Christ the King 27 Oct 2019 Sermon

Christ the King 27.10.19 Christ supreme

This feast was instituted in 1925 by Pope Pius XI to reassert that the human race was not doing very well on its own, but if they were to give God His true place they would do much better.

Events at that time, and many other times, show how badly humans run the world when they do not heed God. (Some people think they can do better!)

The Pope’s idea probably has not been successful, insofar as there has been an even further turning away from the one true God, but he was right all the same.

The reaffirmation of Christ as ruling the world can be seen in two aspects, concerning faith and morality – what we believe and how we live; or theory and practice.

Regarding Faith: we acknowledge that there is a God over us who is infinitely good and powerful and who is in possession of every detail.

This is something we should factor in, if only because it makes sense to take account of all angles.

But also we owe it to God in gratitude for creating and saving us; and with that we owe Him worship, as an infinitely superior Being. We praise people when they do well; why not God? We acknowledge beauty when we see it; why not God?

Regarding Morality: If we did let Christ run the world what would it look like? People would be kind and gracious to each other all day long and in every place!

That is so far from our familiar reality that we might dismiss the idea as fantasy. Our Lord said the Kingdom is like a mustard seed: it grows until it becomes a large tree.

Qualities like charity can be in short supply, but like the seed they can increase. The Kingdom grows when individuals and communities take up the Lord’s example, calling upon His grace.

It is not fantasy; just still developing.

It is our role to help the Kingship of Christ take stronger hold in our world.

We must live like Christ even if no one else does. We should learn from Our Lord all that He demonstrated to us, and imitate Him in His kindness, humility, charity, mercy etc. He revealed what God is like.

If we are to have Him as King we must live the way He has set down.

So what does the human race usually do about all this? Act as though God does not exist, and if He does exist then He is wrong about how we should live (He is too ‘strict’!)

They change His laws, declaring them to be out of date. They certainly do not worship Him.

This does not change God's status or viewpoint; it just means the human race is piling up more trouble, and potential punishment.

We cannot control most of what people decide, but we can go some way to reversing the downward slide. We can make Christ present where we are; and we can help atone for the sins of the world.

It has to be a grass-roots movement, coming from below, because it must come from individual hearts and minds. It is not something that can be legislated into existence.

People will ignore laws that they think have nothing to do with them. But if they can be personally convinced of Christ’s importance then they will take notice. Such personal conviction could come in different ways – but every soul is in need of it.

We can help by doing our bit to lift the general tone of human behaviour.

And by reparating some of the damage done by so much sin over so many years.

Let us live in full acknowledgment of Christ the King, and in imitation of Him; that His virtues may be in us, and His kingdom among us.

19th Sunday after Pentecost 20 Oct 2019 Sermon

19^th Sunday after Pentecost 20.10.19 Challenge

We speak of the heavenly banquet, one image of Heaven.

It is an appealing vision, to be at a banquet, able to eat and drink all we want, freed from all our usual anxieties.

The Mass also can be called a banquet, where we are fed something of far greater benefit than any earthly banquet could give us.

To these banquets we are invited, but with the invitation comes a challenge.

We cannot merely enjoy ourselves just yet; there is work to be done.

That work could be described as the whole range of what it means to be a disciple of Our Lord, a child of God, a member of His Church.

It means we have to keep the commandments, choose good over evil whenever there is such a choice.

It means we have to love our neighbours, forgive our enemies, look after those in need, give thanks constantly to God, trust in God at all times, try to convince others of the rightness of these matters.

This last point is extending the invitation to the banquet to others.

There are a thousand points and sub-points which spring from all these things.

Taken all together they are the ‘work’ that Our Lord asks of us when He issues the invitation to follow Him, to take up our cross daily in His service.

We are not just passengers on this train; we are working as well!

If we come to Jesus Christ we get a whole deal. Sins are forgiven, we are transformed , filled with his charity and other virtues and we are being sent out whatever that might mean for each person.

The man without the wedding garment had accepted the invitation but not the challenge. He was not of one mind with the host, meaning Christ.

If we seek simply to take the benefits that Christ offers, without exerting ourselves in any way, then we run the risk of losing everything.

When we truly encounter the mercy of Christ we will spontaneously want to live by the new understanding that we have just received.

St Matthew, on being called by Our Lord, immediately invited his friends around to share his joy (Mt 9,9-13). And no doubt some of them would have been converted as well. Zacchaeus, a similar story, wanted to pay back fourfold whatever he had stolen (Lk 19,1-10). The woman who washed His feet with her tears was showing gratitude for mercy received (Lk 7,36-50).

This is how we know whether we have accepted the Lord’s invitation or not; are we in some way transformed by the encounter with Him?

We will want to be active in God's service, as we consciously rise above our previous faults and sins.

So the invitation always includes the challenge. We accept both.

We will want to know love and serve Him, not to break out on our own agenda.

God is not to be sidelined or relegated to somewhere down the list. He must be the first we are seeking to please.

Many do not see that; all the more reason why those who do see it must exert ourselves in putting His will into effect (thus the Challenge).

We thank God for creating us, for inviting us to share in His glory; for challenging us to work in His service, until we can finally partake of that Banquet that has no end.

18th Sunday after Pentecost 13 Oct 2019 Sermon

18^th Sunday after Pentecost 13.10.19  St John Newman

Today is the anniversary of the final Fatima apparition, with the miracle of the sun (1917). And also today is the canonisation of John Henry Newman.

As regards Fatima the miracle is as real as ever, but somehow has lost some of its impact with the general public. This is part of the folly of human nature to let the passing of time dull our perception of important matters.

Even miracles can be forgotten. See the Israelites who witnessed all sorts of miracles – the ten plagues upon Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from Heaven, winning battles against the odds. Yet they would constantly lapse back into sin and idolatry.

As soon as we get used to something we can take it for granted. In areas prone to earthquake the people who live there don’t react unless it rattles more than usual!

People can adapt even to punishment, or threats thereof - anything but repent!

The human race is generally not good at repenting, or at sticking with it when they do.

So we take advantage of anniversaries to remind us to heed the words and signs which come from Heaven.

Fortunately, many have recognized the call to conversion and give us good example. Today we have one such person brought to our attention.

John Henry Newman was one to think deeply about God's dealings with us, and was prepared to live by the truth he would uncover.

He was willing to do this to an heroic level having to withstand criticism and ridicule, while single-mindedly pursuing the will of God.

He was an Englishman, 1801-1890, a brilliant scholar, who converted from Anglican to Catholic in an era when such an action was very unpopular. The issue was compounded because Newman was such a good writer and speaker that he influenced many others to follow.

It is commonly said today that it does not matter much what you believe as long as you are living a good life.

We would not say the same about people we love, being content with just a vague notion of who they are. No, Love seeks knowledge of the beloved, not just treating them as abstract notions.

Further, the right beliefs are more likely to produce the right behaviour.

Further again, we are protected from error by staying within the Church. It is very draughty if we step outside the Church’s protective authority.

John Newman gives us an example of making a real conversion and sticking with it. He would not let the passing of time take the edge off his convictions. He kept everything up to date – belief and practice.

We must do the same – clarify our beliefs, study them where possible; believe and live them – whether that makes us popular or not.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13,8). He draws us all to Himself, to live in truth and charity, in theory and practice.

Many are indifferent to God or are trying to hide from Him. We do not hide; we look for Him! It does not need a miracle of the sun to capture our attention; we are looking for Him anyway.

Dramatic moments can help, however. Imagine standing in that muddy field at Fatima and thinking you have seconds to live. What would you do? Of course, call out for mercy.

Well, let us do that anyway; because there is always that need. Mercy, Grace, Conversion – to a better life than we have been living, a better world than we have seen so far.

Short-term changes to weekday Mass programme

St Monica’s Church will be unavailable for weekday Masses from Monday 14^th October to approximately Saturday 30^th November 2019, due to renovation of the car park.

Sunday Mass will continue as normal at 8am St Monica’s each week.

Weekday Masses will be offered at Sacred Heart Church, Hindmarsh as follows:

Mon    No Mass

Tue    7am

Wed  7am

Thu   No Mass

Fri    7am

Sat  7am

Any changes to this programme will be noted on this website: luxvera.blogspot.com/

 God bless.

17th Sunday after Pentecost 6 Oct 2019 Sermon

17^th Sunday after Pentecost 6.10.19 Commandments

We can think of commandments as a burden – Oh, we have to do this and we have to avoid that – and this may be the opposite of what we feel.

It is possible to see God as a hard taskmaster, as someone who is giving out orders, and then punishing if not obeyed. This is not how He wants us to see Him.

God's commandments express His mind; they are what He would do if He were living  a human life on earth (which is just what He did do, in the person of Our Lord). He would not kill or steal or lie etc. And He would show great care for His neighbour, and forgive those who offended Him etc.

What He would or would not do is how the Commandments were formed. This is where they come from.

If we break a commandment we are acting in a way that is alien to God, contrary to His nature or will.

However, knowing this, we can still find it difficult to keep the Commandments.

Even if we want to keep them we just cannot do it, or we think we cannot. There is just not enough fuel in the tank to get us as far as we need to go, we would say.

It may be natural to God but we seem to struggle. It is no great effort for Him; all He is doing is what His nature dictates. It is what He is, what He does – He is like that.

Everything about God is in perfect harmony. All that is true, good and beautiful comes from Him.

Keeping commandments is along the same line. Simply draw from the truth and apply it in each case.

This is how we need to be, such that goodness comes automatically from a well-adjusted nature.

This is how divine nature works, and human nature is supposed to work. We are still in for repairs, even after 2000 years!

We are being reformed to see as God sees, to want what He wants; so that there is no more tension or friction between what we want and what we do. No teeth-gritting obedience, but freely and joyfully, from the heart.

We are no longer going against the grain; now we are living as we were designed. We are like birds in flight, or fish in water.

This is what it means to love God with our whole heart and soul (Gospel). It means that we are at one with Him in what we want and what we will do. A state of perfect union is what we call Love.

  

Loving neighbour works the same way. We come to see the other person as God sees him.

Our initial reactions of resentment, anger etc give way as we take on more of God's nature.

When Jesus was crucified He did not resent the people crucifying Him. He wanted to save them from the evil which presently afflicted them.

He commands us to be the same way – no small thing – but possible if united with Him.

If we still need the fear of hell to prompt us, by all means call on that.

If we need to use reason that it must always be better to obey than disobey God, then do that too.

Eventually we will not need to think our way there. It will be as natural as breathing.

We will get through a day, not commandment by commandment (I got four right today, only two wrong),  but we can glide through them all, no longer an effort.

Agreeing with God. His will is my will.  

Feast of St Michael 29 Sep 2019 Sermon

Feast of St Michael  29.9.19 Giving God the best

St Michael is especially noted for fighting against Satan and his followers.

He is depicted in art as having a sword. Of course, angels do not really use swords. The battle is fought at the spiritual level; at the level of thought, ideas – truth against falsehood, love against hate.

What is it like to fight at the spiritual level? We should know: we have been in it all our lives. The choice between right and wrong confronts us every day. Right and wrong, or better and worse. It comes to this: Do we love God or  not? This question means everything.

All day we face temptations to turn away from God, and invitations to turn towards Him. This is the essence of the battle we fight, and in which we are caught up.

When we experience the wrestling and the anguish that can go with a moral choice we might sometimes wish we could have a sword fight instead!

Evil can be attractively packaged, and look good to eat (cf Eve and the fruit).  And good can appear rather boring by contrast. Being good takes discipline, restraint, self-control – not always the most sought-after qualities!

Our desires tend to be somewhat distorted at the best of times – the result of previous sin.

If we do what our unreflected desires tell us we will often take the wrong path. With more maturity and balance (helped by the angels) we are more likely to choose rightly.

The fruits indicate whether we got it right or not (cf Gal 5 love, joy, peace or dissensions, envies, uncleanness etc).

The battle is invisible, subtle and long-term.

The obvious sins (like robbing the bank) are easier to avoid. The little things are not so easy. It is easy to go through a day without committing a murder; but how avoid the uncharitable remarks, the jealous thoughts, the impure glances?

The battle is fought on many fronts; we must be attentive to the whole battlefield.

Are we really attuned to the divine presence, to the claims that God has on us? Are we really trying to give Him the best we can?

We are tempted to give Him just what is good enough, not the best lamb in the flock. Good enough for God, so we think.

The angels give of their best to God, and they challenge us to follow their example.

They also pray for us that we will have the necessary strength to progress.

We need a large dose of humility. It was humility that enabled St Michael to hold firm in his time of trial; pride which brought down the evil angels.

With much practice we can reach the point where our will is locked in with God, permanently and securely; so we are no longer like a gate swinging in the breeze. We will come to see more clearly how both sides work, and make our decision to be on the right side.

The devil will frustrate as much as possible. Watch out for ‘snares and wickedness’ (St Michael prayer).

He will present things to us in whatever way is most likely to lead us to sin.

We must be vigilant and never over-confident. (everyone sins, this is only a little sin, God will forgive…not a sin this time… you are a good person… )  All this and more - whatever will work for him.)

St Michael and the angels did not take God for granted, and nor do we. We give Him serious attention; seeking to pull out the weeds and replace them with flowers.

The angels help us to search for God to love Him more. They would be learning still about God's infinite goodness. They want  us to share in it.

Let us thank God for such strong help. Let us acknowledge the Queen of the Angels, even holier than those angels.