13th Sunday after Pentecost 22 Aug 2021 Sermon

 

13^th Sunday after Pentecost 22 August 2021 Feast of the Immaculate Heart

The average human heart will be a mixture of good and evil desires: good, as in thoughts of love, generosity, kindness to others; bad, as in carrying grudges, wishing harm on others, selfishness, and the like.

In the Heart of Mary we would find only the good desires, and they would be in much larger quantities than we could even imagine.

Mary is not just a little bit better than the rest of us, but far and away above us. As St Alphonsus puts it: The fire of her love was most extreme. If Heaven and earth were placed in it, they would be instantly consumed. And the ardours of the seraphim, compared with it, are like cool breezes.  

We associate Mary with gentleness and quietness, but the external demeanour conceals a furnace of love and all related qualities.

Her fierce love for God enabled Him to work all His plans in her. She did not merely obey God, but wanted to serve Him with her whole heart and soul.

When her role as Mother and Queen of Heaven was established she was then able to turn her attention to loving the rest of us… Woman, this is your son. We are all her children, and she directs this blazing love towards each one of us.

It is tragic that so many people feel alone and unloved, when in fact they have a Mother who is close to their hearts, and would help them if only they could turn to her.

She can help us with everything the world will not give us.

The world lusts after power, impurity, wealth, immediate satisfaction etc. She is humble, pure, poor in spirit, able to trust God over ages of time.

The world ignores God, she seeks Him out.

The world blasphemes God; she glorifies the Lord

Many ignore her; many others (like us) do call out to her but we find we have much work to do in cleansing our hearts and re-directing them the right way.

It is because of our sins that we can be so dull of perception in these matters. Hearts which are weighed down by sin are not capable of perceiving the greatness of divine love, or of Mary’s unique human love.

Part of her loving work for us will be to release our hearts from the false attachments of sin, enabling us to see more clearly the activity of God in our midst.

Her heart was Immaculate, that is, without sin or stain of any kind. We could never love with the same intensity as she does, but we can at least move in that direction.

Our prayer, directed to Mary’s Immaculate Heart will give us the strength to persevere, and not to fall back into cynicism or despair. There is so much sorrow in the world at present; we could collapse under the weight of it all, but we will learn from Mary how to deal with that sorrow and turn it to joy.

The only way is to deepen our link with Almighty God, to find in Him the source of every good thing.

The more the earth fails to keep us happy the more we cling to God (at all stages assisted by Mary).

She can see the solution but she also understands the resistance people have developed. The people have to be eased out of their wrong way of thinking into the real solution.

This takes much prayer on her part, and our part too. We share her sorrow for all who are labouring, and increase our prayers and penances that they will see the way out.

The Assumption 15 Aug 2021 Sermon

Feast of the Assumption 15 Aug 2021 Obedience

We are born with free will, with the ability to decide for good or evil.

That gift, extended to every person in the world has produced a mixed response. Sometimes we obey God and sometimes not. And this is why the world is such a mixture of good and bad. There is still a lot of good about, as in kindness, good intentions etc; but also a huge amount of suffering, caused directly or indirectly by sin.

At any moment we could make a fresh resolution to use our free will always for good and never for evil.

All we have to do is very simple - just obey Almighty God! We surrender our wills to His; always wanting His will to be obeyed and applied to every situation. Thy will be done.

His will may be expressed in commands; or it may be interpreted in the midst of other circumstances eg a call to a person to take a particular course of action.

As we learn to love and trust God we come to a point where we would do anything He asks.

There is one person who obeyed God perfectly at every moment of her life, and that of course is Our Lady. We acknowledge her today, as we note the reward she received, being taken up body and soul into Heaven.

We might say she was so holy as to be beyond us, but as we can draw light from the sun, even though it is much bigger than we are, so we can draw from the immense holiness of Our Lady.

Our obedience must therefore be constant, a way of life, making a foundation for the whole of life, such that all our lives are either directly obeying God, or at least including Him in our decisions.

Is this unreasonable to expect? Given that we are created by God, and kept in being by Him, it is not so remarkable that we should obey Him at all times.

All His creation obeys Him (all the parts that do not have free will, that is).

There is no viable alternative. People try everything else but God's will, and look what it does to them. One sin leads to another and the darkness and chaos increase.

We must keep focus and stay with God and His direction. Our reward will be peace of mind in this life and eternal glorious life in the next.

We could say we are not in it for the reward but to glorify God, and that would be Our Lady s view; but there is a reward all the same.

Mary’s Assumption shows us how completely right her approach was.

How can we be more consistent? We need to pray every day, develop good habits, discipline in the little things, all weathers, all moods.

Like learning any new subject we make mistakes and we learn as we go.

Most of the time God's will is not something spectacular but just the daily grind.

Even Mary would have done normal things most of the time, but with exceptional love as motivation.

Even when under severe suffering she would not lose faith in God. It only served to strengthen her.

We face a lifetime of choice for or against God - lots of little decisions, and a few big ones.

We reach a point where we make major progress as various elements come together.

He will ask more from those who show a willingness, and will supply the grace we need to rise to higher levels.

Mary has left us in one way, but she is still vitally concerned as a Mother for all of us. Woman, this is your son (Jn 19,26-27).

Feast of St Mary MacKillop 8 Aug 2021 Sermon

St Mary MacKillop 8.8.21

(St Mary of the Cross (1842-1909) is Australia's first - and so far only - canonised saint. Her feast falls on 8th August, this year coinciding with the 11th Sunday after Pentecost.)

A saint is someone who takes matters of faith more seriously than people generally do.

The same truth confronts everyone; not everyone sees it as a matter of urgency.

The saint has discovered the hidden treasure and goes all out to find it, and make it known to others (Mt 13,44-46).

Other people think the saint is extreme, takes it too much to heart etc. The saint should be more normal, like they are! Religion has its place but should not be allowed to intrude into other spheres, they will say.

The saint does not see religion as a separate entity but lives life in the light of God's reality. What could be more normal or natural than that?

This includes practical concern for others so the saint is not remote or out of touch with reality.

A saint does not see herself as different or better; but simply reacting to what is evident. God is glorious and kind and good, and it is natural to respond to His graces.

Mary MacKillop has even more normality for us because she is Australian and lived relatively recently. It is not only far away and long ago that saints are found.

Anyone who has enough humility and wisdom to see the obvious can be a saint. It is just a matter of following on one logical thing with another.

If God exists then I should know what I can about Him. and I should come to know and love His will.

That will make us into saints. A canonised saint is one who goes further still, responding to divine initiative, sticking to the task no matter what.

Most of us would not have the energy or drive to do what the canonised saints do - such as founding a religious order in the face of persecution, inertia, disappointment.

We can always improve, however, and that is one reason we are here, to seek that.

As with many spiritual matters we can take small steps, and we must start with where we are.

Grace and application - God will give the grace, and then help us with the application.

He will entrust us with more if we are showing an aptitude for the task. Give one more talent to the servant who already had the ten (cf Mt 25,28).

We do not compare ourselves with others so much as with ourselves. We strive to be better each day than the one before.

We seek not just to solve problems or meet needs as they occur but to contribute to the whole culture; to make it easier for others who come along after. Saints inspire us and can help by their intercession, and by paving the way before us.

For example, starting a religious order makes it easier for someone coming along later. All they have to do is join the order; much of the heavy work has been done.

We never should see a need without doing something about it – one of Mary’s best-known sayings. It challenges to us to practise what we preach.

We are not trying to set the world on fire, but there is a chance we might do that anyway by putting in our small bit. Several people putting in small contributions might be enough to bring on a miracle, We may not see the final miracle or our part in it, but it is comforting to know that such is possible.

Let us do what we can and then not be surprised if God multiplies our efforts. We do not give up in adversity, nor relax in prosperity. We keep striving till the last day!

 

 

 

10th Sunday after Pentecost 1 Aug 2021 Sermon

 10^th Sunday after Pentecost    1 August 2021   Obedience

 We are often called upon to obey certain instructions, especially in this Covid era.

The Christian approach to authority is summed up in the phrase, Give to God what is God’s and to Caesar what is Caesar’s.(Mk 12,17)

As God has authority over the whole world, it means He has authority over everything in that world.

For most purposes God delegates authority to humans who can then organize things at a more local level; and this is where Caesar comes in.

Caesar himself often forgets he is working for God; he is tempted to think that he can govern in his own right!

We don’t need God, the world says – and then proceeds to make a gigantic mess of things. Any study of history will remind us very quickly of human fallibility in decision-making.

St Paul urges us to obey leaders (Heb 13,17) and pray for them (1 Tim 2, 2). We cultivate charity at all times. There is usually a lot of anger abroad whenever important issues are being considered.

We can disapprove of those in charge without hating them, or treating them badly.

Love always hopes (1 Co 13,7), always believes that any person has the potential to be a disciple of Christ, and repent of their sins.

We may not think it likely but we pray for it, and hope for it. We do not follow the way of the world with insults etc.

We should generally obey secular authorities as long as we are not doing something immoral by obeying.

We may think a particular law is wrong, but still comply, for the sake of keeping due order, and finding other ways to protest.

eg Abortion. We cannot pray publicly outside an abortion centre. We obey, reluctantly, but we still oppose abortion and will work in other forums to bring it to an end.

While complying we can also express our disagreement with unjust laws, and always we are praying for divine light to fall upon those in authority.

The same idea applies to Church authority. We pray for our leaders that they will make wise decisions, and for ourselves to be able to see that wisdom.

The Gospel today reminds us that to be humble before God is the key to everything.  The publican was humble, and that put him right with God.

So it will put us right, both the leaders and those being led. If we all kneel before God with sincere intent, we will see much more clearly what is right and good.

This would also enable charity to have a stronger effect in binding people to the right cause.

It comes to this: Keep the law where you can. Pray and work to change the laws when necessary. And above all maintain charity.

On the question of obedience, we are considering our response to the Pope’s recent directives concerning the Mass (Traditionis Custodes)

The Pope is not forbidding the old Mass but encouraging everyone to prefer the new form of the Mass.

We acknowledge his sentiments, but we are not obliged to reject the Latin Mass or to wish it to disappear! Indeed we want it to flourish, and do much good – to give glory to God and to save souls.

The new Mass remains as an option for those who wish – just as there are many other rites within the Church, open to all (eg Ukrainian, Maronite, Syro-Malabar, Ordinariate).

Let us pray for our leaders, ecclesial and secular, that they will make wise decisions, which we can understand and obey.

Lord, be merciful to us, sinners.