2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The key verbs in the Gospel today are to do with looking, watching and seeing with Jesus saying to the two disciples: "Come and see." The disciples then "came and saw." (Jn 1: 39) Our faith journeys cannot be traveled by proxy. As Jan Heath, a lay evangelist once told us at the seminary: "God does not have grandchildren - he has children." From the media it seems that many people arrive at a judgement of Christ or of the Church by relying on the testimony or assessment of others without any further investigation. Practicing Catholics are mystified by the bizarre allegations often made against them and the wider Church as being a devious and secretive institution intent on world domination. Nothing is hidden - the mission of the Church is plain for all to see. Before we judge we too need to look and see for ourselves so that we are not prey to gossip and innuendo.

Feast of Baptism of the Lord

This feast follow quickly after that of the Epiphany due to the lateness of Christmas in 2017. Thus, it falls on a Monday which is a shame since the faithful would be helped in their understanding of their own baptism by this feast. This is done so by contrasting what Jesus did with what happens with Christian baptism. Our baptism is not that of John the Baptist and thus it is not the same as that which Jesus received. Jesus was not baptized for the forgiveness of his sins - we are freed from Original Sin and, if we are of the age of reason, from our own personal sins. Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness - we are anointed with chrism as we participate in the mission of Christ - priest, prophet and king. Jesus is the beloved son by nature - we are adopted by the Holy Spirit into his sonship so that we too my cry out, "Abba, father." Jesus was baptized since it was was fitting - we are baptized for salvation. Jesus was baptized to identify with Israel - we are baptized into the life of the New Israel which is the Church. Jesus was baptized into a community awaiting the Messiah - we are baptized into a community who makes the Messiah present and continues his mission on earth. What we can say is that baptism both for Jesus and us is not a static reality but a social, spiritual and messianic event which conforms us to the will of the Father and sends us into a world in desperate need of his love. To accomplish this sacred task given us we need acknowledge Jesus as the Lord: "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." (Mark 1: 11)  

Feast of the Epiphany

The wise men who travel, guided first by reason and then by revelation, seek the truth. They are not distracted by what must have been a distasteful and intimidating encounter with the tyrant, Herod the Great nor by the prosaic, even rustic, appearance of the Holy Family. They are intent on worshiping God and responding to his invitation to know and love the truth. In canon law, from the 1983 Code, we read: 

Canon 748 §1. All persons are bound to seek the truth in those things which regard God and his Church and by virtue of divine law are bound by the obligation and possess the right of embracing and observing the truth which they have come to know.

 §2. No one is ever permitted to coerce persons to embrace the Catholic faith against their conscience.

Regardless of our origin or state of life we have the obligation to search for the truth or, as in the case of cradle Catholics, to appropriate what we have received. This has the corresponding right of religious freedom to embrace the truth we have come to. Nevertheless, no one can be forced to be Catholic including those who have been baptized, as infants, into the faith. 

The Church is still coming to terms with the implications of the true religious freedom declared by the Second Vatican Council. It is out of this freedom that we are challenged to continue our own journey of faith, like the Wise men, using human reason as well as divine revelation so as to reach our destination despite the obstacles that may be placed in front of us.

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

It is fitting that on the Octave of Christmas we should celebrate the motherhood of Mary. The Octave feasts always tease out the implications of the mystery that has been celebrated, for example, the Octave of Easter speaks of the Divine Mercy and the Octave of the Assumption the Queenship of Mary. If Jesus is the Son of God and MAry is his mother then she is the Mother of God. This simultaneously asserts both the divine and human natures of Christ. It is this mystery into which we are born in baptism: "So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God." (Gal. 4: 7) Through this process of adoption we can claim Mary as our mother, too. The Second vatican Council states: "Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was in this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ. she presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him by compassion as He died on the Cross. In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace." (LG 61) In a sense today's feast is a celebration of our own nativity in baptism. 

Feast of the Holy Family

The Gospel tells us: "When Mary and Joseph had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him." (Lk 2: 39-40) This brief reference provides a cultural, geographical and religious context for the Jesus as well as the pre-conditions for the development of a healthy child. He did not grow up in a vacuum. How many children today are born to a law abiding couple (in the religious sense of the term) who have the stability  of relationship, place and cultural identity? So many are prey to uncertainty and a lack of even a basic sense of the patrimony passed on at great cost by their ancestors? Even the spelling of their names shows forth a rootless and shallow milieu with no real connection to the past and little thought as to what is required for the future. Does no one think about the child trying to fit their name on a passport application or being burdened with the obligation to spell their name every time they say it!? More and more priests and believing grandparents feel aghast and helpless as they see the precious Catholic heritage tossed out to make way for "bread and the circus." The writer of the letter to the Hebrews warns us: "See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal. You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears." (Heb. 12: 16-17). The advice to the Colossians still holds good: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in he name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col 3: 16-17)

  

Christmas Message

One of my cherished memories of Christmas, growing up and still today, has been listening to the list of titles given for the long awaited Messiah, in the reading from the prophet Isaiah from our First Reading at the night Mass: "For a child has been born to us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Is. 9: 6) People then, as for today, were afflicted with all manner of threats to their safety and prosperity. Life has changed and so has its challenges but we are still in need of the same love and reassurance. The message of Christmas is just the tonic we need. Christ is our redeemer! As victor over sin and death in his resurrection he answered all our needs and desires super-abundantly. Christmas is the dawn of God's love shining on a darkened and anxious world with the promise of endless day. This we taste in sacrament as already reigning in our hearts: "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.." (Rom 8: 15-16)  We rejoice in God's love today and its that love which overflows to our families, friends, fellow parishioners and strangers in the street or waiting in line at the supermarket. Whatever our situation let the joy of Christmas fill our hearts since: "You have multiplied the nation, you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, a people exult when dividing the plunder. 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." (Is. 9: 3-4) Happy Christmas everyone! 

4th Sunday of Advent

Today we hear the beautiful story of the Annunciation. The dialogue between the archangel Gabriel and a virgin called Mary stirs our hearts. Would she not have been so young to make such a momentous decision? Yet, she is humble and courageous in her response. She knows that what the angel is saying is amazing yet she is able to take the message on board and say: "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." (Lk 1: 38) This can be contrasted with Zechariah's defiance when the same angel brought him good news which answered his prayers over so many years. Gabriel tells him: "But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur." (Lk 1: 20) The priest is shown up by the teenager for lack of faith! Let us imitate the Blessed Virgin in her holiness, obedience and courage: "By reason of the gift and role of divine maternity, by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity and perfect union with Christ. For in the mystery of the Church, which is itself rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar both of virgin and mother. By her belief and obedience, not knowing man but overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, as the new Eve she brought forth on earth the very Son of the Father, showing an undefiled faith, not in the word of the ancient serpent, but in that of God's messenger. The Son whom she brought forth is He whom God placed as the first-born among many brethren, namely the faithful, in whose birth and education she cooperates with a maternal love." (Lumen gentium, 63)