28th Sunday C 12 October 2025 Sermon

28^th Sunday C     12 October 2025 Gratitude

If we are rescued from a crisis our gratitude will be greater according to the size of the crisis.

An acute  need draws all our attention. Everything else seems unimportant at that moment.

For example being lost, wanting to find a reference point. Or in a struggling aeroplane – we are grateful if we can find solid land again. In difficult situations we might pray to God for help; and we might promise God that if He gets us out of this trouble, we will be especially good for the future!

Such promises may not be kept, once the focus shifts to other things.

But in essence that is what we are doing all the time in relation to God. We are grateful to Him for creating us, saving us, guiding us - all for our benefit and from His generosity.

We have received many  blessings from God, but we do not necessarily value those blessings.

In the spiritual world it is possible to miss the various snares we face and so think we have no particular problem, when really we have.

We need to cultivate gratitude and let that gratitude lead us to better understanding.

Take the story of the unforgiving debtor. Forgiven a large amount of money he then went out to throttle the other servant who owed him only a small amount (Mt 18,21-35). The first servant was not grateful enough to make him see anything differently.

We could thank God day and night and for a long time, and we would not get to the end of the blessings.

God does not need our thanks but we need to give thanks. He has made us to live in relationship with him. If we ignore Him we are losing part of ourselves, stunted in spiritual growth.

The primary way we can express thanks to God is to take part in the Mass.

In every Mass the Church speaks as one in thanksgiving, and benefits from the experience.  The Father and the Son are in constant exchange of offering, receiving, thanking, and they include us in the experience. We are taken up into their world, and we need to be grateful for that.

At each Mass we thank God the Son for His death and resurrection. These events lift us out of sin and death, a problem we may not have known we had. But as we discover the mercy of God and how much He has forgiven (first debtor) we become more grateful.

The prayers of the Mass make continuous references to God’s goodness to us. The psalms in particular express this response, which we need to make our own. We say lots of words with our voices; the next step is to say them in our hearts. For example: Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord; praise the Lord, my soul. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.

Continuous praise and thanksgiving will melt hard hearts as we discover a new way of seeing things.

Finally, we will have a sense of gratitude proportionate for the magnitude of the occasion.

We realize what we could have lost, but we did not lose it; and here we are celebrating our union with God, and our hope of eternal life.

Each act of thanksgiving should make us more ready for the next one.

The one leper is immortalized because he came back to give thanks. We hope he stayed grateful. We hope we will ‘come back’ and stay grateful; it is a hope we can make certain.

 

 

27th Sunday C 5 October 2025 Sermon

 27^th Sunday C   5 October 2025 Obedience of faith

 “If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree, ‘Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. (Lk 17,6 Gospel)

Not many have that sort of faith, but we can move in that direction.

Our Lord expands the theme by likening it to a master-servant relationship.

Servants interpret everything in terms of what they must  do for the master.

The servant must obey the master at all times. So must we be on a permanent footing of obedience to our Master, Almighty God.

Obedience to a kind and just master will draw one closer to that master, in terms of wanting to please him, anticipating his wishes, making sacrifices for  his sake.

This is about us and our Master, Jesus Christ.

If we are obedient to Him He will entrust us with more (cf parable of talents – you have been faithful in small things, I will entrust you with greater Mt 25,14-30.)

God created us to share His life, to participate in His ruling of the earth.

The first man, Adam, enjoyed supernatural authority over creation. Had he not sinned he would have grown in faith and power, also love for God.

If the wind had been blowing too strongly, for example, Adam could have stilled the wind with a word (just as Jesus could calm the storm Mt 8,23-27).

We find ourselves a mixture of power which is still there, and power lost through sin.

If we would come back to a perfect relationship with God we would be working miracles too, or at least contributing to them.

The key is to obey, even if it is against our inclinations. If we do obey we will be coming into right order with God and all His creation.

Many have given up on prayer thinking that it does not ‘work’. It will work when the one praying makes a resolution to obey God in all things.

Increase our faith , say the apostles in today’s Gospel.

Every prayer, every good work can help us to grow in our understanding of God, and willingness to please Him.

This has to be every day. We are told in other spheres of life that we have to eat well, get enough sleep, enough exercise etc. Even more so, we have to get enough supernatural life - enough prayer, communing with the Divine, gradually coming into better relationship with all who seek union with God.

We make this world a place where God is taken seriously. This would be the ‘kingdom’ for which we pray.

We can tell God that we are not happy with the current state of affairs, provided we are humble and respectful. (today’s 1^st reading Hab 1,2-3 and 2,2-4). How long am I to cry for help, Lord, while You will not listen?

God does not tell us much, as in words we can hear. But He shows us a lot, leaving it for us to put two and two together, and adjust our position accordingly.

We are asking not because we are losing faith, but because we need help piecing it all together.

We know that the fault cannot be with God, so it must be somewhere else, maybe a lot of places, where God is not honoured.

Any way we can unravel the difficulties the better off everyone will be.

Just simple obedience will set things off in the right way. Do whatever He tells  you  (Jn 2,1-11).

And watch what happens! 

 

 

 

 

 

26th Sunday (C) 28 September 2025 Sermon

26^th Sunday (C ) 28 September 2025 Multiculturism.  Today is the 111^th world day of migrants and refugees, and we celebrate it here in this parish, combined with the main theme of the Jubilee year - Pilgrims of Hope.

In this parish we have a lot of evidence of different cultures blending harmoniously. We take the chance to pray for all the relevant and connected themes of the day.

That we can all live in peace is a constant prayer. Whenever we look at any country or region we see too many signs of discord.

Everyone should treat everyone with respect, but it does not always happen. Through our prayer we express the hope that it can be done differently; that the change brought about in the human condition by the coming of Christ will penetrate hearts and change will result at the ground level.

The place to start is to recognize the common humanity which binds us, either in an already established peace, or in a peace which is waiting to be realised.

St Paul tells us that now there is no Jew or Greek, but only Christ (Ga 3,28).

Christ made us one, and can keep us one if enough people will unite themselves with Him.

We can speak of two things that need to happen.

One, as we have been saying, is that we learn to live in peace, so that no matter how many people are in one area they can learn to get along.

Two, is that as many as possible, and potentially the whole world, can come to an explicit complete union with Our Lord Jesus Christ, through faith and baptism. This is the source of unity that St Paul was speaking about.

We offer to those of other religions, or no religion, the greatest gift of all – the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the pearl of great price (Mt 13,45-46), for which we should give up all we have.

Our primary method of influencing others to believe in Christ is to be the very best disciples we can be.

We are to be Pilgrims of Hope, one of the main themes of the Jubilee year.

We can achieve peace (important) through faith, hope and charity (even more important).

Christ is the overall source of culture, if we take ‘culture’ to mean the way people live, the way they set values, make decisions.

We can still celebrate our differences on less essential matters. So nations have different customs on matters of art, literature, food, clothing, music, language, history, geography, sport etc.

Being Christian does not mean we have to be the same on all points. As long as we have that unity with Jesus Christ we can then expand into other areas, never losing our focus on Him.

We are one when we need to be, and diverse when appropriate, but never forgetting where all this richness comes from.

We become more like Him, and meet in the middle, where He is found.

Mentally it is easy to see that we are all one, or should be, but who is going to live like that?

We have to forgive everyday, seeking a standard of holiness which is demanding but also rewarding.

History has been pushed out of shape many times, and the world we have now is very different from that which Christ would have wanted for us. But such is the marvel of God's mercy that from any position on the spectrum He can forgive us and give us a new start.

Genuine repentance, seeking the approval of God is the key. Always we are saying, Lord have mercy. Always He is granting it. Today, may He forgive all sins against unity in Him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

25th Sunday C 21 September 2025 Sermon

 25 C 25 Taking part   21 September 2025

When I was at school they would say to sporting teams, it is not whether you win or lose but whether you take part.

I don’t think anyone believed that very strongly. But it did make a  valid point.

To do something well for its own sake regardless of other results, must have a place in human wisdom. Better to finish second in a strong field than to win in a weak field.

We might understand that God values our ‘taking part’ more than the result of what we do.

Mother Teresa said once that the important thing is not whether we have succeeded in life, but whether we have loved.

God would agree. He can make things happen at will; He does not need our input. But He wants that input from us so we can give Him something.

God could make a road, build a bridge, rain down food from heaven, much better than we could do it, but if we do those things with a desire to please Him, that is what He wants from us.

The second reading: I want the men to lift their hands up reverently in prayer, with no anger or argument. It is not so much the achievements of the governing body but whether or not they responded to prayer.

We pray that they do respond, and this is the Kingdom of Heaven coming into operation.

What does a government have to do but keep good order, enabling God's will to come into operation?

Many earthly governments forget that they are answerable to a higher  authority and so they try to ‘win’ rather than ‘take part’. They  have forgotten the God who made them, who has made the whole of reality.

God says that He does not require any more bullocks or sacrifices. He owns all the bullocks anyway! (Ps 50,11)

What He wants from us is our sincere worship, to express our humble dependence upon Him, and let whatever society emerges from that.

We do our best, but always submitting to God's greatness over us.

We give everything to God in trust that He will know what to do.

Or as Jesus said to Peter : do you love Me? (Jn 21,15) After all the miracles, all the sermons, all the healings the question that remained : do you love Me? This is what God wants from us.

We may be talented, or clever, but do we love God? Again it comes back to a very simple matter.

We are like children before God.

Sometimes people expect God to intervene and make everything go right. He does not have to do that. Things are already going right if people are seeking to please God.

The universe has a direction after all. It is not a random meaningless process, but watched over by God at all times, intervening to teach us what matters most to Him.

This understanding should help us handle all the different parts of our lives . such as the pursuit of money alluded to in the other readings.

We don’t need so much money if we have trust in God.

God would have us use all our resources for the collective good of all, so that everyone has enough to eat, and other necessities.

Again the simplicity is evident. If we seek to pile up so much money that we do not need God, then we come to grief like the rich man who built bigger barns (Lk 12,16-21)

So that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet (Second reading, 1 Tim 2,2)

Exaltation of the Holy Cross 14 September 2025 Sermon

Exaltation of the Cross 14.9.25

God can do things differently than we would have expected. And the Cross is at the forefront of those things.

In the Cross of Jesus Christ God is giving us a lesson for which we probably did not ask.

In human wisdom we usually look for the shortest way to get from the problem to the solution.

If we are to try to understand God's ways, we need to know His main objectives. With regard to us (humans) God seeks to save and sanctify. To save means to rescue from all forms of evil and sin. To sanctify means to cleanse at the deepest level of a person – the heart and the will.

We might settle for feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless  - treating the exterior, not worrying what the person is like.. (Much like governments do; they do not explore the spiritual element.) But God does get into that element, and wants to take us there too.

And strangest of all is that God has sent His Son. Why would you send you son from the peace of heaven to a barbaric tribe, knowing that he will be tortured humiliated killed etc… and the people did not ask for it, and would be content to settle for just the external matters, like food and health.

God is fixed in His purpose. He comes among us, is taken for a slave and put to death, offering eternal life to any who will express gratitude and loyalty to Him. He will not push away anyone who sincerely seeks Him.

He seeks to waken in us a level that we may not know we had, a level of charity which comes direct from the heart of God, and comes through to those who are joined to Him.

We can imitate something of the style of Jesus’ actions, if not the same intensity.

Thus we become people of the cross. Willing to lay down our lives, or at least to endure ridicule and persecution, for the motive of saving and sanctifying others (not excluding ourselves).

This is our glory as spiritual beings; that we share in heavenly ways.

People wonder why does God not make it easier, more obvious, but He leads them instead to something deeper.

If we can hold off from trying to kill the Son (Mt 21,38) we will discover great joy in expressing the charity of Christ to those around us.

The Cross is a frequent reminder to us of all that is going on here. What sort of a god would do that? The one who actually exists. It is a surprise but we can get used to it.

God could  have done differently, and done things more in line with worldly wisdom.

He could have come off the cross; could have risen sooner; could have performed non- stop miracles in front of everyone.

Instead He gives us a way of pondering and seeing where His actions apply to us.

We need to remember that we have been sent and we will be called in to give an account of  ourselves. (Rom 14,12) We can forget this because it is not usually a visible part of our lives.

Today’s feast restores us to the proper vision. It is harder to take the spiritual view, but much more rewarding.

1 O cross of Christ, immortal tree on which our Saviour died,
the world is sheltered by your arms that bore the crucified.

2 From bitter death and barren wood the tree of life is made;
its branches bear unfailing fruit and leaves that never fade.

3 O faithful cross, you stand unmoved while ages run their course:
foundation of the universe, creation's binding force.

4 Give glory to the risen Christ and to his cross give praise,
the sign of God's unfathomed love, the hope of all our days.

(Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal)

The Sorrows of Mary (a reflection)

 The Sorrows of Mary (feast 15 September) 

 The prophecy of Simeon. (St. Luke 2:34, 35)

The flight into Egypt. (St. Matthew 2:13, 14)

The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. (St. Luke 2: 43-45)

The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross.

The Crucifixion.

The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross.

The burial of Jesus.

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The last four of the sorrows deal with Our Lord's death, the first three with the earlier years.

The last three sorrows coincide with the last three stations.

All mothers feel the pain that their children feel. Mary felt the pain a million times more – having more capacity to love, and having more to weep about, given that Christ is more important than any other child.

The invitation/challenge for us is to see how much we can identify with her sorrow: Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ’s dear Mother to behold?

We are aware of the sensation we can have in following a story about other people, where there is suffering involved. It actually does us good, because it opens our hearts to a greater compassion. It takes us out of ourselves, for a while at least. We are less worried than usual about ourselves and what happens next.

This is especially so with this story of Mary and Jesus. The more fully we enter it the more we are going to be transformed, not just in how we feel, but actually becoming more charitable, better people.

Is there one who would not weep? Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that Mother’s pain untold?

We would need to have hearts of stone not to be affected by the sight.

We can be very stony in our disregard of other people’s sufferings, because we think we have already enough for ourselves.

We can even be indignant at our own troubles, declaring life to be unfair. We can break free from these attitudes with enough contemplation of higher things, such as the sorrows of Mary.

We can do ourselves a lot of good, but we can also help Mary and Jesus, by helping them carry the load. And also help them to convey their love out to the world.

We might think we cannot do much good, but each person that comes onside is changing the overall balance.

We become more willing to help others in need, and less likely to cause harm ourselves.

Through sorrow we learn the pain that is caused by sin, and the need that we have to overcome sin, and transform it by love.

This is the key: we do not want to kill sinners but turn them into good people. This, at least, is what God wants, and He wants us to take on His view of others.

This is something good that comes from the Cross, even though it is an event that should not have happened.

The love of Jesus and Mary, called into action by the cruelty of man - then comes to help man stop being cruel!

We share in this transforming, ourselves becoming less ‘cruel’ (generally nasty), and more useful in extending the power of the cross to the world around us.

The world is still crucifying Him, or would do so again if He let them. They do not care about Him now for the same reasons as then.

We have to go against the tide and be with Mary - eyes fixed on the cross. If there are tears they are tears of hope not despair; hope that all this suffering will turn to joy.

Our Lady of Sorrows, help us to take our part in these great matters.

22nd Sunday (C) 31 August 2025 Sermon

22^nd Sunday C  31August 2025 Humility

There  are layers of meaning in this parable (the dinner guests Lk 14,7-14).

At the simplest level we would exercise good manners and not push in above our status. And if in doubt, yes we would take the lower place. Much like we let someone else go through the door ahead of us. After you!

At another level we could see the seating model as a more general expression of how we deal with life and other people.

The arrogant and the bullying will see everything in selfish terms and use other people as seems expedient.

The humble of heart will be prepared to give way to others, even if they (the humble) have higher claims. Other factors may have to be considered but the essence of humility will always be present.

Christians should not be afraid to use their talents, but always with deference to God, His wisdom and power.

The follower of Christ must have a share in His humility, never forgetting the communal nature of the Church. We seek the benefit of all, including ourselves, but always aware of belonging to something bigger than just ourselves. This is ‘loving one another’(Jn 13,34).

Then we can take things to a wider level still, applying this image of the dinner guests to our overall relationship with Almighty God.

God has made many different types of creatures, but only to angels and humans has He given the privilege of communicating directly with Him.

All other creation is irrational, not having the power to reflect on things, to praise God, to ask for favours etc.

Having this privilege of communication with God means that we have the ability to reject Him. This is what many of the angels did, turning into demons instead.

And it means for us humans that we can commit sin, something which the animals cannot do.

Why would we want to pit ourselves against God? Well, we do not usually put it in such plain terms, but when we sin we are putting our own will ahead of God's will. Whatever we call it, or think we are doing, we are not being humble at that point!

Pride is at the root of all sinful behaviour; it is trying to take the highest place from God Himself.

If we really humble ourselves before God, we will be prepared to trust His holy will over our own.

If God wants things a certain way, and I want them another way, who is more likely to be right?

Of course, it will always be God who knows best, both as to my interests and for the overall situation, how others are affected. This applies to everything, large or small. God knows what needs to happen.

We place ourselves at the lowest point of His table and wait for further instructions.

The humblest person to have ever lived was also the best person, Our Lady.

God was able to work through her because she offered Him no resistance. Be it done unto me according to thy word (Lk 1,38)

Imagine if there were more people like that. Imagine if most people were like that!. With less resistance to the will of God the world would start to be unrecognisable. It would start to look like the kingdom of God.

By the grace of God we can be part of that humble response. If we are humble enough to obey God readily, we can then be entrusted with more (Mt 25,21 the faithful servant).

We thank God for giving us the power to choose, but we also ask Him for the wisdom to choose the right way, hoping to hear the words from today’s Gospel, Friend, come up higher (Lk 14,10).