Homily for the Feast of the Ascension - Yr C 11/12 -5-13

Homily for the Feast of the Ascension - Yr C 11/12 -5-13

It's been a while since I posted, so here's a preview of next weekend's homily. May change!

The mission of the Church, is best summarised in the instruction given by Jesus to his disciples before he ascended to heaven, to be witnesses to his life, suffering, death and resurrection. This includes his message of repentance, forgiveness of sins and the possibility of eternal life with God. This is what we call the Good News. Indeed the Good News is a person, Jesus Christ, who saves us from the devastation of sin and its deadly consequence of eternal damnation. Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life about God.

At the Ascension, Jesus told his disciples to continue this work that he had begun. They were to be his witnesses. They were to make disciples of all the nations. To get on with the job he had given them until he returned at the end of time.

They were also to teach those who were baptised to observe all that Jesus had taught during his earthly ministry. This ministry of Jesus is continued today in the Church through the ministry of the People of God: us.  A structure of ordained ministry of bishop, priest and deacon arose to ensure the mission was achieved in an organised way, but when it comes to the mission of the Church, we really are all in it together.

So the Ascension was not the conclusion of Christ’s work on earth. Rather, it marked the delegation of his mission to his disciples and those to come after them: us. We are their successors. Just stop and think about that for a moment. It’s awesome! And, I’ll be honest with you; I find it challenging and a little scary! For the disciples, it was the beginning of their response in faith to all that Jesus had done for them.

Thus his physical departure had implications for his disciples — including us, he was making each of them ‘another Christ’ who would assume some responsibility for continuing his saving work among the peoples of the world. And we have inherited that responsibility.

This is the basis of the Church. This is why the Church’s mission and the Church’s nature are identical. Both are of divine origin, that is, to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Anything else is a distraction, unless it serves that mission. And when the Lord comes back at a time and an hour when we do not expect, I’m sure he will want an accounting from the baptised, and perhaps even more so from his bishops, priests and deacons!

Although Jesus has ascended to the Father, he continues to be present to us in many ways. He is present in the Word of God as it is proclaimed in truth and faithfulness, especially when we gather to celebrate the sacred liturgy and listen to the Scriptures, just as we have heard in the first and second readings, psalm and Gospel. He is present in a unique way in the Church’s sacraments and particularly by his real presence in the Eucharist, his holy body, blood, soul and divinity, which some of our children, all here this morning,  I hope (!), received for the first time last week when they made their First Holy Communion.  He is present in each one of us, his brothers and sisters through baptism, as we live in accordance with his teaching and example. While he is no longer present in a human body, living now at the highest pitch of reality at the right hand of the Father in heaven, he is present to us his Church, the people called together in his name,  in these ways.

The Holy Spirit is also with us. More about the Holy Spirit next week when we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit in a dramatic way, in fire and wind, bringing about the birth of the Church.

The Feast of the Ascension is a call to renew our participation in the Church’s mission. We help to make disciples by our words and deeds, just as Jesus did.

When we are committed to the Church and its teachings we can teach others about the eternal life that is offered to them, whenever we speak about our faith and its relevance to our lives and take opportunities to serve others.

Remember last week I spoke to our children about St Therese of Lisieux’s ‘Little Way?’ That is, doing everything in our day to day life as an act of love for God.

This is easier said than done, but it is one way we can participate in the Church’s mission. Not everyone has to be a preacher or go do missionary work overseas!

On the Feast of the Ascension we focus our minds and hearts not so much on Jesus’ departure from this world but rather on his continued presence among us, albeit in different ways. While his earthly mission concludes with the Ascension, his mission of salvation continues in the Church. We, together, are the Church. We are the Body of Christ which is a sign of God’s loving presence to the entire world.

Yes, I know that bad stuff has been done through the centuries by some clergy in the name of the Church, and particularly the abuse scandals of latter years, but we can’t let that stuff detract from the mission of the Church given to it by Christ. We have to do the job that he has given us.

Jesus says, ‘go, make disciples of all the nations!’ Where are these nations today? Do we have to get on a plane and travel across the world? No. These ‘nations’ are called our homes, shops, schools, colleges, membership of various clubs and political parties and the places where we work and take our leisure.

‘Go, make disciples of all the nations!’

Margaret McMahon RIP - a note to the parish this w/e

Margaret McMahon RIP.

Dear Friends

I felt it important to write a note following Margaret’s funeral on Thursday. Thank you so much for contacting me, offering prayers, Masses, rosaries, novenas , practical help and assistance. It is truly, truly, much appreciated and will not go forgotten. So many have taken the time to write quite detailed letters, demonstrating the depth of their faith in Christ Jesus and the hope for resurrection and eternal bliss with God that we all share. I am truly touched and moved. I have learnt more about the reality of our faith and what it means to you, than I have from the several years of studying for my degrees in pastoral ministry and theology!


I want to thank Fr Roger for his pastoral support to me and my family during our bereavement. Especially for his assistance with the preparation of the liturgies connected with the Reception of Margaret’s body and her funeral and his fine homily at the Reception Mass. The liturgies were splendid examples of how Mass should be celebrated and were great examples of the Catholic Church at its best – a community of love and hope. Thank you for coming, if you were able to do so. If you were unable to come, I know that you will have been saying a wee prayer.


Thank you very much if you were one of the many people who generously gave of your time to prepare the church for the liturgies, or assisted in another way. Equally, if you were involved in preparing the hall and delightful food, or bringing something to share.


There are others who have taken on some of the parish admin that Margaret did. Thank you for selflessly giving of your time.


As I say, none of this goes forgotten: GOD SEES ALL.


Death, while overcome by Jesus, remains a moment for serious reflection. Death is not part of God’s plan for us. It entered the world through sin, and remains a consequence of sin that we all have to undergo. Funerals need not be times of complete sadness, but neither should we forget that death is a very serious matter, because it is when we go before God for judgement. However, we can take great hope that if we have died in God’s friendship, whilst probably needing some further purification, we will eventually join God and all our friends in the renewed creation at the end of time. The resurrection of Jesus Christ and his promises gives us this sure hope. Otherwise, living would be completely meaningless.


Please continue to pray for Margaret and all our dearly beloved friends and family who have died, for whom life is not ended, but changed.


Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen. May her soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.


Blessings!


Deacon Brian


Sunday 3rd February 2013.

Email: brianmcmahon@rcdow.org.uk

My wife has died. Here's a little note I am distributing in the parish this w/e.

My wife has died. Here's a little note I am distributing in the parish this w/e.

Dear friends

RE: Margaret McMahon RIP : 18.07.1960 – 15.01.2013.

I just wanted to write a short note to you, following the unexpected death of my wife Margaret. I know this is what she would have expected of me. Margaret had been in hospital during the early part of December to drain fluid from her lungs, that had built up as a result of the cancer and its treatment. During the following week at home she was very sleepy and not her usual self. On the Sunday afternoon she had a massive seizure and was taken to St George’s hospital. The cancer had spread to the brain and caused acute swelling. She was again admitted to hospital. I am pleased that Fr Colin visited her in hospital before she came home and anointed her. Margaret was then discharged several days later, with further medication to take and appointments at the Royal Marsden hospital for five days of whole brain radiation therapy. However, Margaret deteriorated progressively over the week and I was unable to properly care for her at home, because her physical needs were so great. She was unable to speak and communicate and care for herself. I contacted Trinity hospice in Clapham, who took her into their care on Monday 14^th January. They told me not to expect her home again. They made her very comfortable and we were able to visit her in the early evening and celebrate Vespers at her bedside. All her family spoke to her, including her mother. I was the last member of the family to speak to her before she died, when I told her how much I loved her. She had her eyes open a little, so would have heard me. She died in her sleep just after midnight on Tuesday 15^th January, as a result of further traumatic complications.  The hospice called me to tell me that she had died. I drove there about 2am. That was a lonely drive. I prayed the ‘Sorrowful Mysteries’ of the rosary at Margaret’s bedside, blessed her body and talked to her again as if she was still with me.

I want to thank everyone who has offered practical support to me and my family during Margaret’s illness and since her death. I really mean that. It does not go forgotten, especially by our loving Father God, who sees and knows all. And the same for friends on Facebook, Twitter and whoever comes to the blog.

Margaret was a woman of faith, who was proud to be a Catholic and was instrumental in God calling me to ordained ministry. She is my role model for what service looks like and maybe for some of you as well. I give thanks to God for nearly 28 years with her, for the wonderful vocation of marriage we shared together and how it was blessed by our children, Bernie and Daniel. Neither of us was without our failings, though I’m sure I annoyed her more than she did me from time to time. Margaret has served her purgatory on this earth, as result of being married to me!

Deacon Brian

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from the anxieties of daily life...

Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from  the anxieties of daily life...

Today being the First Sunday of Advent during the Year of Faith the diocese has given us a prepared homily that we were  encouraged to use or develop as we saw fit. The topic was THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. One thing Jesus did a lot of in his teaching was issuing warnings. He did this not to scare us but make us sit up and reflect about the consequences of our behaviour. If our behaviour is  not consistent with God's plan, then we put ourselves and others at risk of eternal damnation. God's plan is all about love. Love is unselfish and wants the best for the other, often requiring sacrifice on our part.  Hell is for those who in life have loved themselves, money, possessions, status  and power  more than God and others, so they shouldn't be surprised when they end up there! We've been warned - though Jesus does it much better than me in the Gospel we heard in church today. It's pasted below as is the homily I preached, with some amendments. The more I reflect on the Person who is Jesus Christ, the more I realise that he is the one person that I can totally rely on and who reveals to me the purpose of life and all that is ie God. Without him, life is not worth living and would be meaningless. I urge everyone to read or re- read Mark's Gospel to get a renewed sense of who this man was and his importance for every living human being. 

Gospel Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Jesus said to his disciples:

"There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.

"Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy
from carousing and drunkenness
and the anxieties of daily life,
and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
For that day will assault everyone
who lives on the face of the earth.
Be vigilant at all times
and pray that you have the strength
to escape the tribulations that are imminent
and to stand before the Son of Man."

On eight Sundays during the Year of Faith  all priests and deacons are asked to preach on a particular theme.

The Person of Jesus Christ

The gospel is scary. People are fainting with fear and foreboding.  We all know one verse of the rousing hymn ‘When the Saints go marching in.’  The other verses are not so popular:  ‘Oh when the moon turns into blood ... Oh when the fires begin to blaze ...’  Any depiction of the end time tends brings imagery which stops us in our tracks.  Perhaps that is its purpose.  To make us sit up and think about ourselves, our world, and our relationship with the person who is Jesus Christ.

If we feel afraid when we think of the coming of the Lord at the end of time, we need to remember:  this is the one who has already come among us.  He embodied the love of God.  And he speaks not to frighten us but to encourage us.  To use our time well, and wisely, and to build all our relationships on that relationship of love that we have with him.  As St Paul tells us today, we are called to make progress in the life that God wants us to live (1 Thess. 4.1). 

How do we come to know Christ more, so that we may love him more, and pattern our life on him?  I want to suggest:

Follow his eyes

Follow his hands

Follow his feet

Follow his eyes

Watch his eyes.  See how he sees. 

Outside the Temple he notices the poor widow drop her mite into the treasury box.  His eyes light up at the faith of this humble woman, and he tells his followers about her. 

His eyes notice farmers sewing seed, a woman mixing bread dough.  Jesus uses scenes from everyday life to teach us.  Our Father, he wants us to know, is as close to us in the kitchen or the field, as in the Temple.

Sometimes there are tears in the Lord’s eyes.  Jesus was always welcome at Bethany.  At the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, there would be a roof over his head, a meal, the slow unhurried conversation of friends.  When he hears that this happy household has been torn apart by the death of Lazarus, he weeps. 

Certainly there is pain in those eyes.  Think of them dulling with pain and rolling in agony as the nails are driven in.

Always there is love in those eyes:  ‘Come to me all of you who are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest.’

Follow his hands

What did the hands of Jesus look like?  ‘Surely this is the carpenter, the son of Mary?’ they said, doubting him.  Jesus would probably have been apprenticed to his guardian, Joseph.  Any carpenter has hands marked by his tools.  Hands grown strong by gripping saw and hammer.  They would have been strong, capable hands, but roughened and perhaps even scarred by work. 

These hands touch the sick to bring healing.  He takes Jairus’s 12-year-old daughter by the hand and speaks to her, and she rises from near-death.  At sunset in Capernaum they bring the physically ill and the spiritually troubled to him:  he lays hands on them and they recover.  Our Lord longs for his people to be healed, and he does not scruple at taboo.  When lepers ask for healing, he lays hands on them too, restoring them not only to health but to the community.  Once, in the synagogue on the Sabbath, he sees an old lady bent double with osteoporosis.  He lays hands on her, and she stands up straight, praising God.

These were the hands that broke bread and lifted up the cup of wine.  ‘My body, my blood’ he said, passing on his life and love to his dearest friends, and through them, giving his life and love to us. 

And yes, these hands were broken too, as they bore the weight of his body on the cross.

Follow his feet

These feet walked the long, dusty roads from Galilee to Jerusalem. 

Mary of Bethany sat at the feet of Jesus and drank in his teaching.  We do the same.  A woman in a gesture of love and penitence anointed and kissed his feet.  Sometimes we need to do the same ourselves in our love and penitence.

Jesus knelt and washed his disciples’ feet.  The Son of God knelt before sinners in love and humility.  Looking on this scene we ponder our own pride, we remember our petty snobberies and our aloofness.  By example, he teaches us.

Finally, follow these lifeless feet to the tomb.  Wrapped in cloth, his whole body dragged into a tomb to be sealed away.  But you cannot lock up God.  It was not the end, but a new beginning in the power of the Resurrection.

‘In him was life’ sings St John, ‘and the life was light for all people.’  By faith and baptism we are taken into that life, and it lights up our life.

May the light in his eyes be the light in our eyes. 

May the love in his hands be the love in our hands. 

May the willing spirit of service that directed his feet be the spirit that directs our feet.

Amen, come, Lord Jesus.

Here's the text of the homily I delivered this weekend at all Masses. I think I mostly stuck to the script!

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Love of God and Love of Neighbour

(Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28-34)

It’s very easy to lack a connection between what we profess here on Sunday and what happens during the rest of the week.

Jesus offers us a teaching today that emphasises an important connection; love of God and love of neighbour. This is a teaching that can be applied in the workplace and wherever else we find ourselves during the rest of the week.

For Jesus, devotion to God is essential, but that devotion is lacking if it isn’t connected to service towards our fellow human beings.

The Jewish law consisted of 613 commandments. The Jewish rabbis would have spent much time debating and discussing them.  In answer to the question put to him as to which is the greatest commandment, Jesus gives the answer that there are two. Both can be found in separate parts of the OT, in the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus which are part of the Jewish Law, or Torah as it is called. What Jesus did, was to connect the two commandments together. This was a new and different teaching.

Though connected, the two commandments are not equal, because love of God is clearly superior to love of neighbour, but what connects them is important, it’s that little four-letter word…L.O.V.E. Love.

What we mean by love is a total dedication and orientation of our whole self towards the good of the other. We look at the cross if you want an example. That’s real love. Not the love sung about in pop songs.

Now, this  business of loving God can be particularly difficult. The difficulty is a simple one. We can't see and hear God, or get to know him in the way that we do with each other.

God is so ‘other’, so different from us and beyond our experience, no matter how hard we try to define and contain him in our belief systems. He is the Creator and we are the creatures!

So what are we to do?

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the great Christian mystics who lived in the early 12^th century wrote’ "Time is ours only that we may find God". "Time is ours only that we may find God".

It's a saying that suggests two things.  1. because God isn't immediately accessible to us, we do have to take conscious steps to make contact with him - "find" him as St. Bernard put it. And  2.  coming to know and love God, is something that takes place gradually, spread out over the time of our whole life until, hopefully, we see him as he really is at the end of our lives.

  

The search for God in our lives can be challenging when we are busy with long working hours and limited free time, and getting easily distracted by all the other stuff of modern life, such as our BlackBerries and our Iphones , to which we’re probably more connected than God, if the truth be told!

But, if we persist in finding the time and making the space, we start to become more aware of his presence, more aware of his influence and activity in our lives, especially as we reflect in prayer about what has happened to us each day.

  

What starts out as a vague and unsure knowledge, maybe even a rather impersonal knowledge at first, gradually takes the shape of devotion to a person: our will and our emotion, our entire person  are  caught up in the experience of God,  not just our minds.  And in response we then start to feel a desire to dedicate ourselves to God and to serve him in return.

There is a sense in which coming closer to God is not without risks to our ego – our way of doing things. There’s a saying, “if you want to make God laugh – tell him your plans!” God is not some tame house pet. He can be unpredictable! If you give him an inch – he’ll take the mile! He’ll hijack your life -  and take you on a different journey than the one you planned!

So I think that when Jesus talked about love of God as the greatest commandment, it was something along these lines, this growing sense of the reality of God that we get, if we persist in seeking him out and how it engages all the different parts of us.

But Jesus doesn't leave things there. He adds the second commandment - saying: "you must love your neighbour as yourself". If our love for God is real, Jesus is saying, it will express itself in love for our fellow human beings.

Obviously this love is different from the particular and exclusive love that we reserve for family relationships and the people we're emotionally close to.

  

The love that Jesus is proposing here is more a matter of a basic accepting stance towards anyone and everyone. Showing respect for the dignity that each of us has. Treating others as we would want to be treated.

Jesus himself showed this form of love radically throughout his ministry, most of all when he went to his death praying for the people who had conspired to kill him.

Coming close to God, and being drawn into the circle of his love, is always going to be something that challenges our lack of love. If we're honest about ourselves, we won't mind admitting that and we'll want to tackle it. Making use of a spiritual soul-friend perhaps, and most certainly the sacrament of reconciliation.

 We always need to examine our consciences about how we treat others, at work, schools, colleges, in shops,  even here… in our parish community…and seek forgiveness before we come to the altar to eat the Bread of Life and drink from the chalice of salvation.  Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

So, this gospel passage puts a spotlight on a few important areas of Christian life.

Jesus is the supreme teacher of the law of love. He is God amongst us, who invites us into a communion of fellowship and reconciliation with God and each other.  The search for God is the most important thing in life. Modern life is rubbish. The culture is toxic. Full of trivia and thrill seeking. It does not satisfy people in their innermost being and take them deeper so that they understand that their destiny extends beyond this physical life. Jesus has revealed to us that there is no commandment greater than love of God and love of neighbour. This revelation is necessary for our salvation. We are wise to take account of it and make the necessary changes in our lives, so that we may hear Jesus say to us, just as he did to the scribe, “you are not far…from the Kingdom of God.”

A matter of life & death

Here's my homily to be preached at all Masses this weekend, Sunday Wk 26 YR B.

I’m going to start by indulging myself in a really old joke. Most of you may already know it, but I’m hoping that at least a couple of you don’t! St Peter is having a busy day at the pearly gates to heaven. He’s checking in batches of new arrivals. Methodists, Buddhists, Anglicans - come on in! Muslims, Baptists, Mormons – come on in! Jehovah Witnesses, Pentecostals and Presbyterians – come on in! He’s even invited in a few atheists! One of the members of the last group comes up and says, “St Peter, who’s behind that big wall with the sign on it saying ‘private?’ Shhhhh! says St Peter, they’re the Catholics –- they think they’re the only ones here!”


My friends, I’m so pleased to be a Catholic! Aren’t you?! Surely, we’re better Christians than all the other lot – Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists and the like. We’re special, yes!?


Oh, only if it were true! The reality is that it couldn’t be further from the truth. Sometimes our situation may be comparable to Joshua and to John.

Just like Joshua in the First Reading, the disciple John in the Gospel Reading , makes the mistake of presuming that only a select few are inspired and entrusted to carry out God’s plans.

The Spirit blows where it wills, and God desires to bestow His Spirit on all his people, including those who are different to us, and would often profess no interest or belief in God, yet do what is right, detached from evil and attached to good.


God can and will work mighty deeds through the most unexpected and unlikely of people.


In the Gospel Reading, John believes he’s protecting the purity of the Lord’s name. But, really, he’s only guarding his own privilege and status.


As Jesus says today, instead of worrying about who is a real disciple and who is not, we should make sure that we ourselves are leading lives worthy of our calling as disciples.


The hard work of change and conversion of heart is not in being concerned about the behaviour of others, but about our own behaviour.


Does the example of our actions, give scandal—causing others to doubt or lose faith, to trip up and sin? Christianity is not a lifestyle option, to be lived at our convenience and God’s inconvenience. Do we do what we do with mixed motives instead of seeking only the Father’s will? Are we living, as James says in the second reading, for our own luxury and pleasure, and neglecting our neighbour?


We need to pray for the grace to detect our failings and to overcome them. This is important work. We should never forget about the vocation of the Christian life, which is discipleship with Jesus, so that we can attain the perfect attachment, which is union with God. Take up your cross and follow me…


The final words in today’s Gospel reading contain dramatic and alarming language from Jesus. Jesus being an excellent teacher uses extreme language to shock his audience into reality.
Scripture is the living Word of God and these texts are addressed to us today, the living community of the Spirit, and not just to those who first heard them many centuries ago.


We are invited by Jesus, to consider the stark options involved in putting God first - or not as the case may be - and therefore the radical action that we sometimes need to take to achieve that; the painful choices and changes we must make. Jesus expresses it forcefully as cutting off an arm or plucking out an eye. Please don’t take him literally! But… we must take him seriously.

The words of Jesus call us to examine our behaviour and consider how well we exercise the gift of free will. By free will, I mean that gift from God which enables us to attach ourselves more firmly to God, through the successive choices we make in life. When we do that we become like Jesus, choosing to do that which pleases the Father.


When Jesus talks about chopping off arms and gouging out eyes, he’s not talking about becoming better at removing obstacles that keep us from keeping religious rules.


He’s revealing to us a deeper and fundamental truth about our relationship with God around the idea of detachment and attachment.


Let me illustrate further by reference to one of my favourite saints: St Ignatius of Loyola. St Ignatius lived in the early 16th century and founded a religious order known as the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits. As a young man he was a soldier and liked to party and had an eye for the ladies. However, he had a conversion experience after he was injured in battle. Later in life he wrote a manual for retreat givers based on what he experienced in his spiritual life, called the ‘Spiritual Exercises.’ At the start of the manual is a beautiful reflection called the “First Principle and Foundation.” You’ll find a copy in your newsletter if you want to have a look now. It’s yours for the week ahead to use in your prayer. Let me read it...


The goal of our life is to live with God forever.
God, who loves us, gave us life.
Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.
All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.
As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons.
But if any of these gifts become the centre of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.
In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation.
We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God.
Our only desire and our one choice should be this:
I want and I choose what better leads to the deepening of God's life in me.

Jesus is not threatening his disciples or us with hellfire, but he is issuing a warning. For those of us who are parents, we will have issued many warnings to our children when they were young.
Some of you are still at that stage! Such warnings are given in love, in the interests of the one who is warned.

In all of this Jesus is offering us a place in his Kingdom. We have to do what is necessary to be faithful disciples of his; we have to freely choose what he asks of us. As soon as we respond we have the assistance of his Holy Spirit. Detach ourselves from sin and everything in our lives that relegates God to second place, and attach ourselves to the pursuit of holiness.


In Eucharistic Prayer 1 the priest prays, “order our days in your peace, and command that we be delivered from eternal damnation and counted among the flock of those you have chosen.”




My friends, what we are attached to in life…really is a matter of eternal life… or eternal damnation. The choice is ours, Jesus has warned us.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

'Tip Top Condition Looking Great' - Homily Sunday Wk 22 Year B.

Here's me homily to be preached at all Masses in my parish this Sunday.

Homily 22nd Sunday Year B
Readings Deut 4: 1-2, 6-8. Ps 14:2-5 .James 1: 17-18, 21-22, 31.
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15,21-22.

A few weeks ago I put my company car in for its annual service. I chose a particular garage near to my office because they had a short video clip on their website that said how committed they were to customer service, and that everything they did was to ‘delight the customer.’
They also stated that all cars would be returned to the customer in tip top condition looking great. That’s precisely what I wanted. A quality service job with my company car returned in tip top condition looking great!

However, what I got back after the service could not be described as tip top condition looking great. The car was returned dirtier than when I sent it to the garage!
So. I contacted the Managing Director of the company and gave him my ‘feedback’, or in more traditional language, I made a complaint. He listened carefully and graciously and accepted that on this occasion his company had indeed not returned my car in tip top condition looking great. He admitted that they had been hypocritical and paid lip-service to their own customer service charter – because they had said one thing and done something else. Consequently, they had failed to delight their customer!

In today’s Gospel Jesus pulls no punches by laying a straight glove on the collective chin of the Pharisees. They ask him what they think is a straightforward question about the non-observance of Jewish ritual hygiene practices by his disciples, and how does Jesus respond? “Hypocrites!” I wish I had been there to see the response on the faces of those Pharisees!

I don’t think any of us would appreciate being called a hypocrite. As a response it seems a little below the belt – right between the eyes, if you don’t mind me carrying on with my boxing metaphors. To be called a hypocrite hurts. But in this instance it was the truth that hurt. Many religious leaders at the time of Jesus had reduced the Covenants that God had made over the successive generations, to mere observance of rule and regulation, most of it man-made rule and regulation. Consequently the one who was best at keeping all the rules and regulations was considered to be doing what God wanted.

In contrast Jesus takes that rule and regulation approach and turns it upside down, putting it the right way up, by teaching his disciples that true religion is not about the observance of rule and regulation, but about purity and cleanliness in the heart.

What do I mean by the heart? I mean that sacred space deep in each of us, where we are alone with our consciences, ourselves and God.
It’s in that sanctuary where we need to open ourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit for the Spirit to do that deep cleansing work, to rid us of all those evil things that come from within, as our Lord has outlined, borne of unforgiveness, grudges, jealousy, envy and the love of possessions, money and status. All the things that can easily lead us as followers of Christ, to be accused of hypocrisy by those who do not follow Christ, or hate religion. The work requires prayer and recourse to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, more traditionally known as Confession.


Professing belief in God and following Jesus, coming to Mass every Sunday, but paying lip service to the consequences in our daily life equals hypocrisy. It’s being two-faced. What a painfully piercing moment it is for someone to meet God in the sanctuary of their heart, only to hear him say, ‘hypocrite.’ For Jesus reveals to us, the truth about ourselves.
What does ‘good look like’ when it comes to following Jesus and avoiding religious hypocrisy? Well, thank God for James. Today’s second reading from James gives us the perfect antidote for the poison of hypocrisy in the Christian life.


In summary James tells us to, “do away with bad habits, accept and submit to the Word of God, do what the word tells us and not just listen to it and deceive ourselves and that pure religion, is coming to the help of orphans and widows and keeping ourselves uncontaminated by the world” Brilliant! Thank you James! There’s the guidance we need to avoid religious hypocrisy as Christians! We have to work on ourselves and our hearts and put the Word of God into practice. Christianity, is not a lifestyle option that is meant to be lived at our convenience. Who are the ‘orphans and widows’ we encounter today and that we are meant to come to the help of? Well we can take them figuratively and not literally in this case.


In our homes, schools, colleges, workplaces and neighbourhoods there are always people in need. I take it as a given that they all know we are Catholics? The coming week is a good week to suprise them with random and unconditional acts of love and service. As Christians we put ourselves out for others, looking for opportunities to serve – just as Jesus did.

They’ll know we are Christians, and not hypocrites, by our love. A love that comes from a pure heart, a heart open to and worked on by the Holy Spirit, free of hypocrisy, a heart in tip top condition, looking great in the eyes of God.