Passion Sunday 26 Mar 2023 Sermon

 

Passion Sunday 26 March 2023 Contradiction

 

Our Lord offers a choice – to believe in Him or not.

 

We can go with the heavenly witness (Christ) and see it all make sense; or we can go the worldly way and try to kill Our Lord, like the unjust tenants (Mt 21, 33-43)

 

What do you have left when you have killed the Son?

 

Some who opposed Our Lord would have been sincere in trying to do the best thing; others were past caring if they were right or wrong. They wanted to get rid of Him at any price.

 

We notice a real hatred of religion in general, and in particular the Catholic faith.

 

People hate it because it disturbs their consciences; they are afraid it might be true, and if so it is not convenient for them.

 

People reject the Church because it offers the wrong sort of happiness, one which requires restraint, and is not always immediate. Whereas worldly happiness is instant and does not require discipline.

 

Jesus was popular as a Saviour when He worked miracles but not when He made moral demands. He came for the whole world and generally the world did not want to know. (And His own did not know Him, Jn 1, 11.)

 

And they did not like His method of setting things right – the Cross.

 

What sort of a religion would begin by asking its members to take up the cross and be prepared to wait a long time for any reward?

 

So they set about destroying the very thing that would save them.

 

It is a trademark of the devil that he will get people to shoot themselves in the foot, that they will reject what they need most.

 

We must go by Christ’s way. If there is something we do not like about present arrangements we must come to terms with that, but we cannot re-design God.

 

If we distance ourselves from Christ it will bring us only spiritual death.

 

God knows that we find it hard to sort out the true and the false. He will help us unravel the false attachments and the confusion of ideas.

 

We come into a world where there is massive dispute  about just about everything.

 

It is tempting to throw it all in and just embrace a life of pleasure.

 

That is the equivalent of ‘killing the Son’; only less directly. If we ignore what He has done we are ‘killing’ Him as far as impeding Him from saving us.

 

If the human race had simply received Him there would be no need for sacrifice.

 

Instead He had to go a longer way about, and become the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world.

 

Come and kill Me and then submit to Me as Lord!

 

We prepare to relive the weeks of our Lord’s passion and death, and learn as much as we can. We seek not just mental learning, but from the heart.

 

We will share His sacrifice for the sake of a greater good. We will not object that it is too hard, but focus our energy on achieving it, with a lot of help from Heaven.

 

We accept the Church and our place in it; we thank God for a clear witness in spite of all the false lights.

 

Some will hold on to their hatred, but we hope that many will convert, as they did on Pentecost morning (Acts 2,41).

 

We have only one Saviour for the whole world, transcending any other ways that people would classify themselves. No more Jew or Greek (Ga 3,28).

 

We accept where others reject, love where others hate. We will follow Him to Calvary and then to eternal glory.

 

 

4th Sunday of Lent 19 Mar 2023 Sermon

 

4^th Sunday of Lent 19 March 2023 Food for the soul

 

At times certain foods are offered to us with the encouragement that it will be ‘good for you’!

 

The food will go to work inside the body and enable various good effects. We certainly notice when there is a lack of food and how debilitating that can be.

 

After food we feel refreshed and strengthened.

 

A parallel can be made with the mysterious spiritual food we know as the Eucharist, or Body of Christ.

 

This is food of a different order operating on its own principles in the soul rather than the body.

 

In the soul is where we are really defined as people. If we say someone is good or evil it is the soul where this is found.

 

We do not place any spiritual significance on the health of the body. One can have a sick body but still be a good person; or a healthy body and be an evil person.

 

Goodness is what happens when a person is in good relationship with God, drawing from His goodness and at least some of that goodness will take hold in our intellect and will, in what we think, what we want, the sort of objects we pursue.

 

The most potent way we can draw goodness from God is through receiving His Body in the Eucharist.

 

When we receive Holy Communion we are receiving God's holiness entering our souls and taking effect.

 

Provided we are in a state of grace and have at least a partial faith this holiness will make some difference for good in the one receiving.

 

Because it is a different kind of food from ordinary food it depends on these invisible qualities like faith, hope, charity as to how much difference it will make.

 

If I am really desiring to share in the goodness of God that will enable the Eucharist to have more effect.

 

If I am indifferent to the process or not really believing it to be anything special then the Eucharist will have little effect, and may even be a sin of sacrilege.

 

In the miracle of the loaves there was an abundance of food left over; a reminder of God's abundant nature. He can give enough and more.

 

We can be inspired by this and approach Him confidently in prayer.

 

There is no limit then to how ‘good’ we can be, because we are drawing on an infinite source.

 

It really depends on us to seek more, and then more again.

 

This is not being greedy as we might think. God wants us to be ‘greedy’ in this case because it will cure us of the other sort of greed, for the things of the world, and any other disordered passion.

 

The miracle of the loaves is a clear foreshadowing of the Eucharist. God satisfied a lesser hunger to prepare for a greater.

 

People say they can do all that without the eucharist, but the same people would not say they can live without food.

 

They will say that they have received Communion but it has not made any difference. That would be because they did not receive it with sufficient expectation, or some other blockage. It would make a difference if they persevered in humble expectation.

 

God will deal with each person according to each one’s need. They are all receiving the same food, but God may give more or ask more from one person than another.

 

If we are ever cut off from receiving the Eucharist we can call upon spiritual capital we have built up. We should always regard the Eucharist as essential, however, and not something we can take or leave.

 

 

 

 

 

3rd Sunday of Lent 12 Mar 2023 Sermon

 

3^rd Sunday of Lent 12 March 2023 Fighting for life

 

Its easy to downplay the spiritual life or ignore it altogether being caught up in the material world. Easy because the spiritual is out of sight and can be out of mind.

 

If you see a random crowd walking along it is not likely that many of them would be concerned for their spiritual wellbeing. If they are worried it would be about other things.

 

How can we convince people that in fact although they cannot see it, there are angels and demons fighting over them.

 

St Paul describes this in Ephesians 6. For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ep 6,12)

 

There are no spears and swords being used. This is entirely a spiritual battle but very intense all the same.

 

What are they fighting with? Truth v Lies. The truth will prevail but it can be difficult for humans to recognize and to retain.

 

We feel the effects of this battle in our own hearts, minds and souls. We feel ourselves to be torn this way and that, sometimes choosing the right course, sometimes not.

 

We are what they are fighting about, both sides trying to claim our souls for eternity.

 

At the ground level we take part in the battle, most of it beyond our knowledge or comprehension, but nevertheless our role is important.

 

We take every chance to affirm which side we are on. Then we back that up with a thousand daily decisions to do right not wrong. The little things add up to a lot, especially if we consider that there are billions of people involved.

 

Prayer and fasting are essential. As are good works, and general Christian living, giving good witness to each other. And exhortation to keep fighting.

 

We must be good not only in general, but in particular daily actions.

 

This should go without saying but it does not go as it should. A great deal of sin is committed the world over and this keeps the spiritual battle from resolving quickly.

 

The problem comes back to visibility. If we could see angels and demons we would find it very easy to choose which side to be on.

 

The devil is losing but we are not fighting  hard enough , cooperating enough and we are missing chances to finish things off.

 

We sin too readily, and repent too slowly.

 

Even the small sins can nag at us. we should have smashed them decades ago and going into higher things. without relapses.

 

We don’t stay in grade 1 for fifty years at school, but in spiritual terms we might go fifty years without any great improvement. This is what happens if someone just rests with the sin without trying to uproot it.

 

We need to take a stronger hold on the wheel, that is of our whole lives, keeping the spiritual foremost at all times. We deal with practical matters but always with the spiritual perspective in view.

 

We take orders from above, but also from ourselves as we command our wayward nature to step into line.

 

Doing nothing will let the demons back in, as we have in today’s Gospel (Lk 11,24-26)

 

And not just back in, but worse than before. Seven demons instead of one. This is how vital that we do not become complacent or lazy.

 

The victory has been gained on principle but still damage can be done. Losing armies in war will destroy as they retreat. The devil has a sting in his tail.

 

We should have got further than we have; we should be holier than we are by now; the Church should be stronger than it is… no matter all of these things are retrievable.

 

Jesus, the strong man, expels the demons from their strongholds. We want to be around to be part of that, and eventually enjoy demon-free life.

 

 

Petition to save the Latin Mass

 I have been offering the Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum but as new restrictions have been introduced these Masses are set to close at Easter this year, causing great sadness and perplexity to many. The Masses are at St Monica's, Walkerville and Sacred Heart, Hindmarsh (in Adelaide, Australia).

Please pray that these Masses may continue, and sign the Petition

www.ipetitions.com/petition/save-the-tlm-walkervillehindmarsh

2nd Sunday of Lent 5 Mar 2023 Sermon

 2^nd Sunday of Lent 5 March 2023 Transformation

 

The apostles had a brief glimpse of the glory that Our Lord possessed – through His divinity and through His sinless humanity.

 

Take the sin away, and glory remains. Glory is God's original state, and would be the state of all creation but for sin and its deathlike consequences.

 

Why is it so hard? Why can't we just go to heaven if God wants it and we want it.

 

God does indeed want us to go to Heaven, but we must be prepared first.

 

We cannot just go to heaven like we go to another town.

 

It requires a change of heart, the whole life of the soul. It is much more involved than a mere change of address. We become a new person, transformed in Christ.

 

Reaching Heaven then becomes the completion of this transformation. It is not so much the pleasures of Heaven that we seek as the complete union with God.

 

That is our destiny. It should be our lifelong goal, but sadly so few interpret life in spiritual terms.

 

Only one problem: we are not there yet!

 

We long for a better life than we have seen so far – better both in our own attitudes and behaviour, and as in the rest of the world being a better place to live.

 

This is what the Church is reminding us today. This is real hope, something to hang onto. We will be glad we went though all this, once we have been through it.

 

It is easy, under the influence of sin, to reduce our humanity at the bestial level – like animals only looking for food and pleasure. We need to be at the angelic level, seeking spiritual riches rather than earthly.

 

We can look higher than the animals because we have a spiritual side that can at least be aware of the infinite. To come to a deeper knowledge and love of God is what should follow from this.

 

We enjoy a challenge in some areas of life, such as sport, puzzles, being the first to do something etc.

 

This is a challenge for all of us, and we have no choice but to pursue it to the end.

 

We can refuse, but that leads to death, even eternal death.

 

We are more comfortable with what we know, but we must enter the unknown of the deeper spiritual world.

 

God wants us to do this, while not forgetting the truth that has already been revealed to us.

 

It gets easier as we grasp certain points and grow in virtue. It becomes easier to be good as we discover it has its own appeal. We keep the commandments because we want to, not just because we have to.

 

The Transfiguration was supposed to strengthen the apostles for the coming crucifixion. It would look like they had lost everything, but that would not be so.

 

As it turned out the apostles did not cope with the crucifixion but they did (by the time of Pentecost) see the whole event in context.

 

Now it is our time, to see if we can trust God even if everything looks dark.

 

We face smaller challenges all our lives, and overall one big challenge. Can you believe in God and all that our faith promises? It can be done, but we will face many temptations to abandon ship. And we see that many have succumbed to those temptations.

 

We must be strong, and we can be in the strength of the Lord.

 

It takes more than a day, but it can be done. We prepare ourselves for the glory of Heaven, at the same time increasing our chance of reaching there.

1st Sunday of Lent 26 Feb 2023 Sermon

 

1^st Sunday of Lent 26 February 2023 Confronting our sin

 

Lent has many aspects. It is a time of reflection on one’s spiritual life, a time of reparation for sin, of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

 

When it comes to sin a lot of people will say they don’t have any!

 

We have sayings like, Nobody is perfect. If that is true then everyone must have some sin, otherwise we would be perfect.

 

But many will say, No, I have done nothing wrong (in what could be many years since the last Confession).

 

Look at any detailed Examination of Conscience. Particularly we need to watch the interior attitudes.

 

There is confusion between on one hand having no sin, and therefore not needing forgiveness; and on the other hand, Yes we have sinned but we can be forgiven by God, who is rich in mercy.

 

The two positions come out with a happy ending. In both cases we are in a state of grace, in union with God. But the first position is usually in error, as we see when we look closely enough at all our thoughts, words and deeds.

 

In recent years in the Church we have placed more emphasis on the good that we have done, rather than in dwelling on the sin. A more positive approach, generally.

 

It is good to be affirmed by each other and to feel good about ourselves, but we must be realistic and not just brush over our faults as though they do not matter.

 

We owe it to God to give Him the best we have. Yes, He loves us anyway, even if we burn down the town hall, but we may not be loving Him, and that is an essential part of how salvation works.

 

You could love Jack the Ripper, as a person, but that does not make him a good man. He still has to face his sin and make reparation.

 

Loving is wanting what is best for the other person, and that means ultimately union with God.

 

We do not try to assess the goodness or badness of another person, merely hope for the best, and help each other to improve.

 

It is important to get these things right or we will be blunting the strong reaction that we need to have towards sin.

 

A lot less Catholics go to Confession these days, and one reason would be the idea that if God loves us, it does not really matter so much what we do.

 

We pray for change of heart in unrepentant sinners. This is one of our main jobs in this life.

 

Some people are saints, but most are not. We must become saints, if not canonised, then at least part of the heavenly choir, the galaxy of saints who see the face of God.

 

The Church has made it easy for us with Confession, whereby in privacy and secrecy one can be forgiven and make a fresh start.

 

If in doubt, it is better to follow the direction of the Church which encourages Confession, in joyful trust in God's mercy.

 

Some sins are harder to find than others but we can probably find at least the worst or biggest.

 

One should have purpose of amendment as well, but that will come with grace. If we are at least partially contrite we will receive grace to become more so.

 

We are sick and need the Doctor (Mt 9,12).

 

This takes nothing away from the desire to think well of those we love.

 

Summary: we freely acknowledge our sins; asking the Lord to reveal them to us (Ps 139,24), leading us to appropriate contrition, and a firm purpose of amendment; realizing we cannot do this on our own but can do it with His help.

 

Confessionals should be bulging with people who thirst for this closer union with God.

 

May this Lent be a time of real progress in our response to God's love.