Quinquagesima Sunday 23 Feb 2020 Sermon

Quinquagesima Sunday 23.2.20 Faith, Hope, and Charity

We all have our troubles – some we have all our lives; others come for a shorter time.

Some are easily solved; others seem beyond solution.

We bring them all here to Mass, and – like the blind man – we call out Jesus son of David, have mercy on me (Lk 18, 38)

We express our trust in Jesus, and we reach out to Him as simply and straightforwardly as those in Gospel times.

We know that not all our troubles will be solved at one time. And even if they were solved, there would be new troubles tomorrow.

Still we sense that it is a very good idea to call upon the Saviour whenever we need help of any kind.

We bring our troubles to the Mass and we put them at Our Lord’s feet. At the same time we pray for ways of coping when the troubles remain.

The coping mechanism is alluded to in today’s epistle: faith, hope and charity. If we have those qualities we can rule the world.

Faith hope and charity enable us to go against appearances, and against the tide of human opinion.

We put our trust in God - not in how things look, or what people think.

Anyone who takes religion seriously is likely to be ridiculed. We develop the courage to withstand that.

We learn to hold as firm as Our Lord Himself, on the Cross; and as Mary at the foot of the Cross.

Faith enables us to see the unseen. Hope enables us to see a path ahead, even if unclear at present. Charity enables us to love the unlovable.

These are supernatural gifts from God, which operate supernaturally - that is, beyond the normal range of human capacity.

Supernaturally these abilities are raised to a miraculous level. They will enable us to believe, hope and love beyond our normal limitations.

We cannot see God; nor Heaven, nor angels and saints – yet they all exist and we believe they do. We believe it not just as an opinion but as a certainty.

Faith gives us that certainty.

We cannot see the future, so we might despair or be very depressed about how things will turn out.

Hope, supernatural hope will enable us to see a future where every tear is wiped away (Rev 21,4); where the wolf can dwell with the lamb (Is 11,6).

Charity will enable us to bless those who curse us (Mt 5,44), to give without expecting return (Lk 6,35) - because we are drawing upon the infinite charity of God, instead of just relying on our own meagre supply.

We have faith, hope and love if we have been baptised. They can get rusty from neglect, but they can be called forth once we have returned to communion with Our Lord.

The more we exercise these gifts the more powerfully they will operate.

It is all part of our Christian life, which requires daily that we be prepared to go against the tide of public opinion.

We do not differ from others just to be difficult, but because it is necessary to uphold God's view on things. People may be annoyed with us but they can share in the happiness too, if they will read the signs.

Reality is more than just what we see through physical eyes; a great deal more.

We thank God for giving us ways of seeing more deeply; for lifting our burdens from us, or for giving us strength to carry them.

Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known (1 Cor 13,12).

Sexagesima Sunday 16 Feb 2020 Sermon

Sexagesima Sunday 16.2.20 Commitment

We are disciples of Christ. A disciple is one who follows another for the purpose of learning. We follow Jesus Christ by listening to Him, praying to Him, receiving what He chooses to give us.

A disciple must be disciplined.  It requires that we remember whose team we are on; to whom we owe our first loyalty.

Jesus Christ calls us individually: Come, follow Me. We have to decide individually whether or not we will answer that call.

If we accept the call we have to renew it every day; otherwise we will go off the boil.

So we repeat what we have already promised. In all the various prayers we say, and especially in the Mass we ask for the grace to make a full commitment to following, obeying, loving God.

When we repeat a prayer it is not a mechanical repetition but a new statement; not new in content but in intensity.

Every day we have to do it all over again. The circumstances of discipleship vary but the main point remains the same - we follow Him.

The time stretched out before us is an opportunity for growth.

If we can get through all the challenges we will be in the last category of the Sower parable; bearing a rich harvest.

The Sower parable brings out that a lot of people hear the invitation from Our Lord to follow Him, but they do not last.

For some it is in one ear and out the other.

Others get further than that, but they drop out when something - either offering happiness or threatening suffering - presents itself.

No, we have to hold on to the end. He who puts his hand to the plough does not look back (Lk 9,62).

What we say at one time we must be prepared to say again.

Why do we have to keep saying things that we already know (such as the Creed). Because if we don’t say it we will stop believing it!

We have to keep close contact with the Master, or we will fall away in one way or another.

There are a lot of ex-Catholics around, who used to believe all this but they do not now. What changed? Not the truth.

We reaffirm the truth every chance we get. We engage actively with it so that at any point we will be ready as disciples of Christ to serve in whatever way, even if it means persecution and martyrdom. Or just facing some new challenge.

This should mean steady growth, but if we stumble then we repent, and reaffirm from that point.

It is not easy to be a good disciple; it takes application and perseverance.

But it is not so hard if we take it in small bits. The troubles of this day are sufficient for the evil thereof (Mt 6,34). We have to do only what each day brings.

Nor is it so hard if we gradually come to think like a disciple and less like someone out to serve only oneself.

That so many others have fallen away could be a discouragement to us, but it really needs to be an incentive to work even harder.

We must guard against drifting away ourselves, and we exert ourselves to re-invigorate those who have lost their way.

We become more resilient. People will see that our faith is not just formalities, but real substance.

The Lord needs someone to take the lead, to bear the brunt – people such as St Paul (see epistle - apologia for his life), if on a lesser scale.

May the Lord draw forth from us the response that He seeks.

Septuagesima Sunday 9 Feb 2020 Sermon

Septuagesima Sunday 9.2.20 Individual call

It is easy to relegate our spiritual life to formalities. So we go to Mass on Sundays and a few other times, and that is about all there is to it.

Almighty God would tell us something very different.

He wants to have a direct personal relationship with each of His children. He wants each of us to have an intense interest in Him and His will for our lives.

We might think that God has too many people to worry about to be bothered with us, but He is intensely aware at every moment of what we are doing, thinking, feeling.

The fact that there are a lot of us, and many of our religious practices are with large numbers, does not in any way affect His interest in each one of us.

He creates us; then He calls us. Come, follow Me, is addressed to all of us, not just the apostles, not just priests and nuns, but every single person, wherever they might be at the moment.

He called Matthew the sinner directly away from his illegal practices (Mt 9, 9-13). He asked the rich young man to sell all he had and follow (Mk 10,21). So He addresses everyone, including the atheists, the lapsed Catholics, those following false religions or beliefs, those already good; those not yet good.

He calls us to work in the vineyard. We should say yes to that call, because it represents our whole life direction.

And we do this work for as long as we have - from the moment of conversion to the moment of death. All time belongs to Him, and we fill it with our response.

Once we start we do not stop: He who has put his hand to the plough, does not look back (Lk 9,62). The servant should be still at work when the master returns (Lk 12,37).  From now on you will be fishers of men (Lk 5,10).

And St Paul, in the epistle, speaks of the need to run to the end, not slacken off.

We must not be alarmed by all this talk of work. Work is not a burden when motivated by love.

The love of God will act on us; will motivate us so that we want to do what He wants us to do. People put themselves out for those they love. As Christians, we love everyone; or at least Christ does, and we are learning to do as He does.

No one is unemployed in God's kingdom. The old, the sick, the disabled – all can contribute. It is simply a matter of doing, or enduring, whatever is required.

We know there is a reward for this, and in fact it is far more than we deserve.

We are doing only as we should (cf the servants (Lk 17,10)). We are obliged to be and do good, even if there were no reward.

But there is a reward. It is represented by the denarius of the parable. We all receive the denarius whether we come in early or late. It is eternal life, and happiness.

First He forgives us; then He gives us work to do, for which He provides motivation; then He rewards us with more than we deserve.

All we have to do is turn up for work, to show enough interest for Him to do the rest.

We are more fortunate than we usually think ourselves.

We might be tempted to envy those who come in late, and find Heaven. But we are all being treated better than we deserve, since we are nowhere near good enough (by our own merits) to go there.

We are all the latecomers in that sense. Only by the grace of God are we saved.

Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2 Feb 2020 Sermon

Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary 2.2.20 We know Him; we make Him known

We acknowledge that God is mysterious - Who can know the mind of the Lord? (Rm 11,34).

But then we also have passages telling us to go out and Declare His glory among the nations, His marvellous deeds among all peoples.(Ps 95 (96),3)

We are making known what we do not fully know ourselves.

This might sound impossible but it means just that the proclaimers of the Word are also receivers of it.

We must first hear the word before we can make it known. We must believe it first, also.

We know the main points about God as far as our salvation is concerned.

We know He created us in love, saved us in love, and seeks to guide us to Heaven.

He wills the salvation of all people, but will not force anyone to receive that salvation.

We know He is great and glorious, the sole Creator of the universe, and the One to whom all else must answer.

We have received enough light to know that we need more; and at the same time we know that the whole world needs to receive this light also. For my eyes have seen Your salvation… the light to enlighten the Gentiles…(Lk 2,29-32)

We are novices in our knowledge of God. We know what we know, but there is a vast amount more we do not know, or cannot express.

This does not disqualify us from proclaiming the word. Proclaiming actually will have the effect of increasing our faith.

It also gives other people a chance to find their way to salvation.

We stand with the others rather than against them.

The  Church is often accused of judging the world and condemning it. We are really offering the world a better way, in fact, the only way to full salvation.

We simply hope that people will find in Jesus Christ the true Light, which everyone needs, even if they do not know it, or would deny it.

This is Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the answer to every question. Put your faith in Him.

You will find Him if you do not argue or obstruct – bow down before Him and you will see enough to carry you further.

God makes Himself known to those who are humble enough to receive Him.

He comes in a form not easily recognized, to make us look a little harder than we might have done. Thus Simeon and Anna recognized Him while others saw only the externals of the scene.

We seek to know as much about God as we can; and then to make that much known as far as we can reach – to spread that light to the Gentiles, the one true light in a very confused world.

You will find Him if you persevere. Simeon and Anna had waited a very long time, but had persevered in hope. Now their waiting had been justified.

Some of us have been around a long time too, and we might be tempted to give up the wait, declaring that God has disappeared or lost relevance.

We will have our day in the sun also - in whatever form that takes. It may take till the next life but it must come.

We have seen miracles, or at least heard of them. We can easily believe that there will be more of them, that God will complete His plans.

In the meantime we continue to believe, and to proclaim the light for the Gentiles – that is, for anyone who will listen.