TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR
OF LUKE
22nd August 2010
Recently I paid my first visit to
Lisieux in Normandy, to the shrine of St Therese. The huge
basilica on top of a hill seems out of keeping with the “Little
Flower” and her teaching on humility. Once inside, however, her
heroic life unfolds through a series of side chapels dedicated
to the different stages of her story; a bite-sized quotation
from her autobiography illustrates each one. Her greatness lay
in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. She spent nine
years as a Carmelite nun before a long slow death from TB at the
age of twenty-four. In the words of today’s reading from
Hebrews, suffering was part of her training, and how well she
teaches us through it. Hers is no saccharine spirituality but
the devastating openness of a child; try as you might, you
cannot avoid the directness of her innocence matured by trial.
“Try your best to enter by the narrow door,” are the words of
Jesus in response to the enquirer in today’s gospel. These words
of Jesus sound restrictive. Doesn’t God want everyone to enter
the kingdom? Why not a wide open way without the barrier of a
door?
Another gospel image comes to mind: the gate of the sheepfold
(John 10). Sheep were protected from the ravages of wolves by
the sheepfold, which had one narrow entrance through which one
sheep could pass at a time. And the gate was the shepherd
himself who lay in the gap at night to guard his flock; then
“one by one he calls his own sheep and leads them out” (John
10:3).
One by one we enter the kingdom. We enter by the narrow door of
the cross, the “little way” of St Therese of Lisieux. May we
have the courage and humility to take that path.
God bless you and yours.
John
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED
VIRGIN MARY
15th August 2010
Where is your life leading? Are
you looking forward in hope or fearful of the future? Do you see
death as the extinction of your life or the fulfilment of it? Do
you even want to think about it?
Today’s feast sheds some light on a shadowy place and lifts the
veil of mystery over our ultimate destination. Mary’s entry into
glory is not simply one individual’s homecoming to God but a
firm promise that all human beings are fully realised in our
heavenly homeland. Indeed, that is what heaven is: the
fulfilment of our human potential in the One whose image and
likeness we bear. The paradox is that death is simultaneously
the loss of life and the fullness of life.
Mary’s surrender of herself to God from the moment she made her
fiat to her last breath models our own faith journey,
surrendering ourselves into God’s hands by seeking to do his
will, and finding our true selves in doing so. The more we enter
into God, the more complete and integrated we become. This flies
in the face of the contemporary desire for self-centredness and
pleasure and power which is the opposite of love.
Mary’s Magnificat describes the result of living this amazing
love. Human values are turned upside-down; God looks on us in
our nothingness, and we are not ashamed or embarrassed at our
weakness; it only makes us marvel at God’s greatness in loving
us just as we are. And it is that love which makes us realise,
as Mary did, the true worth of our human nature.
Mary, teach the joy of following your Son by allowing each
moment of our lives to be open to his grace. Then we too will
experience the homecoming of a fulfilled life in the eternal
company of heaven.
God bless you and yours.
John
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
25th July 2010
Why is prayer often hard work? Surely you would think that if God loves
us so much God would be falling over him/herself to hear and answer us. Yet often the heartfelt pleas we
make in the most desperate of situations seem to fall on deaf ears. As a result too many of us give up
on prayer and our faith withers from lack of exercise. How many atheists are really disappointed
believers?
The first reading today about Abraham persuading God to be merciful presents prayer as manipulation of
the divinity, like Jesus’ parable of the importunate widow (Luke 18:1-8). Prayer then is an attempt to
change God’s mind, to get God on our side. No wonder it’s hard work - little puny me against the Creator
of the universe! Not a chance!
Ruth Burrows in her book The Essence of Prayer alerts us to the truth that prayer is ninety-nine percent
what God does and one percent us. To pray is to put on the mind of Christ, to get under his skin as it
were, and to see things from a divine perspective. The nearest thing to manipulative prayer in the life
of Jesus was his prayer in Gethsemane: “Father, if possible take this suffering away from me.” Jesus
acknowledges the intolerable pain of his anguish and begs to be rid of it. He’s not a masochist. But he
goes on to say: “But not my will, but yours.” Father, you know what you’re doing when I don’t, and I
trust you. Are we prepared to surrender our will into God’s hands? Do we trust God enough?
St Therese of Lisieux wrote: “God always gives me what I want – or rather, God makes me want what he’s
going to give me.” Every time we pray the Lord’s prayer we are not advancing our kingdom, but his.
Surrender is not giving up but giving in to God. And our wills do not give in without a fight – our ego
is the last bastion against the incursions of Love.
God bless you and yours.
John
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
18th July 2010
What would you do if twenty strangers turned up on your doorstep
unannounced? Would you invite them in and entertain them to dinner or (politely or otherwise) suggest
they try elsewhere? In the Middle East, Africa and many other parts of the world, a tradition going back
thousands of years obliges the first option. I was one of twenty travellers through the Sinai desert in
1998 who “dropped in” on Sheikh Barakat and his family without warning, and he shared with us what food
and drink he had, even though it meant he had nothing for himself. Hospitality is sacred. The three men
who turned up at Abraham and Sarah’s tent at midday had Abraham’s full attention; he abandoned
everything he was doing and gave them of his best. Early Christians were reminded of this tradition; St
Paul said “you should make hospitality your special care” (Romans 12:13) while Hebrews 13:2 says: “and
remember always to welcome strangers, for by doing this, some people have entertained angels without
knowing it”.
By contrast, when Jesus visits the home of Martha and Mary, he is no stranger but a regular visitor, an
honoured guest. But unlike Abraham Martha does not give her guest total attention; she is too busy with
her own agenda. Her sister Mary, however, gives the Lord her eyes and her ears. Ignoring Martha’s pleas
for help, she knows exactly where she should be. And Jesus takes her part.
Like Martha, so much distracts me. Around me the phone rings incessantly, emails need answering,
arrangements need making. Inside me I worry about priorities, try to juggle appointments, wonder about
the future. But when I sit before the Lord in prayer and give him my eyes, my ears, my heart and my
mind, I begin to glimpse the one thing necessary; instead of berating myself and tying myself in knots,
I find peace and a clearer perspective by gently focussing on the presence of Jesus.
Offer him the hospitality of your heart. Don’t send him off because you’re busy.
God bless you and yours.
John
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
11th July 2010
Last week I went to Wintershall near Guildford in Surrey to see the
annual outdoor production of the “Life of Christ”. Since 2000 Peter Hutley has been inspired to use his
extensive estate in a fold of the North Downs as the setting for a dramatic re-telling of the gospel
story from the Annunciation to the Resurrection. From 10am to 4pm the costume drama carries the audience
along in such a way that very quickly you realise you are not a spectator but a participant – like the
liturgy. For example, Act Two concluded with the Feeding of the Five Thousand. “Where can we find bread
to feed these people?” challenges Jesus. And suddenly we (the audience of about a thousand people) are
being asked if we have any food to spare.... and it’s just before the lunch break. There’s enough for
everyone, of course, with lots left over.
Today’s parable of the Good Samaritan is a lesson in being non-judgemental. To the question “who is my
neighbour?” we cannot exclude anyone. Hence Jesus can say “love your enemies” because they too are
neighbours. Who isn’t?
The parable highlights our need for compassion towards others. Our neighbour is particularly our concern
when he/she is in need. Cultivating an attitude of awareness is crucial to noticing the need. But more
is wanted; the priest and Levite noticed the mugged victim but passed by. It was the Samaritan who did
the loving thing. Need without deed is empty indeed.
Watching scenes from the Life of Christ or reading his sublime teaching is only fruitful if I endeavour
to respond in action. I can write about love and compassion for you to read, but unless I am living a
loving life I am a clashing cymbal.
God bless you and yours.
John
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
4th July 2010
Lord, you sent out your disciples in pairs to prepare the ground for the
seed of your word. You didn’t go with them; you gave them instructions about what to do, then left them
to it. What trust you showed in them! If it was me, I think I would have been terrified to face that
task without your presence.
And yet you didn’t expect us to do it alone, any more than your Father didn’t leave you on your own. You
sent us with a companion, “in pairs”, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus. It means we have
support, to check with each other that we’re on the right road, that we’re on the same mission; and we
can challenge each other if we are tempted to disobey your instructions or compromise your gospel, and
comfort one another in times of darkness or uncertainty.
Lord, we do not imagine we can convert the world to your gospel in five minutes; nor do we despair of
the enormous task you have entrusted to us. In our world today, there is simultaneously a strong current
of self-seeking ambition, violence, cynicism and despair, often expressed as rejection of you; but also
a deep hunger, a craving for meaning and purpose beyond ourselves, a spiritual transcendence which, far
from escaping from life, stretches the horizons of our human hope to its fulfilment.
How do we service that hunger, Lord? How do we speak to our time in a way that is relevant and
attractive? If I am not fired with the way you relate to me in prayer, in word, in sacrament, in loving
others and in receiving their love, then I will never learn the language of evangelisation.
God bless you and yours.
John
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
27th June 2010
Every now and then I find there’s a word or phrase in the gospels that
stands out afresh, that makes me sit up and take notice. It’s not that I’ve never seen it before; it’s
just that, at this moment, I am open to understand it anew, or that God is giving me a nudge in a
certain direction.
At the beginning of today’s gospel, Jesus “resolutely” takes the road to Jerusalem where he will suffer
and die on a cross. The word reveals something of Jesus’ inner conviction. It implies Jesus has come to
a decision after considering the challenges of the road ahead, fully aware of the cost. Now he goes
forward with purpose and courage, which does not rule out fear and trepidation – he wouldn’t be human if
he didn’t blanch at the horror of its outcome.
In the major decision I have taken which has radically altered the direction of my life, I too know I
must go forward resolutely. It is not a fatalistic journey, as if I have no say in the matter; nor is it
undertaken blindly or selfishly. It is confidence born of faith which sustains me, the presence of
Someone who loves and cherishes me, who has been this way before, and invites my loving trust in his
abiding companionship. Without that relationship I can go nowhere, just as Jesus was sustained by his
Father’s abiding presence. And just as Jesus on the road to Jerusalem encouraged others to join him but
challenged those who only wanted to do so on their own terms, so I have to continue to look to him for
strength and continue to discern each stage of the journey.
As St Augustine said, sing up and keep on walking!
John
ELEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF LUKE
13th June 2010
When Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to his house for a meal, one
wonders what was in his mind. Normal Jewish hospitality would include a greeting on arrival with a kiss
of peace, the host (or his servant) washing the guest’s feet, and honouring his presence by anointing
him with perfumed oil (on the head, the feet, or both). None of these courtesies was shown to Jesus; he
simply walks in from the street and takes his place at table – one suspects the lowest place.
Was Simon trying to embarrass Jesus, or because of Jesus’ reputation as a prophet and healer simply
showing him off to his friends? Whatever the reasons, it gets worse. A prostitute wanders in from the
street and starts paying attention to Jesus in a most unseemly way in front of Simon and his guests. Now
who’s embarrassed? Simon? Jesus? The other guests? The only one not embarrassed seems to be the woman
who is so intent on her loving service of Jesus that she is oblivious of everything else. One is
reminded of Mary busy listening to Jesus while her sister Martha tries to grab her attention.
To be so absorbed with Jesus without saying a word, except through touch, is characteristic of deep
loving intimacy. Mystics and contemplatives understand this. Jesus looks at the woman’s love, not her
reputation. And that is true of us sinners too. If we allow Jesus to look deeper into us than our shame,
embarrassment, lack of self-esteem, and tendency to judge others, we find all those things melt away in
his loving gaze. And when to our wonder and delight we find his love in our hearts, we want nothing more
than to share it – no matter what others think. Forgiveness is freedom.
God bless you and yours.
John
TRINITY SUNDAY
30th May 2010
The little girl was busily drawing a picture during the art class. When
the teacher came round to look she asked her what she was doing. “I’m drawing God,” she said
confidently. “But no-one knows what God looks like,” replied the teacher. Without lifting her head from
the desk, the girl said: “They will when I’ve finished.”
We smile at that story because we know that any picture of God is totally inadequate. Yet our curiosity
will not be satisfied. What is God like?
The Bible describes many ways in which God interacts with humankind, each encounter adding more
questions than answers. Yet a picture of sorts emerges. First, right at the start we are told that we
are made in God’s image and likeness. So a clue to God’s identity lies in our own human nature. The
danger here is that we then jump to the conclusion that God is made in our image, not the other way
round. Secondly the very fact that God interacts with us at all would indicate that God is about
relationship, not isolation. Indeed the shortest definition the Bible gives us of God is from St John:
“God is love”.
The Trinity (literally “Three in Unity”) is the name the early fathers of the Church came up with to
describe the mystery of God. It’s a sort of working definition that tries to respect that there is only
one God but a God who lives in relationship. Today’s first reading is a delightful picture of a God who
loves creating and enjoys our company. Could that be the picture our little girl was busily drawing?
May the Lord bless you.
Fr John
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
2nd May 2010
“Just as I have loved you,” says Jesus, “you also must love one another.”
How does Jesus love us? By identifying so closely with our human life that there is no aspect of our
frail and varied human existence that is foreign to him. From the moment of his conception in the womb
of his blessed Mother to his last breath on the cross, every second of his life revealed the love of God
in flesh and blood like ours. While the gospels record some of the events, teaching and miracles of
Jesus, they are merely the tip of the iceberg. The details of most of his thirty-odd years are hidden
and unrecorded by history; but every breath he breathed was offered to the Father in love and service to
the world.
Within the limited lifespan of Jesus of Nazareth, at a particular time and place two thousand years ago,
there are restrictions on the effectiveness of his mission of love. But Jesus is more than human. By his
resurrection he is now available to all times and places. How does he do this? By choosing us to be part
of his Body, the Church. Wherever we are, Christ is. And as Christ loved, so must we if we are to be his
effective witnesses. There is no moment of our human existence, from the cradle to the grave, that
cannot be available to Jesus’ mission – if we allow him access. As we experience his love for us, our
response to that love is in our love for one another. It is impossible to be part of Body of Christ and
ignore Christ in one another, equally part of that same Body.
“By the love you have for one another,” says Jesus, “everyone will know that you are my disciples.”
The Lord is risen. Alleluia!
Fr John
FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER
Good Shepherd Sunday
25th April 2010
From January to March this year I spent ten weeks at Hawkstone Hall, a pastoral renewal centre run by
the Redemptorist Fathers in the depths of the Shropshire countryside. They run three such courses a year
aimed at priests and religious men and women seeking sabbatical time, often in transition between
different assignments. We were a comparatively small group of sixteen participants, ranging in age from
47 to 80, and drawn from Africa, North and South America, Australia and Europe. It was a wonderful and
vibrant experience of the universal Church; and while we in western Europe bemoan the lack of priestly
and religious vocations, the evidence of the flourishing Church in Africa especially was heartening.
The recent publicity over sexual abuse scandals involving Catholic priests and religious has done a lot
of damage to the Church. It may only be a tiny minority of clergy who offend, but even one is too many.
Our hearts go out to those who have suffered such terrible hurt and betrayal. In such an atmosphere it
is difficult for us priests to remember the extraordinary truth that God through his Church has chosen
us, weak and inadequate as we are, to be channels of his grace through our ministry of teaching,
healing, caring and reconciliation. At the moment the awareness of our weakness could make us retreat
into our shells and lick our wounds. But that is negative and lacking faith. Instead, we are more than
ever convinced of the miracle that God is strongest when we are weakest. It is his glory we seek, not
our own. And if all of us, lay and religious, acted on that belief, new leaders and servants of God’s
people would come tumbling into the Church. Why not you?
The Lord is risen. Alleluia!
Fr John
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER
18th April 2010
Memory is a very powerful thing. Listening to a particular piece of
music, catching the scent of a particular flower, or seeing a familiar face in a crowd, can trigger an
association with some experience either good or bad.
In today’s gospel Peter goes fishing with his friends, just as he used to before they met Jesus. He is
trying to forget the pain of his denials, and now that Jesus is risen he is not too keen to look him in
the eye. Escape to the familiar old routine is his answer. But a night of fishing proves fruitless.
Dispirited, he heads for the shore.
A voice from the shore comes over the water in the half-light of dawn, inviting the disciples to drop
the nets to starboard – and a huge catch results. Memories of Jesus doing that when he first called them
come flooding back. “It is the Lord!” says John the Beloved. Peter, like Adam in the garden after the
Fall, is naked and tries to hide by wrapping his cloak around him and jumping into the water. And what
does he find when he comes ashore? A charcoal fire, like the one where he denied his Master, and Jesus
preparing breakfast on it. No escape. He resisted getting his feet washed at the Last Supper, but at
least he’s letting Jesus serve him breakfast.
Three times Peter denied him. Now three times Jesus asks him, “Do you love me?” There’s no hint of
reproach in his voice, no sarcasm, no judgement. Peter knows he is forgiven and reinstated, and his
original calling reaffirmed: “Follow me.”
No matter how far you feel from God, allow him to call you by name with no hint of reproach. Like Peter,
will you have the courage to respond with all you heart: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I
love you.”
The Lord is risen. Alleluia!
Fr John
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER
11th April 2010
Now that a general election has been called in Britain, Parliament will
be dissolved and everything will be on hold until after 6th May. Between now and then, the various
political parties will be out to woo the voters with their particular policies for the country. Before
we listen to them, however, we might do ourselves a favour by digesting a document recently produced by
the bishops of England and Wales for just this moment. It is called Choosing the Common Good.
Let me give you some quotes from it by way of a taster:
• The period before a General Election is a time to reflect on what sort of society we live in and how
we would like it to be.
• The common good refers to what belongs to everyone by virtue of their common humanity.
• If anyone is left out and deprived of what is essential, then the common good has been betrayed.
• Society cannot change for the better without restoring trust.
• Virtue is doing good even when no-one is looking.
Politicians often claim that churchmen interfere in politics. But politicians have no qualms about
interfering in religion. In truth we cannot divide life into neat watertight compartments; and our faith
informs everything about life and even what lies beyond it. When, like Thomas in today’s gospel, we
reduce everything to the here and now (“what you see is what you get”), we will never convince
politicians or anyone else of the claims of faith. But if we believe, as Thomas came to believe, that
Jesus is not just a human super-hero but my Lord and my God, then all creation takes on a deeper
meaning. It is out of that meaning that we must live if we are to witness effectively to our faith.
Alleluia! The Lord is risen!
Fr John
EASTER SUNDAY
4th April 2010
On the world stage it has been a bleak year so far. The earthquakes in
Haiti and Chile, the long winter in these islands, the unrelenting gloom of industrial disputes and
economic uncertainty have painted a dark picture. Add to it the continuing revelations of gross
misconduct by some Catholic clergy in different parts of the world, and it seems the Church too is part
of the picture, at the very moment we need her light and reassurance.
The events of this Holy Week portray Jesus entering the darkness and seemingly being overcome by it. But
the way he does it is far from despairingly or with stoical resignation. To the last he goes to his fate
with love, generosity and compassion, forgiving his enemies and surrendering himself into his Father’s
hands with total trust that all will be well.
The resurrection of Jesus is not an escape from the tribulations of this world into some utopia when
this dreary life is over. Easter is about living the resurrection now. In other words, when we refuse to
give in to the pessimism, blame culture, and self-seeking attitudes all too prevalent around us, and
instead allow God to fill us with the love, generosity, compassion and trust of Jesus, then we are
resurrection people. When we hope against hope, forgive while others condemn; when we pray with
expectant faith, and persevere in prayer in the face of adversity and seemingly no answer; when we love
those who are so difficult to love, who return us insult for kindness, then we are resurrection people.
If, like Mary Magdalen, you stay near the tomb of your disappointments and broken dreams, yet trust in
God, expect to see an angel gently reminding you that Jesus is leading you out of the tomb to a new life
in him.
Alleluia! The Lord is risen!
Fr John
THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
3rd January 2010
By now most of you will know that I am going away from the parish for ten
weeks on a pastoral renewal course. After giving out for more than seven years at Wickford I feel the
need for some space to be refuelled and receive a bit myself, so that I can be a more effective pastor.
I find it interesting and faintly amusing to hear the reactions of people to this news, ranging from one
comment, “it’s all right for you, going off for ten weeks’ holiday!” to another who said, “it doesn’t
sound like a break to me – more like a busman’s holiday!” Few people have much idea of what is really
involved in a priest’s life; they only see the tip of the iceberg. In this Year for Priests, it seemed
an appropriate moment to stand back and give thanks for God’s gift of priesthood, and not allow the
pressures and demands to diminish my effectiveness in ministry. As God said to me through a wise prophet
some thirty years ago, “you are my son, not my doormat.”
The wise men likewise left their homes and routines to follow a star to unknown lands. It was in having
the courage to pursue their dream that they were led to the Christ child. They upset Herod with their
search for a new-born king, triggering the massacre of the Innocents. But they were filled with delight
when they found Jesus and his mother, and offered their precious gifts. On our journey of faith we too
can upset others when we challenge them with the gospel message; but we find our consolation in meeting
Christ and his mother in prayer and the sacraments, offering our lives afresh in his service.
May the Lord bless you and yours as we begin this year of grace 2010.
Fr John
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT
20th December 2009
The snow comes, and predictably the schools close, the roads are
treacherous and travel is disrupted. For a moment we are paralysed or severely restricted till we get
our snow legs or ice skates. No bad thing to stop and remember what all our frenzied pre-Christmas
activity is for – Jesus. Whether or not the first Christmas was really “in the bleak midwinter” with
“snow on snow” is beside the point. Yet for the things that really matter we’ll move heaven and earth to
get there.
And that’s what God did. Move heaven and earth – or more precisely moved heaven to earth by sending his
Son into our midst. Just as when the landscape is covered with snow everything looks different, so when
the Word became flesh and lived among us life took on a new meaning and purpose. We are no longer bound
by the restrictions of the here and now, the prison of hopelessness, the problems and tragedies of our
lives, the fears about the future of our planet or our jobs or our grandchildren. The good news is that
God has lifted us into eternity by sending his Son into our time and place, to share our limitations and
vulnerabilities and pain, and love us into heaven.
In today’s gospel of the Visitation, Mary was probably not restricted by snow, and certainly not
hampered by rail chaos or airport closures. But her journey to visit her cousin Elizabeth some one
hundred miles away was not easy. What impelled her was the Good News she carried in her womb and heart;
and thoughts not of herself but of God and of others. Our greetings across the miles are so much easier
these days with cards and phones and emails and Skype. May we see Christ in one another, and find time
for one another.
A blessed and peaceful Christmas to you and yours.
Fr John
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
13th December 2009
Have you ever seen God dance? No, I don’t think you will see him
competing in Strictly Come Dancing, but the prophet Zephaniah tells the people of Israel, languishing in
exile, that the day will come when God will set them free. They will exult and rejoice because God is in
their midst. And it seems that not only the people, but God too will be ecstatic about it: “The Lord
your God is in your midst... he will dance with shouts of joy for you”.
Of course, God is spirit and cannot literally dance. The prophet is conveying in human language that
“the Lord takes delight in his people” (Psalm 149). Can you imagine the Father dancing for joy over you?
Do you realise you are that special? What today’s first reading also shows is that when we are happy,
God is happy too. In Jesus, who took on our human nature, we can see it literally. While there is no
record in the gospels of Jesus actually dancing or laughing, there’s no reason to believe he didn’t –
quite the opposite. He is often shown expressing other emotions: fear, tears, anger, love, joy, etc. He
is truly “God-with-us” or Emmanuel. Through him we know what God is like in an accessible language, the
language of human nature.
To welcome him into our midst this Christmas, we need to ask the question the people asked of John the
Baptist when he called them to prepare for the Christ: “What must we do?” Wishful thinking isn’t enough
– there’s practical preparation too. John’s answer was to ensure our treatment of others is kind and
fair. Let’s hope we’re doing that much already. But why not go a little further, and find joy in doing
it? Will you put a dance in your step?
God bless you and tours this Advent.
Fr John
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
6th December 2009
Perhaps one of the reasons we have lost our capacity for wonder and
surprise is that we have lost our ability to wait. Credit cards were introduced with the slogan: “Take
the waiting out of wanting”. You can have it NOW. But what’s wrong with waiting? Yes, of course there
are many times where delays can be tiresome, dangerous or even fatal. But getting instant solutions to
everything reduces our appreciation and sense of gratitude, and eradicates the future. We have nothing
to look forward to.
Once we get what we want, the excitement of desire diminishes, and it’s not long before we want
something else. No, we can’t take the waiting out of wanting because wanting is waiting. We long for
something we haven’t got, and that longing is of the essence of desire, of our human energy. Ultimately,
it is our hunger for God which lies at the root of all our desires, and Advent is the season of the year
par excellence when we get in touch with our desires. In the famous words of St Augustine’s prayer in
his Confessions: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they rest in
you.”
Without waiting we cannot grow. A mother waits nine months for her child to be born. The people of
ancient Israel longed for a Messiah, a Saviour to come, but when Jesus was born he took us all by
surprise. God did not announce the exact date, but when it did happen is remembered in a specific date
and place in history, roughly 2009 years ago.
Has our life of faith become so familiar and predictable that we have lost the capacity to let God
surprise us?
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT
29th November 2009
Happy New Year! As the calendar year (at least in the northern
hemisphere) heads into the darkest days and longest nights, the Christian year proclaims a new beginning
and the promise of hope. Are we simply optimists pretending all is well when everything around us is
sunk in gloom and despondency? Is it just a psychological trick to give us false hope? Is Advent just
escapism?
If that were true, then the opening words of Jesus in the gospel today are hardly sweet and gentle –
quite the reverse. They speak unequivocally of nations overwhelmed by tsunamis and people unable to cope
with the world’s traumas. Is he trying to intimidate us? Is he frightening us into submission? No, of
course not. That’s not his style. He is being realistic, making us face our own powerlessness and human
limitations which he himself assumed in coming among us. If we put our trust in him we will find a way
forward in hope, even when we can’t see the result yet. Put your confidence in me, he says. Hold your
heads high; don’t cower at the darkness, but trust that I am your Light leading and guiding you.
Advent is a time to stop and reflect while the commercial world bids us do the opposite – go on a
frenzied shopping spree. The pressure this puts on people who can ill afford to spend this Christmas is
enormous. Jesus says our hearts can be coarsened by the cares of life; we can allow worry to rob us of
the peace Christ came to bring. Make time to pray, read Scripture, and remember what really matters in
life. Stay awake to the real meaning of the approaching feast of Christmas.
Happy New Year!
Fr John
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST THE KING
National Youth Sunday - 22nd November 2009
When Jesus stands before Pilate on Good Friday morning, the Roman
governor questions him about his authority and status. Pilate thinks of kings and kingdoms in terms of
territory and political power; Jesus’ response to him takes Pilate into unknown territory and unearthly
power. Yes, Jesus is a king whose mission is to bear witness to the truth. Only those who are on the
side of truth listen to his voice and accept his authority. The way to find this kingdom is to find the
truth.
Pilate famously asks: “What is truth?” but doesn’t get a reply. The answer is in Jesus’ own words four
chapters earlier (John 14:6): “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” We tend to think of truth as an
abstract concept, the essence of what is right, good and honest. But today truth is treated
subjectively; what is true for you may not be true for me, we might say. In other words, it’s not the
whole truth. Truth itself is bigger than your truth or my truth.
We may say as members of Christ that we have the truth. But it might be better to say that the Truth
(Jesus Christ) has us. Ultimately Truth is not a concept but a Person. Truth does not consist in simply
doing the right thing but being in a right relationship with God. We measure the integrity and sincerity
of our lives by comparing them to the life of Jesus and his teaching.
Young people often have a way of challenging the humbug and hypocrisy of our society, and of getting the
rest of us to face uncomfortable truths about ourselves, much as Christ himself did in his ministry. May
we ask God’s blessing on them in the decisions and direction of their future.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK
8th November 2009 - Remembrance Sunday
The human memory is amazingly sophisticated. It records every second of
our waking life and in addition holds unconscious material, the extent of which we cannot guess. How
much we can recall is only a fraction of what’s there; and while it will not always yield up the
particular memory we try to recapture, at the same time it may reveal something we do not like or want.
Most of us were born since the two world wars of the last century, which is why Remembrance Day helps to
remind us of events that have radically shaped our lives today. But the wars and conflicts since, which
are still in progress in places like Afghanistan, make it difficult to forget that ordinary human lives
like our own have been and continue to be lost in the elusive search for peace. As the Constitution of
the Church in the Modern World of Vatican II states, “peace is not the absence of war, nor....the
balance of power between opposing forces. Instead, it is rightly and properly called ‘the effect of
justice.’”
Remembrance is also at the heart of our Catholic faith. Our central act of worship flows from the
command of Christ at the Last Supper to “do this in remembrance of me”. We remember his sacrificial
death, not so that we may harbour revenge or bitterness, but paradoxically so that we may have life to
the full, because he gave his life for us not out of duty but in perfect love. Whether we recall the
death of our loved ones, of those killed in battle, or the victims of violence at the hands of others or
of environmental disasters, each of them is united with Christ’s death on the cross, and is included in
every Mass which re-presents his death and resurrection. It’s good to remember that.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
ALL SAINTS
1st November 2009
Saints are more admired than imitated. We look at their heroic lives,
sigh with regret that we could never be that holy, and sigh with relief that God isn’t calling us to be
anyway. Sanctity is not for us; only for the chosen few, we believe.
Perhaps the problem lies with our restricting sainthood to those in the premier league of holiness. The
saints officially canonised by the Church are exceptional examples, coming from many different cultures,
countries and historical settings. The majority, somewhat unfairly, seem to be bishops, priests or nuns,
which gives the impression that holiness is better suited to the professional religious. Nothing could
be further from the truth. The central chapter of the key document of the Second Vatican Council is
entitled “A Call to Holiness”, and reminds us that every single member of the Church, by reason of their
baptism, is called to be a saint, to be holy.
What is holiness? Is it about adopting a pious attitude, saying lots of prayers, and being as good as
possible? No. Holiness is not our initiative, but God’s. God calls us to become like him, to grow closer
to him, to “put on the mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5). He invites us to come to know him through
prayer, Scripture and sacraments, and in love and service of our neighbour. In the words of St Therese
of Lisieux, we are to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. If that’s what he wants, he will empower
us to do it – but in his way, his time. The last thing a truly holy person thinks they are is holy. Only
God can see the result of his own efforts in us. As another modern saint, Mother Teresa, used to say,
“God never asks us to be successful, only faithful.”
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK
25th October 2009
At the beginning of the gospel of St John, as two disciples of John the
Baptist start following Jesus, he turns round and asks them, “What do you want?” Again, in last week’s
gospel from Mark, Jesus asks the sons of Zebedee who are asking a favour of him, “What do you want me to
do for you?” And now it’s the turn of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, who is calling after Jesus, to hear
the Master saying, “What do you want me to do for you?”
It might seem strange that Jesus, who was able to read people’s thoughts, should need to ask those
questions. Surely he knew what they wanted. We could say the same thing about prayer. God knows our
needs better than we do, so why bother to ask him?
The reason he asks is to get us to think about our desires. A good teacher will not simply feed us
information; he/she will try to elicit the information from us by asking questions (drawing us out –
which is the root meaning of the word “education”). So when Jesus asks a blind man “what do you want?”
he is giving him the space to talk about his real desires. Being able to see may be the obvious one, but
no doubt he had many others, like “I’d like to stop begging and have a decent job”.
Jesus is doing the same for me and you. Right now he’s asking you what he can do for you. How will you
answer? What do you really want? Do you believe he can really do it for you?
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK
11th October 2009
The rich young man has acquired much in his comparatively short life. And
he wants more and more. Not only material goods; he wants the secret of spiritual success too. What do I
have to do to add eternal life to the shopping list? What hoops do I have to jump through to get to
heaven?
Jesus’ answer is to stand the young man’s thinking on its head. You obtain eternal life by renouncing
your life. You become rich by becoming poor and making others rich. But he couches that stark truth in
the context of the rich man’s desire. He sees deep inside him a seeking, an insatiable curiosity for
real happiness. He sees ultimately what the young man cannot see – that love is the object of his quest.
So “Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him” (Mk 10:21). Only by engaging us in a relationship of
love can Jesus call us to greater things. If you love someone deeply enough, you’ll do anything for
them; as St Paul famously reminds us, “love is always ready to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever
comes”.
Love is always an invitation, not forced on us against our will. The rich young man cannot accept Jesus’
invitation, and turns away sad. The sadness comes from being torn in two – he is inspired by Jesus’ love
and challenge to him, but he now finds he cannot go that far; the cost is too great. Perhaps we too feel
inspired by the gospel of Jesus, but the pressures and constraints of our daily living make us almost
despair of being good enough for God. Hence the disciples’ reaction: “In that case, who can be saved?”
And Jesus looks steadily at them, gazes at them, and says it’s impossible for us, but God can do it, if
you let him.
Let Jesus gaze at you now with love, and ask yourself how you would like to respond.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK
4th October 2009
One of the reasons why the Catholic Church holds marriage to be sacred
and inviolable is because it is a sacrament. Every married couple is making a statement that every day,
“from this day [their wedding day] forward.... till death do us part”, they are mirroring the faithful
love that Jesus the Bridegroom has for his Bride, the Church. When marriage is no longer a permanent
total commitment for life and ends in divorce, it ceases to be a sign of God’s constant love which never
ends.
This is not a judgement on any particular failed marriage, as the reasons for divorce are many and
varied. But it does argue for a careful, thorough and prayerful preparation for marriage in the Church.
The Church insists on at least four instructions for each couple preparing for marriage. When I consider
that I spent six years training for the priesthood, a mere four or five hours in preparing for Christian
marriage seems woefully inadequate. It is clear that many, if not most, Catholics do not know that a
Catholic is expected to be married in the Catholic Church. If they are married elsewhere without
explicit permission the marriage is not recognised by the Church.
Some would say that the Church is being unrealistic in such high expectations marriage. But she is only
echoing the words of Jesus in today’s gospel: “What God has united, man must not divide.” If God has
brought this couple together in unity, what human authority can override God? This is the ideal set
before us; and if we fail after giving of our best, we must entrust ourselves to the providence of a
loving and forgiving God who can heal our hearts.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK
Home Mission Sunday - 20th September 2009
I have been very touched by the kindness and sympathy of so many people following my
father’s death just over a week ago. He died peacefully following a stroke at the age of 87, and we his
children feel above all a sense of gratitude for his life, for all he has given us; our loss is that
much easier to bear as we endeavour to make our lives his legacy.
When in the gospel today Jesus speaks of his forthcoming passion and death, the reaction of his
disciples is to pretend they haven’t heard, and ostrich-like bury their heads in the sand. To compensate
for their discomfort and insecurity, they compete for power and argue which of them is the greatest –
after Jesus, of course. James in the second reading reinforces the damage caused by our aggressive
self-seeking. Wars and battles, he says, don’t start with one nation against another, or even one person
against another. They start with the conflicting desires fighting in a single human heart. Peace begins
with me.
To illustrate how to defuse the time-bomb of ambition and self-will, Jesus takes a little child and, by
placing him between himself and his disciples, implies that following Jesus is to be led by a child.
That child-like spirit, that being of service to others, that total trust in God’s providence was a
hallmark of my father’s life, from which I hope to continue to learn as he goes home to his Creator.
His funeral will be celebrated on Thursday next 24th September 10.30am at Our Lady of Lourdes, Wanstead.
May his gentle soul rest in peace.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK - 13th September 2009
At the heart of the Christian message – indeed, it is the Christian
symbol – is the cross. For the first four centuries Christian art did not picture the crucifixion; it
was too graphic, too explicit a reminder of a common and cruel instrument of execution in the Roman
Empire. But we cannot escape the truth that this was the way Jesus died, that he accepted this degrading
and excruciating death as a consequence of his total and unconditional love for each and every person on
this earth. He was killed by those who could not accept his refusal to limit God’s love to the worthy,
the religious or the good. The cross represents a love too enormous (and costly) to be ignored.
In today’s gospel Jesus foretells his approaching death and resurrection. But even before that ominous
prediction is revealed in the stark reality of Good Friday, he invites his would-be disciples to follow
the same path. Indeed, he makes it clear: unless we accept the suffering of the cross in our own lives,
we cannot be his disciples. Our own reaction, like Peter’s, is quite human – if we’ve got to follow you,
then don’t go that way, Lord! Try something less difficult!
But for us, it’s too late. Already we have been baptised into his death, and keep making the sign of the
cross to remind us we accept its consequences every day. When suffering comes, when the dark and messy
parts of our life threaten to limit our vision and the possibility of God loving us, it is all too
tempting to want to explain it, to rationalise it, to make sense of it. But ultimately we can’t. We only
know that God in Christ has entered into the heart of suffering not to explain it but to show us how to
live with it. And to rise again with him to new life.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK - 6th September 2009
One of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic Church in this country is
that there are some significant changes to the English translation of the Mass about to be sprung on us.
Familiar texts such as the I confess, Gloria and the Nicene Creed will be modified, some heavily, and so
will some of the responses. For example, to the priest’s invitation The Lord be with you, the
congregation will reply And with your spirit. All the Eucharistic Prayers will read differently. While
some parts are attractive, much of it is stilted and archaic, in my opinion. It’s as if it is only
half-translated, and is yet to be rendered in clear English.
The present translation of the Roman Missal has been familiar to us since its publication in 1975. At
that time it was intended as a short-term version while a more thorough and more elegant translation was
being prepared – a mammoth task, since it had to be agreed by the Bishops’ Conference of every
English-speaking country in the world. In 1995 the final text was submitted to Rome for approval, and
there it sat gathering dust until 2001, when a totally new set of guidelines for translation were
decreed by Rome. Years of painstaking work was scrapped and the English-speaking hierarchies were told
to start again.
At last the new edition is nearing completion and will possibly be published next year (I overheard a
conversation in a London Catholic bookshop between an Australian cardinal and a British publisher a few
weeks ago, so I know!). In America they are already publishing details of the new version to prepare
their people (see www.usccb.org/romanmissal). But there’s not a squeak out of the bishops of England and
Wales. You heard it here first!
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK - 30th August 2009
One of the consequences of an aggressive individualism is the loss of a common moral code of behaviour.
The one who makes Frank Sinatra’s song “I Did It My Way” their anthem is not interested in anybody
else’s way unless it fits with theirs. Even the laws that have been introduced to regulate a society
that has lost a moral compass are flouted or ignored. An amoral society is well on the way to becoming
an anarchic one.
Yet there are signs that we not only want to restore order but even regain a moral compass. The pendulum
is beginning to swing back the other way. The reaction to the Scottish Justice Minister’s decision to
return the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing to Libya on compassionate grounds is instructive.
Compassion is a central Christian virtue which appeals not just to legal technicalities or even moral
codes, but to the heart. What at heart do we really want for this man? I believe the reaction has
revealed the divisions and conflicts in the heart of each of us. I want to be forgiving and
compassionate, but what about justice? How do I reconcile the anger and violence welling up in my heart
with the love and forgiveness preached by Jesus?
To placate our troubled minds we suppress these feelings and try to live on the surface, like the
Pharisees in today’s gospel who insist on legal observance but don’t want to question their motives.
What’s going on in your heart? What are the unconscious motivations which colour your judgements? Jesus
challenges us, like the Pharisees, to examine the intentions of our hearts. We may not like what we see,
but self-awareness is the first step to freedom and growth, and a step nearer the wisdom of compassion.
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR OF MARK -
23rd August 2009
GK Chesterton famously wrote: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been
found difficult, and left untried.” When Jesus said “Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and
drink of his blood, you cannot have life in you”, the reaction of his hearers was repulsion at what
sounded like cannibalism. “This is intolerable language. Who can accept it?” Many of his followers left
him. Did he run after them and say: “I didn’t mean it like that. Let me try and explain it in more
acceptable language”? No. He even expected that his closest friends might leave too, and gave them
permission. But Peter on their behalf said: “Without you there is nowhere else to go.”
Much of what we are asked to believe and live by defies explanation. But that doesn’t lessen its
importance or impact. Many of our contemporaries shun religion and mock any belief in God. What is it
that keeps us going? Perhaps, like Peter, we can tell Jesus that he’s the best we’ve got as far as we
can see! But Peter went on more positively to say: “We believe, we know you are the Holy One of God.”
St Paul in today’s reading from Ephesians compares the relationship between Christ and us his Church to
the relationship between husband and wife. Marriage is another mystery that has often been found
difficult and left untried. But when it is tried and lived, the spouses are a living sign of Christ’s
faithfulness to us and our loving commitment to him. We too often forget that it is never achievable by
our own human effort alone. Only by allowing God’s grace to work in us can we surrender to him and say:
“Lord, who else but you? We believe you are the Holy One of God.”
God bless you and yours.
Fr John
THE ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY - 16th August 2009