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Standing up for God (Dwelling on the Word of God)
| Posted on November 11, 2016 at 5:47 PM |
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 From Sunday's Gospel: “But before all this
happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the
synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors
because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep
this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself
shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be
able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and
brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will
be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be
lost. Your endurance will win you your lives” Jesus warns us time and again through the gospels that we
will be persecuted for believing in him.
We are perhaps tempted to brush over this, given the relative comfort
and freedom we enjoy as Catholics in the Western world of the 21 Century. And indeed it is unlikely that any of us will
be martyred for the faith, imprisoned or seized and brought before governors
and kings. So can we happily skip these
passages of scriptures, confident that they are not relevant to us, needed
perhaps for another time and place, but not now? I would suggest that we would do this at our
peril. Christians remain the most
persecuted people in the world today. But even in our apparently “tolerant”
society, Christian beliefs are scoffed at and looked upon scornfully. It is worth meditating upon in prayer: in what ways does your Christian faith
disadvantage you in the world? Do colleagues
laugh or look at you askance when you mention you went to Mass at the weekend? Do family members dismiss some of your views,
as they are based on faith and therefore are somehow less important? Do disbelieving friends aggressively try to engage
you in debate to point out the flaws in your theology? Do people stare if you say grace in a
restaurant before meals? To help us to consider this further, it is perhaps
worth pondering the times when we fail to stand up for Jesus for fear of
ridicule. Do we stay quiet when others
discuss ‘hot topics’ like abortion or same-sex marriage? Do we bite our tongue when we overhear someone
taking the Lord’s name in vain? Do we
agree with the relativist position “that’s true for you but not for me” when
challenged? These might seem like small
points, compared to the crown of martyrdom.
But these are the persecutions of our time, put in our path to lead us
to holiness. These are the “opportunities”
talked about in today’s gospel passage. We
must “keep this carefully in mind” and pray about these things, asking Jesus to
give us the grace to be bold and confident in his love and help. And we must look on any ridicule or challenge
as a blessing, ever keeping our eye on the prize of eternal life. In staying true in these small persecutions,
our souls will be prepared, with God’s grace, for martyrdom, should we ever be
called to that. |
Jesus' Call to Keep the Ten Commandments
| Posted on July 8, 2016 at 10:10 AM |
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 The Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of stoneSunday’s Gospel (Luke 10:25-37): ‘There
was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the
Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus
‘do this and life is yours.’ But the man was anxious to justify
himself and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was
once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of
brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half
dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he
saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came
to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan
traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went
up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on
to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he
took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he
said “and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of
these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into
the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to
him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.’’ Eternal
life in Heaven is where we all want to be.
And even for those who do not believe, the idea of living in comfortable
and joyful surroundings forever is a fantastic thought! But how do we get there? Well,
Jesus gives us two very straightforward commands. He tells us that we must love God with
everything we’ve got and we must also love our neighbour. Looks simple on paper doesn’t it? And in a way it is. It is, however, important to avoid
oversimplifying these commandments in order to suit our own busy lifestyles and
agendas. For example, we can’t simply state that we
love God and we love all other people and never follow this up with words and
actions to support our claim. If we are
going to follow Jesus’ commands we need to act upon them, and act with
conviction; a conviction that tells the world: 'this guy really does love God and he really does love other people!' Jesus’ commandments are a perfect summing up of the Ten Commandments (or Decalogue)
given to Moses by God. They are not a
watering down of the Ten Commandments and they are certainly not an attempt to abolish
and replace the Ten Commandments. What
Jesus does is present to us the Ten Commandments in a new way in order to aid
our understanding of them. He invites us
to rediscover the beauty and truth of God’s perfect law. It is worth remembering that the first three
Commandments concern love of God and the other seven concern love of neighbour,
hence Christ’s summing up of them by referring to love of God and love of
neighbour. This is also why God
presented the Commandments to Moses using two tablets of stone rather than one;
so as to distinguish between the call to love God and the call to love our
neighbour. In order to obtain eternal life our words and actions must be in keeping
with the Ten Commandments. We must
respect God’s clear instructions and, in a spirit of humility and love,
encourage others to do the same. The Ten Commandments:
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Jesus brings great hope, even in death
| Posted on June 3, 2016 at 9:29 AM |
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 Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 7:1-17): ‘Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by
his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the
town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son
of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the
townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not
cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers
stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man
sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled
with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God
has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and
all over the countryside.’ The miracle performed by Jesus in this Gospel passage is one
of great hope. The woman, a widow, had
lost her only son. Can you imagine the
grief and sorrow that this woman must have been experiencing? Can you imagine how alone she must have felt
watching her only family being carried away for burial? She must have felt that nothing could take away the extreme pain that was now drilling through her heart. Yet moments later she would witness the resurrection of her son from the dead. Just when all had seemed to be lost, along came Jesus. We must never lose hope when death comes knocking at our
door. Whilst it is perfectly natural for
us to grieve and to feel sorrow when a loved one dies, we must always have
confidence in the one who makes all things new.
Jesus’ death on the Cross was not a pointless exercise. It was necessary so that our sins could be wiped
away and we could have eternal life. When your loved one dies, remember that Jesus is there. He has come down from the Cross and is
standing ready at the gates of Paradise, waiting to put his hand on your loved
one, waiting to bring them back to life. |
Do you love Jesus?
| Posted on April 29, 2016 at 10:11 AM |
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 Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If anyone loves me, he will
keep my word.’ This very short excerpt from Sunday’s Gospel is so simple, yet
it is jam packed with significance. Read over Jesus’ quote ten times. Do you love Jesus? |
Will you wash the feet of those closest to you tonight?
| Posted on March 24, 2016 at 7:00 AM |
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 In today’s Gospel we hear about the washing of the apostles’
feet by Jesus. Peter was very resistant
to this as it seemed completely absurd to have Jesus do such a thing. This was, after all, God made man, the
Saviour of the world! It should surely
be the other way round would have been Peter’s thinking. Yet Jesus makes it clear that this is something he must
do. Firstly, he makes it clear that “unless
I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” This is a clear link to our Baptism and its
fundamental importance in our salvation.
It is also a link to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we are once
again clothed in the white robe of our Baptism and brought to new life. Our inheritance, it seems, is dependent on
living in accordance with Christ’s teaching, and this is achieved through our
acceptance of and living in the Sacraments of his Church. Christ’s washing of the apostles’ feet is also a sign that he is here to serve rather than be served. It is also considered by
many to be an important sign of the priesthood and its role in taking the love
of God to all people. And this is what I
would like to focus on for a moment.
Despite being in the knowledge of the intolerable pain and suffering he
was about to endure, Christ took time out to perform this simple but critical
act of love. And that is what we need to
take from this special moment between Jesus and his apostles. It was an act of selfless love; a visible sign
of how man should treat man. Jesus
wanted to show this love to his apostles so that they would then do the same to
others. This Holy Week, are you prepared to wash the feet of those
closest to you? While we may participate
in the washing of the feet during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper we must also
remember that our homes and families are small churches too. So after tonight’s Mass when you get home,
consider washing the feet of your family and perhaps take turns doing so. And while this is something that can be
initiated by any member of the family, perhaps those of you who are fathers can
take the lead. Men are called to follow
in the footsteps of Jesus and tend to their own flock in the same way that
Jesus did. And what better way to do
this than to replicate Christ’s actions and wash the feet of those closest to
you? While simple, this act of love
carries with it an incredible power, the power of Christ who makes all things
new. And for those of you with children
in your household, it will create a real sense of intrigue among them and they
will no doubt want to learn more. It’s a
great opportunity to explain to them, in simple terms and by action, just how
much Jesus loves them and how much you love them too.  |
Finding hope in Peter's weakness
| Posted on March 22, 2016 at 1:09 PM |
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 From today’s Gospel: ‘Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus
replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’
Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for
you.’ ‘Lay down your life for me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly,
before the cock crows you will have disowned me three times.’’ This small passage from today’s Gospel follows on nicely
from our reflection on yesterday’s Gospel when we compared the simple love Mary
had for Jesus in needing to be close to him with Martha’s need to be on the go. In being so preoccupied Martha missed out on
precious quality time with Jesus, a mistake Mary was not prepared to make. And today we have Peter, one of Jesus’ closest disciples,
claiming that he would lay down his life for Jesus. That, you would think, is a step up from the
love shown by Mary. And it is. And Peter would, of course, eventually become
a martyr for Christ in Rome. But for now
Jesus has an unfortunate surprise for Peter.
He tells him that he is going to deny him. Imagine your best friend, or even your
spouse, telling you that they know you will betray them in some way. You, like Peter, would be very disappointed
to hear such news! But then don’t we
betray people every day, denying their true value as fellow human beings and
children of God? Don’t we gossip,
complain and criticise other people behind their back on a regular basis? These are human weaknesses and no human is
exempt from them. Even St Peter fell
into this trap! So, in that sense, we
are in good company. But, like St Peter, we are called to greater things. We are called to overcome our human weakness
and realise the hurt caused by some of our actions. How can we forget the look on Peter’s face in
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ when he heard the cock crow? How can we forget the way he then rushed to
the feet of Mary and sobbed uncontrollably as he clung to her garment,
realising how foolish and weak he had been?
We are all capable of moments of weakness in our
lives, even to the point of mistreating or even denying those most precious to
us. The next time you fall into this
trap look for the comforting arms of your mother Mary, just as Peter did, and
seek reconciliation with Jesus in the Sacrament of Confession. This is how we can overcome our weakness and
become saints. If Peter can do it, so
can we. |
How to Love Jesus: Be More Mary
| Posted on March 21, 2016 at 10:30 AM |
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 Today’s Gospel: (John 12: 1-11) ‘Six days
before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had
raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them
and Lazarus was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly
ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with
her hair; the house was full of the scent of the ointment. Then Judas
Iscariot – one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him – said,
‘Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given
to the poor?’ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he
was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to
the contributions. So Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent
for the day of my burial. You have the poor with you always, you will not
always have me.’ Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and
came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised
from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it
was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in
Jesus.’ It’s hard to imagine what went through Jesus’ mind as he sat
at table in the home of his friend Lazarus.
He was just days from that most horrific persecution, when his
detractors would finally have their wicked way with him and he would be hung on
a cross and left to die. Yet here he is,
sitting with his friend while the busy Martha scurries about waiting on them,
and the more relaxed Mary pours an expensive fragrance over his feet. The question often arises: are you a Martha or are you a
Mary? Would you be too busy rushing
around to appreciate the King in your presence, or would you recognise him
immediately and desire to be at his side?
Martha’s role in this episode is not without purpose. Her waiting on the Lord is a noble act and
one deserving of praise. Mary’s actions
are quite different. There is something
quite beautiful about the simplicity of Mary making a beeline for Jesus with
the jar of expensive ointment. Her focus
is not so much to make everything perfect for Jesus as seems to be the case
with Martha. Rather, Mary’s focus is to
simply be by his side and spoil him with gifts.
Mary simply wanted to be close to Jesus and to show him how
much she loved him. Martha undoubtedly
loved Jesus too and she spent considerable effort in order to show this
love. But she didn’t get close enough to
him. Perhaps she kept what she thought was
a ‘respectful’ distance, only periodically getting close in order to serve him
his meal. But Jesus doesn’t just want us
to flit in and out of his life. He wants
something more concrete. He wants the
closeness shown by Mary. If we are busy
running around we perhaps forget the most important thing when it comes to our
faith. That is, being close to
Jesus. There is no need for a respectful
distance. While Jesus is a King, he is a
King with a difference. Unlike the many
Kings and Queens of our world, Jesus does not care for pomp and ceremony in
order for his people to get close to him.
He is accessible 24/7 and he wants all people to come to him, from the
lowest of the low to the greatest. We
are all his children. This Holy Week, think about your relationship with Jesus and
how you can develop it for the better.
Don’t get too caught up in the chores of the day at the expense of
spending some time with Jesus, and be careful not to fall into the trap of
thinking that Jesus isn’t accessible to you.
He is right there by your side, right now! So stop and talk to him. Tell him what you think of him; tell him all
your joys as well as your troubles and difficulties. And if you haven’t been to Mass for a while,
consider coming back to be in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, where he
is truly present…. body, blood, soul and divinity. Jesus loves you more than anyone else and he just wants a
little love back. So give him it. Be more Mary. |
Go away, and do not sin any more
| Posted on March 11, 2016 at 12:03 PM |
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 Sunday’s
Gospel (John 8:1-11): ‘Jesus went
to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and as all
the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been
caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of
everybody, they said to Jesus, ‘Master, this woman was caught in the very act
of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women
like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?’ They asked him this as a
test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started
writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with their question,
he looked up and said, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be
the first to throw a stone at her.’ Then he bent down and wrote on the ground
again. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the
eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there.
He looked up and said, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No
one, sir’ she replied. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus ‘go away, and do
not sin any more.’’ In the Jubilee Year of Mercy this particular passage of
scripture stands out more than most. It
is a perfect example of the new world order that Jesus seeks to achieve. It is a world of mercy, where no sin is
incapable of forgiveness. It is a world
where hate, grudges, complaints and criticism reign no more. What Jesus wrote in the sand is a mystery. But his message is abundantly clear. We must be careful not to judge and condemn
the goodness or otherwise of people when we ourselves are in a sinful state. If we are aware of someone acting contrary to
the Gospel we are called to be like Jesus and do two things. First, we are called to show kindness, mercy
and compassion and to put our arm around the person to show them that they are
loved. Second, we are called to
encourage them to seek the forgiveness of God, to live in accordance with the
Gospel, and to refrain from committing sin again. This is precisely how things are played out when we go to
Confession. Jesus welcomes us, puts his
loving arms around us and forgives our sins.
He then asks us to go and sin no more.
And while we must take Jesus’ call to refrain from further sin very
seriously, he understands our weaknesses and the difficulties and struggles we
experience in our world. That is why he
welcomes us again and again in Confession.
He never tires of pouring out his forgiveness. He just needs us to be willing to make the
effort to go to him. |
The Parable of the Merciful Father
| Posted on March 4, 2016 at 12:22 PM |
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 The Gospel you will hear at Mass this Sunday is perhaps one
of the most well-known passages of sacred scripture. It is often referred to as the parable of the
prodigal son (though I personally prefer to refer to it as the parable of the merciful
father).It is an astounding parable and it brings home the reality
of God’s mercy. No matter the sin, your
Father is waiting for you to return to Him and seek his forgiveness. Whatever you may have done or failed to do in
terms of keeping God’s commandments and living a good, holy life, never forget
that forgiveness is just around the corner. There is no doubting the availability of God’s mercy. But perhaps the biggest problem is within us,
and our failure to acknowledge God as our Father and our failure to accept that
He really does forgive us. In order to reconcile
ourselves to God we need to seek Him in the sacrament of reconciliation and it
is in that sacrament that God really does pour out His forgiveness. We need to accept this and then approach him,
just as the son did in the parable. The
father couldn’t forgive the son unless the son first sought the father’s
forgiveness. That must be our challenge this Lent and thereafter. We must be willing, like the son, to search
out the Father and ask Him to forgive our failures, our sin. God will never deny us His forgiveness. But we must be prepared to ask for it. |
Should I Evangelise?
| Posted on March 4, 2016 at 12:02 PM |
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 Do you speak openly about your faith to others? Are you not afraid to be frank about how your
religion shapes your moral code? Do you
even go as far as to try to bring others round to your way of thinking on
social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter? In the New Evangelisation just a few years back, Pope
Benedict XVI encouraged us to get out into the world to preach the Good News of
Jesus Christ. And he wanted us to use
every available platform at our disposal in order to do this. He used the humble but powerful image of a mustard seed from the Gospel, suggesting that if used effectively a small seed of faith has the potential to bring people to God. His words were: "I have a mustard seed, and I'm not afraid to use it". In today’s age we are blessed to have social
media forums like Facebook to speak more openly about our faith and to tap into
a seemingly infinite knowledge base.
While social media can often be a curse there is no doubt it has opened
up new avenues of opportunity for spreading the Gospel. Yet, while some people seem content to do this, many more
are not. In today’s secular relativist
world it is undoubtedly a big challenge for people to spread their faith by
means of social media. There is fear of
criticism and mocking. There is also
fear of offending people or of compromising long-held friendships. It is a significant problem for our faith and
our Church. And it is an even bigger
problem for Jesus. While new age beliefs are thrust onto social media at an
astounding rate, somehow managing to gather almost unanimous support in the
process, Jesus is left to feed off the few scraps that are left. People would rather post and read quotes
about being true to oneself and looking after number one rather than the
horrific thought of making love of God and neighbour our priority. Quotes from famous authors or even the Dalai
Lama have the potential to be of untold worth, but their value often pales in
comparison to the Word of God or quotes from the Saints. The Christian message is a tough one because it asks us to
put ourselves in third place, behind God and all those around us. It also asks us to take up our cross on a
daily basis and follow Jesus, accepting the suffering that this will inevitably
bring. It also expects us to toe the
line on controversial issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. It is, in all respects, a challenge of great
proportions. But it is not without its
rewards. And as if this challenge wasn’t difficult enough we are also
expected to take Jesus’ message of love and mercy to all people. Not just one or
two, but to everyone. Had Jesus not called
the Disciples to his side and taught them his message, what hope would there be? Had the Disciples not then taken that message
of Jesus to others, what hope would we have today? You see our faith is a faith of action, full of energy and
enthusiasm, drenched in positivity and hope.
We can’t just settle for our own evangelisation or the evangelisation of
those closest to us. This is not the
Christian way. We must be prepared to carry
Jesus and his Gospel message to as many people as we possibly can through our life. We need to put Christ at the centre and be
his voice to all nations, all peoples.
To be truly Christian we must do as the disciples did and carry Jesus
and his message to all people, be it on social media, the internet, on the
phone, or in person. Had the disciples
failed to do this we would have no Jesus in our lives. Imagine how empty that life would be? Remember, your duty to spread the message of Jesus Christ is
not just limited to the people close to you.
In fact, it isn’t just limited to the entire human population of our world
in your lifetime. Like the disciples,
your witness will hopefully carry the message of Christ well into the future so
that another 2000 years from now people are talking about the great disciples
of this time and how without their powerful witness the faith would be dead. Jesus told the apostles to "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature". We need to be disciples for Christ in today's world. Let the future generations rave about your
willingness to speak up for Jesus and how you never shied away from openness
and honesty about his loving and merciful message. Let your children and grandchildren see you
stand up for something that will bring eternal life to millions and millions of
people! And remember, you don't need to be a great orator or writer to evangelise. As Pope Francis has said: “We evangelise not with grand words, or complicated concepts, but with the joy of the Gospel, which fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus". So don't worry, let the joy of the Gospel speak for itself! The phrase ‘do not be afraid’ appears often scripture. It is a strong, powerful message from God
about how we must feel when it comes to our faith. In doing Christ’s work and spreading his
message we have no need to be afraid. He
is on our side! Here’s the challenge: let your life be a life of evangelisation. Don’t be afraid to share Christ’s message
with other people. Let your work
reverberate down through the generations where it has the potential to bring
millions of lives to eternity with God.
Don’t keep good news to yourself. Use your mustard seed.
Evangelise.  |