16th Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 23 July 2023 Sermon

16th Sunday (A) 23 July 2023 Punishment

‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do’ (Lk 23,34) - words from the Cross. People have done some very foolish things but this one tops them all – crucifying their Creator and Saviour.

Yet even this God can and does forgive.

In fact, the Cross becomes itself the Centrepoint of all God's activity to save the human race from the wrong path. He makes Himself the acceptable sacrifice which is more pleasing to God than sin is displeasing.

We kill Him; He brings us back to life! An unusual arrangement but very much in our favour.

God will forgive any sin, where there is true contrition from the sinner. ‘A humble and contrite heart You will not spurn (Ps 50(51),17)

If we turn to Him in need of mercy we will certainly find it.

What if we do not turn to Him? God does not withdraw His offer of mercy.

He will try to reach the heart and mind of the unrepentant sinner.  This may include depriving the sinner of the false securities on which he presently relies.

People often think that they can get by without God, but that is an illusion. Without God we would have no universe to live in, no air to breathe, no ground to walk on, no personal talents or abilities. He makes the whole thing possible, and if He were to withdraw His presence then all creation disappears.

To remove complacency, God punishes the sinner, to claim His attention.

How do we say that God forgives the sinner and also punishes? The forgiveness is the desired result; punishment, when needed, is part of the way of getting to that final result.

If God hurts us it is only so He can heal us. The hand that hurts is the hand that heals (Job 5,18)

When a sinner does repent there is great joy among the angels (Lk 15,7).

God is biased towards saving us. It is like going into a courtroom and the judge is on our side. He will do everything possible to save us, but He will not force our free will.

If a sinner holds out against God's mercy then that sinner may be eternally lost. That is a conclusion we pray to avoid, for everyone.There will be a day of reckoning when the wheat and the darnel are separated (Mt 13,24-30) May we all be ‘wheat’.

Till then, God will continue to save, on call to all who call on Him.

He sees the good that is potentially within each person and seeks to bring that good to the light of day.

He welcomes any move towards him on the part of the sinner.

God wants to move people to where they love Him, and are truly sorry for their sins, loving God for His own sake, and not just wishing to avoid punishment.

For those of us who do readily acknowledge Him, one of the most important things we can do is pray for those who do not pray.

One person can help another to find mercy, even if the other person is not looking for it.

We pray for people who would tell us not to pray. We will not force them to do anything but we pray that they will see the way clear themselves.

Grandparents*, pray for your grandchildren, who are growing up in a world that takes  many wrong turnings. Keep your own faith till the end! 

[*World day of prayer for grandparents]

15th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year A 16 Jul 2023 Sermon

15^th Sunday Year A 16 July 2023 Word of God

In the first reading we hear God saying that His word goes out and does not return to Him without achieving what it was sent to do (Is 55,11).

What it is supposed to do includes to comfort the downhearted, confront the sinner, convert the unbeliever to the true faith; then to nourish us in the faith.

It is one thing to be born; another thing still, and better, to be brought to the true faith through baptism.

Before we were born there were people who believed what we believe now, and they helped us to grasp the faith and see how it fitted in with our lives.

Grandparents, parents, teachers, catechists, missionaries… they all played a part.

The faith is passed on from one generation to the next, so we have a double obligation – first to receive, secondly to pass on.

We have a central core of belief which is called the deposit of faith. This has been kept alive for two thousand years, approximately eighty generations!

No wonder things get confused sometimes, as we know how easily a message can be distorted despite the best intentions.

Our Lord established the Church and made the apostles the first bishops, so that there would be clarity and unity in the beliefs that were meant to spread to the whole world. ‘Go and baptize all nations’ (Mt 28,19).

The deposit of faith must be protected from errors and distortions, and from being diluted with the passing of time.

We do not have to agree on everything but we do have to agree on core beliefs and practices, such as the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

We teach the faith to children according to their level of understanding. We do not delay the teaching until adulthood because those offering false teaching will not wait that long.

Always evildoers have seen the young as easy targets, and put all sorts of enticements and temptations before them.

We protect our children from error and give them the means to determine right from wrong, true from false.

Truth will win out as surely as the word of God will not return empty.

Once we believe it we must not look back.

This is the fruit of the word going forth. Enough have believed to keep the flame alight.

Having truth does not excuse us from behaving well!

In fact the more we know something the more likely we are to act out that knowledge.

Knowing the faith puts us under extra obligation.

Bringing to faith, and then sustaining that faith is the work of the Church.

The Holy Spirit guides the Church through the Pope and Bishops.

Despite persecutions, heresies, schisms, all manner of trouble within and outside the Church, there is still a large number of people who hold to the truths of the Catholic faith.

Today there is a temptation in the name of tolerance that we should accept other beliefs as well as our own.

We do not force people to believe what we believe but this does not mean we accept their beliefs as right.

We have good reason for thinking that the Catholic faith has special claims to be right. It is because Jesus Christ has established that faith and has maintained it ever since. No other religion can claim that.

Certainly we should get along with others, but we cannot downplay the word of God just to keep the peace.

We have to correct error and be clear about what we believe.

Always mercy is available if we have been muddled about one or other point of faith, or behaving in a contrary way to God's word (either sin or error).

We learn as we go, and growing in charity and clarity. We thank God for those who helped to bring us to the faith, and pray that He helps us pass it on to those after us.

 

14th Sunday Ordinary Time 9 Jul 2023 Sermon

14^th Sunday, Year A, 9 July 2023 Come closer

Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened (Mt 11,28) and I will give you rest.

We are all burdened, maybe overburdened; we all have our share of troubles.

We need help from various sources to get through life.

The strongest source of help is from Heaven itself.

If we do not pray we are not receiving the benefits of what would have happened.

Help is available. Jesus is asking us to ask Him, to come to Him, and to see it is not so hard as we thought.

Why do we not approach Him more naturally?

Some things require time and application and cannot be sorted out immediately.

It can therefore be a discouragement to prayer if there is no immediate answer; a lack of hope; a sense that prayer does not and will not work.

Jesus said, knock and it shall be opened (Mt 7,7). Some doors will not open the first time, but they will open eventually if enough people pray for long enough.

Jesus wants a state of closeness to us, whereby we put all our requests on a continuous basis.

We do not just ask once and then walk off. We stay with the problem, and with the solution - which is Jesus Himself. He wants us to trust Him after so many centuries of providence and miracles. So much proof, so little belief!

He will never turn the contrite sinner away (Ps 51,18), nor give his son a snake for a fish (Mt 7,7-11).

We may not feel close to God, but He wants us to overcome any shyness or reserve and trust Him as a loving father, or friend; to seek him out, like the woman trying to touch the hem of his garment. (Mt 9,20-22)

For His part He is willing to grant our requests, but He also wants something from us – that we would be His disciples. We are not just ‘customers’ seeking free health or food, but ready to put our whole lives into submission to His holy will.

Then there can be another kind of discouragement, when often people blame God for what goes wrong, and are thus less likely to approach Him. God permits troubles but always with a view to getting a better outcome than we started with.

People who do not pray, or pray only very briefly, are missing out on so much.

This life is hard but it could be a lot easier if we connect with the One who regulates the whole process.

To pretend that God is not there when He knows every thought or word we ever expressed, is to deprive oneself of the most powerful source of help possible!

If we don’t pray or receive sacraments it is a hard slog. We really need the full awareness of the divine element.

God can rescue anyone from anything, and is still as powerful as at any biblical time or past era.

People seek consolation in the wrong places, which can lead to self-destructive results. Many things will make it worse not better, for example, drugs, drink, sexual promiscuity.

If we have a problem God will either remove it, or more likely help us go through it.

The hope is that we will mature in faith and understanding as we go through one thing after another.

We develop a continuous interaction with God,  where He heals, helps, strengthens, and resolves.

He knows what is best for each individual person, and also for the whole Church.

But we must come, as He says. Come to Me all you who labour and are burdened.

If we can steer our way through the discouragement we will see daylight!

 

13th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2 Jul 2023 Sermon

13th Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 2 July 2023 Putting God first

Do we put God first? We know we should but actually doing that is another matter.

God can seem far away while other things are right with us, all around us.

Many things are important to us, many things are attractive to us. These things will eat into our limited time and absorb our attention.

Several prayers of the Church acknowledge this difficulty. Frequently in these prayers we ask God to help us despise the things of the world and come to love the things of heaven. 

St Paul tells us in to have our minds fixed on where  Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father (Col 3,1-2).

This is not so easy but it must be possible. By God's grace we learn to look deeper into different dimensions of reality. We cannot see the spiritual world, usually, but we can still be aware of its closeness.

We have  a fear perhaps of being too ‘spiritual’ as in absent-minded, not facing hard practical reality. We still have to look both ways when we cross the road!

If we get the balance right we should be able to deal with the physical reality around us more efficiently, applying greater wisdom and motivated by grace.

We have to learn to be still and know that He is God (Ps 46,10); to come to trust in God to make things run as they should.

That is the real business at hand. If we trust God we can happily organize ourselves around Him and His will for us.

Seek first the kingdom of God… and all these things will be given you (Mt 6,33).

Whatever we need will be given to us. Not everything we may want, but everything we need. And we learn to want the right things in the right way and the right amount.

Another fear of becoming too spiritual is having to give up things to which we have become attached.

We learn instead moderation and purification of our desires. We want only what God wants us to have. Who has God wants nothing… St Teresa of Avila.

Too much of anything is going to do more harm than good.

Some will say that as far as needs go, they do not need God. They can manage for themselves. This is while they experience good fortune. But how quickly it can all come undone. No one can defy God and win.

Much of God’s creation is of a beauty that is hard to resist. But the more attractive something is just shows how good God must be to make all these other things. When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; ⁴ what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? (Psalm 8,3-4)

If we do put God first our capacity to appreciate the many blessings around us will expand. We see into depths that were previously hidden. We appreciate things more, but we are not enslaved to them.

Ironically, the things that interest us so much all come from God anyway, and would not be there but for His providence.

We must thank Him for these things, and then ask for the wisdom to use them as He would wish.

Prayer is especially important if we are to achieve a change of viewpoint. Through prayer we come to understand the ‘personal’ nature of God. He is not an unfeeling force indifferent to our troubles. He wants to comfort us in our distress and will do so if we let Him.

There is no getting around it: God is first by any way of looking at it. It is a point that has escaped much of the human race for much of the time. We must see it and live by it. His grace makes it possible.