Paul's Reflections Palm Sunday/ Passion SUnday 2010

Palm Sunday 2010.

 

Since the gospel reading of the Passion is so long this weekend, I will only say a few words about the gospel today…. 

 

During this coming week, it would be wonderful to take the long version of Luke’s Gospel and read through it prayerfully and reflectively. There is a lot of richness in this most important text.

 

Two things that stike me about the version of Luke’s Passion account that we listened to this weekend….

 

1.     The enemies of Jesus are liars. They hated his message of love, forgiveness and inclusion and spent all their time trying to trap Jesus and find something against him. In the end they could find nothing wrong… so…   did they give up?  No, they just made up accusations…   the thigns they accuse Jesus of in Luke’s Gospel are lies….  Jesus was inciting revolt?  No he wasn’t. he was seeking to avoid it. Opposing payment  to Caesar, no he didn’t, and okay, yes he was claiming to be the Christ… but to say he was setting himself up as a King to overthrow the earthly leader.. was a distortion to make Jesus look insidious…    They were lying through their teeth to convict Jesus,.. but even Pilate says…  he is not guilty….  

2.      When people bring Jesus to Herod, he is completely self-absorbed… he doesn’t even listen to what they are saying… he just wants to meet Jesus and get him to do a miracle… it’s a horrific sign of out of touch, self-serving leadership that doesn’t even know what the issues are….

Jesus came to forgive, include and welcome… and he is repaid in rejection, dishonesty and hatred….  He showed the absolute depth of his love by sacrificing everything for us…  and this has saved us….  We thank God, for Jesus’ life and saving death.. and we keep vigil this week as we enter the holiest week of the Church’s year…  a journey through suffering love…  leadership of complete service…  that goes through death to new and everlasting life…

 

 

Paul's Reflections Fifth Sunday of Lent - C

21st March, 2010      Fifth Sunday of Lent - C

 

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(The Woman caught in Adultery)

 

This gospel is disturbing in so many ways….   We all know that Jesus is our saviour….   But in this present Gospel situation, this truth became immediately relevant to the woman who was caught in this life or death situation.  As the experts of the law were so happy to point out, the law entitled them to stone this woman to death. What a brutal and harsh justice….   No one would have dared to dispute, though,  if Jesus had taken the high moral line that the experts in the law were taking, since it WAS the letter of the law.  But Jesus really cares about us, and really cared about the true welfare of this woman, and so he refused to condemn her and did not go along with the baying crowd in giving them what they expected. 

 

Jesus has our true interests at heart….  Jesus’ accusers were just USING this woman as a device to trap him. They did not care for her welfare of her salvation and were using her as an object to attack Jesus.

 

It is a reminder that it is possible to use a righteous thing for an unrighteous motive…  they appeared, whilst claiming to be faithful followers of God, to be filled with malice and hate and contempt…. Not only for Jesus, but for human life…..  they were showing their true colours…

 

It’s a terrible trait in us humans that we, all too easily see the faults and sins of others, but can be quite blind to our own personal failing,s faults and sins….   Also, the natural inclination of human nature is, when faced with outward visible sin and failings… one can be tempted to kick the person when they are down….   Its as if a mirror is being shone at us and we don’t like the reflection, so we can try to remove anyone who shows weakness, and sin and failings, because it can remind us that we too are weak, and sinful and fail …..

 

This gospel challenges us all…  in our work, in our homes, in our churches and in our community…..   in what ways are we tempted to thrown metaphorical stones at those we see to have weaknesses and failings…….  In what way are we failing to humbly acknowledge our own weaknesses….. and sins…  how can we ask the Lord to help us to be people who build others up, and don’t tear them down…..  can we ask the Lord to give us the grace to respond with compassion, sensitivity and gentleness when faced with others weaknesses, sins and failings…  and can we be gentle and constructive about our own sins and failings too….   Jesus wants to lift sin and enmeshment from our shoulders not have us trapped and stuck in these things forever and ever…

 

Many generations of people have wondered… what in the world did Jesus write in the sand… why didn’t john the evangelist tell us what he wrote…..   but that is the thing….  The gospel writers don’t tell us everything… they tell us what they regard as important… and for John.. and with Jesus…  its what you DO that counts… not just what you say… not just what you write…   Jesus didn’t just talk the talk… he ACTED justly and lovingly and compassionately… and he showed that these experts in the law knew the letter but had failed to live the spirit of God’s law… and were doing great harm because of it…

 

The contrast between Jesus and the experts in the law is enormous…. 

 

Isn’t it interesting that there is no one more compassionate the loving and gentle towards those who have fallen than truly holy people…. The real saints are the the ones who are closest to those who have done wrong.. and are living complex lives…   and their presence amongst them is loving and gentle… 

 

The opposite is also sadly true… there is no one more judgemental and condemnatory and intolerant than the self-righteous phoneys…  they can look very similar to the holy ones, but their actions and attitudes show them up for what they really are…  fakes… and frauds…  Jesus shows us the true response to people in their brokenness and sin and pain….  The self-righteous phoneys are unbridging in their expectations and unforgiving in their standards,…. Except when it comes to their own failings… then everyone should just move on quickly… and get over it….   A horrific double standard that Jesus rejects utterly…

 

Jesus is not only the good shepherd… he is the divine surgeon..  the ONLY reason he would want our sins exposed is so that they can be brought out into the light.. and only for the purposes of healing and wholeness… not to condemn, not to imprison and never to reject…. 

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REFERENCES:

 

• FR. PAUL W. KELLY
• MISSION 2000  – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR c. BY MARK LINK S.J.
• 2010 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.
• SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAY LITURGIES. YEAR C. FLOR MCCARTHY S.D.B.

 

 

Paul's Reflections Fourth Sunday of Lent - C

14th March, 2010      Fourth Sunday of Lent - C

 

The parables of Jesus are really profound and challenging….  But WATCH OUT>>>>   we  can “kill” Jesus' parables if we neutralise them or water them down with worldly wisdom. Jesus is offering us unworldly wisdom.

 

So too with the so-called “lost son” parable. When he comes back his father gives him a

-Robe

-ring

-shoes

 

These are signs of status. This lost son is now FULLY REINSTATED, NO QUESTIONS, NO RETRIBUTION, NO AMENDS. This is completely insane! But it gets worse. They kill the fatted calf. Perhaps this calf was being fattened for the other sons wedding day feast some time in the future. The father in this story is foolish. But he says "we had to celebrate, he was lost to me and I love him, not matter what, and I have got him back! I had to do this, he is my son after all, I cannot deny him……(Wow).

 

One of our lecturer’s in my sabbatical a few years ago tells a story of a visit he made to a village while he was in the missions. The local theatre people did a play enacting the "lost son" but in their version of the story they unwittingly neutralised the message of Jesus and replaced it with a frightening message of worldly wisdom we can see all too often ://… in their version, when the lost son is walking home, the father sees him and yet does not move. Then the servants  come out of their huts with sticks in their hands, run up to the son and start 'beating him with the sticks' until the father eventually walks up and say 'okay he has had enough!'  when our missionary priest  asked why the troupe had changed Jesus' parable, they said "you cannot let this story run as it was. The rascal must not be able to get off free. If God doesn't punish him, then we will"  !!!!

Very telling…   about human nature… and God’s absolutely insane and unconditional love for us, his beloved people….

 

It so important to let the parable of Jesus speak to us, challenge us, transform us with God’s unworldly wisdom.

 

The story has something for everybody: for those who have strayed in their lives and wonder if they would be welcome in the “father’s house”; for those who have returned to be met on the way with mercy and joy; for those who feel they have always been the good and dutiful ones and who feel miffed when the black sheep returns to such a fine reception. The point is, at one time or another we all find ourselves “outside the father’s house,” and he is eager to welcome us inside where we belong. It’s a day to ask ourselves, “What’s preventing me from entering the father’s house in joy?” and to make haste to let go of everything that keeps me from finding my way home.

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·        FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·        FOLLOWING THE LORD – BY REV JOHN FUELLENBACH SVD.  TALKS ON DISCIPLESHIP. BASED ON HIS BOOK: “THROW FIRE” (1997)

·        Prepare the Word reflections

 

Paul's Reflections Third Sunday of Lent - C. 7th March, 2010

7th March, 2010      Third Sunday of Lent - C

 

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The readings this weekend highlight the absolutely vital connection between God’s nature and JUSTICE; and between a God of love and a God who acts on that love in practical ways, to help those in need.

 

And how essentially interconnected is our discipleship of Christ and our lives of active service.

 

Social action, and social justice and GOD go together, necessarily !

 

You have probably heard of the model of Christian action called “SEE, JUDGE, ACT”

 

That is, we as Christians are encouraged to SEE the situations and needs around us, to be aware of what is happening around us;  … to assess or JUDGE what is needed to be done in response to those needs and then to ACT….  To DO something about these needs.

 

Well, we see from the first reading that God INVENTED that model….   Because, God SEES the need of his beloved people, who are being mistreated…   God decides that he has to DO something about it to free them from their oppression…..   And GOD acts, definitively in history by calling upon his servant Moses to ‘set his people free’.

 

And God then works WITH and THROUGH Moses and his brother Aaron to achieve the freedom God desires for his people.

 

Some people say, how can God stand by and see so much suffering and so much injustice in the world?  … But, in reality… God SEES and cannot STAND the wrongdoing and injustice in the world…. And HAS and DOES do something about it…..  God CALLS upon all people of goodwill… such as Moses….   To DO something about it….   God has no hands on earth but ours….   As the saying goes… 

 

God also PROMISES to be with all who strive and work for justice in the world… and God is also very much with the people who are suffering and in need..

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On this special weekend, where we commemorate a special milestone….   Sixty years ago to this very day…..  the Maryborough Catholic Women’s League was formed……..  (or as it was then known the Catholic Daughters of Australia, Maryborough Branch)….  The then parish priest, Monsignor Jordan SAW various needs …   for a group that would meet the social and charitable needs in the community….  And as a wonderful support to the parish’s mission…. And so, the Catholic Daughters of Australia, Maryborough branch was born.

 

Now, sixty years later… sixty years to the day…  we celebrate  sixty wonderful years of …SEEING needs…..deciding on a course of action….   And ACTING to make a difference in the parish in the wider community and the world…..

 

Even a very brief list of the works, events, activities and projects of the CWL over the last sixty years is a MOST impressive “C.V”  for any organisation….  Absolutely superb.   

 

In so many, many ways, the CWL have put prayer, reflection and community and action into a perfect combination.. for the good of others and for all…

 

We thank God for the graces God has bestowed through the generosity of the CWL members of these 60 years…   May there be many, many more years of blessing…

 

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In this season of Lent….  The readings invite us to keep reflecting on our lives and the challenges hat can de-focus us ……  

 

In the second reading today…  Saint Paul has some very strong words for the community in Corinth….   St Paul warns them very sternly.. to be on their guard……   He lists three great dangers that can poison a community….  

Complacency…..    Self-indulgence… and a culture of Complaint and negativity…..

 

Make no mistake.. each of these are absolutely deadly to a community….

 

St Paul mentions Moses again…  this time in relation to Moses the people of Israel as they travel in the desert for forty years…..  This community suffered greatly by a culture of complaint….  The people have been freed by God from their slavery   and are now being led by Mosese….  But they start complaining and grumbling….  And the people get negative and start complaining …  including saying that they would have been better staying in Egypt as slaves… which is an awful thing to say…..   One could imagine that for a group of people travelling as pilgrims through the wilderness for such a long time….  Living from one moment to the next….   Negativity and complaints and dissatisfaction would utterly infest and stall any means of moving forward… its absolutely poisonous….  // St Paul warns the people of Cornith.. and us in this day and age too…..   NOT to get sucked into a culture of negativity and complaint….

 

St Paul warns us that there is nothing more destructive than a culture of negativity and criticism and complaint in a community… it will rip the community in two and render it useless…..

 

It can be so easy to become a toxic influence that stunts any development and growth….. and we always walk a fine line between looking constructively at any obstacles… in our way….  And  harping on the negatives until a project falls over……  We would never do anything if we only focus on the obstacles… and in fact, I have always believe… the first question is ‘is it worth doing…’  if the answer is YES… then do it..  despite the obstacles…..    if something is worthy of doing…   the obstacles are merely challenges that stand in our way… challenges to be overcome… and will be overcome… and not things that stop us in our tracks….

 

I just think of all the wonderful, wonderful projects achieved in the past and even today … by so many generous people , including the CWL….    It would never have been achieved without God’s grace and inspiration…. And without positive encouragement and energy…..     to overcome any and all obstacles……..   to achieve all worthy goals……

 

Let us continue to build upon  this in every way….

 

For the honour and glory of God…

 

 

 

 

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·        FR. PAUL W. KELLY

 

 

Paul's Reflections homily..28th Feb 2010 Second Sunday of Lent - C

28th Feb 2010      Second Sunday of Lent - C

 

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This weekend’s gospel of the Transfiguration of the Lord, is a wonderful reminder that God’s glory is around us all the time…   in the people and events of life…..  but it is not always as obvious as this moment that Jesus experienced… where his face shone like light….. 

 

We have all had highpoint moments…  when something special happens to us in our lives and its as thought the veil between this life and the next is parted and we glimpse heaven… and a tast of God’s wonder……   but then those moments are gone and we are back to the everyday events of life. But those highpoint moments are there to spur us on and to remind us that God’s glory is always present…. The spiritual writer Thomas Merton puts it this way…  “every one of us walks around the streets of this town shining like the sun….  if only we knew it…. “ If only we realised it……

 

There is a line in one of the scripture commentaries that I really like….  It says…   Jesus would never do anything without his Father’s approval…   This seems such an obvious statement, but it sparked something in me….   OF COURSE he would only ever do his Heavenly Father’s will… and would not do one thing that was not according to The Father’s plan…….   And these key moments of affirmation and confidence in him marked significant signs of the Father’s approval of all that he was doing and saying…. And that his vision was correct…

 

For us, too…    we always try, in our lives, to ensure that everything we do and say is according to God’s ways…..   and in our prayer and reflection time, it is vital that we stop and be still and reflect on our lives to try to ensure that our actions, our priorities and our attitudes are consistent with and according to God’s will…..    the difficult thing is, we won’t get thunder, lightning and cloud…. We won’t see a vision of the transfiguration……   but in our prayer and reflection and by walking around with our eyes open to what God is doing in our lives and in our town…   we should get a sense of what is consistent with God’s plans and what is not….   And we may even, from time to time, have one of these mountaintop affirmation experiences…  (nothing like Jesus’, but things that happen that empower us, encourage us, renew and affirm us in what we are doing…..)…  I believe that when we are doing what is consistent with God’s ways, things will fall into place and various things will affirm and confirm that we are on the right track…  but we have to watch and listen and discern .. and they may be subtle and simple things…  

 

 

There is another very interesting line in this reading today….  It says… the disciples saw his glory, because they had stayed awake…. 

 

In many ways.  We can walk through life like sleepwalkers… not awake to what is happening around us…  looking and looking, but not SEEING… // listening and listening… but not UNDERSTADING…. 

 

It is so important to stay awake to what is going on around us….  

 

And when we get a 25,000 volt experience that shows us reality in  a new light…  we have to be careful not to expect to keep living at 25,000 volts….   No one can live at that level… it has to be brought down to 240 volts for daily use….    And same with our spiritual life..  we can gratefully accept the special moments God gives us to encourage us and prompt us on…  but we must not try to stay at that…  and we may be ill advised if we keep trying to replicate the same ways of getting that special experience…. We must trust in God that God will give us what we need in due time and in the ways that God chooses….   We should not try to tell or expect God to act in a certain way, and keep acting in a certain way….    Its God who is in charge..  we are servants whose eye is on the hand of our master..  waiting for the slightest movement.. so that we might leap up and answer whatever is requested…

 

 

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          MISSION 2000  – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR C. BY MARK LINK S.J.

·          2010 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

 

 

Paul's Reflections homily..First Sunday of Lent - C

First Sunday of Lent - C  .     21st February, 2010

From Fr Paul:

 

Jesus was truly tempted as he fasted and prayed in the desert. The point of this time is not how powerful Jesus’ willpower is. Sometimes, we focus too much on the fact that, ‘well of course he resisted temptation, he was God.”  Yes, Jesus is God, but he is also fully

human and he was truly tempted just as we all are. Because he knows what temptation is like and overcame it, he can empathise and help us in our temptation and YES, we too can overcome it. It is not the realm of God, it is an invitation to a new way of being for all of us.

 

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Every Lent, the archbishop sends a special message to be read out at all Masses. Here is the Lenten Message for 2010, of Archbishop John Bathersby.

 

THE ARCHBISHOP’S LENTEN MESSAGE:

THE season of Lent is a season for prayer and fasting.

It leads us into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ enabling us to focus on Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Lent belongs to the spiritual rhythm of the Church, and year after year it leads us back to the very centre of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Knowing how short this life is for all Lent encourages us each year to enter into a closer relationship with Jesus in order to know Him better.

The key to such knowledge is prayer, and Lent this year is focussed in a special way on prayer that we will explore in a national gathering July 7-10 named, 'Pray 2010'.

The gathering will allow us to listen to a variety of speakers, men and women from Australia and different parts of the world, who are experts on prayer, and who will teach us its importance.

They will explain to us how Jesus prayed, how they pray, and how we can learn to pray by focussing on Jesus and listening to them.

The life, death and resurrection of Jesus is our absolute key to faith.

Faith without prayer is a contradiction in terms, and from the very beginning of creation prayer has changed both the world and ourselves.

As Paul the apostle explained in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "For everyone who is in Christ, the old creation has gone, and now the new one is here".

Jesus came to the old world as a helpless child in a manger, and then at the rather young age of 30 obeyed His Father's will that He preach good news to the world.

He completed that good news for our benefit not only by His words, but most importantly by His death and resurrection.

Each of us therefore is a new person because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The foundation of His good news always was prayer.

He prayed at His baptism in the Jordan, prayed over sick and suffering people during His mission, prayed for the success of His apostles, and on occasions even left sick and suffering people behind in order to pray. Prayer was the language of relationship with His Father.

Only through prayer was He able to understand the will of His Father and grasp the nature of His mission.

Towards the end of His earthly life He prayed also in the garden of Gethsemane, asking for the courage to do His Father's will.

Condemned to death, He prayed for those people ridiculing and tormenting Him, and for the criminals crucified with him.

In His very last breath He prayed to be with His Father knowing that He had fulfilled His Father's will.

However, His lifelong prayer which He shared with His apostles and us was prayer for a new world and a new people, including each and every one of us.

His prayer was answered by His Father with resurrection.

Today in our frantically busy world what we need above all is prayer, prayer that will help us understand the good news of Jesus, prayer that will give us a new world and a new creation, prayer that will make us new people, and finally prayer that will give us the courage of Jesus to take the good news of God out to all people, no matter what the cost.

As we well know, the season of Lent is a special time for prayer and fasting, so let us not neglect it.

However let us make an extra effort this Lent to participate in our great prayer of the Church, the Mass.

For those of us who are not able to do so let us seek moments when we can say simple prayers of gratitude and praise to our all loving God.

In Brisbane a small group of people meet regularly at the heart of the city simply to pray the prayer of Jesus - the Our Father.

Just by their simple prayers they do so much good that will only be realised when they meet God face to face.

If we try hard enough to pray, our entire lives will themselves become living prayers.

This year let us do all we can to participate, even if only in some small way, in our great gathering of "Pray 2010".

If we do so and listen to the speakers with open hearts and minds we will never regret it.

However, before we participate in this national gathering in July let us make sure that we have done all that is possible in this time of Lent to get ready for Easter and the resurrection of Jesus, and for the national gathering soon to follow.

Let this Lent become a magnificent preparation for our Archdiocesan gathering that will be held from July 7-10.

May Mary the Mother of Jesus and Blessed Mary MacKillop our patron, pray that God's Holy Spirit will make this Lent a spiritual powerhouse for all.

Let us become a praying Archdiocese filled with new people and a new Archdiocese, exactly as Jesus desired.
May God bless you all.

 

Paul's Reflections 6th Sunday of Year - C. 14th February, 2010

14th February, 2010      6th Sunday of Year - C

 

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There is a recurring line in the readings for this weekend….   “like a tree planted near flowing waters…..”   “that thrusts its roots into the stream”….//…  ‘when the heat comes.. it feels no alarm…  its foliage stays green.’ 

 

It’s a beautiful and restful image….

 

It is what we all are called to become..  centred on God…  drawing our life and meaning from God’s eternal stream…  and staying focused…   knowing what is lifegiving and what is a dead end!!!  And living in that knowledge…

 

The source of all life, all meaning and all lasting value…  is God’s life……   .., //.  all that is lasting…:   love, compassion and connection with God and one another… ; these things are entering into the life-giving stream that sustains us in good times and in bad…..

 

I was reading a quote from a person who wrote down thoughts about their life.. as they faced their final illness..  this writer, and American campaigner by the name of Lee Atwater..  died at a very early age from a brain tumour,,   he was a man who had amassed enormous wealth and power and prestige in his short life..  but admitted himself that he felt a deep inner restlessness..  and poverty of spirit…   ‘ he writes…” in my illness I discovered an insight into what was missing in society… and it was indeed missing in me too….  A little heart…. A lot of brotherhood……  we must speak to this ‘spiritual vacuum’ that lies at the heart of our society.”  …. 

 

It recalls another beautiful quote…  “The one who loses wealth, loses much….   But the one who loses the spirit, loses everything….”   We have to set our priorities and keep close to the source of lasting meaning…  God…. And God’s offer of eternal life and relationship… 

 

 

That beautiful second reading by St Paul..  again goes right to the heart of our faith….   We believe that Jesus is risen.. and because he is risen..  our hope of resurrection has dawned…  we believe that we have an eternal life with God….   A relationship that cannot be broken.. even by death…    recently someone gave me some old prayer books from their great-great grandmother.. and I put them with a lot of other beautiful things into our wonderful heritage room..  in the room behind the sanctuary here….  But some prayer cards for deceased friends and relatives fell out… I kept some of them and they are in my prayer books…   they look as brand new as a memorial prayer card printed yesterday…  but on the back.. names of people I don’t personally know.. but it says..  names such as George P Jordan, died 20^th May, 1963…aged 66  years…  in Dunfermline, Ireland….  Rest in Peace… //  that’s forty seven years ago…   /the mind boggles as I looked at names and dates and places  on countless paryer cards..   cards still worth looking at and praying over today.. as many do with their own families and friends prayer cards……   I wasn’t even born yet when these people passed into eternal life…  but.. their memory is as fresh in the mind of God.. and any surviving loved ones or friends….as today is….   We live on…   our hope and our faith continues in God… the source of our life…  it’s a beautiful thought…

 

The Gospel today saying ‘happy are those who are spiritual poor.. and oppressed’ and woe to those who are comfy and cosy…  this version of the gospel spells out that God means to turn standards and arrangements on their head…   the poor, the oppressed, the needy.. these are those who will come first in God’s values and God’s Kingdom…  so he is preparing us for a different way of thinking .. so we will engage in a different way of acting and living… 

 

What are some of the dead end roads we are tempted to drive down in our lives…..   what ‘things’do we put our energy and time into that are not life-giving and lasting like the waters of eternal life offered by Jesus and his values…

 

Let us be aware and prayerful about the things that give us lasting life and satisfaction.. and the things that sap our energy and leave us empty…

 

Jesus can show us how to put ourselves near the flowing waters… the renew and reconnect us to the true source of life…

 

 

 

 

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          Vision  – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR Bc. BY MARK LINK S.J.

·          2010 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

 

 

 

Paul's Reflections 5th Sunday of the Year - C.

7th February, 2010      5th Sunday of the Year - C

 

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All this weekend’s reading are about how “unworthy we feel in the presence of God”….//

 

This is natural….//. God is perfect…..// God is Love…. //  …..God is all things to all people….. //and we are …….human… //………………we are finite….. we are sinful…. We are weak……. //

 

In the face of God…our first reaction is, naurally, to say…  God… you are wonderful… but we are not worthy of you… we are flawed……   depart from us…   it’s a natural reaction…..

 

You know what stikes me about this weekend’s gospel….  St peter says to Jesus…  ‘depart from me, Lord, I am a sinful man….”    And Jesus seems to ignore this ….   But you know,  Peter was RIGHT…..   Peter later denies Jesus… not just once….. but THREE TIMES…..    so peter could very well have said to Jesus..  “I  TOLD YOU SO!!!!!!!”

 

I TOLD YOU I was unworthy…  I ASKED you to depart from me, and you didn’t…. and here… I have PROVED that I was not worthy of you….. I denied you, not once, but three times….

 

But, here is the beautiful part…..  Jesus has the last say… Jesus always turns out to be correct……  Jesus KNEW the weakness and humanity of Peter….. he knew Peter’s strengths and weaknesses better than even Peter did….  He KNEW Peter was weak and imperfect…  but he STILL KNEW that Peter was perfect for his plans…. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves..  even if we don’t KNOW our potential… GOD DOES>>>

 

Jesus could very well reply to Peter…  Of COURSE I knew you would deny me, but I know you… and you are still the man I would choose….  I am the judge of what you can do…. Not you…..  trust in my call…….

 

This gospel is both beautiful and challenging…..  The disciples had fished all night and the ‘opportune’ time for fishing was now ended… but too often we give up, just short of the goal….  Here, Jesus’s keen eye sees more and Peter trusts in him… and says… ‘we have laboured all night, and the opportunity for fishing is now ended… but if YOU SAY SO>  I WILL put my nets out for a further catch… and what a catch it WAS…..   how often do we fail because we stop short of the goal…..

 

This gospel is really, really important.. because it find us in the everyday experience of our daily lives and actions…   in fact, ‘the gospel MUST be proclaimed on the basis of people’s daily lives. Apart from that experience, the proclamation of the gospel has no grasp on reality. “

 

Of course, we know ‘something’ about our own lives… but we must be willing to accept that God has a better view on the meaning and potential of our lives…  WE Are NOT the final judge of what we CAN or CANNOT do… of what we ARE and ARE NOT capable of. And ‘good for’ …. But God is….   God sees the same things as we do.. but God ‘makes meaning of those ‘same things’ quite differently.

 

Today’s readings are challenging for us…  they say to us…  if we are aware of our weakness and limitations.. that is no excuse to do nothing… rather… this is an invitation to do something  and to trust in God’s grace and love an achieve great things in union with Jesus and his message…

 

Jesus has left us the commandment of love.  If He were right in front of us, telling us that a particular action needs to be done, we would all surely obey Him.  But because normally Jesus does not appear that way in our lives, we can find ourselves being less than diligent in seeking His will and less than faithful in doing it. 

 

We can pray in the spirit of Saint Paul in today\'s second reading that God\'s grace will be effective in us, that no matter how often we are unfaithful that we may recognize God\'s faithfulness to us.  Let us give thanks for the graces given to us each day and may we deepen in our faithfulness to God\'s gifts. 

 

The More we trust Him, the more He can do through us.

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          2010 – A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.

·          SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAY LITURGIES. YEAR C. FLOR MCCARTHY S.D.B.

·          SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

·          MONASTERY OF CHRIST IN THE DESERT. ABBOT’S HOMILY.

 

 

Paul's Reflections Third Sunday of the Year - C. 24th January, 2010

24th January, 2010      Third Sunday of the Year - C

 

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Jesus’ home town of Nazareth, was an important place…….   Some might have mistakenly assumed that Nazareth was a small country township, but in fact, it was a major centre, with a sizeable population, probably about 20, 000 people. This was a major city.

 

It was also in a very, very important location…..   the hill nearby was not just some minor feature….  If the boy Jesus, when he was growing up, had gone up that hill and peered over it….  The world, as it was then known, would have sprawled in front of him……   Before his eyes were the major trade and travelling routes from all the different regions……  Jesus would have watched the world go by as he sat there on that hill in nazareth.  And nearby (an hours walk from Nazareth), to this important town, was a town called Sepphoris, which was the location of Herod’s palace for a time…..  a town of beauty, prestige, privilege  and wealth…. A town Joseph and Jesus may very well have worked in, with carpentry work in this major time of building…

 

And so, Jesus’ speech in  Nazareth is timely and well-placed.  At the crossroads of the nations, God has intervened in our history… and has come to give us news… and thank goodness.. it is very good news indeed.

 

So, Jesus….  Reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah…  Its clear that Jesus was a regular attender of the Synagogue….  Every Saturday he would attend… he clearly appears to be accepted as a rabbi or a teacher…  as he is reading from the text and speaking about its meaning……  

 

Jesus observed the law of Moses and was faithful to his attendance at religious observance… even though there were clearly aspects about the way people were practising, that he must have found issue with, with which he must have felt they had lost focus…..  But he was still faithful to the practise of his faith….  He did not reject the religious institution of his day, even though it had become flawed and lost its direction in many ways…..

 

Jesus speech is really his mission statement…  this is what he is here to do… this is his purpose… and it stands in contrast to John the Baptist, who came declaring a time of judgement and uprooting.. and retribution…  and then  here comes Jesus..  declaring good news to the poor…  freedom to captives…   and to declare a time of God’s favour… its wonderful… its surprising and its very good news….

 

But it is also still bad news too..  its bad news to all who have made sure the world is arranged to suit themselves and disadvantage others…   Even Jesus’ good news will soon anger those who do not want everyone included in God’s invitation to be part of the family…..  But Jesus will not water down his message…..   

 

And we can ask ourselves…  who are the ‘poor’ to whom Jesus has come…. 

 

The poor are the hungry and the thirsty..

The poor are also the homeless and the sick..

People physically and emotionally or spiritually scarred…

Those suffering the burden of age…

The poor are also…The sad and depressed//

Those suffering injustice,

Those who are unemployed…   those struggling on low income..

The poor are also those who feel unloved, unwelcomed, unforgiven,  left-out…

The poor are also the alcoholics, and drug addicts…

The addictive gamblers…

Those who have enough food and shelter and comforts but do not know God and are missing much in their lives…

The list goes on…

The poor is all of us…  in one way or another…  we are all poor in some way…  we all desperately need the news Jesus has to give us… so this news from Jesus is for us..  and for all…  and we take heart that Jesus has us in mind when he begins his mission to save and help us… and free us from what imprisons and impoverishes us all…

 

The first step seems to be ‘freedom’ – if we are not free then things hold us back from being the loving people God calls us to be….  If we are not free, we are limited in what reponse we give to those in need…..  If we are not free…  we are trapped in thing that do not give us life….. and waste our time and energy on that which does not satisfy….

 

Jesus word’s are not merely ‘talk’  but rather…  they give us hope..  to trust in him. Jesus has the way to true and complete life, joy and fulfilment… He needs and wants to free us from things that bind us up and limit us.. and then the kingdom will flow in and through us… with unimaginable effects….   Let u trust in our Lord, who is good news.. in fact the best news we will ever hear….

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REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

·          SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAY LITURGIES. YEAR C. FLOR MCCARTHY S.D.B.

·          Abbots homily. Monastery of Christ in the desert.

 

Paul's Reflections Homily for January 13 2010. 2nd Sunday of the Year - 2010 Cycle C 2010

I am in Childers, Gin Gin and Biggenden this weekend for Masses, in my role as pastor of that region too, so Fr Emmanuel Sebastian will be celebrating Masses with you this weekend in Maryborough and Tiaro

Fr Paul.

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In the meantime, here is a homily from the Abbott of The Monastery of Christ in the Desert:

2nd Sunday of the Year – 2010 Cycle C 2010

Always this Sunday is the Sunday of the miracle at Cana, the miracle of turning water into wine. This means that the other two readings must be seen in the perspective of today\'s Gospel.

Certainly this miracle is one of the most delightful miracles in the Gospels. We hear Jesus tell his Mother: Woman, how does your concern affect me? It is clear that Jesus does not intend to cooperate. But Jesus is like the son later in the Gospels who at first says that he won\'t do something and then does it. Mary, His Mother, knows this already and simply tells the servants: Do whatever He tells you.

We can remember that Mary had lived with Jesus as her son now for perhaps thirty years. Like all mothers, she has a good understanding of how her son responds to situations. What a huge amount of wine Jesus makes! We expect huge amounts of water in any dry country, but huge amounts of wine are more difficult to come by! The people at this feast would have gone home, joyful with the drink given to them.

The first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, can be understood in relationship to the Gospel fairly easily. The Prophet tells us that at some point Jerusalem will be restored to her great glory as the City of God. For us Christians, this is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His Holy Name is always associated with Jerusalem. Jerusalem is where Jesus is crucified and it is where He rises from the dead. Incredible glory!

The second reading, from the First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 12, tells us of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This reading is also quite easily seen in the light of the Gospel today. God\'s plan of salvation is God\'s plan. Far too often we want to make it our plan. We disagree with our God. We get disappointed because the plan of salvation does not go the way we think that it should go.

Perhaps we are not given the gifts of the Spirit that we think we deserve.

Perhaps we think that we have not received any gifts of the Spirit.

Perhaps we are jealous of the gifts that we see in others. Perhaps we see no use in Christ Himself. Perhaps we have chosen to follow others gods in our daily practice even while we profess faith in Jesus Christ. Perhaps we feel that God never answers our prayers. The list can go on and on as a sort of review for confession. What is important is that we begin to recognize within ourselves the complexity of our thinking and feeling. We need to be aware if we are in any way refusing the accept the gifts that God gives only to us or if we are desiring gifts that God has given to others.

We can ask this week that we would be like the servants in the Gospel and learn to do whatever Jesus asks of us. May the Holy Spirit give us this gift.

(From: Abbot Philip, OSB, The Monastery of Christ in the Desert Homily).

Paul's Reflections Baptism of Our Lord - C. 10th January, 2010

10th January, 2010      Baptism of Our Lord - C

 

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It has always been a bit of an intriguing thing that Jesus went to John the Baptist for Baptism. Why in the world did Jesus, God’s Son and our messiah, go to John the Baptist and request baptism.

 

John the Baptist was performing baptisms for the repentance of sin… and we believe Jesus was without sin….  So why was it so important that he be baptised….

 

But, in some way, calling John’s baptism a ‘baptism of repentance’  is a ‘shorthand’ summary of a much more complex reality.

 

Isn’t it true that those who were coming forward for John’s baptism, were not only saying they needed to repent from sin, but also..  John’s baptism represented an extraordinary Movement towards God by the people…../  It was a world-shaping.. and world shattering tme… when people were being called to a new and deeper relationship with their God…  a radical calling to be part of God;s Kingdom…..…. John’s preaching and his invitation for people to be baptised….  Was a definite public action to confirm that these people were wanting to be part of (and affiliated with) the movement of God’s Kingdom //…the Kingdom John the Baptist had been preaching about…..  and preparing the people for…

 

This was a key moment in Jesus’ ministry. From this point on, he would commence a public and urgent ministry….

 

Jesus didn’t need to be forgiven any sin… (in fact, in this gospel version of Jesus’ baptism, it doesn’t say Jesus is LOOKING for baptism… it says he accepts baptism after all the others are baptised…………).. so perhaps it is better to say… Jesus did feel the strong need to be identified and get behind the movement of the Kingdom that John was preaching… but Jesus was the fulfilment of the Kingdom that John the Baptist was preaching about…. And in this act of baptism.. that fact was made quite clear……..  Jesus was identifying with all those who were committing themselves to the public way of the Kingdom of God…..  which he embodies so perfectly and completely…. And when he was baptised.. the heavens resonated with that truth….

 

And Jesus actions were deeply successful….  The Father’s voice confirmed that this action he took was the right one…..  and that he was revealed to be the chosen one, the son of God….  in whom his Heavenly Father is most pleased…

 

The words used by the Father are interesting too… 

“you are my beloved Son”  psalm 2. (was a passage traditionally interpreted by the people of this time as a declaration of the Messianic King…../

“In whom I am well pleased..”  is a familiar line from the prophet Isaiah 42:1….  Which culminates in the suffering servant……..(chapter 53)… So, Jesus knew that his sonship and mission was always going to involve not glory and earthly dominion…. But suffering and the cross……..   The Cross loomed large in Jesus’ vision right from the outset….   But it makes sense in the total commitment of Jesus to the vision of God’s Kindgom…  which would challenge contrary powers and priorities and require all the love and sacrifice one could possibly muster… and Jesus embodies this total commitment to his Father’s vision for the world and us….

 

Finally..  Jesus baptism by John the baptism…did the opposite, in one sense, that it would do for us…   for us., it would forgive our sins… for Jesus… he made holy water that touched him….  By being baptised, Jesus invested baptism with the power of his presence and holiness…  and the power the Holy spirit…..  

 

We who have been baptised, are called to remember the fullness of the meaning of this baptism….   By being baptised…  ” we are permanently connected to Jesus Christ, and we share in his life and his relationship to the Heavenly Father.  Our baptism is a real  union with the life, values and person of Jesus who is God made flesh. Let us be stirred into constant practical action to live the Good news in our lives.

 

Our Baptism is intended to have real, permanent and practical effect in our lives.

 

Our baptism, echoing Jesus’ actions in the Jordan…  is a huge Yes..  by us…  saying we too want to share and immerse ourselves in the values and movement towards God that the Good news embodies….   We want to be connected to jesus who is utterly committed to the establishment of the Kingdom in its fullness ……  and we too, are aware of the cost of that commitment…   in love that serves…  love that suffers… and lives that make a difference and are founded on the values of Christ…

 

Let us ask Jesus, who made holy the waters of baptism, by his very self, to keep us committed to the vision of the kingdom in all ways and at all times… 

 

 

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REFERENCES:

 

·          FR. PAUL W. KELLY

·          THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF MARK. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

·          SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.