4th Sunday of Lent (C) 30 March 2025 Sermon

4th Sunday of Lent (C ) 30 March 2025    Contrition

The Prodigal son returns home, expecting to be scolded for his wastefulness, but in fact is lavishly welcomed.

Thus we learn of  the sinner’s need to repent; of the sinner’s hope of receiving mercy; of God's eternal desire to give mercy, and to restore the sinner to full status.

The process begins with the son realizing his degraded position. The move to repentance begins with an awareness of the damage that sin can do.

This is not yet full repentance but inclines one to that position. It may be only a kind of self-awareness. How could I have been so foolish as to get into this mess?

The son addressed his first problem: how do I get to a better place than where I am?

He was not yet seeing things from the father’s point of view. He felt only his own pain, not that of his father.

This parallels what the Church calls Imperfect Contrition. Our sorrow for sin is real but not yet complete. We are sorry mainly because we have put ourselves in trouble and are afraid of what consequences might follow.

It is a start, however, and one which enables further progress to be made.

The son, having got himself home, then experienced the welcome he did not expect. He was not even sure that he would get a position as a servant. Instead, he was treated like a prince - which we all are, insofar as we are God's children, and He is King.

Was the son grateful? We can hope that his experience of mercy would compel him to stay on the right path for the rest of his life. When we realize how much we have been rescued from, we can promise God we will never forget His blessings (eg The Lord remembered us in our low estate, for His mercy endures forever; Freed us from our foes, for His mercy endures forever; And gives bread to all flesh, for His mercy endures forever. Praise the God of heaven,for His mercy endures forever.” — Psalm 135 (136) and many other psalms).

We foster the gratitude which God deserves, and which we need to express. We are grateful to God, and grateful also for those who prayed for us while we were ‘away’, or while our consciousness of these matters was very hazy.

Eventually we can come to Perfect Contrition, whereby we are sorry for our sins, now for the extra reason that we have caused pain to our Father. We have offended His infinite majesty. We are more concerned for Him than for our own plight. That is a more generous position to hold. 

This is what Our Lord wants us to become -  sorry for all sin, and for the grief it causes to Almighty God (and all the company of Heaven).

We become more loving towards God as we interact constantly with His goodness.

This is what we are called to - not just ‘keeping the rules’ but learning to love the One who is  the source of all blessings.

God has programmed us to be receivers and givers of His charity, directed outwards to others.

We can renew our sorrow for past sins. We do not have to re-confess them, but we can express our gratitude to God for past mercies, and for the grace not to offend Him again.

We say it all the time; let us say it especially today – Lord, have mercy!

3rd Sunday of Lent (C) 23 March 2025 Sermon

3rd Sunday of Lent (C ) 23 March 2025 Relevance of God

Moses encounters the bush which burns but is not consumed by the fire. This puts us in mind of sacred realities which are beyond time and, as it is usually put - last forever. I am who am (Ex 3,14). 

Some think that God is irrelevant because He does  not always make Himself obvious. They live busy lives and then hide behind that busy-ness to say there is no God.

We can make our own world without God,  but it can unravel very quickly. Sooner or later it  must be seen for its shallowness.

A man once said of his adult children: They don’t need religion at the moment. He meant that  because they are in good health, and very busy with their lives, they have no time for God, nor even need of Him.

But where does this lead? Every man must stand before the judgment seat of  Christ  (2 Co 5,10).

Younger people as well, take note. Time is given to us to express our service of God. Whatever our age or circumstances we need to be right with Him at all times.

This is not meant to be a burden, but a liberation. If in step with Christ we have the key to all happiness.

God claims all seven days, and every minute of them; as He claims also all the other places besides churches. He claims the shops the squares, the ovals, the workplaces - everywhere.

Of course He gives a large amount of autonomy to our activities. He does not normally intervene in every detail. He lets us decide what we are going to do and will normally let things follow their logical course (which is why we are in so much trouble!)

For example:  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen. (Rm 1,24-25)

God has the last say. He expects us to understand that it is all from Him. We have to refer back constantly, in thanksgiving, in sorrow, in petition, always orientating ourselves to His abiding and overall will.

He is not an oppressive ruler by any means, being ready to give us more than we dare to ask (see the Gospel where He is willing to give more time to the repentant. (Lk 13,8-9)

We can help get the message out by being faithful and persevering in all weathers; keeping the lights on so that people can see where they can find peace.

We keep the spiritual perspective foremost. We still do all the necessary mundane things, but never to the point of forgetting the spiritual.

Part of our prayer needs to be atonement for the fact that God is so widely ignored and denied. Father, forgive them, they know not what they do (Lk 23,34). They are a stiff-necked people. (Ex 32,9)

It is a fight to the death for relevance. Our opponents want us to be irrelevant, and they will use any sort of attack against us, honest or not.

We have the same message as Isaiah and Jeremiah, as Elijah and Ezekiel: Behold your God! (eg Is 40,9). Come to terms with Him, or reap the consequences. In short, Repent.

The people either laughed at the prophets, or tried to kill them. It is much the same today.

It becomes a bit draughty for the faithful disciples. We can spend a lot of time standing apart from the majority. This has to be done until better times come. We stand with a crucified Saviour.

2nd Sunday of Lent (C) 16 March 2025 Sermon

2nd Sunday of Lent 16 March 2025 Supernatural

Our Lord reveals His glory to three of His apostles on the mountain.

It was not all His glory because that would have killed them; but enough to make a lasting memory.

One of the purposes of the Transfiguration was to give to those apostles courage for the coming ordeal of seeing Jesus crucified.

On that score the apostles were not outstanding in their courage because they all fled when Jesus was arrested, though Peter and John did come back to be within range.

However, the Transfiguration is for all disciples of every age. We need reassurance too as we encounter many difficulties in our earthly pilgrimage.

We tend to go too much by our sense experience – especially sight. I will believe it when I see it, is a common response to religious matters.

Yet we know our eyes can be deceived (mirages, etc) but we put more trust in them than in the testimony of holy men and women of two thousand years.

We can know things without seeing them. Nobody would deny there is a place called London. We can know that whether we have been there or not. We accept what others tell us.

On any non-religious subject there is that same calm acceptance, but when it comes to religion suddenly everything has to be visible.

Even the religiously minded suffer from the same problem. A very close apostle of Our Lord said the same phrase: Unless I see it I will not believe it (the Resurrection). Blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.

We should not insist on seeing to believe, but sometimes God lets us see it anyway, at least through the eyes of others.

Once seen, never forgotten, we could hope, but there is another difficulty. The experience of certainty can lose its grip on us over time.

If I saw Jesus on the mountain yesterday that would count for more than if I saw Him fifty years ago. For no reason except that we let that happen. We let our faith cool off and we cannot afford to do that.

We need to be wide awake and on the ball; be like servants who are ready for their Master’s return. He may come when least expected. (Mt 24,50)

To keep on the boil, we must pray every day and keep our faith front and centre, working on it like people keeping fit or learning a new skill.

We live in two worlds, the natural and the supernatural.

The natural world is where we have to make money and deal with a host of problems.

The supernatural world is above all that, as its residents contemplate the glory of God as a  matter of course. No one in heaven doubts whether God exists or not!

Freed from the cares of this life they dwell in heavenly light.

Heaven is another one of those places where people might say they will believe it when they see it. We believe there is such a place, because other people have seen it, and they tell us; or they tell others who keep the faith alive.

We have never seen an angel or a glorified saint or experienced the delights of heaven, but we can believe those things are real. God has willed them into existence, the same as He has done for us.

God wants us to trust Him, to come to Him with the pure faith of children, not insisting and demanding all the time, but humbly accepting.

All this we can learn from the Transfiguration, a momentary blast of glory, glory which is usually invisible but always there.

1st Sunday of Lent (C) 9 March 2025 Sermon

 

1st Sunday of Lent 9 March 2025 Temptation

We can look more closely today at Temptation, and how it works ,and how we might improve our response to being tempted.

The Devil has many ways to tempt us. There are two ways in particular that he can ensnare us into sin.  Flattery and Intimidation.

By flattery the devil tells us how good we are and how entitled we are to take things easy, so why don't we just indulge in one or two things which may not be quite by the book, but what harm can it do? Flattery appeals to our pride, laziness, lustfulness, gluttony. Why not take a bit more? You deserve it.

People will say: I am a good person, so it is ok if I do this thing.

This is self-flattery but it comes from the devil.

By intimidation the devil puts fear into us with the idea of paralysing our response. Intimidation is seen most brutally in time of persecution. eg Deny Jesus Christ, or we will shoot you… 

Intimidation would be seen also in peer pressure where others challenge us to follow their example, which might often be the wrong direction. Peter was intimidated when challenged about his association with Jesus.  

At various times we will be tempted to deny our faith or some aspect of our faith, which goes against the common opinion   eg to be pro-life, pro traditional family.

Satan tried flattery with Jesus this first time, working on Jesus’ closeness to God. You can do whatever you want… (Later at Calvary, it was intimidation. Come down from the Cross and we will believe you).

If one of us had been in that position and subjected to those temptations we would not have lasted as long, but Jesus was made of sterner stuff.

He had come as the new Adam, the leader of the new humanity.  He would save us from the Devil by exposing the latter's tricks and lies for what they were and giving us more substance to look for instead.

When tempted, Jesus shows us what to do by referring back to certain basic truths.

Man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

You shall not put the Lord to the test. 

You shall worship the Lord and Him alone.

He was thus not deflected. He was still walking that straight path before Him – the path to Calvary, and then to Heaven.

The devil works on our weak points, so that we come around eventually to what he wants us to think.

Like the Israelites we forget the Lord who brought us out of Egypt (Deut 6,12).

This is why we need Lent, as a season of re-thinking and  self-denial; a time to straighten out what has become crooked. A time to assert where we stand and resolve not to be moved.

Not only to give up sin, but in a way give up temptation too. Well, we cannot stop temptations coming, but at least we can send them where they belong. In the light of day we see them for the distortions that they are.

Hold firm against the devil’s flattery and intimidation, and we will come through the dark into light – a light that cannot be overcome.

Lord, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.

8th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) 2 March 2025 Sermon

8th Sunday Ordinary Time (C ) 2 March 3 February 2025 Mind  your language

If we were visiting the King or the President or other such important people, we would be careful to guard our language and pick the right words when called upon to speak.

As Jesus points out in the Gospel, the quality of the tree’s fruit will be according to the internal health of the tree. Good tree, good fruit (Lk 6, 43).

If we have our thoughts and attitudes in the right place, then that will mean we speak words which edify, which build up and not destroy.

Anyone can act the part if only for a short time. If something would startle us we might lapse into ‘normal’ speech. This is what we have to change – what we call  normal.

The test of  a man is in  his conversation (first reading -  Sirach 27,5).

What we say will come from within. We need the charity and wisdom that come from Christ . It can be alright to speak words of anger, provided the anger is justified and moderated by charity.

Imagine what Our Lady would have said. Or count to three and then say nothing!

We have to get all the malice out of the system, not just out of the language, but all through, what we think, what we desire.

So, for example, it is good to be honest and not to steal, but we must not even want to steal. The same goes for all moral obligations. 

Regarding language we not only avoid uncharitable speech but develop a preference for the  speech which edifies.

There are different aspects of speech we need to get right.

1) No obscenities or crude language.

2)  No harm done to others. No detraction or calumny. Whoever thinks that he is able,  to nibble at the life of absent friends, must know that he’s unworthy of this table. St Augustine)

It is easy to drag others down, but it lowers the whole standard for everyone.

If we are in a situation where we cannot escape gossip we can at least not contribute to it. And we can set a better tone.

People in Heaven might have fought while on earth but not now. There is no malice in heaven; no desire to talk others down.

Whatever would we talk about if we cannot talk about each other? We will have to find more useful topics!

3) In all things praise and thanksgiving to God. We use the same tongue to praise God and to curse our neighbours (cf James 3,9).

It might be argued that we are only human and therefore cannot comply with such exacting rules. God wants to make us copies of Himself, an ambitious goal, but it must be achievable

*********

Speaking of which we come to Lent this week. In Lent everything is magnified by way of giving us ways of concentrating on holiness.

The days of Lent have this effect if we let it take full course.

We are supposed to be good all year round, but Lent is a focal point, a more intense quest for getting all the details right.

It is something like Sunday where we take one day to summarise all seven.

We cannot give God anything that is not already His, (cf Ps 50,10-12). But He does appreciate the effort to get right with him.

And we don’t go back to old ways when the season is over. We might ease off on the penances but not the quest for holiness of life.  Good trees, good fruit.

7th Sunday Ordinary Time 23 February 2025 Sermon

7th Sunday Ordinary Time (C ) 23 February 2025  Generous Love

David spares Saul from death showing a merciful attitude and Saul is impressed ( I Samuel 26, first reading.)

This story suggests another one, in which we are involved. God could kill us but instead gives us time to repent and serve Him. Saul was impressed with David’s attitude; so should we be impressed with God's manner of dealing with us.

This kind of event (as in Saul and David) should bring out the best in us and that will make us generous to our enemies. [also story of St John Gualbert, 11th century – meeting his enemy on Good Friday and forgiving him]

I will treat others well even if they mistreat me. This applies to forgiveness and general charity. It is the way Jesus treats us in His crucifixion. We mistreated Him; He forgives us and intercedes for us.

The Golden rule: treat others as you would like them to treat you, not as they do, but as you would like (Lk 6,31).

We hope that others will do the same, but we do not let their behaviour derail ours. 

We pray for others to come closer to God, wherever they stand with Him now.

We desire the salvation of all, even enemies.

In today’s Gospel (Lk 6,27-38) the same theme  continues – that we love those who do not love us; we give without counting the cost; we bless those who curse us – and much more to that effect.

Why should we do this? Because it does a great deal of good, not least that we are thus learning to share in the charitable and merciful heart of God.

What was the good of Jesus’ forbearance on Good Friday? He could have broken free but He was trying to convince the crowd (there, and all other crowds) that this was the way forward. 

He had some success with the people who were there, but the real value of His action has come through to all generations.

What is happening to us? The potential of love in our hearts is being released. We feel a gentler disposition; we are being healed by the merciful love of Christ, and it is changing us.

We need this changing and we can ask for it. We need to get rid of the impurities in our hearts and minds. It may take a while, but it can happen.

This is better than violence. Sometimes violence is required as a last resort: for example going to war to reject an unjust aggressor. Or physically restraining a prisoner.

But this is not the best way; it is only to be used in emergencies.

We can achieve a kind of peace by mutual deterrence, and that is usually the best we can achieve. 

But far better if we could convert our neighbours, albeit that it is much harder. This is what God has taken on Himself to do, in calling us to live in union with Him and one another.

Each one becomes a Christ- like person having a merciful disposition towards others. 

We never sell short what one person can do in this field  because God will recognize a sympathetic heart and reward it greatly.

We are aiming for something that we often mention in prayer – that God's kingdom come among us, with all the associated blessings. No more hate, killing etc, only kindness.

In the meantime, if we cannot have the kingdom in the wider society we can have it in our hearts and minds. Lk 17,20-21

This teaching has never really been accepted. We have had saints, who live like this. Many would simply say it is too hard.

Not so hard if we have Jesus with us, enlightening and empowering us.

6th Sunday of Ordinary Time (C) 16 February 2025 Sermon

6th Sunday of year (C)  16 February 2025  Pursuit of happiness

Everyone looks for happiness, even if it be only a reduction of misery. We are built to pursue happiness, we could say.

Well, we are built to know, love and serve God, and that would be our greatest happiness, once we actually do that.

Not everyone knows they are meant to love God, and many do not love Him, especially if that love is understood as putting God first, ahead of all else.

There are many possible sources of happiness; some get further than others, but all will be inadequate if we are not properly grounded in God.

Even legitimate happiness is limited in where it can take us. We tire of things we had previously thought would be enough for our happiness; there is a certain flatness about achievement. I have climbed the mountain, swam the sea, but I still feel the need for more.

Our hearts are restless, Lord, until they rest in Thee. (St Augustine)

A lot of the time people are just grasping for whatever happiness they can find, be it moral or immoral. They do not have a clear objective; they are just flitting from one experience to another.

Live for today is one piece of advice. But sometimes we have to factor in tomorrow to make a good decision about today.

Take today’s Gospel, where we have Jesus turning things on their head as in presenting the negative side of things as the source of happiness.

So, happy are you who are hungry now, you shall be satisfied, or happy are you who are poor, yours is the kingdom of God. Or Happy are you when they persecute you on My account.

We can be happy even while undergoing hardships because any suffering we have in he service of Christ will be superseded by the greater consolation. I may be hungry and poor and friendless now, but I will be the opposite of those things for all eternity.

We come to see the pursuit of happiness not as an accumulation of one experience after another  but  a deepening experience of God Himself, leading us to union with Him.

This is a life-long project, therefore not to be abandoned because of apparent setbacks.

We must be careful not to fall into the same errors the unbelievers make. 

We learn to be patient in the workings of God's will. 

We live ordered lives, based on the calm certainty of God’s eternal and infinite goodness.

Then we are like trees drawing water (grace) from the stream (first reading and psalm). We never run dry and are always bearing fruit.

Sin, on the other hand, leads to desolation and desert-like conditions; holiness leads to greenery, and lots of it.

Yes, we have to make some sacrifices, but any serious pursuit of happiness requires that.

Even the secular world demands self-discipline (look at the athletes, for instance). 

We understand that the things that really matter are out of normal reach and require some effort to attain them.

We don’t mind the quest, as we see the great prize, coming ever closer.

Then we will be happy, and all the time and in all possible ways. It is worth striving for such an outcome.