17th Sunday, Year A (Gospel: Matthew 15:44-52) The hidden treasure

 

 

Poor Clare Sisters, Galway, Ireland

There are two lady friends of mine, good friends whom I’ve known for many years: Maura and Marina. Both were accountants, with good jobs and a nice lifestyle; great party goers and very popular. Then one day Marina announced to us all that she was going to leave everything and enter the Poor Clare convent, in my hometown. The Poor Clares are a contemplative order, which means they dedicate their lives to prayer. They don’t leave the convent, except for things like visits to the doctor, or to vote. Otherwise they spend the rest of their lives in the convent praying for all of us. People from all over the city and beyond, continually go into them asking them to pray for different intentions. About two years after Marina entered, my friend Maura did the same thing. This meant that they would give up their job and salary, their independence and nice lifestyle and also the chance to get married and have children. Marina’s family were very upset when she decided to do this, even though they were a very religious family themselves. In spite of their faith they found it very hard to accept. It is considered the highest calling in the Church and one of great sacrifice.

 

Six year later, Marina made her final profession, taking the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Two years after that, Maura, my other friend, did the same thing. They will spend the rest of their lives in that convent praying and interceding for people, helping us by the sacrifice of their lives.

 

Every time a man is ordained to the priesthood, he also dedicates his life to God and to service of his people. He gives up the chance to be married and have children. He chooses to do this, just like monks and nuns do. They feel called to dedicate their lives to God and they do. People often asked me did I not want to get married. I always say that I would have liked to, as it is the most natural desire, but the call to the priesthood was stronger and persistent. 28 years later, in spite of all the ups and downs, I am extremely grateful that God called me this way. I couldn’t imagine a greater privilege on earth.

St. Patrick's College Chapel, Maynooth, Ireland.
Over 12,000 priests have been ordained here.

 

It’s not only people who go into Religious life who do this, many other friends of mine who are married have also changed the direction of their lives and begun to live more closely to God, trying to give time each day to prayer and to living out the faith that they believe in as I know many of you here do as well. People make a conscious effort to live by the Gospel we believe in and this happens all the time.

 

Why did my two friends decide to leave everything and spend the rest of their lives in a convent? Many people consider it a total waste of a life. The Church says it is the highest calling that God can give to anyone, but what makes someone want to do this, or to become a priest, or to really try to live out their faith?

 

The answer is that they have found the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price that Jesus talks about. They have recognized that it is worth everything and so they have given everything for it. It is what Jesus often calls ‘The kingdom of heaven’. In other words, it is the discovery, or realization that God is real and that what Jesus has told us about God, is true. It is as if this suddenly clicks into place and they can see it and it makes sense. They realize that God isn’t just an optional extra, but that God is at the center and we are a part of his world. We are the optional extra. We are the ones who would not be here except that God created us. God is at the center of everything and our life only makes sense in relation to him and in relation to what Jesus told us about him. Apart from God, our life makes absolutely no sense. To come to know this is worth everything, because it is the truth and it makes sense of why we exist.

 

A pearl

Just because someone finds this treasure, as Jesus calls it, doesn’t mean that they have to become a priest or Religious. Most people are not called to be priests or Religious, but to continue on as normal in society, working, having families and giving witness to the reality of God by the way they live. That’s what most of you are called to, but the fact that some people are prepared to live a life dedicated to God, shows the value of what they believe in, of what we believe in. It testifies to the fact that what we believe in has a greater and more lasting value than anything we can know in this world. It is a sign that we believe there is more to come and that it’s worth waiting for, suffering for and making sacrifices for. That is also one of the ideas of celibacy, or the vow of chastity. People decide to give up the possibility of marriage, because they believe in the world to come. It is a sign of our faith in the next world, because that is how we will be in the next world.

 

 

One religious sect in Jesus time, called the Sadducees, who did not believe in life after death, tried to catch Jesus out, by asking him who would be married to whom in the world to come, especially if someone has been married more than once. Jesus explains that in heaven people don’t marry. They are like the angels. The primary purpose of marriage is procreation and that no longer happens in heaven. That doesn’t mean we can’t be with the ones we love, but it will be in a different way. We will be free in a way that we are not here. We will no longer have all the psychological baggage that we carry here. Love will be completely pure.

 

The idea of celibacy is that it is a sign of the life that awaits us in heaven. We begin to live it now. That doesn’t mean it’s easy, but nothing is easy. Every way of life requires sacrifice, perhaps marriage more than any other way.

 

Often when I’m finding it tough going and wondering why I’m a priest or what it’s all about, I think of my two friends in the Poor Clares and their witness makes me say yes, it is worth the effort.

 

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,

which a person finds and hides again,

and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

16th Sunday Year A (Gospel: Matthew 13:24-43) The problem of evil

 

 One of the most difficult questions in religion is about the problem of evil. If God is all good and all powerful, then why does evil exist? Many people use it as an argument to discard the existence of God. They will say that God could not exist if there is evil in the world. The answer to it comes down to one thing: Free will.

 

A knife is a very useful tool. I can use it to cut bread or meat, but I can also use it to kill someone. If I have free will, I can choose to do good or evil. I would not be free if God continually stepped in when I decided to do wrong. If God did this then I would not be free. We are free to do right or wrong, but our actions also have consequences, both in this world and the next, the next life being much more serious as they are eternal consequences.

 

What about so many innocent people suffering because of the evil choices of others? The example that is probably most in our minds today is religious extremists, who believe they are doing a holy thing in wiping out those who see differently to them. They feel they have the right to do this, but all they are doing is causing suffering.

Jesus mentioned this: ‘A time will come when those who kill you will think they are doing a holy thing for God.’ (Jn 16:2b)

 

In 2015 we saw the dreadful image of 21 Coptic Christians about to be executed on a beach in Libya, because they would not deny Christ. They were all on their knees and wearing orange jump suits. Their killers stood over them wearing black and masked. What was amazing was the calm and dignity of those men. Right after their execution, the head of their Church, Archbishop Angaelos, was interviewed by many media groups. What most of the interviews picked up on was the fact that he finished his first message about the killings with the words, ‘Father forgive.’ The reaction of one person which affected so many who were listening to him.

We are called to be like this: to remain calm, focused on the Lord, so that we can quietly continue on our path, but with hope and joy, the hope that changes the world, because it is the hope that the world is looking for.

 

Why should children suffer because of the evil choices of others? Shouldn’t God step in? There is no easy answer and it makes us angry, because we know it’s wrong. The free choices of some people have consequences and sometimes those consequences do terrible things to others. Political leaders can make choices which are wrong and may cause immense suffering for people. Think of Putin invading the Ukraine and all the misery that has caused so many people. Should God step in every time someone chooses to do wrong? If God did, then would we really have free will?

 

Another side of it is this: Evil was involved in the death of Jesus. Jesus was given up to the authorities because Judas chose to betray him, even though he regretted it afterwards. The religious authorities of the time had Jesus convicted through a trial which was illegal according to their own law. They chose to do what was wrong and yet the mysterious thing is that even though Jesus was betrayed, tried, tortured and killed by the deliberate choices of men who decided to do evil, yet look what God brought about through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The course of history was changed forever because of his death and resurrection. Eternal happiness was won for us. What does that tell us? It tells us that God can and will bring great good even out of the worst of evil. We often hear of people working so hard to correct injustice, where someone is falsely accused and imprisoned. People will fight for years to bring about justice and they also inspire others to do the same. Think of people like Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and Martin Luther King. They suffered greatly because of the evil choices of others and yet they brought about great things and also inspired so many, because they were prepared to fight on, in spite of the evil brought about by other’s free will. ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.’

 

In times of war we don’t always hear about the many heroic acts of justice and kindness that people do, in order to help others who are suffering. A few years ago I remember hearing the account of a BBC journalist called Fergal Keane, who has covered areas of conflict for years. He told one story about two women in their seventies he came across in the Ukraine living in a conflict zone. This was before the current war. They had lost everything, including their pension and they were now living in a basement. They didn’t know how they were going to survive. Sometime later many people wrote to Fergal asking him if he knew what had happened to them. So he went back to try and find them. He discovered that they were now living in another tiny room together, but they were also cooking food for many people fleeing the war. They were using what little they had to bring about relief for others, even though they had hardly anything themselves. When Fergal was asked how he was able to keep working amid so much suffering, he said it was because of stories like that which inspired him so much. People can also choose to do good despite the suffering caused by others.

 

Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) was asked about the problem of corruption and scandal within the Church. In his response he pointed to today’s Gospel and the parable about the wheat and the weed. He said that Jesus is teaching us that there will always be a certain amount of evil in the world. We try and deal with as much of it as possible, but there will always be a certain amount we can do nothing about and we have to learn to live with this. But Jesus also teaches us that it will ultimately be dealt with, because all of us will have to give an account of our actions. There will be justice when we come before God. Does that mean we should be afraid? Of course not. Jesus reassures us of his infinite mercy if we make even the smallest effort to ask for forgiveness, but we must not take it for granted either. I actually find it reassuring to know that all of us will be accountable for our actions, because when you think of people who choose to do terrible evil and cause so much suffering for others seems to escape justice in this world. I find it comforting to know that they will not escape God’s justice. Everyone will be accountable for their actions.

Does God ever intervene? Sometimes God does intervene and people are miraculously cured or saved. I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit continually whispers to us to help us make good choices, but we are free to listen or ignore those suggestions, just as we are free to listen to the whisperings of temptations.  

Pope Benedict XVI

Jesus also uses the two parables of the yeast and the mustard seed. A tiny mustard seed can turn into something big and wonderful. Yeast will cause a whole loaf of bread to rise. What that is saying is that what we do has an effect on the world around us. The smallest acts of goodness and kindness affect other people, who in turn affect other people. Our actions have a ripple effect. At times like these, people need inspiration and hope more than ever. How we live can change the world. The choices I make every day will affect each person I meet, for good or for evil.

Our faith gives us the greatest hope there is: the promise of eternal happiness. If we believe that and live in a way that reflects that belief, it will affect the people we meet. They will recognize our hope which in turn will affect them.

“The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

 

 

 

14th Sunday Year A (Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30) Come to me all you who are overburdened

 

 

My grandfather, Kenneth Kennedy, used to have a brush-factory in Dublin, which later turned into an art store and gallery, which is still going today. At one stage he employed a man as a kind of messenger boy and general dog’s body. He was a very simple man and was probably more of a burden from a business point of view, than anything else. Once, a friend of my grandfather’s was visiting the shop and he said to him, ‘Kenneth, why are you still holding on to that guy?’ And my grandfather just said, ‘I can’t throw him out, he has nowhere else to go.’ His friend said, ‘Kenneth, you’ll never make a good business man,’ and he was probably right.

 

Most people I know have to work hard to make a living and most businesses I know—and I worked for several before I became a priest—can be quite ruthless when it comes to letting people go, if they feel they could make more money without them. I heard the CEO of one of the big pharmaceutical companies say, ‘We are not in the business of helping people. We are in the business of making money for our shareholders.’ And a few years ago a director who had been hired to make one of the big auto companies in France more efficient said that those they didn’t need would either leave through the door or the window, referring to suicide. In order to force people to quit many employees had been given humiliating tasks in the company. The result of all this is that it causes a lot of stress at work. Financial pressure is one of the biggest burdens people carry. It is also one of the biggest causes of marriage problems.

 

Where do you turn to when you feel that you can not keep going?  Who do you turn to for compassion and support? Hopefully friends and family, but not always. In the readings today Jesus tells us to turn to him, because He knows the pressures we are under, the burdens we carry. God is aware of how difficult it can be and He offers to help us.

 

Jesus used the image of the yoke. The yoke was the wooden brace that linked two animals together around the neck, in order to split the load between them. The Lord is telling us that He wants to help us carry the load, to take some of the burden, but we also have to allow him to do this. It can be tempting to leave God to Sundays, or to ‘religious things’, but from all that God teaches us through the Bible, one thing that is very clear is that God is interested in everything we do, down to the most ordinary things and down to the most intimate details. 'Every hair on your head has been counted.' (Luke 12:7).

 

One of the great tragedies of our time is the high number of suicides, especially among our young people. No doubt there are probably many reasons for it, but I am sure that one of the biggest reasons is because people have lost faith and so they have lost hope, because they don’t know what to turn to. How do you keep going when everything seems impossible? We need a source of strength, something, or someone we can continually turn to, in order to give us renewed strength and purpose. If we believe that this life is just passing and that there is something wonderful waiting for us in the next life, then this gives us strength to keep going during difficult times. What we suffer here is only temporary, so we are prepared to put up with a lot, but if you don’t have any faith, what do you turn to? That is also why it is so important that we pass on our faith to the next generation, so that they too will have the hope that comes from faith.

 

Jesus also says, ‘No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.’ If you have faith in God—and being here would suggest you do—it is because Jesus has chosen to reveal the Father to you. Jesus decided to make the Father known to you, which is why you are drawn here. You didn’t just stumble upon God. Jesus revealed himself specifically to you. Even if you were brought up Catholic, just because you learnt about the faith, doesn’t mean that you have faith. It still has to be revealed to us in some way. Otherwise it is just another subject.

 

Remember when Jesus asked the Apostles who people thought He was and Peter said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus then said to Peter, ‘You are blessed, because you didn’t come to this conclusion by yourself. God the Father revealed it to you.’ (Matt 16:17). Jesus chose to reveal the Father to each of us, individually and He will continue to reveal more and more of himself to us if we remain open. The more our faith grows, the more it will make sense of what our life on earth is about. Then as our faith grows, we pass it on to others by bearing witness to what we believe in, by the way we live.

 

Three things in particular that God has given us to help us are the

1.     Word of God, to guide and direct us. Everything we need to know to guid and direct us in this life is found in the Scriptures.

2.     Confession, so that we can get up again as often as we fall, so that we never become discouraged.

3.     And above all, the Eucharist, where we can receive Jesus himself, every day if we wish.

Do you want to know what God has to say to you? Read the Scriptures, because that is one of the primary ways that God speaks to us. Think of all the information we take in each day: advertising, news programs, chat shows, social media. What could possibly be more important than what God has to say to us. What do I fill my mind with?

 

Jesus said, ‘The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be filled with light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be filled with darkness.’ (Matt 6:22-23). Whatever I fill my mind with is what I will also bring to the world. If I fill myself with angry arguments and nothing but negative thoughts about the world, then that is what I will bring to the world. We don’t need more angry people, we need people filled with light and only God can fill us with that light.

 

Think also of the opportunity Jesus gives us to receive him each day. What could possibly be more important than this? What greater strength could we ask for than Jesus himself in the Eucharist.

 

The burdens that we are faced with each day, can be difficult, but the Lord assures us that He is with us and wants to share the load with us, if only we will allow him to. They are his words in Scripture.

 

“Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and these things will be given to you as well. ‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

 

“Come to me all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest.”