30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today we hear of two individuals who go to the Temple. The first, who is a Pharisee, fulfills every command of the Law, however, he prays not to God but, in the literal translation of the Greek, prays to himself. The second, who comes from the despised group of the tax collectors, prays to God. True humility, which leads ultimately to exaltation, comes from knowing the truth about ourselves and this comes about through our knowledge of God: "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. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure." (1 Jn 3: 2) The starting point for this, apart from the grace of God that prompts us to pray, is the recognition that as human beings we are all in the same condition in the presence of God: "For there is no distinction, since all have since and fallen short of the glory of God." (Rom 3: 22-23) In this Extraordinary Month of Missions let us all acknowledge, in prayer, our need of God and with the resulting joy of knowing his love be able to share that joy with others.

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's parable is about the need of disciples: "... to pray always and not to lose heart." (Lk 18: 1) Did you know that Part Four of The Catechism of the Catholic Church is about prayer? People often think that the catechism is about dry doctrinal matters but prayer is so important to the life of a Christian that it requires extensive and profound reflection by the whole Church. One definition of prayer that is given is: "Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man." (CCC2564) Just as we are called not to give up on our marriages, our vocations to the priesthood or to the religious life we are also called today to not give up on prayer. With God anything is possible and when we pray we open ourselves up to the power of God so save, reconcile and redeem. It is through prayer that Jesus was able to continue his mission in the face of opposition and ultimately to his Passion and Death. He even prayed on the Cross: "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Lk 23: 34) Our prayer is at its most perfect when it is united with him in the prayer of the Mass. Let us make the most of the opportunity given us each Sunday by entering into the Eucharist with an open and trusting heart in the power of God to save. St Augustine wrote: "He (Jesus) prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to us as our God. Therefore, let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us." (CCC2616)

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Notice the sequence of events in the Gospel for today: the leper encounters Jesus crying out to him and asks, with his Jewish companions, for healing; he is obedient to Jesus' instructions and finds himself healed; his response is to praise God with a loud voice, to prostrate himself at Jesus' feet and to thank him; Jesus accepts his gratitude and reveals to him that he is free to go on his way: "your faith has made you well." (Lk 17: 19) 

I invite you, also, to reflect on your own life and conversion story: you realized, as many do, your need of God's love and healing; you opened your heart to the Lord crying out for his grace; obedient to the prompting of the Holy Spirit you began to pray; then or shortly afterwards you realized with joy that God had healed you and transformed your life; you then returned to the sacraments in praise and thanksgiving; and so, here you are today at Eucharist joining your own thanksgiving to that of Christ on the Cross through the sacred meal-sacrifice-communion of the Mass. In doing so, you realize a deeper and ongoing healing as your faith leads you on to a richer and mission oriented relationship with God while, sadly, others who have received God's grace and healing continue their lives oblivious to the grace they have received. 

In this Extraordinary Months of Missions let us be mindful of the obligation to share our joy in Christ with others as well as supporting financially and in prayer missionaries around the world.   

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Second Reading today is fascinating. St Paul is in prison and contemplating his impending execution: "As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time for my departure has come." (2 Tim 4: 6) Yet, it is not Paul who is getting scared, rather, it is Timothy who is struggling with his mission: "... for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power  and of love and of self-discipline. Do not be ashamed, then, of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner, but join me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God." (2 Tim 1: 7-8) Around the world Catholics are suffering for their faith along with many other Christians. Yet, here we are, in a land of peace and plenty, feeling shy, timid and disconsolate as we contemplate our place in New Zealand society. In this Extraordinary Month of Missions, called for by Pope Francis, we need to rely on the power of God to be missionary disciples in our own families and communities. Encouraged by the example of St Paul and the missionary zeal of Venerable Suzanne Aubert, whose Celebration Day it is today, let us search for ways to witness to our Catholic faith and bring others to encounter Jesus Christ, who is our wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (cf. 1 Cor 1: 30). We can only do this if we appreciate the great patrimony of faith for what it is: "... we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us." (2 Cor 4: 7) This means we need to hold on to the reliable teaching of the Church and be docile to the Holy Spirit who will direct us in prayer and action: "Hold to the sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard the good treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us." (2 Tim 1: 13-14)

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The key to this week's Gospel, for me, is that: "Jesus told this parable to those among the Pharisees who loved money." (Lk 16: 19) Originally, the Pharisees were a sect of lay people who were knowledgeable about the law and zealous for its observance. Gradually they formed a party which sort to exert influence at a political level. In many ways they would have seen themselves as being on the side of the ordinary people. The idea of "a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day" (Lk 16: 19) is more redolent of the Sadducees who were of the party of the High Priest and were collaborators with the occupying Roman authorities. Jesus, in his parable, reveals the hypocrisy and self-serving nature of some of the Pharisees who are, in reality, no better than their political and religious opponents. The Pharisees' sense entitlement derived from their descent from Abraham will not protect them from the judgement of God for their corruption. Their facade of religiosity will be ripped away. The Pharisees, who say they are the true believers in Moses and the prophets as well as believing in the resurrection, find that their assertions of belief are hollow as the rich man admits when he asks for someone to return from the dead to warn his brothers. The love of money has blinded the Pharisees to the true meaning of the Scriptures which point to the Messiahship of Jesus and ultimately to his resurrection "If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." (Lk 16: 31) This message was also valid for the early Christians and for us today. If we are greedy for money and indifferent to the sufferings of others our religion is false and our judgement is sure.

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The question I have of today's Gospel is that, when Jesus says: "If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" (Lk 16: 11), what is meant by dishonest wealth? We have just heard the parable of the dishonest steward. Is it possible that the distinction is being made between wealth brought about through cunning and deceit as opposed to that derived from hard work? In comparison, true riches, even if  they are "honest," pale in comparison to the gifts of life in the Spirit, salvation, forgiveness of sins, etc. Maybe the distinction lies not so much in the material benefits but the attitude and mindset of the individual? The message, perhaps, we can take from the parable is: you cannot fool God. The world may be misled into thinking that a person is a fine individual but God sees into our hearts and knows that if we are greedy for money, regardless of how respectable we appear to the world, we cannot please God: "You cannot serve God and wealth." (Lk 16: 13) Let us be attentive to our attitude towards money so that we are not drawn into worship of a false god who cannot save and in whose service we find ruin. Greed, like other moral disorders needs to be purged from our hearts: "Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry)." (Col. 3: 5-6)  

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God says to Moses: "... they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped and sacrificed to it, and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' " (Ex 32: 8) Why did the people do such a thing after having witnesses such great signs of God's power? I think they needed something tangible and familiar. Something they could relate to rather than walking through the desert by faith  in a God they could not see. This danger remains for us today. We are tempted to make a golden calf of  "values" rather than following Christ Jesus and living for him alone. Values can be identified, measured and taught. They yield practical results and for the most part can be agreed upon by people regardless of faith. Yet, without God, they are like someone having a map without having a destination. Without the pledge of the resurrection our values are meaningless as they turn us in on ourselves and we make an idol of our own righteousness. In the Gospel for today the younger son, Having gone off on his own, finds himself in a pigsty and says:" 'How many of my father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here am I dying of hunger! I will get up and go to my father...'. " (Lk 15: 17-18) The elder brother, too, despite staying at home and not sinning as his brother did, is bereft. Without our relationship with the Father we are indeed lost regardless of our values! "So we are always confident; even though we know that while we are away from the body we are at home in the body we away from the Lord - for we walk by faith, not by sight. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him." (2 Cor. 5: 6-9)