Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

 The feast we celebrate today is intimately connected, I would say, to Divine Mercy Sunday. Both feasts focus on the verse: "Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out." (Jn 19: 34) The historical veracity of this is corroborated by the Shroud of Turin. However, why is it so significant? The evangelist saw it as the fulfilment of Scripture and as verification of his eyewitness account of the crucifixion: "He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he know that he tells the truth." (Jn 19: 35) Subsequently, St Margaret Mary Alacoque and St Faustina Kowalska saw in the phenomenon the outflowing of Christ's mercy. In their visions of the risen Christ they experienced God's mercy not just for themselves but for the whole world. We can also connect this with the water that flows from the side of the Temple (Ezk 47: 1-12) and the Patristic theology of Jesus as the Second Adam who has the Church born from his side as he hung in the sleep of death on the Cross (CCC 766). From death comes life and from shame and condemnation, mercy. This great mystery is revealed to societies who are starved of mercy and despair of forgiveness. Let us take advantage of this feast day to renew our trust in Christ's mercy and strive to show something of that mercy to others.

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

 This feast of the Lord in Ordinary Time should not be taken out of context. The record of the Last Supper given us by St Mark in Gospel is within the Passover meal which itself is part of the Jewish calendar of liturgical feasts. The Second Reading places Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross in the context of the Jewish high priest entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. It depicts Jesus, who was not of a priestly family, entering the presence of the Father as a new high priest: "He entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption." (Heb 9: 12) The miracle of transubstantiation we witness at Mass takes place within the context of the Word, the people and the priest, making up the spiritual matrix of the People of God we call Church. Christ is present substantially in the Holy Eucharist and that is what we rejoice in today. Let us never take it for granted or be scandalized by our own sins such that we turn away from this precious encounter with our risen Lord. Let us also allow the fruits of this mystery to diffuse throughout our Church, schools, colleges, families and wider community: "so that God may be all in all." (1 Cor 15: 28)

Feast of the Holy Trinity

 The editors of the Lectionary preface today's First Reading with the phrase: "Moses assembled the people to remind them how the Lord had spoken out of the fire while they stood at the foot of the mountain." This serves to remind us, gathered at the foot of the cross, of the revelation given to us in Christ Jesus. Gathered in the Holy Spirit, God speaks to us through the Scriptures and communicates himself through the sacrament of the Eucharist. The elders or Israel, too, ate with the Lord: "Then Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel. Under his feet there was something like a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. God did not lay his hand on the chief men of Israel; also, they beheld God, and they ate and drank." (Ex 24: 9-11) What a precious gift we have in the holy Mass which reveals God's self to us! Such a mystery can only be entered into through the Holy Spirit whom we celebrated last Sunday at Pentecost. Our prayer goes beyond ourselves, for it is the Holy Spirit taking us through Christ Jesus to know and love God as our heavenly Father: "When we cry 'Abba! Father!' it is the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. In fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him." (Rm 8: 15-17)

Pentecost

 In the Gospel Jesus tells his disciples: "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (Jn 15: 13) and St Paul instructs the Galatians: "If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit." (Gal 5: 25) A guide is someone who helps me to find my destination or to explain the significance of what I am looking at, when I am in a museum or tourist attraction. Called to be missionary disciples we do not presume to have full knowledge. As disciples we are apprentices to the Holy Spirit however, as missionary, we are sent out into a world that is often difficult to navigate. Thus, we need the Holy Spirit to guide us to fulfil our vocation to serve the Lord. Guidance can come in many forms: prayer, Scripture reading, the papal Magisterium, holy parishioners, etc. What is crucial is the openness of the individual to the Holy Spirit and a willingness to discern the spirits. Not all spirits come from God: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 Jn 4: 1) Let us take courage, nevertheless, this Pentecost and open ourselves to the Holy Spirit who bestow on us, as a sign that we are on the right path, those fruits listed by St Paul: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Gal 5: 22)

Feast of the Ascension

After the Lord's prayer, during Mass, the priest continues: "Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." (Roman Missal) Is this an Advent prayer or an Ascension prayer? In both cases we: "...await the blessed hope and the coming of our Saviour, Jesus Christ." The Jewish people, throughout the Old Testament, anticipated the coming of the Messiah. Their prayers were answered in Jesus of Nazareth. At the start of Advent, we anticipate the eschaton, the last days, when the Lord will come again in glory. We believe that our prayers, too, will be answered in God's time. Likewise, when we think of the Ascension we await the return of our Lord Jesus, whom the Apostles witnessed as passing from their sight to the heavenly realities, leaving them to the continue the mission he had given them. Either way we are not left alone to continue this mission. The prayer after the doxology: "For the kingdom, the power, etc.", is addressed to the risen Lord, present in sacrament on the altar: "Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give you, look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will. Who live and reign for ever and ever." Ascended in glory, present in sacrament, powerful in majesty, it is Christ the King who unites the spiritual and temporal orders and brings us together as one while bestowing diversity of charisms and ministries: "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. But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift." (Eph 4: 4-7)

6th Sunday of Easter

 Today we are challenged by the mystery of God's will. Jesus says: "You did not choose me, but I chose you." (Jn 15: 16) That Jesus chose the Twelve is evident from the other gospels where Jesus summons his disciples and selects the Apostles from among them (Mk 3: 13-14). In baptism all of us have been called by God. The doctrine of prevenient grace teaches us that whatever we have said or done to cooperate with God's grace his grace has preceded any act of our will. Part of the challenge of our Christian vocation, as missionary disciples, is to discover God's will for us and what he wants for each of us to do to his greater glory. Sometimes this is not readily apparent to us in the present moment. St Paul exclaims: "O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counsellor?' 'Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen." (Rm 11: 33-36) Let us, therefore, set ourselves to discern God's will in our lives and not be discouraged by our weaknesses or sins. God has chosen us, and we are obliged by his love to respond for: "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded." (Lk 12: 48)

5th Sunday of Easter

 We are reminded today that without the Lord we can do nothing: "Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless is abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me." (Jn 15: 4) Is it possible that once I have been baptized and confirmed that I have all I need in my relationship with God? Do I need to go to Mass, or can I pray by myself and direct my own spiritual path? The answer to this is "no." By osmosis we absorb harmful influences from the surrounding society, and we are misled internally by our pride and delusions of self-sufficiency. Jesus tells the disciples: "You have already been cleansed by the word I have spoken to you." (Jn 15: 3) We need constant "cleansing" through listening to the Word and receiving the sacraments. The Early Church knew that it was not acting independently of Jesus and of Peter, the Rock, on which he built his Church: "Then I (St Paul) laid before them... the Gospel I had proclaimed among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain." (Gal 2: 2). The Risen Lord told them: "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Mtt 28: 20) and at the conclusion of St Mark's gospel: "And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it." (Mk 16: 20)