Saturday, March 08, 2008

Lent Week 5 . 9th March, 2008.

Lent Week 5 .  9th March, 2008.

“Unbind him, set him free !”

Sunday:

There are some words and phrases, that are so powerful that they actually convey and express the feelings and realities to which they point….. 

they are words or sentences that have a power of their own because they are intimately connected to reality they describe….

For example…..   a couple of pastoral council meetings ago a few of us were saying how the word “serenity”   actually conveys the sense of calm, peacefulness and tranquility that we so desire in life….   to be serene.. in the face of the storms and disruptions in life…..   this is a greatly sought-after quality.

many organizations know the power of words to capture the reality of who they are and what they are seeking to do….   they are called Mission statements….   or vision statements…..  

When these statements touch on the core values they represent, it is as if they resonate with truth and power…..  

 

Last Friday, I was at the Saint Mary’s college official opening and blessing of the new Christian Brothers Innovation and technology Centre”   and David Hutton, the head of Catholic education in this Archdiocese  quoted the St Mary’s college Mission statement… and I felt deeply moved by its introductory words… I felt that they had a real immediate impact that surely reflects the fact that they have evolved after a lot of thought, prayer and reflection …..   the words that moved me are simple….    it starts by saying: God’s spirit inspires the Saint Mary’s College to love, learn and live as Christian people of faith. 

I could not help but be quite convinced that this Spirit gives power to the words and their meaning….  

 

This weekend the parish has been delighted to be host for the Saint Vincent de Paul training conference…   and I know it has been a wonderful time of coming together and sharing and reflecting on their ministry and gaining support and encouragement….   the Vinnies mission, also resonates with energy and powr….:

the words include:  ‘to heighten the awareness of Jesus Christ”….by sharing ourselves - who we are and what we have - with the poor on a person to person basis.

We seek to co-operate in shaping a more just and compassionate Australian community, ……

and Our preferred option in this mission of service is to work with the poor in development, by respecting their dignity, sharing our hope, and encouraging them to take control of their destiny.

 

words…  that fill one with energy..  make one want to join in this work…..I pray with confidence that the work of Groups such as Saint Vincent de Paul society, will continue the powerful work of Christ meeting Christ in their ministry of service… of meeting ‘person-to-person’.

and of course, I truly believe there is one single WORD who gives power to all other words and phrases.. and it is the person and message of Jesus, who is THE WORD of God……  Jesus is a DOING word, so the word of God, is a verb……. 

some other very special words have a powerful effect because they are so intimately connected with Jesus’ values//  his message and qualities about himself that they convey the qualities they describe….

these words are powerful, as though the Spirit hovering over them fills them with resonance…..  words such as

“Your sins are forgiven”

“Your debt is cancelled”

“Be Freed”  /  “Be released”

“Be Opened”

“BE upLIFTED FROM YOUR BURDENS”

“lazarus – COME-OUT…… //   now unbind him…. set him free!”

“This is my body broken for you…..   this is my blood poured out for you as a new covenant”

 

I love these words….  I know you do too……    they fill us with hope… but more than that… they immediately begin to  achieving what they say…….   

even our own parish newsletter, at the top…  I love that little line….   “Building our lives on the gospel…”    I don’t know where it originated, but it is wonderful, it is true……   that is what we strive to do, always and everywhere….

SO, Jesus said a lot of words to people in his ministry…  sometimes the things he said really challenged the faith of those who were with him……   In the gospel today, jesus talks to them about God having the final say on suffering and death……   / Jesus is powwrfully SHOWING that HE DOES CARE…. HE DOES LOVE US…..  HE DOES CARE WHEN PEOPLE SUFFER, DIE…   GRIEVE….  OR FEEL TRAPPED BY THEIR PAST SINS AND MISTAKES….. HE CRIES WITH US…..  HE SIGHS FROM THE HEART FOR US……..    AND HE SPEAKS WORDS OF CHANGE…..  

 

BE HEALED

BE FORGIVEN

BE FREED….

I GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE….

 

AND THEN TURNS TO US AND ASKS……

 

 

do you believe this…   DO you believe?????”  

 

We reply, like Martha: “yes, lord, I believe... You are the Christ, the one who is to come into the world…..

 

If we believe this, THEN  we will trust that if Jesus says “your sins are forgiven”.. (and he does say this to each of us)…. then who are we to stay in the darkness of shame….//   who are we to remain still imprisoned by these sins if Jesus cancels our debt…….

 

Right….  then, untie them…   ….. this is what I desire for you…// 

 

This is what makes Christ become moved so deeply he sheds tears….//    but they are certainly tears of hope….

 

what love jesus has or each one of us….  

 

surely it is only Divine love that fill us with life again….……  freed, healed, forgiven….  LOVED.

 

 

 

 

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Saturday Night:

 

I have a friend I have known for many years, A fascinating and eccentric person, (who won’t mind me mentioning him in a homily I am sure)….and his preferred means of communication to me (of recent years) is via e-mail and sms. He sends me an email message and I reply, but I never get a reply to my reply. It is the strangest thing.  It has become the most unusual one-sided conversation of all time…….    He will write to me from 100 kilometers down the road one time..  about some amazing thing that has happened to him… and I will reply in amazement at his exploits…. and ask a further question…  but nothing……  no reply….  it doesn’t really bother me…  its just odd……    another time..  he will send me an email from Spain…(or somewhere equally exotic)…..  he will write about having just walked the way of ST James….(the Santiago de Compostela pilgrim walk)     … and again….I will write back immediately…… in amazement… /,,,,,, again …  no reply…… !     I got another message the other day….    he is home…..   back in Australia…   I welcomed him back…and said…  ‘wow… your journey must have been wonderful… how are you, are you settling in?’….. but at the same time I thought to myself….   ‘I bet you a million dollars I will never get a reply to this message until the next time I get an email from some new location….….’…. but then I thought…   ah, to heck with it….  who cares if he doesn’t reply… if that is the way he is … then good……    let him send me messages… I will always reply.. always ask…  always keep answering….   and maybe one day…   a reply to my reply…..……..     (don’t worry..  eventually I will ring up and find out whether his email is faulty… - knowing the way these things go, he is probably sitting there saying..  Paul never replies…  but I will keep sending…  ha ha-- …..but not yet… not yet….)……..but anyways…   I tell this story.. because it made me think of something…..  

 

you know what…  I reckon that is like the way we often treat God….. 

 

we talk and talk and talk at God…..  and God hears us alright.. and more than that, God replies… God asks….  God inquires….  God…  speaks…. God cares about us, loves us and is utterly involved in our lives and cares…….. but we don’t hear………  

 

how often do we ask something of God….    pour out our hearts to God……    implore God…    reprove God…..    express frustration with God……    and then go on our way….   back into the intense busy-ness of life…..   leaving God’s replies, God’s certain response floating in thin air……..  

 

I think that may happen a lot more than we think….   what if God is like the faithful email friend…..    always interested… always responding…  always answering…  but we have spam-guard set on such a high level and his message gets junked with all the rubbish too…..

 

This was certainly happening to Jesus in the gospel today……    he was telling  them so much…. but they were unable to hear…. unable to comprehend….. 

 

Jesus had such affection, such love for Lazarus, Mary and Martha….  they must have been his home away from home whenever he visited Jerusalem….    he DID care very much about them…. and what was happening to them……… but people couldn’t understand his behaviour….. 

 

Jesus says that Lazarus is sleeping..    but they misunderstand that he means that he is actually dead, but that “like a sleeper,” he lies ready to be called forth to new life, by God’s word…..

 

But more than this… Martha and Mary and everyone else….   are asking Jesus…  “do something”…..Help us?   On other people’s lips is surely also the question. “Does he CARE about his friends?  How can he stand by and watch people suffer…..   why doesn’t he take away their pain… is it because he does not care?  Is it that he does not love?”      

 

We don’t pretend to understand all this, but it is quite clear that the answer to these questions is./…   Yes… he does care… and more deeply than words can express……   Jesus is profoundly moved by their pain… He becomes distressed and deeply grieved………  Even though he knows that God has the final word in relation to suffering and pain and death…   his love and compassion burst out… he feels for his beloved people… and weeps with them……   he does not want anyone to suffer…..  he is the God of love… of goodness….. life…… and of freedom…. 

 

Back to my idea that God is like the faithful computer pen pal….  but even more than that, clearly. God always responds with unconditional love….    no matter what……. 

 

but we don’t begin to comprehend….

 

The most powerful words Jesus utters, are deeply moving…  can we imaging how he said it?….  only divine love is powerful enough to bring us out of our tombs… (whatever they may be)…….  to call us out of our hurtful ways….   to release us from so many “prisons” of so many “un-freedoms”……    

 

Jesus cried out in a loud voice…..…  (We can still feel his love in the words):   “Lazarus--- COME -----OUT !!!!”  

 

“Now unbind him….   set him free”…// let him live… let him be fully alive.. this is what I desire for everyone.. to be free.. to be alive…   to have joy.. and joy to the full…….   

 

So, when we come to the Lord and say to him… Lord…  I am aware that there are things in my life that are sinful…. I know that I am bowed down by my mistakes and hurtful ways….. by weakness and a sense of unworthiness….//    We pour out our hearts to God…  we tell God our fears and hopes……….And, you know what, ……. this gospel helps us to “recover” what the “missing email back to us” would certainly be….    “friend….  I DO want you to be free….  I DO want you to be released from the burden of your sins…  I do want you to come alive.,…..    I want you to come out of all that holds you back…… I do not want you to be bowed down… to be trapped….  by your past….  by your fears….  by your mistakes….by your doubts…..     BE FORGIVEN……  BE RELEASED…..    BE FREED……   BE HEALED…….   BE LIFTED FROM YOUR BURDENS……..!!!!   do you believe this…   DO you believe?????”  

 

We reply, like Martha: “yes, lord, I believe... You are the Christ, the one who is to come into the world…..

 

If we believe this, then we will begin to live this….   we will trust that when Jesus means to forgive us of our failings he really means this…..   if he says your sins are forgiven.. (and he does say this to each of us)…. then who are we to stay in the darkness…. who are we to remain still imprisoned by these sins….

 

Right….  then, untie them…   ….. this is what I desire for you…//  This is what makes Christ become moved so deeply he sheds tears….//    but they are certainly tears of hope….

 

LAZARUS ----   COME -------  OUT !!!!!!!!!!!

 

…..NOW UNBIND HIM…… set him free……

 

Monday, March 03, 2008

HERVEY BAY - LITURGY OF RECONCILIATION (Monday 3rd March, 2008). 7pm.

HERVEY BAY  - LITURGY OF RECONCILIATION (Monday 3rd March, 2008). 7pm.

 

The readings and prayers tonight speak of Light and darkness……

 

Jesus is the light of the world……   shining the light of his good news into every aspect of ourselves and our lives…… 

 

we are invited to walk as children of the light……      

 

the image of the light of Christ is a very good one. Christ’s light calls to mind…..  

 

Our Lord, who came into this world, and lived, died and rose, out of love for us all….

 

Jesus was open to all people and ready to understand and to forgive….

 

Jesus’ life was about building up and including… and giving thanks for the world around… and responsible shared use of our resources…..

 

Jesus’ life was about thanksgiving and encouragement…..  

 

it was also always about prayer, and silence….  

 

Jesus life brought joy and hope to people… he drew people to him… as a light draws people who are lost in darkness….

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When we were baptized…//  we were given a baptismal candle…  lit. from the Easter candle…….   

 

We became ‘little lights of Christ to all we met’…..     ‘bearers of Christ’s Light to everyone’ --    

 

that  light stays in us always… for eternity…  it is God’s light……     whatever happens, that light remains alive in is……

we know that we can do negative or unloving things in life that make the light of Christ burn rather dimly…….. so that Christ’s light is hard to see.,…….   

 

(Although I firmly believe that Christ’s light always stays in us, no matter what, even if it may seem like an ever so small glow at times….)

 

also, there are positive, loving, and life-giving things we can do in our lives that make the light of Christ burn even brighter…  shining for all to see…….  

 

as to the things of darkness… the things that dim the light in us….   there is a saying… ‘we are as sick as our secrets’   and this has a deep truth to it……    that which is brought into the light of Christ’s love and truth, is lifegiving and healing….    we ask the Lord to help shine his healing light on us…

 

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as we reflect on how much we are allowing the Light of Christ shine in our lives and in our actions….   it is good for us to keep in mind this question:

 

To whom do I need to listen with understanding or to forgive?

 

 

How much waste is there in my life?

 

Do I see the positive or the negative first in people and situations…

 

do I have the daily habit of encouraging someone and thanking everyone?

 

Is prayer, silence and service a part of the natural rhythym of my life?

 

am I recognized by my smile or by my frown?

 

 

 

 

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Lent Four. Year A. 2nd March, 2008

Coming to new sight in Christ.   Lent Four. Year A. 2nd March, 2008.

 

I love this weekend’s first reading.   it is such a visually descriptive passage……  I remember a few years back (in another parish)… I was invited to come along and be part of a session in a school retreat camp and then celebrate mass with the students.   The session before the mass, was a creative exploration of the scriptures…. and one little vignette was this reading of Samuel searching for the suitable leader -  many apparently suitable candidates come foreward…  who look and seem like they would be suitable…  but God passes by them all until God insists on them going out and getting the forgotten son still working as a shepherd in the fields… and this is David… the one who is chosen by God to be King of Isreal……..

 

In the retreat session, we devised a rather fun role play where the prophet Samuel would stand there like a talent show judge…… and as each of the sons of eli would come forward, (each of them full of confidence, or money, or bravado……..)……….as if it was like a fashion show catwalk or something…..… but one by one….they would all get “gonged” offstage…..    the point of this little vignette… is that humans look at appearances…..  but God sees into the heart…..  and knows where true substance lies…..

 

but, For us humans….    aren’t many things in life more like an audition for Australian idol or big brother… where people vote on how you come across… and use often very dodgy, very arbitrary standards to assess a person’s worth… and it has all too much with outer appearances…. and surface qualities…..   speaking of that… I once watched an episode of Australian idol and there was a rather good singer auditioning on it……    but they hit a couple of poor notes…  having to sing it unaccompanied…..  anyway, the judge came on and said…  ‘your singing was awful… you are terrible.’ That made me very annoyed… I though to myself…. ‘now come on, that judge should know better… that singing was not terrible at all…. they hit a couple of bad notes… that does not mean they can’t sing….  what singer hasn’t hit a wrong note in their time…..’   ridiculous…  but it made good television……     your whole “worth” judged by a few measly pieces of cobbled-together information…… and voted on by the whim of the masses…….      how far from the way God thinks and acts…….  (thank goodness)…..   if we were to do a phone vote of suitable leaders to be chosen by God……  then King David would never have been voted in…..    John the Baptist would have been voted off the show in the first episode…..    St Peter would have been considered too weak, too unsuitable. …. Saint Paul … well, he would never have made the short-list…. he had a history of persecuting people and can he really be trusted???   …  is he really on our side now??.,……   the list goes on and on….    God does not judge by appearances but looks into the heart and sees us as we really are…. and loves us…..

 

The first reading is really good for another reason….  When david is chosen by God, God commands the prophet Samuel to break open a container of oil and pour it over his head…..   ANOINTING him ….as King of the people….  this symbolism of anointing is powerful… ((in the play, when God chooses David, we then wanted to show the power of the symbol of anointing with oil…. so we thought about having the stage so we could actually pour a whole bottle over someone’s head… but we decided that was a bad idea and may not be a nice experience… (although I would have been happy to have the oil poured over me,.. the effect would be very visually dramatic and powerfull..  it would SHOW… the effect of God’s spirit of generosity and power being poured down onto us……)… so (instead) ….we had a bottle that had sparkly dry tinsel in it and the actor playing Samuel poured this thing representing oil and it glistened as it flowed down onto the head of the newly appointed DAVID………and it was quite effective……   and dramatic)…….…

 

We use this symbol of anointing in our rituals even today…..    anointing with oil… is a symbol of appointing, consecrating, commissioning and sending a person into mission.   This anointing oil is a symbol of royalty and leadership……   Even the name Christ, derives from the name “the anointed one”     and we are all united and commissioned to be joined to Jesus who is THE anointed one.. the Messiah and God the son….

 

In baptism we use oil of chrism to join the baptized to Jesus who is THE priest, prophet and King……   in confirmation, we confirm the gifts of the spirit in bapatism… and commission, send and appoint the newly confirmed to be witnesses of Christ in their daily lives and vocations…..   to be united with Christ in living the good news….. 

 

  In the Gospel, the man born blind is shown coming not only to physical sight, but also coming to a clearer and clearer vision of faith… the man first thinks that Jesus is just a wonderful man who helped him… but as he goes along, he thinks of him as the messiah.. and finally as God’s son….     He suffers taunts and questions but stands firm….    this man stands as a wonderful example of discipleship….  of endurance and trusting in what God is doing.. the legalists around him become more and more disappointing… they are clearly blind and their hearts and minds are not only closed, they are antagonistic… their own responses bring them into disrepute….  

 

A sobering lesson is here for everyone…  this man whom people judged to be a sinner, had understood the truth and meaning of Jesus better than the experts in the law. They could not get past their prejudices and pre-formed judgements of this man as a sinner and a lowly nobody… so they would not listen to his experience.. they would not give him the time of day…..   but he had the enlightenment of Christ in him…..    May the Lord help us to see beyond appearances, avoid jumping to conclusions based on outward things….  and help us to be open to everyone around us….    open to hear the good news in the most surprising places.. and people…

 

 

Friday, February 22, 2008

Lent 3. Year A. 24/2/08/

Jesus Meets the Woman at the Well. Lent 3. Year A. 24/2/08/.

 

The thing that strikes me most about this long gospel passage…   is that Jesus is exhausted…..  he is tired, he is hungry, he is very, very thirsty…..     does he drop himself down next to the well, weary, physically, perhaps emotionally……  the toll on him of his frenetic mission to travel the countryside, including places that other would normally avoid……    must have weighed heavily…..   he had some successes….  but an awful lot of rejection, controversy and ridicule as well…….. 

 

here he is…   exhausted…..   sitting next to a well in the heat of the day….  only outcasts or madmen would be out in this kind of heat…….     or weary travelers……   

 

The disciples rush off to buy food and supplies to re-energise their master and themselves too……    Jesus is left there, probably too tired to walk with them….    longing for a drink…. but he has no bucket with him…. he is longing for someone to come along………  

 

even though Jesus was tired, thirsty and hungry…  it is as if these things lead him to think about what really matters to him…….   when we are down… the things that are at the heart of ourselves come to the surface…. and look what arises in Jesus….. he is thirsty….  but his physical thirst serves only to remind him how much he thirsts to do the Father’s will……. he is hungry…  but this recalls to him how he longs to fill himself with the bread of his father’s word… and to keep it…..  he thirsts for the faith and love of those he meets……   for he is God’s beloved son… and he longs for them to hear, to respond and to accept the word of God…………..  

 

he has already warned his disciples….  don’t give up… even if the results of your preaching and ministry is patchy…..    stay faithful……..    even if you don’t always see the fruits of what you are doing……  even if there appear failures and rejections…..  keep sowing the word…  keep living the word of God….it cannot but bear much fruit… but maybe not in your time…  maybe not here and now….  perhaps the seed sown by you will be sown by others at a later time….  perhaps you will be in the right place and the right time to harvest the seed of the word of God that some previous disciple planted long ago…..   keep working….  keep thirsting…..     

 

We know that jesus thirsted for the Father’s will…. it is a reminder of the fact that you and I thirst for so many things, not least of which the fulfillment of our physical and immediate needs……    and sometimes we thirst for things that are not priorities in Jesus’ kingdom,…. it is good for us to pause…. look into our hearts…. for what do I thirst…… what are the things that occupy my heart and my desires…….   do I thirst for the ways of Jesus…..

 

This gospel is long, but it is beautiful… filled with so many meanings…….   Jesus talks to a Samaritan,… and not only a Samaritan but a Samaritan woman… and not only a Samaritan woman but apparently a woman who might have been on the outer of her own community…. why else go to the well at such a hot time of the da………..   Jesus shows us again……..God simply will not be confined.  Jesus would not be confine !  Jesus is unafraid to step over the border into places where \"good\" Jews would not go.  Jesus is unafraid to speak with foreign women.  Jesus is unafraid to touch lepers.  And we hear these stories about Jesus over and over in the Gospels.  Jesus breaks down prejudices and barriers and responds to need and truth……    

 

It is true, Jesus really does want water when he asks for it…..  but he means it too when he says… ‘but, you know….  I have a water … a living water… that will satisfy the human heart….. he is offering the water of union and relationship in God’s very life….. sharing in communion with God… becoming part of God’s family…. this is something that will fulfil our eternal desires… and live forever…….    this is offered to all……    the woman at the well accepts……  she is open to hear…   she shouldn’t be… but she hears and accepts…..  and Jesus’ joy is deeply moving….  the woman runs off to tell others… she has every intention fo returning because she has left her bucket behind…..  

 

maybe this is what the Jesus words mean….. does he look around and see the people in their white robes coming out of their houses…. does he look around and see the grain high in the fields around him….  he says…. ‘the reaper is already recieing his wages”    …..  perhaps jesus, tired by his efforts, was overjoyed and surprised that his words produced instant fruits….. where in other places….  people did not respond as he hoped… as he had thirsted for them to accept…….    does Jesus point to the crowds coming from their homes to see this man that the woman had told them of……   is jesus saying of them…. see… you will reap where you have not sown… and other times people will reap what you have sown… but today..… we reap what has produced fruit right here and now……

 

what joy !!!!!

 

I will finish with a little reflection I read the other day…   Jesus said that ‘whoever drinks the water from this well will thirst again… but the water I give you will never thirst again.”  one day a priest came to visit a lady who was gravely ill… he said to her… ‘ I will pray for your healing.”  The lady replied.. “yes Father, do that, I believe in that… but also…  pray that I will experience God’s peace…    if I am healed, I will get sick again, maybe many times, and each time I will be dismayed and fearful…. unless I learn to put myself in God’s hands, whatever may come… - so, above all pray for peace…   for that will last….”

 

 

 

 

 

 

(reflection, by Paul Kelly, with also quotes from ‘Monastery of Christ in the Desert,’ and also ‘2008, a Book of Grace Filled Days’).

 

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Saint Mary's College Mass - Opening 2008.

College Mass – Opening 2008.

 

The start of our school year has coincided almost exactly with the start of the Church season of Lent…   a time of preparation for Easter… - a time of extra prayer,  penance and practical action for others in need…..   all these Lenten practices are intended to allow God to widen our hearts… and also to make our actions fit better with our words (as we are so powerfully reminded in tonight’s challenging first reading, and also the Gospel – that we be people of practical Integrity….. “consistent in our inner values and outer actions”….)……  // Our words must be proved true by our actions   //….  and St Mary’s college is surrounded by many good words to encourage us    ….and spur us into action…..

 

We have the college motto….  Integrity AND knowledge… We have the threefold school priorities….. …   “Spirit, mission, community….”    //   and we have at the centre of all these words…   the person and message of Jesus…. who is THE word… God’s word made flesh….    showing us God’s plan for each of us .. and for our world…..

 

As we gather together tonight to ask God’s blessing on this school year of 2008, we pray for a special blessing on the students. May you be inspired to study hard and participate fully in college life…….   and May you be formed ever deeper in the good news of Jesus..   //  Growing in knowledge AND integrity…

 

we pray that God will continue to bless your parents, caregivers, brothers and sisters and all family members and friends…

 

We pray that God will bless our  College teachers and staff…..  and all the members of the parish…. 

 

May we always put Jesus’ words into action, by how we care and serve one another…   //and show “uncommon gentleness” and assistance to those most in need….the ones who are struggling in any way.

 

and May God bless our Principal, Ms. Joy Massingham, and our new staff, students and parents who have joined us for the first time this year…. ……..  may you already be experiencing what it means to be valued members of this community.

 

Tonight…  we have gathered here …  full of best wishes, hopes and prayers…. 

 

at the start of another year…  whether it be the very beginning of your college years, or the final year –// grade twelve… or whether you be in the formational years in-between…… we all gather here with so many hopes and dreams for your future….  and they are well-founded hopes…..

 

I know family, and teachers are wanting the very best for all the students this year….. (wishing it, encouraging it, speaking it, and even at many times, worrying about it, -- willing that things will be the best possible way for your you)..… They are hoping that you may have a successful year….  (success in an academic sense… but also in a human and “holistic” sense too…….. //and (of course), as Christians, who believe that God’s wisdom is not like human wisdom….   parents and staff are also hoping for your success as measured (not by the standards of this world) but by the values of Jesus’ Gospel…….   as you nurture the values that really matter – the values our Lord came to establish on the earth…. (as in heaven !)/.……… May, you have a year marked with excellence in learning, ……and may you have the best of health: “physically, emotionally and spiritually”……    // May all the positive virtues flourish in you….(sound judgement – good discernment of what is right//, Justice, courage, self-restraint,  FAITH, HOPE, and –above all - LOVE) // and may the clamouring voices of opposing values….   values//…. that cry out; promising “much” and delivering “little”…  may these shallow invitations hold no charm for you…

 

Speaking of “good discernment”  - we live in an amazing world of information technology…  or instant internet and media communication…..   we are submerged in information…..   and with it…   conflicting values and philosophies… we also celebrate tonight, that St Mary’s College offers an education that offers effective means to discern and weigh-up the information and values we are bombarded with…   and also offers the lens of the gospel to see them through…..   so that you may support all that is life-giving and constructive about today’s world…..   and reject and oppose all that is contrary…..   there are many things that our modern world offers that are consistent with Jesus’ values…  but sadly… there are others that are not… and all of them present themselves as right and good.,.. which makes careful discernment even more urgent…..  May the spirit inspire you in this important work….

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Jesus really gets stuck into those so-called religious and community leaders of his time…   Jesus saw that they were so caught up in image and outward appearance that they had become hollow inside… (their insides were not matching up with their outside appearances….they were spending all their time on outward shows and as a result… they were not being whole or holy in their lives)……and they were not showing any signs of living the values of God’s kingdom, even if they appeared to be doing the right thing on the outside…   these people had knowledge without integrity…..     they had respectability without substance (inside)….….     and they certainly weren’t acting as if everyone they met was their brother and sister in Christ… and that we are all one big family, because we all have one Father (God the father of us all)

 

Jesus calls us along a different road from these people who are into image……May you be the people of the “road less traveled”… where integrity, (substance), knowledge, truth and love mean everything…..  ……….  may you walk the path of wisdom, patience, kindness and concern for others…..  // of going the extra mile for one another………..   of choosing the unpredictable response… and of rejecting the tired and predictable responses of a world caught up in self-interest , hollow-celebrity, and image….which all too often is only surface- deep//….and ultimately means nothing…//

 

Enjoy the fact that this Christian college environment seeks to foster a place where you feel safe, where your human dignity is respected, where you feel accepted, valued and where you can be the best person you are called to be…… Each of you are  valued…..  each of you are unique…  that is already true…  we don’t ever need to prove it…. 

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Instead…  may you continue to foster the values that Jesus loved…  the values that have been handed  down through our families, school and church communities…  … and to which you will lovingly hand on to the next generation too…… ……being a servant for others……   treating all others the way we would treat the highest dignitary….  treating each other as brothers and sisters in Christ.

 

Friday, February 15, 2008

SUNDAY OF LENT WEEK 2 - YEAR A - 17TH FEB 2008

SUNDAY OF LENT WEEK 2 -   YEAR A – 17TH FEB 2008

 

Glimpses of God’s Kingdom

 

The transfiguration of Christ is a glorious, if only momentary, glimpse of the Glory of God’s Kingdom, as revealed in the person and message of Jesus.

 

For a moment, ……a few of Jesus’ closest disciples get a small, overwhelming taste of what the fullness of the Kingdom, //……the fullness of Jesus’ glorification, would be like…..//    and it is almost too much to comprehend…//..  Perhaps that is all they could bear at this time….. //   this little taste was all that their minds, and our minds could hold…..

 

I have always love the idea that surrounding us at all times, is God’s presence, action and glory…..  but our human minds and perception does not often comprehend this……  so, for the most part, we only get little momentary flashes…….     a glimpse behind the veil…….. 

 

Jesus assures us….  the Kingdom of God is already amongst you……..  the Kingdom of God is like a seed quietly but effectively growing in the soil of the ground….  ready to push up its shoots into the light at the appointed time…….      so the Kingdom surrounds us…. and we are called to watch…. to discern…. and to cooperate with the Kingdom wherever it is found…..     to participate in what the Kingdom is bringing about, wherever the values of the kingdom is glimpsed……

 

have you ever visited someones house and you might be talking to them, and they suddenly get up and say “oh, that’s the phone….  “    and then you find yourself saying…  “oh, I didn’t hear anything……”    

 

That has happened to me in the different presbyteries I have lived in…. the person living in the house or office eventually gets attuned to the subtle sound of their own phone, but to others…. amidst the bustle of noise and other sounds….   the ring goes undetected….. 

 

I think the Spirit at work in God’s kingdom is very much like that….   like the air we breath… it is well and truly present, but we take it for granted… until the air gets stirred up into a terrifying storm and we see the enormous power of the air and the wind currents… even if normally invisible… and we only notice the air in a room when it starts to deplete in oxygen and the room gets stuffy……    when a room iswell ventilated, we don’t often think of the air… but it is still there…

 

Same with the Kingdom….  Christ is present and at work amongst us all the time…. there are signs of the kingdom everywhere….. but many subtle…..

 

The values of the kingdom can also be at work in people and events not even directly connected to the Christian churches…..    the values of Jesus Kingdom may very well be at work in the projects and values of non-christians or humanists……  namely those whose values are perfectly consistent with jesus’ even if they don’t identify themselves as believers…..   after all it was Jesus himself who once said in exasperation… if you don’t believe in WHO I am, at least believe in what I am doing…..   God is at work in the world, whatever name people call it…. 

 

This week….  we caught a powerful and moving glimpse of the Kingdom…..   in the events in parliament on Wednesday…  especially the moments when the two parties government and opposition were united in a common agreement… and also proposing a common team to move forward…..   that’s not something one sees everyday…. but I think of that beautiful Eucharistic prayer for Reconciliation II which says something very special about glimpses of the Kingdom:   “In the midst or conflict and division, we know it is you, who turn our minds to thoughts of peace.  Your Spirit changes our hearts: enemies begin to speak to one another,

those who were estranged join hands in friendship,

and nations seek the way of peace together.

Your Spirit is at work when understanding puts an end to strife, when hatred is quenched by mercy, and vengeance gives way to forgiveness.”

 

I believe we glimpsed that very emotionally this week….. and it fills one with a sense of awe…..

 

How wonderful if we could see the wonder of the natural world… as well as our society as “Charged with the grandeur of God,” as Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins did? Full of life, love, power, and possibility?  -   I did a spiritual retreat at the Monastery of St Beuno’s where Gerard Manley Hopkins was inspired by and wrote this poetry… about God’s grandeur….   and I couldn’t help but be moved by it….. but of course…..   its all around us….  not just in nature… but right here……    

 

Perhaps on rare occasions we perceive reality this way. Or maybe it only seems that way for people who have fallen in love or won the lottery and so on….

 

          Most of the time, I suspect we see our lives in more muted tones. Our routines keep us safe and on course, but they also blur our ability to see what’s beyond them. We start to believe that the way things are is the way they must be. Annoying people just won’t change; irritating factors have to be endured. Injustices of every stripe are part of the package and can’t be helped. we become resigned about the world without ever consciously making the decision to take that course.

          But what if we woke up every day, took our first waking breath, and felt the amazement of being alive! Of having another day to create a path, to make decisions, to explore new ideas, to learn something new. What if we saw each day as a cooperative effort between God and us, to bring good news into being? What if we, the free children of God, actually believed in our freedom and exercised it?

          It could happen. It is no dream. It is actually Christian reality. The truth about our world exists in layers, but how often do we glance only at the surface…... If we stopped—looked—contemplated every aspect of our day, we’d be astonished at the possibilities inherent in each hour to do things differently, to do them better, to do them in league with the seed of kingdom…  growing silently….    but oh so determinedly amongst us…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

( P.W Kelly, with additional resources by prepare the word subscriptions)

 

 

 

 

Saturday, February 09, 2008

LENT - FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT - 10TH FEB 2008.

The image of Jesus wandering along in the wilderness, (captured in this peaceful image here on the sanctuary, taken from the Lenten reflection book)…….is a very powerful one, and also a very peaceful one. Jesus looks so serene…. so peaceful…..   so “at one” with everything…………..

 

Jesus, always “at one” with the Father, and “at one” with the Creation he rejoiced in (He was present at the dawn of creation as “the eternal Word of God,”)…..    in the beginning of creation……God “spoke the word, and so it was”…..  Jesus is THE WORD uttered by the Father, and the word became flesh and dwelt in communion with God’s creation, ………calling us all into perfect unity with God and each-other and all of creation….

 

{[Saturday:  The wonderful celebration of Baptism we have tonight, the baptism of Andrew John, is a celebration of our communion with God…. in Baptism, we are united to God, through Jesus, and in the Holy Spirit…  we are made children of God… brought into God’s inner life….    brought into a communion of life and love, that lasts a lifetime and beyond, into eternal life…..   we live the rest of our lives living the reality of that communion with God, with each other (as brothers and sisters IN Christ) and with creation…  so how we treat the environment is also an important factor of our discipleship, just as how we treat our fellow person….  ]}

 

In lent, we think about ways we can do fasting, penance and acts of charity… in order to foster and deepen that communion we share with God and each other and all of creation….in england, some bishops suggested a novel form of fasting that reflects the fact that we live in an ecological and modern age….

 

Rather than cut back on the more traditional sweets and treats for Lent, two bishops in England invited the public to take part in a “carbon fast” for the next 40 days.


The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, and the Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, said in their invitation Tuesday that those taking part can choose how they reduce their carbon footprint on a daily basis.

“For example, on the first day, people can take out one of their light bulbs and whenever they go to turn that light on, and it doesn’t work, they can remember why they are fasting from carbon—to help the poor of the world. At the end of the fast they can replace it with an energy-saving light bulb,” Jones explained. Other activities could include avoiding plastic bags and insulating the house.

The bishops said they had launched the carbon fast because of the urgent need to cut emissions and protect poor communities, who are already being affected by climate change and will be the worst hit in the future.

“There’s a moral imperative on those of us who emit more than our fair share of carbon to rein in our consumption,”

                                                    

Whether we engage in “carbon fasting,” or ordinary fasting, or other acts of self-denial, Christ calls us to remember that its not what we do but what we hope God will do in us through this fasting and penance….    the goal of any fasting or penance is to deepen in us, God’s passions….. God’s desires for the world…. our prayer, penance and fasting will be a success if it draws us into actively helping to work towards working for justice, practically offering assistance to the poor and needy, and lifting unfair burdens from people around us…..  

 

One traditional way Catholics have importantly helped foster this during lent, and all year around too, is people’s support of Caritas, the catholic organization working with communities in need. Thanks to all who support this wonderful and practical way of assisting those most in need.

 

 

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

ASH WEDNESDAY -- 2008

The thing about possessions is - do we really own them? or do they start owning us…… the more we can possess… the more we start to want…..

the more we possess… the more we worry about protecting, guarding, fearing losing of things….. it becomes a real catch-twenty two…

Someone once told me that there is a psychological principle that it takes about six weeks for a habit to become normal….. to become part of our daily routine…. I can vouch for that… over a year ago I got into the habit of putting the flag up the pole and taking it down whenever I could…. initially it was something I had to think about… and set my alarm for… now… almost without fail… I remember to put it up and take it down without even thinking…. (unless I am delayed)… now that is a little example… how much more,… could Lent be a time for fostering positive habits of prayer, self-denial and giving in time of our resources for worthy causes… to build up spiritual health…. and foster habits that are so natural that literally 'our left hand does not know what our right hand is doing.'

I started with a tautology… so I will finish with one…. I read a quote yesterday.. that I believe is true but it is also a bit unfathomable… It said…: “the only things that we actually keep are the things we give away…”… in one sense that sounds like a nonsensical contradiction… but God’s thinking is not like human’s, so maybe there is something in it…. we only really know we "own" something, when we are free enough to let go of it…..// or perhaps it means something deeper…… the only things worth possessing are the things that only make sense when given….// they do nothing if stored…// like love, given freely without expectation, kindness and forgiveness without expectation of return…. acts of charity not for recognition or approval….. random acts of kindness that no one will ever know we are the perpetrators of…// I read a maxim once upholding that there is a odd economic principle associated with love -- the more love you give away, the more love you have. It defies all other economic principles.

The gospel has a lot of wisdom in it… those things done for no other reason but love of God and not for anything else… call us to a deep inner movement of the heart towards God, because it does not get any other reward but to serve and love God in each other… actions for the glory and praise of God alone…

so, let’s make this time of lent a wonderful, joyfilled time of self-denial and making space for God… fostering positive habits for the year round…. and may God who has begun this good work in us.. bring it to perfection… in the secret of our own hearts….

Friday, February 01, 2008

Sunday 3rd Feb 2008. Fourth Sunday Ord Time. B




The beatitudes are among the most beautiful words in the scriptures….   but they are also very mysterious. There is something confusing about the meaning of them.  This shows in the different ways the writers of the individual Gospels try to clarify their meaning …  sometimes their attempts to clarify the meaning makes them even more mysterious….    Luke’s version of the beatitudes says, blessed are the poor…..     whereas Matthew’s gospel says…  blessed are the poor in spirit…  but that doesn’t exactly clarify the meaning…..    

There is something elusive about them…

It is quite jarring in one sense….    Happy are the poor, the trampled….  those who mourn…..    blessed?.. one could forgive a person for saying…  “what’s happy or blessed about being poor or victimized”…..   but of course.. Jesus is not making poverty, sadness, suffering, and injustice into virtues…..  Luke’s version of this makes that clear by adding woes…  woe to the rich…  woe to those who are doing well now…..  but there is still uncertainty here….

In order to get our heads around Jesus word’s it is important to ask…..   why is Jesus giving this speech…..    what are the values he is showing us…. and what is he trying to do here…..

One thing is for sure….  he is not saying these words so that people can turn around and say… “well, if the poor and the oppressed are so blessed and happy, then let’s keep them down in the gutter so that their blessings may increase….”  no… quite the opposite…..It is meant to inspire action….  change in the here and now….  not complacency and apathy……….   Jesus is saying these words to give real hope to those bowed down… and also so as to unsettle and shake those who are complacent and acting unjustly towards others….

Jesus gives these beatitudes to fill people with hope and blessing because he has come to usher in this Kingdom here and now and not just in the next life. Anyone who can relate to the experiences of the Beatitudes is at the front of the line for entry into this new vision for the world…..  on  “earth as it is in Heaven”.  If these people --  poor, lowly and disadvantaged people have God’s favour, concern and attention, then everyone else is  called (urgently) to pay attention to them….  // …to start addressing their needs, and fostering the values of Jesus’ Kingdom here and now.

When we look at the readings around the gospel today, we see that throughout the history of God’s relating with his people, there is a recurring theme…..   God’s values are love, peace, respect, integrity, humility, justice, practical concern for the sick, the poor and the widow and the orphan….…..    – “Those who come to God seeking justice and humility, will be able to be God\'s people.”

Those who do the opposite, (who oppress and mistreat others) are not God’s people, and will have nothing to be blessed or happy about in God’s Kingdom…..  And may God’s Kingdom come here and now….    may it start with values of this world being turned on their head…..

It is extremely reassuring to know that God has deep concern for the poor and a deep concern for those who are unjustly treated,.,,// ,and if God has respect for them then woe to anyone who has contempt for the poor, who mistreats the vulnerable…….   they are acting against God’s priorities…

One British family is apparently not among those whom the Book of Zephaniah is referring to when it says, “They shall do no wrong and speak no lies.” An 84-year-old man whose family had forged statues and paintings and then passed them off as priceless pieces of art to museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago, received a two-year suspended sentence in a London court Monday.

George Greenhalgh, his 83-year-old wife, Olive, and their 46-year-old son, Shaun, pleaded guilty to charges of laundering money from the sale of forged artworks. The son, who had created the fakes, was sentenced to more than four years in jail in November. His mother received a 12-month sentence. Police said the parents handled most of the sales.

Police said the Greenhalghs used a genuine 19th-century sales document to get ideas on what items to fake, and once the items were fabricated, they used the catalog as proof of provenance when presenting their knockoffs for sale.

The family has been “operating for nearly 20 years, producing and introducing a diverse range of art works into the U.K. market.” ….. there was little doubt that some of their forgeries were still circulating in the art world. In December the Art Institute of Chicago said a ceramic figure supposedly sculpted by 19th-century French artist Paul Gauguin, which graced the museum for 10 years, was among the Greenhalgh forgeries. (from associated press).

This family may have thought… oh well, we are only ripping off rich people, not the poor… but still…  this kind of story, illustrates an all-too-common value system in society….    as long as I don’t get caught…  its okay….   it is okay to lie, to cheat, to defraud…   if there are people foolish enough for me to ‘pull the wool over their eyes’….it’s their problem not mine…..  but no… these are not the values of the Kingdom…. /  Values such as ‘survival of the fittest”   - “let the buyer beware”   or  ‘every person for themselves’  ….  just do not make the cut in Jesus’ vision for the world… and for the Kingdom….          

and then, as Jesus said frequently in the gospels….   its not just people who say they are followers of Christ who will enter the Kingdom… one of the greatest peacemakers of our age would have to be Ghandi who advocated peaceful resistance….(it is 60 years ago last week) --  he was assassinated for his beliefs in freedom from oppression --      although not Christian, he had enormous respect for the Christian thinking around non-violence and social justice….  his actions were a living of the beatitudes…..  

The final word goes of course to Jesus himself… who not only spoke the beatitudes but lived them…  he is the ultimate example of the one who suffered all manner of things but still went about helping the poor and freeing those bowed down… he named the values of the Kingdom and went about putting them into action in everything he did and said….   and he asks us to continue his work of being instruments of joy, hope and justice in our world today… with special concern for those who are in need.