Catholic 724: Fourth Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 31, 2019

Homily Fourth Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 31, 2019

Stock photo ID: 96744958. By Nicku. The Prodigal Son in the Arms of His Father - Picture from The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments books collection published in 1885, Stuttgart-Germany. Drawings by Gustave Dore.

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: Joshua 5:9-12
Psalm: Ps 33:2-7. "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord"
Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Gospel Acclamation: Luke 15:18
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3. 11-32
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Fourth Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 31, 2019 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-lent-4c-episode-148/s-2nZsJ  (EPISODE: 148)
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As usual, the Pharisees and the scribes are on the lookout. They condemn the welcome that Jesus extends to those considered as public sinners, people who, for that reason, are on the edges of society and despised by them (Lk 15:1). 
 
This prompts our Lord to tell them a story about what God is really like. The parable of the Prodigal Son would have to be one of the best stories of all time. The fact that Jesus, (God made flesh, tells this story to show us how the Heavenly Father thinks and relates to us, even when we have done wrong, is truly amazing.

Of all the images Jesus could have used, the one he persistently uses is that of an unconditionally loving parent..   a doting Father, no less.

There are so many different images of what God is like… some are very scary…  some are very distant and stern..  and then there is this truly wonderful image of God…  The true image of what God is like….   A loving Father…  an unreasonably generous, loving, caring and hoping parent….  It is just too wonderful!!! Thanks be to God for his goodness and love…

"The prodigal son, who has really messed up his life, knows his father well, so he is sure that he can go home and ask for forgiveness (vv. 11-19). The son knows his father's love from experience. Yet his father's response will still completely overwhelm him - it is more profound and complete than he could possibly have imagined."* the Father's reaction does not make sense if one is simply applying pure logic, or mechanical rules and protocols. It DOES make sense when one sees through the eyes of a loving parent. 

"The son had mentally prepared his formula of repentance. But the father runs,in a manner quite undignified and unexpected for a man of his age and position in that time and culture,  to meet his son, taking the initiative to embrace him. The son recites the phrase he had prepared for a long time, but the Father doesn't even let him finish this mechanical formula. In the presence of the father's love, this prepared script becomes utterly redundant,(vv. 20-21)."* 
 
"Forgiveness comes from the welcoming person rather than from the repenting sinner. Forgiving is giving life."* 
 
"Failing to see the gratuitousness of love is failing to understand the gospel.  By converting the gospel into a mere set of obligations, external rules or a guarantee of authorities without moral worth, we make a caricature out of it."* 

The reason Jesus told this story… is to appeal to the better-judgment of the Pharisees and scribes.  The Pharisees and scribes were, at the time of Jesus, known to be experts in the right-application of the Law of Moses, and of God's law…..  they made themselves out to be the perfect examples of how people should faithfully obey God and be considered at rights with God… but it is quite clear from the prodigal son story, that Jesus is trying to show them that, far from being the perfect model of what a good child of God is like… they were acting more like the older (seemingly loyal son)  who, although he had done nothing wrong…  was thinking and acting more like an embittered slave in his father's house than a beloved son… and resenting the forgiveness and reform of anyone who fell short… just like a lost son, realising the folly of their ways, would be welcomed back by his loving father… ….  

Jesus was trying to get all people to stop acting like dutiful, loveless, hard-hearted slaves of God.. and take up their rightful place as beloved, unconditionally loved children of God…..   they should be rejoicing when the lost are found and brought back… not whinging and complaining and recommending distance and rejection,……  

Jesus is clearly saying that the self-righteous good guys who have not done anything wrong according to the letter of the law, may just be as bad a sinner or worse than those who had broken God's law and repented….  Because they fail to grasp the very essence of the gospel...  LOVE, and so they are not living as God's beloved sons and daughters. instead, they act like ill-willed, mean-spirited slaves, who kept God's law begrudgingly, and for a calculated expectation of reward… and with neither true love of their heavenly father, nor true love of their fellow brother or sister….   Jesus was trying to say to everyone…  WAKE UP to yourselves…. If you do everything out of duty, and self-righteousness, and judgementalism, and you are not loving, forgiving, gracious and inclusive…..  then you are totally on the wrong track .. You have utterly missed the point of the Gospel and misunderstood the very nature of God. Ironically, they are acting as badly as the ones they condemn….

This parable is also wonderful for all who have ever sinned or turned away from God by their actions and attitudes…  because Our Lord is imploring us to see ourselves as children of a loving God… who keeps searching for us like a doting father.. and who will happily welcome us back when we turn our faces back to home…  not because we deserve it, but because God loves us and wants the best for us… and knows that being part of God's family is God's plan for us and what is best for us….    And he calls upon us to take on this attitude to others .. and see them too as our fellow brothers and sisters…  all part of one big family loved and cherished and welcomed by God…..  

Oh, what a wonderful world it would be if this parable took hold of the minds and hearts of all of us.. whether we are the prodigal son or the mean-spirit older brother who does not realise the gracious love he is called to…  

St Paul sums up our true role in this world….   "…we are ambassadors for Christ as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God."

May God help us to be aware that we are loved children of God and ministers and instruments of God's love and forgiveness in our lives and in our community…  

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REFERENCES:  

FR. PAUL W. KELLY

*Barclay, W. (1975). The Gospel of Luke. 2nd ed. Edinburgh: St. Andrew Press

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

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address:paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love,  A time of Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]

Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).

{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski 
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms:  http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/  

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us atpaulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources. 

May God bless and keep you.

Fourth Sunday of Lent. C
(Sunday, March 31, 2019)

(EPISODE: 148 )

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or// The Lord be with You)
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As we prepare to celebrate the great Sacramental feast of Gods love, let us pause, recall our sins, and trust in Gods infinite mercy. 
Lord Jesus, you came to gather the nations into the peace of God's kingdom: Lord, have mercy// You come in word and in sacrament to strengthen us and make us holy: Christ, have mercy//You will come again in glory with salvation for your people: Lord, have mercy.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation

Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.

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Sunday Lent IV

Eucharistic Prayer I

Communion side.  pwk:  RH
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Go in peace. (glorifying the Lord by your life)

Catholic 723: Third Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 24, 2019

Homily Third Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 24, 2019

Dedicated to the Memory of My beloved Aunt, Mary Hodge, who entered eternal life on Wednesday the 13th March 2019.  A woman of faith, hope, and Love, who 'ran the good race, who fought the good fight, and who kept the Faith.' May she rest in Peace. Amen.

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Exodus 3:1-8a, 13-15. Working for his father-in-law Moses hears a call from the God of his forefathers.

Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11. "The Lord is kind and merciful." The merciful and gracious God of salvation history remains the God of rescue today.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12. Saint Paul traces a direct line from the Hebrew story to the Christian story.

Luke 13:1-9. Jesus insists that God is not the great punisher but has great forbearance.
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Third Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 24, 2019 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/lent-3c-faith-hope-and-love-episode-147/s-5df44  (EPISODE: 147)

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

Each of these three vices is absolutely lethal to any community…. Criticism, gossip and complaint in a community will rip the community apart and render it useless.

The readings this weekend also highlight the vital connection between God's nature and the 'doing of JUSTICE;' and between our God of love, who acts on that love in practical ways, to help those who suffer.

In the first reading, God SEES the need of his beloved people, who are being mistreated…   God is determined to DO something about it, to free them from their terrible situation …..   And GOD then acts, definitively in history, by calling upon his servant Moses to 'set my people free'.

And God doesn't stop at that. The Lord works WITH and THROUGH Moses and his brother Aaron and the people of Israel, to achieve that freedom that God desires for his people. Its God's action, with the cooperation of people who are open and positive towards God's will.

Many people throughout history have asked: "how can God stand by and see so much suffering and so much injustice in the world and not DO something?"  … But, in reality… God SEES and cannot STAND the wrongdoing and injustice in the world…. And God HAS done something…  God continues to do something about it…..  particularly, God CALLS and commissions people of goodwill… (just like Moses), …. /  To DO something about what is wrong…./ As the saying goes, "God has no other hands on earth but ours…" / God wants to use our hands, our heart and our voices to bring a helping hand and a just response to those in need.

The message that GOD is WITH his people, is found even in God's name, which is revealed to Moses.....    God's very name means many wonderful and mysterious things...  and  very basically translated, God's proper name means..."I am." And this also means (among many other things) that God is: ..."I AM with you!!!."..     God 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. In the midst of suffering and evil in the world, God is suffering in and with the people, as close as possible to those who are enduring these experiences.

Today's gospel emphasises that proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom, cannot separated from history nor from what is happening in our lives: Rather, proclaiming the gospel includes reflecting deeply on what is going on in our lives and in our world... and seeking to interpret our lives in the light of the gospel and of Jesus' values.

So too, the events of our lives enable us to have a better understanding of the scope of Christ's message.
In this really important gospel passage, Our Lord uses two events which were at that time immediate current day happenings. Jesus makes it really clear that there are is NO connection between sin and the misfortunes which may happen to us, whether their cause is human willpower (Pilate killing worshippers, Lk 13:1) or accident, a tower collapsing on people (v. 4).

By this statement, Jesus goes against a very common concept of his time, according to which diseases, misfortunes, and poverty are seen as the consequences of the sins committed by the people in those situations.

One gets a whiff of this same awful mentality even to this day. And Our Lord is clearly aware that this adds an additional amount of suffering and misery to people already suffering harsh circumstances. Insult is added to injury by the wrong suggestion that the poor and the sick and victims of crime or accident have somehow brought these situations on themselves or are being paid back for their wrongdoings or somehow deserving of the misfortunes that happen to them. What a terrible thing that those suffering from all sorts of hardship are also then burdened by a painful sense of guilt.

Our Lord showed that he always cares very much about the poor and suffering and points out that if that was really the way God worked, everyone could expect a building to fall on top of them, for there are a great many wrongs  throughout any community and most of these wrongs are not visited with any kind of divine or natural or human retribution.

So, the Lord frees us from this concept which prevents us, on one hand, from facing the real causes of the evils and wrongs befalling us,  because people are wrongly attributing them to some type of fatality which plunges us into passivity - unable to do anything to accept what has happened as something we deserved. ....

To advocate an image of God as one who works through the malice of others or natural disasters to punish the wicked, is to  terribly distort the true image of the God of love and life.

Unavoidable disasters or events or even bad things happening at the hands of malicious people is not a sign that the victim was being punished.  If one wants to see where the hand of God is to be found in the midst of disaster and tragedy...  don't look to God as the cause of the disaster...  rather look for God's hands embracing the mourners, bandaging the wounded, and feeding the starving... and so on.

A more helpful sign of the results of sin is the failure to bear fruit in situations where it is possible. Our Lord states this in the parable immediately following (vv. 6-9),

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that God is not filled with anger, vengeance and summary justice....  but God is a loving parent,  long-suffering, fore-bearing. God is patiently waiting for / and encouraging our deeds and for the good fruits of our faith, hope, and love.

Jesus is the God not of punishment but of patience, mercy, justice, and love.

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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

Gutiérrez, G. and Dees, C. (1997). Sharing the Word through the liturgical year. 1st ed. Maryknoll: Orbis Books.

Photo By korkeng.  S

tock photo ID: 378423466. Figs on the branch of a fig tree. Used under licence from Shutterstock. 

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Archive homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.com
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address:paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope, and Love,  A time of Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]

Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).

{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms:  http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us atpaulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.

May God bless and keep you.


Third Sunday of Lent. C
(Sunday, March 24, 2019)

(EPISODE: 147 )

The Lord be with you.
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Our Gods love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice. 
You were sent to heal the contrite of heart. Lord, have mercy.// You came to call sinners:Christ, have mercy. //You are seated at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us:Lord, have mercy.//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation

When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.

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Sunday Lent III

Eucaristic Prayer II

Communion side.  pwk:  LH
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Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

Catholic 722: Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 17, 2019

Homily Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 17, 2019

Surfers Paradise Parish joins with all people of goodwill to offer our heartfelt sympathies and prayers for the victims and their families of the horrifying shootings in New Zealand. We pray for peace and respect for human dignity everywhere in the world.  We will keep the people of New Zealand in our prayers.  

Shutterstock. By Renata Sedmakova. Stock photo ID: 270419624. Used with permission. ROME, ITALY - MARCH 27, 2015: The fresco of st. Augustine and his mother st. Monica in Basilica di Sant Agostino (Augustine) by Pietro Gagliardi form 19. cent. - Image

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Genesis 15:5-12. 17-18
Psalm: 26:1. 7-9. 13-14. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Second Reading: Philippians 3:17 - 4:1
Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 17:5
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36
++++Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Second Sunday of Lent. Year C - Sunday, March 17, 2019 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-lent-2c-ep-146-march-17th-2019/s-XbiQg  (EPISODE: 146)
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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 literally shone like light.

We have probably all had "high-point moments," when something extraordinary and special happens to us; and it is as though "the veil between this life and the next" is temporarily parted, and we glimpse Heaven - and we gain a sweet taste of God's glory and wonder - but then those moments are gone and we are back to the everyday events of life. But, those high-point, (mountain-top), moments stay with us long afterward and spur us on; reminding 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…. "      

Yes indeed! If only we realised this!  The Glory and grace of God, shines in and around all of His beautiful creation, mostly lost under the cover of everyday bustle. 

Saint Augustine, in his writings, describes a fascinating and beautiful moment; which in many ways is like a little 'taste' of 'transfiguration' in his own life story…….

It happened when Saint Augustine and his mother Saint Monica were just talking together while they stayed in a villa at the seaside port of Ostia in Rome, Italy. They were deep in discussion; sharing their faith and their hopes……..    

Augustine writes:

   

"My mother and I were alone, leaning from a window which overlooked the garden in the courtyard of the house where we were staying at in Ostia. . . .Our conversation led us (to speak of many things)……. our thoughts ranged over the whole compass of material things in their various degrees, up to the heavens themselves, from which the sun and the moon and the stars shine down upon the earth. Higher still we climbed, thinking and speaking all the while in wonder at all that God has made.   ….At length, we came to our own souls and passed beyond them to that place of everlasting plenty, …….... And when we spoke of the eternal Wisdom, // longing for it //and straining for it with all the strength of our hearts//, for one fleeting instant //we reached out //and touched it. //...........Then with a sigh... //. we returned to the sound of our own speech, // in which each word has a beginning and an ending //- far, far different from your Word, Oh Lord, who abides forever, yet never grows old and gives new life to all things."

This beautiful little incident is like an echo of the Transfiguration of Our Lord on the mountaintop, where Jesus' divinity shines through for an instant in its fullness, and then everything returns to normal, and seems as ordinary as it was before……… But those who experience it are really never quite the same again.  They are profoundly moved, to the depth of their being, by a deep experience of God's eternal grace. 

This glimpse of glory is truly beautiful….

God gives us these occasional glimpses of his glory……   a divinity which, (by the way), actually surrounds us always, but we cannot always see it. Most times we do not recognize God's glory in the midst of ordinary life. 

These moments are special. When we get these special experiences, it is understandable that we would want to settle there and hold on to them forever…………. Perhaps it is part of the human condition, that we clutch at the messenger as if they are the message itself……… We can hold on to the extraordinary moments, instead of savouring the profound subtlety of the "ordinary, and the every day," (where 90% of our lives are lived out). If God is not present and active in the ordinary moments of our lives, then it makes no sense. So thank goodness that this is precisely where God IS found.  

And similarly, the GLORY of God in Christ was AS present and active when he was walking a dusty path between towns, looking just like any other ordinary traveller, as when he shone with pure light on that mountain top. This whole transfiguration incident is God's way of saying..   "See this profound experience of Glory...  Good! now go back to the usual programme,..... but remember.,...this man is the Holy One....  he has my complete confidence and blessing....  This is my Son....   This glory is IN him always..!! .....   at every moment..   even in the mundane ......  even in the boring and tedious moments....   and even ultimately as he suffers and dies on a cross, seeming like just another common criminal.. But, Look deeper .. look beyond appearances. See the reality.       

That is exactly what the disciples did on the mountain top…. This experience was astounding, and it was extraordinary… It was beautiful……. so… "let us stay here… let us build three tents and remain in this moment  and on this mountain forever……"

We too can be tempted to settle for the oasis of temporary revival and encouragement, in place of the true destination which is still a long journey away. …

Jesus made the disciples snap out of their misunderstanding….  No… they CANNOT just "stay on the mountain." There is much to be done back in the towns. And, at the end of the road, lies the unavoidable: Calvary………… 

Equating a good spiritual life with continuous or even regular "25,000-volt epiphanies" ignores the fact that we live our lives at the very effective "240-volt" level for everyday usage. 

God occasionally sends us exceptional spiritual moments to encourage us, prompt us, renew, challenge or re-focus us, but ultimately we cannot stay at that level (as St Peter mistakenly tried to do in today's Gospel); and it would be futile trying to replicate the same ways of getting that special 'mountain top' experience on a regular basis. We must that God will give us what we need in due time and in the ways and times of God's choosing.  If we only go around looking for the dramatic mountaintop experiences of spiritual life, (or for that matter, the extraordinary moments in life), we would miss the countless little moments of ordinary grace that fill up even the most ordinary or seemingly unexceptional day.   

There are also many saints in the life of the church, who went years...  sometimes decades...  without any exceptional spiritual consolations, but continued to live the ordinary moments of graced life in exceptional devotion, faith, and good works.  

God is constantly reminding us of what Augustine himself wrote as well….….   despite that wonderful moment of grace he described in his writings… he also wrote something even more profound….  "Loving God…….You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."

God does not always act in ways according to our own expectations. God is in charge. We are humble servants whose "eyes are always on the hand of our master; waiting for the slightest movement, so we might leap up and answer whatever is requested…

and...   at all times...

"Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord!"

+++++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.
From Saint Augustine: Confessions (Book nine, chapter 10). [Augustine. Confessions. Trans. R.S. Pine-Coffin. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1961, page 197 (paperback edition).]

Shutterstock. By Renata Sedmakova. Stock photo ID: 270419624. Used with permission. ROME, ITALY - MARCH 27, 2015: The fresco of st. Augustine and his mother st. Monica in Basilica di Sant Agostino (Augustine) by Pietro Gagliardi form 19. cent. - Image

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

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks 
You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:"Faith, Hope, and Love,  A time of Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.  [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski   Featuring the….The Kyrie, The Mass parts, http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/   

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us atpaulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.

May God bless and keep you. 
Second Sunday of Lent. Year C
(Sunday, March 17, 2019)
(EPISODE: 146 )
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
+++++++++++++My brothers and sisters, trusting in Gods mercy and love let us call to mind our sins.
option two on the cards// Have mercy on us, O Lord.// For we have sinned against you.// Show us, O Lord, your mercy. And grant us your salvation.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
+++++++++++++++++++++Memorial Acclamation
We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sunday Lent II 
Eucharistic Prayer III 

Communion side.  pwk:  RH
++++Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Catholic 721: First Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 10, 2019

Homily First Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 10, 2019

Photo by Jesus Kiteque on Unsplash
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

First Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Psalm: Ps 90:1-2. 10-15. "Be with me Lord when I am in trouble"

Second Reading: Romans 10:8-13

Gospel Acclamation: Matthew 4:4

Gospel: Luke 4:1-13

Homily

++++Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the First Sunday of Lent. C - Sunday, March 10, 2019 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/faith-hope-and-love-lent-1c-ep-145-march-10th-2019/s-z2qdY  (EPISODE: 145)
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The message, by Saint Paul (in the second reading) is really beautiful....  Especially where he says: "God's word is very near to you... It is on your lips and in your heart."

And it is important that God's word resides equally in both places. Not only on our lips but truly making its home in our hearts.  Completely filling our hearts with its life-giving message.   

In the gospel, The word of God is clearly in Our Lord's heart and mind, and soul and being... and also on his lips...

By contrast..  the devil...  knows the word of God and can quote it easily...  but it is only on his lips... It is most certainly not in his heart... and he does not live it or love it.  It is scenes like this gospel that surely inspired William Shakespeare to write: "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness, is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside, falsehood hath!"   {William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. Act I, Scene III}
Taking our cues from the Gospel today, we see Our Lord fasting and praying for forty days in the wilderness. There is a long tradition in Christianity, and it begins with the way Our Lord deals with temptation and with the devil in this week's Scripture. The tradition can be summed up like this:  "Never enter into discussion with the tempter." Christ does not enter into long dialogues with temptation or with the adversary. He swiftly and efficiently dismisses the wiles of temptation and does not dwell on it. The evil one is the father of lies, so why lend an ear to distortion and falsehood.  
And so, whether this Lent is about the extra things we do or the things we give up, let us do it with the deliberate intention of not permitting those conversations with Temptation to go very far in our lives. If there is fuel for values inconsistent with the good news of Jesus lying around in our daily routines, we should judiciously remove it. And if idle time itself is the "match that most often gets struck," we can strive to fill those spaces with good works, prayer, and healthier conversations. 

Temptation may keep on talking, but if we're not giving it a hearing, it will go off to find a more appreciative audience. Sadly, in this world, there is any number of people around who might like the company of the kind of flattery and sweet nothings that we witness being tried (unsuccessfully) to be given to Christ in today's gospel.  
In Lenten time, one not infrequently hears a person say: "I am going to try harder.  I am going to put more effort, more willpower into not  'falling down' in those areas of weakness or sin that I struggle with time and time again. ....  As commendable as this is, the danger is that it is actually focusing more and more attention on the areas we are trying to overcome. Giving it attention and in some ways entering into dialogue with temptation. Also, isn't this just patching up the fortress walls where they have already been breached? ...  It would be more effective to work on the inside of the home so that if the enemy breached the outer perimeter once again, and entered,  he would find no quarter. There would be nowhere to hide or to stay. No way ahead, only room for retreat. 

Instead of desperately putting our energy into putting up more defenses and focusing with fear on areas we desperately hope will not overtake us again, and if the defenses fail, despite all our best willpower and attention,  we are left utterly vulnerable and defeated.  Better than, increasing our will power, we can build up an inner immunity, (filled with everything positive), to the point that we are so full of the good things of Gods virtues and grace that they completely crowd out anything harmful and there is no room for it to take hold inside.

 "As we begin Lent we make our resolutions to practice some form of self-denial – often fostering particular good habits for our lives, such as intentionally taking more time and space for prayer, and giving of our resources to the poor and the needy.  

But, Lent is not primarily about what WE do – It is more importantly about what GOD is doing. And how we cooperate with God's activity in our lives.  

Basically, it is about "Opening ourselves up to God's love and being humble enough to admit our need for God, and our need to change….even if it would be easier and more comfortable to leave things as they are.

Our Lord was never content with just leaving things where they are...   He lovingly chose to move out of his comfort zone to focus on what really matters. 

After Jesus is baptized, he is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he experiences our human temptations to pre-empt the Heavenly Father's place in our lives. He feels the allure of being self-serving; of gaining worldly power over others; and of controlling or dominating things around him, (worldly understanding of the word). 

But Our Lord displays true greatness by being attentive to his heavenly Father's word in scripture and confessing his faith that the Father has first place in his life. Temptation leads to losing our sense of priorities; and putting God down the list of our priorities.
Although Jesus is God the son, 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 empathize and help us in our temptation and YES, we too can overcome it, through re-ordering our life, our priorities, and our heart. 
It is good at this time of Lenten reflection to ask ourselves in prayer: 
Do we remember to offer God the first fruits of my own efforts?
Do I nurture the virtue of gratitude in my heart?
Jesus rejects Satan's temptations of immediate gratification, power, and safety. How am I doing in regard to these temptations in my own life? 
What help do I find in the traditional practices of Lent: prayer, fasting, practical help to the needy?
+++++References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice. Act I, Scene III

Prepare the Word; (February 10, 2008—First Sunday of Lent). https://preparetheword.com/

+++Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
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Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.  [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski 
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms:  http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/   

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us atpaulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources.  

May God bless and keep you. 
First Sunday of Lent. C
(Sunday, March 10, 2019)
(EPISODE: 145 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or// The Lord be with You)
+++++++++++++My friends in Christ, to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us first acknowledge our sins. 
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do, through my fault, through my fault,* through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Sunday Lent I 
Eucharistic Prayer II 

Communion side.  pwk:  LH
++++Go forth, the Mass is ended.