Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 1 September 2024

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B -  Sunday, 1 September 2024 (EPISODE:494)

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Vector ID: 2246270587 - Saint Joseph is working as a carpenter with the boy Jesus helping. Vector Contributor -rudall30

GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND

Homily: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 1 September 2024

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-22nd-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-494/s-L0XRbVSaqAf

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Readings for Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B

FIRST READING: Deut 4: 1-2, 6-8

Ps 15: 2-3a, 3b-4a, 4b-5. "The just will live in the presence of the Lord."

SECOND READING: Jas 1: 17-18, 21b-22, 27

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (James 1: 18). Alleluia, alleluia! The Father gave us birth by his message of truth. That we might be as the first fruits of his creation.

GOSPEL: Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23

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HAPPY FATHERS DAY

This weekend, the first Sunday of September, we give thanks to all Fathers for their love, care and generosity. We pray that God grants them joy in their family and friends, as well as health and strength.   

Also, for all fathers who have passed into eternal life, may God give them a permanent place at the heavenly feast, the reward for all their goodness and kindness. 

Happy Father's Day to all our Dads in the community. May God bless you and grant you peace and joy. 

 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS
This weekend's readings take a very practical angle on the meaning of discipleship. We are called to take special care to be just, honest, and charitable toward everyone. What a different tone the world would take if everyone took that angle.
 
As Christians, properly applying our religious beliefs leads to significant practical consequences for our lives and actions. The readings this weekend send a powerful message: What is the point of calling ourselves "Disciples of Christ and servants of God" (in other words: "Christians"), unless our practical actions REFLECT justice, SHOW charity, really put forgiveness into action and REVEAL loving/practical acts of kindness (that God asks us to show to one-another).
 
'True and untarnished religion is this: acting justly, helping the poor, the widow and the orphan.' - In fact, helping all those who are most in need. Jesus warns his critics that if their religion goes no further than blind observation of symbolic rituals, whilst at the same time not living the message of practical love, kindness, and fairness, it will do no good whatsoever. The sacraments SHOW, AND POINT TO, AND STRENGTHEN God's compassion and love abiding within us – This is the nature and purpose of Christ's sacraments - They convey to us, in a real, touchable way, Christ, who is love, mercy, justice and compassion.
 
"The value of a person's good works is not based on their number and excellence," says Saint John of the Cross, "but on the love of God within them, which prompts the person to do these things in the first place." [Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591)]
 
 "Love, justice, and charity are the more key indicators of authentic discipleship than mere outward observances of one's rituals. Ideally, the two go together and reinforce and nurture each other."
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It's clear from the Gospel that by the time of Jesus, people had indeed started adding to God's law and loading people down with unnecessary burdens and difficult observances that for most people were impossible to achieve. So, living in God's favour became something that most people couldn't do, and it was only reserved for the lucky minority. Most people were too busy just keeping alive and dealing with the everyday practicalities of living and surviving to observe all these rules and rituals.

 

Holiness and peace had become rare commodities which were now well beyond the reach of most people. That was never God's plan. The whole point of God's law was that it was given to people for their welfare and growth, so that people could deeply live and reflect the love, the values and priorities of God in their actions and attitudes.

 

I particularly like the scripture passages that expressly name the virtues and qualities of Christian life. As you name them, it feels as if it stirs up the desire to deepen those virtues in our hearts. It's as if those values and virtues start to take deeper hold in our souls as we think about them, as we reflect on them.

 

The just will live in the presence of the Lord by means of this, walking in the ways of blamelessness, acting with justice, speaking honestly, avoiding wrongdoing, not gossiping or slandering others, honouring the Lord, keeping our promises, not ripping off people, not allowing oneself to be bought off from their principles, not selling out.

 

The second reading from James confirms this practical advice, that we should always aim to do what the word tells us, and not just listen to it and deceive ourselves. That's a very powerful reminder that we can easily deceive ourselves about our true motives and intentions, but we should be on guard against such self-justifications.

 

Not merely us saying, I'm doing this for the good of others, I have no self-serving motives in my actions, but rather the test of pure unspoiled religion is coming to the help of people who are in need, distancing oneself from the values of the world that are not consistent with the Gospel. Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus warns us about people who honour God with only lip service, and all the while their hearts are actually very far from God. Our Lord asks us to look deep inside our hearts and see the things that distort our faithfulness.

 

These are the inner movements of the heart, and they can be, and need to be, crowded out by the positive values, the graces and virtues that God gives us to counteract them, namely faithfulness, purity, reverence, respect, detachment from material things, love, honesty, appreciation, affirmation, self-sacrifice, and so on. The virtues of the Gospel build us up, and they crowd out anything that is inconsistent with the Gospel. There's simply no room for those negative qualities because God has filled us with all the good values.

 

Christianity is not primarily a set of doctrines and laws. Christianity is, first and foremost, a person, Jesus, and a relationship with that person, Christ, who is the revelation of God and the perfection of the law. Christianity is a relationship, not a concept or philosophy, and certainly not just a set of rules.

 

Whenever Christianity is turned into mere concepts or a set of rules and philosophies alone, it gets disconnected from the person and values of Jesus, which should be at the very core, a living core, a living heart of love. Naturally, there are rules and doctrines and dogmas in Christianity. There certainly are, but all of them serve to point us to Christ, who is the one rule, the one Word.

 

In the Gospel today, Jesus was struggling valiantly against legalism. The lawmakers and the law keepers seemed to be more interested in what people could not do, rather than focusing on what they could be doing and should be doing in response to life's real issues and problems. Our Christian faith is about positive acts as well as refraining from negative ones.

 

The lawmakers in Jesus' time focused too much on appearances and outward actions, ignoring the inner realities of their terrible attitudes, their lack of love, their hypocrisy. They were focusing more on what one should refrain from doing, rather than encouraging and promoting the inner growth of the heart, nurturing those attitudes and loving responses towards others. There's a certain safety in refraining from doing things and avoiding things.

 

One hardly risks getting hurt if one does not do anything. But when one loves, we open ourselves to being hurt. Not that we want to be hurt, but it's what happens. It is the risk of love. We reach out, and that can make us vulnerable.

 

Jesus corrected the errors of these legal people. Jesus is shown positively living his message by his actions.

 

I love this saying, "Christianity is a verb, not a noun." It is about doing, as well as being. As we see our Lord going through life, loving, sharing, forgiving, healing, including, uplifting, unburdening, feeding, encouraging, and risking everything and giving everything out of love, giving absolutely everything in his desire to address every genuine human need.
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References:

Homily - Fr Paul W. Kelly

Image Credit: Shutterstock Licensed.

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Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Year B  -(Sunday, 1 September 2024)  (EPISODE: 494 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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welcome everyone, we gather -  Listen to God's Word and contemplate the sacraments. On this Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

As we begin the Holy Eucharist, let us acknowledge our sinfulness, so as to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries.
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's kingdom: Lord, have mercy You come in word and in sacrament to strengthen us and make us holy: Christ, have mercy You will come again in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy .
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.
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Ps 15:2-3a, 3b-4a, 4b-5. "The just will live in the presence of the Lord."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (James 1:18). Alleluia, alleluia! The Father gave us birth by his message of truth. That we might be as the first fruits of his creation.
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PREFACE: Ordinary 2
Eucharistic Prayer 1
(theme variation: theme 4 )

 

(post version: v2-short)

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{10. thanks everyone. And may God sustain you with his grace and love.}

4. Go in peace.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by visting here:

https://surfersparadiseparish.us7.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=85b9ddd494b242276d423bfe9&id=002282d9e0 

Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)
[Production - KER - 2024]
May God bless and keep you.

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Homily: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 25 August 2024 - (EPISODE:493)

Homily: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 25 August 2024 - (EPISODE:493)

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Vector ID: 2446001941 -Jesus Christ Priest holding the Host and Chalice Colored Vector Illustration — Vector Contributor: Luis Fraga

 

GOSPEL THIS WEEKEND

Homily: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 25 August 2024 - (EPISODE:493)

 

Readings for the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B

FIRST READING: Josh 24: 1-2a, 15-17, 18b

Ps 34: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21. "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

SECOND READING: Eph 5: 21-32

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. John 6: 63c+68c). Alleluia, alleluia! Your words, Lord, are spirit and life. You have the words of everlasting life.

GOSPEL: John 6: 60-69

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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B  - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-21st-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-493/s-0cW09BkKBDT

- (EPISODE:493)

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* (Prologue:  Fr Paul Kelly)

Trust in Our Lord, especially in trying times. 

 

This weekend's readings remind us that God is faithful to us and we should not let challenges stop us from trusting in God's care and protection. 

 

In the first reading, the people wisely choose to continue to trust in their God rather than chase after false idols. They REMEMBER the care and protection God gave them in the past, and continue to trust in God.

 

The psalm also reminds us that we should continue to sing of God's praises and God's gifts. God has made a covenant with us like a husband and wife make a covenant with each other in marriage. It is one of equality and looking out for the needs of the other because they are truly a part of each other.

 

In the Gospel, Jesus challenges the people with his revolutionary teaching on the Eucharist. Some of his followers are horrified and turn away - refusing to follow him anymore. The Apostles refuse to stop following him because they rightly say, "Where else could we go? YOU have the words of everlasting life."

 

It is so important, especially in times of difficulty, challenge and change, that we all continue to remember the graces, give thanks for God's gifts and keep trusting in God's wisdom and guidance. For Jesus does indeed have the answers, even though he leads us through a new and often challenging territory.

 

Homily - 

In the first reading, the people are faced with a decisive question. Will we keep following the Lord, or will we go after other priorities and values and chase after false gods?

 

The people's response is very good, and it's very telling. We have no intention of deserting the Lord our God because God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, the house of slavery, and God worked great wonders before our eyes and preserved us along the way.

 

This is yet another example of the people remembering. The people are calling to mind very clearly the blessings and graces of the past. If we don't keep remembering the gifts of the past, we will almost certainly fall by the wayside.

 

We must keep thanking God, and remembering the countless blessings and graces that God has already given us along our life's journey. Then we too can say to the Lord, "we have no intention of deserting you."

 

And this leads us to the psalm as it says, "Bless the Lord at all times, his praise always on my lips."

 

The second reading is meant to be understood as acknowledging the equality and dignity of a man and a woman, and encouraging people to put each other first, the way one would treat one's own self and one's own needs. It seems to me that when this is practiced, the needs of both are respected as if they were one's own needs, a recipe for a very respectful and loving marriage.

 

The gospel affirms Jesus as the source of all inspiration and all grace.

In the midst of very challenging new concepts and ideas that really challenge the would-be disciple, there's this simple reply, Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life and we believe, and know that you are the Holy One of God.

 

This foundational belief in Jesus being our source of eternal life and of truth, allows us to keep trusting, keep believing and keep going deeper into our heart and soul; so that we will truly follow Jesus, even in times of challenge, especially in times of challenge. It's easy to be a disciple and follower of God when things are going right, and everything's good, but it's much more challenging when the path is very, very rough.

 

In this life, we must constantly be alert to keep our faith alive; and this requires a daily decision to abide deeply in God's word, to let God's word form us and fill us up, and to allow the word to convert everything that's not consistent with the Lord's values. This means daily prayer, daily spiritual reading, reflection on the scriptures and an openness to the formation and challenges of our Lord's eternal, life-giving word, words which challenge and impel us ever more forward, and often take us well out of our comfort zones.

 

Naturally, there are many good things about the society and the world we live in, but there are some strong values and philosophies that are so dominant and so powerful in our society that if we were to accept them, it could make our lives really miserable.

 

Some values in our world are clearly not consistent with the gospel, and can send us down a path of futility. For example, the way the secular world assesses the value of the person. 

 

The world is stuck only in the flesh and puts too much importance on appearances. It doesn't understand the differences between "doing" and "being."  It only takes a little to see that if you scratch the surface of modern society, some very worrying values in our society are quite inconsistent with Christ's message. 

 

For example, there's a concerning attitude where a person might say, my whole value is in my job. Now our jobs are important, but to say my value is so much caught up in my job that without my job, I am nothing, that's not consistent with Jesus' message or actions. Also, if I were to say my true value is in my abilities to be able to do certain things, so if I can't do those things anymore, I am worthless. That's also misleading.

 

That's not of Christ. Christ has given each of us intrinsic value within ourselves. We are valuable.

 

We are precious. We are sacred in and of ourselves, irrespective of what we do or what we're able to do or what job we have or where we stand in society. We are precious and valuable in ourselves – simply and completely because we are beloved children of God.

 

So when people say my value is in what I own, or I'm valuable because of where I stand on the ladder of society, what happens if I lose my possessions or lose my reputation or social standing? Am I of no value at all? The world may say that. People may say that. Christ definitely does not say that!! – And Christ's view is decisive and always true!

 

Jesus shows us clearly where our true value lies. Our value is in being eternally beloved sons and daughters of a loving God. That reality NEVER changes, no matter what the changes of time and circumstances brings.

 

But Jesus' words are too hard for many people and they stop following him, which is really tragic because although Christ's worldview is challenging and new and requires a real change of heart and mind, it is freeing and very helpful, especially when so many other passing things, that  we depend upon fail us, or cease to be accesible.

 

Christ's values never end. Thank goodness, Jesus doesn't water down his teachings or his message when people find it a bit hard to accept.

 

In fact, he steps up the strength of his message even more, in the face of resistance and  rejection.

 

He will not back down.  Jesus even turns to his disciples and says, "are you going to leave too?" And, (inspired by the Holy Spirit), Saint Peter replies, bravely and truthfully, "where else could we go? There's nowhere else to go. You have the words of everlasting life. You have the truth."

 

Why would we turn away from the truth, no matter how challenging it is?

 

Lord, help us to keep following your ways, even when they're most challenging, and help us to reject anything that is contrary to your values. May your life transform our hearts, and may your gospel transform our lives.

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References:

Homily –Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of John Part I. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press.

 

Abbot's Homilies - Benedictine Abbey of Christ in the Desert. . [online] Benedictine Abbey of Christ in the Desert. Available at: https://christdesert.org/updates/abbots-homilies/

 

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B   (Sunday, August 22, 2021)  (EPISODE:317 )
The Lord be with you.
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{{Good day, everyone}} Welcome everyone; we gather -  Ponder with reverence, God's word and sacrament.

As we prepare to celebrate the tremendous Sacramental feast of God's love, let us pause, recall our sins, and trust God's infinite mercy. 

You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy.

You came to call sinners: Christ, have mercy. 

You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us: Lord, have mercy.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.
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Ps 34: 2-3, 16-17, 18-19, 20-21 . "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (cf. John 6: 63c+68c). Alleluia, alleluia! Your words, Lord, are spirit and life. You have the words of everlasting life.
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PREFACE: Sundays iii
ep ii

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{I am very grateful for you joining in at this special time of prayer and reflection. }

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to our weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants  — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009,  The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful -   " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'.   E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney, Australia).

Sung "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -  By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria, Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

- "Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - in memory of William John (Bill) Kelly (1942-2017) -  Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

- "Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

 

Sound Engineering and editing -  P.W. Kelly.

 

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser.

 

v Editing equipment:    NCH software - MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software

 

v NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 12.44

 

v Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor

[Production -  KER -  2024]

May God bless and keep you.

 

 

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B - Sunday, 18 August 2024 (EPISODE:492)

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. -Year B -  Sunday, 18 August 2024 (EPISODE:492)

Readings for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.- Year B
FIRST READING: Prov 9:1-6
Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (diff). "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."
SECOND READING: Eph 5:15-20
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 6:56). Alleluia, alleluia! All who eat my flesh and drink my blood. Live in me and I in them, says the Lord.
GOSPEL: John 6:51-58

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2234077357 - Pelican feeding its young with its own blood by piercing its body. Jesus Christ sacrificing himself for mankind religion symbol concept. - Photo Formats- Photo Contributor: funstarts33
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Please listen to the audio-recordings of the Mass – (Readings, prayers and homily), for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year B - Sunday, 18 August 2024 - by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-20th-sunday-ordinary-time-year-b-episode-492/s-9KFGN2WaW2y  
(EPISODE:492)
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Homily: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.Year B - Sunday, 18 August 2024

 

Prologue: It is that wonderful time to come together and listen to God's word, to praise God and offer prayers to the Lord.  This weekend, the readings speak of eating and drinking. There are clearly different types of food that we can eat, some are very good for us, and some are very unhealthy for us. Jesus is clearly speaking about receiving him in the Eucharist - in his Body and Blood.   Our Lord is strongly teaching us to take in only that which is truly nourishing for our lives. Jesus offers us everything that is truly good and life-giving. His presence in the Eucharist, transforms, nourishes and strengthens us in our daily mission. His Gospel message and the values contained in his Word give us nourishment in our Spirit and our attitudes. Jesus offers us a diet of only the very best.  Also, did you know there is an old Latin Hymn, "Adore Te Devote" by the Great theologian Thomas Aquinas, in which Our Lord Jesus is addressed (among other titles) as:  "O Pelicanus"  -  (O Pelican !)-  There is a beautiful symbolic reason for this, which I will explain in the homily... 

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In the readings this weekend, we hear of our Lord telling the crowd, in no uncertain terms, that he is offering himself to them in the Eucharist, so that as they eat the bread and drink the chalice of Eucharist, they are truly taking in the presence and person of Jesus into their hearts, into their bodies, and becoming united with Christ and his mission. Jesus wanted to make it quite clear that he wanted us to become living, cooperating, and free instruments of his grace, and that this included receiving Eucharist, so that we could be as closely united to Jesus in our lives and in our work as could ever be imagined. What a profound and amazing gift that Jesus is giving to us.

 

I've got a little everyday example of God's grace, and something interesting. I was looking around a few years back online for some piano music, and I came across some albums by the great American composer George Gershwin, 1898 to 1937. He was a brilliant American composer and pianist.

 

This album I came across was called Gershwin Plays Gershwin, and I was intrigued since these recordings of his music were made between 1916 and 1933, and of course sound recordings were very, very not high-tech back then. I thought, well I'll be scratchy and very hard to hear, even allowing for modern digital restoration and enhancement techniques. These recordings turned out to be something quite different and extraordinary, and they were as clear as a bell to listen to, just as if we were sitting there listening to him playing the piano now.

 

And I asked myself, how is that possible? How can this be perfectly clear but claim to be the playing of the actual Gershwin? The answer is because Gershwin recorded in a technique arguably the forerunner for digital technology. Yes, even way back then in the 20s. You see, he recorded his music on piano rolls, that is, paper rolls with little slots cut into them that exactly replicated his playing as he played, and they were designed to be played back on a real piano, a pianola or the type.

 

So these are effectively modern recordings of his own playing, amazingly experienced, just as if he was playing the music here and now. I mention this example because the activity of God's Holy Spirit through us, his humble mortals, has often been compared to the human breath being breathed into a finely tuned musical instrument. When the Holy Spirit fills us up and inspires our actions effectively, it's not like a scratchy faded old record of a bygone event, not just a pale reproduction, but rather it's truly God's gracious action here and now, experienced in its fullness, in its touchable way, in and through his cooperating human instruments.

 

For real, clear and effective, quite extraordinary. In some ways, the sacraments are God's perfect digital music. God is really and truly touching us in and through his presence in the sacraments, not just a pale symbol or a sign that harks back to a long-gone event, but a perfect and real representation of God's actual presence and action in and through the sacramental encounter.

 

So when Jesus gives us the Eucharist, the bread broken and the chalice poured out for us, this is truly the presence of Jesus in his body and blood, not merely a scratchy copy, but the real thing presented to us. We are asked to take in his body and blood in the Eucharist, to be united with him, body and soul, and to take in the words of scripture and to become finely tuned instruments through which God's grace can be experienced, here and now, in this world and in this community. It's a true miracle, better than any human technology could ever achieve.

 

Here's another thought. When I was at seminary, we had an option to learn a little bit of Latin, and a few of us felt that since it was a very important part of our tradition of the Church, we should at least have an opportunity to have a grasp of Latin. I'm glad of this, but really how I learned any Latin is a mystery of religion, it was so difficult, there were so many irregular verbs and declensions, my mind boggled, and I would come to classes feeling I hadn't put enough preparation into the next classes, so I'd worry that I'd not be able to answer any questions about it.

 

Mysteriously though, several things did seem to sink into my brain, as if by a form of osmosis, that is, just by being immersed in the language of Latin, some things did stay with me, and they stay to this day. For example, pronunciation stuck with me, and the general structure and basic vocabulary stayed with me, and also a few phrases really stuck with me, some for various reasons. Our lecturer, Father Michael McClure, who is from Toowoomba Diocese, would present us with old Latin hymns and get us to pronounce the Latin contained in these beautiful hymns, and it was a really great way of teaching, by singing in Latin, it seemed to get in better.

 

I was intrigued one day when we were reciting an old hymn set to the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, the great doctor of the Church, it was a hymn to Jesus, and the mysterious Latin words echoed out, O Pelicanus. I thought to myself, that's odd, that sounds like Aquinas is saying to Jesus, O Pelican, very odd, surely this is a mistranslation, but no, it wasn't. But why was St. Thomas Aquinas calling Jesus O Pelican, why would a pelican be a symbol of Jesus? And here lies an interesting story.

 

The symbolism of a mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in ancient legend. In ancient thinking, the humble pelican was believed to be very self-sacrificing to its young, especially in times of famine. The mother pelican was seen to wound herself, to vuln herself, another Latin word that comes from the same derivation as the word vulnerable, that means being able to be pierced, being able to be wounded.

 

So the pelican was seen to strike her breast with her beak, and she would feed her young from her own blood to prevent starvation. Another version of this legend was that the mother fed her dying young her own blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life. This legend, as I mentioned, comes from a slight observational confusion.

 

A pelican feeds her young, not by piercing its own chest and having blood come out, but by regurgitating food that is stored in its upper throat. This occurs by the bird lowering and raising its neck repeatedly onto its breast, hence its action looks like it's piercing its own chest, and the reddish fluid, which is actually food, flows out, which the young then feed upon. So even though it's a misunderstanding, the symbolism is quite clear and beautiful, and you can see how it's been used as an image of Christ, whose own blood saved us all, and he died for us, but then rose again.

 

Given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adopted it to symbolise our Lord Jesus Christ. The pelican symbolises Jesus, our Redeemer, who truly gave his life for our redemption and the victory over sin and death he made through his passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the blood of Christ.

 

Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with his body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. I remember seeing a beautiful tabernacle, I think it was Rosalie Church, and I think maybe even Ipswich Church, and it had the image of a mother pelican piercing its breast and feeding its young chicks. So that symbolism is beautiful and quite widespread.

 

The Gospel today reminds me about all of this because Jesus is using very clear, very dramatic, and quite stark words to explain how he intends to be made present to us, to allow us to draw life from him by partaking in the Eucharist, which is clearly a sharing in the body and blood of Christ, so that we might be united in Christ's life. Jesus had the problem of conveying the meaning of Eucharist to his followers, and as you can imagine it was very, very difficult. It was quite clear that he meant them to understand the dramatic reality of the action of the Eucharist, whilst at the same time not wanting them to be so repelled by the idea of eating flesh and blood.

 

Christ truly meant us to understand that in Eucharist we truly receive him in his body and blood, and become united to him in his life. All that matters, and I'm grateful to my long-suffering Latin lecturer for this, is that Christ gives his life and body and blood for all of us. Jesus wants us to enter into that relationship of faith of life with him that's so close that we are to be truly united with Christ.

 

And what we celebrate here in Eucharist is the real and touchable, tangible expression of the life that we share with God made flesh, for the life of the world. The Pelicanus, whose chest was pierced, and his own life force flowed out so that we might have life.

 

And verse six of that wonderful hymn by St. Thomas Aquinas,

"Adoro Te Devote"

Verse 6.

Lord Jesus, Good Pelican,

wash my squalidness and clean me with your blood,

One drop of which can free

the entire world of all its sins.

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References:

 

Fr Paul W. Kelly

 

https://btk.ppke.hu/uploads/articles/8528/file/6-1-10.pdf

 

Audio-CD. Gershwin Plays Gershwin. The Piano Rolls: Volume 1. "Rhapsody in Blue" By George Gershwin.  Publisher: Nonesuch. (November 5, 1993). ASIN: B000005J1I. Reference Link: http://a.co/2fR2tCc  - Portions used for the purposes of Review.

 

Image Credit- Shutterstock Licensed. Stock Photo ID: 2234077357 - Pelican feeding its young with its own blood by piercing its body. Jesus Christ sacrificing himself for mankind religion symbol concept. - Photo Formats- Photo Contributor: funstarts33

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  Year B  -(Sunday, 18 August 2024)  (EPISODE:492)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{Greetings}} welcome everyone, we gather -  Reflection upon God's word, and encounter Christ's presence. On this Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Our Gods love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.
option two on the cards Have mercy on us, O Lord. For we have sinned against you. Show us, O Lord, your mercy. And grant us your salvation.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 (diff). "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord."

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION (John 6:56). ). Alleluia, alleluia! All who eat my flesh and drink my blood. Live in me and I in them, says the Lord.
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PREFACE: Ordinary 8
Eucharistic Prayer various 1
(theme variation: theme 2 )

 

(post version: v2-long)

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{8. Bless you all and May God's grace guide you each and every day of this week.}

2. Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to the weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by visting here:

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Details relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:

"Faith, Hope and Love - Christian worship and reflection" - Led by Rev Paul Kelly

Prayers and chants — Roman Missal, 3rd edition, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy. (ICEL)

Scriptures - New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, and 2009 by the NCC-USA. (National Council of Churches of Christ - USA)

"The Psalms" ©1963, 2009, The Grail - Collins publishers.

Prayers of the Faithful - " Together we pray" by Robert Borg'. E.J. Dwyer, Publishers, (1993). (Sydney Australia).

Sung "Mass in Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" - By Jeffrey M. Ostrowski. The Gloria,  Copyright © 2011 ccwatershed.org.

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme hymn - In memory of William John Kelly (1942-2017) - Inspired by 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Music by Paul W. Kelly. Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

"Quiet Time."  Instrumental Reflection music. Written by Paul W Kelly. 1988, 2007. & This arrangement: Stefan Kelk, 2020.

"Today I Arise" - For Trisha J Kelly.  Original words and music by Paul W. Kelly. Inspired by St Patrick's Prayer.  Arranged and sung, with additional lyrics by Stefan Kelk. 2019.

Sound Engineering and editing - P.W. Kelly.

Microphones: - Shure Motiv MV5 Digital Condenser. And (2024+) Rode Nt-1 + AI-1 Sound Mixer.

Editing equipment:    -- MixPad Multitrack Studio Recording Software v10.49 (NCH Software).

NCH – WavePad Audio Editing Software. Masters Edition v 17.63 (NCH Software)

Sound Processing:  iZotope RX 10 Audio Editor (Izotope Inc.)

[Production -  KER -  2024]

May God bless and keep you.
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