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)