Lux Vera

4th Sunday after Epiphany 29 Jan 2012 Sermon

2012-01-31T15:36:00.001+10:30

4th Sunday after Epiphany 29.1.12 True faith

Our Lord rebuked the apostles, not for waking Him, not for asking Him to still the storm, but for doubting Him.

How many miracles had they already seen, and yet they could still doubt? So what can we say, when we have so many more miracles to call upon – and we still doubt?

Our Lord wants and expects that we would believe in Him at all times, all weathers, without doubt, fear or compromise.

The Gospels are insistent on our total commitment. If you put your hand to the plough, do not look back. If you love father or mother more than Me, you cannot be My disciple. If you do not sell all you have and follow Me you cannot be perfect. And many more to the same effect, all calling for a complete dedication on our part. If we would follow this Man it must be without conditions on our part.

He, for His part, promises great happiness to us; but only after we take the narrow and winding path.

On what basis can we trust Him? Miracles we have seen or heard about; also just the ‘miracle’ of the everyday world, which we take for granted yet even the ordinary is extraordinary insofar as it is all designed and kept in place by God; and would collapse in a moment if He withdrew His creative will.

It is only our sin which causes us to doubt. If we had never disobeyed there would be no such thing as an atheist or agnostic. There would be no such thing as a fearful disciple. Sin puts us into darkness, and from that darkness we declare our doubt. But if we could come into the light we would see again.

One way to have more faith is to commit less sin!

We doubt His word because other people lie to us. We doubt His fidelity to us because other people let us down.

But Our Lord is not ‘other people’. He is entirely His own category, a new humanity, where truth and reliability become the new ‘normal’.

Faith can grow through experience. Each time we experience an answer to prayer we can store that away in our memory, and we will then have stronger faith to deal with the next crisis. Collectively as the Church we can borrow from all the miracles that have happened and they can serve to increase our faith.

In practice our faith has a way of going up and down, like the temperature; whereas it should only go up, never down. We might believe in Him one day when things are going well; then we are down again the next day because things are going against us; then we are back on top the day after.

This is allowing circumstances of the moment to influence us. But we are dealing with rock solid, unchanging truth. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

The certainty that we seek is ultimately a gift from Him. He can plant in us a certainty that will enable us to withstand the deceptions of the world, the emotional fluctuations caused by changing circumstances, the cunning of the devil.

If we seek this gift it will be granted to us; and more abundantly still if we act on it.

Who is this man, that even the winds and the sea obey him? Nature obeys Him always, but people only sometimes. We can do better. The more we obey Him the more we will believe. The more we believe the more we will obey – a new humanity free from doubt and fear.

3rd Sunday after Epiphany 22 Jan 2012 Sermon

2012-01-24T15:07:00.000+10:30

3rd Sunday after Epiphany 22.1.12 My soul shall be healed

The centurion realized that it would be a simple thing for Our Lord to heal the servant, because He had authority over creation. The centurion himself could make men come or go by his word. Our Lord could go further and make the winds and the waves obey Him; make sickness go away; even make death go away and bring back to life!

Not everyone has a sick servant but just about everyone has a sick soul.

What is the soul? The very core of our identity where our secret desires and aspirations for good or evil are found - the best and the worst of our true self.

(Next time someone asks you: How are you? If you answer for the soul you can say I am a conflicting mass of desires and aspirations. Don't ask.)

Our souls need healing so we bring them to the Lord. And we say to Him, By a word You can heal it.

The soul is much harder to heal because it is so complicated in its mixture of good and evil.

Speak the word, whatever word is necessary. Lord, You have all power, even over whatever is lurking down there, whatever bad habits I have picked, up whatever structural damage I have done by sin over the years... whatever it is you can heal it.

What word is it that He has to speak? He has already spoken it many times over - in the Gospels; in the Church’s teachings; in a thousand sermons we have already heard.

Love your neighbour, forgive your enemy, feed the hungry, seek first the kingdom, praise God with all your voice.. and many more.

Do any of these things and your soul will be partially healed. Do them all and it will be fully healed.

But we ask for more than this. We are asking for a direct act of intervention by God that He would reach down and touch our soul; that He would heal us right here and now, even in this Mass of all that is wrong with us in that spiritual sense.

He is willing to do that. We cannot always be sure He wants to heal the body but we can be sure that He never desires us to sin or to remain in sin. He must want to heal us at that level.

Yet we discover a resistance in ourselves. We might deny that we need healing. Many would deny they have any sickness. People say their soul isn’t sick because their soul is sick!

We might be unwilling to be healed; as much as we know it would be better for us.

Part of the damage we have done to our souls is that we have developed a desire for sin, like an addiction. We want to be freed and we want to stay captive at the same time.

We can come anyway and say, Lord, overrule me even in my resistance or my denial; sweep it all away. Override my will. I give you even that.

Speak the word that will make me want to be healed; the word that will give me a greater sense of Your reality and goodness.

We cling to sin because we sense in some way it will make us happy. But if we have a choice between two things that will make us happy we will choose the one that gives more.

Sin has muddled us so that we misjudge which course is better. One option brings a lot of trouble the other great peace and joy. Let me see clearly and then let me choose, by which time I will choose rightly.

So we are saying a lot there in those few words. Domine, non sum dignus

We admit the sickness and we are closer to receiving the healing.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany 15 Jan 2012 Sermon

2012-01-17T17:45:00.000+10:30

2nd Sunday after Epiphany 15.1.12 From sorrow to joy

We see that life is a mixture of joy and sorrow but we are asked to believe in a life where there is only joy. This stretches our imagination but it is true; in heaven it is all joy and no sorrow.

It is not so hard to believe in total joy if we consider how it all started. God, the perfect Creator, created a perfect world. All was good and happy. Until sin came and upset the balance and since then there has been lots of trouble.

Christ came to rectify things. His changing of water to wine symbolizes the healing or improving of the status quo.

But there is great tension here because His way of improving things has not been believed or accepted.

People refuse to believe that things can be better than they have been. They believe in neither a past innocence nor a future one. Cynicism.

Also they refuse to change their ways, to repent, to humble themselves – all of which are necessary for the ‘changing of water to wine’ in their case. Each sinner is changed only when truly repentant.

This tension leads to a lot more suffering, even to the necessity of death for Our Lord and His disciples. Thus wine turns into blood.

The changing of one substance into another is very familiar to us as Catholics.

At every Mass we believe the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Wine is recognized as a festive drink. If turning water into wine was an improvement what can we make of turning wine into blood?

It is an improvement also as we commune with Christ, drinking His blood, but it foreshadows suffering for us.

We cannot have the restoration of all things without some share in the ‘cup of suffering’ of Our Lord. This is the tension.

If we look at the progress of the Mass we see a certain progression. We begin by acknowledging our sinfulness, which we do in some detail.

We then offer the gifts of bread and wine, in atonement for our sins, believing that they will be transformed and increased in value by the action of Christ Himself.

We then celebrate that we have been set free from sin, at least in principle, and in festal style eat and drink in celebration – thus Holy Communion.

We see that we are ritually travelling from a rather desolate state of sin to a much happier state of union with Christ.

This is the same path we travel in this earthly life, moving from our present valley of tears to the glory of heaven.

While we are in the valley it is hard to see the glory, but the Mass takes us there in a shorter time. Every time we offer the Mass we are seeing in a compressed time our whole life story.

This gives us hope.

The water goes into the wine (becomes wine) indicating our good fortune in being united with Christ. The wine becomes blood indicating how hard life can be but also effecting the actual freedom that we seek. So in spite of - or even because of - the suffering, we do arrive at pure unalloyed joy. This is where we are now, somewhere in that process. In this Mass, and in life as a whole.

The better we offer our contrite hearts the more speedily and fully the joy will take over. It is ultimately only our sin which makes us unhappy. If we had no sin we would have complete happiness in our union with Christ.

Let us drink the cup, with all that it contains. Till we reach the eternal banquet.

Feast of the Holy Family 8 Jan 2012 Sermon

2012-01-11T13:28:00.001+10:30

Holy Family 8.1.12 Charity

The epistle today gives general guidelines which would be applicable to all Christians about how we should behave towards each other.

If we are to be Christian we must behave like Christ, having His mind and heart. If we cannot be as good as Christ we must at least strive to be, and be sincerely sorry for when we are not.

On the feast of the Holy Family we apply these words especially to our own family inter-relationships.

If charity is always important and necessary it is particularly so in families, where people live in close proximity for so much of the time, and where the potential for great happiness or unhappiness is at stake.

When a family lives something like according to these ideals there is peace and harmony and a good chance that the children of such a family will grow up to a bright future. When there is a severe defect of charity in family life there is much misery and the children can suffer as to their future development.

Think about the sins you confess most often in Confession. How many of those would be committed against other family members? Most people spend a fair proportion of time at home; so it follows that a lot of their decisions for good or evil will be on the domestic front.

Some would argue that home is a kind of a neutral zone as far as morality goes. I have to be nice to people at work, but at home I can be my natural self – the argument would run!

No, there is no neutral zone when it comes to the obligation of charity. The commandments do apply at home and even more so because of the foundational role of the family.

For instance, a parent has a greater obligation to be charitable to the children not only because the children are other people - ‘neighbours’ so to speak - requiring to be loved, but also because there is a teaching or example factor involved.

Husband and wife are required to love each other anyway, but all the more so to be models for their children to imitate.

So charity at home is even more necessary than it is in other places, but it is still necessary in those places too.

And here we could say that our concept of family must go beyond the one we live with to include all members of the Body of Christ, actual and potential.

Of course we cannot love everyone in the world to the same degree as we love those closest to us, but we can at least observe whatever charity requires of us in each case, and most of all desire earnestly the salvation of every other person.

We should love those in our own families but not in an insular or exclusive way as though only our own families matter and the rest of the world is not our concern.

True Christian love is inclusive. We can love people in different ways and degrees but in such a way that no one is left out or abandoned.

The Holy Family was way above average as far as loving-one-another was concerned. They set a high standard which probably no other family can reach, but we can at least draw closer to that standard.

We may have lapses of charity but we cannot excuse them by saying it is impossible to be charitable in all places and times. It is possible because the grace to make it so is available to us. We just have to ask.

In our present world the traditional family is under attack. We must defend all the values involved here; and most of all we must make the family ‘work’ by showing forth to the world the degree of Christian charity which is expected of us – by Christ Himself.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, help us!

Octave Day of Christmas 1 Jan 2012 Sermon

2012-01-04T15:51:00.002+10:30

Octave Day of Christmas 1.1.12

Last night, New Year’s Eve, many people would have spent the time in drinking and general dissipation, trying to forget their sorrows.

It is one way to approach reality - trying to forget it, or avoid it.

There is a better way, however. Instead of trying to forget, or drugging ourselves against reality, why not take it head on, armed with the grace of God, and subdue it, make it work for us?

This is what the Church is doing through the liturgical year – claiming all time for God, and reminding us of how He has used it for His purposes. He is the Alpha and the Omega.

We don't need to forget; we need to remember. Remember His mercies to us so far, and His future promises. We need to fill all time, every hour, every day, with the grace of God; so that whatever happens will be according to His will and His kingdom be more fully present in the world.

Time is sometimes seen as an impersonal thing that rolls on regardless and takes us in its course, like it or not. It is true that it will advance without our consent, but it is also true that we can get the better of it, by claiming it for God’s purposes.

It is not so much how long we have as how well we use it. Think of the many saints in our Church history. A lot of them died young, either through martyrdom or sickness. Yet they achieved so much in their short time on earth.

The intensity of their love was the key. They used the short time they had for God’s purposes.

And Mary, whose role we especially honour at this time; she gave every moment to God.

Her story did not begin at the Annunciation. She had already prepared herself for future glory by being in a constant state of union with God.

She may have been surprised to learn that she was to be the Mother of God, but she was ready for it insofar as she was already totally available to do His will.

And so should we be available. Our time is His time.

We always hope that the new year will be better than the old one, better than all the old ones.

We can go a long way towards making it so.

We can make it better than any previous year by increasing our own personal availability to do the will of God; by asking Him to take control of every moment that awaits us in the future.

What makes a year ‘good’ anyway? We might have better health; more money; more success at various ventures – but, following the example of Mary and the saints – are we doing the will of God or not? That is what makes any period of time ‘good’ – if it was used for what it was meant for.

‘Years’ are not put there for our own amusement; they are the backdrop of God’s saving plan unfolding in the world. Time is for Salvation. Time enables people who do not know God to come to knowledge of Him; for people who have drifted from Him to come back to Him.

Any use of time that does not fit in with that overall objective is a waste.

This is a long way from the view that time is something to be buried under a kind of unconsciousness.

It is better if we are fully conscious, always alert and aware of the presence of God. Even if we do not know what will happen next, we can make sure we are ready for whatever it is.

By giving every moment of time back to Him.

Christmas Day 2011 Sermon

2012-01-04T15:51:00.001+10:30

Christmas Day 2011

In the lead-up to Christmas we say that we are awaiting the birth of Christ; soon He will be born.

Yet we know very well that He already has been born, and that was a long time ago. So why do we act as though His birth is something in the future, to be looked forward to?

He has been born in the past but we still have to come to terms with it, to unravel the mystery.

So by going back ritually to His birth we hope to take this event more to our hearts, to assimilate it - an incredible fact, but true anyway.

It is a stranger fact still, perhaps, that He has come yet we do not see the effects. His birth is ignored. He came to heal the world of sin - which is essentially ignoring God; but when He came the world ignored Him; in other words, continued to sin - and still does, at a great rate.

So we have to go back and back until we get this right. We put ourselves in the position of the people of Israel who longed for the Messiah to come; of the shepherds who in their humility and simplicity hoped for better times. Of the wise men who recognized a good thing when they saw it.

We are child-like enough to believe that there can be a change in the human heart, the way that people live.

Christmas is for children, they say. Well we are like children in our sense of wonder and hoping for better things to come.

We can see all the brutality and falsehood in the world, but we are still able to hope and look to heaven and say: Father, You can save us.

The Israelites waited for the Messiah. We are doing the same thing in many ways. Though He has come it is largely as though He has not. Our prayer is not that He come to the world but that the world take Him seriously.

It starts with us. By reliving His birth, we are opening our hearts and minds wider, to understand our need of the Saviour, to recover that sense of wanting, longing, desiring passionately the coming of God.

Many would shrug their shoulders, and say, So what? What difference does it make? And looking at the world they are, in a way, right. But the reason it has not made a difference is that people have been shrugging their shoulders for 2000 years!

We have to believe that change is possible, and then persevere in that belief until the change happens.

So we say: Come Lord, not for the second time, but for the first time, so we can finally get on the right footing to receive You.

People observe that it is sad that children grow up and lose the magic of Christmas. It is never as exciting for an adult.

But adults can still get excited, not because we want to rush to the Christmas tree and open our gifts, but excited in hope that Maybe this year the world will respond as never before to the birth of Christ.

This is the gift we really hold out for. It is better than any material object we might have hoped to receive. It is harder to achieve, but yet we cannot fail to hope knowing the power and goodness of the One who has come among us. And knowing further that the only barrier to this result is indifference on our part.

It has not happened - this does not mean He has failed; nor does it mean - it is not possible. It just means His offer has not been taken up.

We can do our part by desiring, hoping and accepting all that Our Saviour has brought to us. Our joy is not yet in the fulfilment but in the anticipation, knowing that it is coming closer.

Christmas Mass times

2011-12-21T11:24:00.005+10:30

Mass times over Christmas

Times for Latin Masses over the Christmas period are the same as they normally are; but just to make sure here is each day listed:

Sun 25 Dec 8am St Monica's and 5pm Sacred Heart, Hindmarsh
Mon 26 Dec 8am St Monica's
Tue 27 Dec 6.45am St Monica's
Wed 28 Dec 8am St Monica's
Thu 29 Dec 8am St Monica's
Fri 30 Dec 6.45.am St Monica's
Sat 31 Dec 8am St Monica's
Sun 1 Jan 8am St Monica's and 5pm Sacred Heart, Hindmarsh

Christmas greetings and blessings to all!

4th Sunday of Advent 18 Dec 2011 Sermon

2011-12-21T11:21:00.000+10:30

4th Sunday of Advent 18.12.11 Time

Our Lord once prophesied that when He would return the people would be as in Noah’s day, eating and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage. In other words they would be unready for Him because too preoccupied with everything else.

It appears that He expects us to be looking out for Him at all times, no matter what other activities we may be involved in. He knows there are many things we have to attend to. A lot of them would themselves be religious obligations, in no way incompatible with waiting for Him.

He is not asking us to do nothing but look out the window for His return. What He is asking for is that we have a clear sense of priority in our desires and expectations.

That no matter what we do in this life it be our paramount concern to do the will of God, to be on good terms with Him at all times, to be ready to meet Him, either in death or in His second coming.

From our point of view the difficulty arises that the longer things go on the more accustomed we become to our own routines and patterns. We may be aware of the Last Judgment and all that goes with that but in our hearts we are far more interested in the everyday comings and goings of life. Who wins the football, what the stock market is doing, preparing for the daughter’s wedding, planning the next holiday and a hundred other things.

If we get too comfortable with our routine we start to see any intervention of Our Lord as an interruption, an unwelcome intrusion into what we have come to see as important.

This is the attitude we must avoid. No matter what projects we have on hand, what ambitions or plans we may have formed (even good and legitimate things) – we must be ready to give it all up at a moment’s notice. If it be God’s will.

And further to this that we would not see any unusual activity from God as an interruption or a nuisance. So if your daughter is getting married the next day and the world suddenly ends you say, that’s fine with me.

Whose time is it anyway? We think it is our time to dispose of as we wish, but all of it belongs to God.

So whether we ignore God or we fit Him in somehow – these are both the wrong attitude.

What should we do instead? Give Him first use of our time. Begin and end all things with prayer, and some more in between.

Give Him first choice on all our plans and ambitions. The phrase ‘God willing’, which itself can be just a formality, needs to be re-established in its original force. I might be planning to go to Europe tomorrow, God willing. If He does not will it, I do not will it either.

There is a wrestling match going on here. His will or mine. His time or mine.

How do we yield gladly to him? If we draw close enough to Him we start to see things His way. This is what prayer does, and the sacraments. This is preparing the way, as St John the Baptist tells us. So that the way is always open, the way from God’s heart to my heart.

We have a long way to go to get this right. To live in daily closeness to God’s will, that we are ready no matter what we are doing, to get up and change course, and that without complaining or arguing.

It must be this state of mind in which we find Mary and Joseph who were both able to adapt so easily to the unusual requests made of them regarding the birth of Our Lord. How would we go if an angel appeared to us with a direct request from Heaven?

We can be sure that God’s plans for us will bring us to a much happier state than anything we could achieve by ourselves.

3rd Sunday of Advent 11 Dec 2011 Sermon

2011-12-13T14:52:00.001+10:30

3rd Sunday of Advent 11.12.11 Emerging joy

Whatever our age we have never seen the world looking as it should – according to the prophecies - swords turned into ploughshares, lion and lamb playing together etc.

Instead we have suicide bombers, murders, cruelty, and all manner of such things. It is fairly obvious the world is not what it should be.

Yet we are told to rejoice! How can we sing the songs of the Lord in a strange land, as the Israelites once asked? How can we be happy when so much is wrong around us?

We have never experienced the world the way it is supposed to be. The crucial point of decision is do we despair of things ever being better? Or do we believe it really is possible to have a better world and we work towards it? Despair or Hope? Which way do we go?

To believe in something we have never seen is difficult, but with sufficient grace and signs along the way it is possible.

We may never have seen such a world but it does exist already: in Heaven. Fine, we might say, but that is out of our reach.

No, the life of heaven intermingles with life here. We can claim some share of heaven whenever we pray. If we pray, thy kingdom come, some of it does come.

Also it is comforting to know that there is a place which is all good and only good things happen there. This tells us at least on principle that goodness can exist unopposed.

There is not some law of nature that a certain amount of things must go wrong, or that a certain number of people must be bad.

Our task then is to bring more goodness into this world. There is no shortage of it; just a shortage here.

We are not just wishing for better things. We have the means to make it happen, the power of Christ working in us and through us, transforming us within, changing the way we think; giving us the capacity to love, to suffer, to persevere.

We can claim the joy in two ways:
One, by getting the little things right. By seeking to do everything according to His will. We might think this is a very slow way of healing the world, but it is a good thing to do anyway, and if it caught on there would be massive transformation.

Take the simple example of voting. One vote does not mean much but millions of ‘one votes’ do. Everything we do, for good or evil, affects the whole world. We make the world better every time we get something right according to the will of God.

The other way we can claim the joy is to realize that God holds all the aces. He has the power to make things right if we will not do it first. So He reserves the right to come again and claim His creation. He will come to judge the living and the dead. All evil will disappear before Him. All good will be rewarded.

He will return either way, with or without public support. If we do welcome Him He will probably come sooner and much more happily for all concerned.

Meanwhile the crucial thing for us is to believe, hope, and trust no matter what the present circumstances.

If we have hope we have joy. Not the joy of grinning from ear to ear or dancing in the street, but a deep-rooted joy that will enable us to persevere through difficulties, ironing out our faults, encouraging each other – a serene joy that will sustain us until things actually do get better.

Come, Lord Jesus. Come into our hearts; come into our world.

2nd Sunday of Advent 4 Dec 2011 Sermon

2011-12-04T15:45:00.000+10:30

2nd Sunday of Advent 4.12.11 Repentance

I recall from my childhood that we had parish Missions, which were a concentrated set of talks given to a parish over two or three days. In those days the topics of the Mission were very much on the need to repent, the danger of hell, the suddenness of death and the like.

You might think that from such ominous topics the crowds at these events would be down, but no, they were overflowing. I recall at one time the church itself was full so they had to broadcast the talks to the overflow crowd in the classrooms of the adjoining school.

So many people wanted to hear about hell and their own chances of going there!

And in today’s Gospel we have a similar phenomenon in regard to John the Baptist. People would flock to him out there in the desert, mainly to be told they were a bunch of sinners who had better look out for themselves if they knew what was good for them.

And they loved it! Even the soldiers would ask him, what about us, what must we do?

What is it with human nature that we are so interested in finding out what is wrong with us?

It really indicates a belief that we are capable of better than we presently have achieved. We aspire to higher things, a better way of life, a higher standard of morality; to breathe cleaner air.

We sense in our hearts that it is possible for the world to be a better place, and we also sense that the people in the world could be better.

The environmental movement wants to clean up the rivers and the atmosphere. We all want that much, but one step better still would be to clean up the moral atmosphere, to cleanse the hearts and minds of people of all trace of hatred, malice, lust etc.

This is what St John the Baptist was offering to people. If he tells them how bad they are it is only so that they can see the way clear to being good. The same with the people who flocked to the parish missions.

Twenty years later when I was a priest, I heard the same religious order giving a Mission in my parish, only this time there was no talk of sin or hell, only how much God loves us. The crowds were down this time!

We cannot survive on a diet of love alone, or at least only talking about love. Love is the ultimate thing after all, but it has to be real love, and this can be achieved only when we remove all the falsehood from our lives.

So today we gather here, and I won’t say that you are bad people only fit for hell, but I know that every one of us here could do with a greater share of God’s grace, that we all have bad habits that could be turned into virtues; and that even what is good about us could be better.

We need to know what is wrong with us so we can fix it. And if we can fix it we will be much happier than we were before.

Today’s world - and much of the Church as well - deals with guilt simply by denying it. Don’t let your mind dwell on negative things. Just look at the positives.

But that is like saying, if you have an arrow in your back, don't think about it, just dwell on how healthy the rest of your body is.

No, we have to get the arrow out; remove the poison of sin, repent, confess, and experience the joy of being forgiven and the new confidence that comes with that of being able to live a better life: better in both senses of morally better and of being happier.

This is what we have been hungering for all along; what all the world wants if they only knew where to look.

As John the Baptist puts it, so must we do: "You offspring of vipers, who has showed you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance (Lk 3,7-8).

No Mass Monday 5th

2011-12-04T15:44:00.001+10:30

There will be no Mass at St Monica's Monday 5th December. Other times are the same.

1st Sunday of Advent 27 Nov 2011 Sermon

2011-11-29T20:00:00.000+10:30

1st Sunday of Advent 27.11.11 Our own Advent

Consider: if we knew that the world was ending tomorrow what would we do? I think we would be looking around for the nearest Confession, saying a few Rosaries, going to Masses, pleading for mercy.

What if we knew for certain that the world would not end for a long long time? So then we might relax and not go to Confession and all the rest.

Wrong answer! We would do the same things as in the first case. Always we should be looking to draw closer to God than we are at the moment - every day, whether it be the Last day or not.

Our religion is not meant to be an exercise of cleverness, timing repentance just in time to make the cut.

Some people repent at the last minute and it is possible to be saved that way, but it is not recommended we rely on that approach. Last minute repentance is better than no repentance, but better by far if we repent now.

We repent, not to beat the system, but so that we learn to love God for His own sake, seeking to please Him at all times. To love Him as He should be loved.

We want to reach that level of spiritual maturity whereby we behave the same whether it is the Last Day or any other day; whether in private or public, in church or outside, on special days or ordinary days.

Our faith needs to be something inside us so that we are not just putting on a performance, but expressing real belief that will govern the way we live - this is genuine religion.

At this time of the year we focus more on the last things: there are warnings and threats worked into that.

If we need to be threatened to turn from bad to good then so be it. If we have moved beyond the need for threats then it is less a matter of fear and more about loving Christ.

The Gospel tells us to welcome the coming of Christ. Hold your heads high. We have nothing to fear if we really love Him.

There is talk of stars falling and cosmic upheavals but the biggest change is in the soul of the sinner, when our own desires change. We are looking forward to an end of sin, light winning out over darkness, a new tomorrow. We can have our own Advent.

We do not have to wait for Christ to come again to see some of these changes. We can anticipate His coming by being fully attuned to Him. So that when He does come in external reality we are not embarrassed, shocked, ashamed, but absolutely at one with Him.

The timing of His coming might surprise us but it will not embarrass us.

We will not fear Him as a lazy servant might fear the return of his master. If we are serving Him every day then every day we are ready to welcome Him.

There are things out of our control, many things, but this much we can do: simply do every action, large and small, according to God’s will.

People will always be speculating about dates. We should not get too excited by predictions; but we should get excited by the coming of Christ, His final glorious coming, and in the meantime His coming to each of us, transforming us within.

Whether He comes tomorrow or in a thousand years time: we are ready to receive Him.

Last Sunday after Pentecost 20 Nov 2011 Sermon

2011-11-22T15:45:00.001+10:30

Last Sunday after Pentecost 20.11.11 Love casts out fear

Today we have a rather alarming Gospel passage. All about destruction and upheaval, and what will happen to us if we are not right with God at the time of Judgment.

There are many things we could be afraid about if we allow ourselves to think about them. There are many things that can go wrong.
We could suffer at the hands of other people: war, terrorism, crime...
At the hands of Nature: earthquakes, floods, fires...asteroids
And, most formidable of all, directly at God’s hands: fire from heaven, plagues, threats we have never encountered before.

So, to be sure, a lot of things can go wrong

But then comes the reassuring word: Do not be afraid. Constantly we are told this throughout the Bible. Our Lord Himself says it often: Courage, It is I. Why did you doubt, you men of little faith? Be not afraid...

How can we be so calm when there is so much evil that can happen to us?

One way to avoid fear is just not to think about these things. To be ‘philosophical’. If an earthquake gets me, bad luck. Gotta go some time. If your number is up, it is up. That sort of statement. So much for human and natural causes of evil.

And as to divine punishment, well nobody still thinks that God punishes (they say).

There is a much better way to overcome fear. Instead of hiding from God, trying to keep Him at bay, we can develop love for Him. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4,18). If we have enough love for God we can deal with anything - the fear of dying, of harm, of the unknown, of the future...

When we love Him enough we also trust in Him, that He would not abandon us; that He would help us through whatever difficulty arises, even death itself.

As to the threatened disasters, these will happen only if we do not turn to God, so we do turn to Him and these things need not happen.

Or, if they still do happen, we will be given grace to cope, and come through triumphant.

We become familiar with God; no longer seeing Him as remote. He becomes part of our ordinary life; we communicate with Him on a constant basis. We are at ease with Him, not in a complacent way, but in a serious, realistic way, based on humility and really trying to get things right.

The reason God says such things as in today’s Gospel is to motivate us to true relationship with Him.

He is saying, If you are separate from Me you will have great trouble. But if united you will have joy.

The two alternatives are so different that it must claim our attention.

We have to be aware of the negative as an extra incentive to seek the positive. It is better to focus on the joyful, but not to the point that we deny there is a negative side, trying to sweep it under the carpet.

Fear can be an initial motivation in religious life but we should not stay at that level. Our faith is meant to mature to a higher level, based on love.

If we could increase our holiness and win others over we can rewrite the script for the future.

We are not just passive objects tossed around by fate, but we can actively form the events of the future.

May God bring us to full union with Him and to a world which can welcome His coming without fear.

22nd Sunday after Pentecost 13 Nov 2011 Sermon

2011-11-16T16:58:00.000+10:30

22nd Sunday after Pentecost 13.11.11 God and Caesar

The world financial crisis is in the news, as well as the stock markets and the economy generally. Our society makes a lot of fuss about money.

We spend a lot of time giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s, maybe not so much to God what is God’s.

For many people there is nothing at all that belongs to God; it is all for Caesar, all about making money, getting on in this life. Money is all there is.

And this is why it takes up so much of our news services and so much of human time and effort.

We are not getting the balance right. There is too much Caesar and not enough God.

The love of money is the root of all evil, St Paul says (1 Tm 6,10). Notice he does not say, Money is the root of all evil. Money is just a medium of exchange; it facilitates the flow of goods and services. It is just there to serve our needs.

But like anything it can be misused. When it is used as a way of taking advantage of others, improving one’s own position at the expense of others – then we have the beginnings of abuse.

For the world financial system by far the biggest problem is the presence of greed - which can lead to crime, and then every kind of imbalance.

When money becomes a false god in pursuit of other false gods such as status, pleasure, possessions, then we have trouble.

When people love money too much, they love each other too little (to say nothing of loving God.)

The system is in crisis because we cannot and do not trust each other.

We would be able to trust each other if we observed the other half of Our Lord’s command: to give to God what is God’s. If we got back to where it all started. God has given us good things for free, abundant resources (cf the Psalms, such as Ps 104).

To give God what is His: this means in its most obvious sense, to give Him worship, trust, obedience, allegiance.

In doing this much we will be less preoccupied about earthly possessions.

To take the command a little further: one thing that belongs to God is His view of humanity.
We owe it to Him to set up a world where everyone looks out for the needs of everyone else; so that no one is dying of hunger, or lack of shelter; that everyone has enough to live on in dignity.

It is His world and the people are His children. We can give Him the pleasure of seeing His own children looking after each other.

Money is just there to be used for this higher end. We are stewards of all God’s creation and in particular this very powerful agent, which can be used in so many ways.

It is not necessary that we all have the same amount; just so long as everyone has enough. It is not a sin to be rich as long as the person realizes higher obligations, giving God what is His.

The Bible warns us against putting too much trust in riches ‘even when they increase’.

This is another temptation: self-reliance. I don’t need God because I have plenty of money.

The remedy: humility and childlike simplicity. Look how the sun shines and rain falls. Let God be God and look towards Him to provide for us as He does for the lilies of the field.

It gets back to that amount of simplicity. Simply do not grasp more than we need and there will be enough for all.

If we do give to God we will certainly get more back than we give.

In the meantime we will have to put up with the distorted values of the world as so many continue to miss the point. May all see, sooner or later, the futility of such a life, and seek the true riches of Heaven.

21st Sunday after Pentecost 6 Nov 2011 Sermon

2011-11-08T19:59:00.000+10:30

21st Sunday after Pentecost 6.11.11 Enough for all

This parable (The Unforgiving Debtor) makes so much sense when we hear it, yet we find its message so hard to apply in our own lives.

As we hear the story it is obvious what the first debtor should do: forgive the second. Out of gratitude for having been forgiven so much he should have been willing to forgive the second debt (the first debt being 600,000 times greater). A million dollars as against $1.66!

So should we be willing to forgive those who offend us when we have been forgiven so much more by God.

One lesson here is that we should cultivate gratitude for being forgiven. It is no light matter to have our sins removed so easily as it appears to happen.

We do not find it so easy to have our financial debts removed. It would be nice if we could clear all our bills by just going into a room and saying we are sorry! I don’t think many commercial concerns would be so forgiving as God is.

Of course there is some payment required from us on our debts to God, and this takes the form of the penance we do for sins committed and the desire to atone for those sins by doing as much good as possible. So we do not get off entirely free but even here the work required from us is so light by comparison.

We have to cultivate this sense of gratitude otherwise it can be easily lost in the hurry of life. We can have our sins cleared away without much thought, more or less taking it for granted. We are so accustomed to the idea that God readily forgives us we might not stop and wonder what a great privilege it is.

This, presumably, was the first debtor’s problem. He took his forgiveness lightly and did not let it sink into his consciousness. If he had been more grateful he would have been more generous with the second debtor.

We have to be grateful, and generous.

God is generous. He asks us to do a little of the same as He does, only He does a lot more. He can forgive millions, billions of sins a day, and we can find it hard to forgive one sin from years ago.

We need a boost to our generosity of spirit. We need not begrudge throwing a little mercy around. It is not ours in the first place; it comes from God. If we compare it with money a major difference is that Mercy is in unlimited supply.

We can hand out mercy to all comers and we never lose anything ourselves; in fact, we gain.

We come to desire that others receive mercy as much as we want it for ourselves. Our familiar prayers are in the plural – forgive us our trespasses; pray for us sinners now; Lamb of God ... have mercy on us; May almighty God have mercy on us... etc

It would be very strange if we were to say to the Lamb of God: Have mercy on me, and only me! No, we have to wish that mercy on others also, including those who have offended us.

We have nothing to lose if other people are forgiven. We don’t have to fight over who gets God’s mercy. There is enough for all.

To begrudge forgiveness to another is really the equivalent of wanting that person to stay ‘bad’, at least in our estimation. But how do we gain by keeping others bad? If we let them turn good we would like them a lot more and everyone gains. There is enough for everyone and more besides.

So we can pray with true conviction and increasing desire: Lord, have mercy on us.

Feast of Christ the King 30 Oct 2011 Sermon

2011-11-01T16:33:00.001+10:30

Christ the King 30.10.11

Throughout history kings have plotted and murdered their way to the throne. Now we do not have so many kings; most countries have Prime Ministers or Presidents. There are not so many murders but still plenty of plotting and nastiness in operation.

Into all this comes a very different sort of King, whose kingdom is not of this world. Not of this world in two senses: that it is not based on greed and violence; and also (sadly) that not many people seem to understand or want this man as their King; the world has largely rejected, and still does reject Him.

The way of the world is to seek power for one’s own benefit. So if I try to be king it is for my benefit not that of the people whose king I will be.

The way of Christ is to be king so that He can serve the people. He is interested in them rather than Himself.

He was humble, riding on a donkey. He washed the feet of His disciples. He was willing to die for them, and to endure much injustice in the process.

Not many kings are that humble, nor that interested in their people.

In the Christian way, to rule is to serve. The Pope is called the Servant of the servants of God. The higher up the ladder we are the more humble we need to be; to be humble enough to recognize that the ‘power’ I possess is only delegated from God and is to be used entirely according to His will. I am only His delegate.

The world would run a lot better if every ruler was like this!

It helps if the people behave too.

We need from both rulers and ruled a change of heart, a change of mentality. For too long we have been thinking the other way, asserting ourselves in a dog-eat-dog world, trying to eat before we are eaten.

But this change has to come from within; it has to be entirely voluntary to take full effect.

It is not just a matter of passing laws or appealing to people’s good nature. There has to be something acting on us that will make us see things differently. This something is the grace of Christ, the same King, who can infuse His grace into us, motivating and enabling us to live in a better way.

An interior renewal of each person is required, so that we will be as humble as the King and as concerned for one another as He was.

The King did what He did to reconcile us with God but also to teach us how to live.
And not only to teach us but to enable us. As we receive Him in Holy Communion and interact with Him in prayer and other sacraments, we are gradually set free from all the false ways we have learnt from the world.

As we take on the mind of Christ we become secure in Him, in His promises of eternal happiness; in His view of the other person, not as a competitor to be overcome, but as a brother in need.

Everyone wishes that the world would run on a more peaceful path than it does; that there would be less crime, war, hate etc. The change can come about only when enough people turn to the King of all creation, and see things His way. This sort of change cannot be legislated. Unless we accept His ways we will continue to grasp for security and happiness in the ways of this world, building houses on sand.

There will come a time when the King returns in glory. At that time those who love Him will rejoice; those who have rejected Him will be dismayed. While there is still time may every person come to a willing submission to Him in their own heart and mind.

May every knee bow before Him and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Mass times for All Saints, All Souls

2011-10-30T22:22:00.003+10:30

Mass times for All Saints and All Souls Day: Latin Mass, Adelaide

Tuesday 1st November: All Saints Day: Mass St Monica's 6.45AM & Holy Name 6.30PM.

Wednesday 2nd November: All Souls Day: Mass St Monica's 8AM; Holy Name 11AM & 6.30PM

19th Sunday after Pentecost 23 Oct 2011 Sermon

2011-10-25T16:17:00.000+10:30

19th Sunday after Pentecost 23.10.11 The whole truth

A social worker said to me recently that in her job she mixed with many clergy and she did not care what denomination they might be; she just works with all of them. This is a very typical comment these days, expressing a sort of ecumenical openness to all comers.

It is a good thing to respect people for their basic worth and dignity. However it does not follow that one’s religion is a matter of secondary or no importance. This would be faulty logic. It is right to want to respect everyone but wrong if in doing that we lose sight of the importance of truth in our spiritual lives.

We used to have a big problem with sectarianism in Australia, where Catholics and Protestants were openly hostile to each other. We are largely over that problem but now we might have the opposite one instead: namely, religious indifferentism.

In the interests of keeping the peace we have reached a point where many no longer think it matters in the least what people actually believe, as long as they are allowed to believe it!
Whether the beliefs are actually right or wrong is not an issue.

In fact, though, the possessing of religious truth is a matter of utmost importance. For one thing our salvation could be at stake. If we do not know the truth of what we should believe or how we should behave how can we know if we are at rights with God?

For another thing, and even more important, God deserves our best efforts to know as much about Him as possible and to have accurate knowledge. We pursue accuracy in all sorts of other fields, such as science, engineering, courts of law, calculating interest rates, keeping statistics, counting votes – surely we can do as much for God Himself.

In the same exaggerated ecumenical spirit it is considered that any effort to convince others of the truth of one’s own beliefs is ‘poor form’, a violation of the other’s right to privacy. It is also considered as a kind of arrogance. Who do you think you are to be telling me what to believe?

But if what we believe is true should we not try to tell others about it? If we had discovered a medicine that would cure all the diseases of the world would we not make it known? We have something better still, a medicine which will bring eternal happiness.

It may be we will be interrupting people’s lives and their established order but they will thank us later. The apostles did not apologise for bringing the Gospel to other nations; nor did Our Lord Himself apologize for bringing a New Covenant.

As to being arrogant we are not just lecturing people what to believe. True religion should also produce true love, and true behaviour. If we could manage to live what we believe there would be no contradictions. The truth of the Gospel remains intact, whether we live it or not; but if we want to ‘sell’ it we must live it better, along the lines of today’s Epistle: no lying, stealing, unjust anger etc.

The lady who works with all ‘denominations’ must think that ‘Catholic’ is just one of many versions of Christianity. Many people think this, including a lot of Catholics.

But it is not so. We are not just a ‘denomination’. The Catholic Church is simply THE Church, the only Church. The others are ‘ecclesial communities’ but not in full union with the Church. They may be better people than we are but they are in a leaky boat. We need both the boat and the people to be good!

In any case what could be better for overall tolerance than if we all believed the same things? So the desire for the Catholic Church to include every person in the world is, among other things, a push for greater unity and peace.

Our Lord calls us to the banquet (today’s Gospel). This presupposes that we are all coming to the same thing, all of one mind. With His help we can be truly one, in belief and action.

18th Sunday after Pentecost 16 Oct 2011 Sermon

2011-10-18T21:11:00.000+10:30

18th Sunday after Pentecost 16.10.11 Forgiveness

Which is easier to say? ‘Your sins are forgiven’ is easier to say insofar as it cannot be verified externally that anything has happened.

So Our Lord gives another command which can be verified – ‘Stand up and walk’ - which indicates His authority to forgive sins. It is not everyone who can cure a sickness with a word! If He can do such things in the physical world it can be presumed He has the same power in the spiritual world.

Our Lord has authority to forgive sins because He has authority over the whole world and everything in it. It is all His – every person, every thing, every nation, organization, the public domain, the private, the individual, the communal. All things are open to His eye and subject to His authority.

Every sin affects Him directly because it involves something that belongs to Him. There is nothing ‘private’ from Him. Sometimes people try to justify behaviour by saying it does not harm anyone else. So if I take drugs for instance, it is my decision and my body, so no one else should get excited. Or an abortion is just a decision for the woman concerned: it is her body after all.

But everything belongs to God. My body is His body. My house is His house. My time is His time. There is no way we can quarantine some part of our existence from His influence.

This is what makes a sin a sin: that we are somehow infringing on His rights. When we sin we are probably offending other people but always offending Our Lord.

Since He is personally involved He has the authority to forgive sin, and He does this with great generosity.

When He forgives He is bringing back to life. He is offering His love to the sinner and this love has the effect of restoring the sinner to union with Himself, which we call sanctifying grace, or life in the soul. Like a branch attached to the tree, we are alive again.

It is like a resurrection of the body, but better still.

He forgives ‘in potential’ every sin. But for the forgiveness to take effect the sinner has to ask for mercy. Not everyone is willing to do that, for all sorts of reasons.

But when they do ask they will receive and they are brought back to life or to a much healthier state.

In the meantime, until they ask for mercy, Our Lord will continue to offer it. He waits for that interior light to switch on, moving first to shame for sin and then to the joy of being forgiven.

This is probably the result of someone else’s prayers. Like a mother for instance. We pray for each other’s children, for all the children of the world that they will understand the dimensions of sin; how ugly and damaging it is; how glorious it is to be forgiven.

We are the man on the stretcher insofar as we all need forgiveness. We are the friends bringing the man insofar as we pray for each other.

The Lord loves us enough to forgive us; now we have to love Him enough to receive that forgiveness, and be changed internally so that we do not want to sin again.

We are His property; we have been bought and paid for. Everything is His. All the better for us.

17th Sunday after Pentecost 9 Oct 2011 Sermon

2011-10-12T16:49:00.000+10:30

17th Sunday after Pentecost 9.10.11 God loved us first

We are told to love God and then to love Neighbour. These are both difficult commands in different ways.

Loving God is easy insofar as God is loveable, being perfect in every way. But difficult in that God is invisible, intangible, infinitely superior to us. He can seem remote from us, and it is hard to love someone remote.

Loving Neighbour is the reverse problem. He is visible enough, but not so perfect! With regard to neighbours it is their imperfections that make them hard to love. We are not drawn to people who annoy us in any way.

So both these commands are challenging. Yet they are made a lot easier when we realize that God has loved us first.

In telling us to love Him and others He is really just saying: receive My love, and reflect it back to Me and to others.

So we go back one stage and now the task is to receive the love of God. This is a lot easier, but even this can be tricky.

To receive the love of God we just have to recognize His goodness at work in the world, and in our lives. To realize that every good thing we have is from Him and by His gracious will.

We are inclined to resent God when things go wrong, but we really should be thanking Him that there are any ‘things’ in the first place.

What goes wrong is just what has been right undergoing some distortion due to human sin, but the basic goodness of the world is still perceptible and retrievable.

God has loved us first. If we can only realize that and imprint it on our memory we will then have sufficient motivation to love (thank, praise) Him in return and we will even have enough goodwill left over to extend to our neighbours.

When we are grumpy with others it is a sure sign that we are not sufficiently grounded in the love of God. We have forgotten for the present how lucky we are to be alive, how everything about our world is pure grace from God (grace as in gratuitous).

This much we can say just for Creation. If we consider Salvation that is one better still. God has not only made us but saved us. He is willing to forgive our sins when in justice He would be entitled to obliterate us many times over.

This also proves His love. For God so loved the world...

That we might have eternal life, better than life here, in a place more beautiful than here.

If we allow these truths to sink in we will never complain again about anything.

To love God we simply have to reflect something of what He has given us. In the Mass, for example, we offer Him the sacrifice which He has provided for us. It is not much effort on our part; we just have to let ourselves be carried.

To love Neighbour we simply have to remember how well we have been treated by God and offer the same sort of generosity to others. Like the servant who had been forgiven a large debt should have forgiven the other servant a much smaller debt.

The grievances we find with others are so small compared with how much we have offended God.

So we are brought back to humility and gratitude.

We cannot begrudge some small return on all that has been lavished on us.

Many think these commands impossible. We love only those who love us, they say.

But if we give God enough room in our busy schedules to think about what He has done we will grow in love for Him and this will in turn put us in a much more patient mood with others, even the most difficult.

16th Sunday after Pentecost 2 Oct 2011 Sermon

2011-10-04T23:08:00.000+10:30

16th Sunday after Pentecost 2.10.11 Let God rule

Often we hear in political news that two or more people are contesting leadership of a party. When two or more people want a place and there is room for only one – that leads to tension.

Today’s Gospel parable refers to any such situation when people are striving for a greater slice of the pie than they presently have; wanting something more.

When people claim a higher place than they deserve they will probably have to take a humiliating fall.

Not everyone is ambitious for high office. Most people are probably happy just to find a level where they can make enough money, have some sort of recognition from others, and keep some sort of self-respect in the process.

So we might think ourselves to be humble enough in terms of today’s parable. But there is another power struggle going on that we might not be aware of.

And that is the struggle between the human race and Almighty God, for control of this world, for control of our own lives and destiny.

God has given us intelligence (enough to be dangerous) and free will. But because of these gifts we are in a position to rebel against Him; and we often do.

At such a point we need humility to take the lower place, deferring to a greater mind.

So who is running my life? Is it me or God? Sometimes I obey Him; sometimes I claim sovereign control for myself (which usually amounts to sin).

We should just let Him run the whole thing but we find that very difficult – due to pride, or fear of what will happen.

On every possible occasion the Scriptures tell us to trust God; not to assert ourselves against Him, not resist His plans.

It is not just that we are a zillion times inferior to Him and that it is absurd for the lesser to try to usurp the greater. It is also that God loves us and can do far more good for us than we could ever achieve for ourselves.

So in today’s Epistle we have St Paul encouraging us to explore more fully the nature of God, to get to know Him better. If we are resisting Him then it is plain we don’t yet know Him well enough. If we knew him better we would willingly submit ourselves to Him, just as they do in heaven.
St Paul prays we get to know Him better. That is what we have to do as well. Pray. And receive sacraments, and obey the will of God, even if it is against the grain to begin with. If we persevere in seeking Him out we will come to know Him and love Him.

Will we do these things? Each must decide for himself.

God will help us if we ask Him. By His grace we can get used to Him and the way He works and the easier it becomes for us to get the right balance.

The main thing is to get used to the idea that He is on our side. He is to be sought out rather than avoided.

He knows better than we do how to run our lives, and the whole universe for that matter.

We are not to seek a higher place if motivated by pride or greed, but we can seek a better life; a greater understanding of God, a closer union with Him.

15th Sunday after Pentecost 25 Sep 2011 Sermon

2011-10-04T23:06:00.001+10:30

15th Sunday after Pentecost 25.9.11 Raising us to life

When Our Lord restored the son of the widow to life He was relieving that woman’s grief, but also giving us a symbol of His power over life and death.

He does not normally raise dead people back to life, not to this earthly life at least, but does often raise people back to life spiritually.

Every time He forgives sin He is raising back to life. We should rejoice in sin forgiven even more than we would rejoice if someone came back from the grave.

But we should also learn from the lesson that sin is a deadly thing, to be avoided in future.

God restores sons to Holy Mother Church by the forgiveness of sins. That is the crucial thing. To be away from God is to be dead; to be in union with Him is to be alive. We are like planets - the closer to the sun the warmer we are, the further away the colder and darker.

Generally people think far too much in physical terms and far too little in spiritual.

We try so hard to stay alive. We are careful crossing the street; we eat the proper food; we don’t go down dark alleys at midnight... but the soul is so neglected by comparison. So lightly do people take the spiritual dimension, so blithely do they disregard the fate of the soul; or they just assume it looks after itself somehow.

And how much grief is poured out over physical death while the death caused by sin is missed altogether!

We want healing for our aches and pains but healing of the soul is always more important.

(Of course we can be careful about both body and soul and proper care for the body does itself have a spiritual dimension via the fifth commandment. Also we could say that our bodies would be healthier if we lived with less sin.)

But how do we heal the soul? In one way it is easier, in another way harder to heal the soul. It is easy in terms of confession with sincere contrition. But harder if we mean a deeper healing which requires a change of heart, where the sin came from.

When we go to confession it is not just to be forgiven but to ask for the strength not to sin again. What can I do differently?

So the healing of the soul has two levels: the removal of sin and the firm purpose of amendment. I will not sin again.

But though there are many aspects to being holy there is an essential simplicity in that we can just come to Jesus with all our burdens, and be forgiven freely.

Then we can look for the deeper solutions - what needs to change in our lives etc.

Our Lord said: I came that they may have life and have it to the full.

When it is said that someone lived life to the full it usually means the person did a lot of adventurous things: but was he doing the will of God, which really would be living to the full?

This is where we find how alive we are or not. It is not how many things we do or how many places we go or people we know: it is whether or not we have lived in union with God and His holy will.

We can start that anytime, but sooner is better. Resurrection begins when we claim the life of God to be in us. Sanctifying grace. This must be our first priority.

Each of us is the ‘son’ in this story, that Jesus wants to raise from death (in all its senses).

And collectively we are the Mother (Church) rejoicing when others sons are brought back to life.

14th Sunday after Pentecost 18 Sep 2011 Sermon

2011-09-20T11:54:00.000+09:30

14th Sunday after Pentecost 18.9.11 Cynicism

In a world where words are many but the truth is not so frequent it is easy to become cynical about people, their intentions, their reliability; to be cynical about religion itself.

This cynicism can take two forms:
One is to become anti-Church altogether, seizing on every failure by individual Christians as proof that our religion is fraudulent or an illusion. There is no God, no ultimate truth, they say.

Another is when people within the Church say it is impossible to be as good as the Gospel demands; and instead they only partially commit to pursuing the will of God. This is a pragmatic approach; in attempting to be ‘realistic’ they deny the power of God to transform us as people.

Both these views tend to be self-fulfilling. If I live as though there is no God or as if He is not relevant to my life then my relationship with Him will be affected. I will not be calling on His help, will not be asking His forgiveness; will not be likely to agree with His commandments, let alone keep them.

The fact is that no matter how poorly people behave, no matter how bitter against God and His Church people become, it is possible for us to live good lives, to uproot sin; it is possible for the Church to be the purified Bride of Christ.

In Adelaide just lately there has been talk of scandals regarding priests. Across the world for the last decade we have heard of many such scandals. These things are tragic. But they do not change the truth about God himself, nor His promises.

We must not allow the misbehaviour of other disciples to weaken or to extinguish our faith.

If anything it should strengthen our resolve to do better. The fall of another reminds us of two things: that there is an ideal that we should be striving for; and that it is very easy to fall from grace and fail to reach that ideal.

So we believe in the good as attainable and we are made wiser in terms of how to achieve that good. We learn from our sins and mistakes. What can we do to make this less likely to happen again?

When confronted with failure we call more fully, more humbly on the power of God.

We call on Him for mercy for sins committed.

We call on Him for the grace that will change our hearts, so that we will recognize our sin and weep for it. That we will be genuinely contrite and see with new eyes the right way to go.

That we come to see the rightness and even the beauty of God’s commands, and thus be more likely to keep them.

We pray for each another; we exhort each other. We are capable of both good and evil. With a little attentiveness and divine help we can achieve the good.

Part of the process is not to let cynicism rob us of what is really possible as well as desirable.

If the Church were to close tomorrow many would cheer but it would not improve the state of the world.

We are offering the one light that will show the way out, the one real solution. We have only one Saviour. We cannot afford to block the one door to freedom.

We don't have to cover up or excuse fault in the Church. We can admit that bad things happen, even very bad things. All the more we can apply ourselves to repentance and reparation, and to avoiding repetition.

This Church, though full of sinners, does keep before the world the reality and goodness of God. The teaching is there; the graces are there. We know what we have to do and we are enabled to do it. If we resist all temptations to cynicism we will see better days.

13th Sunday after Pentecost 11 Sep 2011 Sermon

2011-09-13T16:23:00.000+09:30

13th Sunday after Pentecost 11.9.11

The story of the Ten Lepers challenges us to make sure we are not one of the nine who never came back to give thanks.

The ‘nine’ symbolise that part of the human race (probably nine tenths would be a fair estimate) which does not have much time for God.

If God has any purpose in the minds of such people He is there to fix their problems and once He has done that He can go back into recess. And if He does not fix the problems then He is guilty of letting them down!

How important it is for us to have the right attitude towards Almighty God. We have difficulty with this because we find His ways so mysterious, and so much is beyond our understanding.

It will help us to get onto the right wavelength with God if we can focus on what He wants to happen; on what He regards as important.

When God looks at human affairs what is He looking for?

While we are likely to be thinking about money, health, our houses, our cars, our football team, our social life etc etc, God is thinking about our souls, about whether we are in union with Him or not.

God values the things we value, where possible, but His main point is Salvation. That is the big one for Him. We are here on this earth to know, love, and serve God. We are preparing for heaven.

So we see that can be operating at different levels. Take the question of ‘being good’, holiness of life. How much of our attention goes on trying to become better people in terms of being kind, generous, merciful - as against making more money, or getting a better house and the like?

We might dismiss goodness as more or less looking after itself. It is something I could switch on if needed. But God regards this question as the most important.

So we can be at cross purposes with God. We wonder why He does not give us the things we ask for, while He wonders why we ask for the wrong things.

In the midst of all the confusion comes the real God seeking to direct us.

All He wants is for people to take Him seriously; and He will pour down lots more blessings on us if we do that, even the lesser blessings that we worry so much about now.

But if we put those lesser things before Him He might take them from us or withhold them when we ask for them - because if we deny Him we are denying the whole purpose of our existence.

We have to be like the one leper who did see further than his physical health to the state of his soul; who did see that it was necessary to worship God and thank Him.

It is not so hard to see this. It is a common experience in this life for people who have it all in terms of money and power still to feel an emptiness inside, a lack of purpose in their lives.

In our own lives we know that when we do something good, something that requires some sort of self-sacrifice – that action will bring more satisfaction than merely enjoying some physical or material experience.

We honour people in our history who have given themselves for others, not those who have been self-indulgent. We do not erect statues for people who have looked out only for themselves.

When we take the larger spiritual view we discover that we are grateful – grateful not just for this or that blessing but for the whole scheme of things. We can see past individual disappointments to the greatest good – union with God, now and in eternity.

Deo Gratias!

12th Sunday after Pentecost 4 Sep 2011 Sermon

2011-09-07T10:13:00.000+09:30

12th Sunday after Pentecost 4.9.11 Loving neighbours

There was a story during the week of a pensioner in New Zealand found in his apartment, having been dead for a year. Stories like that do emerge with some frequency.

The mayor of the place where the man lived said that people should take more notice of their neighbours. It may not be easy to do that.

In our current society there is a high value put on privacy and more and more places have big fences around them, and one cannot even reach the front door, but has to speak through an intercom at an outer gate.

For all the modern ways we have to communicate there is an increasing isolation and alienation in our societies.

So we come to today’s parable of the Good Samaritan. Who is our neighbour? Anyone and everyone; specifically whoever is near us at any given moment.

The Gospel actually demands more of us than just keeping a check on our neighbour to see if he is still alive.

It is a good thing to feed a hungry man, or to shelter a homeless one. But Christian obligation goes further than that.

We are to see other people in spiritual terms: to see that each person has a soul to be saved; that he is made in the image of God. If possible we will bring him not just physical care, not just friendship, but bring him the faith.

If we look at another person and try to assess what he needs? Maybe he looks down and out, lonely, sick... or maybe he looks prosperous and happy, well-fed. In either case, or any case, every person needs to know God, needs to be in union with Him.

And we do what we can to enable that to happen. It is no easy matter. It is not just problems of privacy and difficulty of communication that apply, but present day assumptions about ‘imposing’ our religion on others.

I am not saying we must go about preaching to our neighbours, but at least to be aware that faith is always what people need even if they don't know it, or even if they would actively deny it.

Whether we can reach them or not is another matter, but the basic need remains in place.

At least if we know it we will see people in a new light.

We, like everyone else, are tempted to be caught up in the rat race of modern life; to regard other people as just so many black ants that can be in the way of where we are trying to go.

It is so easy to be impersonal towards large numbers of people in all directions. Yet, if we pause to reflect we realize that every other person is just like we are.

Think of yourself and all your fears, hopes, joys, sorrows, achievements, disappointments - and then think that every other person you see has the same things, more or less.

We are all the same; all in the same boat with these things.

We learn to see ‘others’ as subjects not just objects.

Each person is a subject, a centre of many thoughts and desires; above all a soul that God Himself wants to win.

When we realize this we cannot be indifferent to any other person. We don't have time to get to know everyone but we can at least wish them well on the way to salvation.

We offer our prayers, sufferings, everything to help others on their way, as we hope they will do for us. So we develop and express our communal identity in the Church, truly the Body of Christ.

All the while, not neglecting the basic practical charity of looking out for each other.

Nobody will be left dead and alone if we live like this. We will know each other’s value.

11th Sunday after Pentecost 28 Aug 2011 Sermon

2011-08-31T15:24:00.000+09:30

11th Sunday after Pentecost 28.8.11 Healing the deaf

Why did Our Lord have to groan in the process of working this miracle? Healing deafness, if it were just a biological matter would be very easy for Our Lord. But the deafness that He really wants to heal is the obstinacy of the human heart, whereby people do not want to hear the truth.

All of us, who possess the Gospel, know the frustration of trying to convey the message to people who do not want to hear it. It could be a parent trying to tell children, or a teacher trying to tell students... if only you knew, if only you would listen... but often the resistance goes on.

Speak Lord Your servant is listening... as Samuel said to God, we must say in our time. That we be habitually attuned to the sound of His voice, in whatever form it might come. That we will be able instinctively to discern what is truly the word of God from what is false, from the voice of the world.

Before it demands anything of us, the word of God is Promise. He tells of His great love for us, and demonstrates through miracle that He is faithful to His people in every generation.

He instructs us that we can securely base our lives on His will; and if we do that He will bless us in abundance.

This is where one breakdown occurs. We do not believe the Promise. We launch into other lifestyles because we think that God is inactive or indifferent.

Then we come to the word of Command. God tells us to do certain things and avoid doing certain other things.

We fear this word too, because we fear the loss of freedom involved. We do not want to be restricted in our behaviour. We see the commands of God as a burden or a nuisance.

So we block out His word. We switch off the ears.

In all this God tries to heal us: to help us listen with the right attitude so that the words once again impact upon us. He heals us of the accumulated distortions of the years of our own lives and the centuries of the human race.

He wants to heal the abuse of the freedom, without taking away the freedom. To heal us of all the falsehood we have taken in over the years. False values, false logic.

For example, the arguments today over moral matters. People support euthanasia, or homosexual marriage.

They will say things like: a thing is ok if enough people think it is ok. So the newspapers hold a poll and if say 60% say yes to euthanasia then it must be alright. But where does that leave the voice of God? Or the objective value of human life which cannot be determined in a poll?

Or where, if they define homosexual behaviour as simply a preference does that leave the objective nature of man and woman – as written in out nature by God Himself?

So there is a lot of deafness around - false thinking - and it all compounds with one error paving the way for another.

Our Lord wants to heal our deafness. It requires unlearning all the errors we have picked up. It requires that we re-establish the basic principles involved.

We are here now with ears pinned back, wanting to hear the truth, willing to change anything.

First, may the Promise of the Lord sink deep within us: that we can be reassured of His unending love for us. We do not have to hide from Him.

Then, that we can hear His words of command, not as a burden but as a liberation. They are based on our true nature, so we will never feel more ourselves than when obeying this word from God.

Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.

10th Sunday after Pentecost 21 Aug 2011 Sermon

2011-08-23T14:46:00.002+09:30

10th Sunday after Pentecost 21.8.11 Reasons for hope

Take any large city and put 100,000 people into the main square. They could go on a rampage of destruction like the London riots, or they could go on a display of peace and goodwill, like in today’s World Youth Day finale in Madrid.

People are capable of both good and evil and we are not sure ourselves which way the general trend will go.

There is good in us but also bad: like two conflicting principles the two forces battle it out for supremacy. Sometimes one wins; sometimes the other.

The current WYD event will be interpreted differently by Catholics. Some will see it as a great sign of hope. Others will be more sceptical and say that once all the atmosphere has dissipated things will go back the way they were.

We cannot be naively optimistic in our assessment of human nature. We know there is a big difference between hugging a stranger in the euphoria of a big event and actually translating that sentiment into daily practice.

Yet whether or not people in general, or one person in particular, will improve – though it is an open question, it is not simply pot luck, a toss of the coin.

If we hit on the right formula we can make a spiritual improvement in our lives a certain result. We can guarantee we will become better people.

What is the formula? Union with God. People united with God are good and will do good things; no other way can we make sure progress.

We must be people who are humble enough to remember their origins (like today’s publican of the Gospel.)

He offered no fancy speeches, no bribes or inducements – he merely brought himself and cast himself down at the Lord’s feet.

It was genuine contrition, from the heart, and that is where its value comes from. Of all things that God asks of us it is this. If we cannot please Him in all things we can at least be genuinely sorry that we have not done so.

So, asking for mercy is the first prayer we need to make. Once we are forgiven we can then move on to other things.

If we remain humble we are always well placed to recover at any point if we have slipped and to reach greater heights if we have held firm.

God is not averse to using a bit of showmanship to get His point across. After all, consider some of the miracles He has worked in human history: such as with the Israelites in ancient times, the early Church in the time of the Apostles, and in the last century with appearances from Our Lady.WYD is just another spectacle, in one sense, but no less compelling for that.

But in the end no amount of signs and wonders can make a person humble unless the person himself consents.

This is where each of us (and we can only do this for ourselves) has to make the same prayer as the publican, if not in the same words, at least in the same sincerity.

This simple act will unlock great spiritual power.

So we can have hope for the human race and it is not just a toss of the coin. But it does depend on the individual response of millions of Christians, so it is a very sensitive business and could go in all directions at the same time.

At least we know what we have to do: Be contrite. That is the first thing and the building block for all else.

9th Sunday after Pentecost 14 Aug 2011 Sermon

2011-08-23T14:46:00.001+09:30

9th Sunday after Pentecost 14.8.11 Society in tatters

‘English society in tatters’ read the newspaper billboard. It was referring to the riots during the past week. It implied that England was finished - certainly an exaggeration!

But at another level, less visible, their society may be in tatters after all. What about all the other problems? Even if there is no violence on the streets we still have alienation, divorce, abortion, drugs, suicide, etc etc.

And why do we have all these things? Some would say because we have economic inequality, the haves and the have-nots. Or racial troubles. These may be a factor.

But a more basic reason still is that English society, and all ‘western’ society does not sufficiently honour and obey the laws of God.

Any society, any group of people that breaks God’s laws - there will be disorder.
Cf epistle.

Why is it only when it spills onto the streets do we see it as a crisis? It is a crisis when in a quiet suburb people quietly drive up in their cars and walk into an abortion centre and have their babies killed. But that is seen as ‘normal’. So normal that the people who protest about this are considered the troublemakers.

The Gospel today refers to the impending destruction of Jerusalem, an event which did happen forty years after the time of Our Lord. The Jews, like everyone else, reacted to visible crises. When there was an actual invasion or a plague they would start repenting.

In the epistle a different generation of Jews were punished for turning to ‘forbidden things’, false gods. The punishment is sometimes quicker in coming than others but some sort of disorder must result whenever a people turns from the true God.

We might have control of the streets, but not of the underlying things. They are much harder to control. No amount of police on the streets will make people love one another, or worship the one true God. Maybe we need more priests on the street! Maybe not.

We certainly need more ‘religion’ on the street, if we understand that to mean genuine religion, the true faith: Not preaching, but everyone doing the will of God, on the streets, in homes and business places and everywhere. No lying, stealing, blaspheming, sexual aberrations etc.

This is what we need if we are going to get those ‘tatters’ back to shape, to restore a whole and healthy society.

Many would howl in protest that religion is the very last thing we want. It just makes people feel guilty, they would say. This is to look at the human side only.

With some justification people have trouble trusting priests and preachers. Most messiahs are false, after all. Only one can be true, and we know who that is.

His rule is not oppressive. We are never tempted beyond what we can bear, (Epistle). Everything He would tell us to do or not do is manageable and would bring happiness.

The streets would be safe and so would every other place. The peace of Christ would reign there.

In the meantime, if we can't fix our society the next best thing is to atone for it. Lord, please don't wipe us out. Give us more time (as the prophets of old would intercede.)

A holding action may be the best we can do at the moment.

We can avert chastisements by sincere repentance. Even a few can save many.

We don’t have to wait till there is an army at the gate or gangs on the street before we start praying. If we get in early enough these things will not happen at all.

Lord, have mercy!

Mass for the Assumption

2011-08-14T19:28:00.001+09:30

Mass for the feast of the Assumption is at St Monica's, the normal time of 8am for Mondays.
There will be a sung Mass at Holy Name Church, 6.30pm.
Happy Feast Day!

8th Sunday after Pentecost 7 Aug 2011 Sermon

2011-08-10T13:32:00.000+09:30

8th Sunday after Pentecost 7.8.11 Living in two worlds

The unjust steward is praised for his cleverness, not for his dishonesty. Our Lord’s point is that the criminals of the world are smart at knowing their objective and in carrying it out. He is saying that we can learn a lesson from them. If we set ourselves to be good, we need to be equally smart (wise) in knowing our objective and how to attain it.

What is our objective? To get to heaven. Our objective in this life is to make the next life! We are on earth so that we can get to heaven.

This is seen as crazy by those who think this life is the only one we have. Why sacrifice anything? Why put off to tomorrow what you can have today?

But our view is guided by divine revelation. This life on earth is merely the prologue, the introduction to a much longer and fuller life in Heaven.

Here, we are on a pilgrimage. We have no lasting city here. We are tempted to settle down and live like it is all we have; and many Christians do succumb to that temptation, forgetting all about their original destination.

But we are called back by the word of God, repeatedly reminded that we have no business here other than to further our progress towards Heaven, our real home.

It is a pilgrimage, or a race, and we should see everything in that light. We must keep the end in view. ‘End’ in both senses – in time and purpose.

We might resent all this because we want some happiness now if it can be had. We are glad at the thought of being happy after we die, but can we not be happy before death as well? This is the not unreasonable question many Christians put.

Yes we can be happy in this life, and God means us to be so, but we cannot demand unlimited happiness just yet. On a journey we cannot have all the comforts that we expect when we arrive at our destination.

So a certain discipline is required from us. Always we are being asked for restraint and self-denial. We can feel exhausted by that. The way to heaven is steep and winding while the way to hell is wide and smooth. It is hard to be always climbing and going against the tide. And we might feel a certain resentment that it is so hard. But there is consolation at hand for this feeling.

We find, as we focus our thoughts on heaven, not only does it become clearer as a destination but also the way we think about this life changes too.

We are not so grasping, so greedy, so anxious to cram every possible pleasure into a limited time. Self-restraint becomes easier because we realize that anything we deny ourselves here we will receive back a hundred-fold.

And also we find that there is happiness simply in living well, and wisely. We experience peace and tranquillity – and these are no small things.

Even non-religious people will acknowledge that to be happy within is worth more than possessions or external achievements. A poor man in his hut can be happier than the king in his palace if he has peace of mind.

If having heard all this we still feel we are being cheated of something, then we know we are not yet thinking with the mind of Christ. We are still looking through worldly eyes; analysing what it will cost in worldly terms. How much wealth, popularity power will I have to give up, to be His disciple?

Our faith is not a burden, something to be cast off like uncomfortable clothing. What a time I could have if I didn’t have to go to Mass, to pray, to worry about judgment etc. But this is to forget (once again) our final objective.

Where we hope to go is so good that it is worth any sacrifice in this life. Though, as we see, this life can be happy too, when we get in the right way of understanding it.

7th Sunday after Pentecost 31 Jul 2011 Sermon

2011-08-03T20:33:00.001+09:30

7th Sunday after Pentecost 31.7.11 Forming character

The Gospel speaks of trees bearing good or bad fruit. If we are to be trees then we must be those that bear only good fruit.

We take it for granted that things in nature will do what they are supposed to do, without any argument.

But we also take it for granted that people will be sometimes good and sometimes bad; that it is very hard to predict what we will do next.

The problem is that we are not yet seeing human nature as refashioned in Jesus Christ. We are still thinking of the ‘old man’ in force before Our Lord came to renew human nature.

We still tend to look at Our Lord and His teaching as being out of our reach. A nice theory, and in His case, a perfect effort, but for the rest of us ‘mortals’ it is not seriously to be expected that we could do the same thing.

In fact, however, being good is our ‘true’ nature. It is what we are designed for, just as a bird to fly or a fish to swim, or a tree to bear fruit.

There was no ‘original sin’ of fish whereby for a time they were unable to swim; but there has been such a time for humanity - the time from Adam to Christ.

But, Christ having come, we now have a repaired human nature, not only repaired but improved upon the original. This is not generally understood; so we continue to live in slavery when we could be walking in glorious freedom.

With Christ dwelling in us it should happen over time that our character changes. We become Christ-like, of one heart and mind with Him. We start to see things as He sees them, to think, speak and act as He would do.

It may take time because every repair operation does. But there is a certainty about the process whereby we cannot fail to improve in our overall virtue if we let the power of Christ act upon us.

The biggest hurdle for us is just to believe this to be possible. Part of the slavery to sin to which St Paul alludes is that it lowers our expectations of what we are capable.

We can get a sense of what is possible by looking at life in Heaven and the life of Our Lady on earth.

Heaven. If we think of heaven nobody sins there. But why not? Because in heaven everyone would be so totally in union with the mind of God that no one would want to sin. But how can we get to heaven if we think that sin is normal or acceptable behaviour? We have to prepare for heaven by rooting out all impurities presently in us.

Our Lady. She was good all the time and we might ask, how could that be possible? How could anyone be like that? Simply because she understood that goodness was the natural course and also the greatest source of happiness.

We think that sin is a kind of short cut to happiness: that to cut a few corners on God’s law is better for us than to follow His line strictly. But Mary would tell us otherwise. The more we obey Him the more fully we experience the joyous freedom of a bird in flight.

So we can agree with the basic idea that to be good all the time is better than being good some of the time. We would understand this in every other area of our lives eg that cars should run; meals should be edible, travel should be safe....we want these things to happen and we notice the slightest imperfections.

But we don't see it in the whole way of living itself!

Jesus has made humanity new in Himself. Now He invites us to experience the new life and the new way of life which this involves. It will make us a lot happier than we have been so far!

6th Sunday after Pentecost 24 Jul 2011 Sermon

2011-07-27T15:08:00.000+09:30

6th Sunday after Pentecost 24.7.11 Spiritual hunger

One of God’s many blessings to the human race is that He provides us with food – so important to us for enjoyment, and relieving of hunger.

Today’s Gospel (the feeding of the multitude) describes one such occasion when God intervenes miraculously to provide food for thousands of people.

The miraculous nature of the event invites us to look beyond just the physical dimension and see what else God might be saying to us here.

Our Lord explained that the Israelites in the desert had received bread, but that was food only for the body. Now He, Jesus, would provide bread which would satisfy the soul, and would be lasting in its effects. He who eats this bread will never die.

He was talking spiritually. He was talking about the Eucharist, where His own Body would be food for us.

Just like physical food, the bread of life, the bread from heaven would provide energy - for the soul. Eating this bread will enable us to live rightly, to meet all our obligations, to live in joyful hope of better things to come, and all other related spiritual good effects.

When it comes to this particular food from heaven, its value is often missed because it is perceived as too abstract, too far above everyday needs.

Thus it happens that many people are apathetic or indifferent to receiving Holy Communion.

Most Catholics do not receive it even weekly (because they do not come to Mass weekly).

Most non-Catholics would not acknowledge that it is really the Body of Christ.

But of these people there are few who would turn down a good meal. Spiritual hunger is very real but it does not hurt as obviously as physical hunger. So it is easier to put it off to another day.

Are we hungry for the bread of life? Or do we receive it simply because it is part of the ritual?

The attitude of the one receiving this food has a lot to do with the results that will follow.

Two people receiving side-by-side could be receiving something very different. It is the same consecrated Host, the full body, blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord that is being received.

But if one person is fully believing, desiring to be filled with heavenly grace - while the other is merely going through the motions – there will be different outcomes.

We could say we receive what we want to receive. If we really hunger for the goodness of God we will receive it. If we are indifferent, though Christ be present, we will not benefit from His presence.

(A person in mortal sin will actually be worse off for receiving the sacrament because of the sin of disrespect involved.)

One reason for the indifference of many Catholics to this sacrament is that they think they can be ‘good’ by their own strength. Why bother to go to church and receive a sacrament when I could achieve the same effect by staying home and just making good resolutions?

This is to overrate one’s own strength. Many a good resolution does not see the light of day.

Also it is to reduce our religion to a merely ethical matter, whereas we are called to a life-giving relationship with God, like branches to a tree. Our Lord was not just an ethical teacher, setting out rights and wrongs. He calls us to direct and intimate union with Him. Unless you eat this bread you cannot have eternal life. (John 6,53)

A certain amount of childlike wonder will help here. We must not argue the point: just come, open our hearts and receive whatever it is that God wants to give. Take as much as you can, ‘all you can eat’. And each time we grow in desire and will be able to receive even more the next.

5th Sunday after Pentecost 17 Jul 2011 Sermon

2011-07-20T14:32:00.000+09:30

5th Sunday after Pentecost 17.7.11 Non-competitive love

Much of our world is based around competition and conflict.

We have wars where two sides fight each other for dominance. On the sporting field two teams fight each other. There can be only one winner. In business companies compete for market share. In workplaces employees compete for promotion. In Parliament members compete for votes and influence, and so on and on.

And we are jealous of others for their success or good fortune or talents... because we fear we are missing out, but there is enough for all.

In Jesus Christ we see a new model, a new way of looking at things. The vision of the world that He has left us is essentially non-competitive. It is not just one winner and the rest are losers. Everyone can be a winner.

We put prices on things here because there are limits to available quantities. But in heaven everyone can have enough and there is still more to come.

And Our Lord wants us to see this life in the same light. Not that we stop paying for groceries but that we start to see things in a larger vision, less defensive or grasping for ourselves and more expansive in our dealings with others.

To share what we have, in terms of possessions, is one thing. But even more important is to share goodwill, mercy, kindness.

Imagine standing at the foot of the Cross and seeing Our Lord die. How could we hold back on forgiving others? How could we begrudge mercy to any other at such a time?

If I have an enemy I want him to be my friend. I could want him dead, and that may be where I start, but once I have imbibed the Spirit of Christ I see my enemy in a new light. I see him as a lost soul, a lost sheep straying and needing to be rescued.

Thus I forgive him and this is what Christ asks of us. To see others as He sees them - not in a competitive, vengeful way but in generosity and goodwill.

The Mass is being at Calvary, so here in particular we see Our Lord completely offering Himself to each and all. We can all receive from Him and there is no less for others.

The Gospel today says we must be reconciled with all others before we come to Mass. Let us say that each Mass should make us more Christ-like than the one before.

If we can’t do it all in one day we can at least make progress.
We receive His love and we hope it makes us at least a little more like He is. His blood be in our blood; His heart in ours; His mind in ours.

We have a lot of unlearning to do in this area. From the time we were babies and trying to hold onto our toys we have been trained (by the general tone of the world) to be competitive and defensive in our dealings with others. The way of Christ is very different.

We don't like to be thought naive, to be pushovers. We learn that there are people around who could harm us. To guard against that we develop a rather tough exterior.

We can be cautious without writing people off. We may have to be wary of certain people, who might harm us or swindle us. But we can still desire their salvation. So I will not walk down the rough side of town at 3am, fearing that I might be bashed. But I can still pray and hope that the would-be bashers will come to salvation eventually!

People can be better, and so can trends be better than they are right now. This is not false optimism but a well-founded hope based on the saving power of Christ.

Love is not weakness as it might seem. To love like Christ loves is to be a strong person, certainly to be a better person. May He make us a little more like Himself each time we approach His altar.

4th Sunday after Pentecost 10 Jul 2011 Sermon

2011-07-12T15:30:00.001+09:30

4th Sunday after Pentecost 10.7.11 Transformed

There are two remarkable things that God does for us:
1) that He forgives our sins and 2) that He sends us out to help others to seek forgiveness for their sins.

Both would seem unlikely if we thought about them in advance.

Why should He forgive us so freely? He loves us enough to be able to do that. We should be very grateful.

Perhaps it is even more improbable that He would use us to forgive others. In today’s Gospel, when Peter acknowledges his sinfulness Our Lord does not contradict him but moves on to another matter when He says, I will make you fishers of men.

To be ‘fishers of men’: of course we cannot pull others in by our own authority. What we can do is bring Christ to others by the fact that He dwells in us.

This will work if we are humble enough. Humility is the key.

The moment we think we are ‘good’ in our own strength or by our own virtue, we crumble to nothing. But if we remember on an ongoing basis that it is only by God’s grace that we are still able to walk free... thus we are humbled, and then we can be channels of that same grace to others.

This is how the Church grew. A small band of people experienced the mercy of God which transformed them. Then, on fire with gratitude and maintaining humility this small band went out proclaiming the mercy of God and telling others what they had to do to receive the same thing.

Many believed them and they in turn became proclaimers of mercy and so the Church has spread and still does in our time.

What makes us any different from the people outside? We are not better than they are by any innate virtue. Our only claim to fame is that we have had enough sense to see our need of mercy and to receive it as offered.

We do not set ourselves up as better than the rest of the human race; only fortunate enough to have discovered the precious pearl of faith. And in our relief and joy at finding a way out of misery we want to tell others about it.

We throw out the line like the fishermen and hope to bring in some willing fish. (Real fish do not want to be caught; but the people who are ‘caught’ will be happy.)

We say that the apostles were transformed after Pentecost and it is often said that previously timid men were now courageous. It is true.

But their change from timid to courageous was made possible by a deeper transformation still: sinful to forgiven.

From that point on they were too happy to be worried about their own safety. Courage is self-forgetfulness. So is humility.

St Paul (also an apostle) thought he was the least of all, and many other saints have said the same. They were not just saying that as a polite formality. They really did think it because they could see so clearly their inadequacy in the light of Christ.

The greatest saints are the most humble people. Lesser people think they are more important, and so are less able to transmit the mercy of God. A strange paradox.

The truly humble are able to convey the reality of God to others: by the holiness of their lives, and by the fact that God can work through them.

May we be such people. There is so much need in these times. The harvest is rich. Can we be the labourers to bring them in?

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 3 Jul 2011 Sermon

2011-07-05T20:29:00.000+09:30

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 3.7.11 Individual sheep

If we go into or any crowded place there would be lots of people around and most of them we would not know personally. We would not know their names, nor anything about them except for certain generalisations we could make.

It would be a strange thing if we could walk among a large group of people and we found that we knew the name of every person there; and not only their names but everything about them, even their innermost thoughts, fears, hopes, joys and sorrows!

It would be amazing to know all that. There is Someone who does, of course – the Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep, and also those are not His sheep but should be. The ones who are not presently His are the lost ones, for whom He goes searching.

There must be a lot of lost sheep in our present world. If ‘lost’ means anyone who does not fully belong to the flock of Christ, does not give explicit loyalty and obedience to Him, then it must mean most people in the world.

Even if we did know all those people in the crowded place it would not necessarily mean that we loved them as well. But in God’s case, yes, He does that too. He has a personal , vital interest there. His love is infinite, passionate.

To us other people can be just there, of no particular significance. It is hard for us to imagine the burning love of the Sacred Heart, caring so much for each one. But if we think of how important we regard our own lives that gives a clue. Every person in the crowd is just like us insofar as each one regards his/her life as very important. God can see that and He agrees it is important.

He loves each person and desires the salvation of that soul. Every soul is meant to be in the orbit of the Sacred Heart, keeping close at all times.

A planet is happy if it stays in its proper orbit, drawing life from the star to which it is attached. If it loses its orbit it loses everything. So with us – if we stay close to the Good Shepherd we have everything. Away from Him we are in chaos.

Our Lord seeks to bring peace and harmony into the lives of each person but many will reject His efforts, either deliberately or simply through neglect.

Others, like us, will want to cooperate but we make things harder due to our sins and inconsistent behaviour.

What can we do? For ourselves, clean up our own backyard and get our response right. Climb into our orbit. It is not dull to be in a fixed path. There we find stability, the basis to develop our true selves.

For the other people in the crowd - we desire their salvation. We believe in their importance, not necessarily their goodness; acknowledging that they were designed by God to live with Him for all eternity. So there must be something good there. No one is predestined for hell.

We hope they find their place. Increasing the overall harmony. Let us make music together, we could say. The bigger the choir the better it sounds; the better our world becomes.

We desire this – to the point that we will pray for it and make sacrifices for it to happen.

Think of saints like St Francis Xavier who travelled to evangelise complete strangers on the other side of the world. It would have been easy for him to stay home, as it is for us. But he realized their importance simply because they were human and he made sacrifices to bring them the Gospel.

Who cares about all those other people in the world? God does, and so therefore should we.

May the Good Shepherd continue to find, and keep, every lost soul.

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 26 Jun 2011 Sermon

2011-06-28T19:33:00.000+09:30

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 26.6.11 Eucharist as source of strength

When Joshua takes over from Moses as leader of the Israelites, the people tell him to ‘Be strong. Do not fear’( Joshua 1,18). Good advice certainly, but I can imagine Joshua saying, ‘Well, it’s easy for you to say: Be strong. How would you like to lead the way into furious battles and the like?’

In the Church we give each other a lot of advice. And in the Bible, the writings of the saints and teachings of the Church there is much instruction and exhortation about what we should do and avoid doing.

It is all good material. We know that we ought to do these things. But we sometimes doubt that we have the strength to do them.

We are so weak as individuals that we cannot easily just be courageous, or generous, or self-sacrificing as though it were an everyday thing.

We can do these things but not in our own strength. We can do them only if we are supported and sustained by the grace of God.

Like Peter walking on the water: he could do it when he forgot himself and focused on Our Lord. When he turned the focus back on himself he began to sink. So it is with us in many things.

If we set out to be kind to everyone we meet, just by our own willpower, we may not last long. But if we are fortified by the grace of God so that His kindness (and other good qualities) fill our hearts and minds – then we can make some progress.

So it is we come here to this Mass. We come here for several reasons, but one is to ask for the graces necessary that we can be the sort of disciples Our Lord wants to have.

We acknowledge that we cannot do it alone. Only by His help. And so we ask for that help in whatever form it is needed.

And He provides on request. He gives us His life-giving flesh in Holy Communion. This flesh is divinised; it is God in physical form and when we receive it we will be transformed within. We will find new courage and other virtues brimming over within us, at least for a time.

Because we are weak we are not able to ‘hold’ divine grace for long. We are small containers for such greatness. So we have to come back again and again to be fed once more, and sustained a little longer in the battle of life.

Over time we can grow stronger in a more permanent way. Our character can be developed to the point that we find certain things easy which once would have been impossible.

We commit less sins, less often and less serious, as we become accustomed to holding more and more of divine grace within. And we do more good, by the same process.

The Gospel today speaks of a divine banquet to which we are all invited. At a banquet we can eat more than usual. Normally good manners require us to be moderate in what we eat. But in spiritual terms we can take as much as possible from this particular banquet. The more of the life of God we can imbibe the better for us and everyone.

We have to be strong to be disciples of Christ these days. There are many trials and pitfalls. It is so easy to give up or just paddle along at our own speed. Always more seems to be asked of us. How can we cope? It is all possible by the power of grace. And we are given that power, so we cannot complain.

Only if we stop believing, or seeking, or coming to the fount of grace will we lose what we had and it will seem more impossible than ever. So we keep doing these things and we see progress.

May the Bread of Life sustain us to the end.

Trinity Sunday 19 Jun 2011 Sermon

2011-06-22T17:58:00.001+09:30

Trinity Sunday 19.6.11 God’s day

Today could be described as a day specially for God. We have ‘days’ to mark all sorts of things, so why not a day for God Himself?

Let us consider some aspects of His greatness.

Where does God come from? It is hard for the lesser to understand the greater. When did God start? Who made God? He did not start. No one made Him. It is very hard for us to grasp that something can have no beginning. God exists of Himself without cause. He contains existence within Himself. He is not just someone smarter or bigger but the basis of reality itself.

We cannot expect to understand beyond a certain point. We say what we can say and the rest is mystery. Far from reducing His credibility this actually increases it. If God could be easily explained He would not be that far superior, when in fact He is vastly, infinitely beyond us.

We cannot exhaust the mysteries but we can enter them like a garden where there are endless avenues to pursue.

All this gives us a proper sense of inferiority, which may sting the pride a little, but on reflection it is actually a comfort to have someone so strong to take refuge in. If humanity were the smartest reality around we really would have something to worry about!

Having established all this we then marvel that He cares for us even individually. The God who made all this actually cares what happens to each one of us. He came down to earth to share our human nature and raise us up to live with Him.

God is not so far away as to be unapproachable; not so close as to be equal. We need the right mix of reverence and filial trust.

One of the most mysterious things about God is His Trinitarian identity. How can there be three persons in one nature? Each of us is one person and one nature. If we had more than one person inside us that would make us a split personality, and that is a disorder. But there is no disorder in God.

Three persons make perfect unity in one nature. There is an infinite love into which we are drawn.

All three persons have every perfection. We attribute things to one Person more than another but all three Persons have full possession of whatever God possesses.

So if we say, for instance, that the Holy Spirit has wisdom, we understand that the Father and Son also have it. Or that if God the Son is present in the Eucharist then so are the Father and the Holy Spirit.

The Three Persons love each other eternally. From this we learn that we should also love one another. And when we do love that it be according to God’s definitions and standards. Love is not our own property to be dealt with as we please.

Drawn into His love we discover our purpose on earth and are more likely to be able to heal the earth, so lacking in love at present. Yes, exploring the reality of God does help. We are never wasting time to get in touch with the Source of our being, who is also the End of all our activity.

In heaven they praise God constantly. On earth they ignore Him (speaking generally). This is obviously not how things should be. If not enough people are praising Him then we must double or treble our praises – that God be glorified, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Pentecost Sunday 12 Jun 2011 Sermon

2011-06-14T15:09:00.001+09:30

Pentecost Sunday 12.6.11 Real change

Pentecost is a fuller-than-ever before revelation of the plans of God to save us, and therefore a day to rejoice. God had intervened many times before but never to this extent. All the covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, were leading up to this. Even the work of Christ Himself was not complete until Pentecost.

At Pentecost we see that God desires an internal change in people, in the way they relate to Him, in the way they live.

When the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles they were changed forever. They were given in that moment a new and deeper understanding of the reality of God, and though they believed before now they reached a new level of faith and with it, charity.

Receiving a new awareness of God, like a brand on the soul, they forgot their previous fears and were able to proclaim the Gospel to anyone, receptive or hostile.

So we talk of the Holy Spirit putting His seal on us, marking us for life. We belong to God once and for all. (Our sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation are meant to express the same reality as Pentecost, but do not always carry the same conviction. Sometimes only later do we grasp the full impact of sacraments already received.)

The apostles could not not preach the word of God. They knew too much to keep quiet about it. They had discovered the formula that would set everyone free and bring universal happiness.

The same must happen to us. Pentecost is about conversion, of moving form darkness to light, from ignorance to knowing; from not-caring about our neighbour to caring. Caring in the spiritual sense; wanting him to know what we know, the goodness of God. Not being patronising but simply pointing to something that anyone would benefit from.

For the apostles the deeper conversion and the bolder proclamation seemed to be as one movement. Once they reached a certain level of awareness they could not keep that awareness bottled up.

We need a deeper conversion. No matter how well we know God now we could all use an increase. And when we are converted enough we will find ourselves like the apostles, ready to go through fire and water to make Christ known to the world.

We do not have to wait till we are perfect to make known the glory of God. Even if there are no St Peters or St Pauls about we already know enough to know which direction we must head. We encourage each other to holiness, by prayer and example.

We can make progress even if we are only limping.

Different people have different needs for what has to be done.

Whatever our particular problem: habitual sin, doubt, anger, unforgiveness... this is our seeking at Pentecost. The change may not come on Pentecost Sunday itself, but if we keep seeking it will come. And the more the light of God gets inside us the more transformed we become, and the more powerful agents of evangelisation.

The Church vis-a-vis world seems to be always in the same position. We have so much to offer but the world does not really want to hear it. Through fear we can be huddled in the Upper Room saying, I’m not going out there.

But if we are really filled with the Holy Spirit we cannot not live it, and this is the beginning of proclaiming it. It must show.

Therefore, may that same Holy Spirit fall afresh on us and all who seek Him this day, and in due time on those who do not seek Him - but would if they knew better.

Sunday after Ascension 5 Jun 2011 Sermon

2011-06-07T20:06:00.002+09:30

Sunday after Ascension 5.6.11 Heaven

We mention heaven a lot in our prayers and speaking of our faith. We hope to go to heaven. We talk of people being in heaven. How much do we really know about it?

First of all we know it does exist; there is such a place. It is true we are vague about some of the details of what it is like, but that is only because we have not yet experienced it.

It is also because it is a place of such beauty that it is beyond ordinary words to describe it. Just as when the saints have a mystical experience of God they cannot tell us what happened because it is beyond words (cf St Paul and his being shown heaven 2 Cor 12,2-4). At times we experience something of the beauty of creation when we contemplate say a large mountain range, or the breadth of the sea, or the vastness of the stars in the sky.

These things are beautiful but they are only a taste of far greater beauty beyond.

Cartoonists always portray heaven as people floating about on clouds and playing harps. This conveys what many would fear – that heaven is a vague and shadowy sort of place, lacking in the reality that we have here on earth. In fact Heaven would be more substantial and more physical than earth. (As CS Lewis wrote in his book ‘The Great Divorce’... people new to heaven cannot walk on heavenly grass at first because it is too hard). If the earth, riddled with sin as it is, can still display so much beauty what must heaven be like, which has seen no trace of sin?

So there is great physical beauty in heaven. But better than this we will find there a moral beauty: namely, that in heaven the will of God is done by all without exception. There is no trace of malice, nastiness, coldness, selfishness, insults, bullying, violence and all similar things that we take for granted in this life.

This is harder to imagine than the physical dimension. We have never experienced such peace and harmony, yet we know that it is theoretically possible and certainly desirable. Heaven is the place where we will see it, if we don’t ever achieve it here.

And this is the place to which Jesus has ascended, paving the way for us to follow! Can we dare to hope that we can reach such a place? We are not used to being that lucky. In this life some things go our way, and some not. We get used to a kind of mixture of good and bad outcomes. We are not used to thinking about being totally happy all the time. But this is what our faith tells us. It is true even if we can’t grasp it.

Heaven is trivialized not just by cartoonists but whenever people speak of it as just a place where people go when they die – the great bowling green in the sky etc.

This trivializes heaven in two ways: one by greatly understating its true grandeur and two, by assuming that everyone has automatic entry.

We can enter there, but only if we live and die in union with Our Lord. Only if we do His will on earth and/or are truly repentant for offending Him.

We live in hope, not just a wishful thinking, but a real certain hope that we will experience this place, a certainty that increases every time we call upon the power and love of God to forgive and strengthen us.

So there is such a place and we are nearly in it. By God’s grace we will get there, our true home.

5th Sunday after Easter 29 May 2011 Sermon

2011-05-31T16:07:00.000+09:30

5th Sunday after Easter 29.5.11 Whatever you ask...

Our Lord tells us in the Gospel that whatever we ask in prayer will be given to us. There are similar passages in other parts of the Gospel.

Yet we find in practice that we ask for many things which do not eventuate. Can we work out why?

What we ask we shall receive, but there is a footnote to that: the promise applies only if what we ask is in accord with God’s will.

So we can have anything we want becomes we can have anything He wants! This might sound like a real dampener, but on further reflection it need not be so. If we reflect that God loves us more than we love ourselves, and further that He knows better than we do what is good for us - then having what He wants is going to be something worth having.

We learn through prayer and experience how to ask for the right things. Gradually we are transformed in our thinking to be more of the same mind as God. The more we deal with Him the more we come to see things the same way He does.

We might start out asking for material things like more money or a better car, but after a while we are praying for conversion of sinners and forgiveness of enemies.

It may be that we are praying for the right thing but in the wrong way.

So we might pray without due reverence for God’s majesty, or without sufficient trust in His goodness. Our prayer might be more in panic than in love (as the apostles who thought their boat was going to sink.)

Again, over time, we can improve in this area. If we pray consistently we will grow in trust of God to provide all our needs and come to a deeper trust in Him that He will never let us down, even if we may not see the precise way He is going to help.

So we get better at asking for the right thing and in the right way, but what if after getting thus far we still do not receive what we ask?

There are many people who would be praying day and night for what must be the right intention (eg the conversion of one of their children); and they pray with fervour and faith –yet still the request goes unfulfilled.

In these cases the fault does not lie in the prayer or the one praying but in the one prayed for.

If we pray to convert sinners, for example, the sinners themselves will resist conversion and so our prayers may appear to be going for nothing but in fact they are helping to weaken the sinner’s resistance to the grace of God.

Certainly God could override the will of any person but He chooses not to do that. He wants to win the love of each person, not force it. This makes the process a lot longer and harder.

This is why we can feel we are going nowhere but in reality our praying and sacrificing forms part of this long process; and everyday somewhere in the world a breakthrough would be achieved – some long-term prayer objective is being realised.

We would like to force goodness on others, to make them good, but we have to go the long way round and pray for it instead.

We are ‘receiving’ whatever we ask, but it may not come today or tomorrow. We can be confident however that no prayer is wasted and every prayer properly made will contribute to the fulfilment of God’s will.

So, let us pray - for the right thing in the right way and for the right length of time, never doubting, never giving up.

Ask like this, and we shall receive.

4th Sunday after Easter 22 May 2011 Sermon

2011-05-24T15:36:00.000+09:30

4th Sunday after Easter 22.5.11 Pursuit of holiness

In these latter stages of the Easter season the readings focus less on the Resurrection itself and more on the approaching feast of Pentecost.

Our Lord is preparing His apostles (and later disciples) to adjust to a new reality, whereby we would have the full power of His presence but without being able to see Him.

As ‘seeing’ is very important to us, it would take some adjusting, but it can be done.

We are very physical beings, we humans. We are a composite of body and spirit, but for most purposes the body is much more apparent to us and we tend to place more weight on what we experience in our body than anything in the spiritual realm.

(Thus people say: I’ll believe it when I see it.)

Our Lord is laying the groundwork for us to think spiritually, not just physically; to develop the spiritual side of our nature.

This will be necessary for the purposes of believing even when we cannot see with bodily eyes.

It will be necessary also for the purpose of becoming more fully what He intends us to be – sharers in His divine nature; sharers in the life of the Blessed Trinity.

A spiritual view of reality is required. Spiritual as against physical, material.

Not that the physical or material reality is bad; just that it needs to be governed and moderated by the spiritual.

Human beings – we can live like beasts or we can live like angels.

If we are too much in the body, indulging physical desires without restraint, then we are living like animals (worse really because the animals have no choice).

If we live spiritually it means we develop the higher qualities like love, generosity, kindness, patience, self-sacrifice – the qualities which are more obviously a sharing in the nature of God.

We see many examples of both. We hear on the news regular stories about atrocities of human behaviour – brutal murders, road rage, vandalism...

Then we are aware of great acts of courage, of sacrifice, of forgiveness. The same human nature is capable of both. We are complex creatures.
For us, as disciples, generally we are weighed down too much by preoccupations with the physical world – our health, our appearance, our possessions, our pleasures. Too little do we think of the spiritual world – of developing our humility, charity, generosity, of how much we love God.

The spiritual world is all there waiting for us, and this is what Jesus would have us realize. But we neglect it. If we take up Our Lord’s invitation and really seek Him out we will be setting a whole new reality in motion.

We will be activating two things at once: our own spiritual life; and an improvement in the world as a whole - making it a more spiritual place, more like the Kingdom of God.

Regarding personal holiness: we are not proposing some sort of Jansenism or Dualism. We are body and spirit but the spirit is supposed to be in charge.

We need the right balance. We can enjoy ourselves but we also need restraint and moderation. Even fasting sometimes to restore balance.

We must force ourselves to make room for the spiritual dimension. The more we do that as individuals the more likely there can be a new awareness in society; a much-needed, long-awaited improvement in the state of the world.

This will happen only if people (like you and me) will make a serious attempt to live a more spiritual life.

It is hard always to be pushing higher; so much easier to sink back to a comfortable medium. But then again the Holy Spirit lifts us higher so that what might seem beyond us becomes the new ‘normal’. In this way we can make genuine and lasting progress in holiness.

We will not be ‘out of touch’ with reality as the fear is often expressed. We will just have a better view of what reality is!

3rd Sunday after Easter 15 May 2011 Sermon

2011-05-17T16:49:00.000+09:30

3rd Sunday after Easter 15.5.11 Living the Gospel

Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul, having your conversation good among the Gentiles: that whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by the good works which they shall behold in you, glorify God in the day of visitation..

These words (from the epistle) contain quite a challenge to us. It is being put to us that we should behave at such a level of holiness that the people around us should be able to recognize the presence of God acting in us.

To achieve this we would have to be somehow different from the surrounding society.

We might object that this sounds like a very difficult assignment.

Of course we should try to be holy anyway, regardless of whether or not it impresses the neighbours; but realizing that so many people today do not know the Gospel; do not realize the richness of what is available to them - then we can see it as an extra incentive to live the Gospel.

The Church today, beset by scandals, has to work uphill to impress the surrounding society. We are so busy apologizing for the wrongs of this or that person that it makes it very difficult for us to stand up and say, This is the way, follow it.

Logically, the message remains the same and is not made any less true by misbehaviour on our part, but psychologically it is much harder to convince people of the truth of what we profess if we ourselves do not live it.

Can we do better? We have to begin, as always, with ourselves. The impression we make on others we cannot predict, but certainly the more things we get right the more likely we are to make the right impact.

Also we could say that if the Church must lift her overall performance on the world stage, there is no other way to that than individual Christians being more attentive to their duties.

If one person suddenly becomes kinder than usual, for example, that is an improvement for the whole Church.

Each of us has the power to improve the Church’s rating in the world by any simple personal advance.

Think of the impact if thousands of Catholics suddenly decided to pray more, to give more to charity, to be more careful how they talk to others etc etc

Big things come from small.

St Peter is encouraging us to remember our responsibility. We are ambassadors for Christ. If we consider ourselves to be His disciples then we are in a sense on public show every time we go out the door and, for that matter, if we stay at home.

Everything we do or say has some bearing on how clearly Christ is being proclaimed to the world.

What makes this manageable is the power of small changes. This much we can handle. It is like we have been given a particular task and all we have to do is that one task – which is to get right our own individual response to the will of God, to obey Him more readily, to get each thing right as we encounter it.
So whether it is being kind to a beggar in the street, cheerfully undertaking an unpleasant task, not giving way to annoyance at the mannerisms of someone else, a word of encouragement... the possibilities are endless. Every day is a stream of opportunities to get it right for Jesus’ sake. (Of course we must also eliminate any negative witness on our part.)

We hope the neighbours can derive something of the reality of Christ from our behaviour.
We do not seek their approval for any vanity on our part, but only so that they can know Christ better.

While He is absent from sight (Gospel) we must make Him obvious by our behaviour. Only by His grace!

2nd Sunday after Easter 8 May 2011 Sermon

2011-05-10T22:42:00.000+09:30

2nd Sunday after Easter 8.5.11 Good Shepherd

Jesus protects the sheep. From what? From the power of evil, from getting lost.

The danger we face is not primarily physical (as with real sheep). For us it is sin. Jesus protects us from that. He protects us from defying Him.

The reason we sin is that we are looking at things from a lack of understanding of the whole situation. We see the forbidden fruit, and we desire it, not worrying about longer term needs.

How can the Shepherd protect us from that? By gathering us in to be close to Him.

He gathers us in, not just to sit on the grass but to be transformed by Him. If we stand close to a fire we will be burnt. In this case to be burnt is a good thing. As we stand near Jesus the fire of His heart will affect us. Not just physically near, but spiritually, opening our hearts and minds to His influence.

As the Epistle puts it: we were to become dead to our sins and live for holiness... this is the new order of things, the new humanity.

Protection comes from the fact that we are no longer under the influence of the evil one. We move away from the world and false ways of thinking.

Our Lord implants in us a different way of looking at things - His own way, His own mind, heart, wisdom, will.

So, for example, if we were in the past inclined to steal, with His heart we see the value of the property to the other person. Now I not only will not steal but I will give my possessions away. Cf Zacchaeus... willing to make fourfold reparation in his joyful grasp of new life.

Or for purity. Before one might have just been seeking pleasure. Now with the heart of Christ we see the dignity of the human person and all that goes with that.

The commandments become real to us, no longer just burdensome rules, but reflecting our own way of seeing things.

Conversely if we do not let Him gather us in we are in great danger of falling away from the faith, falling into sin.

People do not plan to do this. It happens because of a kind of spiritual malnutrition. If we do not keep up with prayer and sacraments, do not take in our daily intake of grace we become vulnerable and then we fall. And from that if we do not return we will fall further.

The sheep will be swallowed up by wolves. We can be swallowed by the ‘world’!

So we have to be humble here and know our limitations. Many do not pray or receive sacraments, thinking that they are strong enough to get by for themselves. It is like driving at night without headlights. In our own strength we are nothing when it comes to spiritual combat.

For us here, we are probably not ‘lost’ sheep in the sense that we have wandered far away from the flock. Yet we also, with our habitual sins and just the stress of modern life – we also need to draw close to the Shepherd to fight against temptations. And we must realize that we could be lost. So vigilance is required.

The Good Shepherd, having gathered us in, forms us in His image, making us Christ-like in our thinking and acting. We take on a new self. We are saved from ourselves, from the old self. The new self is a brand new person.

For this to happen and to have any sort of reality on an ongoing basis we have to renew our commitment day by day.

Our closeness to the Shepherd needs to be more like desperate clinging than just a casual affiliation.

He will look for us even if we don’t look for Him; even if we try to hide from Him. He goes in search of the lost sheep. But why make it harder than it needs to be? We can approach Him and find all that we need.

Low Sunday 1 May 2011 Sermon

2011-05-03T21:26:00.001+09:30

Low Sunday 1.5.11 Faith

Christ is risen. But do we really believe it? Let us explore the basis for our faith in Him and in what we know about Him.

Faith comes from hearing, says St Paul, and we have heard the word which has led to our having faith. Other people have told us these things. The apostles, the fathers of the Church, popes, councils, catechisms, our own parents, priests, teachers ... through all these combined sources we have heard enough to convince us of the truths that make up the contents of our faith.

But can we trust what others tell us? We know that a lot of people tell lies, try to deceive us. Or they may be well-meaning but mistaken. Is our faith reliable after all?

There is more evidence for the resurrection than a lot of other things we believe. This far we can reason.

For this story to be fraudulent it would take a lot of organising and the story is so powerful it seems beyond human powers to invent, especially with its emphasis on sacrifice.
The Church’s position holds together, historically, logically.
Not just that Christ is risen, but that He is God, that He has come to save sinners, that He has established the Church, based on the apostles who were witnesses to His life, death and resurrection.

And above all there is the record of sanctity. People have died for the faith and done so in a calm ordered way, not with fanatical recklessness.

And we have all felt God’s closeness at times, our own personal miracles.

But as well as Reason we have Faith. Faith is a direct action by God to give us certainty of the truth that He speaks.

God is Truth, the first and last word. If it comes from Him we must believe it. ‘Truth itself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.’

There are some things in our lives that we just ‘know’ without necessarily being able to explain the basis for our certainty. The gift of Faith operates outside of the normal processes of knowledge.

It is more like ‘intuition’ but stronger and more reliable. We just ‘know’ these things are true. God is lending us some of His own self-knowledge and enabling us to rise above the waters of doubt that surround us.

Although we cannot, like St Thomas, touch the wounds of Christ, we are given the equivalent certainty that he received.

The reasoning processes help but the gift of Faith clinches the matter completely.

The truth we receive must not remain just as a concept in our minds (like saying 2+2=4) but be something we live out in practice.

So we are inspired by the truth of Christ’s resurrection to be His disciples, to make Him known to all nations, to transform the world into His kingdom.

Between the mental certainty and the energy of our response we not only grow in our understanding of the truth but see it taking shape in the world.

It is not just a feeling but a living certainty, not one which comes or goes with changing circumstances, but locked in.

The more we get into it the more true we realize it is.

So if the mountains should fall or if the stalls stand empty of cattle and the crops fail... I still believe and know that it must come right, no matter how long or complicated the path may be.

Our faith can grow stronger and stronger and if it does we will be more able to help others to believe. The truth is there anyway, but the human race needs to come alongside and believe it!

Easter Sunday 24 April 2011 Sermon

2011-04-26T16:11:00.003+09:30

Easter Sunday 24.4.11 Holding on to the end

There are many places in the Old Testament where the good are promised that they will be justified in the end; and the evildoers will bite the dust.

Yet we see that good people are not always rescued from death, that bad people are not always immediately punished, that unjust situations and practices can go on for a long time without apparent intervention from Heaven. Can the word of God be false? Never. It is just a matter of time.

Many fictional stories are constructed in a way that has the main characters (goodies) in trouble for most of the time and the baddies are on top, but at the very end of the story it all turns around and the good come out the winners.

One cynic explains this is why it is called ‘fiction’ because it is not the way it happens in real life!

But if we consider the story of Our Lord over these three days, could we imagine a more dismal picture than how things looked late on Friday afternoon - with Our Lord, dead on a cross, deserted by most of His followers. To any onlooker it must have seemed that His cause was finished, His race run.

Yet just 36 hours later He is back alive, and more alive than before (resurrected not just resuscitated). It has to be the greatest comeback story ever.

His story is the prototype for all others, and not just fictional stories either. The same applies to each of our lives as we thread our way through all sorts of difficulties here on earth, a lot of the time seeming to be overwhelmed by troubles – yet we too will see a day of glory, provided we hold on to the end.

Many, sadly, abandon trust in God when they feel deserted. Yet if they had held on they would have come right.

The vindication for us may take longer than 36 hours but it will come, in this life or the next.

Why does God leave us in suffering for such long periods of time? He does not want to see us suffer anymore than we want it.

He asks us to accept a certain amount of suffering for the same reason as He willed His Son to die for the sins of the world. This kind of suffering becomes an act of love; it is a prayer, a fragrant offering to God.

The motive force behind such suffering and such acceptance is the Love of God. When we love enough we are willing to suffer as an expression of that love. The more we love someone the more we would be willing to suffer for that person. Thus Jesus loved a great deal to be able to offer Himself in such an agonizing sacrifice.

We are challenged to enter this same process. If God lets us suffer it is not because He has abandoned us but because He is calling forth more love from us. And this extra love will help to make known the love of God, which in turn will bring a change of heart in those still far from Him.

They will be ‘cut to the heart’ as were those who heard Peter’s sermon at Pentecost.

The Risen Jesus stands before us now, and just as on that first Easter He says to His disciples, Peace be with you.

We can call on Him any day (not just today) and draw reassurance from His powerful presence. He will enable us to do things we could never manage by ourselves alone.

We are heading for a happy ending in our own personal stories. We just have to hold on till the end, and to help us to do that we have the Risen Lord within reach at all times.

Palm Sunday 17 April 2011 Sermon

2011-04-26T16:11:00.001+09:30

Palm Sunday 17.4.11
To some observers the crucifixion of Our Lord was just another routine execution. No special event.

To us it is God Himself taking on human nature and then further taking on Himself the sins of the world. Definitely not just another death, just another execution.

Jesus, God and Man, the most loved and hated member of the human race in history.

Why so loved? Because of the healing and salvation He brings to millions. Why so hated? Because He rouses the jealousy and rage of the devil himself who then spreads hatred to as many people as he can.

Why would anyone want to reject One who can do so much good? (Vested interests, keep the status quo, too lazy to change one’s ways, steeped in evil, thus unable to see good when it presents itself.)

Thus so much denial and calculated indifference towards Our Lord.

We see the fickleness of human nature even in this one liturgy: from Hosanna to Crucify him.
What a spectrum of response is possible in relation to Him. Our response to Him is more important than any other response to any person or thing we ever make.

We have to be with Him not against Him if we want to live forever.

How hard we have to apply ourselves to be loyal to this king; not just to acclaim Him on good days but to make it the study of our lives to be faithful to Him, to know Him as well as possible, to be conformed to His image, to be proud to be identified with Him.
And not to give in to temptations to resent Him when life is hard or to ignore Him when we want to go our own way.

The palms we have been holding are signs of welcome and acclamation. The original holders of those palms largely changed their welcome to rejection. We must hold the welcome, and make that habitual.

So that we are always glad to see Our Saviour coming, never ashamed to go out to meet Him, never wishing He were further away, never complaining about our sufferings in following Him.

If we are faithful to Him He will be more than faithful to us. Whatever we give Him He will repay a hundredfold.

Let us go with Him through this Holy Week, to Calvary and then to the glory of the Resurrection.

Holy Week details

2011-04-21T17:02:00.001+09:30

For Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday I will be taking part in the ceremonies at Holy Name. Accordingly there will be no Traditional ceremonies at St Monica's on those days.
On Easter Sunday Mass will be at the normal time of 8am at St Monica's,
and 5pm at Sacred Heart Church, Hindmarsh.

The times at Holy Name will be:
Holy Thursday 7pm
Good Friday (Main liturgy) 5pm
Holy Saturday 10.30pm

Holy Name Church is at 80 Payneham Road, Stepney, Adelaide.

Passion Sunday 10 April 2011 Sermon

2011-04-14T12:06:00.001+09:30

Passion Sunday 10.4.11 Sin binds and blinds

Isa 58:1Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins. For 2000 years the Church has been proclaiming the need for the world to repent from sin. It is not a popular message and a very difficult one to ‘sell’ to the public.

Why is repentance so unpopular? One of the unfortunate effects of sin is that the sinner suffers at least a partial blinding every time he sins. Every sin moves us further away from the divine Light, pushes us further into the darkness.

From that darker position our power of perceiving reality becomes weaker; our capacity to judge clearly is warped. Everything looks out of shape.

The darkness can be in the form of presumption or despair.

Presumption can take two forms. a) when people say: I have no sin. I am good, or good enough at least. I never do anything wrong. I haven’t killed anyone....
To say we have no sin in us is to be a liar (cf 1 John 1,8). The person saying this does have sins but has become unable to register them. Repeated and unrepented sin has blunted the conscience and dulled the intellect so that the person can no longer see his own sin, great as it might be.

b) when people admit they have sinned but presume that God will not ‘mind’; will forgive them anyway, whether they repent or not. It is the come-as-you-are mentality. God loves me no matter what I do, so I will do whatever I please and know that He will still welcome me into heaven. Very dangerous theology!

Despair is when a person concludes there is no ultimate good in the world, no source of salvation. What we see is all we have. There is nothing for it but to take whatever pleasure can be got while life lasts. This is a denial of any difference between right and wrong, good and evil; a kind of amoral floating through life, very common today.

All these positions are a kind of spiritual blindness, brought on by sin and kept captive in that state.

Repentance would bring a person out of that darkness very quickly; but the difficulty is that when one is in the dark the appeal of repentance is not easy to see.

The above positions all involve a defensive attitude. Don't come near me with your preaching and your religious messages. I am all right thank you. Leave me to my own ways of looking at life. I can cope without you.

Sin blinds as well as binds.

Our Lord faced the same problem in His own preaching, and He had the advantage of working miracles. Even with miracles He had great trouble cutting through the hard edge of cynicism which surrounded many of His audience.

But He is determined to save us, resistant or not. He loves us in spite of our rejection. (The Presumptives have got that much right.) But there must be some bending on our part; some humbling of self before this great mercy which is offered us.

Over the next two weeks we will have many reminders of human obstinacy (as in today’s Gospel) - Herod, Pilate, the Pharisees, the crowd... they could not see the right thing to do.

We must humble ourselves before Him. Then the blindness will be lifted and we will see the way forward.

We have sinned; we do need mercy; there is a way out of all this.

Saviour of the world, save us and all who need Thy mercy.

4th Sunday of Lent 3 April 2011 Sermon

2011-04-06T18:36:00.000+09:30

4th Sunday of Lent 3.4.11 A new covenant

The epistle today points out that with the coming of Christ a new state of things has been established, a new covenant, a big improvement on the previous arrangement.

St Paul likens the difference to being a child as against a slave of the family.

We can now enjoy a greater familiarity with God. The Eucharist, foreshadowed by the miraculous loaves of the Gospel, is an experience of familiarity. The same God who can be so majestic and powerful will make Himself available to us in the form of food, so willing is He for us to receive His love.

He wants us to trust in Him; to approach Him with confidence; to tell Him everything that is in our hearts and minds. This is the advice from saints and spiritual writers.

Be familiar but not irreverent. We are dealing with someone infinitely greater in power and goodness.

Older generations had the fear of hell, being told how wicked they were. This approach has to be modified with encouragement as to the gentle, merciful side of God, whereby we understand He is fierce only with the unrepentant, not with sinners as such.

Once we sincerely repent He is all tenderness and compassion.

Younger generations have been raised with the opposite problem of having not enough fear of God, ‘fear’ being understood not as servile terror but as a healthy reverence.

The correct attitude must be somewhere between the extremes.

We understand that He has great love for us, that He wants to bless us far more than we deserve; that we in return must be grateful for this one-sided love and do whatever we can to return it. We strive to please Him in all things, at the same time understanding that if we fail we can confidently approach Him for forgiveness.

We are to worship Him because He is so far above us, yet our worship is to be as loving children not as frightened slaves.

We worship Him in love, because we want to, not just because it is a duty.

We ask God for many things, as He encourages us to do, but we ask politely, reverently, always deferring to His will.

This politeness is both because of our inferior status and because He has much greater knowledge of what is good for us, so we acknowledge both these factors.

God takes pleasure in giving; it is in His nature.

This is very good for us as we are the main beneficiaries. We are encouraged to approach Him, constantly and confidently. Approach the throne of grace, asking for what we need, which is whatever He wants to give us.

He will give us the wisdom to want the right things. We might start out wanting a new house or new car, but with greater maturity we come to want things like wisdom and humility, even the privilege of suffering with Christ. We see these things in the lives of the saints. Not too many saints died rich, but they had other sources of happiness.

This Sunday is a day of joy. Why are we joyful? Because we have such a state of affairs that we are treated better than we deserve, and far better. It is like getting a job where you have only ten minutes work and paid a million dollars in return.

We manage to find things to complain about but if we really understood how lucky we are we would be dancing in the street. This Sunday is here to remind us of our good fortune.

May we all find our right place with Almighty God, and give Him perfect love in return.

3rd Sunday of Lent 27 Mar 2011 Sermon

2011-03-30T18:06:00.000+10:30

3rd Sunday of Lent 27.3.11 Expelling the demons

The Lord expels the demons. In one sense this is an instant thing; in another sense a long, long process requiring patience and application, a kind of spiritual surgery.

Christ is the ‘stronger man’ of the Gospel. He has removed the previous strong man but (as Our Lord warns) the devil will return if he gets half a chance.

In victory Our Lord dismantles the structures the devil has set up. The devil has kept the human race in slavery to sin. Our Lord sets the captives free by first forgiving the sin and then removing every trace of it, even the desire for it.

Thus the epistle: there must be no impurity or even hint of it. You have been set free from such things. No more darkness. Don't mix light and dark. Don't even think of it.

We should have the same horror for every sin as we have for some sins (eg if a gunman shoots people at random we can all see that is wrong; but we do not all see that abortion is wrong, or blasphemy, or refusal to forgive enemies.)

We are born for the light but we hanker for the dark; we want to go back to Egypt. We do not like the discipline or harshness of desert life, which requires a lot of sacrificing and abstaining as we ‘de-tox’ from sin. The new discipline can be painful but only at first, until we realize how much happier we are. (Thus the Israelites eventually preferred the Promised Land to Egypt).

It is hard for us to be free from sin entirely because the sin already committed darkens our intellect; makes us confused in judgment.

We do not always see clearly what is what. We find it hard to distinguish right from wrong. So that when we face a choice it is not so easy to decide.

The material or physical domain is clearer: eg that smoking is bad for you. But the moral or spiritual domain is harder to penetrate. Funny that some messages are acceptable and not others. We see anti-smoking signs everywhere. But when did you last see an anti-adultery advert on the back of a bus? Why do we advertise against less important evils and let the more important ones go?

When it comes to sin we dimly perceive that it will harm us (or others), but we manage to push that knowledge to the background. We find excuses - just this once; not really doing anything wrong etc.

And then the will is weakened - which means that even if we do see what is wrong with an action we just can't be bothered. The wrong is so much easier, so much more pleasant. I’ll repent another day.

Jesus has come to set us free from all this.

It is not as easy as being let out of jail. We are messed up inside; the wiring is wrong. So it is a process rather than a moment to get this fixed.

We need to get back to the state of sanctification achieved in baptism; so that we can think, act and speak as integrated beings with all systems working properly.

The more we turn to the light, the more we ask for grace, the more likely we can be strengthened, and from that stronger position make further progress.

We become less likely to commit the sins we used to commit, and more able to respond positively to God’s will (cf Our Lady).

And our poor society which is so much in darkness... where we are allowed to believe in God but not allowed to say so! We try to get the full truth into the open. Consequences follow actions. If we ignore God we will have chaos on all fronts, as we already see.

The battle rages on. May each of us find the freedom that is offered to us, so that all we think say and do will reflect the new life of Christ in us.

2nd Sunday of Lent 20 Mar 2011 Sermon

2011-03-23T19:06:00.000+10:30

2nd Sunday of Lent 20.3.11 Living in hope

With the Transfiguration we see the glory of God mixed in with His suffering. It is hard for us to discern God in the suffering. We can take any amount of joy, but find it hard to reconcile belief in a loving God with suffering.

There are things we can say in support of suffering: it purifies us, forces us to pray more, to consider what really counts, and so on. These arguments are true but they can be perceived as too theoretical to one in the actual grip of suffering. Abstract consolations may not be much help if your family has just been buried under the rubble of an earthquake.

Sometimes it is better not to use words, just be silent for a time. The abiding truths still abide but the one suffering needs time to let things sink in.

For ourselves too, it does not mean we have lost our faith because we grieve. Look at the tears of Mary on Good Friday and Holy Saturday. She knew Our Lord would rise but still grieved.

The Transfiguration consoles us in our trials. The event was intended to strengthen the apostles against the experience of the Lord’s Passion. It seems as though it did not succeed in their case but it can work for us.

We can remember the glory of the Lord when we are going through dark times. We remember that times have been better and will be again.

For Our Lord it took only three days to rise; for us a lifetime, for the human race centuries.

Our entire lives are an experience of the Cross insofar as so many things are not as they should be.

A pall of sadness and darkness hangs over the world. It should not be there. The whole process of our lives as disciples is to lift that pall, disperse the dark.

The first thing is to ensure that we ourselves are not subject to it. We suffer from it but we are not conquered. Cf 2 Cor 4. Knocked down but never out.

The second thing is: we let the light of Christ shine through the darkness. For once the truth will be the right side up. Ever since the resurrection we have the victory established. But it has to be grasped and propagated in the here and now.

We have won the war but the fighting goes on. As if the ceasefire has been declared but they do not cease firing. Certainly the devil does not cease to fire.

The devil is being driven back to hell but he will take as many with him as possible.

Or to take another image, we are rich but we don’t know it. We are like the missing heir that can’t be found to be told that he has inherited millions. So we live like paupers, still slaves to sin when we could be free.

We have been robbed of the good news. So we must tell people how lucky they are.

Suffering there must be for the time but we absorb it, not allowing it to have greater prominence than necessary. We are neither defeated by it, nor deflected from our goal.

It may be hard to see a glorious future with all the trouble around, but we know there is one.

The Transfiguration is a celebration of hope. It is an anticipation of better things to come.

May the Lord sustain us in hope through this long night of waiting.

St Joseph's Day Mass

2011-03-16T13:13:00.002+10:30

There will be no Mass at St Monica's on Saturday 19th March as I will be taking part in the Solemn Mass for St Joseph, 8.30am at Holy Name, St Peters.

1st Sunday of Lent 13 Mar 2011 Sermon

2011-03-16T13:12:00.000+10:30

1st Sunday of Lent 13.3.11 To dust we shall return

On Ash Wednesday we receive the ashes with the words, Remember, man, that you are dust and to dust you shall return.

We know that there is more to us than dust, insofar as we have immortal souls. So if my body returns to dust yet I live on in my soul.

But our bodies are dust and this is a timely reminder against vanity and any false sense of independence.

Our bodies - which we go to so much trouble to make look good and which we pamper with comfort – share the same matter as the rest of nature.

We must never forget our dependence on God for life and all we have.

Without Him we would still be dust. As it is He will let us return to that state as a penalty for our sins, and as preparation for a more glorious re-making.

We are frail creatures; frail in two senses.

One, our physical duration is so brief and so vulnerable. We could be killed at any moment and in all sorts of ways.

Two, in the moral sense, that we set ourselves for big things only to fail very easily. Who can avoid sin altogether for any length of time?

So we accept the reminder of our lowliness and resolve to live with that always in mind.

We ‘remember’ our status before God to prevent ourselves from becoming proud.

We are tempted to put ourselves on equal terms with Almighty God.

This is what Adam and Eve did. They were told they would be like gods if they ate the forbidden fruit. It was a lie but they believed it.

Every sin since that one has been an assertion of human pride against God. God tells me I cannot do such and such a thing; I say, who does He think He is to be telling me what to do. I do the forbidden thing and I become aware I have damaged myself.

It happens every day. We forget our place. We forget we are made of dust.

The saints and spiritual writers of earlier ages would write about the human condition in very unflattering terms.

They would say things like.... You will consider yourself as a snail that soils everything with its slime, as a toad that poisons everything with its venom, as a malevolent serpent seeking only to deceive. (St Louis de Montfort, True Devotion to Mary)

These days the emphasis is more on affirming people, telling them they are special, unique, precious etc.

Both descriptions are true because they are talking about different aspects of the same reality.

We are special etc in terms of how God values each one of us. We are immortal souls destined (or at least meant) for eternal union with God.

But we are worm-like insofar as we choose to assert ourselves against the God who creates us and insult His infinite majesty with our pretensions.

And even if we were good all the time we would still infinitely inferior compared with the majesty of God. We are so far below Him.

Thus again we recall we are dust. It keeps us in check for as long as we can remember it.

In the present era the concept of worship of God for His greatness alone has been diminished. God is addressed in more familiar language, more like an equal. Yes, He does want us to approach Him but always to remember our dependent status. We are no more equal to Him than an ant to the solar system.

We can still come rejoicing into His presence, however, all the more grateful for His mercy and His good intentions towards us.

When we realize how easily we might not exist and how totally we deserve to have been wiped out before now, we really can sing His praises with conviction.

And we become more resistant to the snares and wickedness of the devil who tries always to flatter us and bring out our pride – which leads to sin and degradation.

We will not fall for his tricks again. When we humble ourselves we are exalted.

Quinquagesima Sunday 6 March 2011 Sermon

2011-03-09T13:29:00.001+10:30

Quinquagesima Sunday 6.3.11 Full commitment

The Gospel today contains two very remarkable prophecies from Our Lord. He tells the apostles that He is going to Jerusalem to be crucified; and having done that He will rise again on the third day!

Both statements were entirely outside the expectations of the apostles. In fact the first one was so surprising that they never even thought about the second one until after it happened.

The first prediction raises two questions.

Why would anyone want to crucify someone who does so much good? And, why would Our Lord willingly go to be taken by such people? Normally people try to escape their pursuers not calmly seek them out.

About to enter Lent we can ask these questions again and apply the answers to ourselves. We find that we are called to follow Our Lord to His rejection and death, and then to share in His resurrection.

Why would anyone want to kill someone who does good? It does seem a bit silly but it happens all the time as we see. And what drives the process is the jealousy and malice of the devil. He hates all that is good and stirs up the same hatred in others.

And there are other reasons: like people protecting their vested interests of power, wealth, and just not wanting anything to change.

Why would Our Lord go to meet this death instead of trying to avoid it? Because He wanted to take on the power of evil head-on and defeat it (which He did).

Peter pleaded with Him that it must not be. This is the response most people would make and they still do make it. It is the response of worldly wisdom which tells us that we must look after ourselves first and not go looking for trouble; at all costs to protect our lives from danger.

Master, you have a good thing going here; why spoil it?

Today the world says to the Church: you have a good thing going (in many ways). Why not remove the Cross and then maybe we would join you. We can understand the command to love and make peace, but we cannot abide sacrifice or difficulty. Religion is a good thing but it must not be taken too far.

We are being reminded here of the radical challenge of our faith; that we are playing for high stakes.
If we are to be disciples of a crucified Lord we cannot expect total ease and comfort. There have to be some ripples along the way.

It has always been a problem for the Church that each generation has to be convinced all over again of the need for total commitment. Always there is a temptation to reduce Christian commitment to a comfortable minimum.

Who is this Jesus of Nazareth to me?

Every year, especially at Lent and Easter we confront these questions. We have to answer ‘Yes’ all over again each time. Lethargy and apathy are never far away and they will creep up on us if we relax the vigilance. It is so easy for us to go off the boil. We need Pentecost every day.

Total commitment does not mean we all have to give sermons in the street, but merely to get right whatever we have to do.

It is usually little things; avoid sins, and occasions of sins. Do not blindly follow what other people do. Avoid immorality, be honest in business, be truthful in giving and keeping your word. Be kind and courteous to everyone. (cf Epistle. Love is always patient and kind)

If your friends ridicule you, get a different set of friends. Take the ridicule as sharing in Christ’s sufferings.

Almighty God does not do things by halves. His suffering and His joy both shock us in the extent to which He takes them.

Like the apostles many today can make nothing of these words. They cannot or do not assimilate it.

But we must base our lives on them. We follow Him to Calvary and beyond, to eternity.

Ash Wednesday Mass time

2011-03-06T14:54:00.003+10:30

Mass on Ash Wednesday will be at 6.45am (not the usual 8am time)

Ashes will be distributed before Mass.

Masses at Holy Name will be at 11am and 6.30pm.

Sexagesima Sunday 27 Feb 2011 Sermon

2011-03-02T16:11:00.001+10:30

Sexagesima Sunday 27.2.11 Our true home

We have been thinking much about the earthquake in Christchurch just last Tuesday, and of course we pray for everyone concerned there, the living and the dead.

We think, what if it happened here? Disaster seem to be everywhere at the moment. We (in Adelaide) have been spared but who knows what may be coming?

As Christians we know we are supposed to be ready for anything as far as death and destruction goes.

But it is always legitimate to pray to avert disasters, to be delivered from evil. So we make that prayer as well.

But while we pray for the least possible number of things to go wrong we also must be ready for anything that does happen, including loss of property, or loss of life (of others or even our own).

We must cultivate an attitude of detachment from all things and all people. Detachment does not mean indifference, as though we could not care in the least what happens to anyone or anything else.

We are supposed to care for other people and (in the right way) for property, but detachment means we see that compared with God and with eternal life, everything here on earth is less important.

For example the premature death of a person is a tragedy in one sense, but if that person goes to heaven the tragedy is only relative. Heaven is a better place to be.

Our relationship to Heaven is a strange one. Heaven is our true home, we are told. It is the place that Our Lord has gone to prepare for us (John 14, 2-3).

It is a place of every delight, most of all the delight of seeing God face to face. A place where every tear is wiped away and no further disappointment or heartbreak is possible. A place where we will be reunited with all those who have gone before us ‘marked with the sign of faith’.

In the epistle today St Paul tells us what he can about Heaven. Unfortunately he cannot tell us much because there are no words to describe what he saw. But it was very good, we can be sure of that.

As we can tell Heaven has a lot to recommend itself. Yet we do not want to go that place today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon. Most of us at least, even if we believe in it, do not want to go there!

There is a legitimate reason for not wanting to go to Heaven too soon - if God wants us to stay here on earth for a time to do His will.

But apart from that reason we should be straining and striving with all our power to get to our true home. Like the deer that yearns for running streams; like the watchman waiting for the dawn.

The prospect of Heaven is a very real one, and it is very consoling when we let it sink in. However, because of the time factor it can sound like a very far-off consolation; like being told you will feel a lot better in a hundred years time!

Is there anything we can do to bring heaven a little closer to us now? Two things.

One, make heaven around us by the way we live. If we live by the values of the kingdom of heaven we will experience a much deeper peace and joy even in this trouble-prone phase of our lives.

Two, if the main delight of heaven is union with God, we have that already in this life. We can do various things to increase that union: prayer, sacraments, adoration, good works. We will not always feel His closeness but we can at least ‘know’ He is there through faith.

This will be enough heaven-on-earth to hold us together till we get to the actual place.

O Lord, deliver us from all evil here and bring us safely to our true home with Thee.

Septuagesima Sunday 20 Feb 2011 Sermon

2011-02-23T13:02:00.001+10:30

Septuagesima Sunday 20.2.11 Working for the Lord

We are sent into the vineyard to work. Here we are, just minding our own business and the Lord summons us: I want you. Come and work for Me.

And in the epistle, St Paul gives some indication of the intensity of work required: comparing himself to an athlete in training. It is hard work, and long. If we think of a whole lifetime in the Lord’s service. For some people that would be fifty years plus. (depending on time of conversion and length of life).

He wants us to work for Him for whatever length of time we have left, and with full intensity. To invest ourselves in the process. Our energy, commitment, time, all converging for this purpose.

Of all the things we do in this life - to follow Our Lord is the most important. Whatever else we are or do, to be His disciple is the biggest thing we are involved in.

Why respond to Him? There is a choice, but then there is no choice.

He is the most important Person we will ever have to deal with. We have to please Him more than we please anyone else. When we die we will be meeting Him not anyone else. Our approval rating will depend on what He thinks of us. He is the one to watch.

(Just as what makes a sin a sin is that it offends Him. He is the standard of judgment. With Him we are alive. Against Him we are dead.)

It is hard work because it requires so much of us. It requires discipline, practice, perseverance, daily prayer, the Mass, the sacraments, penance, good works, generosity with time and talents.

Then keeping an eye out for the needs of others, habitually putting others ahead of ourselves, being happy to go without things for the greater good.

Being ready to die for Him at any moment, never denying Him, never forgetting Him nor being ashamed of Him. This is a big commitment.

And all these things apply all the time. It is not so easy to get all this right and to keep it going.

So we are tempted to water down the requirements of ‘working’ for Our Lord; to offer Him a partial response, and argue to ourselves that we can do no more.

Instead of watering it down we should acknowledge the full commitment and ask His mercy for any lack on our part of fulfilling our duty.

This is why we are always asking Him for mercy. We fall short. If we are athletes running then we often run out of steam; or sometimes we run in the wrong direction.

All can be forgiven. The parable of the labourers in the vineyard puts before us the possibility of mercy. Those who are absent without leave for much of their lives can be reinstated at any moment provided they are willing.

Here another temptation assails us: envy. Those who work longer in the Lord’s service might be envious that others can get in so easily. Like the older brother envied the younger brother in another parable.

But the ones who work longer are the really fortunate ones. They spend their lives well, and even in terms of earthly happiness they will have the greater share (peace of mind, sense of fulfilment etc).

It is hard work but if we are really passionate about something we work on it.

We have only so much energy. We can at least get the priorities right and give our best to the most important activity - working for the Lord of the harvest.

6th Sunday after Epiphany 13 Feb 2011 Sermon

2011-02-15T14:22:00.000+10:30

6th Sunday after Epiphany 13.2.11 Leaven in the bread

When Our Lord was born at Bethlehem very few people knew the event was happening or how important it was. Forty days later the Lord came to His Temple and again very few knew there was anything special about the event. Only the faithful Simeon and Anna were able to recognize His presence.

God seems to like understatement. He likes to do things which can be recognized by those on the right wavelength, but which will be missed by others.

The Gospel today presents the two parables of the mustard seed and the leaven in the bread. They both speak of the Church as increasing in size and influence over time.

We have achieved the increase in size over the centuries, and to some extent the influence but we could do a lot better in both aspects.

In the present day world, so secular minded, it seems strange to many people that the Church should be taken seriously.

There are people who honestly think that religion has been relegated to the past and we have now emerged into a highly rational era where goodwill and dialogue should be enough to carry us through.

To us who have faith how strange it is that we have come to such a point that the God who made the world and who keeps it in being should be denied any say as to how it should be run!

To ignore God is like hanging from a rope over a ravine and then starting to cut the rope.

Religion is an entirely private matter, people say. But it is not so. There is a huge public dimension to religious belief or its absence.

For one thing what people believe in private will affect what they do in public. If we all think it is OK to steal, for example, that is what we will do in practice.

For another thing, God does exist and He cannot be removed from existence by anyone no matter how much they might want Him to go away.

For another thing we are going to suffer consequences if we break His laws. It will fall back on us. It has already. Look at the divorces, the abortions, the alienation in our society, the suicides, the stress of life - all caused by or flowing from sin.

Society at present is doing its best to self-destruct with repeated attempts to change laws relating to marriage, family life, moral values. Things were bad before and they are getting worse. Self-evident long-standing truths are being swept aside in the face of modernism and relativism.

And so the role of the Church is to rescue the world from itself. To be the leaven in the bread. Not by force but by persuasion - persuading people that they should live in union with the will of God.

It is a tall order to change other people’s minds. Especially if the change is towards a more rigorous and demanding way of life.

Beginning with ourselves the first thing is not to give way to the false thinking of the world. We lose so many from our ranks because they listen to the false gospel instead of the true one. We must arrest the slide. Nobody leave!

To resist the false seductive doctrines of the world we must be careful what we imbibe. Just as we are careful what we eat, so we must monitor closely what we read, watch, listen to. If we take in too much falsehood we can lose our faith. Many have so far.

Then with prayer and good reading, good listening etc we take a firmer grasp on the truth and live by it.

We then become the leaven in the bread. Attitudes of others will change if we are strong and we hold firm.

It will be possible only by God’s grace. This is the mystery. Just like a seed becoming a tree. Somehow it happens. Somehow the world will recognize its Creator and Saviour!

5th Sunday after Epiphany 6 Feb 2011 Sermon

2011-02-08T15:42:00.000+10:30

5th Sunday after Epiphany 6.2.11 Being good

Good versus evil. Why does God allow evil or suffering? Why do the good suffer?

Evil is a fallout from good. God is good; He creates things good, even the devil to start with.

At the highest level of good are those things that resemble God most closely. These are the creatures which are endowed with free will; which have the ability to obey God and to love Him (humans and angels).

Those creatures without free will obey God and reflect His glory but they do not know they are doing it. They cannot express love for God as a free act.

Whereas we and the angels have the ability either to go with or against Him.

If we decide to go with Him it can be at the level of obedience, doing what we have to do; or we can go further and give Him our full allegiance and trust, surrendering our wills to Him.

So we can marvel at a sunset but we could marvel even more at a person who has submitted graciously to God’s will. This is a higher thing.

We say Cyclone Yasi (recent cyclone in Australia) was destructive but we do not say it was ‘evil’. We know a cyclone has no will, no personality.

But if a person causes harm we do say he is evil (unless mentally impaired) because he is exercising his free will against the will of God.

Why does God permit evil then? Evil has to be possible if there is to be a freedom of choice. God wants some part of His creation to know what it is to be able to love. If we had no choice we would be unable to love. He must think it is worth it to risk our wrong choices for the sake of at least some of His creatures getting it right.

Thus evil is tolerated - for a time – until the Last Day, when the wheat and the tares will be separated.

What about brutal murders, rapes, tortures, famine, disasters? Is it worth having freedom if we are to have these things? But would you want to surrender your free will for the sake of removing wars etc?

There is a way that we could remove evil and yet retain our precious freedom, and that is simply that we decide to do good instead of evil; that we use our freedom for good.
This is what God wants us to discover, and why He has been patient with us all these years.

What if others do not decide to come with us? We may be good but others will persist in their evil choices.

Then we have the chance to be more good still, to go to the level of self-sacrifice for the sake of loving God, enduring the evil that others do and letting His mercy work through us to bring others to conversion.

This is what the saints did; what Our Lord Himself did in His humanity; giving His free will to the Father, the ultimate expression of love.

So we see a deeper level of God’s creative goodness – that He uses some of His creatures who exercise freedom in the right way, to call back those who have been using it wrongly.

At least some evildoers will be converted - which is better than destroying them.

We are inclined to dwell on how much we have to suffer in this life; to dwell on the negatives.

Yet we are very fortunate to have been created human. We could have been tadpoles, mosquitoes, or not created at all. Being human we have the chance to exercise free will for the glory of God and the improving of the state of the world.

This is a radically new way of looking at life. But if we take this path we will know great happiness even in this life.

So let us be good. Not just good in not obviously breaking laws but in this surrender of our wills to God, thus exercising our full humanity.

4th Sunday after Epiphany 30 Jan 2011 Sermon

2011-02-02T16:58:00.000+10:30

4th Sunday after Epiphany 30.1.11 God never sleeps

Our Lord was asleep in the boat. Many people would say He still is asleep, as they express frustration that He does not seem to hear their prayers!

It is impossible that He would sleep, forget, lose interest etc.
There must be some other explanation, but it can never be that He has forgotten us.

It might look like He is doing nothing but it cannot be nothing. It must be ‘something’ and that something is going to bring about the best possible result.

Results of prayers are complex things. There is more than one person involved and different people want different things. If God wants to bless one person with a certain result it may be other people have to be disappointed.

For example, the death of a loved one. People cannot always be healed. There is a time to die. If the person dying goes to heaven it is better for him/her. But there is a cost for those left behind. They suffer grief. Good results can have painful side effects.

God works for the best result in the overall situation. So I cannot have everything I want from my own self-interest, but I will get the best result for the whole situation (in which I will benefit) if I pray sincerely.

He never sleeps, so we must override any personal disappointment or frustration which might tempt us to abandon prayer. We pray on, through all weathers, trusting that our prayer will make the world a better place than it would have been if we had not prayed.

We do not usually know what the precise result of our prayer will be but it must always be in the direction of improvement, provided we pray with trust

Taking all in all we see that the work of God is heading towards a good result. Sometimes it might take centuries or millennia to achieve. And the people who live during these years might say: I don't see the finish; I don't believe there even is a clear finish.

The problem is that we are (in general) so far away from Him. Thus the prayers which are made are from too great a distance, and too thin.

God never sleeps but He will often be silent. His silence will mean it is up to us to make the next move – which will usually require some kind of repentance and realignment with Him.

Often there will be no answer to prayer unless the one praying makes a serious repentance.

We cannot just waltz in at any time and say, Fix it, please. There has to be a correct well-ordered relationship with God. He is not at our beck and call. We can ask only for things which are His will and which are in accordance with the way He normally operates.

Thus we cannot ask for frivolous miracles. But we can always ask where there is need and where human resources have been exhausted.

There must have been an element of panic when the disciples woke Our Lord. He rebuked them for that - not for asking Him, but the way they asked.

The way we approach Almighty God is more important to Him than the actual thing prayed for. He wants us to desire Him more than whatever that thing is.

So if our prayer for whatever intention brings us closer to God that prayer has ‘worked’ no matter what other circumstances may result.

May our prayer, from which we never weary, be acceptable in His sight.

3rd Sunday after Epiphany 23 Jan 2011 Sermon

2011-01-25T15:23:00.000+10:30

3rd Sunday after Epiphany 23.1.11 Forgiving enemies

There is a saying: Don't get mad get even. For Christians neither will do. Don’t get mad or even – leave vengeance to the Lord.

In the epistle today: Do not repay injury with injury. Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord.

Our first reaction on being offended is to be like a vigilante committee, taking our own revenge. We are impatient to see those who hurt us suffer in some way.

On further reflection: we leave it to the Lord, as He says.

Even if we do leave it to the Lord we should still not delight in the prospect of their suffering.
I should not be pleased if my enemy is to suffer. What I should want is the conversion of the other person; to turn an enemy into a friend.

As the Lord Himself says: He does not desire the death of the wicked man; rather that he turn from his evil way and live. We must follow the same line. We want our enemies to know the love of God and be transformed.

It is easy in a general way to say I would not wish anyone in hell; or that I forgive everyone who has ever offended me. But when we recall particular people and offences the sense of resentment can return very strongly, even from many years ago. So we realize there is more healing needed.

We have to shift to a Christ-like way of thinking; enter the depths of the Sacred Heart. We are touching the edges of divine love here, getting to an intensity of love far beyond the usual understanding.

Human love tends to be limited. Thus we love those who love us or who have been good to us. God, however, loves those who are evil and have done evil to Him.

Christ wanted His enemies to be His friends, even those who crucified Him.

We draw fire from His heart, a capacity to love far beyond what we have known. It is a completely different way of looking at things.

Can we do this? Is it possible? With grace, yes.

We are already doing this to some degree, for example, during Mass and in some of our prayers - Our Father: as we forgive those who trespass against us; and the Hail Mary: pray for us sinners... We have to say those words if we are to pray the prayer, and if we say the words we have to mean them.

And the whole of the Mass is about praying for the salvation of others as well as oneself. His blood is shed for many... Have mercy on us (not just me).

We let these powerful words and rituals take us to a higher level. We can do whatever God can do insofar as we are joined to Him. The new way of looking at things becomes natural to us in the process.

In any case no one can get into heaven who has not been through this. Every trace of malice or resentment has to be burnt out of the system.

This is where the hot coals of the epistle come in. Those who offend us will have to go through a certain amount of pain even if they are converted. True contrition does mean pain, as we come to an awareness of the evil we have done. It hurts to think back on these things, and those who have offended us will have to suffer that much pain. But the sweetness of being forgiven is far greater.

We all need forgiving; we always need mercy from God and sometimes from other people. Let us not begrudge it to anyone who needs it from us.

2nd Sunday after Epiphany 16 Jan 2011 Sermon

2011-01-19T13:35:00.001+10:30

2nd Sunday after Epiphany 16.1.11 Going too far

This miracle at Cana was the first public miracle of Our Lord. He may have worked other ones quietly but this one would attract attention. From this point on He would be like the modern celebrities, unable to shake off the press. And it would be a hostile press in Our Lord’s case.

At Christmas we rejoiced that He was born; that the Saviour was in our midst. But He was still only a baby so we would have to wait a while before He could act on our behalf.
This baby will grow to greatness.

Now the greatness is here. Now He is adult and He has begun to show forth His power, the power which will expel demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and set in place the New Covenant.

We find in this miracle, and another one, a sequence of liquid changes.

First water is changed into wine. Later wine is changed into blood.

Water to wine: this can be taken to symbolise the enrichment of human nature by the fact that God has adopted that nature. Here we are, just trotting along as the human race and suddenly God Himself wants to join us.

We would get a big enough surprise if some important celebrity told us he wanted to stay at our house overnight... but what if he wanted to live with us for good? We can grasp that God would take an interest in us but that He would actually want to live here as well is a staggering thought.

We have been upgraded by this event. We have been changed from water to wine. To be human after the Incarnation is a big thing.

If it were to stop there we would be happy. We could drink the wine in the six stone jars without a care in the world. But there is a darker side.

The presence of evil in the world means that the ride will be a bumpy one. This is where the second change is required - Wine into blood. The way to be united with God requires sacrifice. It cannot be all fun or joy, while there is still evil to be overcome. We must travel the way of thorns and thistles: the way of the Cross.

This might sound like bad news, but we will be given the necessary understanding and the capacity to suffer in the cause of love. We will be so consumed by the necessity and urgency of the situation that we will not count the cost.

In essence Our Lord saves us by turning us into images of Himself.

We are not saved as though we are spectators watching what He does. We are participants: imitating what He does. We go on the Cross with Him and we rise with Him.

We are enlarged in our capacity to join with Him. We get better at doing that.

We might applaud the turning of water into wine, as people marvelled at Our Lord’s miracles of healing.

But at the turning of wine into blood, we might say, this time He has gone too far. (cf John 6, 60-66, when many of His disciples left Him.)

The drink has gone from being festive to bitter.

But with the drink comes the capacity to receive it and even enjoy it.

It is tempting for us to be part-time disciples of Our Lord, not getting too involved. There for the good times, but when the sufferings come we are nowhere to be seen.

Our Lord asks us to commit to Him fully. To be with Him in the good times and the bad (like a marriage). We can do it if we draw strength from Him.

The cup which contains this bitter drink will give us the power to bear with that suffering. In Holy Communion we drink His blood and promise to share His sufferings; at the same time being strengthened by Him to do that.

May we be there for Him when it really counts.

Feast of the Holy Family 9 Jan 2011 Sermon

2011-01-11T14:17:00.000+10:30

Feast of the Holy Family 9.1.11 Lessons in love

Jesus, Mary and Joseph are the model family. They are the ideal in terms of doing the will of God and loving one another.

Most other families don't get these things right; especially the point about doing the will of God.

On the loving-one-another front some families do better than others.

It was God Himself who established the family, from the time of Adam and Eve. And by choosing to live in a family (as Jesus), He further reinforced its importance.

He had certain intentions for us: One was that through experiencing human love in the family setting we would then have a key to understanding divine love. So if our parents loved us as children, that would be an image of God’s own love for us.

Further again, that we would learn in the give-and-take of family life to be less selfish and able to fit in with other people. Learning to love under pressure.

Then there is marriage, which has its own special place. In Christian understanding the marriage between man and woman symbolises the marriage between Christ and the Church.

Within marriage comes procreation, a privileged sharing in the creative power of God.

All these things God intends us to learn and observe in marriage and family life.

It is easy to be cynical about these things as the practice so often fails to reach the ideal. We see that families and marriage are so often torn apart.

We must not allow cynicism to deflect us from belief in the ideal nor from attempts to draw closer to it.

We see that the evil one has power to make disturbance in the most important areas. Family life and its related aspects form a huge battleground between good and evil.

As we do not allow the presence of evil in general to stop us believing in good, nor must we stop believing in the proper working of marriage and family life. In the presence of failure we become even more determined to get things right.

There are two ways we can make things run better:

One, we reaffirm our belief in all the Church teachings regarding family life: no adultery, no contraception, no abortion, no IVF etc. We obey these teachings and we work to influence the political machinery and general public opinion to defend these things, so much under attack.

Two, we work harder at living family life along the lines of the Holy Family. This takes a certain amount of pulling one’s head in: just being humble, giving way to others, washing their feet (metaphorically). Being the least rather than the greatest, and so on.

This will do wonders, especially if it spreads.

Just doing the little things right is so important . We see that Our Lord spent thirty years just living at home. How important this makes the domestic scene.

The little things are more important insofar as they are more common. Only a few times in our lives we are called on for big things, but thousands of times for the little things. They add up to a lot in the end.

Our challenge is to return to our homes or communities and be more like Jesus, Mary and Joseph in these little things. Not working miracles but just being patient, kind, courteous; not seeking one’s own way all the time etc.

Again we are drawn to contemplate the Crib scene. It is a humble scene and perhaps an unlikely-looking one to solve the world’s problems, but ‘humble’ is just the thing when it comes to obtaining and exercising spiritual power.

As we honour the Holy Family may we share in their humility and the power that comes from that.

Feast of the Holy Name 2 Jan 2011 Sermon

2011-01-05T15:25:00.000+10:30

Feast of the Holy Name 2.1.11 In this name alone

Peter and John heal the crippled man by the power of the Name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ, stand up and walk!

There are many names in the world, of people and things, but only one name out of all of them has such power to work miracles.

When we call upon this name we are calling upon the power of God Himself, the Creator and Saviour of the world. The same power which put this world in place and which keeps it running is contained in that one Name.

We do not call on the name of Bill or Fred or Nigel or Cedric in the same way. We call other names but we do not expect them to heal us, or forgive our sins. We don’t cry out in the depths of our anguish, O Sam, save me, O George, forgive me my sins!

For one thing those gentlemen are not able to hear us unless we are in their presence. And they don’t have the power or authority to grant such requests. But we take it for granted that Jesus can hear us wherever we call upon Him, and that He has ‘all authority on heaven and on earth’.

Among men He is unique. And among ‘saviours’.

He is often ‘demoted’ to be listed along with other admirable figures in past or present times. So He is put in the same list as Gandhi, or Martin Luther King – as social reformers of their times. Or He is listed with other heads of religions, or enlightened figures: Buddha, Mohammed.etc... as just one among others.

But it is impossible to put Him in any list implying equality with others. Others are not God! He is.

Other people may be admirable in their way, and do some amount of ‘saving’ insofar as they improve certain conditions of their time – but no one else comes close to being Saviour of the whole world and potentially of every person in it.

So we need to be clear about who and what we are calling upon when we utter this Name.

It is a name which opens the gate of heaven and brings down blessings upon us. It may work miracles, depending on what we are asking for, but it will always bring some form of improvement in the situation.

It is therefore a Name which must never be used lightly or carelessly, much less blasphemously.

Because of its great power it is hated by the evil spirits and this accounts for the attacks upon the Holy Name.

Just as we don’t pray to Fred or Bill, nor do we use their names as swear words; but the Name of Jesus, yes. It is so used thousands of times a day – a kind of negative compliment. This Name is so powerful it is worth hating if we do not love it.

In this Name the divine and the human meet. God has many names and we can use any of them in our prayer, but this particular Name has significance because it brings home to us the wonder of the Incarnation.

In Jesus God meets Man because He is both. In Him the closeness of divine and human is at its fullest. There is perfect reconciliation and unity between the two natures. Therefore, we in all our human distress can do no better than to call upon Him who understands our human difficulties and has the divine power to make things right.

He is the gateway to Heaven for us, either taking us there or bringing heaven to us. We are healed, forgiven, saved, blessed – always something good – whenever we call upon His Name.

Blessed be God, Blessed be His Holy Name, Blessed be Jesus Christ true God and true Man, Blessed be the Name of Jesus.

Sunday after Christmas 26 Dec 2010 Sermon

2010-12-29T13:31:00.000+10:30

Sunday in Octave of Christmas 26.12.10 Generational change

Those who do not study history are condemned to repeat its mistakes. If that is so it looks like not many people study history! Every generation does exactly the same things.

There is always war, people killing each other, arguments, selfishness. Whatever is evil seems to happen just as much as ever, no matter what century or what year.

And more to the point each generation ignores/rejects God.

Our Lord was rejected at His birth and then by another generation thirty years later. And then future generations have done the same thing, crucifying Him again - in their minds at least.

They insult, blaspheme against Him like no other. And disregard His words.

We should get better with time. Logically each generation should be better than the one before. ‘They did this wrong so we will do better’.

But everybody does the same mistakes again and again.

So we need some help here to get things to a higher level. We need God’s grace to put His will into effect.

Folly is the consequence of sin; our minds are darkened, and wills weakened. So that even when we know something will have bad consequences we still do it.

Only by divine grace. We have to accept him, at least initially, and then let His grace work on us to help us learn from the past; and with this greater wisdom our thinking will change and eventually our whole culture or society.

At Christmas time especially we would like to think there could be some improvement in the human condition. So far not much to enthuse over.

But it is not beyond us.

We cannot raise ourselves. It takes prayer, repentance, application. Daily seeking the necessary grace. Only God can lead us out of the wilderness.

A few basic steps is all it takes. We can make progress in other spheres such as medicine and technology but no progress at all morally.

The moral sphere requires direct acknowledgment of God and direct contrition. That is why it has not happened.

It needs for us to go further than just a ritual observance of Christmas and to dig deep for the power that is there.

This power is undiminished by time; every day is the first day of the rest of human history.

We can control only our own individual response but we are hoping that there will be a chemical reaction, an explosion of goodwill if a critical mass is reached. If enough people see something in a new light a big change can result.

It is not beyond us, if we connect with the grace of God. It is not beyond us to do that much. We are not being asked to solve all the world’s problems; only to humble ourselves before the crib of Bethlehem, to ask His help every step of the way.

And not to give in to fatalism. Many thinkers have noted the human condition and have resigned themselves to the sameness of one generation to the next; but this is to exclude the miraculous and abundant power of God.

The Covenant which Our Lord established was new not just in the depth of its teaching but also in its power to change human hearts and minds. It would inspire us to get out of the rut.

Just to believe this is possible is itself a breakthrough. This is not some naive optimism but plain honest Christianity; no more than tapping the power which has always been there (just as technological advance is merely discovering powers that have always been there).

Then this and future generations will give God-incarnate the recognition He deserves.

Christmas Day 2010 Sermon

2010-12-29T13:30:00.000+10:30

Christmas Day 2010

The obscurity of Our Lord’s birth symbolises the rejection He received. Unfortunately however that rejection still continues.

If everyone who heard the Christmas story would then say: Well, I will certainly open my house to Him! Then we would be making progress.

But we have celebrated Christmas every year and after 2000 years it does not get much better as far as welcoming Him goes.

He is the most insulted person in the human race, despised and rejected. The rejection did not end with Bethlehem, either during His life or since. In the third Mass of Christmas we hear from John’s Gospel: His own did not receive Him. They did not want His message; they don't want religion even to be mentioned.

All this rejection is so unnecessary. A lot of it is just people being impressionable and following each other. It is fashionable to blaspheme, to laugh at goodness and purity, to be cynical and sceptical.

However to accept Him, to stand with Him - takes courage. We have to be prepared to be different to be His disciple.

Just as Mary would have kept Him warm, and protected Him from any dirt, cold wind or any danger... so we have to protect Him too from the cold winds of anger rejection, scorn.

So we ‘protect’ Him from the hatred of the world; siding with Him not against Him. And we do the same at Calvary.

Were you not with that man? We were, and we still are.

Part of our ‘welcome’ means we must defend and hold sacred all that He has put in place such as defence of human life, respecting the body, being merciful to others; standing up for Him in the market place of ideas; pointing out why His teachings are always right and why any deviation from them will always mean trouble.

Christmas comes by itself, in terms of the date. But that is just the shell not the substance. Christmas has not really come unless we interact with it, involve ourselves, see ourselves in union with Christ; then it has come.

We go beyond just the commercial, social, cultural aspects of Christmas and come to the main point: standing with Christ; ready to live or die for Him.

Above all, accepting Him. Not giving Him the ‘No vacancy’ sign, but the warmest widest possible invitation to come and dwell with us.

Of course this point could be reached any time of year, but we will make use of the good feelings that come at Christmas to prod us to a further response.

Christmas is the only feast that everything stops for. This could be helpful as an occasion to think. It could be unhelpful insofar as the cultural customs can be taken for observance, and thus the real point – the acceptance of Christ - is easy to miss.

Did you have a good Christmas? An open-ended question, which probably means did you have a nice time with family etc? That question can mean for us: Did you welcome and recognise Him? Did you go into the stable and offer Him warmth and strength and support? Did you protect His name?

The great rupture of the human race from God is still only partially healed.

Accepting Him means allowing His healing reconciling work to take effect. The world needs all the healing it can get. We would be glad to do anything to help. We do help if we accept Him in our own hearts.

Mass times over Christmas

2010-12-24T10:56:00.002+10:30

Times for Latin Masses at St Monica's, Walkerville and Sacred Heart Church, Hindmarsh over the Christmas period are the same as they normally are, but just to make sure here is each day listed:

Christmas Day 8am St Monica's
Sun 26 Dec 8am St Monica's and 5pm Sacred Heart, Hindmarsh
Mon 27 Dec 8am St Monica's
Tue 28 Dec 6.45am St Monica's
Wed 29 Dec 8am St Monica's
Thu 30 Dec 8am St Monica's
Fri 31 Dec 6.45.am St Monica's
Sat 1 Jan 8am St Monica's
Sun 2 Jan 8am St Monica's and 5pm Sacred Heart, Hindmarsh

Christmas greetings and blessings to all!

4th Sunday of Advent 19 Dec 2010 Sermon

2010-12-21T17:32:00.000+10:30

4th Sunday of Advent 19.12.10 Going further

There are people who reject the Catholic faith because they have never known it and not thought it worth investigating.
There are others who have been in the Church and later rejected it.
There are others again who are still in the Church and yet restrict the degree of their commitment (such as those who go to Mass only at Christmas and Easter).

It is possible at any point for a person to say: this far and no further. Whether I have little or no or much commitment to the faith I can say that whatever I have is enough. I need no more, or I could find no room for any more.

Yet here comes John the Baptist to say: Prepare ye the way – implying that there is more to be done.

There is always more to be done in the matter of faith, in terms of our relationship with God.

The Catholic faith lends itself to formalism, not intentionally, but when we start to organise things it is always possible to reduce something sublime to merely technical details.

Like calculating how many Masses one has to go to, or how much of a Mass one has to be present at to say that the obligation is fulfilled.

These calculations are sometimes necessary but if it becomes habitual to think always in terms of minimum commitments then the whole spirit of the matter has been lost.

The point about ‘religion’ is that it is more like falling in love than anything else. It is not about minutiae of how many minutes we spend doing something. Instead it calls for the whole heart and soul of a person – things we don't mind handing over sometimes but rarely for ‘religion’.

Thus people will be ‘passionate’ about many things: saving the environment, justice for a particular group, pursuing a love interest... following a particular football team, conducting a hobby of some sort...

It is not the passion that is lacking; it is just a matter of where it is directed.

But if we can taste something of the sweetness of the Lord (as the Psalm says) we will be motivated to seek Him more.

This is where the sluggishness comes from: we do not seek the Lord because we do not see how attractive He is.

We need some help from Him at this point. We need Him to give us some small taste of His presence; some sign of His love. Then we can go further.

The cry of John the Baptist is addressed to each of us in every generation. Leave aside everything else that absorbs you and give your whole attention to this one matter I bring before you... Here is your Saviour, your Lord. Bow down before Him.

The question for many is Why should I? Why should I take any particular notice of this Jesus or of any of the associated religion?

Because, believe it or not, you will come to believe that He is the ultimate place to look. Every other place you look for happiness is the wrong place. Look at Jesus; give Him your time and eventually He will win your heart and then all that you have and are.

Just give Him a chance and He will prove to you why that was the best course of action.

And the call of John is for all of us, even if we already believe. Because there is always more to know of Jesus, more to give in response. Not as in paying a tax, getting blood out of a stone, but as in the spontaneous gift of the lover.

So the bad news: More is required. The good news: You will receive far more than you give and you will want to give more.

3rd Sunday of Advent 12 Dec 2010 Sermon

2010-12-15T10:08:00.000+10:30

3rd Sunday of Advent 12.12.10 Joy

We often find ourselves looking forward to certain things, like holidays. The anticipated delight of these events sometimes exceeds the reality. I might see myself enjoying a tropical paradise walking on the sands surrounded by palm trees, but in reality my luggage is lost and I am being eaten by mosquitoes.

In one case at least this letdown will not happen. We dare to anticipate one day going to heaven, seeing Almighty God face to face. This particular joy will be greater, not less, than we could imagine it to be.

This is because with our limited intelligence and experience we cannot grasp these mysteries; but they are no less real for that. We will find a level of happiness there that we could barely begin to describe here (cf St Paul in his heavenly apparition cf 2 Co 12).

Yet we dare to hope. With all our experience of disappointed hopes in this life we know we can feel differently about this one. Even though it is a much greater thing we expect we draw confidence from God Himself.

He has promised us this reward if we are faithful to Him and He never breaks His promises.

He does not promise happiness on our holidays or other earthly projects but He does promise us eternal life.

All other pleasures and joys are subservient to the ‘big one’ – the only one that matters in the long run – eternal life.

Today, Gaudete Sunday, we force ourselves to reflect on the reasons we should be joyful. So that, as the epistle tells us, we should rejoice always and never be anxious about anything.

Whereas, in reality, we are anxious about many things most of the time and hardly ever really feel undiluted joy.

When we reflect on the ultimate happiness to which we are heading we realize how much we have to be pleased about.

The difficulty is how to ‘use’ this knowledge to help us in the ups and downs of daily life.

Of course heaven is not just when we die. We can bring heaven down to us insofar as we can live in union with God already and create paradise-like conditions around us by the way we live.

(Paradise at least in terms of things like love and justice. We can't stop it being hot or cold or eliminate sickness but we can at least behave like we are in heaven.)

There are two clouds on the horizon:

One, that we are not entirely sure these things are true. We believe it to some degree, but we still allow doubts to assail us. What if there is nothing there? We need reassurance. We need more faith.

Two, that we fear we might not make it to heaven, because too sinful.

We can work on these two difficulties.

As with all things we need God’s help. If we are to rejoice we need to ask Him to help us rejoice, to deepen our faith, to come to know Him better. To know Him to such a degree that we can never doubt for a second that He will honour His promises and bring us to Heaven.

The other cloud: that He will forgive us, and give us grace to live holy lives, and so possess salvation with absolute certainty. (Not the complacency so prevalent today that everyone goes to heaven... I mean a real certainty.)

With the hope of heaven to anchor us we can deal with any rise or fall in present circumstances. This is the basis of our joy; and it is a joy that nothing can take away, unless our own renunciation of faith. Not being that silly, we allow the joy of eternity to filter through our everyday lives until we arrive at this place where all hopes are fulfilled.

2nd Sunday of Advent 5 Dec 2010 Sermon

2010-12-08T15:58:00.000+10:30

2nd Sunday of Advent 5.12.10 Being different

St John the Baptist, for all his greatness, has probably never been as popular as certain other saints in terms of devotion.

Perhaps he inspires in every generation some of the awe felt by the people of his time when he set himself apart in the desert, strangely dressed, and with a fierce message of repentance.

His ‘differentness’ was a way of highlighting that the people as a whole were treading the wrong path and needed to rethink where they were going.

The austerity of his life was to put into action what he was saying with his words. When we fast, or deny ourselves pleasures to which we are entitled, we are forcing ourselves to realize that there is something better than this life as we know it. Man does not live on bread alone.

We need St John the Baptist in every generation. Although Christ has come each new generation has to learn the story all over again; has to be told to step away from too much worldly delight and look for something better – which they will find in Christ.

Each individual has to make a response. Do you believe in this man? Do you accept Him as Saviour, as Lord? Is He relevant to you? Questions we all have to answer, and continuously.

We have to renew the commitment every day. We cannot rest on past achievements; our membership must be current. So that at any given moment I am on fire with love for Him, with enthusiasm for His word, for His ways.

The message is just as urgent as ever. He has come but has not been received, and so the Church continues the prophetic voice of John the Baptist in our time.

The strangeness of dress, the austere way of life, the prophetic voice – we see these in religious life – the penance, the abstinence, the witness to the world that there is another way. There is a timelessness about these things. One could stand on a hill in any year of any century and say the same things as John the Baptist, and you would be right. (And people would think you were crazy.)

A voice in the wilderness. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday today and forever. His relevance does not decline with time. Even if ignored He remains important and His truth is eternal.

So the Church keeps John the Baptist before us. He must decrease, he said. John might have expected he would fade out of people’s minds but we keep him current because we see the difficulty of accepting the Saviour. The forerunner is still required.

How shall we proclaim Christ in the current age? Many Christians have abandoned the life of penance and self-denial, thinking such things belong to a bygone era. They argue that Christians should be part of the world and do as everyone else does.

Indeed we can blend in with the world on certain points, such as the relieving of poverty or trying to make peace.

But we must stand apart from the world when the prevailing opinions are wrong, such as on abortion, euthanasia, homosexual ‘marriage’.

We also need to stand apart from the world, as explained above, in doing penance and setting our sights higher.

We do not have to be all wearing camel skins and eating locusts but we do need at least something of that style, of that fierce courageous spirit that will enable us to ignore both the attractions and the disapproval of the world in pursuit of what is right.

There is an essential difference in being a disciple of Christ which colours everything we do in the world.

We can feel a certain solidarity with others but we never forget who we really are.

Be one with others when we can but be separate when necessary – working towards a final oneness when all the world comes to Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord.

1st Sunday of Advent 28 Nov 2010 Sermon

2010-11-30T17:32:00.001+10:30

1st Sunday of Advent 28.11.10 Rebuilding

From the time of the first sin God has been trying to put back together the broken pieces of humanity.

Even with the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, Pentecost and all the miracles and inspiration He has provided over 2000 years we still have not got it right.

If it were just a matter of putting a broken object back together it would be easy enough. A passive object offers no resistance. But human beings are another matter!

God can do all things, but it is difficult even for Him to get the human race to cooperate with His plans. The same trouble that caused the first sin is the same thing preventing the full reconciliation. Mankind has been resistant to the grace of God.

Because we have sinned we find it hard to give it up. It enslaves us, and we have to be prised free.

When we sin our judgment is distorted. Even when we know to the last detail what is required we still don't want to do it. Even if we know that it would make us happy we can still hold out. Our judgment is distorted, and we cannot see our way clearly.

We lack faith, trust, humility, obedience. We still sin even if we do believe all these things. Only by divine help can we break free completely.

So the Advent season comes upon us: a reminder to consider the great plan of salvation; going back to chapter one, and realigning ourselves. A season of repentance and preparation.

A time for us to stop resisting His graces.

So we ask Him to come, not just His second coming, but before that, to come and break down our pride, our stubbornness so we can see straight, live straight, be totally accepting of His grace, willing to cooperate with Him.

Come, Lord Jesus, fill me with truth, the attractiveness of Your way.

The only way I can break free from my distorted vision is to see something better which He has. The precious pearl, the treasure in the field, for which we would gladly trade the life we live now, stunted as it must be.

We would do this automatically if only we could see it. This is what we mean when we say, Come, Lord Jesus. Make it so obvious that we cannot miss it, even with pride and stubbornness.

His coming is moving closer in terms of time, insofar as the years pass. But He is coming closer also in that His influence will increase, enabling us to act differently and to restore what was lost, to restore the lost Eden, to have at least a share of heaven on earth.

We see then that Advent is part of a long process, which though dogged by much frustration, does head in a straight line to the final consummation of all things in Christ.

Indeed may He come, and without delay.

Last Sunday after Pentecost 21 Nov 2010 Sermon

2010-11-23T16:46:00.001+10:30

Last Sunday after Pentecost 21.11.10

When we talk with one another about the state of the world the question arises: is this the end? Can it get any worse than this?

A bit of historical perspective will enable us to see that previous generations must have also asked the same question. Probably every generation has had enough things going wrong to be able to put those questions. Things have seemed black many times before this; but the end ‘was not yet’.

As for our time we certainly have some of the ingredients of the last days: increasing rebelliousness against God and His Church; increasingly blatant immorality, particularly sodomy (always a sign of degeneration); people have itching ears for new doctrines (Christianity is perceived as old hat).

Can things get worse? Yes, they could and they might. Predictions of evil can always be overruled if there is sufficient repentance and reparation. If everyone in the world went down on their knees there would be no need for chastisements, plagues, and other horrors to come.

God sends these things (or threatens them) not because He likes to punish us, but by way of claiming our attention.

He is trying to impress upon us how much we need Him, and how wrong things will go, and wronger still, if we do not seek to be reconciled with Him. The various images of Scripture threatening dire punishments are attempts to bring home to us that we have a vital need for God, and if we do not possess Him we will suffer agony.

After a certain point, if we deprive ourselves of God’s grace, there will be a reaction. There will be trouble in this life and the next. There will be anguish and distress as the soul realizes its loss, like the pain of grief multiplied a thousand times.

Many people have come to repentance in all these misfortunes over the centuries, but we have never managed to convert the whole world or even the majority of it. The message of repentance is not a bestseller; there is tremendous resistance to the Gospel, even though it be Good News.

People often prefer to remain in darkness and misery than change what they know.

For our part we never let up on praying for conversion of sinners and imploring God’s mercy on the world.

We deserve to be wiped out many times over by now, but still in His mercy and patience He gives us more time to get things right.

We thank Him for the time but we also gently remind Him that He has promised to come again and wind everything up!

We must not let the disintegration of moral values around us in any way loosen our own desire for holiness of life, nor of its absolute necessity.

The temptation is that when we see others relaxing their moral grip and giving way to things that they would have once been appalled by – the temptation is to join them; throw off the yoke of obedience we have been carrying for years and join the ‘progress’ to the new ways.

We must hold firm and thus be light in the darkness for others to see; a voice in the wilderness for them to hear. We are the leaven in the bread, the mustard seed that will expand to cover the whole world.

Confronted with bad news some will turn to the pursuit of more pleasure. Turn up the sound to drown out the unpleasant reality.

It is better to face reality head-on. It is the only way to discover the truth. If we read the signs of the times, realized our total absolute need for God and turn to Him at every opportunity then we have peace of mind, and we will pull back from the brink.

Can it get any worse? Yes, but it can also get better. We must make it so.

25th Sunday after Pentecost 14 Nov 2010 Sermon

2010-11-16T15:45:00.000+10:30

25th Sunday after Pentecost (6th Sunday after Epiphany readings) 14.11.10 Euthanasia

The Gospel of the mustard seed: small beginnings for a great reality. The kingdom of God (or the Church) started out very small but has become very big.

A lot of actions small in themselves, but added together over time produce an effect beyond what you might expect. If the Church has grown this far despite all the sins etc, imagine what we could have become if we had trusted fully!

Most of the time we live in trust; we do not see the future, not even as far as tomorrow. Yet we believe that if we act according to the will of God we will see better times. One step at a time and eventually we will have walked a long way.

There is one particular example of this trustful stepping forward that I want to dwell on today, because of its current urgency to our state (South Australia) – euthanasia.

If we live in daily trust of God’s providence, asking for our daily bread, we should also die in trust of His providence. The matter of death can be a great anxiety for us as we occasionally think of our own death. When will it happen? How? How much pain will there be? What happens after death? And so on.

It is an even more mysterious matter than most of the things we encounter. All the more reason we should delve deeper into our faith and entrust ourselves into God’s hands. Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit!

As God has decreed when I should be born, so I leave it to Him to decide when (and all other details) I shall die. It is His decision far more than it is mine.

So we have always had (in the Church, and before that in the people of Israel) a sensitive reserve about the manner of death. Look at Job: how he endured the loss of everything but never presumed to take his own life, nor ask others to do it for him.

He trusted during the time of darkness and all was restored to him.

So all will be restored to those who die in the Lord’s keeping. Not necessarily the material restoration as Job experienced, but more likely the joy of eternal life, the next phase of the gift of life which we are preparing for here on earth.

But today many do seek refuge in death rather than in God. Euthanasia is just glorified murder and/or suicide. Almost everyone disapproves of these things, when so called. But somehow murder and suicide in the face of physical or emotional suffering is proposed as acceptable.

What is being attempted in the push towards euthanasia is a redefinition of murder. It is OK [they are saying] to murder sometimes - if the one to be murdered asks for it, or wishes it, or seems to be in intolerable suffering.
But murder (the taking of innocent life) is always wrong. If a thing is wrong in its essence it is always wrong. Good intentions cannot make it right.

The absolute value of each person must be defended at all times. We cannot kill people according to characteristics, such as race or colour. We all understand that. But neither can we murder people who are perceived to be unhappy. Not even if they ask us to kill them.
(Same sort of logic with suicide. You can't kill yourself because do not own yourself. You have a sacred value which you might discount or deny, but cannot remove.)

We encourage each other to take this nobler view of self (which is only the truth). And of other people in the same light. We are subjects not objects.

The value of a life is not in economic output; nor in ability; but simply being a human person makes one God’s property.

In short, euthanasia is either murder or suicide, and can never be justified. Instead we must simply put ourselves into God’s hands. He looks after everything else; He can also handle our deaths.

24th Sunday after Pentecost 7 Nov 2010 Sermon

2010-11-10T16:55:00.000+10:30

24th Sunday after Pentecost (5th Sunday after Epiphany readings)7.11.10 Good and Evil

It is a problem for many that evil seems to flourish in the world and evildoers do not drop dead in the street, or not straight away at least. Sin seems to go unpunished for long periods of time and even never to be punished in many cases.

The real life solution is not as simple as in the movies, where in a 90 minute film the bad are punished and the good rewarded. Such rewards and punishments are always put into very visible and material categories. The bad are either killed or imprisoned; the good find wealth, marriage, promotion etc.

God’s way of resolving things works on the same principle only it needs more than 90 minutes to sort everything out. There are lots of factors we don't see or can’t understand. There are things that will need more than a lifetime to sort out.

God does hear the cry of the poor. All injustices will be set right; all evil behaviour will be dealt with; nothing is left hanging in the Kingdom of God. He knows when a sparrow falls from the sky. Nothing involving any person would escape His attention.

The psalms and other wisdom literature of the Old Testament ask repeatedly: When, O Lord, will You act? How long must we put up with these injustices? Yet the same literature also expresses humility in the face of the infinite wisdom of God (cf Job); and acknowledges that He has ways of getting what He wants.

We entrust it all to Him. It may take centuries or millennia; it does take in billions of people. Only God could sort out such complexity and He is doing so.

He lets the wheat and the tares exist side by side, not immediately separating them but promising to do so at the Last Judgment.

Why would God not remove evildoers straightaway? Because He wants them to repent, and for that to happen He has to give them time. If He removed every evildoer at the first chance we would all have been wiped out by now. He has to give a certain leeway of time so that people have time to see the wrongness of their ways and come to a new heart. And this has to be repeated for each generation, which has to learn it all over again.

What does it mean for us, trying to do the right thing in a world where there are a lot of bad and dangerous people around? We have to work and pray for the conversion of evildoers. We have to desire their conversion, not their destruction. We do not wish enemies destroyed but wish them friends.

We must avoid the temptation to compromise with evil. Surrounded by it we can relax the standards. We must oppose evil just as we do now on the euthanasia issue. But without condemning others.
We must use the time that we have to make things as good as they can be.

Time is our friend insofar as we are in a time of mercy and have the chance for conversion.

However, it is good also to pray for a shortening of the time, as we do in Advent. We don't want the time for mercy to be cut short but we do want the Lord to come.

Amidst all the things we don't understand we can see some things clearly.
It is better to be good than evil.
It is good to be good, for its own sake, and not just because it brings a reward, or evil a punishment.
The more good people around the easier it is to change the bad ones.

May the Lord keep those whom He already has and gain those He still seeks.

Feast of Christ the King 31 Oct 2010 Sermon

2010-11-03T10:35:00.001+10:30

Christ the King 31.10.10 Unity

People often wish we could all live in peace, acknowledging that it is a pity that we have wars, genocide, racism etc... that we should all get along together. Just about everyone would agree with these sentiments.

We have events like the Olympic games, and other ceremonials (national days, military remembrance days) where we see displays symbolizing world peace, These events inspire us, with the right sentiments at least, but they tend to lack power. They don’t really make things better, apart from a few good intentions.

But this feast today, Christ the King is another matter. Here we have access to the real power to make things different. A life-changing power. Here we have contact with Someone who actually does unite us - the new Man, the new Adam, the source of a new humanity; reconciling us to the Father. And when united to this central figure we are automatically united with each other.

This feast gives us the sentiments – the desire for peace – but also the actual sacramental access to the grace which will make things different.

As we make contact with Christ we are given the power to love, to forgive, to help others; and to turn swords into ploughshares.

We experience a genuine change of heart, whereby we are not just living in peace (as in the mere absence of conflict) but genuine love of neighbour.

Christ breaks down the barriers between Jew and Gentile, between all races, and gathers together the scattered children of God. He is the peace between us.

The world is reluctant to acknowledge Him and will try just about any other solution first.

Some will propose Tolerance as the answer to all our troubles. ‘OK we are different but there is no harm in that provided we all leave each other alone.’ Tolerance may be better than killing each other but if we tolerate things which are objectively wrong, and which alienate us from God, then we cannot have a true peace.

Only in Christ are complete peace and unity found, because only He can be the link between divine and human - and without the divine the human is sunk.

The world will say: Oh yes, Jesus Christ is a good role model, but there are many others too. He is more than role model, and He is more than just another good man. He is the Saviour of the human race, and the only one at that. Only in Him is the human reconciled with the divine.

Are we imposing Him on others? Not by force. It is like coming across someone drowning and we say: if you want we can pull you out of the water. But we won’t force you. You have a choice; only if you want to live there is only one choice you can make.

This we say to the world: if you really want peace and unity, here is the only way: go down on your knees before your true King.

We are a long way from achieving this. Even in the Church, even among those who do believe in Him there is much conflict. In families, parishes, religious orders... people do not get along even if they have the same beliefs, hopes and values.

The difficulty of it just shows all the more how much we rely on Christ to give us the missing ingredient – His own love and power. To help us get over centuries of negativity.

At least as individuals we bring ourselves before Him; we offer Him homage; ask for His grace that will work in us from the inside, to take the poison out of our hearts, the anger and the bitterness; to enable us to be what we should have been all along.

May all humanity find salvation and peace in Him.

22nd Sunday after Pentecost 24 Oct 2010 Sermon

2010-10-26T11:06:00.000+10:30

22nd Sunday after Pentecost 24.10.10 Give to Caesar

If we are to give to God what is God’s that would have to be everything because He made all things and all things belong to Him.

But we can understand there is a kind of dual ownership of certain things and we can operate at different levels without contradiction.

For example, we have bank accounts. I say the money in my account is mine. But it is also God’s insofar as all things belong to Him and He would want me to use that money according to His will.

There is nothing that I could say is mine in such a way that it is outside of God’s providence or jurisdiction; so that if He had a preference for how I use something I would be able to override Him. So our money, houses, cars, even our lives belong to Him in such a way that He can take them back at any time.

Everything falls under His authority, but for practical purposes He lets us govern things at a lower level (principle of subsidiarity).

So we have systems in place to deal with things at the appropriate level. We have governments federally, for each state, for each local area. We have government of the Church – from the Pope down to the local bishop down to the local priest.

But everyone, high or low, is answerable to God as the Supreme Ruler when all is said and done.

Whatever title we may possess – if we be prime minister or archbishop – we are answerable to God for how we exercise that office.

How easily this is ignored in the world. How people scramble for positions of power not intending in the least to defer to God’s authority.

The three wise kings give us an example of how to be a king: kneel before One greater than ourselves. If we can be truly humble before God then we will be able to exercise power properly, without letting it go to our heads.

Many today deny God even existence, let alone power. They make the mistake of thinking humans are the highest life force around and so can arrange ourselves accordingly.

This is why people are not afraid to make new laws about human life – abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, cloning, and the like. Who is to stop us? Who is above us to tell us any different?

They are attempting to build a world without God. It won’t work but they think it might.

Give to God what is God’s. How timely those words are in an age when it is fashionable to deny Him.

How much we need to return to the straight path of living by His will.

We are seeing the chaos caused by social engineering, by man’s attempts to build again the tower of Babel.

Only humble repentance can return us to the wisdom that will enable things to work properly.

We cannot exclude God from His own creation.

The same applies to our own personal lives, the way we organize ourselves. Here also we are tempted to think we have complete dominion. Who is to tell me how to live my own life? Surely I have the power to decide what is right for me?

No, there is One greater and we must kneel before Him. This is the only way to order our lives towards happiness. Other solutions may give some partial or temporary happiness but ultimately will fall to pieces.

The world is lurching out of control so long as we do not acknowledge our Creator who is also our Father; also our Saviour; also our daily Guide. Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Give to God what is His, in a word, authority. Recognize and obey Him and we will see the world transformed.

Canonisation of Mary MacKillop Sermon

2010-10-19T11:19:00.001+10:30

21st Sunday after Pentecost 17.10.10 (Mary MacKillop canonisation, taking precedence over the 21st Sunday)

Our first Australian-born saint is to be canonised today. Why has it taken this long to produce a saint in Australia? Or why are there so few saints relative to the number of Catholics in the world? A saint is one in a million (give or take).

Yet we are all called to be disciples of Our Lord; all called to be saints. There must be a lot of lost potential out there. There should be more people rising to the occasion.

Undoubtedly the surrounding standard does affect us. If we lived with St Teresa of Avila, or St Francis of Assisi, for example, we would probably behave a lot better. Conversely if we lived with a group of criminals, our standard of behaviour would drop.

All of us together set the average. What ‘most people do’ is what becomes the norm. The bar can get lower and lower; I think it is lying on the ground by now! What does one have to do to be a saint when even going to Mass once a week is seen as above-average commitment?

Many today believe salvation is achieved simply by the love of God lifting us into heaven; without any action or even repentance required on our part.

With this minimalist approach the talk of sainthood turns to saying that we are all saints. We are all good, or at least good enough.

The pressure is on us to conform to the general standard around us; conform downwards if necessary.

Anyone trying to be better than one’s neighbours will be accused of being a religious nut, a hypocrite... who do you think you are?

Granted religious observance can be hypocritical, but that does not mean we should abandon the observance. We want to be genuinely holy, not just appearing to be so.

Holiness, though demanding, should not have to be achieved through clenched teeth. St Dominic, for example, was always cheerful. Sainthood is not having a long face and censuring everyone else.

But the other extreme and current popular formula will not work either: just letting everything else go. Don’t ever presume to tell anyone else what to do or not to do. This is the ‘new charity’.

The saints in history were not afraid to correct error; to admonish the sinner.

Sainthood, in summary - when all extremes have been levelled out - is doing things in a Christlike way. It is being holy in oneself; performing not for others but to Christ’s expectations; being genuinely charitable; dealing with every person and situation in exactly the right way, with no excessive harshness; everything exactly as it should be.

We should desire to be saints. Not necessarily seeking canonisation; not looking for recognition as such. But yes, we should want to be canonised if it helps others to love God and gives greater honour to Him.

If people can use our lives as an example then that is good. Not for reasons of conceit, but for service.

Should we be competitive in holiness? I want to be holier than I was until today, not necessarily holier than you. If you are holier than I am so much the better. In any case all of us should be looking to improve.

We will be tempted to ease off; to run only as fast as the pack; just cruising.

Obligation is important but real love will push further. Think of Romeo and Juliet. Would you tell Romeo that he has to see Juliet one hour a week on Sunday? And that was all he had to do to please her?

He would want to see her as much as possible, and that is how we should be with God.

Obligations should be seen as just the minimum. True love takes us further and further still. If we really love God we never stop wanting to do more in His service. This is the mark of the canonised saint.

St Mary MacKillop, help us to be saints in our part of the world.

20th Sunday after Pentecost 10 Oct 2010 Sermon

2010-10-14T00:28:00.000+10:30

20th Sunday after Pentecost 10.10.10 Prayer

When we hear the problems other people have and we cannot see any obvious solution to those problems we are inclined to say, I will pray for you, or pray about that. This can sound like it is not going to be much help but in reality prayer can move mountains. Today’s Gospel is a reminder of the power of prayer.

Our Lord heals the nobleman’s son from a distance. Nothing is impossible to God.

We get discouraged too easily. We tend to take too short term a view of our situation. We can let our current set of problems preoccupy us to the point of forgetting the goodness of God, and failing to see His overall plan.

When we pray for specific problems we cannot guarantee they will be solved immediately but we can guarantee that prayer will make things better in an overall sense.

A lot of what we suffer is caused by other things beyond our control. For example that we live in so much anxiety in our personal lives is caused by the fact that the world as a whole does not accept or obey Almighty God, and so does not run as it should.

There is a saying that you can give a hungry man a fish but better if you teach him how to fish. It is something of that order with God. He can help with this or that need but most of all He wants to teach us how to live.

When we pray we can guarantee that the overall situation is coming closer to what it should be. We cannot guarantee the particular problem of the moment will disappear but with prayer it is far more likely to. If the Body of Christ would pray more, with more vitality, more faith, then certainly there would be more miracles, more order and a healing of the face of the earth (along the lines of the prophecies, such as children being able to play with cobras (Isaiah))

We are accustomed to a high level of disorder in the world. For example, the fact that we habitually distrust other people when we lock our houses and cars, or when we are afraid to go out at night. Not to mention that we all need ‘police checks’ now!

To heal the more basic problems it would need thousands to pray properly. We are working to a larger picture as God does: seeking the salvation of as many as possible.

If we repented on a grand scale a lot of the underlying problems would not happen. For example, if you went for a walk you would not be attacked by a gang of youth. They would all be home with their families! In a better world, that is. And it is for this better world we are praying.

We can succeed only if a large part of society will turn to God. In the meantime we have to stay home and lock the door.

In a better world people would find the right person to marry, marriages would last, workers would be treated justly; the streets would be safe. People would even drive better, and of course, there would be no road rage.

Often the apparent non-answering of prayer causes loss of faith. We pray for something and it does not happen as we ask. We can then conclude, OK, there is no God, or prayer is useless.

We have to trust that God can see the overall picture and that our prayer is helping that overall situation to come about.

It may be we have to suffer a certain amount of things, in union with Christ.

It may be that God will withhold one blessing for the sake of giving something better instead.

It is always good to ask, and any sincere prayer will help somehow.

If we cannot heal the whole world we can at least create a little bit of order in our own part of the world.

May the Lord hear our prayers - local and cosmic - short and long term - and bring things to how He wants them.

19th Sunday after Pentecost 3 Oct 2010 Sermon

2010-10-06T15:53:00.000+10:30

19th Sunday after Pentecost 3.10.10 All are called

We are all called to the Banquet, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Just about everyone would want to go to heaven but not everyone wants to be identified as a disciple of Our Lord. Yet to be a disciple is a requisite for reaching heaven.

Only through Him can we hope to be saved from eternal death. We either attend His banquet (eat His flesh) or we perish in the darkness.

Come to the Banquet is the same as Come, Follow Me.

It is a personal call that must be answered personally, on one’s own behalf.

People have a way of trying to deflect the demands of following Christ. Look what they say about ‘religion’. The adults say it is only for children (to teach them manners). The children say it is only for old people (especially grandparents). The men say it is only for women. The laity say it is only for priests and religious. The intellectuals say it is only for the ignorant. And so on. It seems everyone is trying to put the onus on someone else. But still He stands there, waiting for that answer.

The invitation is directed to each and every person on the earth.
We must commit, Yes or No.

It is possible to treat God like a distant cousin, someone we barely know; that we might meet on ceremonial occasions. Or to regard the worship of Him as an option, like a hobby; something we might get around to but probably not.

But He is not optional. His invitations amount to commands. There is a reward if we obey; punishment if we disobey.

We must commit. This does not necessarily mean we will have to sell our possessions and go around in poverty; but according to each one’s age and state act we must do exactly as God asks us to do.

We are not all called to the same magnitude of holiness; but whether we have ten talents, five or one, we must make a return on what has been entrusted to us.

There is only Heaven and Hell ultimately; no middle ground.

If the good go to heaven and the bad to hell where does everyone else go? There is no one else. We are either for Christ or against Him! There is no third place. (Purgatory, yes, but that is only until the Last Day, and everyone there eventually goes to heaven).

Following Christ, coming to the Banquet, means belonging to the Church. The Church is not just a club that one can call in occasionally; pay a few dollars subscription, and use when needed. Many treat the Catholic Church in this light. But if we read the New Testament! The blandness of much of Church life is not foreshadowed there. We must regain and maintain that first intensity.

The Church has always been meant to take over the whole world and make it the kingdom of God.

So we retrieve the ‘radical’ understanding of the Gospel. Leave all else and follow Him. Leave all that is not of Christ, whether possession or attitude.

Back to basics: prayer, keeping His commands, confessing sins. Internal as well as external commitment. Not just ‘turning up’ but body and soul committed.

It is easier to be bad than good. If we make no response to His invitation it means we are bad. Holiness comes only through striving for it.

The enemy is complacency. There is no hell for those who are vigilant and positively seeking God.

But for those who are in slumber and refuse to wake up – there is danger.

Whatever is difficult can be made easy by sufficient grace from God. To believe this basic message, to commit to it fully, to persevere until the end – all this is within our grasp simply for the asking.

18th Sunday after Pentecost 26 Sep 2010 Sermon

2010-09-28T14:41:00.000+09:30

18th Sunday after Pentecost 26.9.10 Forgiveness

The greatest miracles are the ones we cannot see. God can do many miraculous things. He can make a whole universe just with a word. We see the signs of His creative power everywhere around us, with accompanying beauty.

But greater still than all the physical miracles is the miracle of forgiveness, when God chooses by a separate act to pardon a sinner and restore that person to spiritual life.

When Our Lord raised the dead and healed the sick it caused a sensation, but the greater miracle was that these people were also forgiven their sins.

And in churches all around the world sometimes physical miracles happen, but greater miracles happen in confessionals when years of sin can be wiped away by a single confession.

Forgiveness is a greater miracle because it involves a greater use of God’s intervention.
With physical processes He is usually content to let things follow their normal course; but with forgiveness He personally intervenes each time a sinner repents and grants the necessary new life in the soul.

It is a miracle because forgiveness is a departure from what ‘ought’ to happen by normal laws.

As with a physical miracle if I, for example, fall from a height I would normally be killed but God could act in such a way to keep me alive. So with a mortal sin I would (all else being equal) be forever separated from God; but He can choose to spare me that fate and give me another chance.

God is under no obligation to forgive our sins; it is something He chooses to do. We have no claim on Him apart from His good nature.

The fact that He does forgive so freely and so often should not prevent us from seeing it as a miracle and being suitably grateful.

Because of the relative ease of obtaining forgiveness we can fall into various errors:

We can take forgiveness for granted, simply presuming on God’s mercy to cover any damage I may have done. Thus people decide that they do not need to confess their sins, nor even be sorry for them. God will forgive them anyway, they reason.

Or one can lose sight of sin itself as a crime against God and nature, deserving of dreadful punishments. If forgiveness is taken for granted so can sin be taken. It is just a normal part of life and not worthy worrying too much about, people reason. So again there is a refusal to confess or even try to correct wrongdoings.

We must not presume on God’s mercy. Yes, He is willing to forgive and will forgive any sin no matter how atrocious – provided there is genuine contrition on the part of the sinner.

The miracle will be forthcoming, but we must play our part as well. Just as in the physical domain we can pray for protection but still have to exercise due care (eg in driving a car) so in the spiritual life we must exercise ‘due care’ in doing our best to avoid sin and please God.

With due humility we acknowledge our sin and the penalties we deserve. We then ask for mercy, knowing it will be given, but no less grateful for that.

We can come back to life many times in one lifetime. If we are truly grateful we will sin less often and less seriously. We will be chastened by having to ask for mercy so often and will (always with God’s help) find more resistance to further sin.

This is the miracle we need more than any other. Let us ask for it as often as we need it, and be duly grateful when received.

17th Sunday after Pentecost 19 Sep 2010 Sermon

2010-09-22T17:00:00.001+09:30

17th Sunday after Pentecost 19.9.10 Love God and Neighbour

The greatest command is to love God and the second to love neighbour as ourselves.
All other commandments and laws come under the umbrella of these two.

What does it mean to love God? It can be difficult to know quite how we relate to God. He is so much greater than us, and so much out of our normal range of knowledge and feeling. Our relationship with Him can seem very vague.

How love what or whom we do not understand?

We can come by two roads: the high and the low.

The low road is simply to obey Him. Our Lord said once: if you love Me you will keep My commands. If we keep His commands it proves at least that we are trying to please Him and that is some kind of love. So we do that. Day by day, piece by piece... just do the next thing right. Seek to please Him. Not expecting to understand everything all at once, but just to obey Him.

The high road is to be in communion with Him, through prayer, sacrament, in some cases mystical union. Like being immersed in the sea of His love. Lost in Him. Opening ourselves to the infinite reality of God, and always seeking more of Him, never being able to exhaust His fullness. Yielding to Him; complete submission, complete union.

We can employ both these approaches. We can be hard-headed and practical; doing what is there to be done.

As to the path of union, most of us are not very mystical but then we have the liturgy to lift us up to higher places, even if we don’t have much imagination. Just to be here at Mass is to enter the depths of God.

We need both approaches: we cannot be just doing tasks. God wants us to know Him, as much as we are able. He wants us to be friends not servants.

Then again we cannot ignore duties in the pursuit of high spiritual experiences.

Taking the high road and the low road: We see Him in the small and the big things; from the circumstances of every day to the overall cosmic view of His plans.

We come to value Him more. He is not just a vague presence out there somewhere, but our most valuable possession by far.

And the Neighbour? We love what God loves, if we love Him at all. The strongest argument for loving neighbour is that God loves that very same person, and we would have a hard time explaining to God why we disagree with Him.

Of course we can list off the faults of another person but so can God. The ‘love’ we are required to exercise is not the romantic emotional love, such as being ‘in love’ signifies. Our love of neighbour can also be divided into a matter of duty in individual details and a little of the mystical as well.

The mystical side: Our neighbours, being human, are spiritual beings and therefore mysterious to us. We must respect this dimension and leave it to God to work His wonders in the other person’s soul.

Our main task is not to interfere. We pray for others to receive whatever God wants to give them, and we must not resent if He is generous to them.

God is a lavish giver and we must not allow any pettiness to curtail our goodwill towards others.

And as to duty, loving the other is simply doing whatever the situation requires, as in the case of loving God.

These commands are high enough to inspire us and low enough for us to be able to reach. What God commands He also enables. With His help we do as He commands.

16th Sunday after Pentecost 12 Sep 2010 Sermon

2010-09-14T14:46:00.000+09:30

16th Sunday after Pentecost 12.9.10 The secret of holiness

One of the requirements of our Catholic faith is that we must try to be good at all times and in all places. We are never allowed a ‘day off’ from the requirements of holiness.

This could sound like an intolerable burden. Yet Our Lord said His yoke was easy and His burden light. (Mt 11, 30)

And St Paul tells us that we are never tested beyond our strength. (1 Cor 10, 13)

Yet it remains true that there is no ‘day off’ or ‘time out’ from holiness. In practice we might take time out but we are not allowed to.

So can we be good all the time?

We can learn something from the example of Our Lady. She never sinned in her whole life, from conception to death. Not one sin, not so much as one uncharitable thought or loose word! Is it possible?

Sometimes we are tempted to sin and we manage not to. For example if I am tempted to say something in anger, I can manage to keep my mouth shut but it comes as something of an effort, and my anger would probably register in other ways, such as coldness of manner or impatience of gesture.

But with Our Lady, not even these things would have happened. She would not have been walking about like a time bomb ready to explode as we can feel ourselves to be.

The ‘secret’ of her success lay in her closeness to God, to the Source of holiness.

We define holiness in terms of how close one is to the nature of God.

If we act in a God-like way, such as being charitable, generous, chaste – then that is being holy. If we sin we are acting in a way other than God would act in the same situation.

Our Lady was so close to God in her thoughts, in her heart, mind and soul that there was no possibility of sin occurring to her.

It was not by some supreme effort of willpower that she avoided sin. It was natural to her to pick always the God-like way of responding to whatever happened.

This is the way we must travel. To be holy all the time means we must draw closer to God Himself and draw from His nature to transform our sinful nature.

This process will happen by a gradual change in the way we see things; the way we think.

If we see holiness as a burden it is a sure sign that we are not seeing reality as it really is. Our spiritual eyesight is suffering a blockage. We need to be healed of whatever is not registering properly.

Thus the epistle reading today where St Paul prays that the Ephesians will be strengthened with a power which reaches their innermost being; that they be able to understand more clearly the height and depth of the love of Christ.

We note that it is an interior process that needs to happen. There is something inside each person which needs to change. This is St Paul’s prayer and it is our prayer for ourselves and each other.

May all of us come to see as God sees, as Our Lady did see in her life; and countless other saints also.

It will be painful sometimes to unlearn some of the false worldly ways we have accumulated. But each sinful habit discarded is a glorious liberation and paves the way for further spiritual progress.

We must always remember that to sin in any form is not ‘normal’ behaviour; it is a deviation from the norm. Holiness is the normal state. We were created to share the life of God, and even His nature. Drawing from His nature it is not so hard to be good all the time.

15th Sunday after Pentecost 5 Sep 2010 Sermon

2010-09-14T14:45:00.000+09:30

15th Sunday after Pentecost 5.9.10 Restoring things

Our Lord gives back the son to his mother. He restores life and the event occasions much joy, as we can imagine.

He had the ability to raise the dead and could have raised everyone if He had wanted to. He could have emptied out every cemetery in Israel.

But He does not normally restore life in that precise way.

He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Usually He lets physical death take its course. He gives us life to the full, firstly by enabling the departed soul to reach heaven; and then at the end of time restoring the body to full glorious life - not the life of pain and suffering we encounter here, but Heaven in all its glory. Lazarus, and the young man of Naim, and the young daughter of Jairus – all brought back to life - would have had to suffer the same things as before. But in heaven all tears are wiped away; there is no more pain.

Our Lord is more interested in the life of the soul than the life of the body. To Him the greatest enemy is sin; whereas for most of the human race sickness would be a greater concern.

So when Our Lord comes across someone who is sick His first concern is for the person’s soul.

God creates and He takes pleasure in what He has made. He also likes to re-create; to restore things which have been damaged in some way.

We ourselves take pleasure in restoring things – be it houses, gardens, cars, books, works of art. There is a real pleasure in making beauty out of something that was distorted or corrupted.

If we are restoring something we will be meticulous in our approach. So is God meticulous in remaking man, His primary creation.

His mercy will forgive the sin and His grace will enable the person to rise above sin in the future.

He also can restore whole societies. As we worry about declining moral standards; about the loss of marriage and family values which threaten the foundations of our society – we can also extend the presence of Christ by living according to His word.

The more we cooperate with Him the more we restore the world from death.

The fight is essentially won through holiness of life, through our own absolute fidelity to the will of God, doing what He wants us to do.

This enables the holding on to the values we have, and recapturing them; and where possible reclaiming those who have abandoned Christian morality.

Our private behaviour must match our public declarations. Individual and communal behaviour must reflect the same values. Lots of people doing the right thing, in small things, everyday things – this will transform our communities.

We live in fragmented times; we must not be discouraged. Above all we must not go over to the ‘other side’ abandoning what we have held so far.

Avoid pollution, we are told, because it is the only planet we have. Far more so must we avoid the pollution of sin. The only way to save the planet is to live by God’s laws.

We can make this world truly beautiful by lives of holiness – which means simply living as God wants us to live. The ugliness of sin will give way to beauty, as death gives way to life in the raising of the young man.

Mass changes this week

2010-09-05T14:51:00.003+09:30

There will be no Mass this week at St Monica's on
Tuesday 7th, Wednesday 8th, Thursday 9th or Friday 10th.
All other days will be as normal.

14th Sunday after Pentecost 29 Aug 2010 Sermon

2010-08-31T18:51:00.000+09:30

14th Sunday after Pentecost 29.8.10 Total trust

When the earthquake happened in Haiti in January this year a local source said that in terms of religion Haiti was so many percent Catholic and so many per cent Protestant, but 100% Voodoo!

No doubt an exaggeration, but it has been a problem for the Church in many parts of the world that the Catholics in those places often hold another religion (and by necessity a false one) alongside of the Catholic religion. It is hard to convince people to give up something that has been part of their culture for a long time.

It can be a problem right here in Australia too, where it may not be voodoo but we are tempted to put our faith in other things besides God – perhaps money, insurance, friends, superstition, ... fate, destiny, the luck of the draw...one’s own abilities, working harder...

The thing we all have to learn is that we cannot improve on God. There is one God and only one. Every other ‘god’ is a false one. To try to work in other gods with the real God is to gild the lily, to try to improve something which is already perfect.

Today’s Gospel about lilies in the field tells us plainly to have trust in God alone, and reminds us how helpless we are to change things from how He ordains them.

But if we do trust Him we will receive everything we need for our welfare and enjoy great security as we go.

How comforting this passage is and yet how hard for us to live by this principle.

We are always tempted to try some other angle besides prayer, faith, and trust. Just a little improvement. I am sure God has my welfare at heart but just in case He forgets I will try a little of my own initiative.

So we tell a few lies; we cheat at business a little bit; we look to our own welfare in a way that seems wise to us, but actually if we disobey God in any of these details we are making things worse.

It amounts to going to false gods if we look anywhere else than to Him.

We are allowed to - and supposed to - exercise human wisdom and industry in terms of working for our bread, making plans for the future.

If you insure your house it does not mean you lack trust in God. If you seek a career which will likely provide you with a steady income that does not mean you doubt God will provide.
He uses these things to give us our daily bread over a longer term.

However the false part would be if we place total reliance on these things and never pray to God for His help.

I could be rich through business acumen and think that I do not need God, but I still need His help to maintain the economy that makes me rich. We see if the stock market crashes that wealth can be wiped out suddenly. Or one’s health can collapse, or war could break out etc.

So we do need God no matter how secure or clever we might think ourselves. And thus we turn to Him in the simplicity of the birds of the air and ask that He feed us.

And we remove from our houses all the good luck charms and new age trinkets and anything bearing a trace of a false religion. And we resolve to be honest in business and in speaking and living the truth.

We cannot improve on God; we can improve our relationship with Him; draw closer to Him and come to a more secure faith in Him.

This is what Our Lord is telling us to do today and He will help this to happen as He feeds us with Bread from Heaven.

13th Sunday after Pentecost 22 Aug 2010 Sermon

2010-08-24T15:58:00.001+09:30

13th Sunday after Pentecost 22.8.10 Salvation – not to be taken for granted

All ten lepers were healed, but only one returned to give thanks. This one was saved as well as healed. He received the cleansing of soul as well as body. The other nine had only bodily healing.

He was ‘saved’ because he recognized the work of God in what had happened to him, and was prepared to submit himself in gratitude to the power of God. By casting himself at the feet of Our Lord he was expressing a willingness to be His disciple, to accept whatever terms or conditions might be further required of him.

This is what ‘salvation’ means. We are saved when we are in a state of grace; in a state of union with God – and this can be the case only when we are willing to trust, obey, serve Our Lord; when we are sorry for offending Him, and grateful to Him for favours received.
It is an ongoing interactive state – dwelling in grace, or as it is sometimes put: He is dwelling in us.

The nine lepers represent much of the human race who take God for granted; which also means they take salvation for granted.

They have no gratitude for God for the gift of life, nor anything that the world provides in its bounty – food, wine, fresh air, friendship, health, music etc.

They might say there is no God and these things happen by themselves. Or they might say there is a God but rarely give Him a thought. They are too busy enjoying life, or coping with it, to see beyond to the Author of it all.

For the same reason they do not consider the meaning or purpose of life. They take that for granted too, just making the best of things according to their own selfish perspective. Some will even say that life is a burden which they never asked for, resenting rather than being grateful.

They have no consciousness of sin against God; they see no need to change the way they are living. This is the nine lepers and probably at least nine million Australians.

Today’s Gospel is usually seen as an exhortation to thanks, but it is also a wakeup call to deeper issues of our whole attitude and way of relating to Almighty God.

We have much to thank Him for, from the daily blessings we receive in this life to the far greater blessing of eternal life, the happiness of which will greatly exceed any happiness we have here.

The disposition of being grateful is necessary to be in a state of grace. If we are angry with God or indifferent towards Him it is very hard to be in union with Him. But if we are prepared to trust Him at all times (including when things go against us) we can then live in habitual union with Him (the state of grace).

The more we value something the more grateful we will feel. If we are conscious of our need we are inclined to be very grateful. Receiving spiritual graces can be overlooked if we are too focused only on physical or material blessings.

Many would be glad to have physical health restored but may be indifferent to having their sins forgiven. Yet the latter need is far greater, only not so easy to discern.

It is the same God who gives us all blessings – spiritual and physical. It is the same God who sometimes deprives us of one blessing for the sake of giving something greater still (such as when He removes a false attachment to lead us to a better knowledge of Him).

We cannot begrudge Him the right to decide what is best for us. We would not even have existence if He had not given it to us! The more simply and humbly we come before Him the better it works. We learn from that one leper who is immortalized for all generations as the model of humble gratitude before God.

Feast of the Assumption 15 Aug 2010 Sermon

2010-08-17T15:17:00.001+09:30

Feast of the Assumption 15.8.10 He has looked upon His lowly handmaid.

As we follow through the mysteries of the Rosary, beginning with the Annunciation, and finishing with the Assumption and Coronation of Mary, we can see that in a lifetime this humble girl from Nazareth travelled a long way.

It is always interesting to trace the lives of famous people and see what they were like early in life and how they arrived where they did.

Often it is a strong inner drive that makes them persist where others would give up. The Virgin Mary had strong inner drive too but not for her own worldly success. She did not want to be Queen or Empress or any title that the world could give. She wanted only to give herself totally to God; to be attentive in all things to His will.

It was precisely her lack of self-seeking that brought her so far. God could see that of all the people He had created Mary was the only one who cared nothing for herself; whose heart totally belonged to Him.

If we were all like that how much improved the world would be!

But one person like that was enough for God to fulfil His plans of sending His Son to be our Saviour. Mary agreed to be His mother, and then either was with Him or near Him at every stage of His earthly life, including the Cross.

Her role did not end with His birth, as some Christians would have it. She was a vital co-operator in God’s plans.

The entrustment of John (and all other disciples) to Mary at Calvary was not just a housekeeping arrangement by Our Lord; it was to give her full scope as Mother of each and all disciples.

She was to be the new Eve, the Mother who would convey life to her children; not physical life but spiritual; therefore more important.

She is highly and personally relevant to each of us. It is tragic and wasteful that she is so much neglected by most Christians; even these days by most Catholics.

Protestant Christians have always had trouble with her, thinking that any attention paid to her is honour stolen from God. Many Catholics have moved over to this way of thinking and are very reluctant to give her more than a passing mention.

Mary herself would be the first to say, Don’t honour me – if it were just a matter for her own gratification. But because it is God’s will that we honour her she would say, Do it, for that reason.

In honouring her we honour Almighty God. Every prayer we make to her she passes straight onto Him. She is the last person in the world to be competing with God. Others might retain praise for themselves, but not she.

She still thinks nothing of herself. She is truly humble, not just putting on an act. Thus the Magnificat prayer (today’s Gospel) speaks of God looking upon her lowliness and lifting her up. She is still lowly as far as her own spirit is concerned, but she lets God hold her as an example to the rest of the world.

And she is not just an ornament to be admired. She is very powerful in the spiritual domain and sends the devil and his legions scurrying. With what weapon? Humility! Her deep and total humility is the source of her power and is the ideal weapon to defeat the devil who (exactly opposite) is consumed with pride. The humble are directly in line with the power of God, being open to receive His help. The proud are unable to call on His help because they are in a state of disorder.

As we honour Our Lady in her moment of triumph let us call on her as often as possible. She has much to give, and will not refuse us.

11th Sunday after Pentecost 8 Aug 2010 Sermon

2010-08-10T16:32:00.001+09:30

11th Sunday after Pentecost 8.8.10 Hearing the word

At present we are having an election campaign, which is hard to miss! The air is full of words with promises, denials, accusations, counter-accusations.

And apart from elections at any time we are saturated with gadgets, phones, ipods... There is a concern now that people are dying on the roads because of too much distraction from these devices.

It may be hard to discern the truth out of so many words and so much sound. One could question whether there is any truth to be found, and some would say no indeed, there is not.

We Catholics believe that there is a word worth listening to; so much worth listening to that it is imperative it must be followed. This is the word of God. This is the one true word in the midst of so much falsehood. And this word of God says: Don’t listen to the other words, the babble of voices.

Don’t fall for the false philosophies that you will hear of – the ones that say that the human race is just one species among many, that there is no God, no order to this world, no purpose for being here. The ones that say that we have a right to determine our own way in this world and are answerable to no system of truth. The words which propose things we know to be immoral or against the will of God.

Hear the word of God – the ancient cry of the prophets. Thus says the Lord....
Hear and obey. It is an old formula and it still works. But as of olden times there are many who refuse to listen; who would rather kill the prophet than do what the prophet says.

In the Gospel today Our Lord heals the deaf man. We have always understood this action to be symbolic. He takes away our deafness; opens our ears - so that we can take in the life-saving word of God.

For the word to take root in us we must develop a certain discipline. We must prepare the ground to give the seed a chance to grow.

This is why the noise of the world is dangerous for us: it can stifle any chance we have to think, to find out the real truth.

The word of God is not always obvious; it cannot always be grasped immediately. To take in His word fully requires more than just something going in our ears. There has to be an engagement of the whole person.

We can keep Him at arm’s length; hear but not hear (as Our Lord said of the Jews). We can adopt a defensive attitude. ‘Whatever I hear or read I am not going to change what I am doing.’

We must be fully engaged. Like Our Lady – see how she was able to respond so quickly at the Annunciation. It was because she was already predisposed to hear the word of God.

So with St Joseph, who responded so readily to the messages he received in dreams.

We can be like that if we prepare the ground for the seed to fall. We can be willing listeners, ready co-operators.

Part of the overall balance is to avoid the harmful words, the wrong messages.
Not taking in too much media, dangerous ideas, false entertainment, or conversation etc.

We can reflect that the great saints of our Church history did not have radios, televisions, phones, computers etc. It must have given them more peace, and more time to think.

The less error we take in the more room for truth. We just need to make room for His word; let Him come among us; become familiar with Him. This is why we need to pray, to reflect on our faith.

We let His word determine the way we look at life. We then see that from all the words spoken there is indeed one that is true. We can find peace amidst the babble of voices; direction amidst the chaos.

10th Sunday after Pentecost 1 Aug 2010 Sermon

2010-08-03T13:44:00.001+09:30

10th Sunday after Pentecost 1.8.10 Pride

The first sin ever committed was one of Pride. Certain of the angels, falling in love with their own beauty, rebelled against God and became fallen angels (devils). From that time they have been tormenting us and trying to get us to do the same thing. And sadly they have a very high success rate.

The fallen angels had one thing right – they were truly beautiful; they were worthy of admiration. But to admire the creature while forgetting the Creator is a fundamental error and must always lead to trouble.

We must always acknowledge the Creator; acknowledge where we come from and to whom we hope to return. All things come from Him and all things are accountable to Him. He can be denied, ignored, insulted and many other things, but He cannot be made to go away. He is always there and no matter how much a being may rebel it is always God who has the last word.

By acknowledging Him I do not mean merely obedience; I mean praise as well. To give God His ‘due’ would be to sing for all eternity of His goodness – which is what they do in heaven.

There is a rightness about praising God which is borne out in the Psalms. Praise the Lord in his holy places: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to the multitude of his greatness. Praise him with the sound of trumpet: praise him with psaltery and harp. Praise him with timbrel and choir: praise him with strings and organs. Praise him on high sounding cymbals: praise him on cymbals of joy: Let every spirit praise the Lord. Alleluia. (Ps 150, for example).

It is not that God is vain, and needing our attention, as another person might be. It is just that there is an objective rightness, a right order about things, when the creatures praise the Creator.

The world would run a lot better than it does if this rightful amount of praise was offered. (Dignum et justum est).

Which brings us to today’s parable of the Pharisee and the Publican – respectively representing pride and humility.

The Pharisee is proud because, although he does certain good actions, he thinks himself responsible for his own goodness. He regards himself as self-sufficient; not properly grasping that anything good about him is only possible because the power for good comes from God.

The Publican is humble because although he has done the wrong thing he gives proper acknowledgment to God as the One to whom he must answer, and he re-connects with God, reconciles with Him, thus going home ‘at rights’ with God.

To sin is to deny God, at least temporarily. To ask His forgiveness is to switch back into acknowledging Him, to re-connect, and thus come more fully to be what we are.

We cannot exist properly without God any more than fish can live without water, or birds without air.

The proud do not think they need God. They think they are sweet enough by themselves. Atheists make a boast of their own self-sufficiency. They laugh at us for needing someone else to lean on.

But believers can suffer from pride too (such as the Pharisee). We can try to be good in our own way, and even if we succeed in doing something good there may be little or no merit, if God has not been honoured.

The motive by which we do our actions has a great bearing on how valuable or effective they are.

St Therese tells us that something as simple as picking a pin off the floor can save a soul if done for the glory of God.

So we must try to be good, and do good, all for God and His glory.

It is comforting to know that obscure, humble actions can be so powerful because that is what we are doing most of the time. We would like to do something spectacular to help the world, but we are usually thrown back on just doing the usual things, day in and day out.

We can make those things powerful by the proper attitude of humility. Even our repentance can be powerful by being genuinely sorry we have offended God.

Humility unlocks the full power of God. The first sin is reversed and all its ugly results begin to be set right.

9th Sunday after Pentecost 25 July 2010 Sermon

2010-07-27T17:02:00.002+09:30

9th Sunday after Pentecost 25.7.10 Divine punishment

Our Lord laments over Jerusalem which has missed so many opportunities to get things right with God but has missed them all. He foresees the destruction which will come upon them in 70AD.

Things have not improved much, one fears, in our own time. Repentance never seems to be a popular activity.

If destruction follows too much sin, then repentance does not always follow destruction.

In our time, if a disaster happens there are various responses, but repentance is often not one of them.
a) People will say that it was not God involved, but only scientific principles at work.
b) Or it will be said that God does not punish people in that sort of way (even though the Bible is full of stories where He does use nature or foreign armies to punish rebellious people. And there are countless other passages threatening such action).
c) Or some will say that if God does do such things then He is not the sort of God I want to believe in, and they will then leave Him.

It is true that God is love, but Love does not always follow human thinking. God loves us in a way that is designed for our overall good, and this requires sometimes that He take from us a lesser good to replace it with a greater one.

The greatest good we can have in this life is to know what it means to love God, to be united with Him; to be able to renounce sin so that we can walk fully in His ways.

This is the best thing for us, though it will not usually be our first choice. We will be tempted to seek happiness in much more immediate things, which may often be displeasing to God and harmful to ourselves.

He will intervene if He thinks it is for our good, and His interventions may seem quite rough to us. But He sees it necessary to remind us from time to time of the fragility of our earthly life and of how impossible it is that the things of this life alone can satisfy us.

So the odd earthquake or hurricane might be coming to a town near you...!

What must be our response? When we hear about how slow the Jews were to repent we are meant to repent more quickly. If others have been slow we will be quick.

We can do a great deal to decrease the need for divine punishment if we simply do what God is asking: Repent, Change the way we are living, Obey Him at all times.

He does not enjoy punishing us; it is a last resort for Him. This is why Jesus was weeping. But He has to do something to get our attention.

We pray for our own ongoing conversion to His will; and we pray for others to repent before the disaster not after.

It is said the people laughed at Noah for building the ark when there was no sign of rain. They laugh at us for going to church, for taking all this God-talk seriously. It is not so funny when a disaster comes.

We pray that the Lord will not punish us as our sins deserve. We pray that everyone will come to repentance in this time of mercy; the delay is to give us time. God could have ended the world a long time ago.

It is always a good time to repent, to start again. It is never too late if we are still alive, but any later than this might be too late.

8th Sunday after Pentecost 18 July 2010 Wisdom

2010-07-21T12:22:00.002+09:30

8th Sunday after Pentecost 18.7.10 Be wise in doing good

A very early story in human history is still relevant for today’s times. The Tower of Babel: men were becoming overconfident in their own abilities and wanted to build a tower as a monument of their own cleverness. God confused the tongues of men and so set one group against another as a reminder that without God there would always be one group against another.

In our own time there are many people who set themselves up against God and pit their own cleverness against His.

Presently in South Australia there is a parliamentary committee looking into the issue of ‘same-sex parenting', paving the way no doubt for same-sex 'marriage’. More and more places around the world are considering the same issue and increasingly laws are being changed to allow it. The strategy of supporters of the idea is to keep putting the question until the resistance to it is softened. It only needs a small majority of the public, or of politicians, and there you have it.

From a Christian point of view it is frustrating that things would get this far, that a topic like this could even be seriously discussed let alone passed into law. The only reason it is able to happen is that people have turned away from God; He is not acknowledged as Father, Creator, Lord; and in ignoring Him people think they are free to remake the laws of the universe, as though man is the highest agent.

If something is wrong in God’s sight it can never be made right by human legislation. People can be protected from courts and prisons, but not from the justice of God which must prevail eventually.

For ourselves, as believers, we must keep our own sanity and not be lulled by this process of erosion of moral values. Some Catholics are anxious to appear at one with the world and give up too easily.

Another thing we need to do is find ways of explaining to those who see differently why such things can never be right.

One level of argument: Simply, God forbids it. This is the first and last word. It may not satisfy un-believers, but it is true all the same.

Another level: Argue from the natural law. Certain things are wrong because they violate the nature of things. Killing babies or old people; engaging in unnatural sexual practices. There is a certain obviousness to these things.

If no other argument will get through we can try the Golden Rule: would you like someone else to treat you as you are proposing to treat them?

Some argue that if enough people do something it must be alright. This is Morality by numbers. There are some things that cannot be decided by vote. If it is wrong in itself then no amount of public approval can make it right.

Can we do anything to stop the rot? We can do various things: write to parliament, run for parliament, pray outside abortion places, go to lectures etc. Keep the passion and maintain the fight.

Just our general prayer and Masses are vital - to stay sane, to keep seeing clearly.

It may be we will suffer for these truths. Many have lost their lives before now in the defence of God’s truth. Others have suffered loss of employment, loss of friends, general scorn. The Catholic Church is the most recognizable defender of God’s truth and the most hated.

Temptation under pressure to give way: I was a Catholic until I saw the soldiers coming up my driveway... not now.

Today’s Gospel of the Unjust Steward tells us to be as clever at doing good as others are at doing evil. Our opponents are very clever at manipulating public opinion. We have to be as wise, without being deceitful, in explaining the real story.

Dedication of Cathedral 11 July 2010 Sermon

2010-07-13T13:48:00.001+09:30

Anniversary of Dedication of Cathedral (Adelaide) 11.7.10 (replacing normal Sunday)

One thing that we do as Catholics is adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. The Host is placed in a monstrance positioned in the centre of the altar and by its central position visibly draws to Itself all who enter the church.

This is exactly what Our Lord intends. He wants to gather all people, all nations to Himself, to restore the unity of the scattered children of God (cf Jn 11); to round up the lost sheep; to give sight to the blind and all those other sources of relief described in the prophecies (cf Lk 4 quoting Isaiah).

All who adore Him converge on Him, asking that He take us into Himself, into the depths of mystery which we cannot comprehend in our minds, but we know in our hearts it is where we need to be.

He exerts a centripetal force on all His creation to come to Him to be restored to its original condition (perfect) and freed from its slavery (cf Rom 8).

And that includes us. We are drawn to Him like a magnet.

He is the Centre of creation, the One who binds all things together, and enables all things (and people) to find their true place and purpose. (Cf Ep1 and Col 1)

It is in this context that we have today’s feast, the Anniversary of the Dedication of the Cathedral church in this Adelaide archdiocese.

Feasts of dedication of churches are considered to be feasts of the Lord Himself, insofar as the church building is His dwelling place.

The honour we pay to a church is honour meant for Our Lord Himself.

As He is the point of convergence for all creatures, so is a church built in His name, and especially the Cathedral church of a diocese.

In a diocese we build many churches so that people can get to one that is not too far away. But the plurality of churches does not take away from the single unity that should pervade each diocese.

In each diocese there is a Cathedral and that church especially acts as a focal point, a point of convergence for all Catholics to worship, and all necessary prayers to be prayed.

When we celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral we are reaffirming our own desire to be one with Christ; to converge on Him; and to pray continuously that all other people will find their way to Him.

We find Christ fully present here in this church as much as in the Cathedral; that is how well He caters for us. We do not have to climb up to the Temple as the Jews had to do; we worship in spirit and truth, and can do so fully in any part of the diocese. But we must acknowledge the Church is bigger than wherever we are, and make a spiritual convergence on Christ, the centre of unity, even if we do not make the physical trip.

There are many centrifugal forces at work on us in today’s world and we need to overcome them. There are many who will tell us that there is no central truth; no one saviour of the world; no one way to live rightly – it is up to each person to decide for himself. So the spirit of our age is highly ego-centred and individualistic. Never have we been so alienated from each other as a result.

In the name of a false freedom we are encouraged to find our own way on the path to meaning, to abandon traditional beliefs. Only chaos can result from this, and we have plenty of it as proof.

Today’s feast is a reminder that there is a Saviour but only one; there is a flock to which we are called, but only one. We cannot pick our own saviour but we can seek out the One who is real and calls us to Himself. We cannot pick our own church as though it is up to us, but we can joyfully take our place in the Church which He has established... the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church, to which we belong and whose unity we celebrate today.

6th Sunday after Pentecost 4 July 2010 Sermon

2010-07-06T15:32:00.000+09:30

6th Sunday after Pentecost 4.7.10 Does God matter?

Our new Prime Minister has gone public that she does not believe in God, or any form of religion. One analyst suggests that she will resonate well with the majority of Australians for holding this view because neither do they believe, at least not in any very serious way.

There are some people who do not believe that God exists.
There are others who are not sure if He is there or not.
There are others, a much greater number, who believe there is a God but who live as though there is not. (They can be called practical atheists; theoretically they believe; in practice they do not.)

Non-belief is often held up as a very reasonable and sensible position. It avoids the ‘excesses’ of religion, particularly of Catholicism, and enables people to pursue a sort of middle ground whereby we can have a little bit of all the various social evils: such as abortion, euthanasia, pornography, homosexuality ... without making any unseemly fuss.

Those who believe in God to such a degree that they would try to express that belief in moral or social matters are held to be fanatics, and dangerous to the common good.

The average Catholic is put under pressure by this prevailing ‘sensible’ view to relax our beliefs and moral standards and just go along with whatever society is doing.

We are allowed to believe in God, but not too much. Believe in Him only to the point that we can go to church if we like, but don’t take it any further than that. God must not be allowed to ‘intrude’ on the running of our world.

This makes a very strange, surreal situation for us who do want to take God seriously.

We find ourselves isolated not only from the world in general but even from most of our own Church – sadly most Catholics go along with the ‘middle ground’ approach.

The epistle today helps us to see the real reality, how things really are with God and the world.

St Paul reminds us that in baptism we have broken with sin, and from then on must live a new kind of life, a life dominated by the thought of God and the desire for heaven. This and countless other New Testament passages tell us that we have left the world and all its false and futile ways behind.

Going back to worldly thinking would be like the Israelites returning to Egypt once having been set free.

We hear this and accept it, but the practical application is another matter. We need to be very sure of our ground before we can go beyond a merely comfortable Catholicism, just keeping up enough observances to feel religious without actually being so.

Believing in God is not something that works by half measures; it must be all or nothing.

There are some things in life that have to be done completely or not at all. An aeroplane taking off is one example. If the pilots of a plane intended to take off only a little bit but not too much then the plane would crash somewhere for sure.

If we dive into the river we are committing ourselves to swim. Thus the waters of Baptism require a kind of diving-in, a commitment which is required for the whole thing to make sense.

But if we do commit then we discover the joy and fulfilment that is waiting for anyone who is prepared to take the leap.

We must go further; half-way is not enough and will never satisfy. Too much muddling around and we will probably join the world which is created by God but tries to pretend He is not there. We don’t want to go that way even if it does open up the way for better jobs or higher positions.

We ask God to make Himself known to us in such a way that we can be riveted onto His will and never in any way oppose or resist Him.

5th Sunday after Pentecost 27 June 2010 Sermon

2010-06-29T18:33:00.000+09:30

5th Sunday after Pentecost 27.6.10 Offering a pure sacrifice

May the Lord accept this sacrifice at your hands… Of course He will accept the sacrifice insofar as it is the perfect sacrifice of His Son, and every Mass is that.

However, there is another component to the whole process, and that is our own participation in the sacrifice.

The sacrifice is perfect but our attitude in offering it may not be perfect.

The Gospel today speaks of the need for us to be fully reconciled with one another before we can offer the sacrifice of Christ.

If we are to offer the pure and perfect sacrifice our hearts and minds should be also pure and perfect.

To the extent that they are not, the efficacy of the sacrifice is reduced. Christ is giving all of Himself to the Father and to us, but we are not in a position to be able to receive what He is giving.

We need to grasp the momentousness of what we are doing by attending Mass. A very great thing is happening on the altar; we cannot be half-hearted or distracted in our own response.

It is no light thing to ask the Father to forgive the sins of all the world, including my own, yet we do this at every Mass. Lord have mercy... Who take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us... my soul shall be healed...

If we would approach Him with such a request we must be fully engaged to do whatever we can to stop the flow of sin; to amend our lives where necessary, and also – since we are asking for the sins of the world – to forgive those who offend us; to have a merciful attitude.

May the Lord accept (this sacrifice) including us, this current crew assembled before Him.

Avoid any malice, unforgiveness, uncharity. What we have in our hearts must be consonant with what is happening on the altar.

Much harder than just ‘saying Mass’ or ‘going to Mass’ is this internal disposition.

A lot of power on the altar, waiting to be released. People can be cold and alienated, and quarrelling with each other – after Mass just as much as before. Obviously not meant to be like that. The Mass should change us.

The Gospel is saying: Before Mass be at peace. All the more so afterwards by inference.

If we took this more seriously; if we approached the Mystery of the Sacrifice with greater identification, who knows what that would mean for the world, but it would make a major difference.

Mass is not just a formality to be dealt with. One can go to an early Mass or a shorter Mass, but give it all you have. That is the essence of the Suscipiat prayer.

Participate: you could be sitting in the back corner but very much affecting and being affected by what is happening on the altar. You are making things happen by what you are thinking about, what you are resolving. You are realizing (making real) the power of Christ’s sacrifice. Charity, Mercy, Holiness – He will make these things happen in you and through you.

We will receive a lot more than we give insofar as God loves us far more than we love Him; however, if we give less than we have we are then clogging up the paths of charity and reducing the effectiveness of the Sacrifice.

May this Mass at which we are now present be the first of many more; each time growing in understanding and response to what is happening on the altar and how it affects us.

4th Sunday after Pentecost 20 June 2010 Sermon

2010-06-22T15:45:00.001+09:30

4th Sunday after Pentecost 20.6.10 Making a miracle

The epistle (Romans 8) refers to disorder in the universe. Creation itself is groaning. The problems in the world are caused by sin, which leads to alienation from God; which leads to things falling apart in all the ways they do.

Loss of faith can happen when we look around us and see the various things wrong with the world; and then somewhat deflated by what we see we conclude either that there is no God, or that He does not act when we ask and therefore there is not much point asking Him anything.

So a lot of Christians cease to pray and just let things take their own course.

This of course has the effect of reducing faith even further because with less prayer things will get even worse.

The words of Our Lord to Peter: put out your nets - even though it seemed improbable that anything would result – this is the key moment for us; that we can act as God tells us even though we may have our own opinions on what is likely or unlikely.

If we obey Him without question we can then see the wonders He will work for us. What if Moses, when told to stretch out his arms over the red sea, had debated with the Lord and said, what good will that do with thousands of Egyptians charging towards us? He did not debate; he just did what he was told and the waters parted.

Our Lady did not debate with Gabriel about his instructions, but consented rapidly and a Saviour was born.

Other times there was disobedience and the moment was lost: The rich young man who could not part with his riches; Judas who could not maintain loyalty to Our Lord.

Our Lord founded the Church, but He made it clear it would always be His Church. He would appoint human leaders (Peter and the apostles) but He would maintain overall authority.

This means that He would expect Peter and everyone else in the Church to obey Him at all times even when (and usually it is the case) we do not understand the full implications of each event or instruction.

He would always have the power to direct things, and when necessary by miracles to save the Church from destruction. Behold I am with you always till the end of time.

But He will not usually tell us exactly what miracle He will work, and He will often leave us to feel our human inadequacy in the face of trouble.

How easily and often we slip back to merely human analysis of problems and think the Lord has deserted us.

He is waiting on a greater level of trust from the Church which would enable a much quicker resolution of the problems we face.

See the self-fulfilling problem we make for ourselves by doubting all the time. We actually impede the grace of God from taking its full effect.

So we need remedial prayer. We need to pray so that we can pray properly, with real faith, and then see the wonders the Lord will do for us.

We need to pray for the faith which will not run dry at the first sign of trouble, but will hold firm in every circumstance.

The Lord promised the Church would gather in men like fish, would bring the whole world into the net of love which He had spread.

We find it hard to convert people, but we should not conclude that it is impossible. We need to let the grace of God go to work. Leave our doubt outside; come in here and pray like never before for this miracle of conversion (and any other miracles we need). It is all possible if God wills it so. Our part is merely to agree and obey. Put out the nets to catch what He sends us.

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 13 June 2010 Sermon

2010-06-15T15:18:00.001+09:30

3rd Sunday after Pentecost 13.6.10 The worth of each person

Having just celebrated the feast of the Sacred Heart today’s parable reinforces our understanding of God’s intense desire to save us.

That God would go to such lengths (Incarnation, Crucifixion) to save us shows that we are valuable to Him.

It is necessary that we understand our true worth before God.

These days a great deal is said about self-esteem; a lot of it is not grounded in Christian understanding. True self-esteem must be based on a proper relationship with God, beginning in humility, a sense of gratitude to God, of trust in Him, of putting myself entirely in His hands - what I will do, how long I live etc.

Ps 138: He has created me; He knows every thought, every move etc. I cannot hide, nor should I want to.

Recognition of God’s importance gives me true sense of my own importance.

God does value me and if so then I must be important. I could be despised by every other person on earth but if God thinks I am important then I must be. Not ‘hey, look at me, I’m important’ - as though better than others. More in gratitude that He has made me so.

And then, do everything to let Him save me. If the Good Shepherd is looking for me then why am I hiding?

People self-destruct through sin, trying to advance their position but really making it worse. The only way to make it work is to submit totally to His will... into Thy hands O Lord, I commend my spirit...

If I am important then so are you. I thought I was special but now I am just one of the billions. A man cannot have ten wives and give himself to each one as if he had only one, but God can give Himself totally to each person as though he/she is the only one. I do not lose any way because He also loves you.

No place for envy here. My own lack of self worth may want others to be kept down, but in His view He can give gifts lavishly all round and I am not missing out. I have everything I need for happiness. He forgives others, good. He gives them gifts I don’t have, good.

This is not a competitive thing in the same way as, say, the sporting world. I do not have to be better than you, only better than myself yesterday. If we must compete we could ‘outdo one another in showing honour’. (Romans 12,10)

We generally don’t like losing but if you are holier than I am then I should be happy with that. Whatever contributes to the glory of God.

Other people: we can find all sorts of ways of distancing ourselves from them. The attitude required: to want what is best for others - ultimately salvation, union with God. As far as possible happiness in this life as well.

So we become concerned for what happens to others. More concerned than just for our family or friends, and more concerned than just for physical or material wellbeing. Concerned for eternal life; wanting others to have what God wants them to have.

We become shepherds as well as sheep under this scheme. Notice that in the Gospel the angels rejoice. If we were angels we might not care what happens to sinners, but a real angel does have the mind of God and does care. We are moving into that frame of mind.

These days we talk of people ‘finding themselves’. They will do that if they place themselves with Christ. May all the lost sheep find their way home!

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 6 June 2010 Sermon

2010-06-08T13:33:00.000+09:30

2nd Sunday after Pentecost 6.6.10 The Eucharist the greatest miracle

The Eucharist is the greatest miracle the world encounters. Greater than a healing of an illness; greater than a raising from the dead; greater than a miraculous intervention in nature... because of what it is. The other miracles are all God’s doing something; the Eucharist is God Himself.

Yet because of its relative commonness in terms of frequency it is easily underrated and even taken for granted by those who believe in it.

So we have to pinch ourselves and really grasp that here and now right before our eyes is a miracle, performed in each Mass, and the best possible type of miracle in terms both of what it is, and the good it can do us.

What it is: bread from heaven. The most visible tangible link with heaven, a kind of permanent and visible reminder. If anyone is scratching around for a sign from heaven, some miracle, “if only there was some way of knowing”... this is it.

Now one might protest that you cannot see any difference with this ‘miracle’ so how do you know it is happening?

There are stories of eucharistic miracles, where hosts bleed or turn into visible human flesh.
But if one is looking for spectacular effects these are to be found in the Eucharist in the difference it makes to people’s lives. They will be able to live in a Christ-like way, loving God and neighbour, forgiving enemies, sacrificing their own pleasures for a higher cause etc.

This may in turn seem rather dull by comparison with some spectacular miracle of nature, but it is more useful all the same.

To enable people to live to the fullest extent of their human nature transformed into the image of God –this is the best thing the world could have. If everyone lived to the full power the Eucharist makes possible there would be no more war, crime, bashings, terrorist attacks, adultery, bullying and so on...in such a world. The remedy is right here in this church, on this altar.

The change in people may be gradual, and not always obvious, but overall the world is a much better place for having this miracle of the Eucharist.

This is what the Eucharist is. A quiet miracle that is not ostentatious to the sense experience and yet will work wonders (miracles) in the lives of those who receive it in the right spirit.

We can come to understand that the effects of this heavenly food are what we most need. So we hunger for this food and seek it out. If there were a medicine that would cure all illness and would enable one to live forever what would people not do to get that medicine? So we have it here, a small piece of food that packs a punch for all eternity, that will cure us of every fault and enable us to live forever.

In a sense one has to grow into this miracle. It is not obvious and instant like the more visible miracles but is evident only to those who have the eyes of faith.

Each time we receive this sacrament with at least partial faith, we can expect to receive more and eventually to become totally convinced of its truth and value.

We also need fortifying against the false and negative influences in the world around us. Many have lost the faith they once had through neglecting to maintain this essential nourishment.

So we are reminded on this Sunday after Corpus Christi of the great treasure we have. The Gospel speaks of a Banquet to which we are invited. Despite its humble appearance this bread from heaven is the best food to be had anywhere around here!

Trinity Sunday 30 May 2010 Sermon

2010-06-01T16:32:00.000+09:30

Trinity Sunday 30.5.10 Never enough praise

We can never give Almighty God adequate worship, never adequately state His true worth. This is because of our own limitations. We are so much less than He is that our attempts to describe Him are always going to be lacking. It would be like an ant trying to describe a mountain.

But as long as we enter fully into the worship we offer we are then giving Him all we have and that is pleasing to Him.

Also we can grow in our love for Him and this will happen if we approach Him in the right way. So, small as we are, we can get bigger in terms of our capacity to love God. We are drawn into His inner life and share in the infinite love between the Three Persons

We may not be able to explain it, may not be able to understand it, but we will be experiencing it. We are swept up into a greater love when we come into His presence.

That love will cure us of whatever limits we have brought on ourselves through sin: such as pride, malice, false gods, lack of vision. We are gradually and steadily set free from these limits and can become as pure as the angels as we sing with them in heavenly chorus.

Limit 1: Way we seek happiness. It is possible that we undervalue God Himself and overvalue some of the things He has made. So sometimes Heaven is spoken of a place of endless pleasure where one can indulge one’s favourite things on earth forever – be it drinking beer, playing scrabble, watching cricket. But the ultimate happiness of heaven is not any one thing or number of things but simply relationship with God. If that sounds boring it means we have not yet discovered the beauty and wonder of God.
God is so good and so desirable but one has to acquire a taste for Him. We have to move towards Him. The more we do that the more we discover how desirable He is. The saints lead the way in this. By God’s gift we can make progress in knowing and loving Him. We advance in our quest for Him.
Once we begin in this direction the doors will open, and our eyes too.
(Even in this life union with God our greatest happiness. We need love but people think they can love without God , cf the growing practice of people marrying outside of churches. People seek love but without God. It cannot work.)

Limit 2: Way we pray. There is need for absolute reverence when we approach Almighty God. He relaxes the rules for us to let us approach so close to Him. We must not become complacent about this. In the current day Church we find people walking all over the sanctuary, talking, laughing, eating in church. They have turned it into a marketplace all over again. There has been a loss of the sense of the sacred. We have become too ‘familiar’ with the sacred. We need to restore the Fear of the Lord without going to the opposite extreme of seeing Him as unapproachable.

Limit 3: Way we relate to each other. The fact of the Trinity teaches us about God’s own way of relating with Himself. He is Three Persons in perfect harmony and balance. There is no discord or hint of friction between the three Persons. This is mind-blowing for us because in our human experience there is always conflict even in a two-person relationship, let alone three.
But God’s inner peace is a strong sign to the human race that we were meant to get along a lot better with each other than we have managed so far.
Unity of heart at least is required. We cannot agree with everyone on every point. but we must maintain charity and goodwill. We want every other person to be in union with God and to be drawn into His light.

We can never exhaust the mystery of God Himself. Even in Heaven where we see Him face to face we will never reach the end of learning about Him. If we can never give Him enough praise, we can at least give Him more.

Pentecost Sunday 23 May 2010 Sermon

2010-05-25T15:36:00.000+09:30

Pentecost Sunday 23.5.10 Steady progress

Receiving the Holy Spirit can manifest itself in different ways. In the case of the apostles they were filled with great enthusiasm and went out to proclaim the Gospel to a large audience.

It does not follow that each Christian is meant to do that on every Pentecost Sunday.
We are not all called to such a public role, nor does enthusiasm always require such an expression.

It may be the Holy Spirit will come quietly sometimes and work inside a person in a way that is not visible to the public but will be noticed by the person concerned: for example, providing help to overcome a certain addiction; or the grace to forgive someone who has caused offence; or to move the person to greater generosity.

What is required is complete openness to the working of the Spirit so that each of us will respond exactly as He wishes. In this way He is able (as St Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 12-14) to animate the Body of Christ with each member doing whatever is most needed for the good of the whole Body.

Also needed is consistency, so that at all times we are doing whatever is required whether it be public and spectacular, or humble and hidden.

As with ordinary life - where most of what we do is routine, nothing startling - so in the Christian life we are not called everyday to martyrdom or to work miracles, but we are called every day to be kind, charitable, humble, obedient etc.

Steady-as-she-goes is the message. We do not try to set the world on fire but we very likely will do that if we maintain a consistent responsiveness to the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Humility goes without saying. We are not seeking self-aggrandisement. We are not looking for personal glory. It is all for the team, the overall result.

We are careful not to overdo things or let the fire of early enthusiasm burn out too quickly. Sometimes on being converted some disciples throw themselves into everything but after meeting obstacles of some kind will abandon the cause. We have to be stronger than that.

If we hear of certain saints that they did great things and endured heavy penances we may want to do the same things, but what made them saints was not their miracles so much as the fact that they also would have pursued a steady daily course, getting the little things right as well as the big ones.

Even the great saints would have spent much of their time doing ordinary things. They would have got those things right, treating other people well, guarding against anger, jealousy, lust and so on.

These days we often hear of public figures involved in scandals: routinely someone seems to be falling from grace. We are reminded that the interior life of a person does not always match the exterior.

It is much easier to have the outside right than the inside. Anyone can have a wash and put on fresh clothes. But meanwhile the inside can be full of corruption. (cf the Pharisees)

The Holy Spirit will help us achieve the interior holiness which is so necessary for our own good and the life of the Church.

It is easy to be thought good by others; our task is to be as good as people say we are. (Think of all those speeches they will be making at your funeral.)

What makes all this manageable is that we can take small steps. We don’t have to conquer the world in one day, just conquer one or two of our own faults.

The more right we can get our own individual selves the better for the whole Church. Every day let us call on the Holy Spirit to work in us, on us, and through us.

Sunday after Ascension 16 May 2010 Sermon

2010-05-18T14:24:00.000+09:30

Sunday after Ascension 16.5.10 In the Upper Room

How intense the prayer in that upper room must have been!

It is commonly said there is a shortage of prayer in the world. Of all the things going on in the world at any one time not much of it would be prayer. Many people never pray at all, and many of them would be Catholics.

We can speculate what would happen; what would the world look like if more people prayed? I suspect that we would have a very radical change on the face of the earth if this were so.

Prayer enables us to commune with God directly and as we do that we are drinking in the essence of life, of all that is good and clean and powerful. It is a purifying activity which will sweep away all sin and its effects. It is healing, transforming, life-giving.

All this assumes that the prayer is well done and with full sincerity. Hasty, poorly executed prayer will not do much good and may even be offensive to God.

The prayer has to be done in such a way that the one praying is really entering into the presence of God; really engaging with Him; ready and willing to hear whatever He has to say; ready to do anything He tells us; always trusting in His holy will.

Prayer like this makes us ten feet tall; gives us the strength of Samson, the courage of David, the fervour of Paul, the patience of Simeon, the humility of the centurion, the charity of the Good Samaritan... and every good thing needed.

Prayer like this will change us into different people because our whole way of thinking will be transformed. We will be less self-centred, less cautious for our own safety and comfort; more willing to be a flame consumed in the service of God.

The prayer in that Upper Room must have been of a high quality because of the effects that it produced. The Holy Spirit came down in all His power and worked a great change in the ones praying.

Perhaps some present in that room were better at praying than others. Not least Mary, Mother of the Lord. She would always have prayed with nothing less than total commitment, and her prayer would have helped ignite the others; also to sustain them if they were feeling discouraged.

She is still praying for us in precisely the same way and for the same reason.

We are in the ‘upper room’ ourselves as we gather together and look heavenward for strength, for guidance, for answers.

We are still asking the Holy Spirit to come even though He has come. We need more of Him. It is not any lack of giving on His part that leaves us needing more. The lack is on our side. We (as the human race) have not been fervent enough about wanting Him to come.

We have been either too distracted or too discouraged or too afraid of commitment or too selfish to apply ourselves to the simple remedy of asking a higher power to set things right.

And we have simply not believed enough in what we were asked to do. We have not had enough faith. So with all these categories there has been plenty lacking.

For all that is lacking we ask the Holy Spirit to make up the difference.

Even to pray properly – this must itself be a matter for prayer. The fulfilment of one prayer helps us to make the next one better still. So we keep improving.

We have to work overtime – we small band – because the great sluggish mass of the human race is not awake to these things. Not yet at least. We have to light a fire here, and that is what we are setting ourselves to do.

Mary, especially, and all the great saints in that upper room – pray for us. Pray that our prayer be like yours.