Sunday in Octave of Christmas 27 Dec 2020 Sermon

Sunday in Octave of Christmas 27.12.20 Waiting

Simeon and Anna had to wait a long time, and they were given the grace to do that.

They believed in God's promise, but how long would it be before that promise would take effect?

They were waiting for the first coming of the Messiah; we are waiting for His Second Coming, but also in a sense we are still waiting for the first coming.

He has come but His coming has never been sufficiently received. He came to His own and they received Him not (Jn 1,11).

In every age He has been ignored, denied, insulted, rejected etc.

Many have believed, but only partially. How many have believed to the point of really putting His will into effect?

It is our time now, to wait and hope, to be in the right place when needed. We have to get used to being in a minority. Simeon and Anna were only two people, probably mostly ignored by the passing throng.

We pray while others go about their business (which now includes business on the Sabbath!).

They turned up to the Temple every day. We (between us) turn up to the church every day.

They might have been tempted to discouragement; we certainly are.

We can be discouraged when we look and look, and yet nothing seems to be happening. My eyes are weary from looking upwards (Is 38,14).

Like the watchman waiting for dawn or the deer that yearns for running streams, the Lord will not disappoint us.

The waiting stretches beyond one generation. We will not see everything in one lifetime, but all who have been faithful will be included in the final triumph.

If salvation were just a matter of something being given to us, like rain from above, then it would be easy.

The complicating factor is that a response is required from us. We do not just wait passively, but actively seek to interact more fully with God.

We want to get to know His ways, to put His teachings into practice.

If Christmas is seen as just an isolated event, only once a year, and not really relevant to the rest of our lives, then we will never see what Christ was intending.

We have to give Him enough obedience to see what difference it can make.

When we turn to Him in expectant prayer, connections will be made, and miracles will result.

We will see a greater share of peace on earth, unity in families, food for all etc, if we let the true Sun shine upon us.

Our Lord relies on His present disciples to receive Him and make Him known to the world.

It is not just Christmas day; it has to be every day.

To receive this gift takes a certain intensity of effort. We have to focus to make sure we stay on the right path. It is so easy to take a wrong turning – so we keep time with the feasts and seasons.

God wants us to take Him seriously, and this for our benefit as well as to His glory.

He calls us back to Him, as He has in every generation. One God, One Saviour, one faith.

If we rigorously sift out the falsehood we will see our way clear.

We work with what we have to help bring about the final resolution. It is worth the wait.

We do possess Him already, but we have to work out a few details yet.

In the Octave of Christmas we are reminded of the tension under which we still operate. Joy is the main theme, but there are three feast days of martyrs!

If we needed reminding, there is still some suffering to be endured, but Joy looms large as the final state.

It is worth the wait.

  

4th Sunday of Advent 20 Dec 2020 Sermon

 

4^th Sunday of Advent 20.12.20 The Incarnation

God kept His promise of sending a messiah but did so in a way that no one anticipated or would have dared to anticipate.

He came Himself as the Messiah! It was not to be just another outstanding man, but God Himself this time.

This is a fact so dazzling that we are still coming to terms with it.

Believers have to deepen their understanding of this event; unbelievers find it a stumbling block - they do not think it likely that God would do that.

But He did do it. God the Son took on human nature. Without ceasing to be God He became Man.

The human nature of Jesus Christ was created, and from that point on He, God the Son, was both God and Man, one Person, two natures.

He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He had no human father because He was Son of God.

He was conceived miraculously to show that His coming was pure gift from God. Nothing we could do would merit His coming, or in any way cause it. It was pure gift.

He was born of a sinless mother, because it was fitting that sin have no place in His coming.

He was joining a sinful humanity but cannot Himself be tainted by sin.

The moment that God became man was the dawning of salvation. A lot of things still needed to happen, but the main point had been established. There was no going back on this blessing.

Once God had given Himself to humanity in this way, there would be no revoking of His blessing.

He would not abandon us at some future point. He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all things? (Romans 8,32)

Why did He come in such obscurity? For one thing to make the point that only eyes of faith will see the Salvation which is being offered.

God made Himself visible in the Incarnation. Anyone could see God as He walked about! But only those with eyes of faith, with the right disposition, could see the inner meaning of what God’s coming signified.

In this sense the whole Church has been reflecting on the Birth of Christ, the Incarnation, for two millennia.

We are still coming to terms with it, and we do that through the eyes of faith.

Faith teaches us what God is like, what He does, what He wants. With faith we learn to recognise a certain ‘style’ in the way that God goes about His work.

He usually seems to call lowly types rather than the high and mighty. Look at the people involved with His birth. Our Lady, St  Joseph, St John the Baptist – humble in holiness; the shepherds – humble in social standing.

He lifts up the lowly and casts down the proud, as Mary tells us in the Magnificat.

As to the proud, they are still trying to disprove Him in every possible way – to kill Him, to make Him irrelevant, to impede His message and mission. These can still be saved, if they will humble themselves and repent.

The more obscure the Saviour’s coming the more one has to search out its meaning, and that is what He wants us to do. That searching is good for us, for when we search for Him, we are enabling Him to enlighten us.

We are greatly blessed to share in the divinity of Him who consented to share in our humanity.

3rd Sunday of Advent 13 Dec 2020 Sermon

 

3^rd Sunday of Advent 13.12.20 Wanting too much and too little

In some ways people want too much from God and in some ways too little. We need to correct both imbalances.

Wanting too much from God can be that we look on Him as a wonder-worker whose job it is to tidy up around us, solve all our problems, make everything come right – at the same time excusing ourselves from any part of the process. It is God's job to fix everything, in this view.

And if things are not fixed as we like, then we might complain to Him or about Him.

We are wanting too much, wanting to have power over God, that He will obey us rather than the other way round.

He does want us to ask for his help but in a respectful way, giving him the right to decide what is best.

And we need a non-grudging acceptance of whatever He decides.

Wanting too much is in evidence when people say why they do not believe in God, or do not go to church, or distrust religion etc. God does not measure up to what they think He should be.

Wanting too little means stopping too soon in our expectations of what God is really doing for us.

Here also the problem stems from making too much of the visible material world, and not enough of the spiritual world.

God wants to give us much more than we ask for, but not in terms of earthly goals, like money, success, or power - but qualities like wisdom, humility, kindness, love of one’s neighbour.

It is not so easy to be excited about these things. If you heard that today you will become more humble, for example, that may not sound very exciting. If you hear you are going to win the lottery, that sounds much more interesting.

We have a way of getting things the wrong way round.

We need to adjust what we want to match what God wants for us.

We say it so many times: Thy will be done.

To achieve the right balance we need to go to God first, and become more familiar with the sort of things He wants. Then we will have more understanding of how to ask Him for material matters.

We will be humbler and more balanced in what we ask for, and we will have more understanding of the complexities of each case.

For all that we still are encouraged to ask for what we need. Let your petitions be made known to God (Ph 4,6).

Seek first the Kingdom and all else will be given to you (Mt 6,33). Seek the spiritual and the material will fall into place.

We will not be worried because we are more firmly anchored in the right relationship with God.

No one is worried in heaven. There they still see the need for prayer, but they are so aware of God, it is impossible for them to lose confidence in Him, or the peace that goes with that.

Sometimes God grants a prayer straight away, and there is an end of the matter.

Other times He will take the longer way round, and expect some input from us (for our ongoing formation).

In these cases He is training us, teaching us to be His disciples, how to love through sacrifice and difficulty.

It is a privilege that God trusts us enough to involve us in the process.

What power we would let loose if enough people could simply let God be the boss.

We do not want too much or too little, but exactly what God wants us to have, and to do.

Lord, help us not be so obstructive, as we usually are!

2nd Sunday of Advent 6 Dec 2020 Sermon

 

2^nd Sunday of Advent 6.12.20 Repentance

The call to repentance is put before all people. If one is far from God the call is to come closer. If already close, then work on such faults as still remain.

The desired result is that each person be in a state of union with God, understanding oneself to be a child of God, sharing in His life.

Repentance is giving up one thing for another, the short-term deceptive emptiness of sin on one hand, and in return a life of fulfilment and joy, leading eventually into Heaven.

In other spheres of life we give up one thing for another, eg buying something we want.

The spiritual life can be seen in the same light. Give up something which does not work for something that does.

The Church has had many prophets, repeating this call to repentance.

One of the greatest is St John the Baptist, the ‘voice in the wilderness’ who had an uncompromising message: demanding full repentance from his audience.

The message of repentance is not normally considered a popular one. However, there is a sense in which people are attracted to it.

Many made their way out into the desert to hear John speak (Mt 3,5).   Later King Herod ‘liked to hear John speak’ (Mk 6,20), even though Herod did not really want to change his ways.

Our Lord pointed this out to the people – that they knew they were going to get a hard message, yet still went (Mt 11, 7-9).

This is the operation of the grace of God within the human heart.

We have an inbuilt longing to be in union with God. We can sense the futility of sin; we yearn for something better, but may not think we are strong enough to change, or may not want it quite enough.

There will be all sorts of obstacles on the way to repentance, but it will be rewarding for anyone who perseveres.

Some will partially repent, trying to have a bit of both worlds, heaven and earth.

This will not do, because repentance works only when it is complete.

Even John the Baptist, and even Our Lord did not have hundred per cent success with the crowds.

There was that initial attraction but then people slipped back into their old ways.

The rich young man could not part with his riches; the parable of the Sower speaks of those who had good aspirations but could not continue.

Complete repentance means a desire to please God in all things; coupled with a perseverance in daily life, doing whatever is necessary to root out sin. ‘if your eye should cause you to sin, pluck it out  (Mt 18,9).

It is not so forbidding as it might sound, remembering that it is simply a trade-off between different ways of living, and the Christ-way is by far the happiest.

We thank God for being so patient with us, and for giving us so many chances to get this right.

Out of all the confusion, all the uncertainty, the way of repentance shines like a beacon. This is the way to safety, to sanity, to salvation.

Some would be afraid that they will have to become ‘religious’ to be saved; that the Church might be right after all – this could be  their worst fear; but really it is a way to joy if they can humble themselves, glad to be wrong by way of coming to the right.

The small voice of conscience will be heard, and many will come to hear the word which seems hard at first, but leads to great joy.

1st Sunday of Advent 29 Nov 2020 Sermon

 

1^st Sunday of Advent 29.11.20 Fear of the Lord

Fear of the Lord is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. It does not mean fear as in ‘being afraid’ of something, like spiders, or heights, or crowds etc.

It means a basic reverence and awe before Almighty God, whereby we understand that God is far above any other being, or object, or activity. He is greater than the sum total of everything else.

This could simply intimidate us (the wrong sort of fear), but it is meant to lead us into loving God, as we discover His goodness.

We are attracted to the good, and here is All Goodness in the one place.

It is good for us to be in such a state and therefore we can call it a gift. It is something that makes us better off than we were before.

If we love Him we will be glad to see Him. It is in this understanding that we can speak of welcoming Christ to return, as we do in the Advent season.

We call: Come, Lord Jesus! Come and resume complete control of all the world, only this time in such a way that all will see it. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We can be comfortable in the presence of God. His superiority does not exclude us. He invites us to come closer to Him (Come to Me, all you who labour and thirst…. Let the little children come to Me… Come, follow Me…Everything is ready, come to the banquet…)

Becoming more familiar with Him we lose the servile fear and grow in the filial fear, that of complete, but comfortable submission to His will.

The more we love Him, the more readily we obey. This is how it is in Heaven, where everyone still has free will, but no one would ever use that will against God.

One might object that it is easy for them in Heaven, but for us still toiling away on earth, we have to deal with many distractions

There is so much sin and rebellion in the world. It could make us hard and cynical, rejecting any idea of God’s offering or requiring love in relation to us.

And there are so many dark ways which we might take, and then find ourselves trapped, no longer expecting mercy, or any share of God.

There is a way through all this – the way of repentance, conversion of heart.

God, for His part, holds out His offer of Mercy to everyone.

Anyone can be forgiven, even for a lifetime of sin, provided there is some movement towards God.

He came to the world to offer another chance to the human race; He will come again to complete what He has begun.

Our prayer in Advent is that hard hearts will be prised open, allowing the grace and mercy of God to enter.

People ask: Why can't we all just live in peace? Along the same line: why cannot the creature obey the creator? Why do we try to be something we are not, when every happiness is to be found in simply being what we are – children of God.

Advent is a dawning of this understanding. Not for the first time, but each time is like the first time in the freshness of the present moment.

To see God as He wants us see Him, not afraid of Him as being so far beyond us; not over-familiar as in irreverent – but the right balance, knowing and loving Him, as He really is, and we really are.

Last Sunday after Pentecost 22 Nov 2020 Sermon

 

Last Sunday after Pentecost 22.11.20 Ready

The word ‘last’ puts us in mind of the end of things, the end of life, the end of history, end of the world as we know it.

Every year we come around to this point. Another year gone. Another reminder of the shortness of things – things we might see as more permanent than they really are.

The liturgy at this time reminds us of higher considerations than just what this life can offer.

Our thoughts and aspirations are directed heavenwards. We are exhorted to be ready - in two senses.

One, that all we have, the world around us, even our own lives, could disappear very suddenly.

We need to be ready every day of our lives to part with this earthly life. Like the wise virgins of the parable (Mt 25,1-13) or the servants who are at their work when the Master returns (Mt 24,46). We will not be caught off guard.

At another level we are encouraged to a state of readiness which can increase as we enter more fully the world that God puts before us. We discover how desirable God is, and how much better the Kingdom of Heaven is than here.

Heaven is not just a place we go when we die. It is something we can begin to understand here - as we learn to love God and one another; to experience God's love for us; as we leave behind the world of sin and self-seeking, and discover truly what it means to be a child of God.

We are not meant to be sorry that this life is so short. The shortness is all the better really if we consider that we are heading towards a better situation.

This is readiness in a more permanent sense. We are living already in partial possession of Heaven.

This takes away any fear we might have in the first sense of readiness. We do not see death as just being suddenly plucked from this life, but as an entry into a fuller life for which we have been preparing.

God does not want us to fear Him as we might an inspector or an auditor. If we love Him enough we will have no fear. We will be ready in both senses.

We would prefer God to anything on earth, and be ready at any time to make the move from here to there.

People have always tried to work out when the end will be, and whether we can get some kind of warning, or advance notice?

The wisdom from all the valid sources tells us not to worry about dates - because if we are ready every day we will be ready on the Last Day, even if we do not know it is the last.

It is better to use all our energy on living the right way. That is the best way to be ready for a sudden end, or to attain the deeper readiness for eternal life.

There are certain difficulties to overcome.

It is hard to think of eternity when we are so immersed in paying the bills, making ends meet, dealing with the current crop of problems.

And there is that sense that the end is always a long way away.

While the sky is blue can it ever end? History says Yes. What seemed never never will one day be at our front door.

And while we have our small pleasures on earth, is there anything better? Yes again.

Every year we are reminded to ask these questions. We should be thinking of them more than once a year, but at least once will keep us within range.

We think on a grand eternal scale, while still keeping our feet on the ground.

The near and the far come together, and we find peace with both. We possess God already in hope; one day in complete fulfilment.

Second Last Sunday after Pentecost 15 Nov 2020 Sermon

Second Last Sunday after Pentecost 15.11.20  Conversion

On a busy road there are cars going one way, and cars going the other way. We might wonder where the other side is going. Maybe they are getting out of the place where I am going?

Life is like that. We have to pick which road we are on, and work out if it is the right one, or do we need to change direction?

Everyone has some kind of creed or philosophy on which to base their lives, but it is very easy to pick on the wrong one.

There are so many conflicting opinions and beliefs out there in this age of too-much.

Then there are all the temptations to false gods: Come this way, and find happiness. False promises. Try this, try that; try anything and everything. The false gods have a way of looking true, but they will not satisfy.

We need the right road; only one will do. We know we have discovered it in Jesus Christ - the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn 14,6).

The Church has its own version of the roads going in opposite directions. Some people are coming in, while others are going out. Some people are just discovering the truth, and others are abandoning it at the same time.

We need people to come, but not to go.

Today’s parable of the mustard seed. We can call the Church a tree, or a flock, or  a building, or a banquet… all these images convey unity in the truth, a refuge secure because it is based in Truth;  actual reality , and not just someone’s opinion.

But how do we make the right decision? How can we help others do that?

If we look only at the human level, it is easy to find fault with the Church, and hence to leave, or not to join.

There are the scandals, keeping us mindful of too much humanity, and too little divinity at work!

Then, many Catholics lose their faith on encountering some alternative, articulately offered.

 Every argument against the Catholic faith can be answered, but it sometimes takes a certain amount of patience and time. Not everything can be dealt with in a few seconds.

It is a good idea to turn off all electronic devices and spend time in prayer.

Prayer is good for many reasons, including the likelihood of finding the one true God: and with that, the right road to be on.

Looking upwards, we have God and Our Lady and all the courts of heaven, beckoning us to join them.

We can clear all the distractions and falsehoods in one bound. It does not have to take a long time to find the truth. If we are really seeking, the true God will make Himself known.

Once in the right relationship with Him then all else falls into place.

There is no doubt we will stay in the Church. We have found the way in, and will not be trying to get out.

Now we have work to do – helping others to see why they should join us.

One thing we must do is remove the scandal; any excuse people find not to join us.

Yes, we have contributed to the sin, but no more.

And where possible, we evangelise and catechise.

Our Lord says, Come! This is before we have even repented. The coming and the repenting are one movement, as we become aware of our guilt on one hand, and the joy of forgiveness on the other. We hasten to our true home, now completely sure which road to take!

23rd Sunday after Pentecost 8 Nov 2020 Sermon

 

23^rd Sunday after Pentecost 8.11.20 The Communion of saints

These are worrying times for us, as we try to defend the truth and the right in the face of bolder assaults on the Church, and all that we hold dear.

Your holy cities have become a wilderness; Zion has become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. (Is 64,10).

We must do all we can. We pray, fast, live holy lives etc. and never give up.

With so many things to pray for, we might feel inadequate to make the prayer succeed.

We think of the saints working miracles left and right, and then doubt if we could do that! We can find strength when we need it. We do not have to go it alone. We might be alone physically when we pray, but we have the whole treasury of the Church to call upon.

The recent feasts of All Saints and All Souls remind us of our communal nature as the Church.

Your problems are my problems. Everyone else’s problems are our problems.

We can help each other, not just in a practical sense, but through mutual prayer, each helping the other to a deeper faith.

The whole Church is the Body of Christ with each part reliant on the other, and able to help each other stay alive.

We feel weak in many ways, but we draw strength from within this Body of faith, hope and charity. The strong should help the weak (Rm 15,1).

We might feel a lack of conviction sometimes but we know that others will believe what we may not; or they will believe it more strongly. The same applies for hope, and charity.

The Church has within her ranks those who believe with certainty, those who can hope despite adverse appearances; those who can love even when hated in return.

The steadfastness of the Church sustains us. Every day there is Mass, the Divine Office, other prayers and devotions going on - around the clock, and around the globe.

We are absorbed in that prayer, reinvigorated. Courage, hope, and all necessary qualities are restored for us.

The durability of the Church can be ours at the individual level. The Church has survived every kind of crisis. So can we. Even death will not defeat us.

There is a strength in the Church which far exceeds what any individual could manage.

The Church stands strong and tall, offering refuge to all who feel their inadequacy.

Individuals may falter; the Church stands firm.

We do not allow anything to deflect us. The faith of the whole Church is carrying us, weak individuals though we may be.

Our belonging to the Church makes us one. Thus the images of salvation presented in the Scriptures: we are one people, one flock, one tree, one building etc.

Being made one is itself part of the objective. Together we all learn to love God more, and place more trust in Him. We grow in love of neighbour, increasingly desiring the salvation of others.

We can always delve a little deeper into the spiritual treasury of the Church, and call on this combined power. Very likely we will feel stronger.

Even in this church now angels and saints are present. They join us, as we join them.

We are never alone when we pray. We may be physically alone but we are praying with, and for others. The needs of one are the needs of all. The strength of all is available to the individual.

All Saints and Holy Souls, pray for us.

All Saints Day 1 Nov 2020 Sermon

 

All Saints Day 1.11.20 Making sure of salvation

Today we celebrate the entry into Heaven of countless people, including very likely many we have known, such as our own family. Anyone who does get to Heaven is a saint, and they make up the ALL Saints of today’s feast.

It is comforting to know that ordinary people can get to Heaven. We do not have to be as good as the canonised saints.

Just how good do we have to be?

We must have at least some life in the soul; be in a state of grace. That will get us at least as far as Purgatory, and eventually Heaven. We want to be in a state of grace all the time, in case of sudden death.

While we can be aware of minimum requirements, it is much more helpful if we aim as high as possible.

We could think: Well, if the ordinary can make Heaven then I will be ordinary too, not exerting myself to do more than the bare minimum.

However if we are sensitive to the promptings of God we will see that God is attractive, that holiness is attractive and that is the path to follow.

It takes a little effort on our part but we do not begrudge that.

God wants us to apply some effort because that will engage our attention, and enable us to discover certain things we would never manage otherwise.

We will discover the joy of being in close union with Almighty God, a greater joy than any earthly experience could give us.

God wants us to reach a point where we love Him for His own sake, not just for what He can do for us.  

At the end of time the question will be: Do you love Me?

We can love God to different degrees. We are meant to hunger for more, to seek God and all His goodness.

With this understanding we do not see prayer or other religious observances as a burden; they become attractive as well. It is a joy to pray as we sense coming closer to God.

It is a matter of desire. If we desire something enough we will easily discard other lesser desires.

Are we certain of getting to heaven? Some claim that they are certain; that they have made a decisive choice once and for all.

Others will claim certainty simply be relying on God’s love. If God loves me then He will not send me to Hell. This latter position is very common these days. There is no serious fear of Hell in such cases.

We are supposed to be confident of salvation but not complacent about it. Even St Paul said he had to be careful he would not fall (1 Cor 9,27).

Salvation is a process rather than a point in time. We are growing into our salvation rather than claiming to possess it like money in the bank.

Growing in the love of God is the best way forwards. We do not measure out our response; we simply go for more, then more again.

We seek to love God more each day than the day before.

We let ourselves be absorbed into His world. We grow in holiness, praying more, doing more good deeds.

If we fall, we quickly repent and get back on course.

By a combination of being good - or being sorry that we have not been so – we reach Heaven ourselves. 

Not by our own merits but by the saving merits of Christ. 

There we join in perpetual gratitude with the heavenly chorus (Rev 15,3).

All holy men and women pray for us. All angels and saints pray for us.

Christ the King 25 Oct 2020 Sermon

Christ the King 25.10.20

We believe in one God, Creator of Heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe firstly that there is a God. He actually exists, has always existed, and will never cease to exist.

We anchor ourselves on these points every time we come to Mass.

It is comforting that we have such a strong foundation on which to base our lives.

God is real and God is relevant. There are people who deny one or the other of these points.

They will say that God  either does not exist, or if He does exist, that He is very remote, like a distant star, not really having any effect on us.

The modern movement on separating Church from State comes from this viewpoint.

Separating Church from State really means separating God from state, such that God is not welcome in His own universe!

God is the Creator of heaven and earth. Every inch of this earth is His property.

He does not always make His presence obvious as in physical miracles, but there are signs everywhere of His creative power at work. ( For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world His invisible nature, namely, His eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. Rom 1,19-20)

We will read also the signs that He gives us as to how to conduct our lives. The whole area of morality stems from God's closeness to us, and His desire that we understand right from wrong, and freely choose the right.

God tells us what is to be done and what to be avoided. He does this through the Church, which interprets His will, as made evident in Scripture and Tradition

The Church is unpopular for doing this, but it is vital that everyone has a chance to hear the word of God.

If we let God have a say in His own universe, we will actually be far better off than we are now.

Imagine a world where everybody did all the right things. Would you not prefer that?

We might have to give up a few vices but there would be ten-fold compensation.

We would be happier people, and better as well.

All the chaos of the present world and all our painful history can be attributed to disobedience on our part.

It is bad enough to disobey God, but when we try to keep Him from even having a voice, then we really are making trouble.

God wants us to know Him, not as a hard taskmaster, but as a loving Father.

If we can perceive that God means well towards us it will make it a lot easier for us to trust and obey Him.

We do not always trust our rulers; but God is a different matter – He is perfect.

Many people do not know God, whether through lack of instruction, or lack of prayer.

When we pray to God we come to know His ways, mysterious though some of them will always be.

But we get to know the basic ideas that God wants to impress upon us.

It will be a small number at first, as it always is. Then recognition will spread.

The kingdom is like a tree whose branches extend to all the world (cf Mt13,32)

If we know we should obey then it is only a matter of rousing the will to serve God. He can help us with that too. He tells us what to do and gives us the grace to do it.

Pope Pius XI probably did not get what he hoped for when he established this feast in 1925.

But it was a good idea all the same, as it is a good idea now to remind the world of the pressing need to give God due place.

Long live Christ the King, and may all His enemies become His subjects. 

20th Sunday after Pentecost 18 Oct 2020 Sermon

 

20^th Sunday after Pentecost 18.10.20 Redeeming the age

 Redeeming the time because the days are evil (Ep 5,16).

 What sort of a life does it take to redeem a wicked age? A holy life, a life dedicated to God in the pursuit of His will. A life free from sin, and flourishing with good works. If we have not been free of sin, then we can begin to be so at any moment.

A holy life can redeem the times on two levels. (that of example which persuades, and making recompense to God, atonement for sin.)

Persuasion. We are the light of the world, And we should not put our light under a bushel (cf Mt 5,14-15). See how they love one another, an early commentator said.

There is no doubt that Christianity lived fully would have a profound effect on the surrounding society.

Many people have converted to the faith for just such a reason. They saw something they wanted for themselves. Peace, Joy, Love etc.

The first Pentecost is probably the clearest example of this. But there are many other times, eg the missionary work of St Francis Xavier or St Patrick.

When people see the real thing at least some of them will respond.

We have to do extra to make up for lost ground. Scandals and generally poor behaviour from the Christians sets the whole work back.

Bad behaviour does not take anything away from the truth of our faith; but psychologically it makes people less inclined to see our light on the hill.

Many cannot or will not make the distinction between the theoretical and the practical.

All the more reason for the rest of us to be holy. Which leads to Atonement.  If everyone behaved we would have an easy time of it. But there are mountains of sin  being committed every day, and this all has to be ‘redeemed’, compensated for.

We understand that it is the Precious Blood of Christ which atones for all the sin of the world.

We cannot atone by our own efforts because we do not have sufficient to give to God, even with the best will.

However, we can achieve a lot by being fully attentive and receptive to what God is doing by offering us the way of atonement.

The Precious Blood will have more effect in atoning for the sins of the world if at least some people cooperate in the process.

A few can atone for many, as with Abraham and his ten good men (Gen 18,23-32) or with the saints, who all had this intuition for making atonement.

When we make atonement for other people’s sins we are taking some of the pain due to them.

This is both a burden and a privilege. It is the way of Christ and all the saints.

Living holy lives is the way to help others: giving them good example, and helping atone for their sin.

This is easier said than done. Holiness requires a certain discipline and effort.

Some things come easier than others, like loving our mothers. But a lot of it requires a real wrenching away from disordered inclinations so that we can be moderate and balanced in all things.

One reason we come to Mass is to receive the grace we need to live holy lives.

We redeem the surrounding world by flooding it with the love of God. Having reached a point of sufficient sorrow for offending God's divine majesty, we can then bear fruits of holiness, the whole process spreading to all corners of the world.

19th Sunday after Pentecost 11 Oct 2020 Sermon

 

19^th Sunday after Pentecost 11.10.20 Stability

Some things we want to change; some things we hope they don’t change. Some things - they cannot change whether we want it or not.

In the supernatural world there is a comforting sameness that what we have been taught to rely upon is still there today, and will be still there in a hundred or a thousand years time.

Things to do with God are especially unchangeable.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13,8)

God is eternal and beyond time, therefore cannot change. Nor does He need to change, being all perfection.

We are often reminded we live in a fast-changing world. We are often alarmed at some of those changes, for such things as gender confusion, disregard of marriage and traditional family values, a decline in common decency (language, standards of dress etc).

We cannot go back in time but we can go ‘back’ to God to be revived in wisdom, charity, zeal. It is not really going back, more like going ‘deeper’. We enter the eternal truth and apply it in each successive age.

God is faithful to His covenant and that is something that will never change.

A few days ago we celebrated the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. The Rosary takes us through the sequence of our salvation, through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord.

We go back again and again to these events, which are still current and still relevant for us.

That Christ has come, and done all those things, is the difference between life and death for us.

We might wake up one morning and find our liberties reduced by legislation. We might see much of our society sinking into greater darkness.

But the Rosary will still be there; and as we see with the Rosary, the last part - the Glorious Mysteries - leave us in a very upbeat position.

We go through fire and water, but we emerge in glorious freedom.

The objective truths of our faith remain the same; our subjective response to those truths might change. We might feel stronger in faith one day, and weaker the next.

When we feel weak in faith, or in any way oppressed by life’s difficulties, take in a deep breath of unchangeable reality.

The Bible speaks in several places of God as a Rock. A rock is something that is not easily moved and can stand in the one place for a long time.

If we build on rock we will be secure (Mt 7,24). On this rock I will build My Church (Mt 16,18). The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my saviour (Ps 17 (18),2)

We call upon that rock-like stability in our lives. The Rosary is one way; the Mass is even more powerful in its effects. The Mass brings before our senses not just the truths we believe but their actual operation, as we encounter Christ coming among us and giving Himself as a sacrifice for sins.

It is often suggested that people should slow down and relax, take time out to appreciate nature etc. We can agree with that, but do better still by re-connecting with the Source of all beauty, all meaning.

We go back to where it all comes from, and the grace of God works in us and through us.

And the things that should change, such as sin and all its effects – will change.

Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

 

 

18th Sunday after Pentecost 4 Oct 2020 Sermon

 

18^th Sunday after Pentecost 4.10.20

We talk of victims of crime; there are also victims of sin. Everyone suffers from every sin committed insofar as each sin lowers the tone of the whole world, makes the world a harder place in which to live.

Our Lord came to set us free from sin; free in two senses: firstly, the guilt of sin, and secondly, freedom from any inclination to commit further sin. We are free when sin no longer has any hold on us.

To people who did not realize Our Lord’s true identity it must have seemed strange to have a mere mortal forgiving other people their sins.

Is He just saying it, or does He have real authority? He does have the authority because every sin is an offence against God, and He is God. He has the right to forgive because the sin is against Him.

If I steal my neighbour’s car and wreck it, I have offended my neighbour; but I have also offended God. How so? because every uncharitable act is an offence to the Lord of all people and all things.

There is nothing that happens in the world that is outside the providence of God. He owns the whole thing.

There is no victimless sin because Christ is the Victim of all sin, as He graphically enacts for us on the Cross.

We have put Him on the Cross by our sins. We did not mean to hurt Him, but we must understand this is what sin does, even our venial sins.

Our sins will often harm some people directly; indirectly everyone else; but most and worst of all every sin gives direct offence to God.

We should not despair, however. God is generous in mercy and quick to forgive.

Once we realize how bad the sin is, the easier it is to claim that forgiveness.

It also makes us less inclined to sin if we see the sin as a direct offence against God.

If we were lining the streets on Good Friday would we add to the sufferings of Our Lord? Of course not.

We become more sensitive about what we say, think and do.

To see our sins in their true light – this is the key to true contrition, and from there to purpose of amendment.

Sin is a personal matter. It is never just a matter of keeping rules. There is always that personal dimension.

It hurts to see our sins in their full force but it is good for us too, restoring us to the proper balance that is needed.

We gratefully acknowledge Our Lord’s authority and mercy. That mercy re-constructs us, gives us a new start each time.

Some of our sin is very hard to shake off, it being habitual and deeply embedded.

We can come at the problem from different directions. Overcoming sin is not just a matter of will power: I must not sin; I must not sin…  Yes, we should form resolutions, but we can also deepen our faith, grow in knowledge and understanding of God.

This will reinforce the personal aspect of the matter. Our religion is not just an impersonal system; it is a relationship between us and God.

The more personal our understanding the less likely we are to commit the sin, and more likely to do something virtuous.

If we stop crucifying Him (why are you persecuting Me? Acts 9,4) we can progressively share in His resurrection.

17th Sunday after Pentecost 27 Sep 2020 Sermon

 

17^th Sunday after Pentecost 27.9.20 One God

There is one God. That fact forms the centre of all our beliefs and practices.

Historically people have had many gods, of their own invention, to cover all the different areas of need - like love, war, food.

It took a long time to dawn on people that there is in fact only one God, who is powerful enough for all needs. Everything comes under His authority.

The unity of God, means we should have unity of people.

Unity of people is not so easy to achieve; people find ways of hating each other and getting into disputes.

God's intention was that we would draw our identity from Him, and share in the perfect unity of His own inner life.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have perfect unity; there is no cross word there; no contradiction.

They do not have wars, so why do we? .

There is no good reason why we do not live in peace and concord.

Human efforts to be at one do not work because there is too much malice in the human heart.

People try to be one, but excluding of God. This never works for long because there is so much sin and disorder in circulation. They try to be nice but run out of goodwill.

To achieve the desired oneness we have to go to God, so that we are all absorbed in Him and not ourselves.

It is said often: It does not matter what race you are, or what religion you have…

We can agree about the ‘race’ part; but the ‘religion’ part is a little more complicated.

Religion deals with the whole question of relating to God. As there is only one God, it follows logically that there can be only one fully true religion.

This we believe to be the Catholic faith. We do not claim any personal superiority on the basis of being Catholic, only that we believe it is the religion revealed by the one true God.

People will say that is not possible that one religion can be all right, or that even if there were such a religion we would not know which one.

But our religion is simply believing what God has Himself revealed. We did not make it up.

We do not discriminate insofar as we do not mistreat anyone who is not of our faith.

We wish everyone to know the great happiness of being one with God and discovering the true charity that follows from that.

We seek to propagate the truth about God, as that will help people to come into right order in every other part of their life.

It is said that ‘Religion’ causes all the wars. Not true religion, when it is the right beliefs and the right actions.

The absolute unity of God within Himself is something we can imitate. We are so far from achieving it in practice, but He is helping us in that direction.

We are humbled by our sense of smallness, but also exalted in knowing that we are valuable to God.

It is not by appeal to people in their own strength that we will make progress. We appeal not to strength but humility. You can have all the peace you want if you will kneel before Him.

There is a potential oneness between all people and for that we pray; in the meantime we respect others at least for the fact that they are invited to share in God's life.

We thank God for creating us in His image and for teaching us how to share in His eternal oneness.

16th Sunday after Pentecost 20 Sep 2020 Sermon

 

16^th Sunday after Pentecost 20.9.20 Humility

 The pharisees were preoccupied with the rules and missed the forest for the trees.

Or, as Our Lord put it, they strained the gnat and swallowed the camel (Mt 23,24).

It is always possible in the spiritual life to become bogged down on a detail while missing the overall vision.

The pharisees’ carping over cures on the sabbath day was certainly a case of missing the main point.

The sabbath is special because it enables us to deepen our link with God, and that is the main point.

Not doing work enables us to have a more reflective time to contemplate the glories of God.

We do not overplay the rules, nor do we go to the other extreme of declaring that rules don’t matter.

Our Lord was not saying: throw out all the rules – but to see the inner meaning of such rules as there are, and live by the spirit of the rule, not just the letter. The letter kills, the spirit gives life (2 Co 3,6).

Some think of Our Lord as a kind of hippy who went about ignoring the rules. He did not ignore them; He revealed their deeper meaning.

The sabbath is to glorify God. What better way to glorify God than by bringing His healing power into operation?

The rules are not meant to stifle us, but rather to bring out different aspects of our faith and how we should live.

For example, the rule that all Catholics should attend Sunday Mass. This is meant to help us realize how much we need the Mass. Ideally everyone would come to Mass without being told, but the Church knows that people can be weak, and so gives them a prod to take advantage of such a blessing.

The rules are still there but we should reach a point that we do not need to be told.

In today’s permissive times many argue that the Church should do away with what rules still remain, and leave everything to the individual to decide.

This is to exaggerate greatly the wisdom of the average person.

It is pride to say: I don’t need the Church, or the sacraments, or any of that. I have my own communication with God.

True humility will be willing to admit one’s own limitations – of knowledge, of will power. We sometimes need  help to know the right path to follow.

We always need help to put our good intentions into action.

Humility is needed, and above all, charity.

Our humanity is sorely tried in seeking to have charity for all around us. We see imperfections at many levels.

Whether it be parishes, groups, religious orders, seminaries, convents…. Always there are difficulties with agreeing and getting along. Catholics are never as good as they should be.

This does not mean we abandon the whole project. We recognise the failings, we repent of them, and we do better in the future. We make sure that the internal purity of intention matches the external visible elements.

If we look humble, we must be humble. If we preach charity, we must be charitable.

It has to be every day of the week, not just Sunday. It has to be in everyday places, not just inside churches. We must be the same in private as we are in public.

We keep the rules at whatever level they apply, never stopping just with externals.

There are many potential difficulties but they can all be overcome.

Christ soars over all of it, and draws us towards Himself. To love God with our whole hearts and minds is the greatest rule, and the one from which all others take their place.

15th Sunday after Pentecost 13 Sep 2020 Sermon

 

15^th Sunday after Pentecost 13.9.20 Reclaiming the lost

The widow of Naim symbolizes the Church as a mother reclaiming her children.

We seek to claim or reclaim lots of people, not least members of our own families.

The task of conversion is complicated by the fact that people presently far from God will not usually want to be converted. They may not be happy where they are, yet they distrust any idea of a religious solution.

Nobody wants to be told what to do, especially by their mothers, or other close people.

Nor, very likely, do they want to hear from God; or the Church either.

It is ironic that we offer good news, the gateway to eternal life, the happiest way to live in this earthly life – all this, but we cannot give it away.

So much so that when we go to tell people how good it all is they might try to kill us! A great many have been killed just for doing that - Our Lord Himself being the most notable case.

This desire to kill the bringer of good tidings indicates the deeper, darker presence of the evil one. He wants people to think they cannot or do not need to change.

We greatly desire the conversion of others. And God wants it more than we do. But He will not force it. He wants to win people through love.

He will exert force on our will by way of trying to steer us into better paths; but not to the point of overriding free will. The decision to become a disciple of Christ needs to be voluntary, to achieve its main point. It has to be voluntary to be a free act of love on our part.

God does not want a lot of sullen people in Heaven, who have been forced to go there!

God has many strings to His bow. He can give us a taste of His goodness, and of the joy that awaits those who accept His offer. Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Ps 33(34),8)

Or He can let people suffer the frustration or futility of any attempt to live without Him.

Either we see the desirability of God, or the hopelessness of being without Him, or a bit of both.

This is how conversions happen, and young men are restored to their Mother.

Whose children will be converted? We grieve together for those presently lost, and we pray together that they may be found.

We can pray for each other’s children, praying as the whole Church.

The path of conversion ought to be the obvious choice, but it gets back to the same reason as people kill the bearers of good tidings.

The evil one deceives. One’s present life may be miserable but at least it is familiar.

Sin appears to offer happiness, however many times we have seen that it does not do so.

Then someone will say that churchgoers are all hypocrites, or paedophiles, etc.

They will say they are good enough as they are and do not need Church.

And so on.

We, for our part, will say with the Church, that salvation is found only in Christ.

They can resist or even kill us but the word of God, and the will of God do not change.

People without God will have moments of self-doubt, and these are times when the grace of God can make inroads.

If the Gospel is given to disturb the comfortable, then we pray that those taking comfort in this life only will be sufficiently disturbed to make a change.

We pray that the plain truth will be seen plainly, and the response be as the truth indicates.

We hope they do not kill us for pointing out the obvious, but if they do we will at least know why!

May the Lord restore thousands of sons to Mother Church in our time.

14th Sunday after Pentecost 6 Sep 2020 Sermon

 

14^th Sunday after Pentecost 6.9.20 Ordered desires

We might envy the plants who have everything put out for them but then they have a lot simpler lives than we have.

And we would not really change places with them, or with animals who graze all day.

We like good things delivered to us but we would not want to sacrifice our freedom and understanding.

It is our glory as humans to be able to reflect on what we do; to exercise free choices as to whether we do right or wrong.

God knew that giving us this power would lead to a lot of disasters, but He hopes to bring us around where we can still have the power but not the disasters!

This is why He teaches us things, expects things from us, helps us to do those things. He does not want us to be merely passive recipients of His blessings but rather to cooperate actively in His plans.

We are stewards of His creation; we share in His authority and power.

This is our full dignity, waiting to be discovered. We possessed it for a time, until the first sin. Now to retrieve it we have to learn how to regulate our various desires and passions.

Presently these desires are often not in harmony with each other. We want opposing things, sometimes more noble things, sometimes vile and base things. We do things which we know are going to cause harm but we still do them. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Rm 7,15)

We need rescuing from ourselves in that we complicate things so much. Sin makes it ten times worse.

To want the right things, in the right way, and the right amount - this is the task.

Even non-religious thinkers can see the need for restraining one desire for the sake of achieving another. For example, the athlete who sacrifices comfort to do the training which will enable victory.

All the more so when we are talking of spiritual things. The saints teach us how easily they would make sacrifices for the sake of gaining eternal glory.

We can train ourselves in recognizing the higher goals, and to put the lesser desires at their service.

It is not wrong to want pleasure, or for things to go smoothly, but it may be necessary to sacrifice these things for the final result – that God's kingdom come among us.

Sinful desires especially must be overcome. Sin can never get us very far.

Even legitimate desires need monitoring.

Doing penance will help us develop the discipline needed to forego one pleasure for a greater one. For example, denying ourselves some legitimate pleasure may advance the salvation of someone else. We give up one thing to gain something better.

We might settle for less than the highest ideals, but these are where God wants to take us:  hence Thy will be done.

The complexity of our lives as compared with plants means that we will have to balance things over time. We want what God wants no matter how long it takes, or how hard it is.

It will be worth it.

Is it so hard to do it God's way? We make it seem hard, but that is the result of too much sin.

Free of sin we will start to see things the right way up, maybe for the first time ever.

We see that God's providence goes way beyond supplying food and clothing. He gives us the ability to appreciate the full range of how He has provided for us so far, with much more still to come.

13th Sunday after Pentecost 30 Aug 2020

 

13^th Sunday after Pentecost 30.8.20 Thanksgiving

 Give thanks to God in all circumstances (1 Thess 5,18). This must mean that we thank God for when things go wrong as well as when they go right!

 How can one be thankful when things go wrong? In such cases we are thanking God Himself for being who and what He is.

We are expressing trust in Him that whatever has gone wrong, or appears to be so, can be brought to a proper resolution by Him.

If I did not get what I wanted I will get something else, equally satisfactory, or better.

The main thing is to be in a state of union with God. He is the Source of all goodness (James 1,17). If we are at the Source we must be in the best place.

We do not judge God by the last thing that happened. He is not like the stock market which can go up or down from one day to the next.

If a graph were to be made of God's reliability it would not be up and down, but a perfectly straight line across the top of the page at the highest level and for the longest time.

We give thanks for this state of affairs. Overall things are going well, if God is in command.

But we still have to deal with details, and some of them can be very painful.

As we give thanks to God in all circumstances we can mention the things that are not going well. We do this with a sense of quiet trust that God will know what to do. As Our Lady did at Cana: Son, they have no wine. Not a complaint, just a minor problem that can be swept away in God's creative power.

The leper who came back saw further than the other nine, recognising where the healing had come from. The other nine were not sufficiently focused on God. They took the blessing in their stride, taking it for granted, as one can do. The nine lepers needed more work on the spiritual level.

The one leper was able to connect his physical healing to a spiritual source. He was thanking God, not his ‘lucky stars’ or equivalent, but the true source of all blessing.

His faith made him ‘whole’ because it was well-rounded and solidly based.

We ask for everything that we need, large or small, but we come to see that what we need most of all is a true sense of God's goodness.

I will not try to out-think God or come up with a better answer than He could find. Sufficient that He guide the course of our lives and guide also the whole Church.

Giving thanks in all circumstances could even go as far as being thankful that God sometimes punishes us, by way of bringing us to see what is really needed – which is that we should obey Him at all times.

God does not like things going wrong any more than we do, but the way to get clear of such situations is to obey Him, to align ourselves with His holy will. Until we do that we will have trouble.

We become more familiar with God and His ways, as we learn from experience. We cannot claim to know all about Him but we grasp the general idea that He has great love for each person and desires the salvation of all.

Trust will increase as we make proper thanksgiving. We can look back on our lives and see  times when the activity of God has become clear, even if it was not so clear at first.

The thanksgiving has to be deep enough that it takes hold on us; such that it makes us stronger for whatever comes next.

As we say in each Mass: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12th Sunday after Pentecost 23 Aug 2020 Sermon

 

12^th Sunday after Pentecost 23.8.20 Helping others

The same action of helping someone - such as picking up a poor man from the road - can have different value in God's sight, according to who does the action and with what motive.

It is good to help others. There is what we call common humanity which should operate in everyone, even those who have no faith.

We are all made by God, and have something of His nature planted in us.

We are made in God's image and God is love, which means we must have some of that divine love working within us, even if it is impeded by sin and lack of faith.

At the core of our being we have the ability to love as God loves. This is where the compassion comes from, when it does come.

The love of God is constant and human love is not! So we do not always have the same intensity of compassion for each person. Sometimes we are glad to help; sometimes not.

We want to reach a state where we see people as God sees them, not clouded by external factors such as appearance.

Formed in the image of God we come to think and act as He does. To make the link even stronger still, we have God become Man, whereby He greatly expands the human capacity to love.

Our Lord is the Good Samaritan, helping all of us who have been robbed by the devil of our inheritance. Now He comes to restore that inheritance to us. We are once again children of God, in full favour with Him.

Our Lord helps us in our need; He also helps us to become people of sufficient compassion to want to help others.

Coming to know God better our hearts are unlocked and love of neighbour will emerge freely.

I help the man in the gutter because I love God! Not so much the man himself, whom I may not even know; but God first, then love for others will follow.

Thus we can help complete strangers because we see them in God's light.

Always we keep the main focus on God and what He wants from us.

And we go one stage further, as Our Lord did with us. We seek not just to have people well-fed and warm, but that they themselves will come to know and love God.

If we live in a state of grace our actions will be for God’s glory, even if we do not always allude to that. It is a matter of habit, good habit.

The more good we do the more grace increases and we are more likely to do even better still, and to more people.

So we nurture the state of grace, making the necessary effort to keep spiritually alert.

If we never pray or rely on natural goodness only, our good works will very likely not go far. It is likely that we will do occasional good deeds, and then think we are good enough.

Many try to bypass God. Loving other people is enough, they would say.

This has the appeal of simplicity, but it loses sight of the main point of our existence on earth - which is to know, love and serve God; to adore Him with thanksgiving.

We will love with greater force and accuracy if we go through God first. Attempts to help others might make matter worse if we exclude God from the process (eg cooperating in someone else’s evil act).

We want to get both the motivation and the actions in right balance, drawing charity from God, and returning it to Him in thanksgiving.

Discovering His wonders we become more focused on Him at all times.

11th Sunday after Pentecost 16 Aug 2020 Sermon

 

11^th Sunday after Pentecost 16.8.20 Resurrection

We are still in the afterglow of yesterday’s feast of the Assumption, when we celebrated Our Lady’s glorious entry into Heaven.

 That event could also be called Our Lady’s Resurrection, as it was her glorified body which entered Heaven.

The epistle of today’s Mass gives us further occasion to consider our hope of resurrection.

Some have trouble believing in the resurrection because it is not an everyday event – whereas dying is! Funerals, cemeteries, news of people dying – it is around us all the time. But who ever hears of someone rising from the dead?

If we cannot see it happening then maybe it is not real – so says our overly scientific citizen. They have to see it to believe it.

Against which we can say that sense perception is not everything.

There are many things we cannot see but they still exist and act in our world. Not least, Almighty God Himself; or angels and saints; or grace and mercy.

And Resurrection. We do not see it often, but we will see a great deal of it on the Last Day, when every person who has ever lived will be brought back to physical life, reunited with their souls.

We might prefer more direct proof of resurrection but God's wisdom always knows best what to reveal to us.

The way things are arranged, we need faith to believe, and hope to sustain us. We learn to trust God in spite of sense experience.

If God made the world He can control the timing of His interventions and the workings of natural processes. If we believe in God it is not a great leap to believe in the resurrection of the body.

Believing and hoping, we also rejoice that things are heading towards a much happier state than we have now.

And for this life a firm belief in the Resurrection enables us to bear adversity and remain cheerful in all circumstances.

Our faith is not just external observances, but internal concord with all that God intends.

Our unruly flesh comes into submission to our spirits, which in turn submit to the Holy Spirit, making an orderly continuity, with every part in place and acting in unison with each other.

What a strange world where the most enlightened creatures are the most rebellious – namely angels and humans!

It is not wise to go against the One who has put all this in place and promises so much more.

This is what sin amounts to, and it brings death into the world. The wages of sin are death – of which we have seen so much evidence.

Now is the time to leave death behind and discover resurrection instead.

We are preparing for our final resurrection by already seeking union with the Risen One, with God Himself.

We start to rise as soon as we let God influence our minds and hearts.

We do not worry about the delay in time before we see the general resurrection. That delay is to give sinners time to repent, and the righteous time to grow in virtue (cf parable of the Talents, Mt 25,14-30).

The delay in time in no way diminishes the promise.

We experience a glorious liberation in bringing the flesh under control, ending the rebellion within.

Then, better still, eternal life.

10th Sunday after Pentecost 9 Aug 2010 Sermon

 

10^th Sunday after Pentecost 9.8.20 Judging others

We should not judge each other (Lk 6,37). We often hear that. It is often used as a counterattack on any attempt by one person to correct another.

You cannot judge me; therefore you have no right to comment on what I do.

We do not know the state of another’s soul; we do not have enough information. We do know however whether certain things are right or wrong.

If I see someone starting to burn down the town hall, I do not know his motives or his mental state. I can judge however that objectively, his action is wrong.

We must not be silent on moral matters out of fear that someone could be offended.

Feelings do get hurt when the moral truth is asserted. This is why people were so angry with the prophets, and with Our Lord.

The truth will set us free (Jn 8,31-32), and truth is all we are seeking. Those who are genuinely ignorant of their wrongdoing will be happier if they come to know their true position.

Many would be unaware of why what they are doing is wrong, or how seriously wrong it is. Their ignorance may or not be excusable, but in any case it is a serious wrong, objectively.

For ourselves at least, we aim at getting it all right, objectively and subjectively. We want to do what is right and best, with the best intentions, especially wishing to give glory to God.

We must be prepared ourselves to receive correction, and as far as correcting others we must always take the splinter out of our own eye first (Mt 7,5).

We do not consider whether we are better or worse than others; we seek merely to do what is best as our situation requires.

Is the other person sinning? Very likely, yes. Is it a mortal sin, a venial sin? We will not always be able to tell. We do not need to know the full extent of the degree of sin; we simply say that it would be better for everyone to listen to the wisdom of the Church and change our behaviour.

The other person may or may not go to hell for what he is doing. We, for our part, pray for his soul and for all the other related needs. We desire the salvation of all no matter how much we may disapprove of their behaviour.

Do we think we are better than others? Probably we do think it, and we should not.

We have our own sins which may be worse or as bad as theirs.

Instead of judging we encourage each other to find the right way.

Who is worse, who is better, does not matter so much as that we all find mercy.

We can make prudential decisions about whom we mix with. For instance we would not be  best friends with criminals.

This is a judgment about what is our best course of action. It is not a condemnation of other people as such, more of a tactical consideration.

We avoid occasion of sin, and this can mean avoiding certain people. We do not want to be exposed to temptation, or our children to be so exposed.

It all comes back to God and what He wants. He must be obeyed, honoured, loved.

The pharisee took comfort in thinking himself better than the publican. He was wrong.

The publican asked for mercy on his own account. He was right.

They both should have asked mercy for themselves and each other. This we do now, here at Mass.

Lord, be merciful to us, sinners.

9th Sunday after Pentecost 2 Aug 2020 Sermon

9^th Sunday after Pentecost 2.8.20 Beyond our strength

St Paul tells us that we are never tested beyond our strength (1 Cor 10,13).

This has been understood as referring to temptations to sin, and more generally to our need to cope with problems.

There is no sin that we have to commit. The temptation might seem to be overwhelming but cannot really be so. If we did not have power of consent there would be no sin.

Temptation is like a flame that can be easily extinguished in its early stages (eg putting out a match) but is impossible to control once it has taken hold.

We have to develop the discipline to be able to see temptation off very quickly or we will lose that promised protection.

We need also to have a solidly formed Christian character which will enable us to deal with any type of sin that might approach us.

By a combination of this general character and specific sorrow for sins, we will have access to the grace which will enable us to resist any temptation.

Sin is a misdirection of the will. It means we want the wrong thing more than the right one.

With divine help we can steer our own will back to the right path.

God is always the most desirable being, the object of our will. The best thing we can do is to align our wills with His. He will help us to see what we really want.

This is how the human race was supposed to be from the start.

This is to enjoy complete tranquillity of mind with no discordant passions.

Our bodies rebel as it is (Ga 5,17) but they will come into line if the will does first.

The other sense in which we can understand this verse concerns our ability to cope with sufferings more generally. God will never send us more than we can bear.

How much we can bear is very hard for us to know. We do not know our own strength in this area.

We can look at our lives and see times when we thought something was insurmountable, but now we see that we did get through it.

God parts the waters for us and we cross on dry land, like the Israelites.

We find in the lives of the saints that they all suffered huge amounts. Yet they could absorb that suffering. They had the capacity to love God to such a degree that the sufferings seemed light to them.

When we love enough we do not count the cost. When a crisis is on people rise to the occasion, for example, trying to rescue someone in need.

Would you lay down your life to save someone else’s. You probably would if you loved the person.

What about to save someone’s soul? Even more important.

And what about saving people we do not even know? The saints could do that because they were imbued so completely with the love of Christ.

If we have suffering we can ask for it to be removed or resolved; or we can ask that we be big enough to carry that suffering.

One way or the other God will never let us down.

This is our consolation and it is a powerful one.

Here again we need discipline to keep this awareness of God's help. We will be tempted to think that God has abandoned us. It could never be that.

The two senses in which we can understand this verse converge. If our wills are in union with the divine will, then we will not fear adversity nor be attracted to sin in any form.

May the grace of God sustain us through all storms, till we reach eternal peace.