6th Sunday of Easter

Jesus says that he is going to send us the "Advocate." Why would he do that? Isn't the example and gift of Jesus enough for us? What about other people who are not baptised? Often, sadly, you cannot tell the difference. Someone can say: "I am a good person. I do not need God to do that. I am as good as you. Why do I need the Holy Spirit." I think that, in order to understand the situation, we need to realise what it means to have the Holy Spirit within us rather than acting upon us. Saint Basil the Great writes: "Through the Holy Spirit paradise is restored; we can ascend to heaven and regain our sonship. We can address God as Father with confidence, we can share in the grace of Christ, we are called children of the light and sharers in eternal glory; in a word we can become full of all manner of blessings in this world and in that to come. We can observe as in a glass the beauty of the goods stored up for us in the future but now anticipated  in faith, as though they were already here. If the earnest is such, what must the perfect thing be? If the first fruits are such, what must the consummation be?" (Monday Week 4 of Eastertide, Office of Readings) Let us never underestimate the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised him to us for a reason.

5th Sunday of Easter

This Sunday’s Gospel speaks of the new commandment: “... that you love one another.” (Jn 13: 34) Jesus had already, earlier in his ministry, summarised the law in the great commandment: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Mtt 22: 36-39) What makes the commandment, bestowed in the context of the Last Supper and the washing of the feet, new? We need to keep reading: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (Jn 13: 34). To understand this love and its newness we need to look at Jesus ministry as a whole as well as absorbing the message of the feet washing. He lived with his disciples, listened to them, taught them and ultimately gave his life for them. The kind of love Jesus asks of them is a complete giving of oneself usually characterised by the Greek term of agape. The new commandment is therefore greater than the Great Commandment because with it the one loving places the beloved ahead of himself. Sometimes I have heard in pop songs the singer affirming a love because s/he knows that the beloved will do the same back. The new commandment asks for no guarantees nor does it speak of mutuality. It speaks of the Cross. A love that has its source in God and Him alone. What, I might ask, is the foundation of my love for others? Is it quid pro quo or mutual protection or self interest or a sense of duty? If it is one of these it fails to meet the standard of the the New Commandment.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Today's feast is also referred to as Vocations Sunday because the Gospel speaks of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In particular, we can focus on the sacrament of Holy Orders through which the Church is given its leaders. Jesus remarks are prompted by the Jewish leaders who ask of him: "If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." (Jn 10: 24) They clearly wish to force him into their mould and define him by their own categories. Obsessed with power, wealth and theological correctness they want to find something that they can use against him. In doing so they are unable to hear Jesus or to see him as he really is. Jesus states: "My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me." (Jn 10: 27) Jesus role and identity can, therefore, be deduced from the actions of his followers who listen to his voice. When atheists, secularists, free-thinkers, etc look at us do they see us as followers of Jesus? Do they detect in our actions the mission and love of Jesus or do they see the same self-seeking and self-focused attitudes of a myriad of other ways of life and spirituality? This is especially the case of those who are called to witness to the Gospel publicly and this applies to priests above all. If the world is to know the truth about Jesus then it will come to know the truth about us. It is not only the apostles and early Christians who were witnesses to the Resurrection. We are called to be witnesses ourselves. This means we need to listen to the voice of Jesus in the Scriptures, the liturgy and the Magisterium so that we may follow him and, in doing so, lead others to him. This can be an intimidating thing to do in a world so hostile to the King of Glory. Jesus reassures us saying: "I will give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand." (Jn 10: 28-29) As we live out our Christian witness we can always be assured that we are in the Father's hand.

Third Sunday of Easter

This week we hear of Peter's response to the resurrection. Last Sunday Thomas was brought to declare: "My Lord and my God" (Jn 20: 28) while this week Peter pleads: "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." (Jn 21: 17) Both men, stubborn and self-willed, are taught a lesson. In the case of Peter the lesson is that faith leadership and our relationship with the Lord is not founded on bluster and fine sounding phrases, for example, "I will lay down my life for you" (Jn 13: 37) or "You are the Messiah the Son of the living God." (Mtt 16: 16). Rather, the true foundation of relationship with Jesus is established on love for him. This is important for us to realise when considering our own faith journey. Like Peter we can fail through sin or in other ways to meet up to what we say in our prayers or with the Church in the Mass. Christ does not ask us for that sort of perfection. It is impossible for us to attain such moral heights and, even if it were possible, Saint Paul tells us: "And if I have all prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13: 2) After all, if we are whole, entire and perfect we have no need of Jesus: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." (Mtt 9: 12-13) Like Peter we need to affirm our love of the Lord and place ourselves at his disposal to work for his Kingdom "Feed my sheep." (Jn 21: 17) In this we are to be conscious of our own response to the Lord and not questioning or judging others by what they say or do. Peter, is curious about the Beloved Disciple just as we might think about how others live out their response to the Lord. The answer from the Lord to Peter and also to us is: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" (Jn 21: 22) In other word, now that you have said that you love me get on with it!

Second Sunday of Easter

Its time for Thomas to have his moment of glory. What is important here is not so much that he doubted the resurrection - surely that is a natural response to such a stupendous happening - rather that when presented with the truth he made the act of will to believe. Faith always takes courage. There was nothing to stop Thomas from asking for more scientific opinion or declaring that he was being confronted with a magic trick or some kind of fraud. The act of faith must always be a free one nevertheless we have an obligation in divine law to acknowledge the truth when we find it and adhere to it. In the 1983 Code of Canon Law 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.

Thomas used his freedom to embrace the truth that Jesus is risen and to believe in him. How do I use my freedom?

Easter Reflections

Easter Reflections by Fr Marcus Francis

Dear parishioners, visitors and people of goodwill

I hope you have a moment to read these reflections which I have composed to help us make sense of the Easter Triduum – the great three days of Easter. In them I hope you find an insight to locate the power of the Risen Christ in your own lives and so be refreshed in faith, hope and love this Easter. Mass is an encounter with the Christ whom we believe to be risen and his life is mediated to us both in the Word and Communion. May your visit to this church today be truly blessed no matter what  your stage of life or the state of your prayer life.

Holy Thursday

Much has been made of the decision by Pope Francis to wash the feet of people other than men on Holy Thursday. Some see it at as a challenge to tradition and in fact even to doctrine. I think we need to look closer at the situation before we jump to any conclusions. We have to remember that the liturgy has the ceremonial at the Vatican as its paradigm however this needs to be adjusted throughout the world according to legitimate variations. These variations take account of the options given by the liturgy itself or the circumstances in which individuals find themselves. For instance, what would a priest do when, as a chaplain to a convent of contemplative nuns, he is to celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper? Does this mean he cannot wash anyone’s feet because no men are present? We say that the Pope is servus servorum Dei – the Servant of the servants of God. This was a title claimed by Pope St Gregory the Great. The deacons are the ones in the church who have a special role, through ordination, of serving. The Pope traditionally would wash the feet of twelve deacons thus being the servant of the servants. The deacons being all men meant that the equivalent was asked of others in throughout the world would be to have twelve men. To my mind it has nothing to do with the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. It has more to do with how the priesthood is to be lived out. That is a challenge, in particular, to the ordained priests, as well as to all who are baptised and thus share in the priesthood of Christ. In this sense washing the feet of the humblest parishioners, men, women or children, would be the most suitable thing to do in our part of the world.

Good Friday

What a dark and terrible day! Jesus, the light of the world, is snuffed out. In his mission he preached that God would never forget us. He showed how God’s Kingdom was in fact very near to us and with his miracles that we need not be condemned to experience oppression, loss and sin forever. Jesus gave people hope. Now, after a period of brutal and terrfying violence Jesus, together with all the hope, he inspired in his followers is put to death. The Devil, frustrated during the Temptations in the Desert, now he has his hour. Not only that he is victorious. Sometimes, we come to those moments of irredeemable loss. It is important that we acknowledge them for what they are. This is because they tell us what life would be like without the Lord and the Resurrection. If you want to know what the existential experience of atheists ultimately is all you need to do is to enter the absurdity and suffering of Good Friday when the Lord had been taken down from the Cross and all was quiet on Calvary.

Easter Vigil

On the third day after the crucifixion, using the Jewish method of calculation, the despair of Good Friday is suddenly dispelled. Christ illuminates the darkness with a flame that can never be extinguished. He is Risen as he said! In this the disciples know him to be God because he did what only God could do. He opened the eyes of a man who had been born blind but now he opens up our eyes to the power, mercy and love of God which overcomes even the rejection of the crucifixion. This is the only explanation for the fact that the disciples who were ardent and committed Jews could ever think that a human being was God. The resurrection is amazing. The resurrection is miraculous. Come to think of it so is Creation. That things simply are rather than nothing at all continues to astonish us and yet here we are a part of it. In the same way the Resurrection is a new creation – the eighth day – when God does something new. It amazes us and astonishes us yet we are a part of the Resurrection and it is the life of the Risen Christ into which we have been baptised and thereby born into the promise of a life that has no end. Your presence at Mass is an act of gratitude for the gift of the resurrection and the acknowledgement of Christ’s power in your own life. He is Risen indeed, alleluia, alleluia!

Easter Sunday Morning

The Gospel for the Easter morning Mass comes from the Gospel according to John. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb overcome with grief. She had been at Calvary on Good Friday and now she has come to grieve privately at the tomb. To add insult to injury she finds that the tomb is empty. Not only has the Lord been put to death his body has been stolen as well! In that moment of profound sadness the Risen Christ appears to her. She does not recognise him until he calls her by name. Her response is to try to hold on to him but the Lord instructs her to tell the others. Sometimes in our lives we have to deal with sadness, grief and loss. Like Mary we return in our minds or even in person to the situation or emotion time and time again. We feel alone and seemingly abandoned by God and by others. As times goes past even the memories start to fade and the reality of that moment is taken away. All we have left is loss and sadness. In our faith, however, especially in the sacraments, the Risen Christ is there for us and his power is manifest. We may not realise it straight away but in time we see that it is the Lord who was carrying us all along just like in the well known parable of "Footprints." In that experience we are instructed not to hold onto the past or to remain in our grief rather we are to share our hope, faith and experience of grace with others. In this way our faith is both verified and our wound is healed. Mary was special because her faith led her to seek the Lord even after his death. She did not hide away in the Upper Room, like Peter, nor did she commit suicide like Judas. Perhaps we need some of her faith and perseverance to carry us through the trials and griefs in our life so we, too, will know the power of the resurrection and have the Lord call us by name.

Happy Easter everyone!

Palm Sunday

The beginning of Holy Week presents us with two dramas: the entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Passion (taken from the synoptic gospels according to the liturgical cycle). The first makes me think of how much has changed since jesus was presented in the Temple as a babe in arms and when he questioned the teachers at about twelve years old. He was familiar with Jerusalem and wept over its fate. He could tell that a terrible war would destroy the city as the Jewish people set themselves on collision course with the Romans. For his part he sets himself on a collission course with the Jewish authorities by entering the city using the action prophesied in Zechariah. It is this entry to the city that brings the simmering conflict to a head. In the following days he will teach in the Temple and provoke the rage of the Jewish authorities such that they hand him over to the Romans to be crucified. If I was in Jerusalem, in the time of Jesus, whose side would I have been on? When I reflect on my attitudes and prejudices do I live my life as a Pharisee, a Saducee, a Zealot, a member of the crowd, a disciple of the Lord or who? The way I live now and treat others is an indicator of how I would react in such a situation not knowing, of course, that Jesus would indeed rise from the dead as he predicted. In this Year of Mercy can I think of an action or actions of mercy I have consciously chosen to react to this time of grace? If i can then I am aligning myself with the Lord and Our Lady - allowing my heart to be transformed so that I imitate Christ and not some of the other attitudes that will be on display in the drama that we are about to re-enact in the liturgy.