SUNDAY WEEK FOUR OF EASTER C - 2007

Often, when I am reading this gospel to young school students…..  the part where Jesus says… “I am the shepherd….. …. / and other places where Jesus says…. “I am the good shepherd…. I know my sheep and they know me… they know my voice and they follow me.,…” 

 

I often ask the students after this reading…..  “Is jesus talking about real sheep in this story?”….

 

No matter how young they are…. the answer has invariably been….”NO..”

 

then I ask….  “who is Jesus talking about then?”..

 

 

and they always say….”Us……..” they know that we all belong to God and God knows us each by name and loves us and cares for us and watches out for us………

 

I can’t help but think of that rather unfortunate but hilarious news story I read yesterday….about masters who not only did not recognize their own sheep…but did not even realize they WERE sheep……. apparently some unscrupulous businesses in Japan have been ripping off Thousands of Japanese  customers…..  in a scam in which they were sold Australian and British sheep and told they were poodles, ………Flocks of sheep were imported to Japan and then sold by a company called Poodles as Pets, marketed as fashionable accessories, available at $1,600 each.

That is a very cheap compared to a real poodle which retails for twice that much in Japan.

The scam was uncovered when Japanese movie-star went on a talk-show and wondered why her new pet would not bark or eat dog food.. She was crestfallen when told it was a sheep.

Then hundreds of other viewers got in touch with police to say they feared their new "poodle" was also a sheep.

One couple said they became suspicious when they took their "dog" to have its claws trimmed and were told it had hooves.

Japanese police believe there could be 2,000 people affected by the scam, which capitalised on the fact that sheep are rare in Japan, so according to reports many do not know what they look like.

"We launched an investigation after we were made aware that a company were selling sheep as poodles," Japanese authorities said. Many of the sheep have now been donated to zoos and farms.

The owners of these sheep did not really know what they had……..     it makes jesus parable and example of the good shepherd… and his words of the gospel even more striking…..  even though sheep can look the same…. even if they can be mistaken for something else (apparently)….. this good shepherd knows each one of sheep by name and calls them…..

 

But unlike sheep… we are not called to follow like unquestioning sheep….but rather… we are called to be followers of Jesus like discerning disciples…. Jesus cares for and watches over us as a shepherd looks over sheep…. but Jesus relates to us and invites us into discipleship as he would welcome a friend and an equal……..  so we have the best of both worlds…

 

We do not follow blindly but listen to Jesus’ voice through prayer, both private prayer and public prayer. We need both sorts of prayer to hear us properly: one in silence on our own and the other in community worshipping the Good shepherd…and listening to his good news with our fellow disciples and companions on the journey.

 

One last thought… about the scriptures……    Jesus again calls anyone who dares follow him in discipleship to be very much in touch with the cares and worries, the fears and suffering of others….. Jesus, the good shepherd, remained close to and very much in touch with those who suffered, who were on the edges of society….. who were oppressed……. 

 

The readings today remind us that we will be sorry at the the final reckoning if the Lord finds us dry-eyed….  because it may very well mean that we have not been able to weep with those who weep……… and stand in support with those who suffer……

 

Lent Four 22nd April 2007

NEWSLETTER -   DATE:  22nd April 2007 

LITURGICAL CALENDAR:   3rd Sunday Easter C

 (THIS DOCUMENT IS FILED IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATION AND NAME:

 

EDITORIAL: By MAGDALA

The song “One Day at a time,” kept being said in situations over the last week.  Even a few bars where sung by some.  I’ve been thinking about this, especially after the second or third time. What was God trying saying to me through this?  To be perfectly honest,  all I keep thinking about is the fact I asked for a tape by Judy Collins with this song on it when she released it, which was around this time twenty one years ago – I was just about to have my tenth birthday and this is what I wanted.  I still remember hearing and seeing the advert being played on the television and how I was so yearning to have a copy of it.  I was blessed to receive it for my birthday along with my own first cassette player. 

 

I think back how excited I was to have both of these items, but the other thing that comes to mind is I think this was one of the times when God was allowing me to say ‘yes’ to being educated in His word through the music.  The disciples had a choose to say ‘yes’ to walk with Jesus along the journey.

 

Each of you in your own life, have had moments when God has instilled in you some kind of memory of joy in your faith journey.  A desire, to want to know a little more about this faith journey that has brought you to this place at this time. 

 

Whether that is in a song like in my situation; or a teaching from the gospels as the disciples heard; or a fun morning after church, talking with like-minded church friend/s and community members; or hearing one of your favourite stories from the bible; or listen to others share their journey of faith; or a memorable moment at Sunday school; for each of us this will be one or more different experiences that have helped us to listen.

 

I ask each of you to think about a situation that recalls a moment when you opened your heart up to the seed of faith God had planted in you.  For us all, I believe there is at least one sacred moment that God placed a desire/joy to want to walk along in your journey of faith.  

 

You see, Simon Peter was being asked to ‘Follow’ Jesus deeper in relationship with Him.  I believe we are reminded that it’s a calling for each of us to ‘Follow’ into deeper relationship with Christ and that you can take ‘one day at a time.’

 

Inspired by God to keep going……….

 

Magdala Thorne

 

+++

 

From Fr Paul.

 

A special welcome back to Fr Harry Bliss who has kindly returned to celebrate masses this weekend while I fulfil a commitment to do a wedding in Brisbane. Thanks Fr Harry, I know the community is delighted to catch up with you again. God bless.

….

 

 

 

…….

Exploring Our Faith:-

There are different styles or genres within the one Bible. It is important to read the different styles with the proper understanding of the style of the text. For example, within the Bible there is Poetry, History, Parable, Proverbs, Song, Allegory (that is ” a figurative treatment of one subject under the guise of another; a presentation of an abstract or spiritual meaning under concrete or material forms”), Letters, Preaching, Creation Sagas, Lists of Family Trees and so many more styles. One would naturally read a poem differently from the way one would read a standard informational letter. The meaning one takes from each type of writing depends on the context.

 

……

MASS/ LITURGY SCHEDULE: for coming week:

 

MONDAY:  23rd April, 2007

*   NO MASSES OR LITURGY

 

TUESDAY:  24th  April, 2007

* (NEW TIME) 8.00AM -    mass

 

WEDNESDAY: 25th  April, 2007

7PM -    7AM MASS - (NO EVENING MASS)

 

THURSDAY: 26th  April, 2007

* (NEW TIME) 12.01PM. -    MASS

 

FRIDAY: 27th  April, 2007

* (NEW TIME)  7.00 AM -    MASS

 

………………….

UPCOMING/ ANNOUNCEMENTS :

 

 

 

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>For Next week the AFTER MASS CUPPA group is:

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>The roster is:        

<![if !supportLists]>§         <![endif]>5^th Sunday             St Mary’s Primary School

 

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>For Next week, the Welcomers Group is:

<![if !supportLists]>§         <![endif]>Magdala/Luke

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>Next Parish Pastoral council Meeting:  6.45pm on Tuesday the 1^st May

<![if !supportLists]>·         <![endif]>I think the altar servers training night is Friday 27th april.

 

<![if !supportLists]>·        <![endif]>Date claimer: Communion/Confirmation program should run as follows.

Week beginning 24 April- Parent information evening (Tuesday). 6pm.

                        30 April- Session 1

                          7 May- Session 2

                        14 May- Session 3

                        24 May- Practice (Thursday)

Saturday 2 June - 6pm Confirmation and First Communion - St Mary's Maryborough;
Sunday 3 June - 8am Confirmation and First Communion - St Mary's Maryborough
Sunday 3 June - 10am Possibility of either Mass or Confirmation/First Communion - Sacred Heart Tiaro.

 

 

 

 

 

Easter Week Two 15th April (2007)

Homily reflection

 

the most striking thing about today’s Gospel is the fact that jesus, when he comes across Thomas and his stubborn decision not to believe unless he sees and touches for himself……    / Jesus does not reproach him…. Jesus isn’t hurt or upset by Thomas unbelief…. in fact, Jesus tenderly assures Thomas and helps him overcome his doubts and lack of faith…….    Jesus, of course, need not be upset…..  because HE knows that truth of his own resurrection…  anyone who does not believe, simple has not come to realize the truth of the reality…….

 

Jesus, here, is being like a caring parent…  not unlike the father of the prodigal son, who is delighted to welcome his lost son back to right relationship….

 

a writer once said of this relationship….Every parent is at some time, like the father of the unreturned prodical son……  with no other option but to keep their house ‘open to hope’…….  

 

Jesus’ hope that Thomas would doubt no longer but believe… is also a hope that all who find it hard to trust in the central fact of the bodily resurrection of the Lord, may not be hindered by the fact that they must now trust in the testimony of countless generations of believers… even though they have not themselves seen and touched the risen Lord in the same way as Thomas did….. (in fact, although one would consider it a privilege to be able to have seen and touched the risen Lord, this gospel presents the encounter almost as an unfortunate necessity… Thomas is almost considered less fortunate than we who are given the opportunity to believe simply in faith……

--

The early Christians, according to the Acts of the Apostles, were so filled with the Holy Spirit that miracles and wonders were happening wherever
they were.  Even those who were not followers of Christ could see these miracles and wonders and commented on them. 

But not everyone is going to become a Christian just because of miracles and wonders.  Over the centuries, there are accounts of miracles and wonders happening in all the great religions and even in religious believes that are not so great!

Instead, now, after the Resurrection, we are still confronted with this one question:  what do you believe about Jesus the Christ?

The Gospel today shows us Thomas, who simply would not believe that Jesus rose from the dead and was now present in a new way in the midst of His
followers. 

 

It is a reminder…. if we set up an argument a certain way, it often ends up being fulfilled like that too…….   If I tell myself.. I will not believe….  then the events and circumstances around me all conspire to prove my assumption… and I dismiss anything to the contrary as a coincidence or a random event…..      yet, if I start by assuming that these things are correct… then events, circumstances and insights all come together to confirm that indeed this is true…….  

 

Finally, Jesus Himself appears to Thomas and makes him put his hands on and into his wounds.  Then Thomas believes.

We are invited to reflect today on our own belief.  Why do we believe?  If we have doubts about our belief, what will help us dispel those doubts?
What can help us deepen our faith in Jesus as our Savior, as God, and as present with us now?

Our tradition tells us that to understand and believe in Christ, we must read the Scriptures and meditate on them.  We must also come to know other
believers and trust in their experiences.  Christianity is a religion that preaches Jesus crucified and risen, but always in the context of the community of those who believe in Him.

Today let us ask Saint Thomas to intercede for us that we can believe more deeply in the great mystery of salvation.  Let us be patient with our
doubts and keep looking for the truth of Christ's presence.  Most of all, let us rejoice in the Lord who loves us and invites us deeper into these mysteries.

 

 

 

 

 (Quote from ‘Mark Link – Vision 2000 Year C) . This reflection also may have been adapted from other sources, I wrote the original draft a few years ago and updated and expanded it this year, and I cannot recall if I utilised other sources. Apologies for any ommissions)

 

 

Easter 2007

Jesus is Risen from the dead……. 

 

 

 

This is our faith.  

 

 

 

Occasionally one hears a person say….    “Risen from the dead?  This is too good to be true.”….  

 

 

 

but here is the thing……   God always give us more than we could ever ask for, expect or dare to hope for…….   For example….. we were promised a saviour…..  but we never imagined it would be God himself who would come to save us…..   We knew that God loved us, but we could never have dared to think that God would become one like us, and share our weaknesses and human condition…..   and so on……   God’s gifts are never quite what we expect…..  but always better than we hoped for….

 

 

 

So this special day……  Jesus resurrection is NOT too good to be true….. //    God has a habit of giving us things that are too good to be false !!     (taken from 365 days with the lord).

 

 

 

++++

 

 

 

“Seek and you shall find”

 

 

 

I saw a great quote the other day about Easter…..   “The stone covering the tomb was not rolled away to let jesus out…(God has no need for entrances and exits;  --  as Jesus later showed several times when he appeared in the locked room of the disciples….  ..no.. the stone was not rolled away to let Jesus out of the tomb…..   but to let us go in and see the truth of what was there….. or to be precise not there….…….” 

 

 

 

Also, there is another wonderful quote from Pope St Gregory the Great (c.540-604)

 

 

 

We must reflect upon the intense love in the heart of Mary Magdalen, who would not leave the Lord’s grave, even after his own disciples had gone away. She continued seeking him whom she could not find; in tears she kept searching; and, alight with love, she yearned for him whom she believed had been removed. Thus it happened that she alone saw him, she who had remained behind to seek him… She had already sought and found nothing. But she persevered, and therefore found the object of her love. (See John 20:11-18)

 

 

 

so…..    for me……

 

 

 

If Christmas was the great season of “God with us” when we celebrated that God loved the world so much that God became one just like us…and dwelt among us…… the feast of “God’s presence shining through… being revealed in this time and this place….”

 

 

 

then Easter is the great season of “see. God WAS with us… God IS always with us…..even in our darkest hour…. even when it felt like we had been abandoned….  even when we felt there was no hope…..God was there with us… silently present… ever faithful…. and drawing us always towards life and victory……. Easter is the season of “God present -  even when it doesn’t appear to be so….”….  of recognizing the presence and action of God in that which is often hidden from our eyes……

 

 

 

This is the great celebration of Searching-found /  Hope-fulfilled…  of “rightly-placed trust…..”

 

 

 

so… it Easter IS the time for feasting…  of sharing meals….  of breaking bread with family and friends….  and (in turn) recognizing the love and abiding presence of Jesus in each other……  re-committing ourselves to recognize and give homage to the presence of Christ in those around us…  a presence we sometimes take for granted or find hard to see in each other (at times).. but which God always sees in each of us…. with the eyes of love…

 

 

 

{{Easter is THE pre-eminent time for celebrating initiation into the Church family community too… because at Easter we celebrate the new life Jesus won for us… and that Jesus invites us all to belong to God’s family….so tonight we are honoured to be celebrating the initiation into the Catholic community of two adults…   ….  they have both been baptized into other Christian church traditions, so we respect their baptism… there is only one baptism, into Christ, so we don’t re-baptise…..   but in tonights ceremony we are honoured to confirm the baptism they have already received … and also welcome them into full communion with the Catholic church family……  and I would like to thank our candidates for the honour of celebrating this special moment with the community, as this very special moment in your faith journey… is a source of renewal and joy for the whole community..   renewing and strengthening the commitment and living faith that we all share…}}

 

 

 

The love and grace of the Lord has not only “broken free of the tomb”… Jesus has also broken free of the limits of time and culture… and is present and active in the lives and events of this place… and this people here and now… …

 

 

 

I have said before, and it is worth repeating….   there is a scene in the gospels where an angel is found sitting in the empty tomb….   this is a wonderful scene….  the first sign that Jesus is risen is not the encounter with jesus in the garden or the meeting of Jesus on the road to Emmaus… but the fact that the tomb is empty.. the stone rolled away….  the cloth used to cover him crumpled and thrown away in a corner…..   in some ways beautifully understated….. 

 

 

 

even the angel… not some terrific winged creature… but presumably an ordinary looking man, sitting there calmly, dressed in a simple white robe… with this to say… and these words are addressed as much to us two thousand years or so later……….as to those first disciples…..

 

(and of course.. the angel didn’t quite put it like I am about to… but he might as well have said it like this… the meaning is the same….)

 

“you are looking in the wrong place for Jesus… he is not here…  do you know where he is……   if you want to find him………   go back where you just came from……   because ….he has gone to look for you……..………..    at your home………   he is not here……. he has risen….   he has gone ahead of you…. into town….   into your homes… into your streets….  into your schools and work places… and hospitals… and sports clubs… and anywhere else where everyday life plays itself out…. he has gone ahead of you into these places and it is here that the risen Lord will meet you…. look for him…. you will find him………    every time you experience kindness (or sense it inside yourself or show it, or receive it from another), whenever you experience….graciousness, justice, hope,  truth,     

 

a commitment to the good of the community, reverence  (that is a deep and heartfelt respect and regard for others and for the things around us), faith, (faithfulness), a sense of wonder, service, human dignity, servant leadership, devotion and steadfastness, forgiveness, compassion, empathy, peacefulness, gentleness, simple joy and of course love which takes as things are and not tries to turn it into something else……. wherever you show or encounter these and more….. you are encountering the risen lord…

 

 

 

He has gone ahead of you, into this town…. he will meet you there…..

Good Friday 2007

GOOD FRIDAY….. 2007

At one point in his life, the great Moses asked God to show him his glory…….     God answered….” I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name.”  Then God passed before Moses and cried out as he passed:  “THE LORD, THE LORD; A MERCIFUL AND GRACIOUS GOD – SLOW TO ANGER, AND RICH IN KINDNESS AND FIDELITY, CONTINUING HIS KINDNESS FOR A THOUSAND GENERATIONS…” 

 

In other words, already at the dawn OF THE BIBLICAL revelation, God was telling us that God’s beauty, God’s glory, is only one thing…..LOVE….

 

In today’s gospel…  John is trying to tell us the same thing, not only about God, but also about God the son – Jesus.    Essentially, for him, Jesus shows his glory in the same way God manifested his glory in the Old Testament…. namely by showing love…. in his entire behaviour……. and inner being…….  That is why, in contrast with the other three Gospels…. John’s passion injects into his account… a kind of diffused, divine light…..  In John’s description of the passion….Jesus is already triumphant…. he overwhelms the soldiers at the garden of Gethsemene when they come to arrest him……. he speaks to Pilate as to an equal, (if that). he carries his cross in a way that indicates complete control….. He is glorious….. why?  because Jesus’ passion and death are the most perfect revelation of his love….    What God tells Moses, Jesus tells us by his behaviour:   MY BEAUTY, MY GLORY, IS ONLY ONE THING…. LOVE UNTO DEATH AND BEYOND….  

 

+++++

WHEN I WAS A CHILD….    I used to often think to myself…(at this time of year)…...  why in the world do they call it “good Friday’   what on earth is good about it.,…….   

 

if it was good Sunday… that would make sense….  that was when Jesus rose from the dead………..   that’s surely where he gained victory over all that was bad……

 

what’s good about Good Friday…..   it is when Jesus suffered….  when jesus died……..   when people did the most vile and awful things to the Lord of life……

 

even now… as an adult…   after all the years of theological training.. I must admit… there is still a part of me that would vote in favour, if someone proposed that we change the name of Good Friday to sad Friday…  or bad Friday…o r something like that…….    even now… a part of me cannot comprehend the enormous mystery God is pointing us to in this deeply challenging event…..

 

because….   Christ’s victory was not won on Easter Sunday….  but here and now…. on the Cross…….on that most excellent Friday… when things were at their darkest….. when the forces of darkness and sin…. and lies…  and violence seemed at their most powerful……….       here is God’s victory… and it summons up every ounce of our faith and understanding…..  because this lesson is the hardest to comprehend…….   

 

God did not banish suffering…but – instead-   overcomes it (gets inside it)……  in his loving, giving and hope-filled (faith-filled) commitment to humanity……   God transforms all things and works away until life springs from it……  hopes springs up anew… in one way or another… one form or another…..

 

I was looking at last year’s columban calendar…..    the front cover was a rather (I couldn’t help but thinking)………. ugly picture….   my first reaction was…. oh dear…. why pick that picture…  for the front cover of a yearly calendar….. the first image one sees………….of all the nice beautiful pictures… why that one… it is an oil paiting by Giovani Bellini of Milan…    from the 1500s…it is the image of the Pieta….      (Mary and Jesus…  with John at their side)…….. it is painted in these ghastly…..yellowy and unattractive shades….   Mary tenderly……    movingly….holds the dead body of Jesus her hands…..     two things stike me now about that picture…..  (perfectly well chosen for the front cover)……the faces of Mary and jesus are so much alike….  and why would they not be,…..  mother and son…….  this is where the human and divine tragedy is at its most poignant……..    for a parent see such suffering in their beloved child……  too much….. enough!............they are like mirror images of each other……  secondly……   Mary’s face looks as bruised and as battered as Jesus…. and true it is…… although jesus alone suffered the unimaginable blows and agony of his journey to calvary…. in another way..  Mary, the first and most perfect disciple….   did she not have a sword of sorrow pierce her heart too?    just as Simeon mysteriously predicted all those years before…… this picture…captures a deep reality… although Mary did not physically suffer…..  surely she felt each and every fall….   each and every lash….   every blow of the hammer…. and every unimaginable wound….   as she helplessly witnessed the scenes of Jesus passion…….    she draws us into the world of parents world wide…… who suffer the terrors of violence and injustice towards themselves and their children……………   Our God …. knows personally the pain f war, of violence… and of injustice – poverty, inequality and opporession….. and so much more……..   Mary also draws us into the world of the follower of Jesus…..   we can never offer the perfect sacrifice of love that jesus offered on the cross for the salvation of all……  but as disciples of jesus… inspired by the total dedication of disciples such as Mary…we too may suffers the blows of loving… of forgiving… of hoping…. of working for equal treatment of all…………..that we come across in our daily life journey…… 

 

in a few moments……   after our traditional Good Friday intercessions…..  we will be invited to come forward and offer a sign of veneration and devotion to the cross of jesus christ… this is a profound moment…  where we each come forward….  and with some gesture special to us….and between us and our God…..    we connect our lives……to the perfect sacrifice of christ……   we nail our crosses, our pains… our sins… our fears… to this cross………    we connect …….our hopes… our prayers…  our selves….   our daughters… our sons… our spouses…..   our parents….  our brothers.. our sisters….  our work…  our workmates…..   our vocations……our everything…… //  Jesus invites us as disciples of Jesus to draw close and offer our joys and hopes our sins and failures to Jesus so that we might connect them with the perfect act of love and victory effected on this cross… on this most excellent Friday… this very, very good Friday……       if we look with the eyes of hope, faith and love……

 

if we have died with Christ… if we have suffered in christ.. we shall also rise with him… we shall also share in his victory……. which begins here and now…..   “let us ever glory in the cross of Christ…  /    let us ever tell the story of the Cross of Christ.. and the saving power of his love…….”

 

Holy Thursday 2007

HOLY THURSDAY  -  2007

 

Cardinal Jean Danielou, in his book entitled “Prayer. The mission of the church”, states that the basic reality of life centres around LOVE.   He writes: “ because of the relationship of persons that exists within God, and then between God and us, and finally among us….all things come down to the following three realities……. ‘God is love; God loves US (and we are in a relation of love with God); and finally, we must love one another, lay down our lives for each other.  If we base our lives on these three realities, they acquire infinite meaning; and whatever ups-and-downs in life may arise, we will always be encompassed by love.”

 

Tonight’s gospel reading is all about love….. love is GIVEN, LOVE RECEIVED; LOVE IS ESTABLISHED AND ENJOINED…  

 

ON THE EVE of his passion and death, Jesus did what every human being does, on the point of death… he zeroes in on what is ESSENTIAL in life. One could never improve on what he did and said and gave us on that tragic evening.   ( taken from 365 days with the lord)

+++

There is something very beautiful about the three holy days………. of Holy Thursday…. Good Friday and Holy Saturday….   known as the Sacred Triduum……

 

Our liturgy over these three days shows this most profoundly….. these three ceremonies are not three distinct liturgies……….. they are the one seamless garment of a single liturgy…   extended and stretched through time over three days…..

 

this is shown by the fact that this ceremony tonight does not have a specific ending…(no final blessing…not the usual sign of the cross at the end… no words of dismissal ………but rather… it simply trails off into silent vigil…..  only to softly Fade back up at ….. tomorrows good Friday ceremony… continuing where it leave off tonight…….…without any real introduction….no defined greeting…..   since it is merely a continuation of what we begin tonight….  and it again trails off into expectant silence….  only to re-gather without any specific beginning on Holy Saturday night……     one single liturgy… over three days……   it is unique in the church’s calendar… and rightly so……

 

and so to tonight’s readings………TIME AND TIME AGAIN…..  WE HEAR JESUS OFFERING A RADICALLY DIFFERENT DEFINITION OF POWER….  OF AUTHORITY….. OR KINGSHIP…  OR VICTORY…. OR DOMINION……………OF LEADERSHIP……..   ….  IT STANDS IN DIRECT CONTRAST WITH THE WIDER WORLD’S STANDARD DEFINTION OF SUCH WORDS…..

 

My question tonight is this……..   Do you ever think the world will buy it?...........  the definition for these things…..   as Jesus defined them…..  evoked laughter and scorn in Jesus time…. and even more so today……

 

just try and tell the super powers that true power is revealed in weakness and in vulnerability……….   if we are not laughed at….  it may cause a reaction of fear……..  

 

the truth is….  we are all vulnerable….. we are all weakm deep down…….  and this is at the heart of Jesus message…. he is only saying what is profoundly true…. those who use power in terms of domination and oppression…   will do so very effectively…. very powerfully……    they may go through their whole lives showing that no one is stronger than they…..but underneath… they are still vulnerable….. still ever-vigilant against surprise assailants……..   because they are not and cannot be inherently secure…..    because they base their lives and their values on things that ultimately do not last…..

 

Jesus does not say that POWER and domination and oppressive tactics is not a seductive and attractive option…….   he faced the temptation to use force to do good…. but realized that this was a lie that must be resisted……… 

 

Jesus took all his energy and put it into the areas that were thoroughly authentic……..  he stood entirely and without armour…. on the truth of his relationship with God….. on the validity of his good news message…. and the absolute power of love, of graciousness, or forgiveness and of inclusion… and stood by that right to the end……. (and beyond)……  and it proved to be authentic….

 

  he showed that power…. is always a relationship….. that true leadership is about service…….  and that true community must be about including all others, and not about segregation and separation and silencing of minority voices out of fear……

 

Jesus established a kingdom where there is an open table …where all are welcome…..  this is a great mystery thought,   ..  an open table does not mean anything goes…..   there are values to be shared here… that must be shared by all…….   but there is also openness, dialogue, forgiveness, honesty, charitability, graciousness and inclusion…….    these are not just the table manners expected….but somehow these values become the way of living in everyday life as well…….  

 

and again…  I cannot avoid coming back to the theme that echoes in my head every year…..    the image of a table where everyone sits down…  is an image of reconciliation…  it is impossible to sit down and share a meal with someone at the saem table when we are fighting…..  when we are alienated… and at war….. to sit down and share a meal…   not only share food…   requires of each of us a melting of grudges…. and a putting aside of hurts…….   to eat as equals…who share a common space, a common condition… and a common roof…….

 

as we allow Jesus, the one who comes among us not as master, but as friend….. and who is amongst us as one who serves…… to wash our feet as a sign of service and humility……   let us affirm the Christian definition of some very special words….

 POWER….  (a respectful relationship)……OF AUTHORITY (truth and integrity, respect and mutuality)….. OR KINGSHIP…  and leadership (service, love),……VICTORY…  (through sacrifice and love)……. OR DOMINION…… (by graciousness and gentleness)…..

 

Pope's world youth day message 2007

MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE YOUTH OF THE WORLD

ON THE OCCASION

OF THE 22nd WORLD YOUTH DAY, 2007

 

 

 

“Just as I have loved you, you also

should love one another” (Jn 13:34).

 

 

 

My dear young friends,

 

On the occasion of the 22nd World Youth Day that will be celebrated in the dioceses on Palm Sunday, I would like to propose for your meditation the words of Jesus: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).

 

Is it possible to love?

 

Everybody feels the longing to love and to be loved. Yet, how difficult it is to love, and how many mistakes and failures have to be reckoned with in love! There are those who even come to doubt that love is possible. But if emotional delusions or lack of affection can cause us to think that love is utopian, an impossible dream, should we then become resigned? No! Love is possible, and the purpose of my message is to help reawaken in each one of you - you who are the future and hope of humanity-, trust in a love that is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that binds people together and allows them to feel free in respect for one another. Let us now go on a journey together in three stages, as we embark on a “discovery” of love.

 

God, the source of love

 

The first stage concerns the source of true love. There is only one source, and that is God. Saint John makes this clear when he declares that “God is love” (1 Jn 4: 8,16).  He was not simply saying that God loves us, but that the very being of God is love. Here we find ourselves before the most dazzling revelation of the source of love, the mystery of the Trinity: in God, one and triune, there is an everlasting exchange of love between the persons of the Father and the Son, and this love is not an energy or a sentiment, but it is a person; it is the Holy Spirit.

 

The Cross of Christ fully reveals the love of God

 

How is God-Love revealed to us? We have now reached the second stage of our journey. Even though the signs of divine love are already clearly present in creation, the full revelation of the intimate mystery of God came to us through the Incarnation when God himself became man. In Christ, true God and true Man, we have come to know love in all its magnitude. In fact, as I wrote in the Encyclical Deus caritas est, “the real novelty of the New Testament lies not so much in new ideas as in the figure of Christ himself, who gives flesh and blood to those conceptsCan unprecedented realism” (n. 12). The manifestation of divine love is total and perfect in the Cross where, we are told by Saint Paul, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rm 5:8). Therefore, each one of us can truly say: “Christ loved me and gave himself up for me” (cf Eph 5:2). Redeemed by his blood, no human life is useless or of little value, because each of us is loved personally by Him with a passionate and faithful love, a love without limits. The Cross, - for the world a folly, for many believers a scandal-, is in fact the “wisdom of God” for those who allow themselves to be touched right to the innermost depths of their being, “for God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:25). Moreover, the Crucifix, which after the Resurrection would carry forever the marks of his passion, exposes the “distortions” and lies about God that underlie violence, vengeance and exclusion. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world and eradicates hatred from the heart of humankind. This is the true “revolution” that He brings about: love.

 

Loving our neighbour as Christ loves us

 

Now we have arrived at the third stage of our reflection. Christ cried out from the Cross: “I am thirsty” (Jn 19:28). This shows us his burning thirst to love and to be loved by each one of us. It is only by coming to perceive the depth and intensity of such a mystery that we can realise the need and urgency to love him as He has loved us. This also entails the commitment to even give our lives, if necessary, for our brothers and sisters sustained by love for Him. God had already said in the Old Testament: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18), but the innovation introduced by Christ is the fact that to love as he loves us means loving everyone without distinction, even our enemies, “to the end” (cf Jn 13:1).

 

Witnesses to the love of Christ

 

I would like to linger for a moment on three areas of daily life where you, my dear young friends, are particularly called to demonstrate the love of God. The first area is the Church, our spiritual family, made up of all the disciples of Christ. Mindful of his words: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35), you should stimulate, with your enthusiasm and charity, the activities of the parishes, the communities, the ecclesial movements and the youth groups to which you belong. Be attentive in your concern for the welfare of others, faithful to the commitments you have made. Do not hesitate to joyfully abstain from some of your entertainments;  cheerfully accept the necessary sacrifices; testify to your faithful love for Jesus by proclaiming his Gospel, especially among young people of your age.

 

Preparing for the future

 

The second area, where you are called to express your love and grow in it, is your preparation for the future that awaits you. If you are engaged to be married, God has a project of love for your future as a couple and as a family. Therefore, it is essential that you discover it with the help of the Church, free from the common prejudice that says that Christianity with its commandments and prohibitions places obstacles to the joy of love and impedes you from fully enjoying the happiness that a man and woman seek in their reciprocal love. The love of a man and woman is at the origin of the human family and the couple formed by a man and a woman has its foundation in God’s original plan (cf Gen 2:18-25). Learning to love each other as a couple is a wonderful journey, yet it requires a demanding “apprenticeship”. The period of engagement, very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and words. It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each other; it helps you to practise self-control and to develop your respect for each other. These are the characteristics of true love that does not place emphasis on seeking its own satisfaction or its own welfare. In your prayer together, ask the Lord to watch over and increase your love and to purify it of all selfishness. Do not hesitate to respond generously to the Lord’s call, for Christian matrimony is truly and wholly a vocation in the Church. Likewise, dear young men and women, be ready to say “yes” if God should call you to follow the path of ministerial priesthood or the consecrated life. Your example will be one of encouragement for many of your peers who are seeking true happiness.

 

Growing in love each day

 

The third area of commitment that comes with love is that of daily life with its multiple relationships. I am particularly referring to family, studies, work and free time. Dear young friends, cultivate your talents, not only to obtain a social position, but also to help others to “grow”. Develop your capacities, not only in order to become more “competitive” and “productive”, but to be “witnesses of charity”. In addition to your professional training, also make an effort to acquire religious knowledge that will help you to carry out your mission in a responsible way. In particular, I invite you to carefully study the social doctrine of the Church so that its principles may inspire and guide your action in the world. May the Holy Spirit make you creative in charity, persevering in your commitments, and brave in your initiatives, so that you will be able to offer your contribution to the building up of the “civilisation of love”. The horizon of love is truly boundless: it is the whole world!

 

“Dare to love” by following the example of the saints

 

My dear young friends, I want to invite you to “dare to love”. Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love (cf Rev 5:13). Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilisations. This is shown to us in the lives of the saints. They are true friends of God who channel and reflect this very first love. Try to know them better, entrust yourselves to their intercession, and strive to live as they did. I shall just mention Mother Teresa. In order to respond instantly to the cry of Jesus, “I thirst”, a cry that had touched her deeply, she began to take in the people who were dying on the streets of Calcutta in India. From that time onward, the only desire of her life was to quench the thirst of love felt by Jesus, not with words, but with concrete action by recognising his disfigured countenance thirsting for love in the faces of the poorest of the poor. Blessed Teresa put the teachings of the Lord into practice: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). The message of this humble witness of divine love has spread around the whole world.

 

The secret of love

 

Each one of us, my dear friends, has been given the possibility of reaching this same level of love, but only by having recourse to the indispensable support of divine Grace. Only the Lord’s help will allow us to keep away from resignation when faced with the enormity of the task to be undertaken. It instills in us the courage to accomplish that which is humanly inconceivable. Above all, the Eucharist is the great school of love. When we participate regularly and with devotion in Holy Mass, when we spend a sustained time of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, it is easier to understand the length, breadth, height and depth of his love that goes beyond all knowledge (cf Eph 3:17-18). By sharing the Eucharistic Bread with our brothers and sisters of the Church community, we feel compelled, like Our Lady with Elizabeth, to render “in haste” the love of Christ into generous service towards our brothers and sisters.

 

Towards the encounter in Sydney

 

On this subject, the recommendation of the apostle John is illuminating: “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth” (1 Jn 3: 18-19). Dear young people, it is in this spirit that I invite you to experience the next World Youth Day together with your bishops in your respective dioceses. This will be an important stage on the way to the meeting in Sydney where the theme will be: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). May Mary, the Mother of Christ and of the Church, help you to let that cry ring out everywhere, the cry that has changed the world: “God is love!” I am together with you all in prayer and extend to you my heartfelt blessing.

 

From the Vatican, 27 January 2007

 

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI