Christmas 2006

This celebration of Christmas is very special….   for all of us… and particularly children and families and friends…..   welcome to you…..   I pray that your hearts are filled with joy and peace at this special time……

 

A friend asked me a fascinating question the other day……   which feast is more important……    Easter or Christmas…….     I mean, everyone gets born… there is no effort or virtue in that…..  but for a person to give their life to save others…. now THAT is profound…..

 

I mused on that very good question for a while…..   and, in one sense the two feasts are two sides of the same coin……    If God hadn’t become flesh and dwelt amongst us, God could not have paid the ultimate and final price to save all humanity……    also, Christ’s whole life… from his birth, (which we reverently commemorate this (evening/ morning) to death, to resurrection and ascension… all of it comprises  the seamless garment of our salvation……

 

Taking nothing away from the Great and holy season of Easter…. there is something very special, holy and  very necessary about this Feast of Christmas…….  

 

First of all, this feast, clearer than any other, makes it clear that because God became flesh…  became one of us….    sharing our human nature…..    God has made all humanity.. all creation deeply sacred…….   it is not just Spirit that is holy and graced……    the physical….   the created world… is also graced, holy, sacred and special……..    each person here…   each person we meet….    our friends, loved ones and colleagues… all are graced, sacred and special…..  and we celebrate and give thanks for that tonight….   

 

Just as Christ is the visible and human expression of God’s presence and action everywhere…..    we are invited…   solemnly requested by God’s own voice… to treat others around us as we would treat Christ himself……..  especially those most in need… most on the margins…  especially the ones we struggle the most to see signs of Christ’s light shining in their words and actions…… This is a gift of priceless value…..

 

There is another reason why Christmas is special as a counterpoint to Easter….    in this modern world..  we can be tempted to put too much store on our own actions…..   the extreme of this is to say.. its all about my choices, my actions, my response, …….    I have faith in Christ because I decided to say yes to this….    we should baptize people only when they are old enough to say yes on their own…….    the best thing Jesus did in his life is when he willingly sacrificed himself on the cross….  but no…..    its not all about us… and our own personal control and response…   because….   like this feast of Christmas reminds us…..   before our response….  God’s grace was always at work, well in advance, drawing the goodness forth……   BEFORE jesus offered his whole life for the good of the world….   his graciousness was already revealed in the expectant Mary, in the rejoicing Elizabeth…..   in the baby in the stable…..    ando so too… before a young person says YES.. to the faith their received in baptism… they are already a graced and loved member of God’s family…. God’s grace is already at work in them and in the love and faith of their family and church community….    So, Christmas is about the great feast of NOT ABOUT ME…….    the great feast of GOD AT WORK BEFORE WE EVEN THINK ABOUT OUR RESPONSE…….    its about God’s proactive action… that breaks into our world and lives and hearts and sets us on fire … and prepares us for the yes that we so willingly say to his good news…….   that’s what this feast has to offer.. and thank God for this profound gift….

 

There is a special place for the giving of gifts in this Christmas season….   since our “gift giving” is an expression of our gratefulness for God’s Greatest gift to us, by giving Jesus to the world….

 

Here is a list of some of the gifts that have been most popular this Christmas season….  because they not only Perfectly reflect the gift of Jesus, but also because these presents will not be among the ones people are lining up to return in the post Christmas sales….

 

The gift of listening….    to commit ourselves to really being present to and listening others, without interruption or planned responses.. just listening…

 

the gift of shown affection…    a hug, a kiss, a handshake..  or a note of thanks or of encouragement…

 

the gift of laughter…    a joke, an interesting article…  

 

the gift of sincere compliment….    to show we don’t take our loved ones for granted… but do appreciate them for who they are… and the kindesses they show…

 

the gift of a cheerful disposition…  

 

the gift of prayer….   praying for people we love.. who need our thoughts and prayers… they do make a difference.. and prayer changes our hearts.. and directs them outwards into action…..

these gifts and more, fill our thoughts and minds in Christmas… 

 

May the gifts we give and receive this Christmas  echo the gift of Jesus, God made flesh… and continue to enlighten our minds every day of the coming year…

 

May the Christ child fill you with every grace and blessing………      

 

Advent 4

ADVENT WEEK 4 – YEAR C 2006

 

This truly beautiful gospel passage today illustrates at least two important concepts…..  the importance of giving thanks and naming blessings…..    

 

I went and helped out at a reconciliation ceremony in Hervey Bay during the week and in the reflection time there was a parable told of a man who wrote the hurts he received in the sand… but carved all the blessings he received in rock… when he was asked why he did this he said….  it is so important to inscribe the hurts and wrongs in sand.. so that the winds of forgiveness and love can erase them after a time….    but it is so important to carve the blessings and graces in stone.. so they will serve as a constant reminder to us of all the things we are grateful for …   and time, busyness, even misfortiune and circumstance will be unable to erase those memories…. I was impressed by this story…..

 

I thought to myself…    why do I suspect that for many of us, myself included…   we might be tempted to do things the wrong way around….     writing the countless acts of kindness, love, generosity and grace on the shifting sand of our memories…. whilst carving hurts and grudges, memories of misfortunes and our own and others sins and weaknesses on stone……..    and does it help?   

 

Elizabeth is an example of a faithful disciple of God who sees the graciouness happening around her and sings out loudly in praise of God, in thanksgiving…  and names the presence of God that she has experienced in and through Mary’s visit and her own child…….    it is a truly inspiring moment….

 

the other thing that strikes me about this well-known passage is the importance of family, extended family….   and (for the many who do not have many family members, the community of support that is family to us…  our parish, our friends, our colleagues…….)….  

 

Mary must have been frightened and overcome by what she knew was happening to her…. not everyone would be happy…. not everyone would assume that the Holy Spirit was at work….  even saint Joseph when he found out that Mary was expecting was thrown into natural confusion and hurt…..    if he were not an honourable man he mght even have made a major case against his betrothed…. we are told that when he found out what was happening he planned to divorce Mary without any fuss so as not to cause what he believed was a scandal……. this was  before he found out the truth……that God was at work here……

 

Mary went to visit Elizabeth…..    not so much a cousin.. probably more an aunt…….     certainly a member of her extended family……   together, they meet and gain enormous support and comfort from each other…….. 

 

At Christmas time family reunions are not always delightful… sometimes there is conflict… sometimes family members have met up after not having seen each other for ages… and differences can become obvious..  causing tension……  

 

that can be the risk if we try to cram all our family dealings into a few days once a year, rather than trying various ways of keeping contact and discussion going throughout the year…..    but it is a challenge.

 

This weekend…   as Advent comes to a close so quickly that the weekend immediately turns around into Christmas eve….    let us take some time to carve a few things in stone…..     lets look back……   who are some of the people we need to give thanks for ….  to recall in our hearts the acts of kindness and love they have shown….   whoa re the people we have experienced Christ’s grace through their presence and action…..    let us remember and give thanks for them in our hearts, minds..,.  even our words ……

 

let us seek out people who, like Elizabeth, have grateful hearts… who focus on the positives and do not dwell on negatives, getting us more and more upset and downcast…….  

 

let us be attentive to the ways in which God is present to us, in the people with whom we live, work and socialize…….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"He has done all things well"

 

23rd Sunday in ordinary Time, Year B.  (10th September, 2006). Paul Kelly.

 

“He has done all things well”

 

No wonder the people were exceedingly astonished at what Jesus was doing…….    “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  the book of Genesis asks……   and even at the annunciation to Mary (of the extraordinary things that God was doing in her life and planning for all humanity…), …..   the Angel reminds us…  “Nothing is impossible for God….”.

 

Having said …. “all things are possible for God,” us humans have an amazing capacity for assuming that there is only one was of achieving something… and that is in the way that WE imagine !! …..  but God has consistently shown (throughout history) that assumptions like that are quite misleading. ..

 

It is my belief that God achieves the impossible…by means of the improbable and the unexpected……

 

I truly believe God receives and answers our prayers……    always…

 

but….   sometimes, sadly, the answer to our heartfelt prayers is “NO”……   (why??? …  we may not know ever know “why” in this lifetime…..    that requires the big picture to everything, which we humble humans acknowledge we don’t have). …….   other times God answers the need underlying the prayer…. but the result may be almost unrecognisably like what we were asking or thought we were asking…..

 

For example…in this Gospel…  this weekend… Jesus heals the man who could not hear… he gives him back his hearing……. God still achieves this today…in ways that go beyond the literal understanding…..

 

For example…..   I was reading a reflection from someone named Bill writing from another parish in Australia,  he writes about how God’s grace allowed him and his family to cross a language barrier….but at the end of they day they still could not speak the other language……..  he writes………….”my family hosted a total of thirty-five overseas students. Some stayed for only a few weeks, others for up to two years. Mostly we enjoyed their company, though sometimes we missed our privacy. Language was often a major problem.

 

Our first student was from Japan. She arrived with a dictionary and loads of enthusiasm. Word by word we managed to communicate. After that they came with various levels of English. We would sit around the dining-room table and try to teach them some of our culture, our language and our history. We know they appreciated good food. My wife saw to that. They smiled with pleasure when they saw the meals. They also enjoyed camping, boating and many other activities.

 

There was one language that was universal, no matter what country they came from. It broke down barriers and eased their apprehension. That language was laughter. I still have memories of three students, my two teenage children and my wife and I laughing at my daughter’s antics as she mimicked things from cartoons and elsewhere.

 

Laughter sounds the same in all cultures.

 

(so, in this instance, God’s gracious inspiration allowed that family to hear each other, but more subtly than giving them a magical translation machine……. and so their insight into the beauty and complexity of life was rich… )

 

One final example…. I remember… I was run off my feet one week in Murgon parish… with enormous distances to travel… and so many things happening….  I recall praying to God for a bit of quiet time for at least the rest of the weekend…  it had been just too hectic…. one thing after another…..…  that next Sunday….  when I was out at the church of Durong…   80 or so kilometers north west of Murgon….  I was finishing up mass…  it had been a tiring week… I was exhausted and still had an hour to drive home… when.. overexcited by the thought that I just had to put the mass things in the boot of my car and then I was off home…. and I could put my feet up when I got home…..   when CLICK……….I locked my keys in the boot as put all the mass equipment in there and closed it…   As soon as I did it (actually just as I was doing it) I realized I was making a terrible mistake…. and in that instant.. I realized it was a complete disaster….    of all the places to lock my keys in the car… this was not any ordinary place……   its an hour from anywhere…..   I was now stuck an hour away from any RACQ assistance.. there goes the afternoon.. I had just added (with one annoying click) another three hours driving to my day……. 

 

It got worse…  the quickest solution…but not the easiest….would be to borrow another parishioners four wheel drive and drive back to Murgon… get my spare keys and then drive the hour back here and then drive home again… it was madness..so much for my prayer for peace and quite…   but you know, it was a mysterious answer… I never wanted or asked for… because…..   that little adventure was unwanted and inconvenient….but it ended up being a wonderful afternoon….  and after we had decided what would be done…my frustration and annoyance at myself was gone……..   and I could enter into the moment………..I enjoyed talking with a few people in depth through this unexpected turn of events……….. borrowing someone’s four wheel drive….  rattling down the highway in someone else’s car…. it was amazing…..    listening to another radio station….   stopping off for lunch with a couple of parishioners…..enjoying the fun… and even getting a relaxing nap in for an hour or so before I headed back all ready to return with my keys…….and planning my return trip……    it ended up being the most excellent mixture of extra time for talking and reflecting……in the middle of this craziness, I found a kind of calm peacefulness… it also gave me a chance to reflect upon the way I was entering into the busyness….   since it was my own absent-mindedness in the midst of busyness that had led to this situation……..It ended up being, believe it or not……  a time I enjoyed… (and like any writer….. as I drove back I thought… I am going to write about this… and except for how I felt when it happened… I will look back and laugh at this…….)…….though I do hope I never lock my keys in the boot again…  with these modern cars… it’s the only place you could lock your keys in…. and trust me to go and do it……    I am not saying, of course, that every big or small disaster can be described as a hidden blessing…. sadly some things that happen are just disasters…. although I still believe God is at work (even then) trying to bring life out of disasters…(working against the odds to transform situations into places of grace…. …the catch is thay  I don’t believe God sends these as trials……but God does respond in gracious and effective ways to bring healing in these times…..…..

 

In this incident, in any case,  I felt God was answering my prayer but in totally unexpected and unwanted way….. and giving me an invitation to see things in a different way…..  perhaps its why the quote from Mary Mackillop resonates with me so much when I read her words that say  “Many things that seemed unaccountable worries have proved indeed to be hidden blessings”…..    in a way I can’t describe.. that can often be so true…..

 

God allows all people to listen… to receive and to perceive….….but God knows that the more faithfully one listens to the voice within, where God’s Spirit resides, ….. the better one hears what is happening outside. And the authoritativeness of the voice which speaks from the truth one finds inside….is hard to deny………

 

 I certainly find myself adding to the chorus of voices which say of Jesus…..  he does all things well…. he manages to transform the most trying of situations … passing through the bitter valley…..and in his wake…..making it a place of springs……..  

"He has done all things well"

23^rd Sunday in ordinary Time, Year B.  (10^th September, 2006). Paul Kelly.

No wonder the people were exceedingly astonished at what Jesus was doing…….    “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  the book of Genesis asks……   and even at the annunciation to Mary (of the extraordinary things that God was doing in her life and planning for all humanity…), …..   the Angel reminds us…  “Nothing is impossible for God….”.

Having said …. “all things are possible for God,” us humans have an amazing capacity for assuming that there is only one was of achieving something… and that is in the way that WE imagine !! …..  but God has consistently shown (throughout history) that assumptions like that are quite misleading. ..

It is my belief that God achieves the impossible…by means of the improbable and the unexpected……

I truly believe God receives and answers our prayers……    always…

but….   sometimes, sadly, the answer to our heartfelt prayers is “NO”……   (why??? …  we may not know ever know “why” in this lifetime…..    that requires the big picture to everything, which we humble humans acknowledge we don’t have). …….   other times God answers the need underlying the prayer…. but the result may be almost unrecognisably like what we were asking or thought we were asking…..

For example…in this Gospel…  this weekend… Jesus heals the man who could not hear… he gives him back his hearing……. God still achieves this today…in ways that go beyond the literal understanding…..

For example…..   I was reading a reflection from someone named Bill writing from another parish in Australia,  he writes about how God’s grace allowed him and his family to cross a language barrier….but at the end of they day they still could not speak the other language……..  he writes………….”my family hosted a total of thirty-five overseas students. Some stayed for only a few weeks, others for up to two years. Mostly we enjoyed their company, though sometimes we missed our privacy. Language was often a major problem.

Our first student was from Japan. She arrived with a dictionary and loads of enthusiasm. Word by word we managed to communicate. After that they came with various levels of English. We would sit around the dining-room table and try to teach them some of our culture, our language and our history. We know they appreciated good food. My wife saw to that. They smiled with pleasure when they saw the meals. They also enjoyed camping, boating and many other activities.

There was one language that was universal, no matter what country they came from. It broke down barriers and eased their apprehension. That language was laughter. I still have memories of three students, my two teenage children and my wife and I laughing at my daughter’s antics as she mimicked things from cartoons and elsewhere.

Laughter sounds the same in all cultures.

(so, in this instance, God’s gracious inspiration allowed that family to hear each other, but more subtly than giving them a magical translation machine……. and so their insight into the beauty and complexity of life was rich… )

One final example…. I remember… I was run off my feet one week in Murgon parish… with enormous distances to travel… and so many things happening….  I recall praying to God for a bit of quiet time for at least the rest of the weekend…  it had been just too hectic…. one thing after another…..…  that next Sunday….  when I was out at the church of Durong…   80 or so kilometers north west of Murgon….  I was finishing up mass…  it had been a tiring week… I was exhausted and still had an hour to drive home… when.. overexcited by the thought that I just had to put the mass things in the boot of my car and then I was off home…. and I could put my feet up when I got home…..   when CLICK……….I locked my keys in the boot as put all the mass equipment in there and closed it…   As soon as I did it (actually just as I was doing it) I realized I was making a terrible mistake…. and in that instant.. I realized it was a complete disaster….    of all the places to lock my keys in the car… this was not any ordinary place……   its an hour from anywhere…..   I was now stuck an hour away from any RACQ assistance.. there goes the afternoon.. I had just added (with one annoying click) another three hours driving to my day……. 

It got worse…  the quickest solution…but not the easiest….would be to borrow another parishioners four wheel drive and drive back to Murgon… get my spare keys and then drive the hour back here and then drive home again… it was madness..so much for my prayer for peace and quite…   but you know, it was a mysterious answer… I never wanted or asked for… because…..   that little adventure was unwanted and inconvenient….but it ended up being a wonderful afternoon….  and after we had decided what would be done…my frustration and annoyance at myself was gone……..   and I could enter into the moment………..I enjoyed talking with a few people in depth through this unexpected turn of events……….. borrowing someone’s four wheel drive….  rattling down the highway in someone else’s car…. it was amazing…..    listening to another radio station….   stopping off for lunch with a couple of parishioners…..enjoying the fun… and even getting a relaxing nap in for an hour or so before I headed back all ready to return with my keys…….and planning my return trip……    it ended up being the most excellent mixture of extra time for talking and reflecting……in the middle of this craziness, I found a kind of calm peacefulness… it also gave me a chance to reflect upon the way I was entering into the busyness….   since it was my own absent-mindedness in the midst of busyness that had led to this situation……..It ended up being, believe it or not……  a time I enjoyed… (and like any writer….. as I drove back I thought… I am going to write about this… and except for how I felt when it happened… I will look back and laugh at this…….)…….though I do hope I never lock my keys in the boot again…  with these modern cars… it’s the only place you could lock your keys in…. and trust me to go and do it……    I am not saying, of course, that every big or small disaster can be described as a hidden blessing…. sadly some things that happen are just disasters…. although I still believe God is at work (even then) trying to bring life out of disasters…(working against the odds to transform situations into places of grace…. …the catch is thay  I don’t believe God sends these as trials……but God does respond in gracious and effective ways to bring healing in these times…..…..

In this incident, in any case,  I felt God was answering my prayer but in totally unexpected and unwanted way….. and giving me an invitation to see things in a different way…..  perhaps its why the quote from Mary Mackillop resonates with me so much when I read her words that say  “Many things that seemed unaccountable worries have proved indeed to be hidden blessings”…..    in a way I can’t describe.. that can often be so true…..

 

God allows all people to listen… to receive and to perceive….….but God knows that the more faithfully one listens to the voice within, where God’s Spirit resides, ….. the better one hears what is happening outside. And the authoritativeness of the voice which speaks from the truth one finds inside….is hard to deny………

 I certainly find myself adding to the chorus of voices which say of Jesus…..  he does all things well…. he manages to transform the most trying of situations … passing through the bitter valley…..and in his wake…..making it a place of springs……..  

Debutantes 2006..

My friends…….

It is a great honour to be here tonight to receive the debutantes 0f 2006……………….. 

Congratulations to you and your partners.

 

You have put in so much preparation and spare time to be ready for tonight…. And that preparation has been completely worthwhile....….    because tonight, this special night…….Your graciousness and elegance is a credit to you……… 

 

I would also like to send a very special thank you for the debutante organizing committee and everyone who has been involved in making this night so special……an enormous amount of care, love and attention to detail..   has made tonight very beautiful…….well done…….   and congratulations….

 

There was a time, not that many years ago… when all around the country…  people were quietly wondering whether debutante balls might be losing their popularity…. their relevance……   This fear turned out to be unfounded…..  because a new generation has re-discovered the secret of what makes events such as this so beautiful….    and of continuing relevance…… In the last few years, the Debutante Ball has gone from strength to strength…..

 

There is always a place for events such as this… which culture in us, nurture within us and celebrate ………. dignity, grace…..    poise….  and “taking time” to give different occasions the dignity and solemnity that they deserve… that is fitting…….   Nights like tonight, celebrate attention to detail and formality…..   of showing ourselves and each other the respect that we each deserve……. And as we witness to night….  it is special and nice to dress in our best …  our finest…  because you are worth it……..you are graced and wonderful human beings.. with profound dignity and priceless…. irreplaceable…..

 

Tonight, you this younger generation has claimed for yourselves, the special gift of things “formal as well as casual,” // taking time to slow down and savour the journey, over and above just rushing to the destination……//   you have brought out of the treasure house, things both old and new……   and this is good to celebrate….

 

Finally, my thoughts turn to that constant guest who is present in all of our life’s journey’s and special mile-stones….    a person who was comfortable both in formal as well as casual occasions….  and who embodies in all his words and actions…. the  dignity, respect and graciousness that a night like tonight symbolizes…..   Jesus…. who is graciousness personified…  May you be blessed, by our gracious Lord, as you walk with dignity, grace and respect through all the important and varied occasions of your life……..   and as always.,….  as you go……   remember this……   each one of you…. and all of us here…   are a gracious and treasured gift – worthy of the care, the time and respect that is given to you, and from you……..… I know you will continue to enjoy your special night…… and God bless you always…

 

Fr Paul

www.marycatholic.com

 

 

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B (20th August, 2006)

When I was at the Seminary, we had the option to learn a little bit of Latin. A few of us felt that since this was part of the tradition of the church, that we should at least have an opportunity to have at least a bit of a grasp of it.

 

I am glad I did this…  but really, how I learnt any Latin is a mystery of religion. It was so difficult. There were so many irregular verbs, and declensions… my mind boggled. And I didn’t put enough preparation in before the next classes, so I would worry that I wouldn’t be able to answer any questions about it. Mysteriously, though, several things deep seep into my brain, like a form of osmosis…. Just by being immersed in the language of Latin, some things did stay with me…

 

Like pronunciation, and the general structure and basic vocabulary…..     and also, a few phrases really struck me, some for silly reasons…..   

 

Like, our lecturer would present us with old Latin hymns and get us to pronounce the latin in them……   I was intriguied one day when we were reciting an old hymn set to the words of Thomas Aquinas, one of the great Doctors of the Church……   It was a hymn to Jesus….  And the mysterious Latin words echoed out….   “O Pelicanus”…..

 

I thought to myself…. How odd…. That sounds like… it looks like…….  Aquinas is saying to jesus…..   O Pelican !!

 

How odd…. Surely I have mistranslated…. But no… I had not…….    But why a pelican…..    why would a pelican be a symbold of Jesus…….

 

And here lies an interesting story….. 

The symbolism of the mother pelican feeding her little baby pelicans is rooted in an ancient legend which is much older than Chrstianity. There is a legend about the humble pelican which is borne of a misunderstanding of what an observer thinks they are seeing………..   Legend has it that in time of famine, the mother pelican wounded herself (‘vulns” herself… as in another latin word from the same origin as the word ‘vulnerable.” Able to be pierced……, striking her breast with the beak to feed her young with her blood to prevent starvation. Another version of the legend was that the mother fed her dying young with her blood to revive them from death, but in turn lost her own life.  This legend, as I mention, comes from a slight observational confusion…..   a pelican feeds her young by regurgitating food it has stored in its upper throat.. by…   lowering its neck onto its breast… hence what looks like it piercing its breast and lfuid flows out which the young then feed…… but even though it’s a misunderstanding… the symbolism is still clear……

Given this tradition, one can easily see why the early Christians adapted it to symbolize our Lord, Jesus Christ. The pelican symbolizes Jesus our Redeemer who gave His life for our redemption and the victory over sin and death he made through His passion and death. We were dead to sin and have found new life through the Blood of Christ. Moreover, Jesus continues to feed us with His body and blood in the holy Eucharist.

This gospel today reminds me about this…  because jesus is using very clear and very dramatic and almost unpleasant words to explain how he intends to be made present to us and to allow us to draw life from him by partaking in eucharist… which is clearly a sharing in the body and blood of Christ so that we might be united in Christ’s life.

The other little latin that has stayed in my head, almost like a little jingle….  Is the words of a saying, again from good old Saint Thomas Aquinas…..  Christ is “non confractus, non concisus”    ……     It’s a strange little saying, but an important one….  When the eucharist is celebrated, we break the bread… and Christ is present in his body and bllod in the euchartic bread….  But ….  Christ is not broken, nor is he chewed, (non confractus, non concisus)…..even though we receive him in this special way…. Jesus is not parceled out or divided, by the sharing of the bread….  We each receive Jesus, and draw life from him as we take this food of grace….. I reminds me when I, and I am sure many others were told similarly…   when I was preparing for first holy communion, the nuns preparing us reminded us…  don’t chew the host, or else you are biting Jesus…..   …..  now…. It would have been helpful for me to know a little latin back then….   Yes, we do believe we are receiving Jesus in what looks like bread and wine….  It is Christ present….however….   even if we were to chew the host.. and it is fine to do that….    we are not chewing jesus… it doesn’t work that way…. Nor are we breaking him or dividing him……. 

Jesus had the problem of conveying the meaning of the eucharist to his followers, and it was very hard… he MEANT them to understand the dramatic reality of the action of the eucharist, whilst at the same time not wanting them to be so literal that they would be repelled by the idea of eating flesh and blood……   somewhere in the middle is the truth….

But all that matters, and I am forever grateful to my long-suffering Latin lecturer for this….   Is that Christ gives his life and body and all for us…. And wants to to enter into a relationship of faith and life with him that is so close that we are to be united with Christ… and what we celebrate here in this eucharist.. is the tangible expression of the life that we share with God made flesh… for the life of the world…….   The pelicanus… who’s chest was pierced and his own life force flowed out… so that we might have life……  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul W. Kelly

 

 

 

THE BREAD OF ETERNAL LIFE - 13TH AUGUST 2006

They cannot be taught if their hearts are not open, they cannot be taught who are not open to learn…..

 

The gospel makes it clear that Jesus himself is to be the teacher…. God teaches the disciples personally………     if only we are open to receive the lesson……

 

It has been said, that for John’s gospel, there is only one real sin……   and that is unbelief…….  all other  sins are capable of receiving God’s grace and forgiveness and renewal……….   but refusing to believe cannot be forgiven because it prevents the formation of relationship with the God from whom grace and forgiveness flow….

 

The grumbling of the people in this gospel today, is an echo of of the grumbling that occurred in the wilderness when the people grumbled against God and against Moses….  they were short of food and tired and hungry and were regretting putting their faith and hope in God and his servant moses.

 

God gave the people manna in the desert to sustain them….. 

 

In this gospel passage, the grumbling people get Jesus, the bread of life……..

 

but unlike the wilderness experience….   Jesus gives them eternal life…..  not just short term satisfaction…

 

 

It is good, n the face of this gospel for each of us to ask ourselves some important questions….

 

•        are there things about our lives //or about how we stand with God // that are a source of grumbling or discontent. Are there aspects of our lives where we are tempted to lose heart and not trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God and that God does care about us,…  does want the best for us……   does want us to thrive.. and experience eternal life….   to the full…

•        In what ways might we be invited to more open….   more willing to learn from God…..   How might we allow an even more open attitude to being taught by God…… //  as with any student/ teacher relationship…..    we can learn the most if we are willing to put aside our preconceptions, and be challenged and look at things in a new way…  in ways different from the usual attitudes and approaches we have habitually taken…. 

•        We can believe that God is continually at work, trying to sustain us in our needs…..  like the way God sent an angel to Elijah to touch him and give him a simple scone and water…  to sustain him on his difficult journey to the mountain of God……..   I believe that, in many ways, God sends us angels….    people…  events….   opportunities….  meant to sustain and nurture and encourage us…….   

•        the challenge is for us, to accept the gifts and graces and small miracles of daily life……    when and where they occur….     for the converse if not always true….    God does not always answer our requests and demands in the time and way that we might hope… and this can tempt us to grumble or complain or lose hope…. but God does send us what we need, and most importantly he gives himself to us, to strengthen our life journey…

 

The people in jesus time grumbled, because they doubted Jesus assurance that he would be with them in a real and tangible way…..    as the bread of life…..  as the cup of eternal salvation…………….  but actually, is it such a difficult thing to believe…….

 

There is a saying in the bible…. God spoke and it was created…. So its not so hard to believe that jesus, at the last supper said to his disciples…. I want to give you something that will make me present to you in a real way..,… so… I am saying to you…. Everytime you eat this bread and drink this cup….. you are receiving me… you are encountering me…..  I guarantee it….. and why could not Jesus do that… why would he not do it….. and of course.. this is what he did…..  let us pray that each time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist… it will strengthen us to live as Christ in the world….

 

Transfiguration - 6th August, 2006

 

 

 

 Jesus was transfigured on the mountain top and revealed, to these privelged disciples, a truth that would soon become known to countless generations. Jesus in the only begotten son of God.

The important thing following this is, “did the dicsiples become transfigured (or changed) by this revelation……”   It is important that the eventually did. Because this revelation was for them and us…. To encourage us to look deeply into Jesus life and learn from what it tells us about God…….   Jesus life, his words, his actions, his parables, who he ate with, how he treated sinners and outcasts, his way of living, his way of dying…  shows us just what God is like……     and encourages us to learn and take in the values embodied by Jesus life, words and actions……..  to be transfigured, by his example.

The old testament has the example of Moses, who after speaking with God came away literally glowing….his face shining……. The encournter with the God of transformation made him glow……..   I think we can all think of people who, because of their love, compassion, and energy, appear to be radiant… glowing…..     filled with grace and light…..  such people are contagious…. Their energy, vitality, radiance also is transforming…..

 

Jesus is the best example of them all….. he glows with the divine light of God…… he did this all the time…. Even when this was not physically visible,,,,,  he shone with God’s light in happy times, in times of suffering……….    His life was a transformation, and he invites his followers to walk this difficult path of transformation too….

The feast of the transfiguration is a special one…..   the date also coincides with other world events….   Such as today also being, the 61^st anniversary of the first atomic bomb over hiroshima…. And in this time of suffering and war through the world…. An opportunity to pay to God for a peace that only God can give our hearts and minds….  And tranforming peace…..   peace that brings the light of hope and peace and love into a world strugglign with hatred, violence ansd revenge…..   May God help break the cycle of violence, retribution and counter-retribution and so on…

 

I also note that it’s the anniversary of the death of Pope Paul the VI who died on the feast of the transfiguration in 1978.   Reading his biorgraphy a few years ago…..   anjd being struck by Pope Paul’s passion and love and his vision for the world, including a vision for peace….. it was Pope Paul who ensured that the Vatican Council begun by Pope John the XIII and so transofmring with the spirit the church to address the needs of today….    It was Pope Paul who kept it going after Pope John’s death halfway throuhg the council threartened to derail the work begun……..   they said of Pope Paul,    it may have needed a saintly man like Pope John to laucnh the second vatican counctil. But the spirit seemd to need a man of the vision and clarity of Pope Paul to bring it back to port…….   

This weekend and next weekend is vocation awareness week.. and there are articles in the catholic leader about the important of various catholic vocations.. including the vocation of the people of God, the laity, who are in and amongst thew world working with God’s Spirit to transform it into the world God wants… and of course also religious and priestly vocations too… which we will hear more of next week……  

 

So this weekend… let us pray that God will tranform our heart and minds and transfigure them according to the mind and heart of Christ and his vision for a world made new….

 

 

 

 

 

17th Sunday ordinary time year b - 30th July, 2006

Bread and Dignity

 

This weekend’s gospel is again a reminder of the crontrast between God’s power and our concept of possibility.

 

In human eyes, we often can’t imagine how God could intend and achieve the good news for all people……    we humans, who are naturally finite in our physical form… and are all too well aware of our limitiations, and the limitations of resources, money, food, energy, ability……  struggle to imagine how God might be able to achieve the things that are so desirable in the good news….

 

But Jesus, in the gospel reminds us that God makes use of our finite and limited offerings and transforms them into things that can be used by God to achieve things beyond our wildest imagination……..  God doesn’t even ask us to comprehend it…… (if that is possible)  Jesus just asks us to keep offering what we have so that God can transform it…

 

Echoing this gospel……  every Sunday we come forward with simple gifts of bread and wine………   and ask them to transform them into the presence if God for our strength and nourishment……. and God does…..

 

So too….  do we go out from here… offering ourselves… and our skills and talents to God…  asking God to transform these into tools for the establishment of God’s good news in the daily events and places of our lives……

 

and God does that too…

 

There is another really beautiful thing, that again shows that Jesus never stops at half measures………    jesus miracle with the loaves and the fishes is amazing……..    but how he distributes it is PROFOUNDLY important…….   Jesus could have had this huge and plentiful supply given out by saying….  “okay… everyone…  line up….  we’ll hand this out….”  handing it out like beggars…. who recipients of charity……..   grabbing and clutching at the food….but no…….. Jesus respects each person’s dignity… he asks that everyone sit down….  probably in groups …. little communities??...... the food is brought to the people and they eat it, with dignity… as humans and equals……….    truly a second miracle has occurred………. and an equally needed one…..   yes we have people who are in phscial need…..   and we also have people in our society…  crying out for a sense of dignity…  equality… who don’t want to be treated just like a number….but need human and respectful interaction and community…

 

jesus, God, gives us both and asks us to do the same,….

and so….in a little while……  we bring forward our humble gifts of bread and wine.. and with them, ourselves…….   we come as humble, graced and sinful people….   asking God to transform us and our gifts into the gracious things that God will use to change the world to be a place of generosity and respect…..  let us come to the table of life…… and be fed….

 

(some ideas taken from Gustavo Gutierrez, “sharing the word through the liturgical year.” )

HOMILY 15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - YEAR B. 16/7/06

HOMILY 15^TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B. 16/7/06

 

I was reading a reflection on this gospel, by the Jesuit writer Mark Link…  and he used a comparison of this gospel with and example from the Civil war General and US President Ulysses Grant ….

 

Whilst Jesus gospel was about peace…    Jesus also wanted his disciples to be single minded in their goal………..  and in terms of the clarity of focus….  In achieving one’s goal…………It is hard to ignore the similarity between Jesus instruction… and the way famous civil war general conducted himself in a major battle……

 

An observer of the time, in describing General Grant wrote this…

 

 

“All depended upon the quickness of the movement… It was important that grant should be unencumbered with as little baggage as possible…. He took with him no assistant, nor an overcoat, not even a clean shirt .. His entire baggage for the six days – I was with him at the time-the birographer writes, was a toothbrush….. He fared like the commonest soldiers..sleeping on the ground, with no covering, except the canopy of heaven…”

 

 

 

Jesus is asking his followers to be detached from ‘things’ because they can clutter, obstruct and weigh us down in achieving our goal of proclaiming his gospel in action and word….. 

 

Jesus wanted his disciples to ‘travel light’ so to be free to live his good news….

 

He also wanted the disciples to rely entirely and trust entirely in the providence of God and not spend their time collecting and storing things in case of what might be….  

 

Someone once said that “half the confusion in the world comes from not knowing just how little we really need…..”

 

If that is true… and I believe it is….. then the question is….. in this day and age where consumerism is accelerating…….   Where we have learnt all too well the meaning of words such as “manufacturing desire…..”…..     “creating demand”… (that is, in some ways the ‘creed’ of the advertising industry… its not that you need it… its not that you started out wanting it…  its that, now we have suggested it to you…   maybe you now do want it and need it…….” 

 

So, if its harder than ever for us to know how little we need…  (and how little some others actually have)……   perhaps the problem in our modern culture at the moment is that there is an alarming (and ever growing gap) between what we want…. And what we really need…….

 

Here is a question….   One that bears a little bit of thinking……   if an angel appeared to you or me tomorrow and said to us…..   God has authorized me to grant one of these two prayers….

 

You can either ask for a win on Gold lotto (tonight/ next Saturday night)…… and the jackpot is eg…  $30 million….  But you can only spend it on yourself……   //  or   you can ask that in life you will always have only enough to meet your needs (and everyone else will also have only enough to meet their true needs)…. (and “true needs” are those “as determined by God; and not our own judgement)…………     which one would we be tempted to choose… and which would we choose…..

 

Because I have this rather uneasy feeling that for most of us…. One of those prayers has already been granted…….

The Mysterious Three

TRINITY SUNDAY

There is an amazing form of artwork called icon painting….. and, in fact, its more than art….. the way an icon is painted is actually a special act of prayer……

The painter studies the topic for a long time (often months or years) …….., prays, fasts, reflects on the symbolism of the elements…… and then……..paints….. so, the icon is really a religious prayerful reflection on the topic portrayed…… prayer in pictures….

One of my favourites of all time is the Icon by 12^th century icon painter andrey Rublev… its called “The Trinity.” Its also known as the three angels visiting Abraham… since in that incident… God visited Abraham under the appearance of three people…three angels…… so, with the later eyes of Christians, that has been seen as a pre-figurement of the revelation of the Trinity… one God, being three persons, but one divine nature…..

I love this icon, because it sums up something about the nature of God.. what God’s inner life is like………and the image of God that Jesus spent a lot of time and effort preaching about….. If this is what the Trinity is really like… no wonder Jesus spent his life sharing meals with anyone who could sit down with him….. even outcasts and sinners…..

God is a perfect community…so God… by nature is a social and sharing being….. God cannot be otherwise…. (someone said once, the smallest community one can have is really three… two is company.. three is a community…..)

God has distinct and unique facets.. but always works together in perfect mutuality, harmony and equality….

God’s life is like a heavenly banquet… and there is always room for one more person at the table……(as you can see… the table is opening out to the viewer…) we are all invited in …….to share in God’s life……. So, since God is (by nature sharing), that love overflows outwards into creation and to us…. Wanting to give life and share this love…

And the beautiful relationship between the three……. I imagine the three are going….. would you like to have something to eat?…. yes please…. But after you,….. oh no, I insist…. You first… thank you….. and now your turn…. Please…… why thank you, I will……

And the perfect respect that the three have for each other and their distinct roles… we know Jesus says to the father… you are the pre-eminent one… you are the source of all … I do nothing unless you do it…….and the father replies… thank you.. in return I put all things into your hands….. …. What you are doing is what would do……. and the spirit participates in all this and transforms and flows out to share this with everyone///……. In this picture…. The son and the spirit are glancing up to the father, ready to take their cues from him… and in return, the father is ready to share and initiate at their request…. So its power and even hierarchy.. with out inequality, without domination…. Its truly a relationship….. a totally different vision of power and authority from the one the world has…….. one’s authority takes nothing away from the other…. But gives and empowers….

I have heard people occasionally saying about the trinity…so what…. How is the nature of God as “three” relevant to me in my life… its just a theological or academic construction,….

But ……that kind of thinking gives me the horrors… because … to me… it matters very much… the nature of God as Trinity…. has the very real potential to change the way we think and act….

The trinity can be the model for how we relate to ourselves and to each other… how we model community and how we understand the nature of authority and mutuality and equality…… life becomes about sharing…. About inclusion….. people with different roles, even some with positions of precedence.. can exercise that in a way that respects and yet takes nothing away from the others…. People can live with a concept of authority that takes nothing away from them and leaves them free to be everything and do everything they need…… since there are no hang ups… no hidden agendas…. No issues of false pride or resistance…..

If God is always ready for “yet one more” at the table… we too live in the readiness to open our hearts and communities to ‘yet one more”……..

To me… to say someone is gracious… is not a mere compliment… to be a person who is gracious, hospitable committed to working in mutuality and equality of respect for each other and their distinct role… That, is a reflection of the divine life of the trinity….. and this is not a merely an idealized picture of how the world could be… this is how God lives..and who God is…. And I have seen it working in different people and places in my life journey…

I am sure you have seen it at work in many places… in many people’s lives….. it can really work in families…… it’s a joy if its happening in the workplaces we find ourselves in………. yes it means self-sacrifice……. No it doesn’t mean false politeness……. But it can and happen in any place…… The life of the trinity draws us in!

Fr Paul