21st Sunday C 24 August 2025 Sermon

 21^st Sunday C   24 August 2025 Regrets

Regrets I’ve had a few, says Frank Sinatra. As we reach adult years we can recall probably more than a few regrets.

We regret that we cannot change the past; however, we can ‘change’ the future, insofar as we make better decisions as to how we live. 

So we become unlikely to repeat the same mistakes of the past. This is why there is a constant call to repentance in our faith. And why we have penitential rites, and seasons like Lent; and call for mercy in our prayers (especially the Mass).

A lot of people do not pray, it seems, yet Jesus is so welcoming - like the generous father who welcomed back the prodigal son. The  son did not like his chances of being forgiven, but gave it a try. So should anyone do who feels alienated from God. Approach Him and see what happens  (Lk 15,11-32) 

Yet the Gospel today (Lk 13,22-30) sounds uninviting. To be saved you have to get through a narrow door. Even calling on God may not be enough. Yet God will never ignore a cry of true repentance. Jesus uses this image to stress the need for sincere repentance, not just pretending.

Peace of soul comes with repentance, and we feel put back together, re-integrated - all parts working together.

We can have that peace. One could be a dropout, never making it in the eyes of the world.

But with a sincere act of repentance there is mercy and new life. Lord, have mercy on a sinner (The publican Lk 18,9-13).

We can all do this and converge on Heaven, having been transformed by the love of God.

Jesus is putting things in such urgent terms, to give the Jews of His time a wake-up. He tells them that others will get there before them. There is no pre-determined limit to Heaven. We can all get in. but we must all be busy about it, not growing complacent or cynical.

For those who have not needed a dramatic conversion because they have been living a good and orderly life so far – there is an urgency to pray for others who are not so well placed. And as we learn from sport – don’t declare victory until it is over.

We pray for  others, that they will find the narrow door and the path that leads to it. Our prayer can generate grace, which will make it easier for others to repent.

Whatever we have been or have done, we can call down the mercy of God in the present moment.

Some deal with guilt by trying to deny it. But if the guilt is real it has to be addressed. Like with a disorder in the body, we cannot just talk it away.

Complete repentance requires that we change our behaviour, but once we taste the mercy of God we are glad to do that. There is joy in Heaven over one sinner who repents (Lk 15,7); and that joy can be anticipated on earth too, cf Zacchaeus Lk 19,1-10).

The  door to which Our Lord refers is narrow because there is so much falsehood around it. It is harder to stay on course when there are many alternatives on offer. We make the door wider by our personal choices for good. It is not meant to be so hard as it is to live a good life,

It is just that many make the wrong turn-offs in their particular pathway. Then the destination can seem a long way off. And the whole society can get muddled, as much of ours is now.

Some correct turns will make all the difference.

20th Sunday C 17 August 2025 Sermon

20^th Sunday (C)  17 August 2025 Union with Christ

Our Lord does not really want anyone fighting – such as mother and daughter, as put in today’s Gospel (Lk 12,51).

He has indeed come to bring peace, but it has to be first peace with Himself, then with each other.

If we are all looking to be at one with Him then we will automatically become one with each other. (Like converging on the same place, we all meet there).

He did not want division between people, but He knew His coming would have that effect. Some would accept Him; some would reject Him.

Jesus knew that people could be changeable, spiteful, vengeful, and the like. They could rebel against God and each other. He came to set up a renewed humanity that would not be like that.

Humanity could not be fully saved unless the healing go deep down in the heart, the centre of all desires.

Only those who would allow Him to take over their minds and wills would learn what the peace of Christ really meant.

We are made for God and cannot change that. The best idea is to accept that status and find out where it leads.

Christ dwells in us and guides the way we think, the way we love, what we pursue.

It does not lead to peace at first because there is resistance.

1 ) When missionaries would take the gospel to new places they would meet persecution  (cf first reading, the mistreatment of Jeremiah). It is easier to kill the messenger than to heed the message.

2) Or there is a kind of diluted acceptance, whereby people will accept the Gospel but not as the central driving force of their lives, more as an add-on, a contributing factor but not the main event.

3) Or they will resolve to keep the new doctrines, but keep the old ones as well. So there is always the temptation to worship false gods, in whatever form they come.

No, there is only one God, and one Saviour. Union with Him is like being married; fidelity is essential.

4) Or they will say that we should not preach the Gospel anyway; better to leave everyone as they are. That would bring a measure of peace, but not with Christ. It is good if we do not kill each other, but we still need Christ front and centre.

And where we express this unity with Christ and each other most fully is here in the Church, the people of God.

5) Or they will try to be ‘Christian’ but without Christ. This is when Christianity is reduced to a set of ethics. Jesus was a teacher, nothing more.

No, we cannot have the body without the head. It is one unit, one person who unites all others.

Ethics are essential but they do not stir the soul. We need supernatural help, and we get that from prayer and sacraments.

Let Him be the head and we will learn a lot faster.

Jesus is more than teacher; He is the source of all mercy and grace. He enables all who want to live the new life He demonstrates.

In His personhood He can gather in all who want to be gathered.

We come to love Him, not just obey.

We pray that the mercy of Christ will reach every heart, and thus there would be the peace that Jesus came to bring. This is the fire that He was anxious to light.

If He divides us it is only to reunite us with something better. No less than Himself.

19th Sunday Ordinary Time (C) 10 August 2025 Sermon

19^th Sunday (C )  10  August 2025 Security

When we talk about faith, there are two meanings. Faith is an intellectual assent to what is stated in the creeds. And faith is trust, trusting in God not to let us down.

It is this sense of trust that Jesus is asking of us in today’s Gospel. Faith is the opposite of fear or doubt.  I cannot be afraid if I am on trusting terms with God.

Though ten thousand rise against me (Ps 3,6).

 Though the stalls stand empty of cattle (Hab 3,17). Though the mountains may fall (Is 54,10) – yet will I trust in the Lord, and I will not fear.

In all these texts our security is found in God, not in the lesser things we are inclined to rely on - such as money, physical protection, locked doors.

In all trials I will stand firm. We have many saints, especially the  martyrs, to inspire us by their example.

We have direct access to God's grace and power through prayer and sacraments.

How can we lose? The only way we can lose all this is if we neglect the sources of help which are provided. If we do not pray, nor meditate on these things, and put them into practice, we will be fearful always, unless we change direction.

Jesus tells us not to trust things of earth which thieves or moths can destroy (Lk 12,33-34) Better to build up one’s treasure in Heaven where we will collect it one day.

It is like having shares in a company - we have a share in God. We cannot possess Him but we can share in His life.

We do what we can to stay safe, to stay alive. We are careful what we eat, careful crossing the road, careful going out alone, wearing  seat belts, locking the house, and  money in the bank etc.

These things are all good in their way, but our real security, the one that cannot be taken from us is to be in a state of union with God.

This union is the basis of our trusting God. He will not let us down. Either He will give us what we ask, or something different, at least equally good.

Filled with trust in Him we can then be like the servants who will be found being active when the Master returns. (Lk 12,42-48)

We will do things He wants us to do, whether great or small, from choosing a career to helping a stranger.

We will not grow slack with the passing of time, but use all the time remaining to us to make known the kingdom of God.

The word ‘security’ might convey that we are hiding in shelters, just trying to survive. The stronger disciples are proactive, seeking out ways of serving the Lord.

In our way of looking at things, even to die for Christ can be seen as the work of an active servant.

Our concept of success and failure is different from the world’s. Look at Our Lord Himself. To die on the Cross seemed a very strange way of spreading the kingdom but that is what happened.

We might face unexpected challenges, but we trust that God will bring a good result from it all.

We face many difficulties, but God is bigger than all of them. And to the extent that we ourselves might doubt His power or goodness, He can help with that too.

Many despair but not us. For us it is hope and faith, all the way to the gates of Heaven.

We thank God for His faithfulness to us!

18th Sunday of Year (C) 3 August 2025 Sermon

 18^th Sunday of year (C)     3 August 2025 Pilgrims

God gives us a world full of beauty and then tells us not to become too attached to it!

This we might perceive to be somewhat cruel on His part, but He has our wellbeing in mind.

It is something like you get a box of chocolates for your birthday but you know you should not eat them all at once.

Life is like that. We are tempted to throw off restraint and indulge ourselves with various passions, either wrong in themselves, or taken out of their proper balance. Eg too much computer use or social media. 

What is God doing to us? He is training us, forcing us to go through certain exercises to become more sharply focused. 

See how you go at being generous with  your time and possessions. 

See how you go at being ready to give things up, if required. 

These are areas where we can learn and improve. We do it for other areas of life, why not the spiritual life? 

The rich man forgot that he was on a journey, that he was not in his final home. He became too attached to his surroundings. 

We should get ready for Heaven. It is coming closer in time, and in our readiness to enter there. 

By a combination of sorrow for past sin, and making new resolution we can make progress, and this is the idea. 

I am going to heaven means union with God and all the other heavenly citizens. It is not just a place of pleasures, but of deep union with God, for which we were created. 

God expects us to go through this life aspiring to be with Him not allowing ourselves to be too immersed in this life. If there is any immersing it is with God, not the things God has given us. 

To be totally immersed in God's will and so grow in stature spiritually. 

It just takes a bit of discipline. And perseverance. 

And coming back again and again to the main point. Do not make the same mistake as the rich man. He forgot he was going anywhere. He did not consider his immortality. He forgot to consider the end of his life – end in ‘time’, and end in ‘purpose’. 

We need to know the end before setting out. We take provisions for the journey insofar as we equip ourselves like the wise virgins (Mt 25,1-13). 

Our prayers and sacraments help us to get back on the road.

Many lose faith in God when they are deprived of something or someone they love.

We entrust those we have loved to God's mercy. We hope to see them again, but even that will not be the main point. First we will be in union with God.

We could see this life as a training ground, like a camp. We gradually catch on.

Whatever we use or have in this life we express gratitude and detachment.

The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh. Blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1,21).

And what joy when our journey is complete; then there is no more giving up or taking away.

We grasp all this and then we explain it to our neighbours, if they will listen!

Every situation, every experience can be a winner, a chance for correction and growth.

We encourage each other as we are all in the same boat, trying to bring that boat to the eternal shore.

It is all a matter of directing our desires to the right place. If we love this world too much we love Heaven not enough.

Think of whatever we love here as a preview of Heaven. To stimulate our appetite.

Like the deer that yearns for running streams, so my soul is thirsting for You, my God (Ps 42,1).