6th Sunday of Ordinary Time — Cycle C –2019
FIRST READING: Jeremiah 17:5-8:
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20:
GOSPEL: Luke 6:17, 20-26
Today’s Gospel immediately put me in mind of our recent Saint Oscar Romero who was hated and abused because of his love for the poor and marginalised and spoke out about the atrocities and paid for his outbursts with his life.
Oscar Romero was a man of books and administration and was promoted because the Church wanted a quiet man and pastor who would not rock the boat. But the Church did not account for the fact that Archbishop Romero though a man of letters and books he therefore knew the Gospel message and was inspired as all Saints are by the Holy Spirit and St Augustine tells us that every good action, every good word, and every good thought comes from God and returns to God in Glory.
You can either live in the kingdom of God with all its precepts and conditions but above all in Love or you can opt out and live in a world that does not recognise God. Jesus says follow Him and He will lead the way. But what is the way what are we expected to do? We need to be careful if we pursue a life away from God and His Son Jesus Christ we may have to face the consequences -Luke warns us!
But, there is another way a way of living in the light of God and giving ourselves over to that light the light of our Baptism a light that will never go out because it is the Light of Christ.
FIRST READING: Jeremiah 17:5-8:
SECOND READING: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20:
GOSPEL: Luke 6:17, 20-26
Today’s Gospel immediately put me in mind of our recent Saint Oscar Romero who was hated and abused because of his love for the poor and marginalised and spoke out about the atrocities and paid for his outbursts with his life.
Oscar Romero was a man of books and administration and was promoted because the Church wanted a quiet man and pastor who would not rock the boat. But the Church did not account for the fact that Archbishop Romero though a man of letters and books he therefore knew the Gospel message and was inspired as all Saints are by the Holy Spirit and St Augustine tells us that every good action, every good word, and every good thought comes from God and returns to God in Glory.
You can either live in the kingdom of God with all its precepts and conditions but above all in Love or you can opt out and live in a world that does not recognise God. Jesus says follow Him and He will lead the way. But what is the way what are we expected to do? We need to be careful if we pursue a life away from God and His Son Jesus Christ we may have to face the consequences -Luke warns us!
But, there is another way a way of living in the light of God and giving ourselves over to that light the light of our Baptism a light that will never go out because it is the Light of Christ.
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time–Cycle C– 2019
FIRST READING Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
GOSPEL Luke 4:21-30
“Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Let us not tire of preaching love. Though we see that waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love, love must win out; it is the only thing that can.”
“Brothers: you are part of our own people. You kill your own campesino brothers and sister. No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression!”
These are the words of St Oscar Romero directed to the military begging the soldiers to stop killing their own people and the day after giving this homily Oscar Romero was gunned down saying Mass the next day. We can learn and pray to St Oscar Romero to give us the grace to love our neighbour and especially the marginalised and the most abandoned in our society.
Oscar Romero must have known this passage from Paul to the Corinthians very well and he had no hesitation in giving his life for others. When I reflect upon this passage I think of all those who have injured me by their harsh words or actions and I cannot find the courage and grace to accept them as a means of being closer to Jesus Christ.
It is my ego and which prevents me realising that true love is giving up of myself and all my ego to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and actions. No one has tried to kill me or injure me, so why do I retain a sense of grievance against those who have sought to marginalise me or disparage me.
No Oscar Romero gives me the response I am looking for:
No to vengeance! No to class struggle! No to violence!”
Let us pray to St Oscar Romero for strength of purpose in our lives.
FIRST READING Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13
GOSPEL Luke 4:21-30
“Let us not tire of preaching love; it is the force that will overcome the world. Let us not tire of preaching love. Though we see that waves of violence succeed in drowning the fire of Christian love, love must win out; it is the only thing that can.”
“Brothers: you are part of our own people. You kill your own campesino brothers and sister. No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God. In the name of God, and in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God: Stop the repression!”
These are the words of St Oscar Romero directed to the military begging the soldiers to stop killing their own people and the day after giving this homily Oscar Romero was gunned down saying Mass the next day. We can learn and pray to St Oscar Romero to give us the grace to love our neighbour and especially the marginalised and the most abandoned in our society.
Oscar Romero must have known this passage from Paul to the Corinthians very well and he had no hesitation in giving his life for others. When I reflect upon this passage I think of all those who have injured me by their harsh words or actions and I cannot find the courage and grace to accept them as a means of being closer to Jesus Christ.
It is my ego and which prevents me realising that true love is giving up of myself and all my ego to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts and actions. No one has tried to kill me or injure me, so why do I retain a sense of grievance against those who have sought to marginalise me or disparage me.
No Oscar Romero gives me the response I am looking for:
No to vengeance! No to class struggle! No to violence!”
Let us pray to St Oscar Romero for strength of purpose in our lives.
Sunday 27th January
First Reading: Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10:
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30:
Gospel: Cycle C Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-2
What is the Good News we receive? We need to reflect on our lives often when we consider the Good News because our lives are made up of Good News constantly, my parents who brought me to God at the very initial stages of my life learning to pray with my Mother and I can recall even now many of those prayers and then passing these prayers on to my own children the Good News.
My first Communion. My Confirmation my Wedding, my Ordination as a Deacon all Good News. My dear wife, my beautiful daughters and even more Good News my wonderful four grandchildren all Good News.
But, why is this Good News it is Good News because at the heart of my Good News is God and God in reality is the centre of the Good News in all my Good News. But, having received this Good News God asks me to pass on the Good News that is passing on God in my life to all those I meet and especially those who have not heard the Good News; especially the most abandoned and marginalised, the migrant and refugee, the homeless, prisoners, the outcasts those who do not have a voice.
This is the demand God asks for everyone who has received Good News because we recognise God is the very centre of our lives and he will be with us as we live our life in God and His Son Jesus Christ. He will do all the work but He needs us to work with Him is that too difficult to ask?
Let us pray that we will respond to the Good News because as the Spirit of the Lord is with Him that same spirit is with us and being fulfilled as we speak.
“ Those who have a voice must speak for the voiceless.” St Oscar Romero.
Sunday 20th January 2019
First Reading: from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: 62:1-5:
Second Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 12:4-1:
From the Gospel according to John:2:1-11
This gospel story is a wonderful image of Jesus in which he shows us His mercy and Love. We would all feel complete shame and ridicule as hosts of a wedding party if we had not sufficient wine or food to give to our visitors after having arranged and prepared for the wedding and party to follow. Jesus understands the predicament very well and comes to settle the newlywed’s embarrassment.
But there is more to this event and we must reflect more deeply and imagine ourselves at the mercy of Jesus in all things in our life? Jesus takes the water left for the ablutions, ie washing of feet and hands and turns this into the sweetest wine ever tasted. This is a message for all those who feel they have wasted their lives by any addiction of drugs, drink or betting. No person is worthless, no life is wasted. Every person and every life is highly regarded by God and He will welcome the least and the most abandoned into His kingdom. No one is excluded.
His mercy and love extends to everyone who feels abandoned or lost and this image predicts the story of the prodigal son! The Love of Jesus knows no bounds and turning water into wine is a way we can come to believe that when we feel we have lost our way or walked away from Christ he has not walked away from us.
What I wouldn’t give to have tasted just a drop of that wine; but, then I know the end of the story. Lord please bring back to life all those who have turned away from you or have fallen from your grace. No one is lost and no is abandoned help me in my life to be that water that can change lives for your sake. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Second Reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians: 12:4-1:
From the Gospel according to John:2:1-11
This gospel story is a wonderful image of Jesus in which he shows us His mercy and Love. We would all feel complete shame and ridicule as hosts of a wedding party if we had not sufficient wine or food to give to our visitors after having arranged and prepared for the wedding and party to follow. Jesus understands the predicament very well and comes to settle the newlywed’s embarrassment.
But there is more to this event and we must reflect more deeply and imagine ourselves at the mercy of Jesus in all things in our life? Jesus takes the water left for the ablutions, ie washing of feet and hands and turns this into the sweetest wine ever tasted. This is a message for all those who feel they have wasted their lives by any addiction of drugs, drink or betting. No person is worthless, no life is wasted. Every person and every life is highly regarded by God and He will welcome the least and the most abandoned into His kingdom. No one is excluded.
His mercy and love extends to everyone who feels abandoned or lost and this image predicts the story of the prodigal son! The Love of Jesus knows no bounds and turning water into wine is a way we can come to believe that when we feel we have lost our way or walked away from Christ he has not walked away from us.
What I wouldn’t give to have tasted just a drop of that wine; but, then I know the end of the story. Lord please bring back to life all those who have turned away from you or have fallen from your grace. No one is lost and no is abandoned help me in my life to be that water that can change lives for your sake. I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Baptism of Our Lord
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
We miss the point of Baptism of our Lord if we merely think of it as another story from the Gospels. It is far more important than that because when we receive our own Baptism then we begin slowly our own inevitable journey which leads us to a ‘deep incarnation’ with God himself. This means we are joined with Christ through our Baptism a bond that can never be broken. We cannot break the bond try as me might and Christ cannot break that bond because through his own Baptism he joins every single human person for ever into the created heavens and earth.
We should reflect deeply and frequently on our ties with Christ because he thinks of us deeply and frequently too indeed, every second of every day. John was very much aware of the significance of what he was being asked to do in baptising Jesus – this was a historic event of incredible proportions one that could not be contained by words or action but, simply to kneel in humility and thank God for giving Jesus to be our salvation. Baptism secures our future and no amount of gifts and rewards can ever repay the gift of Baptism which we hardly consider in our daily lives.
Yet our Baptism gives us life not the life we live on earth but a life of eternal salvation which again we cannot apprehend or understand but, we must always reflect and mediate on our Baptism and how we live our life because it is through Baptism we can make those difficult decisions easier if we give our life to God and His Son Jesus Christ.
A prayer I recite every day as soon as I rise from sleep.
Lord I believe that you are with me.
Help me today to live my life according to the heart and mind of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Amen.
Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7
Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
We miss the point of Baptism of our Lord if we merely think of it as another story from the Gospels. It is far more important than that because when we receive our own Baptism then we begin slowly our own inevitable journey which leads us to a ‘deep incarnation’ with God himself. This means we are joined with Christ through our Baptism a bond that can never be broken. We cannot break the bond try as me might and Christ cannot break that bond because through his own Baptism he joins every single human person for ever into the created heavens and earth.
We should reflect deeply and frequently on our ties with Christ because he thinks of us deeply and frequently too indeed, every second of every day. John was very much aware of the significance of what he was being asked to do in baptising Jesus – this was a historic event of incredible proportions one that could not be contained by words or action but, simply to kneel in humility and thank God for giving Jesus to be our salvation. Baptism secures our future and no amount of gifts and rewards can ever repay the gift of Baptism which we hardly consider in our daily lives.
Yet our Baptism gives us life not the life we live on earth but a life of eternal salvation which again we cannot apprehend or understand but, we must always reflect and mediate on our Baptism and how we live our life because it is through Baptism we can make those difficult decisions easier if we give our life to God and His Son Jesus Christ.
A prayer I recite every day as soon as I rise from sleep.
Lord I believe that you are with me.
Help me today to live my life according to the heart and mind of Jesus Christ, my Saviour. Amen.
Reflection for the Feast of the Epiphany:
FIRST READING: Isaiah 60:1-6
SECOND READING: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6:
GOSPEL: Matthew 2:1-12
We all have gifts to offer each other but sometimes we are limited in our appreciation of what God has given us and promised us in our life. We are also limited in our appreciation of life itself and we can never come close to understanding our life in relation to Jesus Christ. We need Saints to show us the way and even then we ignore their contribution.
I came across a devastating reflection on how society treats the marginalised, the migrants and the refugees indeed, all those who demand our help described as ‘the immensity of our meagerness’ and this has had a deep sense of sorrow that I might see myself that way!
Do I offer my gifts that please me and no more, or do I go that extra mile and offer what I cannot afford those aspects of my life which Jesus demands of me and I know deep down I should be offering to those who are excluded in our society and those we now can see throughout the world suffering economic deprivation and religious persecution.
If we truly want to know the meaning of the Epiphany and the manifestation of God in our lives we must change to accept God in our lives and ask Him to help us live our life knowing the truth he offers each of us and our response must be unconditional as his offer to us is unconditional and offered with love and a commitment that is beyond our understanding.
This is a mystery and one we grapple with every day of our lives.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 60:1-6
SECOND READING: Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6:
GOSPEL: Matthew 2:1-12
We all have gifts to offer each other but sometimes we are limited in our appreciation of what God has given us and promised us in our life. We are also limited in our appreciation of life itself and we can never come close to understanding our life in relation to Jesus Christ. We need Saints to show us the way and even then we ignore their contribution.
I came across a devastating reflection on how society treats the marginalised, the migrants and the refugees indeed, all those who demand our help described as ‘the immensity of our meagerness’ and this has had a deep sense of sorrow that I might see myself that way!
Do I offer my gifts that please me and no more, or do I go that extra mile and offer what I cannot afford those aspects of my life which Jesus demands of me and I know deep down I should be offering to those who are excluded in our society and those we now can see throughout the world suffering economic deprivation and religious persecution.
If we truly want to know the meaning of the Epiphany and the manifestation of God in our lives we must change to accept God in our lives and ask Him to help us live our life knowing the truth he offers each of us and our response must be unconditional as his offer to us is unconditional and offered with love and a commitment that is beyond our understanding.
This is a mystery and one we grapple with every day of our lives.