Holy Thursday, Mass of the Lord's Supper (Gospel: John 13:1-15). 'This is what I received from the Lord'

  

Tonight we celebrate a very special mass, the first mass, when Jesus took the bread and wine and told the disciples that this was his body and blood. It is also on this night the first priests were ordained. The Passover meal, which they were celebrating, was and is a very special meal for the Jewish people. It was the feast that remembered their being set free from slavery. It was their Independence Day, in a sense. For that meal they sacrificed an animal, a lamb if possible, and the blood of the lamb was marked on the doors of their homes as a sign that they belonged to God, so that God would protect them. They were saved by the blood of the lamb. We are also saved from eternal death, by the blood of the Lamb. The sacrifice of Jesus—the Lamb of God—was what saved us.

 

During this meal Jesus did something totally unexpected, which has left us baffled ever since. He suddenly told them that the bread which was in his hands, was now his body, and the wine that he was holding, was his blood and that they should both eat and drink it themselves and repeat this ritual to remember him.

 

The second reading from St. Paul, is the oldest account of the mass in the Bible. Listen to what he says: ‘This is what I received from the Lord and in turn passed on to you…’ (1 Cor 11:23). ‘This is what I received from the Lord…’ Jesus revealed this directly to Paul after He had risen. He didn’t learn it from the other Apostles, but from Jesus. And that is reminding us that we did not invent what we call the mass; the Lord Jesus himself gave it to us directly and asked us to repeat it as a way of remembering him. That is why we never change it for something else. That is why we also call it the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and not a service. It is not just a religious service, but something quite unique.

 

From the very first time that Jesus taught the people about receiving his body and blood, it caused division. It says in John’s Gospel that when he gave this teaching the people were in disbelief and many left him. Jesus said, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have life within you’ (John 6:53). Some of them said, ‘This is too much. Who could accept this?’ and many people stopped following him after that. But Jesus’ response is interesting. He didn’t go after them and say ‘Wait, let me explain!’ He just let them go. In fact the only response he gave was to ask the Apostles if they were going to leave too. He didn’t change anything He said. It is the same with the teachings of our faith. We don’t change them to keep people happy. We believe what we believe, because we believe it comes from God. It is not of human origin.

 

A deacon being ordained to priesthood

Why did Jesus give us the Eucharist? I’m sure it was for at least two reasons. First, because He wanted us to know that He is intimately with us always. He is interested in the smallest details of our lives. We can receive the body and blood of Jesus into our own bodies, every day if we wish. Every time we celebrate the mass Jesus becomes present to us in the form of bread and wine. It is not just a symbol, or a reminder of him, but really and truly the body and blood of Jesus. It is beyond our understanding, but Jesus doesn’t ask us to understand it, only to believe in it.

 

Throughout the centuries God has given us many Eucharistic miracles to help us believe, where the consecrated bread and wine have actually turned into flesh and blood and they still exist for anyone to see. Some of these have been studied scientifically and have always been proved to be real human flesh: heart tissue.

 

The second reason is so that we could be present at the greatest events in history, the last supper and the sacrifice of Calvary: the offering of God the Son to God the Father. That is what the mass is; the offering of God the Son to God the Father, an offering which the Father cannot refuse, and that is why the mass is so powerful. It is the perfect prayer, the perfect sacrifice, which makes up for our inadequacies. And Jesus makes it possible for us to be present at this event every time we celebrate the holy mass.

 

Then another crucial thing happened. Jesus got down and washed the feet of the disciples, to teach them something. I always smile when anyone is asked to come up for the washing of the feet, because if they do volunteer, you can be sure they will have carefully washed their feet, so really there is no need to wash them. But Jesus got down on his hands and knees and washed dirty, sweaty feet. It would be a bit like the Pope visiting your house and then going in and cleaning the bathroom. You would be horrified. The Apostles were horrified. Why did he do this? To show them that they were being called to a life of service. If He was prepared to serve them, they must also be prepared to serve others. That is what our work as priests is supposed to be about: it is meant to be one of service to the people. It is also the mindset that we are all called to have as Christians: service; looking after whoever is in need. 

Peter felt he could not allow Jesus to wash his feet, because he was a sinner. He wanted to keep Jesus at a distance because he was a sinner. This is the typical reaction of most of us. We say, ‘Leave me Lord I am a sinful man.’ We don’t really believe that God could love us as we are. We are afraid to allow God to come too close. But Jesus’ answer was to say that he ‘must’ do this. In other words he was saying, ‘Peter, you must not allow your unworthiness to keep me from you.’ God is well aware of what we are like and all the things that we’ve done wrong, but it doesn’t stop him from loving us and even from washing our feet. For our part we must not be afraid to allow the Lord to come close to us either. He offers himself to us, so let us never be afraid.

 

Sometimes people tell me they feel they are unworthy to receive the Eucharist and I always assure them that they are right! They are unworthy to receive the Eucharist. All of us are. Naturally, we do everything we can to prepare as well as we can and to confess serious sins if we need to, but it is the Lord himself who makes it possible to receive him. And it is the Lord who wants us to receive him. That is why we begin every mass by acknowledging that we are sinners. The only way to come before God is by acknowledging the greatness of God and our unworthiness to be in his presence. Think also of the prayer that we say just before we receive the Eucharist, ‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’

 

When Jesus asked Peter if He could use his boat to preach from and afterwards worked the miracle of the huge catch of fish, Peter’s reaction was one of fear: ‘Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man.’ But Jesus’ response was one of reassurance. ‘Do not be afraid.’ This is also the approach that we should take. We are not worthy to ever be in God’s presence, let alone receive the body and blood of Jesus into our bodies, but it is the Lord who wants us to, which is why He gave us this wonderful gift. Jesus wants to be intimately close to us, in every aspect of our life and He has given us the opportunity to have him in our physical bodies. How great God’s love for us must be, to give us such a gift.

 

‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed.’

 

 

 

Palm Sunday Year B (Gospel: Mark 14:1-15:47)) God in the midst of chaos

 

Reading the full account of the Passion really speaks for itself, so I will just give a short reflection.

Something I  think everyone finds very disturbing in our modern world, is the amount of corruption everywhere. Lying and cheating seem to be accepted as normal practice by many. We read about corruption in just about every government and every organisation, including the Church. Struggles for power, people being tortured. It is horrible to read about these things, and we often seem to be so helpless to do anything. Where is the loving God we speak about, who brings justice?

 

The readings today also paint an interesting picture. The only man who was completely innocent and has only done good throughout his life, is betrayed by a close friend, arrested, tortured, given an illegal trial—it was illegal according to their own law—and on the basis of false evidence is put to death. Where is the justice in that? Where is our just and loving God? How could God allow such a terrible miscarriage of justice?

 

And yet out of all this chaos and terrible injustice, God brings about the most extraordinary good for the whole human race, something no one could ever have imagined, but it happens by means of all this suffering. He makes it possible for us to go to heaven when we die. Out of terrible evil, brought about by human hands, God does something unimaginably wonderful.

 

There is a line in the Exultet—the hymn sung at the beginning of the Easter Vigil—which says, ‘Oh necessary sin of Adam, which won for us so great a redeemer.’  ‘Oh necessary sin.’ If Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned, there would have been no need for the Incarnation and we wouldn’t have Jesus. This event changed the whole course of history. Everything was different after this, but what was really going on at that time was not obvious. In fact no one knew what was really happening. It was only afterwards, when Jesus himself began to reveal it to the disciples, only then did they begin to understand what it all meant and even then it took a while for them to fully grasp it.

 

So is there a message in all of this for us today, apart from remembering what happened? Can these events still speak to us now? In many ways our modern, so called ‘civilised’ society sounds remarkably like the one Jesus lived in. There was great corruption then and there still is. But there is above all else, a message of hope in all this, that even though there is a lot of evil around us, and there always has been, it doesn’t stop God from being present to us, and guiding us through the chaos, as it were. Not only that, but the very difficult events that we come up against, God can and does bring incredible good out of, even the worst of situations, but we don’t always see that good. All these events took place for our benefit and that is a reminder that God is just as much with us now as He was then. That is why we go over all these events each year, to remind ourselves what has happened, what God has done for us and that God is still with us, even in the midst of chaos.

 

Having the hope that our faith gives us, makes all the difference in the world. You can see in the faces of so many people, fear and anxiety, because they have nothing to put their hope in except other human beings. That is a sad way to live your life, because people will let us down. God is the only one who will not let us down, even though we may not see that until afterwards.

 

‘Oh necessary sin of Adam, which won for us so great a redeemer.’

5th Sunday of Lent Year B (Gospel: John 12:20-33) Unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies it remains just a single grain

 

 

‘Unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain. But if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.’

 

A survey was done in America several years ago to see who the happiest people were and why. The survey found that the happiest people were old African American women. The second happiest people were old Hispanic women. The third happiest group of people were old women in general. Why? Because they had suffered so much throughout their lives. They had grown much through what they had suffered and now they were generally content and very little would put them out.

 

The mystery of suffering is probably one of the biggest questions that most of us face. Why do we suffer? Why do good people suffer? Why do children suffer with serious sickness? It is one of the most common excuses people use to deny the existence of God. If God is all-powerful and loving, why does He allow suffering? There is no easy answer to this question, but the Lord does give us insights.

 

It says in the second reading, ‘Although he was Son, Christ learnt to obey through suffering.’ Christ didn’t want to suffer any more than we do and in fact he pleaded with the Father if there was any way that He could be spared the suffering He was about to go through: ‘Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, not my will but your will be done’ (Matt 26:39). But Jesus trusted that the Father knew what He was doing, and so he accepted his will. It also says that Jesus became perfect through suffering. The suffering we go through plays a part in forming us and Jesus told us it is part of the path to heaven:

If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’ (Luke 9:22-24).

 

None of us want to suffer, but it seems to be part of the journey and part of our life on earth. If the Son of God was allowed to go through suffering, can we really expect that we will be spared it?

 

Part of what makes suffering so difficult, is the fact that we don’t understand it. If we understood that what we are going through has a purpose and good things would come from it, it would make it easier. But part of what makes suffering so difficult is that we cannot see any good in it and so we ask why it is happening and why God allows it?

 

The greatest answer to the mystery of suffering is the image of Jesus on the cross. The greatest act of injustice and cruelty, turned out to be the greatest demonstration of God’s love and the event that changed the whole of history. That also tells us that suffering offered to God has enormous power. Apart from our love, it is the greatest thing we can offer to God. Think about all the things and people you are praying for. Offer the suffering you go through for those people.

 

The people of Israel also represent us, God’s people. The history of the people of Israel is also our history as the people of God. The name Israel, means ‘Wrestles/struggles with God.’ It comes from the book of Genesis where a heavenly being, or angel, appeared to Jacob and wrestled with him all night. The angel was not able to overcome Jacob and as dawn approached, he injured Jacob and said, ‘From now on your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you wrestled with God and with people and have overcome’ (Gen 32:28). Just that name alone tells us something. It is a normal part of the human condition that we will struggle with God. We get angry, because we don’t understand, or we see situations that are wrong and we wonder why God allows it. We see people suffering and we wonder why God doesn’t do something. Many of the famous figures in the Bible got really angry with God and argued with him. It is normal that we do and I think it is good to remember that.

 

If our life on earth is everything, then it is a very cruel life for a great many people, because most people suffer quite a lot in this life and some seem to suffer more than others for no apparent reason. But if our life on earth is only our preparation for what is to come, then it changes everything. If we believe what God has taught us, that we are created to be with him for all eternity, where we will no longer suffer, then we will have greater strength to get through the difficulties we are faced with. Our time on earth is a training ground for us to learn the ways of God and to freely choose to love him and follow in his steps, or not.

 

If the next life is forever, then the preparation that we make for it in this life is extremely important. God knows this better than we do, so He helps us to learn in the most effective way possible, through suffering. It is not that God makes us suffer, but that suffering is part of this life, and God uses it to help us to learn what is really important. The writer C.S. Lewis says: ‘God’s whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.’ When we are in pain we sit up and listen.

 

In hospitals, people are usually more open to me as a priest, than anywhere else and it is because their suffering has them thinking in a different way. Suddenly they are listening. This pandemic also has people listening in a different way and that is one of the good things that has come out of it. We so easily get distracted with the things of the world and forget about what is important. If the world to come is for eternity, then it is very important that we don’t waste the opportunities the Lord gives us here on earth.

 

I remember seeing a man who came into a hospital I worked in. His wife kept telling me how important he was and they were quite full of themselves. I think he was a film producer. Within a few days he was different. He had to wait to be treated just like everyone else. All his earthly importance had disappeared, at least temporarily.

 

The society we live in tells us that we should have everything exactly as we want it and whenever we want it. Everything is for our pleasure. But that’s not what Jesus taught us. He said, ‘Try to enter by the narrow door’ (Lk 13.24). And he said, ‘Anyone who loves his life loses it’. In other words, if you want to follow the ways of God, which lead to heaven, then it will require change, humility and God will teach you how to grow in your spirit, so that when we die, we will be more ready to meet him. But we won’t always be able to have everything as we want it.

 

It is no wonder that Satan offers us so much pleasure and temptation, because he doesn’t want us to get to heaven. And this world is the only one in which he can destroy us, by trying to make us choose against God. Jesus called him ‘the prince of this world’ because he tempts us through this world. And he says, ‘God doesn’t love you. See how He makes you suffer.’ We are in the middle of this battle and that’s why we need to pray, to arm ourselves with the strength that God gives us and to help us to be aware of what is from God and what isn’t, so that we won’t be deceived.

 

So I must ask myself, do I want to be part of God’s way of life? Do I want to allow God to transform me? We will suffer anyway, but are we willing to be molded into the ways of God, or do we insist on having everything our own way? The way of this world is always more attractive, but it doesn’t lead to life. The way of God is what leads to our transformation.

 

‘Unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a single grain.’

 

4th Sunday of Lent, Year B (Gospel: John 3:14-21) God so loved the world that He sent his only Son

 

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.”

Just two weeks ago (February 27^{th, ­}, 2021), while debating the Equality Act, congressman Gregg Steube said: “I am going to start with the truth: In Deuteronomy 22:5 it says: ‘A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear woman’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this.’ He pointed out that this is not just referring to clothing but to changing your sexual identity, because in doing so, you are telling God that He didn’t know what He was doing when He created us. He got it wrong.

 

In response to what he said, another congressman, Jerry Nadler, replied,

“What any religious tradition ascribes as God’s will, is no concern of this congress.” “God’s will is no concern of this congress.”

 

Thankfully those remarks immediately received strong criticism and it was pointed out that on the very wall of congress are written the words, ‘In God we trust.’

 

On Thursday last (Mar 11, 2021), I read that the department of education in the State of California has now introduced to the school curriculum, an option where they encourage the children to do chants to one of the Aztec gods, Tezkatlipoka, as a way of building community among the children. Now the children are being encouraged to do these chants to a pagan god, but God forbid you should try to say a Christian prayer, because that is forbidden. This is what is happening in our country right now.

 

The United States is unique in that it is the only country apart from Israel, that was built specifically on biblical principles, so its history is very similar to that of the people of Israel. The Scriptures show us that when the people of Israel were faithful to God’s word, God blessed the land and it flourished. But when the people rejected God, God’s blessing was lifted from the land, just as God said He would do and then it went into decline, morally, economically and in its military power. Eventually when the people were in dire straits, they repented, prayed for God’s mercy and turned to him once more. But it seems we are slow learners, just like the people of Israel, and we do the same thing again and again.

What we are seeing at this time, is the rejection of God’s word by many people; not by all, but by many and often by people in office, which affects the whole country. The first reading today talks directly about this:

In those days all the princes of Judah, the priests and the people added infidelity to infidelity… they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warning and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the Lord against his people was so inflamed, that there was no remedy.

 

The Scriptures—the word of God—leave us in no doubt as to what God’s will is for us. His will for us is life and happiness. In the Gospel are the wonderful words: ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.’ God has created us for happiness, which Jesus said repeatedly. ‘Every hair on your head has been counted’ (Matt 10:30). ‘Do not be afraid. You are worth more than hundreds of sparrows’ (Luke 12:6-7).

 

We are living in a time when the division between those who are faithful to God and those who are not, is getting wider and wider. It is a time of choice. We must choose whose side we are on. If we are on God’s side and we want God’s blessing on our families and our land, then we must choose God’s word and be faithful to all that God asks us to do. It is getting harder to do that because we are meeting more and more opposition to being faithful to God, but we shouldn’t be afraid of that, because it has always been that way. There is no room for sitting on the fence. We must choose whose side we are on.

 

I gave a ride to a man once, who was a musician. He made is living mainly from playing on the streets. He told me he knew 350 songs by heart, which was pretty impressive. When he realized I was a priest he began to ask me questions. He said he wasn't very religious. He preferred to just stay out of it. I asked him what he thought would happen when he dies and comes before God. He said he would just plead ignorance! Perhaps you could get away with that before a judge on earth, but I seriously doubt that we will when we come before the all-knowing, all-seeing One. God does not accept people who just want to stay out of it, or sit on the fence. 

In the book of Revelation, God speaks to one of the churches and says:

“I know your deeds. You are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to vomit you out of my mouth. You say,” “I am rich. I have grown wealthy and need nothing.” “But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind…”

 

The Lord is not afraid to show us when we are going wrong, but it is always because He loves us and wants to bring us back to where we will find happiness, but there is no room for being indifferent. We must choose whose side we are on and if you want to hold on to your faith, you are going to have to take it seriously, as there will be more and more pressure to abandon it for more ‘enlightened’ ways.

There is a line in Scripture, a favorite of mine, which says, ‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’ (Joshua: 24:15). Recently someone had those lines made into a sign for me and it is in my house inside the door. This is who I belong to and I will not be ashamed of it and I will not be coerced, or pressured into compromising what God tells me I need to do.

 

For many of you it is more difficult than for me, because often the people you work with, or live with, can be opposed to what you believe and are not afraid to say it to your face and that is hard. But that is also why we continually turn to the Lord for his strength, so that we may be faithful. Almost every day I pray for the grace to persevere and be faithful. And God has given us all the help we need to be faithful. Above all He has given us the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus, to give us the strength we need to be faithful, the healing gift of confession for every time we fall and the Scriptures which give us wisdom for every situation we could meet.

 

For the first 300 years of the Church, the Christians were persecuted. 300 years! But they persevered and although thankfully at this time we are not living with bloody persecution, our faith is really being attacked.

 

As always, God’s message is one of hope. All He asks is that we keep coming back to him and when we do, He always assures us of his mercy.

 

People’s faith inspires me. Your faith inspires me and every priest I know will say the same. When people come to me in and outside of confession, I see so many people wanting to do what is right in the sight of the Lord and it is really inspiring. Your faith gives me strength. Coming together to pray encourages all of us, which is one of the reasons we do come together to pray. So don’t be disheartened when you hear of different places actively turning away from God. All that matters is that we are as faithful as we can be, even when we meet opposition. Jesus said that following him would cause division, so it is normal, but if we take our faith seriously and try to live it seriously, we have nothing to fear. That is why the Lord said:

‘Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life and only a few find it.’ (7:13-14)

 

May God grant us the grace to be faithful.

3rd Sunday of Lent (Gospel: John 2:13-25) The dignity of the person. The problem of pornography.

 

This week the bishop has asked us priests to address the problem of pornography, which has become an enormous problem, largely because of cell phones, where we have the whole world in our hands and it affects people of all ages.

 

In the creation story of Genesis, one thing that is striking, is all the distinctions that are made. God is not part of the universe. He is outside the universe and creates it. The different stages of creation are distinct from each other, gradually going from lower forms of life to higher. The plants are not the same as the animals. Animals are not the same as people. We are distinctly different. It says that Adam looked among the animals to find a help mate, but he could not find one. This is reminding us that we are completely different from animals. Sometimes you will hear people say that we are basically animals, but that is not true according to God’s word. We are created in God’s image which gives us a special dignity. Jesus didn’t die on the cross to save animals. He died to save the human race, which is made in his image. God the Son took on human flesh. He became man and lived among us.

 

It also says that God made man and woman in his image. There is a distinction between humans and God and between man and woman, and there is meant to be. In regard to the man, God says, “It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a fitting helper for him,” literally, “a helper who is his equal.” We are meant to complement each other, man and woman are equal, but there is a real distinction. This is one of the reasons why the ‘Equality Act’ which has just been passed, is a real problem. It goes against the word of God by saying that there are no longer distinctions between man and woman. Man can be woman and woman can be man. That is the opposite of the word of God. Everyone should be respected for who they are and no one should be exploited, but God tells us that he created us distinctly different.

 

One of the reasons why pornography is so wrong, is that it takes away the dignity of the person, by reducing us to something we are not. It reduces us to sexual objects, only there for the pleasure of another. We no longer have any value as individuals. We just become objects of pleasure to be used at will.

 

Let me give you a few statistics, which are quite shocking.

·        90% of 8-16 year old’s have viewed porn. Not only that, but most of what is being looked at is very violent.

·        3 of top 10 sites viewed on the internet in the US, are adult sites. That’s higher than Ebay. Most of what is being watched is very violent.

·        56% of women under 25 use it. 81% of men under 25.

·        31% of 10-12 year-olds start intentionally. 57% 13-15 year-olds. 50% of young people use it weekly.

 

But it’s not just young people that are using it. It is people of all ages. The problem, especially for young people, is that it creates a distortion of reality and what our sexuality is about. If this happens at a very young age, you can imagine the damage it is doing and how it will affect their relationships later on.

 

If you have children, it is not a question of whether they will look at adult sites, but when and they probably have already. On our computers, internet history hides everything, which means you may be oblivious to what they are seeing. Most of these sites are also looked at in the bedroom, so when young people go into their rooms in the evening, that is when most of it will be looked at, on phones, tablets and computers. One way to help prevent this is to not allow phones and computers in the bedroom.

 

Physically, our children have never been safer, which is great. But spiritually they have never been in greater danger. If you come across your children looking at these sites, the worst thing you can do is to shame them. ‘How could you? You should be ashamed…’ Then they will withdraw completely, but it will continue.

 

Another problem is that people feel that God is now ashamed of them, so they don’t know where to turn. I can’t tell my parents and I can’t turn to God, so guess where I go? Back to the computer.

 

The best thing you can do is to discuss it with them and help them to see what is wrong with it. We need to educate our children as to what our bodies are for and why God created us. We need to teach them that sex is a beautiful thing, but that it is for marriage and not just for whenever you want. That is what God teaches us.

 

You know how horrible it feels if you realize you have been used by someone. This is what these adult sites are doing: they are using others for our pleasure, with no regard for who they are as people. If we met those people in person, I’m sure we would see them completely differently.

 

The good news—and there is always good news—is that there are now many programs available which provide filter software which will block these sites completely, on phones as well as computers. They are not expensive and quite a few are free. It is worth spending a few extra dollars a month to protect your children. Remember that it is not just about protecting your children from a problem, it is protecting them from sin, which can separate us from God. I know you want your children to have the best future. What about their eternal future?

 

For adults in particular, one program which has helped a lot of people is called Covenant Eyes. The reason why it is so successful is because not only does it block adult sites, it also makes you accountable to another person, by sending them a report each week. All of us need to be accountable and all of us will ultimately be accountable to God. The help is there, but we need to use it. We will tell ourselves I don’t need to spend money on filter software, I can do it myself. But the truth is that it is designed to be highly addictive and most people find it extremely difficult to break a habit of looking at adult sites.

 

At the doors of the church you will find booklets available for everyone, which address the issue and also point you in the direction of where to go next. Please take one and read it. It is too important an issue to ignore.

 

God created us in his image, as something beautiful and our dignity is under attack in many ways. But the Lord will also help us through this if we are smart enough to use the tools that are there.

 

And God created man in his image, in the image f God He created him; male and female He created them. (Gen 1:27)

 

Here are a few websites which provide filter software against pornography:

 

Covenant Eyes www.covenanteyes.com

Net Nanny www.netnanny.com

Sevn Soft Web Patrol www.soft32.com (free)

Any web block www.any-weblock.en.uptodown.com  (free)

Cold turkey www.getcoldturkey.com (free)

 

2nd Sunday of Lent Year B (Gospel: Mark 9:2-10) God speaks in the cloud

 

Remains of a human sacrifice found in Argentina from 1500s

I have often heard people say that the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son is horrific, so horrific that maybe it shouldn’t be read at all. It is meant to be horrific. The point is that God asks the unthinkable of Abraham, but more importantly Abraham trusts God and goes along the path that makes absolutely no sense to him at the time.

 

Human sacrifice was actually very common at the time in other cultures, so it would not have been a total surprise to Abraham that God would ask this of him, but what is most important is that ultimately God is showing us that human sacrifice is not acceptable to him. God does not want human sacrifice, ever.

 

Not only was it horrific that Abraham should be asked to sacrifice his child, but it was also through this only child that God had promised him many offspring. So, nothing at all made sense. Abraham suddenly finds himself in a situation of complete darkness, where nothing was right, nothing made sense, but Abraham trusts God and then everything changes at the last second. God ‘put Abraham to the test’ not in the sense of seeing if he was good enough—God knew how much faith Abraham had to begin with—but because God knew that Abraham had great faith and he wanted to stretch that faith to its full capacity.

 

An athlete won’t reach their full potential unless they are pushed to the limit. The trainer will often see more potential in them than they are aware of themselves and if they are a good trainer, they will push them so that they will reach that limit. Sometimes God does the same with us. He knows what we are capable of, more than we do ourselves and sometimes He stretches, or pushes us to the limit, because God wants us to reach our full potential as human beings.

 

Because Abraham was willing to do anything that God asked and because he showed his remarkable trust in and obedience to God, the Lord said that He would bless him greatly:

“I will shower blessings on you, I will make your descendants as many as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore.”

Sometimes when we pray for a situation to get better, it gets worse? Have you ever noticed that? There is a temptation to panic and not pray any more, but if we believe that God is listening to us and helping us, then we persevere in prayer and we try to trust that the Lord will bring the best out of the situation, even though it often doesn’t make sense to us. That is one of the demands of faith and it is not easy.

 

When God sent Moses to confront Pharaoh and demand that he should let the Hebrew people go free, Pharaoh not only refused, but he made life much more difficult for them. He increased their suffering. So the people came complaining to Moses asking why he had to open his mouth at all, as they were now suffering more. Now he had Pharaoh angry with him and the people angry with him. Moses turned to God in a panic, even though He was doing what God wanted him to do, why was God allowing the situation to get worse.

“Why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people and You have not delivered your people in any way.” (Ex 5:22)

 

God did bring about what He said He would do, but it took a while and life became more difficult first. The way God answers prayers is not always to our liking.

 

2000 years later God sends his Son, who takes on human flesh as Jesus and allows him to be sacrificed for the human race. The Father allowed his Son to be sacrificed. He did go through with it. It says in the second reading that because Jesus went through with it, the Father would not refuse him anything. That is why we can have such confidence when we pray to Jesus. It says in the second reading that Jesus now intercedes for us before the Father in heaven. If Jesus, the Son of God, is interceding for us before the Father, then what could we possibly be afraid of as long as we remain open to God? Not only that, but we also have Our Lady interceding for us. Is Jesus going to refuse his mother anything? Is the Father going to refuse Jesus anything? And these are the ones who are interceding for us.

 

In the Gospel, Peter, James and John are granted this extraordinary vision of Jesus, in all his glory. Why were they given this privilege when none of the others were? It seems they were being given a more intense training than the others. They were also with Jesus when He raised the little girl—Jairus’ daughter—from the dead and they were with him in Gethsemane. This vision happened just before the Passion, when Jesus would be tortured and killed before their eyes. Peter, James and John would be with him in the Garden of Gethsemane watching him fall apart with fear. They were going to need great strength not to despair themselves, as this would be so disillusioning for them, but what is especially note-worthy, is that after the vision was over they suddenly found themselves in a cloud where they could not see anything. Only then did they hear the voice of the Father speaking to them: 

“This is my Son the Beloved.  Listen to him.”

 

God spoke to them when they were in a cloud. Have you ever been on a mountain when a cloud suddenly descended? It’s quite frightening because you cannot see anything. You just have to stop and wait. Sometimes it is only when we are in a ‘cloud’ or darkness/confusion that God will speak to us most powerfully. When we cannot see the way forward and we cannot get any clarity on what to do, then God will show us what the next step is, but often He will only show us the next step, not the whole path ahead. This brings us back to the need to trust that God knows what God is doing, even when He leaves us in the dark.

 

Think of when someone dies, especially a young person. We are left with so many questions and so few answers. We don’t understand, but God asks us to trust. God asked Abraham to trust because God knew he would be able to, even though He seemed to be asking the impossible and God allowed the three Apostles to see Jesus as the Son of God in his blinding glory, to help them believe. We are only shown one step at a time, if even that. If God doesn’t show us the path it is because we don’t need to see it, only the next step.

 

Finally, think of what God the Father said to the Apostles and what He is saying to us, ‘This is my Son… listen to him.’ Of all the noise and information that is flying around us, listen to Jesus. When you are distressed, or anxious because of what is going on, listen to Jesus. If God the Father is speaking to us then what He is saying to us must be very important.

 

“This is my Son the Beloved.  Listen to him.”

 

1st Sunday of Lent, Year B (Gospel: Mark 1:12-15) Healing and the forgiveness of sins

 

 

In my work as a priest over the last twenty-two years, I have come across many people who have told me about miracles of healing, which they or someone close to them, have experienced. A close friend of mine by the name of Sandra, who is married with 6 children, saw one of her own children miraculously healed at Lourdes a few years ago. Her son Joe, who was about 7 at the time, was suffering with severe eczema all over his body. It meant that his skin was raw and bleeding a lot of the time. He had to be covered in wet bandages from head to toe which took his mother an hour and twenty minutes to put on each time. They decided to bring him on pilgrimage to Lourdes to pray for him. Lourdes is an international Marian shrine in the south of France where Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in 1858. Thousands of sick people are brought there each year and many physical healings have taken place.

 

While they were there he was brought to the ‘baths’ which is where many of the sick are brought in order to bathe in the healing waters of Lourdes as Our Lady told Bernadette to do. After he had been to the baths he started to say, ‘Mom, I’ve been healed!’ She paid no attention to him as he was often playing up, as little boys will. But then he started to say it to others on the bus and eventually he said, ‘Mom I’ve been healed. Why don’t you believe me?’ She started to get suspicious at this point and said, ‘I do believe you.’ When they went back to the hotel she took off the bandages and his eczema was almost completely gone. That is just one of many stories of physical healing that I have heard and I’m sure there are many of you here who could tell me more.

 

Why is it that we don’t see more miracles of healing? Jesus healed many people during his time on earth, so why doesn’t God seem to heal more today?

 

For two summers I worked as a confessor in Lourdes; just hearing confessions, nothing else.  It was one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve had as a priest so far, although it was exhausting. People are amazed when I say that hearing confessions for hours could be such a wonderful experience as most people couldn’t imagine anything more boring. However, the reason it was so great was because it is where a huge number of miracles take place every day and very real miracles too. When people are given the grace to be able to confess sins they have been burdened with for years, you can physically see a change in their faces.  They are being healed and it is usually a much deeper healing that a purely physical healing. The body needs healing, but the healing of the spirit is more important because it affects us much more. Many people came to me and the other priests and confessed sins they were carrying, often for 20, 30 and even 40 years. It is a very moving thing to watch the transformation in people’s faces when they realize they have been forgiven.  A weight is lifted from them and they are made free. I saw this happen right before my eyes many times and you know straight away that this is the healing power of God at work. 

 

The greatest healing ministry of the Church is the forgiveness of sins. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus was about the forgiveness of sins. In each mass at the consecration the priest holds up the chalice and says, ‘This is the cup of my blood, which will be poured out for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins.’  The mass is all about the forgiveness of sins, because at each mass we are at the event of Calvary when Jesus was killed. This was all done so that our sins could be forgiven. That is why the mass is so powerful and that is why we pray for everyone and everything in each mass. God the Son is offered to God the Father, so that sins may be forgiven.

 

Because of the way we are made with body and spirit we need concrete ways of relating to each other and we need concrete ways of being able to understand God. That is one of the reasons why Jesus gives us his body and blood in the form of bread and wine. They are things we can see and touch and taste. We can relate to them. When it comes to the forgiveness of sins Jesus has given us the gift of confession. Through confession we have a definite way of being able to confess our sins to another person in total secrecy and so to be healed. Confession is an extraordinary gift of healing which the Lord offers us, because He knows how much we need it.  It’s not just about confessing everything so that we can be good enough for God, because we can never be good enough for God.  This is a gift that God has given us for our benefit, so that we can be healed and not be dragging around the mistakes of our past with us. The Lord wants us to be free and to be able to enjoy our lives and this is one of the wonderful ways that the Lord has done this.

 

‘But why can’t I just tell God I’m sorry myself?’ Well you can if you want to and I’m sure that the Lord forgives us when we do that, but God knows that in our humanity we have a psychological need to confess to another person. If you don’t believe me listen to the TV and radio shows where you find people ‘confessing’ their sins to the whole world every day.  We have a need to confess, because that is what helps us to heal. It is also an act of humility to come before God in confession and confess and that is what the Lord has asked us to do; to go to one of his priests, whom He has anointed, to confess and receive his grace.

 

Jesus said to his Apostles, ‘‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:21–23).  Jesus was saying that He would be working in and through them, since it is only God who forgives sins, but the Lord made it in such a way that He would offer his forgiveness through his priests. That is why we have the gift of confession. It is meant to be a gift, not a burden, but Satan is quick to convince us that we don’t need it; that we can go to God ourselves. Why should we have to confess to a priest when he is just a sinner too? Of course priests are sinners like anyone else, but this is the gift that God has given us through the priesthood, in order to help us, to heal us and to help us be free. If the Lord has given us this gift, who are we to say we don’t need it?

 

The most important thing about confession is the very act of going there in sincerity and confessing whatever you can remember. It is a way of saying, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner. This is all I can remember.’ The very act of doing that is a beautiful thing. Just telling God I am sorry myself, does not show any humility and it is just convenient for us. Taking the time and going out of the way to confess is an act of humility and the only way we can every come before God is in humility is knowing that He is everything and we are nothing.

 

Many people carry burdens of sins from the past that they have not been able to confess because of guilt or shame. Remember God never shames us. That’s what Satan does. Jesus called him ‘the accuser’ and that’s what he does. The Lord is always the one to help us back on our feet and that is what confession is about. The Lord is giving us his reassurance and grace to begin again.

 

People continually ask me why past sins keep coming up in their mind, even after they have been confessed. That is because when we sin, it does damage and leaves scars. Those scars remain as memories. So just as when you see a scar on your arm you remember the wound, although it is now healed, in the same way we see the scars of our past sins, which remain as memories. When they come to mind, that is the time to thank God for his mercy, rather than wondering are they really forgiven.

 

Not long ago I told you the story of Marino Restreppo, the Hollywood producer who had been very successful, but was living a very sinful and ungodly life. Then one day while visiting his home in Columbia he was captured by FARC rebels and held in the jungle for six months. One night during this terrible ordeal, he had an illumination of conscience. God showed him everything that had happened in his life and all the sins he had committed. It went on for about eight hours. He knew that if he had died at that moment he would have gone to hell, because he had totally rejected God by the way he was living. But what I thought was especially interesting was that at the end of this experience, which completely changed him, he knew he had to go to confession. Even though he knew he had been forgiven, he also knew that he had to confess to a priest.

 

The Lord has given us confession for a reason and He wants us to use it. Of all the things you do during Lent, nothing could be more important than going to confession. And if you still find yourself thinking that you don’t need to go to a priest, because you can tell God you are sorry yourself, ask yourself one question. Who told you that, because it did not come from God. Who else would want you to stay away from confession, where you receive God’s grace? Satan knows how powerful it is and that’s why he tries to convince us that we don’t need it.

 

The greatest healing ministry of the Church is the forgiveness of sins.