Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ ‘Corpus Christi’ (Luke 19:11b-17)

 

 

Sometimes when I think of some of the different things that people of different faiths believe, and how strange they seem to me, it also makes me think of the Eucharist. For those who do not believe as we do, it must seem like the craziest notion of all; that God makes himself present through the hands of a priest, in a tiny piece of bread and some wine. What could be more bizarre than that? And we don’t just believe that it is a reminder of Jesus or that it represents Jesus, but that it really and truly is the body and blood of Christ. I also think that it is a teaching so extreme that only God could come up with it and get away with it, so to speak. What human being would try to convince others that a piece of bread actually becomes the body of Christ when a priest says certain prayers over it?

 

To help us believe, the Lord has also given a great number of Eucharistic miracles, to date 107 all over the world. And with modern technology many have been studied by scientists and it has always shown that is the real flesh and blood of a man’s heart.

 

The first time that Jesus gave the people this teaching—“Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you cannot have life within you”—it says that many of the people who had followed him up to that point left him. They said “This is madness. Who could accept it?” It is interesting how Jesus responded to them. He didn’t say anything. He just let them walk away. He then turned to the disciples and said, “What about you, are you going to go away too?” In other words, “This is my teaching. Take it or leave it.”

 

In his first letter to the Christians in Corinth (1 Cor 11:23-26)—which is the oldest account of the mass that we have, written about 54 or 55AD—St. Paul says, “This is what I received from the Lord and in turn passed on to you…” He doesn’t say that he received it from the other Apostles, but from the Lord himself. Jesus, as you probably remember, appeared to St. Paul while he was persecuting Christians and the event turned his life around. Jesus appeared to him several other times as well and Paul was so affected by what happened to him that he dedicated the rest of his life to preaching about this man Jesus, but the line that always strikes me is where he says, “This is what I received from the Lord…” He is saying, “I didn’t make this up and neither did any other person. Jesus himself taught us this and taught us to do this in his memory.” So, every time an ordained priest says the words of consecration at mass, “This is my Body… This is the chalice of my Blood…” Jesus becomes present in the form of bread and wine. How are we supposed to understand this?  We aren’t!  I do not understand it at all, but I believe it. That is why we are meant to fast for an hour before receiving Holy Communion and why we don’t eat or smoke in the church, to remind us that this is something unlike anything else in the world. It is also a beautiful sign of how close God is to us, that He would continually come to us in the middle of our lives, each week, each day, to help and encourage us. He comes to us as we are, not as we should be, but as we are. It is also God himself who makes it possible to receive him, because we could never be ready or worthy enough to even come close to the divine presence, not to mention receive him. That is also why we always say the prayer: “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed” (just as the Roman soldier said when Jesus offered to come to his house to heal his servant).

 

St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)

There are two extremes that I come across with regard to the Eucharist. One is where someone will say to me, “Father, I don’t receive the Eucharist because I really am not worthy enough.” Correct! No one is worthy enough, nor ever could be, but since the Lord himself is happy to come to us this way, we should not be afraid to receive him. The other extreme is where people feel they have a ‘right’ to receive the Eucharist without any kind of repentance, or need to confess their sins, or change a lifestyle that is sinful. That is also wrong. There is no question of this being a ‘right’ on our part. The Eucharist is pure gift from God and for our part we must try to approach it as worthily as we can, especially by confessing our sins every so often. But the most important thing to remember is that Jesus wants to give himself to us, and so we should not be afraid to come to him. Remember that ultimately it is God himself who makes it possible for us to receive him. “Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

 

St. Paul also warns us to be careful not to receive unworthily, or we will bring condemnation on ourselves.

Each person must examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. Anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks condemnation on himself. That is why many among you are weak and sick and some have fallen asleep (1 Cor 11:28-30).

 

If we are living in any way that is not in line with God’s teachings, we need to address it. Several years ago, after I spoke about this, a couple came to me who were 48 years married. They said they had both been previously married, but never got an annulment, so they were never married in the Church. They realized that since they wanted to receive Communion, they really needed to put this right. So, after 48 years, they both applied for annulments, got them and were then married here in the church. I found that so inspiring. And that is the right approach. If you find yourself in a second union, without having got an annulment, then you should try and put it right. Come and talk to me and I will help you sort it out. All of us need to make every effort to do what the Lord asks.

 

Margaret Clithero: Martyr for the Eucharist

In the late 1500s there lived a woman named Margaret Clithero in the town of York in England. She was a convert to Catholicism at a time when it was against the law to be a Catholic. Priests used to come to her disguised as cloth sellers, bringing her the Eucharist and she would hide them. She never saw mass in a public church or heard a Catholic hymn being sung even though she lived next to York Minster Cathedral. It was an Anglican (Episcopal) church at the time.

 

She was eventually found out and she was dragged from the butcher shop where she worked and brought before magistrates and ordered to plead guilty or not guilty, so that she could go on trial. She refused as she didn’t want her innocent blood to be on the head of twelve jurors. She said, “If you want to condemn me, condemn me yourself.” The judge said, “Because you are a woman I will let you go free, but you must promise never to hide these priests again.” He then handed her the bible and told her to swear on it.  So she took the bible in open court and held it up in the air and said, “I swear by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if you let me go free, I will hide priests again, because they are the only ones who can bring us the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

York Minster Cathedral, Enland

So just over 400 years ago, she was brought to St. Michael’s bridge in York and given the punishment, worse than being hung, drawn and quartered. It was called in English law, ‘the punishment most severe’. She was pressed to death under heavy weights. It was to take three days and she was to receive only a little muddy water to drink to keep her alive. The executioner was bribed and he put a stone under her head so that she died within an hour as her neck was broken. She was the mother of eight children, and some of them were there when she was executed.

 

In the little chapel that is there to her memory in York today, there is an inscription over the door, which is a message for our times. It says ‘She died for the mass.’

 

So the next time that you find yourself bored with the mass, or just not too bothered to go because you are tired, think of her and think of the many priests and men and women who have been executed for carrying the Eucharist or for saying mass. God has given us an extraordinary treasure in the Eucharist. May He give us new eyes to see what is here before us.

“I swear by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if you let me go free, I will hide priests again, because they are the only ones who can bring us the body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” – St. Margaret Clithero.

 

Eucharistic Miracle in Buenos Aires

At seven o’clock in the evening on August 18, 1996, Fr. Alejandro Pezet was saying Holy Mass at a Catholic church in the commercial center of Buenos Aires. As he was finishing distributing Holy Communion, a woman came up to tell him that she had found a discarded host on a candleholder at the back of the church. On going to the spot indicated, Fr. Alejandro saw the defiled Host. Since he was unable to consume it, he placed it in a container of water and put it away in the tabernacle of the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.

On Monday, August 26, upon opening the tabernacle, he saw to his amazement that the Host had turned into a bloody substance. He informed Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (Auxiliary Bishop at that time, now Pope Francis), who gave instructions that the Host be professionally photographed. The photos were taken on September 6. They clearly show that the Host, which had become a fragment of bloodied flesh, had grown significantly in size. For three years the Host remained in the tabernacle, the whole affair being kept a strict secret. Since the Host suffered no visible decomposition, Cardinal Bergoglio decided to have it scientifically analyzed.

On October 5, 1999, in the presence of the Cardinal’s representatives, Dr. Castanon took a sample of the bloody fragment and sent it to New York for analysis. Since he did not wish to prejudice the study, he purposely did not inform the team of scientists of its provenance. One of these scientists was Dr. Frederic Zugiba, the well-known cardiologist and forensic pathologist. He determined that the analyzed substance was real flesh and blood containing human DNA. Zugiba testified that, “the analyzed material is a fragment of the heart muscle found in the wall of the left ventricle close to the valves. This muscle is responsible for the contraction of the heart. It should be borne in mind that the left cardiac ventricle pumps blood to all parts of the body. The heart muscle is in an inflammatory condition and contains a large number of white blood cells. This indicates that the heart was alive at the time the sample was taken. It is my contention that the heart was alive, since white blood cells die outside a living organism. They require a living organism to sustain them. Thus, their presence indicates that the heart was alive when the sample was taken. What is more, these white blood cells had penetrated the tissue, which further indicates that the heart had been under severe stress, as if the owner had been beaten severely about the chest.”

Two Australians, journalist Mike Willesee and lawyer Ron Tesoriero, witnessed these tests. Knowing where sample had come from, they were dumbfounded by Dr. Zugiba’s testimony. Mike Willesee asked the scientist how long the white blood cells would have remained alive if they had come from a piece of human tissue, which had been kept in water. They would have ceased to exist in a matter of minutes, Dr. Zugiba replied. The journalist then told the doctor that the source of the sample had first been kept in ordinary water for a month and then for another three years in a container of distilled water; only then had the sample been taken for analysis. Dr. Zugiba’s was at a loss to account for this fact. There was no way of explaining it scientifically, he stated. Only then did Mike Willesee inform Dr. Zugiba that the analyzed sample came from a consecrated Host (white, unleavened bread) that had mysteriously turned into bloody human flesh. Amazed by this information, Dr. Zugiba replied, “How and why a consecrated Host would change its character and become living human flesh and blood will remain an inexplicable mystery to science—a mystery totally beyond her competence.”

Dr. Frederick Zugiba, who analysed the bloodied Host

Only faith in the extraordinary action of a God provides the reasonable answer—faith in a God, who wants to make us aware that He is truly present in the mystery of the Eucharist.

The Eucharistic miracle in Buenos Aires is an extraordinary sign attested to by science. Through it Jesus desires to arouse in us a lively faith in His real presence in the Eucharist. He reminds us that His presence is real, and not symbolic. Only with the eyes of faith do we see Him under appearance of the consecrated bread and wine. We do not see Him with our bodily eyes, since He is present in His glorified humanity. In the Eucharist Jesus sees and loves us and desires to save us.

In collaboration with Ron Tesoriero, Mike Willesee, one of Australia’s best-known journalists (he converted to Catholicism after working on the documents of another Eucharistic miracle) wrote a book entitled Reason to Believe. In it they present documented facts of Eucharistic miracles and other signs calling people to faith in Christ who abides and teaches in the Catholic Church. They have also made a documentary film on the Eucharist—based largely on the scientific discoveries associated with the miraculous Host in Buenos Aires. Their aim was to give a clear presentation of the Catholic Church’s teaching on the subject of the Eucharist. They screened the film in numerous Australian cities. The showing at Adelaide drew a crowd of two thousand viewers. During the commentary and question period that followed a visibly moved man stood up announcing that he was blind. Having learned that this was an exceptional film, he had very much wanted to see it. Just before the screening, he prayed fervently to Jesus for the grace to see the film. At once his sight was restored to him, but only for the thirty-minute duration of the film. Upon its conclusion, he again lost the ability to see. He confirmed this by describing in minute detail certain scenes of the film. It was an incredible event that moved those present to the core of their being.

 

 

 

 

Feast of the Holy Trinity (Gospel: John 16:12-15) Made in God’s image

 

One thing that all of us have in common, is the search for happiness. Everyone wants to find happiness. We may have very different ideas as to what happiness is, but all of us are searching for it. God shows us exactly where to find it and how to get there, but we are not always convinced. One of the consequences of Original Sin, was that we were no longer in communion with God the way He intended for us. It’s says right after the Fall, that Adam and Eve hid from God. They had not done that before. They were suddenly afraid of him. And this has passed on to us. We are not always convinced that what God teaches us is true, that He really has our best interests at heart. If we were, we would try and live his commandments as carefully as possible, since they are the path to our happiness.

If I asked how many of you here want to be rich, probably everyone would say yes, because we are convinced that we will have happiness if we have enough money. Our problems will go away, but they won’t. In fact, Jesus says ‘How hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Why would it be harder to enter heaven if you are rich? Because our wealth can be a distraction. We can become immersed in material things, forgetting about what is truly important and it doesn’t have to be great wealth either. Being obsessed with getting enough money is just as bad, but Jesus taught the opposite. He said, ‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.’ (Luke 18:25; John 3:3).  The ‘eye of a needle’ was a metaphor for a very narrow opening. The kingdom of heaven is where we will find happiness and ironically wealth often becomes an obstacle to it, because it distracts us from what is really important. Instead of spending our life growing closer to God, we are focused on material wealth and forget about him. Just recently a man told me that he realized he had spent his whole life working hard to make enough money, but in the process he alienated himself from his family. He realized he would have been far better off to earn less and spend more time with his family.

Many times I have heard people who have worked in third world countries say, that it is always in the poorest countries that people have the greatest joy, even where there is terrible injustice. It is in first world countries where you will find the greatest anger, depression and despair. Why is that? Because in the poorest countries they are not distracted by wealth and they realize that they will only find happiness in God, beginning in this life and fulfilled in the next.

When Our Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes in 1858, she said to her ‘I cannot promise you happiness in this life, but in the next.’ If we understand this, we will begin to find peace, because we won’t be expecting to find complete happiness here. We will only have complete fulfillment in the world to come, because we will only find our fulfillment in God.

The wonderful thing is that God has created us for happiness. The Holy Trinity was perfectly fulfilled in every way before He created us, but God wanted to share that happiness. So, God created us to be able to share in his happiness and total fulfillment, which we will experience, if we remain open to God. Think of times in your life when you were happy: birthdays, weddings, the birth of a child, graduations. Our instinct is to share it, to celebrate it with others. So we invite others to share in our happiness and we have a party. That is why God created us, because He wanted us to share in his happiness and that is what awaits us unless we reject it. Why would someone reject it? Because we think we know better and refuse to listen to what God teaches us and commands us to do. The death and resurrection of Jesus reopened the possibility of heaven, which we had lost because of Original Sin. Now it is offered to us, but we still have to choose it.

How is it that nearly all of us want peace and happiness, but our world is full of war and hatred? We want equality, but we are continually faced with discrimination. The reason is because there is a war going on that we cannot see, but it is mentioned many times in Scripture. Satan rejected God and hates us, because we are God’s creation. He wants to take everything away from God, especially us, his children, purely out of hatred for God. The only reason Satan takes any interest in us, is to get at God.

 In the book of Genesis, after the fall of Adam and Eve, God said,

I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. She will crush your head, and you will strike her heel (Gen 3:15).

And it says in the book of Revelation:

And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.’ (Rev 12:17).

The woman is Our Lady, the Mother of all God’s children. At the crucifixion, Jesus said to saint John—who is the model disciple and represents all of us who follow God— ‘Behold your mother.’ And to Mary, ‘Behold your son.’ (John 19:25). He gave us his mother as our heavenly mother. That is why she has continued to appear many times throughout the world, because she cares about her children and wants to make sure we remain on the right path. The very fact that she has appeared at all means that we have strayed from the right path and we are putting ourselves in danger.

If you think of evil people in the world. If they want to cause pain to someone, they will try and harm whatever is dearest to them. What is abortion, except that? Satan destroys God’s children from their beginning. That is what is behind abortion. Satan has convinced us that it is a good thing, so that we needn’t be inconvenienced. But think of the words of consecration at the mass: ‘This is my Body, which will be given up for you.’ Think of what abortion says: ‘This is my body and it will not be given up for you.’ It is the opposite of the mass. That’s how you know what is behind it. There is no species on the planet that kills its own young.

So we are in the middle of a war, a spiritual war, where Satan wants to take us away from God in any way possible. St. Paul puts it this way:

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph 6:12).

How did he know that? Because Jesus taught them all these things. I have no doubt that between the time of the resurrection and the ascension into heaven, these were some of the things that God was teaching the Apostles. He was piecing it all together for them. That is why God inspired them to write it down and why we have it in the Scriptures, the word of God.

What is the casting out of demons, except taking back God’s children? How do you destroy an enemy? Divide and conquer: turn them against each other. Look at what is happening in our world right now. We are turned against each other and killing each other, often for no particular reason. This is because we are in the middle of a much bigger war than we can see, when people turn their back on God and on God’s teachings, they lose their way and are open to every kind of suggestion.

But as always, God gives us all the tools we need to fight back. He shows us that living the Commandments and the teachings of Christ is what keeps us safe. If we listen to what God says to us, then we will not get distracted from the path to our happiness. If we live by the word of God, then we will remember what is important and we will see through the lies that we are constantly being told: ‘Abortion and Euthanasia are good for society. You should be able to do whatever you want.’ That was the lie told to Adam and Eve, which they fell for. ‘You don’t need to listen to God.’ Notice in the Gospel where Jesus said to the Apostles, ‘Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all I have commanded you.’

God has created us to share in his happiness, but He will not force us to accept it. I’m often amazed at the amount of parents who tell me in great distress about one of their children who has rejected them. They cannot understand why. They did everything they could for their children and then their children turned their back on them. Sadly, it happens quite often. We can also do this with God. God offers us everything and gives us everything, but we can still reject him and people do.

I think that must have been one of the most difficult sufferings in the life of Jesus, knowing that some people would still reject him, in spite of the terrible sufferings He was going to go through. His death and resurrection re-opened the way to heaven for us, but we can still reject it.

God so loved the world that He gave his only Son,

So that all who believe in him might not perish,

but might have eternal life (John 3:16).

 

 

 

Pentecost Sunday. 'The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything.'

 

 

In 1999, in preparation for the second millennium, Pope John Paul II invited representatives from 54 different groups around the world to come to Rome. These groups were started over the last several decades and were all started by lay people, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To give you an example, some of the groups were, the Focolare movement, Marriage Encounter, Cenacolo, Charismatic Renewal, Cursillo. All of these different movements within the Church have been started by lay people and are really about different ways of living out the Gospel in daily life. These movements have been so fruitful, that most of them have spread all over the world. For that meeting in Rome, there were 400,000 people present representing these 54 different movements. This event was a celebration of what God is doing all over the world. 

 

It is good to hear about these things every so often, because it would be easy to get the impression that the Church is dying, or that religion is on its way out. We won’t hear about this sort of thing on the TV, or in the papers, but it is happening all around us.

 

Just to give you an example closer to home of the power of God’s Spirit working among us. For many years I was part of a prayer group of young people in Galway, started by a young lay woman. From that group there are currently four people in religious life (two contemplative sisters and two priests), and there are about twenty married couples, but more importantly it has helped many people come back to their faith and grow in their faith. Most of the group are now in their 50s but they are people who are really trying to live out the Gospel in their daily lives. It was thanks to that group that I came back to my own faith, because I had also drifted away, and then later I became a priest. That is the power of God’s Holy Spirit at work, and praise God for it.

 

God doesn’t wait until we are ready. God acts when the time is right. He doesn’t wait for the hierarchy of his Church to decide what to do. I don’t mean that they are not important, because they are, but think of the times that Peter and Paul came to pray with people and before they had even started, the Holy Spirit came down on the people. The Lord sends his Spirit to inspire and move people to step out in faith and live the Gospel, and they in turn move others, until soon the people are alive with faith again. In the Gospels Jesus says to the Pharisees, ‘The kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit’ (Matthew 21:43). God doesn’t wait until we are ready. God inspires people to act when the time is right and that’s why new movements and religious orders keep springing up.

 

One time when I was working in a hospital in Ireland, I came into one area where I was going to visit patients who were newly admitted. One of the nurses told me that a man had been admitted who had taken an overdose of poison and was going to die. She said that he probably wouldn’t be too receptive to me. I decided to visit him anyway and prayed to God for guidance. When I got to the door of his room, which was open, I could see a young man by his bedside, who turned out to be his son. I stood at the door and I just said, ‘I heard what happened and I’m sorry. Do you regret it?’ The man said that he did regret it. As soon as he said that, I felt this strong prompting inside me saying, ‘That is a confession, so don’t ask for one.’ I really felt that was the Spirit speaking to me. I asked the man if he would like to talk, but he emphatically said that he did not want to make a confession. I told him that he didn’t have to. I spoke to him for a few minutes and he told me that on the spur of the moment he had taken a drink of a weed killer called Paraquot. The doctors told me that they could do nothing and that this would just burn through his insides and kill him. He now had to face his family. I asked him if he would like me to anoint him, give him last rites. Again he said that he didn’t want to make a confession. I told him that it wasn’t necessary and that the anointing included the forgiveness of his sins. And so I anointed him and left. He died a few days later.

 

Some weeks later a friend of mine was talking about a man in hospital who had taken an overdose of poison. He had refused to see two priests, but eventually he did see a priest, was anointed and died peacefully. It was the same man, but my friend didn’t realise I was the third priest. If I had known that he had refused to see two other priests, I probably would not have gone to him. But the Lord sent me to that man, he made his peace with God and died reconciled. That was the power of the Holy Spirit guiding me to him, just as we read of the Apostles being guided to different people.

 

Another time I was in one of the hospitals here in Fort Myers. While I was in the elevator a young woman asked me if I was a priest. Then she asked me how I could get a priest to come and visit her husband. I offered to go right way and we went to his room. He had fallen and broken his back and was still unconscious. I asked her if she would like me to give him the sacrament of the sick (anointing). She awkwardly told me that they were not married in the Church. I told her that this wasn’t the time to worry about that and I anointed him. She was in tears and then asked me to bless her and her children which I did. That showed her that God was with her and looking out for her. What a privilege it is for me to be that instrument that God uses and this happens to me all the time.

 

Do you know what God’s Spirit is doing in the Church all over the world over the last few years? He is stripping it down so that it can become beautiful once again. Because of the scandals, He is removing all the prestige, power and respectability which we had come to depend on. We had become too powerful, too prestigious and it was causing us to wander away from what the Gospel is really about. The scandals have brought us to our knees and that is not a bad thing. God is, ironically, forcing us to turn back to depend on his Word and his Spirit and to get away from what we don’t need. God is rebuilding his Church because He loves us. When someone is sick with cancer, you remove the cancer so that the person becomes well again. When the Spirit’s work is finished the Church will be beautiful again. The Spirit is removing the cancer of sin and corruption, so that God’s Church can bear fruit again and God does this because He loves his Church.

 

Before he ascended into heaven Jesus told us that the Father would send us the ‘Helper, or Advocate’, who would be with us forever, and who would teach us everything. In Italian the word is avocato, which means attorney. He knew that we would need help and so He sent us the best help that we could have, his own Spirit, to guide us and teach us. And He does teach us constantly, through the example of people He inspires, through the Word of God, through prayer when we are open to him, in fact, through many ways we will never even be aware of.  But the Spirit is very gentle and that is why we don’t notice him sometimes.

 

Think of this: in each mass, nothing would happen when the priest prays over the bread and wine, if the Spirit didn’t come down and transform them into the Body and Blood of Christ. Sins would not be forgiven through the priests if the Spirit didn’t act, because it is the Spirit who takes away the sin, through the instrument of the priest. Baptism and Confirmation would be meaningless if the Spirit didn’t anoint the person receiving the sacrament; marriage and ordination would mean nothing, if the Holy Spirit didn’t act. Because of the presence of the Spirit, when a couple get married in the Church, God becomes involved in that marriage. It is no longer just the couple, but the couple with God helping them and blessing what they do. We wouldn’t know how to pray, or even feel the desire to pray except that the Spirit is prompting us continually. Our preaching would have no effect if the Spirit did not anoint the words we speak. In 1 Cor 12:3 St. Paul says, ‘No one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

 

Here is something that happens to me quite often. I preach a homily that I feel disappointed with, or that I thought I did not do well. Afterwards people come up and thank me for such a powerful message. That is the Holy Spirit and it is also God reminding me that it is his work, not mine. I do my part and prepare as best I can, but ultimately it is the power of God at work through me. That is also why it is so important for me to pray for the anointing of the Holy Spirit on the words I speak. God will speak to your heart if you are open. I think it is always good to ask God to help us to hear what He wants us to hear, every time you read the Scriptures, or listen to them at mass. God has plenty to say to us if we are willing to listen.

 

The gift of God’s own Spirit is really the greatest thing God can give to us after life itself, because when we have the Holy Spirit we have everything. It is also good to remember that the anointing of the Spirit does not depend on how brilliant, or learned we are. It simply depends on us being open to the Spirit. If you look at so many of the characters God used in the Bible, most of them were very insignificant people. God seems to delight in using ordinary and indeed ‘useless’ people, according to the world’s thinking; the kind of people the world casts aside as being irrelevant.

 

In the first book of Samuel, it says that Samuel was sent to Jesse’s house to anoint God’s chosen instrument who would be the next king of Israel. God tells Samuel He will show him whom to anoint. Samuel comes to Jesse’s house where there are seven sons. He looks at everyone in the household, starting with the eldest, but God did not choose any of them. Having seen all of the sons in the house, Samuel asks if there is anyone else. They tell him there is just the youngest who is out minding the sheep. He is the least important, who was not even considered, but he is the one God anoints and he turns out to be one of the greatest kings of Israel, king David. That tells us something. We don’t have to be great for God to use us, just open. The more we root ourselves in God’s life, through his Word and through the Eucharist, the more the Lord will use us.

 

Come Holy Spirit and fill the hearts of your faithful people,

send forth your Spirit and we will be created,

and you will renew the face of the earth.

 

The Ascension of the Lord into Heaven (Gospel: Luke 24: 46-63) 'He continued to appear to them and tell them about the Kingdom'

 

In my work as a priest, people often tell me about spiritual experiences they have had. Sometimes they are experiences of the Lord in some way, sometimes of someone who has died, asking for prayers, or something like that. A lot of people do in fact have spiritual experiences. However, often after a time, people begin to wonder whether they really did have these experiences, or was it all in their imagination. It is impossible to know and in one way it is not even important. Usually the experience will have helped them at that time and that was its purpose. Often the mistake people make is to try and figure out what it means and are they supposed to do something.

 

A man came to me early one Saturday morning. Initially I thought he was going to ask me for money, which is often the case, but in fact he wanted to go to confession. He told me that the previous night a friend of his who had died some time before, had appeared to him. He was obviously quite shaken by the experience and he realized that he needed to go to confession himself. It was a wake-up call for him.

 

Different spiritual experiences help us to be aware of just how real the spiritual world is, which we can become very skeptical of. We will say, ‘Yes, I believe in God, but don’t expect me to believe in angels, or the devil, or hell.’ Why are these any more extraordinary to believe in? If God is real, then the spiritual world is real. That means there is an awful lot we haven’t seen and don’t understand, but the Lord tells us that these things are real and so we should believe in them. Jesus often spoke about the reality of heaven, hell, Satan, angels, sin and so many other things and yet we doubt. It’s amazing how many people doubt the existence of hell, or Satan and yet Jesus often spoke about both. If they are not real, then the crucifixion was meaningless, because the whole point of the death and resurrection was to make it possible for us to be able to go to heaven, which means we could lose it, which means hell must be real. If we lose heaven, we are left with the opposite, which is hell.

 

In the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles—or the ‘adventures’ of the Apostles, as you might call them—Luke tells us how after Jesus rose from the dead, He continued to appear to the Apostles. Not just once, but many times. Why? No doubt to convince them that they had not imagined it. One thing that He did on at least two occasions was to eat something with them. The first time when he appeared to them in the room, they were all standing there speechless, and He said, ‘Do you have anything here to eat?’ So they gave him a piece of fish and He ate it in front of them. Then they knew it was not just a vision, but a real person, the same real person they had known before. It was not even food that He had brought with him, which could also have been part of a vision, but it was something they gave him and then they watched him chew it and swallow it. This was a beautiful and very human thing to do; something that we could completely relate to.  

 

Luke also says that he not only appeared to them, but He continued to tell them about ‘the Kingdom.’ What is ‘the Kingdom?’ He was telling them about the reality of heaven: life with God, which He has created us for; that it is real and that we could also lose it if we are foolish. There we will be reunited with the people we love and we will experience happiness there, in a way that we can not even begin to imagine now. He was probably also explaining to them what the purpose of his life on earth was, why He had to suffer and die the way He did, what all this meant for the human race; God’s plan for his people. Also He was teaching them how the Kingdom of heaven is where God’s will on earth is lived out. Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is among you/within you.’ (Luke 17:21). When we begin to live as God teaches us, his kingdom of heaven is established on earth. It is not one of political power, as the Apostles were expecting. It is one that starts inside the human heart. It will be fulfilled in heaven, but it begins on earth wherever people begin to live as God asks us to live.

I'm sure He also told them that He had a lot of work for them to do and that they must remember that their life here on earth was a time of service and not to worry if things were not easy, because when their work here was done He would bring them home to be with him again. What awaited them would be worth all the struggles they had to go through. What awaits us is worth all the difficulties we have to go through.  

Notice too, how they still didn’t understand about the kingdom of God/heaven, even though Jesus had risen from the dead. It says that they asked Jesus, ‘Now are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ It was only after they received the gift of the Holy Spirit that they began to see the bigger picture. Until then they were still thinking in earthly terms, political power, Israel being dominant.

 

Why were they suddenly able to go out and start preaching to everyone about a man that most people had never heard of and not only preach about him for a while, but for the rest of their lives with passion? Almost  all of them ended up being martyred, but they didn’t care, because they knew that the only thing that was important was to be faithful to the Lord Jesus, as best they could.

 

Why am I telling you all this? Because the same thing exactly applies to us. The Apostles were real people and these are real experiences that we are reading about. Our life on earth is just as short as theirs was and it is also a time of service, just as theirs was. For many of you it will be served by looking after your families and the people you work with. For priests and Religious it will be in a different way, but that is why we are here, to learn to love, to serve, to freely choose for or against God.

 

We are living in a time when people are very cynical and skeptical about religion and they point to the scandals within the Church as being ‘proof’ of just how hypocritical the whole thing is. We must not let that put us off. It has always been difficult to believe and probably always will be, but we ask the Lord himself to help us to persevere and not become negative, or cynical. In this Gospel it says that when Jesus appeared to them and was about to ascend to heaven, they worshipped, ‘but some doubted.’ Even with all they had seen, some of them still had doubts. It is normal to have doubts, but that is why we keep feeding ourselves with the things that will keep us close to God. If we fill our minds with only earthly things—think of all that you watch on TV—then the things of heaven can seem to be unreal. I have often noticed in Hollywood movies, if the hero or heroine is asked if they believe in God, they will nearly always say no. What does that tell you about Hollywood? It is saying that only foolish people believe in God.

 

If we truly believe that what awaits us is worth the sacrifice of anything, then it doesn’t really matter what happens to us in this life. It is only temporary. And when our time here is complete God will come and bring us home. I have no doubt that this is probably what Jesus was telling the Apostles about for those forty days. He wanted them to have no doubt about why they were here, so that we also could have a good understanding of our purpose here, through their teaching.

 

God has given us every possible help that we could ask for. If it seems too difficult it is only because we are not using the help that He has given us. What help? Above all, the Eucharist, which is the gift of Jesus himself; not a symbol, but really and truly the Body and Blood of Jesus. Also, his own words in the Scriptures; confession, etc. It is all there waiting for us. The clearer the picture we have in our own head as to what our life is about, the easier it is to keep going. That is also why we needn’t be afraid of anything in this world. If we offer ourselves to God, then why should we be afraid? All things are in his hands.

 

It often surprises me how fearful people are of death. So often I hear from people who are very sick, ‘At least I am still here.’ If we truly believe in heaven, why would we be afraid of death? Death is just the doorway to what we all long for. What awaits us is only joy. This is what Jesus taught the Apostles to pass on to us. If we have that hope, it changes everything that we face on earth.

 

May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened,

that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call.

 

 

Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C (Gospel: John 14:23-29) If anyone loves me he will keep my word

 

Think for a moment of someone who means a lot to you, someone you really love. It might be your husband or wife, it might be a very good friend. When you love someone you will do things that they ask you, because you love them. They may ask you for a favor which doesn’t really suit you, but you will probably do it anyway because you love them. Trying to please them is a way of showing that you love them.

 

Our relationship with the Lord works the same way. We follow the way of life that He taught us, because we love him. We try to keep his Commandments, because we love him and we believe in what He has taught us. Trying to follow his teaching is how we show God that we love him and not just because we love him, but also because we believe what God teaches us gives us life. The path that He shows us is the one that will help us the most and lead us to the greatest happiness.

 

Because of what we call Original Sin, we do not enjoy the harmony within ourselves that God originally intended for us. There is a struggle going on within us and one of the effects of that, is that we don’t always see things as clearly as we should. We often find it difficult to choose even what we know is right. We are often suspicious of God and his teachings. After Adam and Eve’s rejection of God, it says they were afraid and they hid from God. They had never done that before. They were no longer convinced of his goodness.

 

We are not always convinced that God is trying to help us, or that God has our best interests at heart. Think for a moment of times when you see some situation of terrible suffering on the news, a natural disaster, or with someone you know, and you find yourself saying, ‘How can God allow this to happen?’ as though God were to blame. You hear that so often. We often see his Commandments as a burden, instead of a plan, or pathway, that will lead us to him, in whom is our full happiness. We are not always convinced that God is good and indeed that is one of the most common arguments that people give to deny the existence of God: ‘If God is good and all-powerful, He would not allow the suffering that we see and experience.’ If we choose to do evil, others will suffer. If God stopped us each time we were going to cause suffering, we would not have free will.

 

The Jewish people, were chosen by God to make him known to the world. Over hundreds of years, God formed a people, made himself known to them, gave them his law and showed them that God is a moral God, who loves us, who is interested in us, who created us to share in his happiness and who will hold us accountable for our actions. That understanding of God was unique for ancient times. In ancient times the general understanding of the gods, was that they were not particularly interested in us. When the Jewish people began to present their understanding of God as One interested in us and who loves us, it was unique.

 

God gave us the Commandments, to guide us and help us, but they are Commandments, not suggestions. In the Old Testament, when God gave the law to Moses, He said to the people,

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give them…” (Deut 30:19 ff)

 

There is a tendency today, to believe that we can just pick the parts of our faith that suit us and ignore the other ones. I’ve often heard people saying, ‘God will understand,’ or, ‘I’m sure God doesn’t mind’. But why would God give us commandments if He doesn’t mind? Nowhere in Scripture does it say that God doesn’t mind. In fact it says the exact opposite. ‘If you love me, you will keep my Commandments.’ That is also why there is so much controversy with some of our politicians who say that they are Catholic, but who not only refuse to keep some of the Commandments, but who actively work against them. That is a contradiction. It is saying, ‘I love you Lord, but I will not keep your Commandments.’

 

Much of what we see on TV is telling us that God’s Commandments are not necessary and that much of what goes against his Commandments is quite normal. And if we are told something often enough, we will begin to believe it. That’s how advertising works. If you keep repeating the message it will stick.  It is de-sensitizing us to sin and to what is wrong. Many movies today show life-styles that go against many if not all of God’s commandments, and we watch them as entertainment. Maybe we should ask ourselves is it right for me to watch a movie that we know is going against God’s commandments?

 

Now to go back to the words of Christ: ‘If you love me, you will keep my words.’  And then He says, ‘Peace I leave you, my own peace I give you.’ Peace is what follows when we live his words. We receive peace, a deep peace which is the assurance of God’s presence, even when we are struggling. The Lord knows how much we struggle to live by his teaching. Everyone who tries to live it struggles, but the Lord is telling us not to be afraid of the struggle, because it is the path that leads to heaven, the only path worth following.

 

A lot of the chaos we see going on around us at this time, is the effect of people turning away from God. We see more and more anger, hatred, rage, even just on the roads. It is disproportionate. When people turn away from God, who is our only happiness, then they look for fulfilment in the world, where they will never find it. And so they become more and more frustrated and angry, because nothing earthly satisfies. They are not at peace and that anger and hostility spreads. Sadly that is also one reason why suicide is so common, especially among young people. Many do not have God, so when the world does not offer comfort and strength for the difficult things that we face, then people feel they have nowhere to turn and often despair. The very rules that we rebel against, such as the Commandments, are actually what will bring us peace.

 

‘Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. Not as the world gives, do I give it to you.’ Knowing that we are loved by God, that we have a purpose in being here and that there is something wonderful that awaits us after death, that gives us peace. When we have that inner strength, we are more at peace, because we know what we are about and that peace comes from living God’s Commandments.

 

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.’

 

 

5th Sunday of Easter. The Events of Fatima (Gospel Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35)

 

Fatima, Portugal.

This past Friday 13^th was the anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, where three young children—Francisco Marto aged 9, Jacinta Marto aged 7 (brother and sister) and their cousin Lucia dos Santos aged 10—witnessed six apparitions of Our Lady. The year before, the archangel Michael appeared to them to prepare them for Our Lady’s visit. Then on May 13^th 1917, Our Lady appeared to them for the first time. She would appear to them on the 13^th of each month until October.

 

Our Lady told Francisco and Jacinta that they would die young, but first they were asked to pray much and suffer much for the conversion of sinners. Francisco died two years later aged 11 and Jacinta the following year aged 8. Lucia eventually became a Carmelite nun where she spent the rest of her life. Our Lady told the children that there would only be peace if her requests were heeded. She asked that people would pray the rosary daily, wear the brown scapular and that Russia would be consecrated to her. She told them that war was a punishment for sin and that only through prayer and penance could war be avoided. She also said that if Russia wasn’t converted it would continue to spread its errors (Communism and atheism) throughout the world. What became known as the three ‘secrets’ of Fatima were also given to the children. The first was a vision of Hell, the second was a prophecy of WW II and the third remained secret but was believed to have to do with the sufferings of the Church and the pope.

 

Why did Our Lady show young children a vision of hell? Probably to make us realize that it is real, that we can lose heaven and that our actions do have consequences. We will be accountable for the way we live. Does that mean that we should be afraid? No, but we must take our time on earth seriously. The Lord promises us that the smallest effort on our part to repent, is enough to win his infinite mercy.

 

Lucia, Franceso and Jacinta

Francisco, just 9, wanted to go with Our Lady to heaven, but she said that he wasn’t ready, as he needed to pray much for sinners, so that he wouldn’t come before God with empty hands. In other words, he needed to do many good deeds first.

 

One thing that Our Lady said to the children always stays with me. She said, ‘If men knew what heaven was like, they would do everything to change their ways.’

 

On the last day of the apparitions, October 13^th, the people who came to the place of the apparition witnessed the miracle of the sun, which Our Lady had said would happen to help the people believe. It was raining heavily but then suddenly the rain stopped, the sun came out and many people saw the sun ‘dancing’ or spinning, with many different colors coming from it and finally the sun seemed to be careering towards the earth, but then stopped. When the miracle ended, everyone found themselves completely dry. It is believed that approximately 70,000 people witnessed this miracle. The miracle of the sun was granted to them to help the people believe in the reality of the apparitions.

 

Apart from the fact that it is an interesting story, what has this got to do with us today? Like so many other aspects of our faith it has everything to do with us. If God the Father sends Our Lady to us, there must be a serious reason for it. Our Lady has also appeared in many other parts of the world, especially over the last century and the message is always more or less the same. It is never about her, it is always her pointing us back to God. She tells us that the world is living as though God does not exist and that if we continue to live that way we will destroy ourselves. If we ignore God and his teachings, our society falls apart, because we cannot live without God and we need his Commandments and guidance to live as He calls us to live. She says that we need to pray, to repent, to go to confession, to receive the Eucharist and to read the Bible.

We just have to listen to the news to see what happens when we try to live without God. Greed, corruption, desire for power, all lead to misery and war. She said that war was a punishment for sin, which we brought on ourselves. God shows us the way, but if we ignore it we bring suffering on ourselves.

 

The apparitions happened during the first world war. Our Lady said that that war would soon end, but that if people didn’t heed her warnings, a worse war would follow, and it did: the Second World War. It is estimated that over 50 million people died in WWII.

 

The message is the exact same for us today. The world is living as though God does not exist. The solution to it, is to repent and turn back to God. And yes, we are here in church because we believe, but we must also pray for those who do not believe, so that they may not be lost. What happens to us on earth is often painful. We go through all kinds of trials and suffering, but what will happen to us when we die is for all eternity. The most important thing we can pray for is the conversion of sinners. It may sound a bit cliched, but it is not. We don’t want any of our family or friends to be lost. Therefore we must pray and fast and do penance for them.

 

In the Old Testament Moses said to the people:

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give them…” (Deut 30:19 ff)

 

We are offered the same choice today and the consequences are just as serious. If we want the world to be a better place for us and our children, then we must begin with ourselves. Sorting out the world’s problems is not where we start. We start with ourselves by obeying the Lord’s commandments; by repentance and prayer and keeping God at the center. That is what changes the world.

 

Our time on earth is the time of sacrifice, of love and service. We will struggle until the day we are brought home to heaven, but we need to remind ourselves that it is not all about us, but about loving and serving the people around us.

 

The truth is that we don’t take sin and repentance seriously enough. If unrepentant sin is the one thing that could cause us to lose our greatest happiness, which is life with God when we die, then we need to take it very seriously. God gives us all the tools that we need, the Eucharist, the priesthood to give us the Eucharist and the forgiveness of sins, but we must choose to use them.

 

If you think back on your time in school: at the time it probably seemed long, but now it is already in the distant past and seems unimportant. Our life on earth is something similar. Now it often seems long and difficult, but soon our time on earth will be over and then it will seem remarkably short. How we live it, is what is really important.

God continually shows us exactly what to do and how to live, but we must choose to do it, or not.

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to him. (Deut 30:19)

 

Our lady of Fatima, pray for us.

4th Sunday of Easter, Year C (Gospel: John 10:27-30) They have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb

 

Pontifical Irish College, Rome (founded 1628)

As a priest, I studied in Rome for three years, from 2002-05. While I was there I lived in the Pontifical Irish College, (founded in 1628), which is both a seminary and post-graduate college. There are not enough Irish students to fill the college, so it is now an international college. For one of my years there we had students from 23 different countries. It made for a great cultural experience and it gave me a great sense of the universal Church. I was there studying and living with other young men from all over the world. We came from many very different cultures, but we all shared the same faith and the same enthusiasm to make it known to other people. When we finished there, some of us went back to wealthier countries, some to parishes in dire poverty and others to war zones. It was very inspiring to live in such an environment, although of course it also had its moments as we had very different ways of doing things. One priest I got to know was from Serbia. He had been in the Serbian communist army and was an atheist. Eventually he converted and became a Catholic and then a priest. People’s stories are fascinating. Another man I met several times, was an Irish archbishop called Michael Courtney. He was the papal nuncio to Burundi. In 2003 he was ambushed and shot dead as he worked to try and bring about peace between two warring tribes.

 

One of my neighbors for a year and a half, was a priest by the name of Ragheed Ganni. He was from Iraq. I didn’t even know there were Catholics in Iraq until I met him. He was a young, very talented and very likable man. He was from the city of Mosul in northern Iraq, which is the modern-day city of Nineveh (Remember the prophet Jonah was sent to the people of Nineveh). Ragheed did all his studies for priesthood in Rome. If he had returned to Iraq during his studies he may not have been able to leave again to complete them. So he studied in Rome, living in the Irish College and he spent several summers in Ireland.

 

Fr. Ragheed Ganni

During our time there the Iraq war took place and the over-throwing of Sadam Hussein. This was a very difficult and stressful time for Ragheed, as he watched his country being thrown into chaos, while wondering daily if his family were safe or not. Having someone in the room next to me who was going through this, made the war very real. Just before the war started I asked him as an Iraqi what he thought would happen. He said that the problem was not so much when the American forces took over, as when they later pulled out. He said that there would be civil war between the Shiite and Sunny Muslims and then the Christians would be wiped, as the Muslim extremists would not have any tolerance for them. Sadly, that is exactly what happened.

 

In 2003 Ragheed returned to Iraq. It was now a very different country to the one he had left. To get into the country he told me that he had to fly into Syria and then take a bus across the border. I received a few emails from him after he returned. He said that there was a curfew almost every night and that it was becoming more and more difficult for the Christian community there. One day he sent me an email with photos of his church on fire. He said that gunmen had come in and taken him out at gunpoint. He thought he was going to be shot, but instead they blew up the church. Ragheed was able to return to Rome at least twice over the next three years, and I met him on one of those visits. He had put on some weight and he said that this was because he could not go outside to exercise, as it was too dangerous. As time passed more and more of his parishioners began to leave and those of us who knew him worried for his safety. Whoever could afford to leave the parish got out. Ragheed knew that staying on in Iraq was becoming increasingly dangerous, but he believed that that was where God was asking him to be. He wanted to remain with his people so that they could have the mass. In spite of death threats and the obvious danger, he continued to minister to his people and they continued to come to pray and celebrate mass. One of the neighboring churches was hit by a car bomb, killing two people and injuring many. The bishop’s house was blown up and Ragheed’s sister was injured by a grenade, which was thrown at her while she was going to clean the church in preparation for Sunday mass.  Despite this, Ragheed and the other priests continued to minister to their people.

 

Church burning in Iraq

On 3rd June, 2007 I received a phone call from a friend to tell me the terrible news that Ragheed along with three others, had been shot dead the day before. He had just finished celebrating Mass and was leaving the church with another sub-deacon. Two other sub-deacons and the wife of one of them were in the car behind. One year later the woman and only survivor, Bayan Adam Bella, had the courage to speak out. Here are some excerpts from an interview she gave to Ankawa.com. 

‘At a certain point the car was stopped by armed men. Fr. Ragheed could have fled but he did not want to, because he knew they were looking for him. They forced us to get out of the car and led me away. 

Then one of the killers screamed at Ragheed,

“I told you to close the church. Why didn’t you do it? Why are you still here?”  And he simply responded,

“How can I close the house of God?” 

They immediately pushed him to the ground, and Ragheed had only enough time to gesture to me with his head that I should run away. Then they opened fire and killed all four of them.’ At this point Bayan fainted.

 

Ragheed Ganni was 35 when he was shot dead and had been a priest for 6 years. 

 

In the second reading from this Sunday’s mass (Apocalypse 7:9, 14-17) we hear of the great numbers of people who stand before the Lamb holding palms in their hands. When the writer asks who they are he is told,

‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution and because they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb, they now stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his sanctuary; and the One who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.’

 

Part of the mosaic in the Irish College chapel depicting the martyr Ragheed on the right

A few years after Ragheed’s death the chapel in the Irish College in Rome was redecorated by the artist Marko Rupnik. Behind the altar there is a beautiful mosaic with Christ the Good Shepherd at the centre and several saints on either side including Fr. Ragheed to the far right holding the martyr’s palm. I always find it very moving to see this image having known Ragheed myself.

The chapel in the Irish College

In different parts of the world many people continue to put their lives at risk in order to pass on the teachings of Christ as he asked us to. Many, including Ragheed, have paid with their lives. Although it is sad for me to think of Ragheed’s death, it is also a great source of strength and inspiration. Jesus told us we would be persecuted for following him, but He also told us that He is our shepherd who continues to guide and look after us. That doesn’t mean that we won’t suffer, but it does mean that He is always with us. Even though none of us want to have to suffer for our faith, what could be more important than to be faithful to Jesus? He is the one who makes sense of why we are here and without Christ we are nothing. Our time on earth is temporary and we need to stay faithful to the only One who can give us eternal life.

 

‘The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice.  I know them and they follow me.’