22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: Homily/Sermon

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me. (Mt 16:24)

There's a very mistaken viewpoint which holds that religious belief is all about comfort, that prayer is about not facing up to the challenges of life, that faith is about closing our minds to what the world is really like. It is a very popular viewpoint. It affects the understanding of science, it affects attitudes to moral issues, it affects the way in which religion, and the Church is viewed in society.

And it all boils down to this - faith is false because it is about escape, denial, unreality. Listen to the radio, watch the television, and you'll hear echoes and hints of this viewpoint again and again. Religion is the main case of war, and conflict, and division in society. Religion is responsible for the spread of aids. It stifles free thinking and freedom of expression. Only those without the shackles of religion, we seem to be told, can really understand, explain and deal with the issues that face society. Religious people - in the language of the day "just don't get it".

Of course, they are very wrong. Religious groups, especially Christian groups, contribute millions to the economy through their voluntary work. Churches are the biggest voluntary groups in society. The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental organisation in the world working with the victims of Aids. It was, and still is, religious groups which found and fund schools. Hospitals and hospices too were inspired by Christian faith - which is why nurses are still called sisters. Organisations like Barnados, Oxfam, the Samaritans and Amnesty International were all founded by Christians because of their convictions.

And Why? Because at heart Christianity is not about comfort, or escape, or denial, but about service and sacrifice. It is about service in spite of struggle, in spite of suffering, in spite of conflict, in spite of danger: it is about taking up our cross, and following him.

Glorify the Lord with your life!

22nd Sunday of the Year A: Homily / Sermon

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me. (Mt 16:24)

There's a very mistaken viewpoint which holds that religious belief is all about comfort, that prayer is about not facing up to the challenges of life, that faith is about closing our minds to what the world is really like. It is a very popular viewpoint. It affects the understanding of science, it affects attitudes to moral issues, it affects the way in which religion, and the Church is viewed in society.

And it all boils down to this - faith is false because it is about escape, denial, unreality. Listen to the radio, watch the television, and you'll hear echoes and hints of this viewpoint again and again. Religion is the main case of war, and conflict, and division in society.  Religion is responsible for the spread of aids. It stifles free thinking and freedom of expression.  Only those without the shackles of religion, we seem to be told, can really understand, explain and deal with the issues that face society. Religious people - in the language of the day "just don't get it".

Of course, they are very wrong. Religious groups, especially Christian groups, contribute millions to the economy through their voluntary work. Churches are the biggest voluntary groups in society. The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental organisation in the world working with the victims of Aids. It was, and still is, religious groups which found and fund schools. Hospitals and hospices too were inspired by Christian faith - which is why nurses are still called sisters. Organisations like Barnados, Oxfam, the Samaritans and Amnesty International were all founded by Christians because of their convictions.

And Why? Because at heart Christianity is not about comfort, or escape, or denial, but about service and sacrifice. It is about service in spite of struggle, in spite of suffering, in spite of conflict, in spite of danger: it is about taking up our cross, and following him.

Glorify the Lord with your life!

21st Sunday of the Year: Homily / Sermon

You are Peter - and on this Rock I will build my Church and the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it. (Matthew 16:18)

In these words, Christ conveys to us two essential truths about the Church.

Firstly, it is indeed a human institution. Peter is the Rock on which the Church is built. The Body of Christ in this world is led by a man. It is a human institution, with a human face. The Church dwells in and amongst society with its cares and anxieties, its joys and its achievements. The Church celebrates the joy of the newly weds, the life of the newly born, and prays at the bedside of the sick, consoles those who grieve, guides and reconciles those who fall on the journey of life. The priests and the bishops are the shepherds of the sheep, the Holy Father the supreme shepherd of the universal Church and all of us are called to show the love of Christ to all human beings. As humans we love. We also fail. Sometimes those sheep, those shepherds, make mistakes, serve imperfectly, fail to convey God's love - but as Christ is human, so the Church lives in humanity ... it is Peter on which the Church is built.

Yet, secondly, the gates of the underworld can never hold out against the Church. Though made up of human beings, the Church is the Body of Christ, the Temple of the Spirit, the Pilgrim People of God. The Church's only purpose is to serve God and to lead all people to heaven. And God guides and protects his Church. The Papacy, the line of the successors of Peter, is the longest continuous institution in the world. Through wars, and heresy, and schism, in spite of wickedness and greed, despite opposition and persecution and ridicule, the Church persists, not only in our hearts, but as a visible institution reaching into all parts of the world, all areas of human learning and concern. The Church is holy, not because we are holy, but because God is holy.

In the words of St Paul in today's second reading:

How rich are the depths of God   
how deep his wisdom and knowledge ...    
To him be glory for ever! (Romans 11:33)

 

The Assumption of Our Lady: Homily / Sermon

Blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. (Luke 1:45)

Have you ever wondered how you’ll be remembered when you’ve gone? Nowadays it is very common for the priest to speak in some detail at the funeral about the person who has died, and sometimes family members even give a little talk themselves.

But it’s not a good thing to always expect this. For one thing there is a tendency to praise the person who has died, when what we should be doing is praying for him or her. Also it is not always  easy to find something to say. There is even a gender divide: when it is a man you can say where they worked, talk about the hobbies they followed, the clubs they attended and so on. Often for a woman - especially those of a certain age - it is difficult: perhaps she didn’t work and didn’t have any hobbies and rarely went out. No great achievements, apparently : ‘She was just our Mum’.

And people often notice this about Our Lady. Scripture tells us very little about her. Mark’s Gospel tells us little more than her name. St Luke’s Gospel - which we hear today - tells us the most. She is mentioned rarely during Jesus’ ministry; at the foot of the cross she stands with the disciple John; and on the day of Pentecost, she is at prayer with the disciples. Many of the other details which have come down to us about Our Lady - that her parents were called Joachim and Anne, that her last home on earth was with St John in Ephesus, have been handed down through tradition, not scripture.

On the face of it then, Mary did little and achieved little. No real great claim to fame here, perhaps. Few accomplishment. Little to make a fuss about.

But of course we do not need long stories, many details. She is the one who is blessed because she believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled. She is full of God’s grace. She is our Mother in the Faith.

Her honour comes not so much from what she did - because what she did was so very simple - but from who she is. She lived her calling to full and at the end of her life was gathered up by her Son to share the fullness of his life.

Why do we give her such great honour? Because ‘She is just our Mum’.

 

19th Sunday of the Year: Homily / Sermon

Courage! Do not be afraid! (Matthew 14:27)

But we are afraid! And is fear always a bad thing?

I fear for my own safety and the safety of others. I take care when driving and crossing the road. I find some of the rides at Alton Towers terrifying. I am not especially keen on going to the Dentist. I’m also a little afraid of heights. Surely in lots of ways this is only natural, and mainly a good thing. Fear keeps us safe and helps us keep others safe. When a parent fears for their child, they are protecting them, nurturing them and educating them. If we have no fear, then we are foolhardy and dangerous.
In this way fear is good.

But fear can also be a terrible handicap. Fear of danger may mean we never get anything done. Fear of authority may mean we never speak out against injustice. Fear of suffering may prevent us from undergoing essential medical care. Fear of bad news may lead us to avoid hearing any news. Fear of the danger in the world around us may mean that we never take a risk, never step out of the front door, and parents - if they are not careful - can prevent children from encountering the knocks and scrapes of life for fear that something worse may happen. We have a word for this kind of fear - it is called cowardice.

Christ calls us to be neither cowardly nor foolhardy. He commands us - remember - to be as wise as serpents, but also as innocent as doves. He calls us to trust in him, but not too much in ourselves and not too much in the empty promises of the world around us. This is what we call Courage. It is facing the trials of the world with eyes open, with an awareness of the dangers and challenges, but also a trust in his purposes and his love. In courage we may have to take risks, face suffering, let go occasionally of those in our care. In courage we must trust God - not always place safe, but neither put God to the test.

Courage is not about the thunder and lightening and clatter which we hear about in the first reading - but the gentle breeze, the quiet voice with which it ends. The trust in God who is there with us - even if we think we are sinking beneath the waves.