2nd Sunday A 18 January 2026 Sermon

2^nd Sunday of year  18 January 2026  Lamb of sacrifice

St Maximilian Kolbe is known for his death, which was a heroic self-sacrifice for the sake of giving another prisoner the chance to live, that other prisoner having a family.

Christ Himself sets the pace: ‘God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. ⁹ (Rm 5,8)

Christ not only took up human life but laid it down also, sharing our pain to make it bearable for us.

There is the Lamb, says St John the Baptist. (Jn 1,29). Look at  him, not just with the eyes, but with the heart and mind, taking on His nature and being formed to be the same.

No more animal lambs to be sacrificed, from now on one Lamb, perfect and sufficient for atonement with God.

Christ died only once but His death is enacted all over the world, and every day.

We do that to enter the experience and be transformed as we do so.

At each Mass we contemplate the death of Christ taking the place of sinners.

Imagine if every disciple of Christ were as ready as He was to do this?

What about us? We pray for increase of generosity, compassion, courage etc. We just want to know God better, to be willing and able to do as He did, to have enough charity in our hearts to make sacrifices for others.

St John puts it very clearly: 1Jn 3,16 and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. He makes it sound easy! And it will become easy once we get into the right channel.

He who loves his life will lose it, while anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life  (Jn 12,25)

That Christ loved us first gives us hope that we can master this point. The love He generates has saved many people and inspired many others, including us.

God the Son took on human nature with the view of improving it, of bringing forth more saints.

He takes away sin, as in St John the Baptist’s phrase, the sin of the world.

Sin is selfish and closed in on self, trying to save physical life, the sinner will lose the lot (most of all, the soul).

Offering sacrifice for sin requires all the opposite good qualities - generous, concerned for others, trusting in God, spiritually minded.

Sacrifice removes sin by taking away the guilt of the sinner. Better still there is another level whereby sacrifice restores the love that sin has removed.

The perfect sacrifice of Christ makes a new reality, and is pleasing to God who lavishes graces on the world

The sin is forgiven and then is replaced as the normal way of conducting this life.

We no longer want to sin  nor have any inclination for it; this is why sin can be said to be ‘taken away’.

The Mass is offered primarily to continue the sacrifice of the Lamb in every place and time.

We are asking that God will give us the necessary graces to become like the Lamb we offer.

Baptism of the Lord 11 January 2026 Sermon

Baptism of the Lord 11 January 2026  Identification

God takes the initiative in saving us. He comes without asking our consent, proposing to do certain things which would benefit the world, even it that world is not asking for it.

Of course the world asks for things that it needs, like peace, food, safety, but our Lord wanted to take it further than just meeting material needs.

He wants to save people by enabling them to become like Him: That we may come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity (Offertory).

God the Son would present those He could capture to God the Father, and that is how the great divide between divinity and humanity would be healed.

Our true nature restored, we would be able to share in the inner life of the Trinity.

The Father will accept whomever the Son brings. The Father welcomes the Son because He is at one with Him.

We welcome someone we love if we see them coming up the path. If they have other people with them those other people will be welcome too, because of their identification with us .

Complete strangers you might reject, but if you see the Beloved in there the whole group  takes on a more favourable note

The Son gathers as many as He can, and wants to take them home to the Father. Whether or not they will let  themselves be taken is the whole issue that we have been struggling about ever since the Fall.

Jesus leads the way, and some will follow. People can change positions. One initially agreeing can be lost; one initially resisting can come to accept.

We are caught up in this huge struggle, for our own individual souls, and for the human race as a whole.

The issue comes to our degree of identification with Jesus Christ.

Seeking to gather a people to Himself He leads the way into the water, indicating baptism in water will be part of the process.

Christ has no need to be washed clean from sin, but the people He is gathering will need it.

Jesus shows the way. This is what we will have to do.

When we come to be baptised it is to express our identifying with Our Lord, at the same time seeking to deepen that identity.

We are saved by being changed into the likeness of God the Son, approved as we do that by God the Father.

This means we act like Jesus Christ, not in the way of working miracles but in terms of charity and mercy.

We learn to see things as Jesus sees them and respond accordingly.

This way the Body of Christ becomes bigger, with more members yet no loss of fraternal union.

God wants to save as many as possible, and this is how it happens, individuals joining themselves to Christ as the centre of all life. Tree and branches (Jn 15,1-8)

The word ‘baptism’ means ‘immersion’. To be immersed means to be covered in whatever the substance is, in this case, the charity of Jesus Christ. To be as much like Him as we can be, this is all foreshadowed in Our Lord’s Baptism.

Baptism is a dying and a rising (Rom 6, 3-4). If we die in Christ we shall rise with him. The passing through the Red Sea is evoked as we travel from one state to another, to a much better state as we become more Christ-like.

Water cleanses and gives nourishment – a strong image of what awaits us in the spiritual world, cleansed from sin, enabled to live well.

Epiphany 4 January 2026 Sermon

Epiphany 4 January 2026 One Savior

The word ‘adorable’ is often used of babies. The Baby we are particularly concerned with today is the most adorable by a long way, and in the full sense of the word – valued, trusted, obeyed, exalted, inviting and compelling our response.

For He has come from Heaven to dwell in our  human condition and save us.

No other god can do this or has done it.  Only this Child can receive our full adoration and obedience. 

Is it too much to ask that all honor and glory go to Him? He has come among us but has been largely undervalued.

Some will say He is just one more saviour among others. He is not meant for everyone. Every country or culture has its own gods, its own ways. Why single out Jesus Christ?

Because He is God and the others are not; He exists; they do not.

Look at it this way:  We believe in one God, Creator of heaven and earth. He made the lot, all that is seen and unseen. It all comes from Him.

If the world were ten times bigger than it is there would still be one God, big enough to know everything, and have the power to deal with it.

National distinctions crumble here. We cannot say, I am from another culture and therefore do not need Jesus Christ.

You need Him and you have Him, and this is His own teaching: I am the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14,6);He who is not with Me is against Me (Mt 12,30) or Go and baptize all nations(Mt 28,19-20)

God has created us to share His glory. Not because He was lonely but because it is in His nature to give, and keep giving.

He has enough love and power to look after all the billions whom He has made.

To put His plans into effect He came among us in this surprising way, to be born at Bethlehem.

Some people caught on, the shepherds and the wise men, and later, people of every generation. Some at least.

The message does not get any less important or less relevant.

So we keep the message current to our minds by means of our worship. We express the goodness of God, just as we are receiving from that goodness.

He sends us out as His ambassadors, at which we are not always very good, and for which we ask His pardon. The limitations of His followers do not take anything from His truthfulness; it just makes it harder to convince others. We ask Him to help us to do a better job, to be our strength in weakness. ‘We I am weak, then I am strong…’ (2 Co 12,10).

The wise men were humble enough to bow down to what looked like a powerless baby.

They discerned the hidden greatness.

Our Lord wants us to do the same. He wants our submission, but always voluntary.

The more we submit, the better it is for us because we take on the qualities of the Baby, the Lord.

The Epiphany is not new for us, perhaps, but our response needs to be refined. We give Him first place in a world which has many claims upon us. He is the first and the last – the Saviour -  only one, but in this case, one is enough!

Holy Family 28 December 2025 Sermon

Holy Family 28 December 2025

When God created the human race He also created marriage. Adam and Eve had no choice but to marry each other; but then again they would have wanted to do that, as each had many perfections (before the Fall).

God's will in establishing marriage was to propagate the human race, for one thing, and to give His children a framework in which to learn about everything important in life. In family life we learn lots of things, such as to give as well as receive.

God teaches us how to live in community; how to put up with the faults of others; how to learn to be unselfish, as we come to realize that the world does not revolve around me.

Family is character-building. Many things could be called that, but family would have to be near the top of the list.

Love one another, as I have loved you, said Jesus (Jn 13,34).This refers mainly to agape love which is working for the good of the other person. Not very romantic but very useful. This is the love all Christians must have for others.

Family life should teach us to shed selfish behaviour and find a corresponding generosity. We forgive those who trespass against us.

So much of the New Testament addresses this point. Cf today’s second reading: forgive each other as soon as a quarrel begins. (C0l 3,13)

We have the Holy Family to inspire us and teach us.

It might be said, we cannot live life like they did. But we can get closer to them, and close enough to be able to say we are living in the light of the Gospel. The immense holiness of that family can overflow to other families seeking something better.

If every house in my street is fighting and falling apart all the more do I seek to do things God's way.  We can make it a lot easier if we just try to get the next thing right.

The role of the traditional family is questioned today. As it is based on the nature of God, the family will always exist, for better or worse!

The Church has always asked of families to nurture their children in faith, for the sake of those children and also to benefit the Church into future generations.

It takes a long time for a baby to turn into an adult, to find and apply their many gifts.

We cannot stand and watch a tree grow, but we notice when it has grown.

This is another lesson from the Holy Family: they had their moments of having to move quickly (Flight into Egypt), but most of their life was hidden and unspectacular.  Waiting for the ripe time, then following perfectly the will of God.

This tells us that we do not expect fireworks every day; most of what happens is slow and almost invisible. But look what the Church is now, and trace that back to the Annunciation and a stable in Bethlehem.

Read the signs, and respond. Those who rebel against God and His designs will find only frustration.

If we hold firm to trust in God, even if we do not know what is coming precisely, we will see better days.

We see the difficulties; we do not admit defeat. We keep before our eyes the Holy Family, drawing all that is good from them.

We pray for family life, for all the crises which have to be navigated; for a clearer understanding of Church teaching on faith and morality, both within the Church and in the wider society. Most of all for that agape charity which is so central to all other aspects of life.

Jesus, have mercy on us; Mary and Joseph, pray for us.

Christmas Day 2025 Sermon

Christmas Day 2025 Christ every day

There is a song which asks ‘Why can’t  every day be Christmas? If we feel this good on one day, why not all days?

The song is assuming that every house is experiencing joy. There is so much that is good and desirable about Christmas, why can we not have the same things every day? Especially that people get along while peace and harmony reign.

Christmas conveys a set of ideals that we wish would be established in practice – could be, should be, must be  - as expressions of all the good there is, or can be achieved.

We could be cynical about Christmas, dismissing it as just ideals and only ever that. The human race will never (in this view) rise above its present level – hatred, violence, exploitation etc.

We point to the Crib in Bethlehem and say, as long as we have that scene our hope will never be exhausted.

If we have the Christ Child we have God and all the power and goodness that flows from Him. Nothing negative or evil can find a place in His presence.

The main reason humanity has been unable to put the ideal into practice is that we have not yet, even yet, given God the full recognition that we need to make.

We say that God is not listening to us, does not care – it is really the other way round. We are not listening to Him.

He has the will and the power to save us.

And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins (Mt 1,21).

He does many things for us but most of all He saves us. Saves from what, we might say?

Most of all from Sin. Sin is a state of alienation from God. Jesus removes that alienation, fills the gap, the void which sin leaves between the sinner and God.

Jesus in His humanity loves God and takes the human race to the heights that He has reached, enabling us to fill the emptiness caused by sin.

We love God more in proportion as we are freed from sin and its attachments. Sin is replaced by Grace, the life of God, the goodness of God, shared with us.

So at Christmas we look at many aspects of our world which are not joyful or peaceful; but we can apply to all difficulties the grace of God, which sets all thing right.

Hearts and minds are changed as we are exposed to such goodness. We are healed at the deepest point where sin takes root and that makes Christmas happen right inside us.

We may not have the trimmings of Christmas every day, but we can have Christ dwelling in us and transforming us.

Not Christmas every day but Christ every day! And that is better still.

All that is necessary is found in Him; all we have to do is ask for it to come upon us. The grace and mercy of God will set us free.

We see that we are not just wishing for better things but actually helping to bring them about.

We dare to hope for more than one happy day a year!

God loves us; we love Him in the strength of that love. The stronger the flame we offer Him the better all the other things in our world will dispose themselves.

In reverence to these great truths we wish each other happiness, and for ever. Happy Christmas!

3rd Sunday of Advent A 14 December 2025 Sermon

3^rd Sunday of Advent A 14 December 2025  Keeping faith

Happy is the man who does not lose faith in Me  (Mt 11,6), says Our Lord, on referring to John the Baptist.

He was calling on history up to that point to remind His listeners (and us) the sort of service God had been providing.

He had put the world in place, created humanity, set everything to work as it should.

He made allowance for human rebellion against His creative will, and to help further He took on human nature; then dying for us, then rising to new life, then (still to happen) a glorious return to reward those who ‘have not lost faith in Him’.

Our job is to stay faithful, and one way we can do that is to have a lively and imminent sense of history; to remind ourselves daily of the wonders of God, and thus to keep our faith at an active level.

We do not treat the stories in the Bible  as ‘long ago and far away’ and therefore out of our concern. Just because a story is old does not necessarily make it any less true or any less relevant.

When God speaks, the word stays spoken. My word does not return to Me empty, says the Lord. (Is 55,11).

This is why we have Liturgy, and why we have biblical readings in the midst of our ceremonies – to call us back to truths which might at first appear too good to be true; but as we make them a part of our lives, they become enlightening to us.

When God delivered Israel from Egypt, for example, that might seem a long time ago to us, but it comes alive for us every year at Easter, and even every day, as the Mass is offered.

We retell these stories and we let them take hold on us. They remind us of the generosity of God and of His constancy. He does not grow tired or weak; nor does He forget His promises and overall purpose.

This is what Jesus is reminding the people of His time. Tell John what you have seen and heard, the lame walking, the blind seeing etc (Mt 11,4-5).

And you will see a lot more than that. Those things are just symbols by comparison with the plans still to be fulfilled.

Our beliefs are bold, but they are not pulled from thin air. They are based on historical events, and even more solidly on the impeccable nature of God Himself.

Truth itself speaks truly, or there’s nothing true (St Thomas Aquinas)

Specifically today, the Church invites us, not just to stronger faith, but a sense of the pure joy with which we can grow in that faith.

The redeemed shall return, with everlasting joy on their faces - in such a way as never to go back to the old ways and the wrong ways. (Zeph 3,20).

We are free from the slavery of sin and the degradation that goes with that.

We have been lifted to a higher level, because God has come down to our level, and takes us with Him as He returns to Heaven.

We have never seen a world without trouble, but we can easily see that if everyone suddenly started obeying Almighty God the world would set itself right very quickly.

We may not be able to imagine it but we can desire it.

So we rejoice, on this Sunday (Gaudete Sunday).

Tell John what you have seen and heard, and tell each other, and anyone who will listen!

 

2nd Sunday of Advent A 7 December 2025 Sermon

2^nd Sunday of Advent A     7 December 2025 Expectancy

The Bible is a very long book. One reason for its length is the necessity of preparing the

human race to receive what is promised. The human  race takes convincing that they are that lucky.

When people receive a phone call to say they have won the lottery there is always that sense of disbelief. You must be joking etc.  Gradually it sinks in.

Think of the prodigal son who got more than he expected. He was just going to slink in through the back door trying to escape notice and he was greeted with great fanfare.

He received more than he expected, more than he dared to hope. This is our position in relation to God. We know He wants to bless us in a general sort of way, but we have trouble grasping the scale of what he has prepared for us and is still promising.

We would settle for less, but we get more. Eternal life, no more pain or suffering, paradise like conditions wolf with lamb etc first reading.

Good news can be taken by stages and then is not so much of a shock. You had better sit  down before I tell you etc.

That is why the Bible is so long; God wants us to understand His blessings to us in the context of his overall plan.

Plus, we see over centuries not only the original plan but how much rejection God would receive, just for trying to save the world!

Within the Bible there are many colourful characters who fill out the scene  One of the most important is John the Baptist.

He is the greatest of the prophets (Mt 11,11) and the closest to the good news which is being prepared.

He fascinates the people  such that they want to see and hear him. They think he might be the Messiah, so impressive is he.

He replies that he is not worthy to tie up the real messiah’s shoelaces (Mt 3,11). He eases the people in, to expect more and even better good news.

There are two parts to how he does this:

One is to offer forgiveness of sins to those whom he baptises.

The other is to offer a change of heart to those who really want to learn.

God wants to bless us in these two ways – to take away the guilt of our sin and to let us stand upright before Him.

And then to give us a new heart (cf Ezekiel 36,26) so that we will no longer have any desire to sin.

We have been restored like the prodigal son. Expecting to be thrown out we are welcomed; expecting to re-offend we are suddenly able to see things in a new light, and we sin no more.

Not only are we allowed into the house, but we can live like royalty. And we can all be like this. Everyone is a winner in Heaven.

Even the pharisees had an opening … brood of vipers even you can be a part of this blessing Mt 3,7).

Christ could have come anyway but better if the people had some preparation because they were not used to things going so well.

Hou much do we dare to hope for? Many would settle for too little.

If it is really true, then we are luckier than we would have ever dreamed of being. We have a foretaste of it in this life but there is much more to come.

We did not expect the Incarnation of God as Man, but having received it we can respond.

We cling to what we know, so we are gradually extricated and prepared for our proper state.

We are that younger son, this time getting it right!