The Mass of Chrism

 Every year we have the same readings for this beautiful celebration that blesses, for us, the holy oils to be used at the Easter Vigil and the coming year. The gospel speaks of Jesus declaring, in his person and ministry, an ongoing year of Jubilee: "... to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour... today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Lk 4: 18 and 21) Thus, every time we proclaim the gospel at Mass the living Word opens us up to the blessings which Jesus proclaimed on that day. It is his Word, not a dead letter, rather an active presence in the liturgy: "Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper that any two edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account." Let us, therefore, not be indifferent to the blessings of the gospel and carried away by intellectual and academic obfuscation. We have the Church Fathers, the Papal Magisterium and other tools from the Church to assist us in interpreting the Word. Let us not, like the hearers of that sermon by Jesus on that day, be scandalized by the generosity and superfluity of God's grace and mercy which surpasses anything that we could imagine: "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Cor 2: 9)

Palm Sunday (Year B)

 In the Gospel of St Mark the expression "King of the Jews" is used four times by Pilate and the Romans. They put Jesus on trial, display him before the rabid crowd, and mock him before putting it as a title on the cross, where he is executed as a criminal. The Jewish authorities taunt him: "Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe" (Mk 15: 32) Yet this label is inadequate. As St Paul points out in the second reading that: "... at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God the Father." (Phil 2: 10-11) Jesus in the triumphal entry to Jerusalem, was greeted as the Messiah foretold by the Scriptures for the Jewish people and is revealed, in the resurrection, as the King of the Universe to whom even knees in heaven must bend. Let us not be scandalized by Jesus' suffering for it is through them that we experience the divine love most powerfully for us. Jesus is not only the one who saves us but also sets the pattern and example for our own Christian experience which, in one way or another, includes the experience of the cross. As the write of the Letter to the Hebrews puts it: "It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of our salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." (Heb 1: 10-11)   

Palm Sunday (Year A)

 The concept of "Messiah" is immensely important to understanding the events of Plam Sunday, indeed the whole of Jesus' mission, and how the Jewish authorities, in particular, reacted to it. We can sometimes overlook this significance because we use the Greek word "Christ," as a rule, even to the extent that it becomes his surname. Every time we profess "Jesus Christ" we are affirming "Jesus Messiah." This means we are one with the crowd on Palm Sunday who recognized Jesus as the one chosen by God to liberate his people. He does so, not as many were expecting, by freeing them from Roman rule, but rather by freeing them from sin and death and the rule of Satan. This victory, brought about through his passion, death and resurrection, means that Jesus is not only the promised Messiah for the Jewish people but for the whole of humanity: "Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil 2: 9-11)

5th Sunday of Lent (Year B)

 The message of this Gospel runs counter to so much of our instinct for self-preservation. For those who believe that we are simply more highly evolved animals, in a materialist universe, the most important thing is to pass on your genes. Somehow this is enough to give purpose or meaning to life! Jesus points to a higher purpose: "Those who love their life lose it; and those who lose their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (Jn 12: 25) How can we believe that this is true? Why should we live our lives for others and obey the Gospel when the world and media continue to tell us otherwise? The key, of course, is the resurrection with the personal example of Jesus Christ revealing the truth about God's love, power and plan of salvation: "It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters." (Heb 1: 10-11) Let us look to Jesus and follow him, especially in times of tragedy and misfortune, so that the power that vindicated him in his obedience to the father will also be manifested in us now and for eternal life.

5th Sunday of Lent (Year A)

 The raising of Lazarus is a revival or return to his own life. Therefore, it is not the same as the resurrection of Jesus. Lazarus eventually died, as we all will, and relies on the risen Lord for his participation in eternal life, when all things will be restored. This sign, like all of those in John's gospel, points to the truth about Jesus: "But these (the signs) are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name." (Jn 20: 31) The purpose of us listening to the Word is not recreation, amusement or academic interest, it is a living Word that calls forth a response of belief in Jesus Christ just as Jesus' conversation with Martha asks for faith in him. Let our response, together with the catechumens and candidates preparing to come into the Catholic Church be: "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world." (Jn 11: 27)

4th Sunday of Lent (Year B)

 In the First Reading we hear today of the great tragedy of the Babylonian exile. The desolation of that event is recorded in the Old Testament in the Book of Lamentations. The Jews could have blamed God for the disaster and decided to take on the Babylonian religion. This would mean that they would have lost their identity and faded into history like so many of the peoples who were victimized by the great powers of Assyria and Babylon. Yet, when we read the rest of the Old Testament, we see that the Jews had a deep conviction of God's love for them. It is fundamental to Christianity that our suffering are not inflicted by God. Rather, God allows suffering so that a greater good may arise. The freedom we possess is the condition of the love we are given and invited to receive. The entry of Jesus into our human reality, including the phenomenon of suffering and death, shows that God not only loves us but transforms the absurdity of our suffering through the power of His great love so as to save the world. Jesus puts this perfectly to Nicodemus when he tells him: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.  (Jn 3: 16)

4th Sunday of Lent (Year A)

 Today the First Reading tells us: "...for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks in the heart." (1 Sam 16: 7) When we turn to the Gospel we can hear how the Pharisees are divided. Jesus has healed the man who was born blind, however, he did so on the sabbath. Some of the Pharisees, therefore, say "This man is not from God" (Jn 9: 16) while others wonder: "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" (Jn 9: 16) So much of what we seek to accomplish through our Lenten observances is oriented towards a change in our inward state. Human beings, as enfleshed spirits, necessarily manifest their interior dispositions through their bodies. Every Sunday we are invited by the Church to have a period of fasting before Mass. This is not as rigorously observed as previously but still has considerable value. It is also laudable to wear our "Sunday best" as a way of recognizing the dignity of the celebration. In addition, we can prepare for the Mass through reflecting on the readings for the coming week and praying with them. Let us be mindful to assist the transformation of our hearts, by attending to bodily disciplines, so that we may ultimately be pleasing to the Lord who sees what is in our hearts.