous thinking and attitudes. By pondering the readings and mysteries of this season we can strive for harmony and peace both interiorly and within our families. Rather than being stressed by expectations and commercial ideas of Christmas we will be able to see God's grace for what it truly is and why the Incarnation o our Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest gift the world can receive. 

1st Sunday of Advent

 In the Second Reading St Paul exhorts the Romans: "... now is the moment for you to wake from sleep." (Rm 13: 11) The season of Advent begins with a period of anticipation for the end times. It does not start with presents and tinsel. We are accustomed to thinking of Lent as the penitential season when we look at our spiritual state. Perhaps we all need to wake up to the fruit of Advent that wakes us up to the damage done to our souls by a worldly way of life and the toxins of commercialism, overwork, materialism and self-indulgence. In New Zealand the academic year is coming to an end and the summer is breaking in. Let us not be distracted by the rush towards Christmas rather let us use this as an opportunity to ponder where we are in our relationship with God and the Church and how we can have our eyes open to the grace that is at work in our lives.  

Feast of Christ the King

 This feast is replete with ironies. On one hand, Jesus was born in a stable to peasant parents. He lived a life of poverty and died the death of the worst type of criminal. Yet, it was those who crucified him who first acclaimed him as king. Pilate asks Jesus: "Are you the King of the Jews?" (Mtt 27: 11) The soldiers clothed him in a purple cloak, put a crown of thorns on him, gave him a reed as a sceptre in his right hand and cried out: "Hail, King of the Jews!" (Mtt 27: 27-31) Over his head the charge is written: "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." (Mtt 27: 37) On the other hand, we have the vision of Christ in glory as the Son of Man who will come again to rule the nations. It is tempting to dwell on the gory and not the Cross. However, we live in a time of trial for anyone who wishes to be a practicing Christian. In the Letter to the Hebrews we read: "Let us then go to him (Jesus) outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come." (Heb 13: 13-14)

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 One has only to look on YouTube to see that alarmist headlines are common place as content producers seek to get as many views of their channels as possible.  There are two basic responses to  such behaviour: anxiety or skepticism. The first  leads to people taking fright at every perceived or even imagined threat while the second leads to others dismissing all threats as fabrications which leads to lethargy. Jesus predicts the end times and is realistic to say that trials will come but "... the end will not follow immediately." (Lk 21: 9) When it does come we are to see it as an opportunity to testify to our faith and to let the Holy Spirit guide us. He guarantees us his protection as long as we stand firm: "But not a hair on your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls." (Lk 21: 18-19) As a result, the Christian attitude to crisis is not one of fear or resignation. We are to continue to work steadily and confidently as we trust in God's providence. In our parishes and homes we are discouraged from giving way to passivity and laziness: "For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their own work quietly and to earn their own living." (2 Thess 3: 12)

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Jesus gives two answers to the Sadducees when they ask him about the resurrection. The first answer actually addresses marriage. It speaks of his followers being focused on heavenly realities and aspiring to live as if the next age has dawned already. Thus, being children of the resurrection in the present they do not have to worry about death or what will happen in the future. His second answer directly addresses resurrection. Jesus uses an episode from the first five books, those accepted by the Sadducees, so that there is no sense of him relying on the arguments of the Pharisees which is, perhaps, what they would have expected especially as they refer to him as "Teacher." (Lk 20: 28) This argument takes them by surprize and they are silenced while the scribes are impressed saying: "Teacher you have spoken well." (Lk 20: 39) A question for us is what party of the Jews do I resemble? Do I restrict revelation like the Sadducees? Am I obsessed with the law like the Pharisees? Am I exclusivist like the Essenes? Am I looking for a violent this worldly revolution like the Zealots? Am I stubborn and slow witted like Jesus' disciples? Hopefully, by listening to Jesus I can overcome any of these distortions and come to live the faith fully through sitting at the feet of the Master and acting according to his will in carrying out the mission he has given to the Church.

Feast of All Saints

 In the first reading today we hear of: "... a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (Rev 7: 5). Similarly in the Letter to the Hebrews: "... since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12: 1) We do not know the true number of saints. So many are listed behind the name of a well known martyr and referred to as "companions." Yet, their sacrifice and their reward is just as great. The Beatitudes of the gospel does not refer to a discreet number. We are all call to holiness. We are all called to be saints. So much is unknown yet our destination, should we choose to accept it, is sure: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 Jn 3: 2) To see God, as his is, will be our reward if we are able to see his beloved Son in the people we meet and choose to love as he taught us. St Paul tells us: "For this momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal." (2 Cor 4: 17-18)

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

 One thing to be mindful off, when using the lectionary readings for prayer, is not to skip too hastily over the first reading which, for most of the year, come from the Old Testament. Linked to the gospel reading, these can also be reflected on as a stand alone text. Today's first reading is a good example. It comes from the wisdom literature which was written in Greek most likely in Egypt during the centuries after the conquests of Alexander the Great in about 330BC. Since they were written in a predominantly pagan context these Scriptures address the Hebrew religion in contrast to the wider world. The image we are given of God in today's reading is one of love and magnanimous creation. Rather than ruling through fear God is shown as constantly calling humanity back to himself to know his love for what it really is when he might otherwise be justified for condemning them in their sinfulness. It is something of an antidote to those who stress the wrath of God and look for reasons to wallow in the evil and tragedy of the world. So we read: "For your immortal spirit is in all things. Therefore, you correct little by little those who trespass, and you remind and warn them of things through which they sin, so that they may be freed by wickedness and put their trust in you, O Lord." (Wis 12: 2)

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 It always makes me feel sad when I read St Paul saying: "At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them" (2 Tim 4: 16) How would we have remembered St Paul if we had only his letters and not the Acts of the Apostles? St Paul was a failure and it looked as if all that he had worked for had turned to dust. We are used to thinking of Our Lord as suffering with the disaster of Good Friday but we are habituated to the glory of Easter Sunday. There was no resurrection for St Paul and the Martyrs of Rome. They died hideous and painful deaths. Yet, here we are in 2022. The Roman Empire is long gone and Nero is a byword for depravity and cruelty while millions of Christians are inspired by and continue to study the writings of St Paul. In addition, we continue to pray to the saints, St Paul included, to spur us on in our own spiritual battles. Let us, therefore, be encouraged by the sufferings and faith of the saints and commit ourselves to work faithfully for the Lord until the end.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Faith is like oxygen, water or good coffee. We do not know how much we need them until they run out or are in short supply. It has been defined as "the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11: 1) We have a conviction of victory over sin and death in the resurrection but we do not see it yet. The conviction of ultimate vindication means that we keep fighting the good fight until the victory is realized. St Thomas Aquinas taught that the opposite of faith is not doubt rather it is certainty. If I am certain of defeat, sin and death I exclude completely the providential will of God. Why would God create in order to let it all fall into ruin, nothingness and annihilation? Christian faith refuses to put hope, trust and conviction in anything other than our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the Church because the Church is the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. Our destination is the same as his. Do we believe that enough to continue to the end?: "And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Lk 18: 8)

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 I think that everyone encounters or experiences grace.  Our reality is suffused with moments in which God's goodness and love are manifested. They re so common that our tendency can be to pick and amplify, even, the moments of sin and evil. In the first reading and gospel for today we hear of two experiences of healing. Naaman and the healed Samaritan leper not only receive physical healing but also have the ability to understand the implications of their healing for how they relate to God. Naaman states: "... for your servant will no longer offer burnt offerings or sacrifice to any god except the Lord." (2 Kgs 5: 17) The Samaritan leper: "... turned back, praising God with  loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet nd thanked him" (Lk 17: 15-16) The question for us is whether we choose, like those two, to give thanks to God and testify to his mercy or like the nine Jewish lepers simply keep on walking: "Then Jesus asked, 'Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?' " (Lk 17: 17-18)

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Looking at the second readings from today and last Sunday we can detect that St Paul, writing from prison, senses that Timothy is struggling. As a younger man, looking to lead the churches given him, he was, at least in the mind of his mentor, vulnerable to giving up. St Paul writes to him: "Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim 6: 11-12) and "I remind you, Timothy, to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline. (2 Tim 1: 6-7) All of us can be tempted to give up the faith and the struggle for virtue. It is easier to conform ourselves to the world where the precepts of the gospel and the Church, especially on abortion and marriage, are regarded as "extreme." jesus tells us: "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there ar many who take it." (Mtt 7: 13) Like Timothy, who is later to be recognized as a saint by the Church, we need to rekindle the conversion experience and commitment so that we might have the zeal of missionary disciples and thus have the courage to share the joy of the Gospel both in season and out of season.

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 A number of gospel readings given us by the Lectionary in the last few weeks have been about money. The parable of the unfinished tower talks of the impossibility of discipleship with possessions, the Prodigal Son story has jealousy over money at its heart, the dishonest manager uses money to ingratiate himself to rich friends and today we have the parable of Dives (Gk: rich man) and Lazarus. The latest is directed at those among the Pharisees who loved money. They were proud of their ritual purity and their observance of the law but were blind to their attachment to money. The rich man in the parable calls out: "Father Abraham" yet he remains in agony. Descent from Abraham is no guarantee of God's favour. Elsewhere Jesus states: "... for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham." (Mtt 3: 9) The stern message for the rich is that their neglect of the poor will be held against them and that their belonging to the Chosen People by birth will not avail them. Their hardness of heart not only leads to the suffering of Lazarus but also an inability to believe in God's power to save. We all need to be alert to the danger that our money and possessions will blind us to the suffering of others and harden our hearts to faith in God.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 In the second reading we are told that God our Saviour: "... desires everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 3-4) It is interesting that the expression "Saviour" is used here as it can also refer to Jesus as our Saviour. It is of the nature of the Saviour to save and not to condemn. Thus, as with the Gospel last week, where the Father runs to greet his lost son and restore his dignity, so to day the rich man praises the dishonest steward. Does this mean that we too can be dishonest? By no means! It is only God who can write straight using and trans forming the crooked line. saint Paul teaches: "What then are we to say? Should we continue to sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?" (Rm 6: 1-2) We should not commit the sin of presumption in thinking that God will save us regardless. His mercy is for those who recognize their sin and there need of mercy which means that we need to feel the sorrow and contrition that arises from a true appreciation of the wrongs we have done. It is only then that we can have suitable awe at God's graciousness: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5: 8) Like the dishonest steward we need to make every effort while we are alive to prepare for our eventual encounter with the God of mercy who will ask from us an accounting for all the love we have received.

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 What do the lost sheep, the lost coin and the sons in today's gospel have in common? Easy, of course, they are all lost. What does it mean to be "lost"? I haven't looked it up anywhere for a definition but my intuition tells me that it means to be in the wrong place. Sometimes I am lost but I do not know it and at other times I am aware that as I strive to go to the right place I am, in fact, getting further and further away from it and therefore more and more lost.

The sheep and the coin are unaware. They are lost because their owners cannot find them. This induces the owner to make an effort to retrieve them from permanent separation from where they rightfully belong as part of the flock or the set of ten coins. The sons in the third parable are self aware but only one of them works out that he is lost. This only truly dawns on him when in the pig sty "he came to himself." (Lk 15: 17) He knows where he is but it is only through a realization of his relationship with the Father, that has been damaged through his own actions, that he realizes how lost he in fact is. Even then he has some learning to do. His remedy for the situation is to redefine the relationship: "I am no longer worthy to be called your son." (Lk 15: 21) The father's response is to relocate him back in his proper place as one of his sons: "... for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!" (Lk 15: 24) 

The older son is also lost but he does not know it yet. His relationship with the Father is tainted by jealousy and resentment such that everything he does for the Father makes him feel like he is a slave: "I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command, yet you have never given me even a young a goat so that I might celebrate with my friends." (Lk 15: 29) It is clear that his relationship with the Father was just as damaged as that of his younger brother. The response of the Father, who is God, is to relocate him in his proper relationship by reminding him: " 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours'." (Lk 15: 31) Furthermore, this finding of relationship has implications for the relationship with the elder son's brother which also need to be restored: " 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found'." (Lk 15: 32) 

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 The first readings from this and last Sunday come from the Wisdom literature. Being wise, like being humble, is not fashionable today. Often, if we follow reality tv, foolishness is praised as people make a spectacle of themselves to the mockery of others. True wisdom discerns between the shallow and the profound or the significant and the trivial. In God's plan for us personally and humanity, in the Resurrection, a genuine perspective by which to measure life is revealed. This is not a series of maxims or pithy sayings although the words of Scripture do give us wise advice. Rather, it is the person of Christ Jesus who gives us the insight we need. Saint Paul tells us: "He (the Father) is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'." (1 Cor 1: 30-31) Thus, the key to true humility and wisdom is to be found in relationship with Christ Jesus.  It is through prayer and journeying with Jesus in our everyday lives that we are not going to simply aspire to sporadic moments of wisdom or insight but to integrate God's attitudes and values in a wise way of life so we are not drawn into harmful attachments especially to material things. True detachment and wisdom means we perceive our possessions not as defining us but as being there to serve the purposes of the Lord: "So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up your possessions." (Lk 14: 23)

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

 There was a song by Billy Joel called "Honesty" and he sang that it was "such a lonely word. It is hardly ever heard." One could also say that about humility. Yet, that virtue is what we are given to reflect on today: "My child, perform your tasks with humility" (Sir 3: 17) and "For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (Lk 14: 11) How are we best able to attain this humility? It is certainly not to be found in self abasement and false humility which are really pride in disguise and disingenuous. The key to this important attitude is found in our second reading: "But you have come to Mount Zion..." (Heb 12: 22) It is in the encounter with the mystery of God and the awe that we feel at his love and mercy that we are able to put ourselves into true perspective and know our real significance in the scheme of things. This means that we will not be prone to self promotion or peg our self-esteem on the approval of others. Not for us to "keep up with the Joneses." Our hearts can then be turned to pleasing the Lord. He asks us to imitate God in his generosity with no need of return: "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." (Lk 14: 13-14)

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

 It is interesting to hear this week about the priority concern of a Jew in the First Century AD who asks: "Lord, will only a few be saved?" (Lk 13: 28) What is the question that someone would ask the Lord in 2022? If you go to funerals and listen to the eulogies there seems to be an automatic assumption that the deceased is "with the angels" or "looking down from heaven." This sentiment disregards any accountability for what the deceased has done or not done during his or her life. St Paul teaches, however: "For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Cor 4: 10) Elsewhere in Scripture we have sayings such as: "For many are called, but few are chosen." (Mtt 24: 12) Some people, such as those influenced by Jansenism, take this to mean that very few will enjoy the glories of heaven. At the same time we can read: "This is right and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 3-4) The response of Jesus to the question today is a warning against presumption. We are not passive in the face of the challenge posed by sin and death. To be saved and live in the freedom that God wants for us, now and for eternity, we need to "Strive to enter through the narrow door." (Lk 13: 24) We need to follow our Lord and Master through the door rather than stand idly by as spectators saying: "We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets." (Lk 13: 26) This parable may have been a shot across the bows to the Jews of Jesus' time and of the first Christians that the Gentiles would listen where they would not but it also has relevance to us today especially if we are smug and entitled in our cultural Catholicism. 

Feast of the Assumption

 In the first reading today we hear that the child to be born of the woman "clothed with the sun" will "rule all the nations with a rod of iron. (Rev 12: 5) In the Magnificat, from the gospel we hear that: "... he (God) has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones... and sent the rich away empty." (Lk1: 51-53) The humble life of the maiden from Nazareth is, in the mystery of the Assumption, participated intimately and fully in the revolution brought about by the life, death and resurrection of her Son. This cosmic altering and transforming reality is not a questions of "ghosts and mirrors." It is the ultimate and complete destruction of the empire of sin and death. This has implications not just at the end of time. It may be gradual but the first fruits of the new creation are already manifested in the body and soul of Our Lady. This process will not stop until the providential will of the Holy Trinity has been accomplished: "Then comes the end, then he (Jesus) hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. For Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (1 Cor 15: 24-26) Thus, the Assumption is not just an historical event but also a sign of God's power to work through the human body, in all its weakness, to bring about his glorious plan. It gives us confidence to ask her intercession knowing that she already shares in the victory that we aspire to: "But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show us the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (Eph 2: 4-7) 

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today's gospel is unsettling. Jesus, at the Last Supper in John's gospel says to the disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you" (Jn 14: 27) and the Risen Lord greets his disciples: "Peace be with you." (Jn 20: 26) This is also the case in the gospel of Luke from which our reading for today is taken: "Peace be with you" (Lk 24: 26) Yet, Jesus says in our present text: "' Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!'" (Lk 12: 31) How can we square the circle? Does Jesus bring division or does he bring peace? 

The key to this I propose lies in Jesus statement about the nature of the peace he brings: "I do not give to you as the world gives." (Jn 14: 27) Peace is not merely the absence of war. The Pax Romana in the time of Jesus, imposed by imperial might, suppressed military conflict but bedded in oppression and suffering for subject peoples. Worldly peace is necessarily limited and contingent. It maintains worldly structures and relationships that are tainted by sin and self-interest. This phony and inadequate imitation of true peace is destined to fail. Speaking prior to his passion Jesus goes on to say: "I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." (Jn 14: 30-31) 

The peace of Jesus is therefore established is the love of the Father which is experienced in the Gift, which is the Holy Spirit. In this peace we know ourselves to be truly loved. Jesus, in his victory over sin and death, reveals God's power over everything that threatens us and we can rest peacefully in his love. Thus: "Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe? the hour is coming, indeed, it has come, when you will be scattered, each one to his home, and you will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!'" (Jn 16: 32-33) In a time of low level persecution of the Church in New Zealand, as Christian faith is maligned and marginalized in wider society, let us ask for the peace of Christ so that we may stand strong in faith and witness to the love of Christ and the joy of the Gospel. 

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today's gospel always prompt from me a smile when we hear about how the lazy slave who knew the master's wishes gets a "severe beating" while the one who did not know the Master's wishes but was also lazy would get a "light beating." I wonder what the difference is between the two? Not that I am up for a beating of any description! It is clear however, in answer to Peter's question: "Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?" that the whole of humanity will be answerable before the tribunal of Christ for what they have done with the talents, gifts and charisms given them. St Paul writes: "For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil." (2 Cor 5: 10) As a result, we need to be alert to our observance of the gospel so that greed, consumerism and self-indulgence do not infiltrate our lives and distract us from our vocation as missionary disciples. As disciples we need to not only listen to the Master but also be prepared to suffer with him. In the letter to the Hebrews we hear: "We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse that he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do no neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Heb 13: 10-16)

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Jesus Christ is the centre of history! His resurrection destroyed the dominion of inevitable and everlasting death and opened the path to eternal bliss through divinization into the life of the God he referred to as "Abba, Father." Without the gift of this life, mediated through his passion death and resurrection and made substantially present for us in the holy Eucharist everything is indeed "vanity of vanities." Riches, in particular, which consume the minds and strength of so many are a mirage. Physical and sensual satiety cannot mask the meaninglessness of a life without Christ. Jesus tells us: "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." (Lk 12: 15) St Paul advises: "Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry." (Col 3: 5) We need to to be alert to the temptation to conform ourselves to the values of this age for our Lord is uncompromising. We should not be found in the company of those Pharisees you loved money: "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God." (Lk 16: 15) 

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 The gospel message today is not only about what to pray, as we see with the Lukan version of the Our Father, but also our attitude to God as we pray. We do not know in detail how St John the Baptist thought of God but we know that he expected a fiery judgement. The image that Jesus uses, that of a Father who surpasses in generosity and love all human fatherhood, inspires confidence. Christian prayer is a cooperation with grace. We cannot think that we can bribe God or impress Him with our virtue or our righteousness. This, as we know from St Paul, is impossible. As a Pharisee of the Pharisees he gave it a good go, so much so, that he persecuted the followers of "The Way." He recalls in his letter to the Philippians: "If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of the Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless." (Phil 3: 4-6) In coming to know Christ, Paul finds that he discovers truly the love of the Father and who it is to whom he has been praying for the whole of his life, yet with the wrong attitude. This revelation transforms him in a radical way. He cannot remain in his of way of prayer because his attitude to God and reality has been fundamentally altered: "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 have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, 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 one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings be becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Phil 3: 7-11) Thus, a truly Christian attitude of prayer conforms us to Christ and brings us to experience something of the love that the Father has for the Son and the Son for the Father, in the Holy Spirit. We cannot return to the old ways predicated on pleasing an unpleasable God or placating a remorseless and punishing Father.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today's gospel speaks of the hospitality given by Mary and Martha to the Lord. This is a curious episode because there is no mention, as there was at the wedding fast of Cana, of the presence of any of the Apostles. It is an intimate domestic encounter where friends catch up after a period of absence. It is also speaks of the all too familiar tensions that can arise in family life over who does what. Just as Jesus elevated the wedding feast of Cana to become one of the signs of the inbreaking of the Kingdom, leading eventually to the sign of the resurrection, so too he takes this moment to teach his friends and us a lesson about the spiritual life. As I see it, Jesus is not just a guest to be fed and watered. He is also the host because he feeds Mary and Martha with his teaching. This is the point that he makes to Martha who is so intent on being the host that she forgets to be a guest. What ever we "give" to God we receive so much more from his hand. In fact, anything we do "give" him is derived from what we have already received from his hand. The mind of God and his generosity are beyond us but if we sit at his feet and listen to the Word we know that we will continue to be shaped by his love and filled with joy at his wonderful gifts. St Paul wrote: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who ha known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor' 'Or who has given a gift to him to receive a gift in return?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen." (Rm 11: 33-36)

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today, in the gospel reading, a lawyer asks: "... what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Lk 10: 25) I find the word "inherit" to be a strange one. To me it speaks of a passive attitude as I wait, as the prodigal son does when he says: "Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me." (Lk 15: 12) Even worse, the term may suggest entitlement. The lawyer possibly has a magical mentality where all he has to do is keep the Torah and he will "qualify" for eternal life in the sense of ticking the boxes of a questionnaire. Jesus does not deny the purpose of the Law since, in answer to the lawyer's summary of it, he answers: "... do this, and you will live." (Lk 10: 28) It is interesting that Jesus responds by using the words that the lawyer uses and thereby draws out the hidden agenda behind the question. The sting in the tail, using the lawyer's summary, is: "And who is my neighbour?" (Lk 10: 29) Then follows the classic parable of the Good Samaritan. The lawyer is obliged to acknowledge that the one who fulfilled the Law was in fact someone who was outside the Law. All the lawyer can say is "The one who showed him mercy." (Lk 10: 26) The Lord's response to this: "Go and do likewise" (Lk 10: 27) reveals to us that the key to eternal life lies not in fulfilling prescripts of the Law but in showing mercy to others. It can be added that in order to show mercy I must have an awareness of the law otherwise how can I know when and to whom I am to show mercy? St Paul tells us: "... but sin is not reckoned when there is no law." (Rm 5: 13) Thus, eternal life is arrived at not just in knowing the law but having received it, to live it out in mercy towards my neighbour so that the intention of the divine will is fulfilled. In doing so I will become aware of my own need of mercy or of the mercy that I have received from God. I am brought to act towards others out of gratitude and joy since I am no longer slave to my own inability to keep God's law perfectly: "But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. the end is eternal life. For the wage of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 6: 22-23)

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Occasionally, in order to ensure we have our priorities in the right order, we need to apply a "litmus test." Such a test shows us without ambiguity what is most important in a world that can be confusing and complex. The greatest "litmus test" for how anyone encounters reality is: "Did Jesus rise from the dead on Easter Sunday or not?" Since the resurrection is the centre of history and the meaning of the universe the conquest of Jesus over sin and death is the matter of supreme importance not just for Christians but everyone: "... Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." (Rev 1: 5) Reflecting on the Roe vs Wade legal decision in the United States of America, which is primarily about the endless tussle between federal rights and state rights, I think that the "litmus test" is surely: "Is abortion  the killing of an innocent human life or not?" Again, the answer to that question determines the rest of the debate. Likewise, in the Second Reading for today, St Paul tells his Galatian congregation: "For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!" (Gal 6:15) He also told the Corinthians: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Cor 5: 17) If we substitute circumcision with any number of issues we face in the Catholic Church, for example, standing or kneeling during the Eucharistic Prayer, where to put statues in the church, to use Latin or not, etc, we find that we have a "litmus test" for us, too, in 2022. We can argue about all of those and other matters till the cows come home but if the Gospel has not transformed us it is all a waste of time. If we are so transformed by Christ and conformed to his example and life of service and self-sacrifice in the Holy Spirit then the answer to all of these other questions will come more easily and they may well fade into insignificance. St Paul also gave us the "litmus test" of love which can guide us in our day to day trials so that we do not lose sight of our Christian calling: "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and 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 ad 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)

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today we hear of a series of rejections given to Jesus. It is not uncommon in our own time to see or read of people rejecting Jesus, although often they are not rejecting a true picture of our Lord but a parody. What I think may be of use is to reflect on the reaction of James and John: "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" (Lk 9: 54) Sometimes I hear of people who experience judgment and anger when they come to a Catholic Mass. The regular parishioners do not have to say or do anything particularly "off" but they manage to communicate something which is the opposite of the "joy of the Gospel." Even worse they can go so far as to tell people off. This is often the case to do with the behavior of their children. Yet, the person doing the telling off is the same one who would wonder aloud why there were no young families or people in church! Notice that James and John use the expression "us" rather than "you." They think that they have the authority and power to call down the wrath of God. Jesus, I suspect, mocks this pretension by giving them the nickname "Boanerges - Sons of Thunder." (Mk 3: 17) Jesus response is, in fact, to tell them off. All of us who are regular and I would hope devout Mass attendees need to be alert to our hearts so that we are not poisoned by resentment against those who have yet to discover the beauty of the faith so as to practice it more regularly. The key is not to call down fire from heaven upon them but to communicate to them in all sorts of ways, especially through our hospitality, the love of Christ and the largeness of heart of our holy Mother the Church.

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Today we hear about the paradox of what it means to be a Christian. On one hand we hear of the honour: "... in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized in to Christ have clothed yourself with Christ" (Gal 3: 26-27) while on the other we hear of the suffering: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." (Lk 9: 23) The cross is not a one off event. We are to take up the cross "daily." We not only journey with Jesus, in the sacred liturgy, from Galilee to Jerusalem and from there on to Christ the King but also in the minutiae of everyday life with all of its frustrations and failures. Thus, baptism is not  one off event that has us somehow magically transformed rather it is an entry into a life, informed by and guided, in the Holy Spirit, that imposes  now standard of what it means to love. Peter tells us: "Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God." (1 Pet 1: 22-23) This gives us pledge not of temporal but heavenly glory that gives us the hope of a life that unites the whole of humanity in one great family with God s its Father: "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave of free, there is no longer male nd female; for all of you re one in Christ Jesus. nd if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise." (Gal 3: 28-29)

Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 This feast is distinctive for being the only solemnity of the Lord which always occurs on a weekday. The significance of it can be seen in the number of statues of the Sacred Heart which are to be found with many, if not all, Catholic churches in New Zealand having one. Arising from the visions of a nun in 17th Century France, St Margaret Mary Alacoque, this feast serves to remind us of Jesus as the personification and incarnation of the mercy and love of God that he has for us personally. It tilts against the pessimism of the heresy known as Jansenism. This heresy is a form of Catholic puritanism or Calvinism. It is a very negative and pessimistic theology which places undue emphasis on judgement and the salvation of only a few souls. We know from Scripture that God is generous and looks not to condemn but to save: "This is right and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the Knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim 2: 3-4) As missionary disciples in 2022 we are called to embrace and communicate the joy of the Gospel. Let us use this feast to get in touch with the mercy and love of God which flow from the heart of Jesus Christ: "But God proves his love for us in that while we still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5:8) 

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

 The best way, I think, to sum up this feast is that it reminds us that the Holy Eucharist is what the Church says it is. When we come forward o receive Holy Communion we are told: "The Body of Christ" and "The Blood of Christ." To this we affirm a personal "Amen" which echoes the Great Amen we make at the conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer. Furthermore, I hold that this feast needs to be seen in tandem with the Feast of the Word of God which recently was promulgated for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Since the Mass is comprised of the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Eucharist, in one unified celebration, the two are necessarily linked. In the former we are told: "the Gospel of the Lord" to which we reply "Thanks be to God." In that we affirm that the words spoken are not simple literature but the living Word inspired by the Holy Spirit to feed us with the truth about God. Likewise, the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist are no longer that but become something different. That process is fittingly called, according to the Fathers of the Council of Trent, "transubstantiation." The entire eucharistic celebration, therefore, is the deployment of tangible elements transformed by God and used by Him to mediate his presence and life to us. This has implications not just for us who are present to the celebration but for the whole world. In the gospel for today we hear: "And taking the five loaves and two fish, he (Jesus) looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd." (Lk 9: 16) Like the disciples on that day we are called to cooperate with Jesus in feeding the world, not just with food and drink for sustenance, but also with the sacrament of his Sacred Body and Precious Blood which is food for eternal life. 

Secular Maxims in Time of Trial

 In the Bible there are many wise sayings both in the gospels, the wisdom literature and elsewhere. Every now and again I am reminded of various, often humorous, contemporary sayings, which can be deployed in times of trial. Below I put a selection of these in no particular order which are designed to assist people especially in times of anguish, failure or trial. Readers of this blog do not usually leave comments however I invite you to submit sayings of your own to share with us all if it suits.

 - love many, trust few, always paddle your own canoe

 - the best revenge is a happy life

 - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

 - today is the first day of the rest of your life

 - never tell on yourself

 - just keep putting one foot in front of the other

 - the Sun will come up again tomorrow

 - if life gives you lemons make lemonade then go find someone whose life as given them vodka and have a party

 - you can't hang ten on a lemon

 - cry and you cry alone; laugh and the world laughs with you

 - always be on your own side

 - there is no cure for stupid

 - birds of a feather flock together

 - the fish rots from the head

 - how do you make God laugh? Tell him your plans!

 - if something is worth doing it is worth doing badly

 - if you are not good enough without a gold medal you will not be good enough with one

 - a man's got to do what a man's got to do because if a man don't do what a man's got to do what a man's got to do won't get done

 - the climbing of every mountain began with a first single step

 - the art of life, is using what happens to us and not controlling it (sent in by S. Seconi)

last of all, from St Paul

 - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice (Phil 4: 4)

Feast of the Holy Trinity

  Jesus says in the gospel for today: " 'I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now'." (Jn 12: 12) This is so true! The mystery of God is so great and his love for us so amazing that words cannot suffice. Even if Jesus was to teach the apostles and us in plain language the fulness of his message we could not understand it. That is why the Gospel must be proclaimed not just using the written word and speech but also in music, art and architecture along with every other expression of human longing. The mystery of the Holy Trinity has be treated by the great saints at length, for example, De Trinitate which took St Augustine many years to write, some say as many as thirty. The ecumenical councils of the Church and the creeds we pray on Sundays and solemnities testify to the greatness and importance of this foundational mystery. Let us ponder today the Holy Trinity and contemplate the implications of this wonderful doctrine for our own lives. To do this we must be open to the Holy Spirit who we celebrated last Sunday: " 'When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come'. " (Jn 16: 13)

Pentecost

 One of the most memorable homilies I heard when I was studying in Rome was a priest who made the point that without the Holy Spirit the Church is just like any other institution. So many of our activities, regardless of how worthy they may seem to the world, are simply pretexts for social or economic advancement. It is so easy, on account of Original Sin, for human activities to be tainted by self interest but cloaked with virtue. In fact, the nauseating virtue signaling that we are bombarded with each day on the media and government propaganda is something that, without the Holy Spirit, we can be complicit in. No wonder, when Catholics lose sight of the Holy Spirit, they get a negative reaction. St Paul tells us in the second reading, for today: "Those who in the flesh cannot please God." (Rm 8: 8) When we shut out the Holy Spirit from our discernment of what and how we practice our faith we end up "in the flesh." We end up peddling an ideology, that is, Catholicism rather than the person and teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ who guides us through the gift that is the Holy Spirit which, in turn, takes us to the Father. Our sights need to be set on the things of heaven and the glory that awaits us there rather than worldly prosperity or approval. To this end, especially at this time in history when the forces of atheistic propaganda are so powerful, we need to heed the counsel of St Paul: "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, 'Abba! Father!' it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs of Christ - if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him." (Rm 8: 14-17)

Ascension Sunday

 Every Mass should be an "Ascension moment." One legacy of the Reformation and the Catholic response to it is an overemphasis on the issues that obsessed the Christians of the 16th and 17th centuries. This includes the doctrine of the holy Mass as a sacrifice, describing the Eucharistic change as "transubstantiation" and justification. All of these are important, of course, however the holy Eucharist contains the whole of Christ. As a result, the Eucharistic Prayer is not solely about the Institution Narrative and the death of Christ on the Cross: "...the memorial of the saving Passion of your Son". It also speaks, as we also hear in Eucharistic Prayer III of the "...wondrous Resurrection and Ascension into heaven." The gaze of the faithful is directed from the holy Eucharist up into the heavens as they long to be with their risen Lord: "and as we look forward to his second coming" which has the ensuing consequence of directing us to greater efforts in the mission given us in baptism. The Eucharistic Prayer for Various Needs II puts it this way: "And so, having called us to your table, Lord, confirm us in unity, so that together with N. our Pope and N. our Bishop, with all Bishops, Priests and Deacons, and your entire people, as we walk your ways with faith and hope, we may strive to bring joy and trust into the world." Thus, we have confidence in the power of Christ not only to forgive sins but also to sustain in our everyday lives as we face the challenges to faith today o: "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful." (Heb 10: 23)

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 This week we get to hear about dissension among Christians. This is not news even when we think of our Lord during his earthly ministry. Even in the physical presence of the Master the apostles were fighting one another for status. Yet, the Lord says in the gospel that his gift to the disciples is peace: "Peace I leave you; my peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (Jn 14: 27) Dissension is of the world: "Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these..." (2 Cor 5: 19-21) To his end it is incumbent on Catholics to consider all matters of the faith in the light not of the world but of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, as we pray in the Nicene Creed: "has spoken through the prophets," however we say immediately following that: "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church." Dissensions often occur underpinned by personal rivalries. The Church needs  to act in communion to proclaim and live the faith knowing that when we do so we will experience the peace that only the Lord can give.

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 What motivated Paul and Barnabas to embark on their first missionary journey with all of its hazards and trials? They could have stayed in Antioch and built up the church there. The Book of Acts states: "While they were worshipping and fasting, the Holy Spirit said: 'Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them'." (Acts 13: 2) It is the Holy Spirit who directs the community and identifies the charisms and tasks of its members. This does not mean that the task will be easy because: " 'It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God'." (Acts 14: 20) This is because disciples of the Lord are not driven by earthly considerations but the hope of future glory: "Then I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Rev 21: 1-2) The motivation for a missionary disciples, both then and now, is that of love. It is the desire to share the Good News to all humanity. It speaks of a new way of loving which is only made possible by the Cross and the revelation of the resurrection. Jesus says: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Jn 13: 34-35) This love is in turn founded on gratitude since God, in Jesus Christ, has loved us so much first. This love gives us the impulse to share with others what we have come to know and to believe even when it seems that the world does not want to know. "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)