Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today an anxious voice from the crowd asks Jesus: "Lord, will only a few be saved?" (Lk 13: 22) This question still has resonance for many people today even though it seems that many people are indifferent to the salvation of their souls. You just need to watch some ot the tele-evangelists to see that. The horrible possibility of eternal damnation, considering the awesome holiness of God in comparison to our own sin, makes it seem likely that we will not enjoy the Beatific Vision. Interestingly, Jesus does not give a direct answer or a number. His response is to encourage us to strive for holiness and never give up: "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and not be able." (Lk 13: 24) Living in accord with God's commandment of love is not easy. It is the case that we should not always look for the easy way out of our obligations or depend on others faith or prayers. God our Father has children; he does not have grandchildren! We need to come to faith; we need to pray; we need to go to Mass on Sunday; we need to give alms and act with mercy towards others. Our complacency or presumption, simply because we have encountered the Gospel, will not help us: "Then you wil begin to say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' But the Lord will say, 'I do not know where you come from; go away from me all you evildoers!' " (Lk 13: 26-27) We need to make a personal faith response, however, we can do so trusting that God wills that everybody be saved: "(God) who desires everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim. 2: 3-4) The default setting of the Universe is salvation. This is because it is the will of the God who created it in the first place.

The Feast of the Assumption

This year the bishops of New Zealand have transferred the Feast of the Assumption, which is the patronal feast of this country, to Sunday so that all Catholics will have the maximum opportunity to encounter this mystery of the Church. Why would the bishops make such a big deal of this feast? Some people would criticise it as being non-Scriptural or that it detracts from the celebration of the Resurrection which is proper to every Sunday. I think that the bishops are right in holding this great feast, made a doctrine in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, in front of our eyes. Jesus, the Word made flesh, is risen. We can understand that of him and yet we are tempted to distance ourselves from him and make of him an exception. The resurrection of the body surely can't apply to us mere mortals! Yet, St Paul tells us: " ... 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 as his coming those who belong to Christ." (1 Cor. 22-23) Where the head is the body will surely follow. Through baptism we are made members of that Body. Our Lady, human like us, however takes precedence. She enjoyed, immediately upon her death, the priviledge experiencing the ressurection in full. In this she, through her obedience and perfect charity, is the pathfinder for us in hope. We can pray that through imitation of her virtues and with the help of her intercession we too will ultimately enjoy in body and spirit the fulness of peace and joy in the resurrection.

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus says to the disciples: "Do not be afraid little flock, for it is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Lk 12: 32) It was the case then and it is the same now. The disciples are a "little flock." The number of Christians around the world numbers about two billion however, especially in countries as secularized as New Zealand, those who practise the faith seem to be a very small flock indeed. Surrounded by an indifferent society and the rampant effects of abortion, divorce, suicide, drug abuse, poverty, inequality, racism, etc we can often feel not only small but also fearful. Will we have enough priests? How can we pass on the faith to the next generation? How will we pay for the upkeep of our church buildings, especially those that are earthquake prone? What about Islamic terrorism? The answer of the Gospel is to trust in the Father. It has pleased him, the ineffable Majesty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, to look kindly on those who follow his Son. We do not need to win the Kingdom through our own efforts. The Father has seen fit to give it to us. What we need to do is love him in return for his love and obey his commandments.

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanity, all is vanity." The First Reading today points out the futility of working long and hard for the fruits of our labours only for them to be enjoyed by others after our deaths. Working so hard that our lives are filled with worry and stress that we get no sleep - this, too, is foolishness. In the Gospel reading Jesus attacks greed and accumulation of wealth, again, vanity. If all of this, which is so valued by the world, is vanity what counts? What is it that really matters? In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus declared: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mtt 6: 19-21) The question I can ask myself is where, indeed, is my treasure? If I am working hard or accumulating wealth what is the purpose of it all? If my relatives and friends came to pack up my things and account for my assets after my sudden death what will they find? Will they read thank you cards given to acknowledge my generosity and encounter the tears of those bereaved by my passing or will they find a pile of useless trinkets and unspent money to be picked over by others like vultures tearing apart a carcass? 

17th Week in Ordinary Time

Today's Gospel reading invites us to trust God. Whenever we pray we should have underpinning our prayer the conviction that God wants our happiness and will answer any petition with the loving diposition of the best of parents. In the developmental psychology of Erik Erikson Trust/Mistrust is the first stage of our development as human beings. Coming from the womb we need first to trust that our parents will be there for us. We also need to mistrust that which is wrong or dangerous to us. In this way we are enabled to start our journey of development on a sound footing. Not only that, once I have navigated my way through the other stages: Autonomy, Industry, Identity, Intimacy, Generativity and Integrity, Trust/Mistrust is also the last stage. The questions that arise in my mind are: do I trust God?; have I bonded with God and accepted him as the one to guide me in my life and watch over me?; do I have an adequate aversion of those things I need to avoid that are damaging to me?; am I fundamentally optimistic about myself and life in general?; do I let anxiety and fear dominate me?; how ready am I to die and what will I have to say to the Lord when I meet him face to face? All of these questions are valid for us at any stage of life yet every time we say the Our Father we give an answer to them. We place our trust in the Father, acknowledging him to be holy, just and forgiving and pray that he "give us this day our daily bread." 

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus tells Martha today that she is "distracted by many things" (Lk 10: 41). One of those things, it seems was the relationship she has with her sister Mary and the pressure that she puts on herself to get things right. Maybe she was a perfectionist?. Her expectation is that Mary will see the same same priorities as herself. On this occasion I think we can justly infer that the things she was thinking about were to do with providing what Martha thought was suffciently hospitality for Jesus. The question arises, I think, what did Jesus want? What was the one thing needed? Jesus, I suspect, tired after his travel on the road and the burdens of his mission, really needed people he could talk too. Mary was able to discern this and met his needs by sitting at his feet and listening to what he had to say. Martha, for all of her concern, had not stopped to see what Jesus needed in that moment rather she was impelled by her own expectations. Jesus did not cause this. It came about through Martha's upbringing and all of the influences in her life that combined to generate expectations as to what she should do with lots of "coulds" and "shoulds." On this occasion they blind her to the thing that really matters which is to listen to Jesus. What about me? Do I respond genuinely to the needs of others or am I pushed by expections about what is socially, religiously or culturally appropriate? Am I trying to be a superwoman or superman? Can I stop and listen to the Lord? If I did I may well hear him say: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Mtt 11: 28-30)

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The parable in today's gospel, commonly referred to as "The Good Samaritan," is well known to most practising Christians. It is curious, however, that in the media when someone is saved by a stranger or a passerby that the rescuer is called a good samaritan. This misses the point of the story because the passerby usually has no animus or prejudice against the person rescued. This, precisely, is the factor that gives the parable its force. Why did Jesus not refer to a good Gentile (non-Jew)? Rather, he uses the example of a Samaritan who would have been a particular object of prejudice and suspicion. The Samaritans, geographically neighbours to the Jews, were in fact related to them. Nevertheless, due to accidents of history, whereby the Samaritans had intermarried with non-Jews as well as  the practise of Samaritan worship on Mt Gerezim, distrust and racial prejudice had arisen. The hypothetical Jew would expect help more from a Gentile than from a Samaritan! When we apply the parable to ourselves we are encouraged to realise and appropriate for ourselves the attitude of mercy which originates not from human categories but from the heart of God. It is an attitude that overcomes prejudice and animosity and is evident in the teaching and personal example of Pope Francis. Sometimes I need to realise that the neighbour I am called to love is not someone I do not know rather it is someone I have a grudge or prejudice against. This malady needs to be cured throught the application of the salve of mercy.