20th Sunday A 16 August 2026 Sermon

20^th Sunday A 16 August 2026  Universal Church

A man in the gutter can still look at the stars. The foreign woman could still ask a favour of the Israelite God. And so she did.

We know by now that our God does not see foreigners when He looks at people; they are all His children. The hard part is getting them to realize it.

God's plan was to make the Jewish people the spearhead of His  programme to reclaim all humanity.

The plan did not work entirely well because of the disobedience of the Jews, but God had other ways of achieving His purpose.

He would gain the allegiance of the Gentiles and through them regain the Jews. This has been happening ever since the first Pentecost, and still goes on. Jews do convert, at least singly, and there will be more to come.

St Paul alludes to this in the second reading (see Rom chapters 9-11).  He is Jewish himself and wants so much to see the whole Jewish people be saved.

For us the Church takes over as the new Israel, so in that sense we share in the Jewish ancestry.

The main thing is that salvation is available to all who want it, and no one is excluded on the basis of race.

Our link is the Cross of Jesus Christ who offered Himself to make a new humanity in himself.

It has been a lot harder than it should have been and it is still hard, but it gives us hope to see the outlines of what God is planning.

A lot of the troubles comes from the devil, who hates to see anyone enjoying themselves.

As each person comes to faith that is one more worker in the vineyard, one more sheep regained, and the faith of that one person can be pooled with others and so the Church spreads its borders.

The stronger the Church becomes the more we can go out and baptize all nations (Mt 28,19-20)

Even if we shrink in numbers through persecution we are still the means by which God would claim His own.

Where did this Canaanite woman get such strong faith ? We are not told, but we see how it works.

She persists in asking and so becomes an example to the rest of us to do the same. There is a parable about that as well - the woman who stirs up the unjust judge until he comes to the right decision. (Lk 18,1-8)

God likes to hear from us. He does not grow tired like we do; He wants to see us coming up the driveway with more petitions.

The only stipulation is that we should be grateful for past blessing, and pray at all times, not just when we need something.

Instead of complaining about our lot, why not pray instead, and wait for the blessings to come rolling in?

This is why Our Lord drew this woman’s faith out, to show us what we should all be like.

We have just celebrated the feast of the Assumption, at which also we see the universal theme.

Mary is mother of all not just some. She shows in her body the extent of salvation which is possible. Our bodies will be glorified, no more pain or disability etc.

And no more black or white or any other way of dividing one person from another. All will be sharing in the same glory, one people  because one God.

A true mother will be prepared to take in a few strays. Ourt Lady is certainly so prepared and we derive the same readiness as we honour her and intercede to her.

19th Sunday A 9 August 2026 Sermon

19^th Sunday A  9 August 2026  God reveals Himself

When we studied poetry in school as part of the English course, the comment was sometimes made about poets, and why they made it so hard to understand their poems. Why could they not just say what they mean instead of putting it all in riddles, was the general complaint.

In the first reading today, we have Elijah looking for a message from God, and not finding Him where he expected – wind, earthquake, fire - found Him finally in a gentle breeze. (1 K 19,12-13)

That may not be what one would expect from the Almighty, who is capable of dealing in storms – either starting or stopping them.

A similar complaint goes up concerning God as for the poets – why does He  not make Himself clearer when He communicates with us?

It is because the more subtle messages have a way of getting through to the minds and hearts of  the receivers.

Our Lord used the parables for instance as a way of getting people to think. We start to see ourselves as directly involved in the story. Take the prodigal son parable. We could see ourselves as either the younger son coming back, or the older son feeling resentful.

We go from just hearing a story to being personally concerned in it.

A good story will absorb us to this extent. And there are many of these stories, and many other ways that God can make His presence felt – like a gentle breeze. (Lk 15,11-32)

God wants us to look more deeply at the bigger questions in life, and be transformed.

Jesus’ walking on the water is one such story. Why did He come this way to the apostles when He normally did such things under human limitations? He wanted to demonstrate His power to them, and show them - through Peter – that they could draw strength from Him to do the same type of  thing.

If we keep our gaze on Him we will  not sink. This could apply to the individual disciple, or the Church as a whole. We will come to a safe harbour eventually – if we hang on to the faith.

The message covers many topics – taking up one’s cross daily, following the Lord regardless of doubts one might have.

If it is He then we are with Him till the end. He says, Do not be afraid. Why not? ‘It is I’ is enough reason.

We see that God does give us signs of what He is thinking, and what He intends, but these signs are more like the gentle breeze than a loud storm.

He can demonstrate His power but more often He is speaking to us in quiet ways – keep the commandments, pray constantly, give generously etc,  and we will find God in the midst of those things.

We can do anything so long as it is according to His will.

Many reject God's  way of communicating, insisting on their own way that things should be done.

We cannot order God about. If we come before Him in a complaining demanding manner we will not likely make  much headway.

If we are humble and trusting we will receive a deeper faith, which will enable us to interpret more accurately what God is saying to us.

The mysterious element of God's  will, whereby He does not tell us everything straight out, will serve to draw us into His presence.

Some things cannot be said in a simple straight-out statement; they require time to sink in.

So we let them sink into us, immerse us in the deeper truth which we seek.

We give God all the time He wants, without telling Him what to do.

Instead we repeat, more or less permanently, the cry of Peter – ‘Lord, save me’ (Mt14,30)

18th Sunday A 2 August 2026 Sermon

18th Sunday A     2 August 2026      Eucharist as expectation

One of the things we learn when we are growing up is not to be greedy. If there are several cakes on the table we should not eat all of them; other people might want some.

This is a good lesson to learn, but there is one kind of food where the rules are different, where we should be ‘greedy’ but in a good way. This is the food that comes from Heaven, the bread of life.

Come to the water all you who are thirsty, buy corn without money and eat, and at no cost, wine and milk. The best things in life are free, as the saying goes, and it certainly applies here.

The miracle of the loaves showed the abundance of God’s blessing to us. There was a lot of bread left over. Everyone had enough to eat and there was still more available.

God is offering Himself to each person and the more of God we take into our lives, there is still an infinite amount left over for everyone else.

If I receive from God, I am not depriving anyone else of anything. This is the difference with this food.

God wants us to approach Him ‘greedily’, asking for every possible blessing.

Much of our prayer can be tentative. But God is infinite. We do not ask too much from Him, but too little.

We stop praying too soon. Not just in the number of things we ask for, but in the whole understanding of His blessings.

I do not say we should ask for millions of dollars; we can do better than that.

We should ask for God Himself. All the goodness, love, grace, happiness that God can provide – it is laid out for us like a feast on the table. Come and eat.

The more of God we take in to our hearts the more spiritual our understanding becomes and the less concerned for the physical and material.

This was Jesus’ message to the people. No, don’t see Me just as a bread-making machine, but see the miracle as leading you to something beyond.

Read the signs. He was showing the people there was more to life than they expected, and He was here to show them what it was.

If we follow His teachings, pray to Him, receive His grace in the Eucharist  - it would all come together.

Ask and you shall receive and it will be more than you ever imagined. Not millions of dollars but better still.

We are here now at a banquet. The Mass is a feast of God’s love and we can receive as much as we can take.

When we come to Holy Communion, ask for the sky. Material blessings, yes, but spiritual even more so.

Ask for God Himself. Ask that we will have the capacity to receive Him, that we will be open to all that He is offering us.

He is present in the host, but each person is a different encounter. Am I present for Him? Am I hungering for what He can give me?

We might hold back because we do not want to become too ‘spiritual’ or ‘holy’, but we will be glad if we do let Him take us to another level.

Holy Communion is such an important moment, but we can lose it in the short time that it takes, and we can block its full effect by our own limited expectations.

This is a time to ask for more.

There is enough, and more for everyone.

17th Sunday A 26 July 2026 Sermon

17 Sunday A  26 July 2026  All things working together

This Sunday we acknowledge and pray for grandparents and elderly. One thing the elderly have in their favour is that they have had the chance to accumulate wisdom.

Wisdom enables us to get everything in the right place and for the right reason. Solomon asked for it and was given more besides (1 K 3,9)

When we do not know what to ask for, when we pray, we can call on the help of the Holy Spirit and He will pray on our behalf. God speaking to God!

Today’s second reading tells us that all things work together for those who love God (Rm 8,28)

There is much we do not know or do not understand.  If we have at least the right will when we pray we can trust that God will detect our enthusiasm for the cause and the He will not let the prayer go unheeded. He will work the prayer around to what He Himself wants to happen.

On this basis we can pray as much as possible for whatever needs to happen, and the more we pray the more good will happen, even if we did not know what was coming.

When we pray we are going to the Source of all goodness and opening up more ways in which God can work with and through us.

We are all wanting certain things to happen (conversion of a relative, safe travel, the Kingdom of God to come, etc )

We bring all these to the Throne of grace and mercy, and He will co-ordinate it all.

We are operating like a good team which works together – each one contributing - and scores goals.

A good tree will bear good fruit, and cannot do otherwise. If we prepare ourselves right across all aspects of the spiritual life we can expect to have our prayers answered.

This will give us confidence in God; we will be more inclined to trust Him, and not be critical of Him for what He allows or disallows.

Shall the pot say to the potter, why have you made me thus? (Rom9,20)

Who would have the daring to question Almighty God? A lot of people, it seems. Many take the argument as far as abandoning their faith.

Others, who want to trust in God but cannot fathom His ways, will become discouraged and pray less, or  not at all.

We must persevere in our prayer, sacraments and good works. We do not allow discouragement to enter in because we understand the teamwork idea, that all can contribute for the good of all. And everyone comes out happy with that approach.

The strong should help the weak (Rm 15,1) and next time it might be the other way round. The ‘team’ that benefits we call the Church, the living Body of Christ, made up of millions of members.

Imagine the good that would follow if every Catholic would pray at the same time for whatever needs to happen. There are 1.42 billion Catholics. It would be a bit disorganised at first but the Holy Spirit would  bring it all into shape.

One of our troubles is to pray for those who do not pray!

To keep the momentum going is the idea - which is why it is good that we come here every Sunday or whatever time, but it is always on.

‘It’ is the communal and consistent struggle for God's  will to be done.

 Knowing what we know, why do we resist?

 

16th Sunday A 19 July 2026 Sermon

16 Sunday  A      19 July 2026      God and evil

One of the greatest difficulties people have believing in God is that there is so much evil in the world.

 The argument runs: If God is all-loving then He should not allow His children to undergo such suffering as they do.

And if He is all-powerful He should have no trouble eliminating all the evil.

The fact that evil remains must mean that God lacks either love or power, and therefore is not worthy of our trust or belief.

Since we do believe in a loving, all-powerful God how can we understand that He allows evil to remain in the world.

Today’s parable sheds much light on this. The darnel is allowed to remain in the crop until the final harvest. This translates as: Evildoers are allowed to remain in the world until finally removed at the last judgment.

Why does God do this? a) to give evildoers time to repent, so that they become doers of good instead. To bring people to repentance and new life is always one of God’s major concerns. As He tells us through the prophet Ezekiel: I take no pleasure in the death of a wicked man…. He wants the wicked to become good, to discover the goodness for which God created him.

 b) The process needs time. We all commit sins, so if God eliminated sinners, when would He do it? If at the first sin, we would all be finished. If not at the first fall, then when? Only God can answer how much time is enough, but we should be grateful we had enough time to get where we are now, and maybe we need still more to get ourselves right.

God gives a certain ‘tolerance’ to His creation. He offers mercy so that anything which is presently out of order can be set right.

He does not tolerate evil as such. He is not (as some think) easygoing, as though He could not care less what we do. He cares very much what we do, but is also merciful, giving us time to learn from our mistakes and get things right.

So we have the world as it is, with lots of things going wrong, lots of evil being committed, and apparent inaction from God. Is He asleep? Has He gone somewhere? No, He is just giving us time.

 And we have a part to play in all this. Firstly, to make sure we have our lives in order with God.

 Secondly, to believe in the possibility of conversion for evildoers. Some people seem so hard, so far gone that they could never change. But grace works miracles and miracles happen every day. We must believe in the power of God to change hearts. This will inspire us to work as apostles of His mercy.

Thirdly, we must take this as far as being willing to suffer in union with Christ on the Cross, for the continued conversion of others. Jesus went through His agony just so that undeserving, unlikely types would find life, and so they did.

This process is still going on. Once we know the benefits of salvation we are willing to go further to help others know the same thing. The joy of forgiveness, of having life restored moves us to heroic levels.

We take the same attitude to evildoers as God does; we love them; we want them to ‘get better’, like recovering from an illness.

Also like God, we do not tolerate evil per se; in fact we hate it. We are all for the destruction of evil, but not destruction of evildoers.

We want them to stay alive, and discover the new life of grace.

It is likely that many of us here have had a significant conversion. We cannot begrudge the same privilege to others.

15th Sunday A 12 July 2026 Sermon

15^th Sunday A 12 July 2026 The Word goes out

Almighty God created heaven and earth with a word, no ordinary achievement! If we humans were to make something we need material to turn into a different material object. We cannot create out of thin air, but God has done so.

All creation rightly give Him praise, except humanity, and fallen angels.

God wills that some of His creation understand what He has done, so that they can give proper thanksgiving – which we are hoping we can give. We lift up our hearts to the Lord  (Mass)

God wants us to participate in His creation, to make beautiful things, even more to help create a moral environment where love and peace would predominate.

And we could help bring God’s mercy into the world, also a kind of re-creation. What was not there is here now, and can grow in its influence.

The first reading (Is 55,11) speaks of God sending out His word and it would not return to Him empty, because His word has the ability to create from nothing, or to restore what has been damaged to be fully operational (such as a soul overcome with sin).

Which brings us to the Gospel, where we hear that there are different levels of response from the human family.

The word of God will get through but not before it has been ignored, disobeyed, watered down and otherwise resisted. All these things can interrupt the flow of God's healing power, and make matters much worse than they needed to be.

We think the world looks like it does because that is what it has always been. Not so. For a time there was Eden, where there was no pain or death, no accidents or disasters – everything was in perfect order with God and with everything else.

But then sin came into the world and all that harmony was lost, not completely but it was a major loss.

God became Man to rescue us from the damage our sin had caused, and this is where we find ourselves.

Every day in every place a battle goes on between good and evil, the good seeking to restore the links with God's creation, and the evil trying to make matters even worse.

We see the evil at work in people who try to persuade us that there is no God, no greater intelligence ruling the universe, but only we humans have to run it ourselves.

It comes to us to listen for God's word and help to put it into practice.

If we pray to Him for mercy, guidance, grace and all related qualities we will be doing ourselves a lot of good and also helping to set creation free (second reading, (Rm 8,19-23))

Thus we come to our true dignity as sons of God, and achieve the status of the fourth group in the Sower parable – those who hear the word of God and keep it, and bear a harvest, some thirty, some sixty and some a hundred.

Then we go on yielding fruit, with no limit of time or capacity. In Heaven we not only contemplate God in His glory but we do this in increasing amounts.

God shares some of His infinity with us and we continue even after death to create with Him. Maybe we make things in Heaven, but primarily the sharing with God’s creation would be manly concerned with salvation. We seek to save as many souls as possible, by intercession, in Heaven and on earth. 

14th Sunday A 5 July 2026 Sermon

14th Sunday A   5 July 2026    Gentle Jesus?

I heard a report some years ago that women in the black American population were encouraging their husbands to become Muslims. The women perceived that the men might find Christianity too weak a religion, with its insistence on turning the other cheek, on forgiving the offender etc.

But was Christ a weakling? And it is He that Christians follow.

Jesus did on one occasion, certainly, use physical force (expelling traders from the Temple (Jn  2,13-16). And on several occasions He spoke sharply to the Pharisees (Mt 23). He was not afraid of people, not afraid to speak His mind.

In fact He showed extraordinary courage in facing death so calmly. Even more so, when it was a death He could have avoided, either by human prudence or divine intervention.

Jesus was always in control of Himself, and of the situation. He was certainly not weak in terms of lacking influence or control.

What then is the perceived weakness in our religion, and how can we understand it?

We understand that Christians should not use physical force to achieve their ends unless the force is necessary, as for example, to repel an unjust aggressor, or to inflict a just punishment.

This is not weakness, but strength. To be able to control our passions to this extent shows strength of character.

It means that we (with Christ as our model) can find the right response in every situation.

Not every situation requires the same treatment. Christ was severe with the Pharisees and gentle with the woman caught in adultery (Jn 8, 1-11). It was not that He was in a bad mood one day and a good mood the next. He was dealing with each situation in the best possible way.

Our attitude to every other person is one of good will. We desire what is best for each person. Ultimately this means their eternal salvation. In the short term it may mean a whole range of things, but always with the other person’s good in mind.

It is not just in our actions that we are moderate, but in our attitude as well.

We do not hurt people physically, nor do we want to hurt them. This is another level of gentleness.

We do not hate, do not resent, do not seek revenge. All of this we learn from Christ.

Father, forgive them; they know not what they do. (Lk 23,34)

Is this weakness then? No, even more so this proves strength of character and self-control. If we can control our thoughts and feelings we can control anything.

Jesus could control His thoughts and feelings and He is teaching us how to do likewise.

He was gentle, but not weak. He was fiercely attached to the right and good. He always did what was right. He always sought the ultimate good for all concerned.

He was a far stronger and far better person than anyone else around.

If that is weakness then let’s have some more of it!

We do not have to let people walk all over us. We are entitled to defend ourselves and to restrain aggressors. We are entitled to put our case in a dispute.

But at all times we act with self-control, and with a view to the welfare of the other parties.

Certain saints have been robbed and been more sorry for the robbers’ souls than for the damage done to themselves.

So if we find robbers have been in our house, are we more worried for the soul of the thief than for the value of the goods. Can we rise to that occasion?

In any case it is not weak to aspire to that level of charity. And Jesus was like that all the time.

Let us be Christ-ian, Christ-like and take up a really strong religion.