12th Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 21 June 2026 Sermon

12th Sunday A 21 June 2026 Security

We are exhorted not to fear in today’s Gospel (Mt 10,26)

God will look after us as He does for the birds of the air and beasts of the field..

Yet we see that there are times when a Christian is not safe. For example, times of persecution when many can be put to death.

Do not fear those who can kill the body (Mt 10,,28)  Jesus says.

We are not guaranteed physical safety, though if we pray for it we are more likely to receive it.

But the real battle is fought elsewhere. Jesus is talking about spiritual security, to be safe from sin and spiritual death. This is where it really counts.

Freedom from sin can be translated as  the presence of grace, the life of God, the goodness which He emanates.

He loves me, this much we know, but do we love Him? That is where the attention has to be fixed.

We cannot seek just physical and material blessings from God, but must go further in our union with Him, to live as He wants us to live.

Without fear means without sin. Perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4,18).

Our prayer and receiving of sacraments will not necessarily lead to a reduction of pain. We see the saints prayed all the time and with great faith, but it usually meant for them more pain!

But they were free, being free from sin and spiritual death, which they would have identified as the most important matter.

Our prayer will lead to an increase of grace; we become more alive.

We might recoil when we  hear what happens to the martyrs, not only death but torture. But that is only a preliminary part of the overall story.

The real story lies in the spiritual element. The spiritual domain is where we are defined as people, good or bad, alive or dead.

Jeremiah, in today’s first reading, describes his sufferings, and he had many. Just for speaking on God's behalf.

It is easier to kill a good man than to listen what he says. Kill the prophet if you wish, but he is the one that remains alive.

We sell ourselves short if we do not seek to have this spiritual side operating as it should.

Not recognizing God people do not recognize themselves and their true dignity. If we define ourselves just in material or physical terms we are missing the point. I am rich, I am healthy, but am I alive?

Nor do people care properly for each other when they see only the physical.

We are called to look out for each other, to be charitable, and this is essentially a sharing of spiritual graces. We pray for each other, help each other to live good lives.

This is why there is so much disregard for human life, and why something as terrible as abortions can be approved, or even seen as a right.  A baby is  just a physical object, not an immortal soul, in this thinking

When we see the full picture of a human life we think differently. If we are united with Christ we come to true life.

The kingdom of God, which we pray to come among us, incorporates the spiritual dimension. Love of neighbour becomes a joy not a burden.

To help everyone to see what they could have through the life of Christ.

This is the  life without fear that Jesus promises us.

11th Sunday Ordinary Time A 14 June 2016 Sermon

11^th Sunday A 14 June 2026  Mercy at its fullest

June is the month of the Sacred Heart, the source and centre of Divine Love for mankind.

The Heart of Christ burns with great love for each person, in the hope that each one will accept the offer of mercy, while there is still time.

When we look on a crowd of people, we may not feel great love towards them (traffic jam, crowded shops etc!), but each one of them is very important to God.

He can see what is wrong in a person, but He can also see the potential goodness that He has planted there. God did not make anyone to be bad; only good. He hopes for that goodness to emerge from the depths.

This is what we hope for whenever we pray for others.

We ask, invoking the Sacred Heart, that people everywhere will ask for the mercy of God, and so come to a better and a happier life.

We do not have to like people before we pray for them. We might like them afterwards, but to begin with, just ask for mercy; and this will have good effects. When we pray we come into God’s way of looking at things.

God sees the positive while we can be too much with the negative.

It is our own sin which makes us focus on the faults of others. Freedom from our own sin will enable us to see other people in a more generous light.

We will have a larger vision of what salvation is possible and necessary.

We must not resent the salvation of others, as in the parable of the Prodigal Son (the older brother), or the Labourers in the Vineyard (the early workers).

We cannot begrudge to God if He reclaims those He has created. It is His affair more than ours.

In the meantime we ask mercy for ourselves. It may be other people do bad things, but so do we. We will not try to work out who is better or worse, but merely pray that all can come to a better state.

We still have areas of weakness that need attention. Otherwise we fall into the old and familiar patterns that lead to sin.

We want to be people for whom the reflex action is the Christ-like one. So come and kick me, or crash into my car, and I will not be enraged, and will not curse and swear, or seek revenge!

We will not do those things because we have in us the mind of Christ.

The Sacred Heart is burning for us too, and we want to return some of that love – so that we do not grieve Our Lord by further sin of any sort.

So that we can be agents of His love and mercy for others - by our own merciful and patient attitude, our own Christ-like presence and behaviour, bringing healing and encouragement into circulation.

We have to work on this every day, not just here and there. Being here at Mass helps us to focus, but we have to carry these attitudes with us every day.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

Corpus Christi 7 June 2026 Sermon

 Corpus Christi  7 June 2026 Communion with God

 We honour the Eucharist  on this feast today. There are  many aspects we could consider.

The Eucharist is God's way of being present to us, and it is the most direct way that He makes that presence.

He comes in this way to console us, to give us joy, hope, motivation, mercy among other good effects.

It is the most intimate union He has with those who receive Him in this way, usually described as Communion. In Holy Communion we achieve Communion with God the Son, and thence the whole court of Heaven.

People who love each other want to be as close as possible for as long as possible.

So does God want this with us, each of us. He want to ‘marry’ us, to achieve oneness of heart, mind and soul.

He wants to bring us to a better state than whatever we are at the moment.

He wishes for our good and can do much to bring it about.

As love invites a mutual response, Jesus wants us to understand what He is doing and concur with it.  In which case we will be returning love to Him.

Some think they can do without the Eucharist. They can be good or do good in their own way, and that should be enough, they reason.

Our faith is not just about doing jobs or getting things done, but growing in a communion of love.

Imagine two lovers agreeing that it was not necessary they should ever meet but they could do jobs for each other! Not very romantic.

We need Communion with Christ, from which state there will be tasks and actions of many kinds, but the union itself is always the most important thing going on.

Some hide from God for fear that He will ask them to do difficult things, like proclaim the Gospel, for instance.

Yes, He will ask a great deal of us, but no more than we can handle at one time. And our capacity to do things in His service will increase with familiarity.

So we do not hide from His gaze but let it take hold and see where it leads us. An adventure story, to be sure.

Better still we seek Him out and work from our side to achieve a fuller Communion with Him.

As with the story of Martha and Mary, we see that Jesus wanted Mary’s listening more than the practical work of Martha.

Loving God more does not mean we love others less. It is not a competition. Loving God in the right way will make us more charitably inclined to love others and tend to their needs.

Divine love enhances human love.

Two people who love each other reflect the love of God upon the other, and both will benefit.

As to Holy Communion we can receive in ever increasing responsiveness to God's self-offering to us.

Reverently, to value the moment of such an important encounter.

Worthily, none of us is ever fully worthy, but we can at least be free of grave sin, and should go to Confession first if we have such sin.

Expectantly, what wonders the Lord has worked for us, and will work again. Prepare before and give thanks after.

Frequently,if each time improves on the last we will be looking for as much Communion with Christ that can be achieved.

O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

Trinity Sunday 30 May 2026 Worship of God

 Trinity Sunday 30 May 2026 Worship 

 Today we focus on God Himself, rejoicing in His perfections, and giving thanks that we are included in His plans.

We often pray to God for what we need, but we remind ourselves that prayer should not always be asking for things. We should take time to thank God, and even more fundamentally still, to praise Him.

The Scriptures abound in references to praising God…Forever I will sing the praises of the Lord; Praise God in His holy temple…I will exalt You and praise Your name…

We do praise God in the liturgical prayers of the Mass and the Divine Office; and many other prayers. Glory to God in the highest…

We need also to make that praise our own personal practice, as we meditate on the goodness of God, and make it a habit to reaffirm that goodness.

God does not need our praise but we need to give it!

In giving praise to God we are letting our souls soar aloft and we find our true place before God. My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit exalts in God my Saviour.

In Heaven they praise God without ceasing… Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus!

This might sound rather demanding to us, like being in church all day long – but in Heaven they can perceive the goodness of God, whereas here we are weighed down with doubt and fear etc. It would be no effort for those in Heaven. The praise would come forth spontaneously.

We know the joy of experiencing some form of beauty beyond the norm. Be it music, or art, or nature, or anything which draws us out of ourselves. In Heaven we see that God is more beautiful than anything He has made, more desirable than any earthly reality could be.

It is harder to praise God on earth when we have not experienced the full sight of His glory. But we can go some distance with faith and hope; the rest will come in eternity.

The praise we offer will itself lift our spirits to higher things.

Today, Trinity Sunday, we search into the inner mysteries of God's nature. What is He like? How much do we know about God? We feel very inadequate to answer such questions.

He is so much greater than we are, and it is hard for a lesser being to understand a greater.

We do the best we can with the help of God Himself, and what He has revealed to us.

Fortunately, it is not only our brains working on it; we have supernatural help. Nor is it only an intellectual matter.

By loving God we come to understand Him better. Keeping His commands, seeking to please Him, we get a sense of what God is about.

And always part of this is Praise, simple devotion to God, acknowledging His goodness even if we do not feel especially happy at every moment.

God reveals Himself to us as a Trinity of Persons, three distinct identities but so closely bound to each other that they make one God, not three.

He knows we will find this difficult to grasp but invites us to share His inner life, and at least begin to understand.

God wants us to relate to Him as He relates to Himself in the activity of the three Persons.

There is a mutual giving and receiving inside the Blessed Trinity, and we are lifted up to be part of that!

It is an honour so great that we might miss it, and many do; but it is there waiting for us whenever we do make a conscious response.

Let us take every chance to glorify God – today and all days. He does not need it, but He deserves it. And we - for once not asking for something - will benefit anyway from contemplating His goodness and glory.