Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 As a Solemnity of the Lord in Ordinary Time this feast speaks of an aspect of the Lord which has emerged from tradition over time. It is not directly attested to in holy Scripture. Like the dogmas of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the feasts of the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption such doctrine helps to correct error and edifies us by pointing out the implications of the scriptural data, especially when it comes to confounding heretics. Today's feast repudiates the harsh, puritanical and pessimistic heresy of Jansenism. By looking at the gospels from the three year cycle we can deduce that the heart of our Lord and Saviour burns with love for us. His love for us is not predicated on moral perfection rather it arises from the very nature of God himself. Jesus says, of himself, in Year A: "... for I am gentle and humble in heart," (Mtt 11: 29) while in Year B we hear of how the Lord's heart was pierced on the cross: "... and at once blood and water came out." (Jn 19: 34) In Year C the image is the Good Shepherd who  upon finding the lost sheep: ""... calls together his friends and neighbours, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me,  for I have found my sheep that was lost.' " (Lk 15: 6) Thus, especially for us who are of Irish descent, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, along with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is an opportunity to ensure that all traces of Jansenism are purged from our faith. In doing so we will experience more fully the joy of the Gospel and be empowered to share it with others.

Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ

 When we pray the Nicene Creed, during the Mass, we say: "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church." When we do this we testify to our faith that the Catholic Church mediates the God whom we have just professed our faith in. The theological principle of "ex opere operato" teaches that the work of the sacraments is done by Jesus Christ and that the moral worthiness of the ministers of the Church does not invalidate the sacrament. Saint Augustine was the Church Father who developed this idea. Sadly, scandal which is caused by the deficiencies and failures of clergy does impede the effectiveness of the sacraments because it damages the believers' faith. Thus, when meditating on the mystery of the Lord's Body and Precious Blood present in the sacramental species under the form of bread and wine we are compelled to believe what it teaches. The elements, once the Institution Narrative in the Eucharistic Prayer has been prayed over them, are no longer bread and wine. They are something else. Therefore, immediately, the priest genuflects in adoration and the members of the congregation also make a profound bow. This is further indicated when the minister of Holy Communion says to the communicant: "The Body of Christ" and "The Blood of Christ." He, or she, does not say: "This represents the Body of Christ" or "This is a symbol of the Blood of Christ." The process that refers to this mystery is called traditionally: "transubstantiation." If we believe in the Church then we make an act of faith that the Eucharistic transformation, under both kinds, is real, objective and enduring. The tabernacle, after Mass has been finished, continues to house the Lord is sacramental form which means that we genuflect of bow towards it when we enter the church to pay the Lord a visit. Let us be mindful of this presence when we enter our church and may it suitably influence how we are in His presence so that we edify the Lord and our fellow believers by what we do or say. 

Feast of the Holy Trinity

 One of the ways we can enter the mystery of the Holy Trinity is to contemplate the nature and dynamic of love. All the readings for today mention God and love: "'The Lord, the Lord a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness" (Ex 34: 8), "... and the God of love and peace will be with you" (2 Cor 13: 11) and "God so loved the world...". (Jn 3: 16) This is not surprising since the Johannine letters identify God as being, in fact, love: "God is love. and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them." (1 Jn 4: 16) In the Middle Ages the School of St Victor took up this idea so that we can understand that the Father loves the Image, who is the Son, and the Son loves the Father, perfectly in return. The bond of love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, it is through the Holy Spirit, who conforms us to the Son, that we are brought to the Father and thus participate in the divine life which is characterized by love. The uncreated, eternal, dynamic, perfect synthesis of love, that overflowed itself to bring about Creation, becomes a personal gift to us in the Holy Spirit. It is the love that we refer to when beginning the liturgy of the Mass: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit." Our presence at Mass is a response to that love which was manifested to us most perfectly in the Passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ: "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." (Rm 5: 8) Let us rejoice in that love and be willing to share the Good News that God loves us to those whom we meet in our daily lives.

Feast of Pentecost

 If last Sunday was the "what" of the Christian vocation: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (Mtt 28: 19) then today's feast gives us the "how": "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." (1 Cor 12: 7) The First Reading relates how the Holy Spirit descends on the community which is praying together, lead by the apostles, and strengthened by Our Lady. Thus, collectively, and individually they receive charisms and gifts represented by their ability to speak other languages: "... as the Spirit gave them ability." (Acts 2: 4) The purpose of these gifts is oriented towards the forgiveness of sins which is the fruit of the resurrection: " 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them...'" (Jn 20: 23) The result is a multitude of gifts, services and activities that are bestowed by the one Spirit that also unites the community for the one mission: "... but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone." (1 Cor 12: 6) Regardless of how impressive a gift or charism may seem to be, if its use leads to division and fragmentation in the Church it is, by definition, not of the Holy Spirit. Let us be mindful of this as we go about our mission as missionary disciples in 2023: "I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to live a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all." (Eph 4: 1-6)

Feast of the Ascension

 We hear, in one of the prefaces to this feast, that: "Mediator between God and  man, judge of the world and Lord of hosts, he ascended, not to distance himself from our lowly state but that we, his members, might be confident of following where he, our Head and Founder, has gone before." Thus, as members of Christ's body, we are permanently joined to our head. Christ remains present to us, especially in the Eucharist, yet we await the fullness of time when we will be united with him. In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples: "And if I go to prepare  place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also." (Jn 14: 3) This pledge of the Lord gives us both strength and consolation. He has not abandoned us by ascending to the Father rather his gift of the Holy Spirit, which we will celebrate next Sunday at Pentecost, means that his life and power are more present to us now than they were while he was limited bodily during his earthly ministry. As Christians our life is now not oriented towards this present reality but to that where Christ has ascended: "As was the man of dust so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven." (1 Cor 15: 48-49) Thus, even as we continue to live our life on earth with all of its struggles and suffering through faith we are conformed to Jesus Christ who has gone on ahead of us to our ultimate destination: "But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Rm 6: 8-11)

6th Sunday of Easter

 In the Gospel we hear today: "This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you and he will be in you." (Jn 14: 17) This reminds us that in baptism the enlightenment we receive is given by us becoming temples of the Holy Spirit. We must never forget how significant this great sacrament is. Although many of us have been baptized as infants we get the chance each year to renew our baptism at Easter and deepen our knowledge of the new life we receive in it. St Peter wrote: "And baptism, which this (the saving of Noah through water in the ark) prefigured, now saves you - not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him." (1 Pt 3: 21-22) The truth of God and his plans for us are not subjective projections of our desires or vain fantasy. They are a sure and certain hope in the truth of God's promises and the Holy Spirit who guides us if we have the courage to let him in. Thus, just as we renew our baptism at Easter let us also renew our openness to the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and place our trust in God's life dwelling within us.

5th Sunday of Easter

 Today's First Reading gives us a precious insight into the early community of "The Way" who were later called "Christians" (Acts 11: 26). The earliest of these people had experienced the Lord in person. In his presence they felt safe, as he was indeed the Good Shepherd. However, risen from the dead and ascended into heaven the community has to find its way guided by his teaching, example and the sacraments. Sure, it also has the Holy Spirit to guide it by there are still so many things which remind them of their feeble humanity. Without the Good Shepherd to guide them in person would they disintegrate and splinter into factions before disappearing from history at the first sign of persecution? We hear that: "...the Hellenists (Greek speaking Jews) complained against the Hebrews (Aramaic speaking Jews) because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food." (Acts 6: 1) Ethnic jealousy threatened to tear the early community apart! We then hear of the leadership of the Twelve who consult with the community and arrive at a solution to avoid discontent. Like the Early Christians we have tensions and conflicts in our community. It is necessary that we learn from them and be attentive to Pope Francis' teaching on synodality, we strive to live according to the Gospel in mutual and life giving charity.