Christ the King 23 November 2025 Sermon

 Christ the King         23  November 2025 Uniqueness of Christ

Today, Christ the King, a feast of Jesus Christ who is uniquely and in every sense the Creator and Saviour of the world, the whole operation. Save us, Saviour of the world.

There are many shining lights, only one which ultimately leads home.

It is the uniqueness of Christ that we must grasp. We have to make a choice, but there really is no choice. It is either Him or no one.

We should honour Him, obey, even worship. We don’t worship the prime minster and premier! With God it is a different matter. We ‘worship’ when we express His worth.

He is the source of all perfections, all beauty, all truth, justice, mercy, and all that is good.

He is King by virtue of being God, and therefore in charge of everything.

He is King by virtue of His perfect humanity, whereby He has overcome every obstacle and established a new humanity in Himself.

There is a solution and He is it! He is not popular with everyone. Some want to deny Him out of hatred (coming from the devil); others out of neglect; they know what is right but cannot raise the commitment necessary.

Humans have conferences to work out what to do. There is a place for meeting and talking, but often God is excluded from the equation. It is as though He has no place in His own universe!

Affirm He is there, and even pray to Him, and we will see a lot of problems solved.

Acknowledge His greatness and imitate Him where we can such as humility.

It is not like an earthly king to die for his people.

The biggest difference between Jesus and other kings - charity and  humility, and the power to make their subjects into sources of power.

This feast was established 100 years ago in the hope that it would draw the world back to its origins and to restore all things in Christ. 

We worry about things like peace on earth, justice for all, everyone living in dignity, with enough income and resources to do that.

Particularly earthly leaders must acknowledge His superiority, which they are not good at, if we look at history.

Denial of Christ poisons everything. Restore him to His true place, and when enough people recognize His authority there is no more war or other disorders. The streets will be safe; the lamb and the wolf will lie down together (Is 11,6)

We can still have the structures of our society such as business and industry and all the things which go to make up normal life; it is just that everything must be compatible with Christ and His values.

Jesus is not just a concept or a set of ethics, but a real person - just much better and stronger than usual. If we attach ourselves to Him we cannot fail.

He will give us the grace to cope and flourish, even in a negative environment.

It is up to us to imitate the King; to be good and do good. Each day we renew our commitment to Him. With new insight we say often, Thy Kingdom come.

 

 

33rd Sunday C 16 November 2025

33^rd Sunday C   16 November 2025 Punishment

Jesus is on the one hand saying we should not get too excited about things which look like the end, but are really just normal. Like we always have wars, floods, trouble etc.

So we should not be overly anxious about the things going on around us, but just get on with living our lives in the best possible way (cf second reading: don’t be idle).

On the other hand He is telling us not to be so relaxed about things that we forget the passing nature of this life, and that all we see around us will eventually be dismantled.

The reason that Jesus lets these things change, or puts before us these reminders, is to bring us to trust in Him.

No matter what we cling to here on earth it will not last forever, so we had better cling to Him who does last forever.

This is the essence of the message, the constant theme.

Money will not save us. Friends will not save us. Popularity, power, good looks, past achievements... all these, like the temple stones will be dismantled, but Jesus Christ remains.

God does not have good and bad moods. There is no good side or bad side to God. He is all good (cf James 1,17). Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13,8).

Humanity must take the blame for what is often attributed to God.

Had we never sinned we would have paradise conditions already.

When God allows us to suffer it is to purify us  to think the right way as to what we want. We are purified from false gods which distract and confuse us.

The real God is ignored. The real God says, I must help these people to know Me.

So He allows the sufferings, and many people will come to repentance. God sees the potential goodness in each person, and wants to bring that goodness out.

God does not give up and will challenge us to seek Him.

So why are we not just good all time? Not so easy if we are out of practice; but then not so difficult if we do keep focused on the main event, and make small strides forward.

We learn to put God first. To us it can seem harsh but that is only because our values are distorted. We have been telling God what He is allowed to do or not – it needs to be the other way round.

The predictions and prophecies we will encounter in the next few weeks are conditional on our response. God will hold back on the punishment if we can demonstrate we do  not need it. The temple would not have been destroyed if the Israelites had been obedient.

The theme of Advent which approaches: It is not as hard as we make it!

We  pray for each other, and the dead, that everyone can make advance on wherever they are And they will pray for us, once they experience the kindness of God fully enough.

The cycle of threatened punishment, repentance, then falling away again, then more threatened punishment – it goes on century after century. We need God's help to break out of the cycle.

There has been a lot of progress; souls have been saved; Christian teaching has reached many places, but still there is so far to go.

Everyone can agree there is much wrong with the world (senseless violence, poverty, sexual immorality, abortions etc) but not yet have enough people seen the clear solution: There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1,29).

 

 

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica 9 November 2025 Sermon

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica      9 November 2025 Unity

Our Lord Himself prayed for the unity of His disciples, as we see in John 17,21… that they may all be one.

He must have been looking into the future when He prayed that prayer! What a tangle we have made of it, dividing and subdividing in so many ways, thousands of groups.

Only God can answer His own prayer. Father, may they all be one. He will not force us but He will make the way clear.

Today’s feast reminds us that God does value the unity of His disciples.

The Lateran Basilica is the Cathedral church of Rome. Rome is our spiritual centre, so its cathedral represents the unity of the Catholic Church, worldwide.

Have we kept that unity? Partially, imperfectly. The rest of the process we are still praying for!

Unity stems from Christ Himself. He founded the Church to be a visible link with Himself. And a source of sacramental help. Those who belong to this Church are united with Him and with each other, and will be nourished by the Good Shepherd.

Our Lord said He would found the Church on rock and now we have become a big rock. Not, however, a rock that is meant to crush, but to be a foundation on which we can stand. (Eph 2,20).

The existence of the Church gives us a secure foundation for our individual lives. Without the Church we would not know Jesus Christ. It was the Church that gave us the Bible. It was the Church that has preached and taught the Gospel in every age since the time of Christ.

It is the Church that guides us on matters of belief and practice.

Many challenge the Catholic Church’s claim to teach the truth. We do not make this claim out of any sense that we are better or smarter than other people; only that Our Lord has guaranteed that the Holy Spirit would guide the Church in all important matters. He will teach you all things (Jn 16,13).

This is divine activity not human. We do not claim credit for it; we simply recognize the action of God when He does act.

We can have cultural differences regarding clothes, food, music and the like. We can have different personal preferences, for all sorts of things.

But we cannot have different beliefs when it comes to basic doctrines and practices, things which determine whether we are still with Him, or against Him.(Mt  12,30)

We use our intellect to see why the Church teaching is true. We will never win an argument with God! We can come around to seeing the truth and the value of all His teachings.

We do not always practise what we preach. Should we change the preaching or the practise? We cannot change the word of God, but we can grow in our understanding of that word, and with God's help put it into practice.

Today, we gather around the one altar, offering one perfect sacrifice to the Father.

The splendour of many of our churches expresses the love for God that we wish to achieve and give back to Him. We can worship in a stable, but if we have the means we also beautify our churches as an aid to prayer and an inspiration to do good.

May He accept our humble praise from this church on this day. May He grant the prayer that Christ Himself made: that we all be one!

All Souls Day 2 November 2025 Sermon

All Souls Day 2 November 2025

If you are going to Buckingham palace you would make sure you behave a bit better than usual.  And put on your best clothes.

What if you could go to heaven for half an hour? Even more so we would want to be as clean as possible, to do justice to the occasion.

We have to make a transition from earth to heaven. We are not ready for heaven, insofar as nothing imperfect can enter there. And who among us is perfect?

We need and we want to grow in our love for God. He loves us certainly, but do we love Him?

We are not sure how much we love God, but whatever the amount it can always be increased. By prayer, sacraments, obedience, service, making Him known to others. etc

So we shed the sin and its effects and we prepare for Heaven, our true home. This is a liberating thing, because we discover our true selves as we discover God.

Can we help each other to grow in the love of God?  This is how All Souls works. We become conscious of our corporate identity. We make up the Body of Christ, and that body is powerful, doing good to all who belong, or are seeking their way.

A healthy body will help the sick member to recover. So in faith the more the Church seeks to love God, the more grace and mercy will act on others.

We never stop searching for God and even in Heaven we will behold him, but not fully comprehend. We cannot know everything about an infinite being.

We are made to know love and serve God. This is built into us and must be embraced, no matter what other worthy pursuits we may have.

For the vitality of the Church we need many members activating the grace that God is seeking to shower upon us. What we do here will help people all over the world, and in purgatory too.

The dead need our prayers in case they did not reach their full potential in their earthly life.

We pray for them, that if they need to perfect their love for God, or to remove any remnants of sin, it will happen. The prayers of the Church will assist and accelerate the process.

What is bad can be made good, what is good can be better.

We pray for all faithful departed. They need it, and we do it.

We might need others to pray for us when we die.

The dead cannot do much on their own behalf; they have to rely on others to pray for them.  Their situation could be likened to being trapped under rubble and not able to move; but others can pull you out. You meanwhile feel your predicament but have hope you will be released.

But sometimes people might be left without any help, so we pray for the lost souls, the least loved of all, as well as those we know and love.

The crucial point to resolve is how much we love God. We don’t compare with others, except by way of being inspired by good example. We strive to reach God, like a drowning man reaching out for whatever can keep him afloat.

Purgatory has that sense of holy desperation, where the longing is painful but also sweet. Like we have on earth only much more intense.

The Church gives us one special day (All Souls) and one special month (November), but every day we mention the faithful departed. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. Lest we forget.

30th Sunday C 26 October 2025 Sermon

30th Sunday C    26 October 2025 Humility

The readings today present us with a closer look at a very important quality, namely humility.

Humility is not just putting oneself down, for example saying that I am no good at anything. It is not so much about what is wrong with me as what is right with  God. Not so much my weakness as His strength.

It is God's perfections which make us humble, as we realize we are a long way short of what He is (like an insect comparing itself to a mountain).

We are humbled as we consider that one so great can find  time for my conversation. World leaders would  not be so interested in my life as God Himself is!

We are dust and ashes by comparison but confidently expect to be glorified one day. To dust we shall return but after that we will rise in glory.

But all the while staying humble, because this would  not happen without God, who thought of the whole thing and watches over its progress.

We follow Our Lady who saw herself as the lowest of the low yet marvelled that God would lift her  so that all ages would call her blessed. Her humility can be likened to a very clean window letting in the full sunlight.  Or a clearing of a path of obstacles, enabling the entry of something desirable. Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

If we should take a false step and forget our humble status we become distorted and all manner of irregular things happen. The fallen angels thought they were equal to God or maybe better.

We can learn from the publican  God, be merciful to me a sinner. (Lk 18,13)

That’s all he said and all it needed. The prayer was probably better for being short, as even prayer can be a source of pride, as we see with the pharisee.

To find our true status is the necessary goal. We interpret everything that happens in terms of God's view of things, not our own view.

If a particular decision has to be made, or attitude adopted, or outcome to be sought – it is to God that we look. Thy will be done!  God's will is better for me than to follow my own will.

The prayer of the humble man will pierce the clouds (Sir 35,21) first reading). Humility will get further than pride because it is more harmonious with God. It is a meeting of like with like and will bring forth even better still.

Humility is power, a shock reversal of worldly thinking where military and economic might are considered the source of power.

Stalin is supposed to have said; how many divisions does the pope have? Meaning military strength. The humble Church will triumph over its persecutors. We can win another way.

When we click into our exact place with God, we will see miracles coming, good things happening, bad things averted.

Especially is this so when several people do this. A family, a parish, a diocese, the Church – all can do this. And be like the publican, in humble bearing.

The message is frequent through the New Testament – Clothe yourselves in humility: Ephesians 4:2

Colossians 3:12  believers should be completely humble, gentle, and patient, bearing with one another in love.

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself".

1 Peter 5:6 encourages, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time". 

And Our Lady herself: ‘He has brought down the proud and raised the lowly.’ (Lk 1, 52)

May she help us to be truly humble and contrite before the majesty of God: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.

29th Sunday C 19 October 2025 Sermon

 29 C  19 October 2025 Persistent Prayer

 The course of a battle depends on whether one man has his arms raised or not! A strange story (today’s first reading: Ex 17,8-13) but one which affirms the power and the importance of prayer.

In an age which looks for practical solutions and is impatient with prayer, the word of God reminds us that prayer is the beginning and end of all human activity.

Moses’ prayer has a direct, visible effect on the course of the battle. It is not always so obvious when we pray, but the same principle is always at work.

When we pray we are bringing the power and the love of God into action at the scene of our prayer.

And, yes, there is still a battle going one. The battle is at the spiritual level, between good and evil. God and Satan are fighting over which one will possess us for all eternity.

It is a furious battle and one which is mostly invisible, but no less real for that.

And being an invisible battle, it is easy for us to be distracted from attention to it.

Moses could see what happened when he prayed, and when he stopped praying. We are not so fortunate to see the results so clearly.

But we need to understand that while our arms are lifted up in prayer the forces of good are making progress, and if we relax our efforts and become complacent, the forces of evil make progress.

The prayer has to be continuous, and persistent. Like the widow in the Gospel (Lk 18,1-8), we keep knocking on the door of heaven. Lord help us, save us.

Even when there is nothing in particular going wrong, that we can see, we keep praying because the battle is still raging.

We might think of our prayer as an individual matter. I have said my prayers for today.

But think of a soldier going into battle. He does not say: I’ve fired my bullets for today, so now I can relax. He knows that while he is out there on the battlefield he is involved and committed, and must keep shooting.

This is our position. It is not bullets we fire, but prayer, while keeping a constant state of alertness. It is hard to keep up this attitude, but the Church itself helps us.

Just as Aaron and Hur help up Moses’ arms, so the whole Church holds us up when we grow tired.

Of course, we must sleep and rest, and must attend to other things. But somewhere in the world, someone is praying while we rest. The Church is always at prayer. There is always a Mass going on somewhere, always a rosary being said.

This is comforting, but we always need more prayer and more intensity.

Given some of the issues we face in our time, we cannot just rest with a few short prayers before we go to bed. We have some major problems on our hand and need to bring them to some serious prayer.

What about the young people? What about all the lapsed Catholics? The abortions? The divorces, the suicides, the drugs, the disasters, the terrorism.... and on and on.

There are more things to pray about than we have minutes in the day. No one person can address them all, but the more time and energy we do put into our prayer the better things will get.

We support each other here in this church, in this parish. It is easy to be discouraged, to give up, to feel alone. But see the tide of battle turning and realize that you could be part of that, as courage and energy return.

May the Lord sustain us in our prayer, as we call upon Him.

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.