We hear a snippet of the rules surrounding leprosy in the first reading this week. If we were to go to the book of Leviticus there are over 100 verses regarding leprosy in the Law of Moses. One of the main consequences is that someone suffering from leprosy had to live apart from the camp, away from the rest of the Community. The leper in the Gospel reading seems quite forward in his approach to Jesus. ‘If you want to, you can cure me’, are the words he used to Jesus, quite presumptive in fact. Jesus quite happily obliges, and ordered the man to say nothing to anyone; but to do as the law of Moses called him to do and go show himself to the priest.
The irony here is that because the man was so overjoyed by being cured he told everyone, forcing Jesus to live outside of populated areas, in one sense exchanging places with the leper; losing some of his freedom to go where he wanted to.
In Biblical days people with disabilities or who were different were shunned, left to beg for their needs. Jesus did not shun the leper; he found a way to bring the man back into the community. Surely this is a message for us too.
In our community, who do we shun?
Who would feel excluded by us?
Are they not the very ones, who Jesus would invite into our community?
Whilst leprosy is still a disease nowadays, and people still work to find a cure, we can also see leprosy as being like sin. Sin cuts us off from our community, and from the source of holiness, just like the lepers were cut off in Jesus’ time. As we approach the beginning of Lent, we are reminded that this is a time of penance, a time for us all to prepare for the 40 day journey which takes us towards Easter. We can only experience the full joy of Easter if we take part fully in the season of Lent.
I pray that this Lent we all find the time to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that we can all look at ways to uphold the three pillars of Lent – fasting, prayer and almsgiving and that by taking part in that wonderful Sacrament, we may all be reconciled to each other and to God.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1474: living in Christ unites all believers in him CCC 1939-1942: human solidarity CCC 2288-2291: respect for health
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Syria and Iraq.
There is a sense of urgency in the Gospel we hear today. We hear that when Jesus, James and John left the synagogue, they went straight to the house of Simon and Andrew. When they arrived there, he was told straightaway that Simon’s mother-in-law was ill. Jesus went to her and helped her up, and the fever had left her allowing her to begin to wait on them. After they had eaten it seemed like the whole town had come out to meet them and Jesus cured many people including those who were possessed. We hear that Jesus, long before dawn, got up and left the house to find a lonely place to pray. When the disciples caught up with him, they said that ‘everyone is looking for you’. Jesus, not wanting to stay in one place for too long said “let us go elsewhere, to the neighbouring towns, so that I can preach there too.”. Jesus is literally a man on a mission, in fact he is the Son of Man on a mission. He has a job to do, and he wants to get on with it.
There are so many examples set for us within this short Gospel reading. The first is that when we leave our church building, we must take Jesus with us. Our Sunday obligation is only partially fulfilled by being at Mass; if we listen to the words at Mass, we must take what we have heard out into the world so that more people can be saved. This is part of our Baptismal duties. The next example for us is to try and find some quiet time or space when we want to pray; Jesus did this so often in the Gospels, and it is in these quiet times when we can listen for the Word of God. The next example is that all the people were looking for Jesus;
How do we look for Jesus in 2024?
Do we actively look for Jesus or are we hoping to stumble across him by chance?
The last example is that we are not to keep what we learn to ourselves. After preaching in that Synagogue in Capernaum and healing the sick, Jesus sought out other places to take the Good News; telling us that the Good News is meant to be shared, we have not to keep it for ourselves.
The reading from St Paul in the second reading today, should be the top of our list of ‘go to’ readings for when we are feeling a little bit downhearted or overwhelmed on our mission for Jesus. As someone who preaches, I think this extract from the 1st letter to the Corinthians, sets a good example for me. I am not to boast about preaching the Gospel, after all, I didn’t choose to do it, I have been called to do it. I have got to put effort in; I can’t do this in a half-hearted way because preaching is not only a privilege, but it is a responsibility that I have been given, for which I will be held to account on my judgement day. It is also telling me that I need to be all things to all men to try and win them over to Christ.
For me this is similar to what Pope Francis said about priests [even though I’m clearly not a priest] encouraging them to be like shepherds who ‘smell of the sheep’. Pope Francis said that preachers should not be going into areas with some theoretical idea of what the field they are working in is, as preachers we need to get to know our environment by getting out and about within our community1. This is what I try to do; I live and work in our community, I am a married man, I have children and grandchildren, all living within this Pastoral Area. St Paul also rejoices in his work; this is something else I need to remember in the times when I lack energy and enthusiasm.
In the first reading we hear Job, sounding extremely fed up, he has suffered greatly and is resigned to never experiencing joy again. In all of his troubles he never blames God. If we read the book of Job, we will see that this part is in response to one of his friends who has come to console him in his misery. Instead of consoling, he, and his other friends seem to pile on the agony more by insisting that Job must have done something to upset God and has brought his misfortune upon himself through his own actions. Job knows he is innocent and in this exchange he is letting his friends know that he is accepting of his lot; he doesn’t like it, but he is still accepting of it. How we can learn from Job? Throughout all of the exchanges he displays tremendous faith. His trust in God never waivers.
That trust in God is also evident in our Gospel when we hear of all of the people who sought out Jesus to be healed.
When we pray for friends who are sick, where do we set our expectations?
Do we pray with genuine hope?
Or are we resigned to whatever the medical opinion has stated?
When I looked back at what I had written for this weekend three years ago, I came across an observation from St Bede on how St Peter’s mother-in-law responded when Jesus healed her. He said, “The health which is conferred at the command of the Lord returns at once entire, accompanied with such strength that she is able to minister to those of whose help she had before stood in need.”2
When we experience the healing power of Jesus or any other assistance of Jesus, are we ready to respond immediately to serve Jesus?
I’d like to encourage us this week to actively seek out Jesus in the same way as the people in this week’s Scriptures did. Put our trust in Jesus, take inspiration from Job who maintained his faith through the most trying of circumstances, share the joy of Paul in carrying out our mission for Jesus and respond like Peter’s mother-in-law by looking for ways to serve Jesus as a thank you for prayers answered. In that way we will be taking the Word of God out into our community and surely that can only be good for all of us.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 547-550: healing as a sign of messianic times CCC 1502-1505: Christ the Healer CCC 875, 1122: the urgency of preaching
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine, Russia, Syria and Iraq.
Persecuted Christians everywhere, especially the two priests kidnapped in the Plateau state in Nigeria.
For Ho Yi Ann, Leona, Brian, Nikodem, Charles, Favour, & Hunter due to be Baptised at St Bede’s on Sunday.
As I sit down to write this, it is World Holocaust Day [27th January]; a day when we remember the victims of hatred specifically from World War 2, but also in the years since then. At times it can be very frustrating and infuriating that mankind does not learn and we repeat the mistakes of the past. I was reminded of this on two occasions only yesterday. The first was an encounter with a woman from eastern Europe, who has been in this country for nearly 2 decades. She worked in the NHS and is now unable to work due to illness. She had to move house recently because people; her neighbours, were threatening her, damaging her property, calling her horrible names and telling her to get back to where she came from.
The second reminder of this came last night when I went to the cinema and watched the remake of the Color Purple; this time it is a musical. This is set in the first half of the twentieth century in the southern states of the USA, where racism was prevalent. For the first hour or so there are no white people in the film. The film is mostly about the interactions of one lady who had a tragic childhood and was given away by an abusive step-dad to an abusive husband and the people she met who brought some joy into her life. As well as some morally questionable behaviours in the film there are clear Christian values in this and some of the time is spent in a very lively church.
The first interaction of a white person in the film ends with a very confident black lady being demeaned and beaten up; and then jailed for defending herself. This lady went from being an extremely confident lady to becoming a scared shell of the woman she used to be. Racism, xenophobia, hatred, whatever label we want to put on it, should have no place in our society, and yet it still thrives. It is so easy for people to point the finger at someone different when things go wrong. Sadly, many people listen to them; and are encouraged by some of the media in doing so.
As Christians we are called to love. Not to just love the people we like, the people the same as us, but also to love our enemy [Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27; Romans 12:14 & 12:20]. Today the Catholic Bishops of England & Wales have dedicated this Sunday to pray for Racial Justice1, the theme being Seeing one another in the life of the Church. We are encouraged to look at the lives of the saints; who during their lifetime saw aspects of society, which prompted them to act through their Christian faith and do something about it. Some saw a lack of care for the sick and opened hospitals or hospices, others decried a lack of opportunity for poor people and opened schools.
We are ALL encouraged to look around us; not to look for differences in others; but to see that they are another human being, made in the likeness of Christ; our brothers and sisters here on earth; a gift from God to us all and to care for one another. In this week’s edition of the ‘Big Issue’ we are introduced to 100 ‘Changemakers’ for 2024; all of whom have identified an injustice or gap in the support available to the vulnerable; and done something about it. These people set an example for us all and the Big Issue is encouraging readers to support their initiatives.2
In our Gospel today, the people of Capernaum were impressed by Jesus because he taught with authority, that authority was then confirmed by the actions of Jesus when he called out an unclean spirit. Those unclean spirits recognised who Jesus was; whilst others, including the so called learned; could not see or hear who was in front of them. As Baptised Catholics we have the authority and responsibility to share the Good News that Jesus is our Saviour. He has been called to save everyone, regardless of what we look like, regardless of which language we speak, regardless of which faith we started out in. Jesus is the only way to the Father [Jn 14:6].
In the first reading we hear how God promised to send prophets to the people because they were afraid to hear God directly. These prophets should not be looked upon as some sort of magicians with party tricks who could predict the future using their own energies or methods, these people were spokespersons for God and if we look at the Old Testament, God sent many prophets to guide the Chosen People and to try and keep them close to Him.
St Paul, writing to the early church in Corinth, suggested that single people could devote more of their time to God than married people. St Paul was writing to the Corinthians under the impression that Jesus would return imminently. With that in mind, Paul thought that being married with the responsibility of children would have been a distraction from focussing on Jesus. This does not mean that a vocation to be married is any less than a vocation which involves remaining single. Both vocations have their values and challenges. A single man or a single woman may be able to devote more time to serving God and their community; they have the potential to be more available to serve the Community. Married people serve God in a different way; their Sacrament is a sign of God’s love, and they can help the Church to grow through this love. Not only by raising children in the faith, but also in the way they love each other; they are a tangible sign of how Christ loves His Church.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 547-550: Jesus accompanies words with miracles CCC 447, 438, 550: Jesus’ power over demons CCC 64, 762, 2595: the role of the prophet CCC 922, 1618-1620: virginity for the sake of the Kingdom
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.
Those on pilgrimage or those planning a pilgrimage at this time.
For Kristoff, Olivier, Lenora and Chimamanda due to be Baptised at St Bede’s on Sunday.
Those who work to promote racial justice in our Community and for those who work to repair the damage done to people through physical and mental attacks .
Married people, that we all recognise the responsibility we have to promote our Sacrament in the way we live and love each other
A first glance at today’s readings gives an indication of people being called and following; people who stuck to their call without hesitation or resistance. And, if we read these texts in isolation, we could be left feeling a bit disheartened. However, if we look a little bit closer at the story of all those involved in today’s readings and Gospel then we can see that they, like us, had their flaws and their moments of doubt.
In the first reading Jonah follows God’s call and goes to warn the people of Nineveh, they ‘renounced their evil ways’, had a change of heart and behaviour, ‘and God relented’. Well done Jonah, but what is Jonah more famous for? He was swallowed by a whale and spent three days in the belly of the beast until he was regurgitated. How did he find himself in the belly of the whale? He was running away from God. He thought that what God was asking of him was too much and he tried to avoid it.
In our second reading we have St Paul, the greatest of preachers, encouraging his readers and listeners to sort their lives out, put their affairs in order. He is secure in what he is teaching, he has no doubts. But, as we all know, Paul originally persecuted Christians, he was present at the execution of St Stephen; the first martyr; he approved of the stoning of Stephen. That all changed on the road to Damascus, when Jesus appeared to him and changed not only Paul’s life, but the course of history; as Paul was called to take the Good News out to the Gentiles, calling all people to be descendants of Abraham, not just the Jewish people.
In the Gospel, St Mark, makes it sound so straightforward, Jesus walks along a beach and calls 4 fishermen to follow him and become fishers of men. They all appeared to have obeyed instantly, but we know that at crucial times, even these most esteemed saints, abandoned Jesus; denying him as the Christ; leaving him to fend for himself.
There are times when even if we do not run away from God, our actions can appear as if we do not believe in God or trust in Him fully. For me, I can sometimes grudge the time I need to spend fulfilling my calling as a Christian. In the past it would be when I returned to work after Christmas or Easter and heard about all the time people had to spend time with their family or catch up with jobs, their holiday time seemed to be filled with relaxation or getting things done, whereas these times for me were spent going to church.
On reflection, I now realise that these were times I got to spend with my church family, enriching my life. There will always be jobs to be done at home, but all of my church family will not always be with me. I have some wonderful memories of the times I spent with some people who have now gone to the Lord or who have moved to other parishes. If I had given in to those grudges or temptations, I would not have those memories to treasure.
This Sunday has been designated as the Sunday for the Word of God.1 Pope Francis, writes about this day “Devoting a specific Sunday of the liturgical year to the word of God can enable the Church to experience anew how the risen Lord opens up for us the treasury of his word and enables us to proclaim its unfathomable riches before the world.” As I said earlier, if we had taken the readings from today in isolation, we could be under the illusion that everyone called followed completely all of the time and never wavered. Even the saints struggled with their calling. But Jesus; the Word of God, made man; has come to encourage us to love, to forgive and to serve.
This is a day to look into our hearts and ask how well do we know the Word of God?
At Christmas, my daughter gave me a gift of a Bible in one Year, this prompts me to look at the Bible every day, and if I manage to stick to it, I will have read the whole Bible by the end of the year. There are various ways of doing this, there is the Bible in a Year podcast with Fr Mike Schmitz,2 or there is the Bible in One Year with Nicky Gumble from the Alpha Course, this can either be done through an App on the computer or by buying a bible which is laid out according to the reading plan for each day.3 There are also other resources available through the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales at their website.4 This includes a seven week course aimed at helping Catholics to get to know the Bible better and is sponsored by the Bible Society, the whole course can be downloaded at their website.
Back in September 2019; when Pope Francis declared that the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time would become the Sunday for the Word of God each year; he said, “the great challenge before us in life: to listen to Sacred Scripture and then to practice mercy”, he continued, “God’s Word, has the power to open our eyes and to enable us to renounce a stifling and barren individualism and instead to embark on a new path of sharing and solidarity.” May this Sunday be for us, a new beginning, where we commit to learning more about Jesus, form a more intimate relationship with Jesus and take Jesus out into the world by what we do and say.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 51-64: God’s plan of Revelation CCC 1427-1433: inner, ongoing conversion CCC 1886-1889: conversion and society
The first words spoken by Jesus in St John’s Gospel are “What do you want?” This simple question is one which we are called to answer. It is a question we have probably been asked by lots of people, lots of times. But when it is Jesus asking we really need to think carefully about how we reply. Our answer doesn’t only need to be in what we say, or write down, but in what our answer inspires us to do.
At the time, John’s disciples; including, as we heard Andrew; just wanted to know where Jesus lived? They wanted to get to know more about this Jesus, who John the Baptist had called the lamb of God. Jesus had a simple reply, “Come and see”. This reply is for all of us too. Jesus calls us all forward to come and see. Jesus is calling us into an intimate relationship with him. He already knows us, he knows everything about us, but he wants us to know everything about him, too.
Jesus knows that when we come and see then we will like what we see and become followers. Being a follower of Jesus is not all doom and gloom. Being a follower of Jesus is life giving, it is the only place where true joy can be found. Of course, it is not without its challenges; as we know, Christians continue to be persecuted in the present day; this said, all other joys are temporary, being one with Jesus and following him completely brings complete joy, a joy that never ends.
Back in 2009, Pam [my wife] and I were asked to take on a leadership role with Marriage Encounter; we received a phone call whilst we were in the car with our son. We knew that our son was not always happy about the time we spent on Marriage Encounter work, and we also knew that he needed us as he was still a teenager at that time. To our surprise, he immediately said we should say yes, Following this up with “your community are calling you.”
But we knew we had to discern. The previous leaders had given us a scripture reading to look at for while we were discerning, that reading was about trusting and being prepared to step out of the boat. We decided we would also look at the readings of the day to help us discern. When we saw the psalm, it was the same psalm used today. “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” For those that don’t know Marriage Encounter is an organisation, started within the Catholic Church with the aim of promoting and enriching the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders, we were already presenting weekends and fulfilling regional leadership roles, but were now being asked to take on the National role, a role which came with much responsibility and lots of time commitments. Initially we didn’t think we had either the time or capacity to do the role. Having read the readings, the psalm spoke to both us. “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”
Having discerned to accept the role, most of our hurdles, while they didn’t disappear, became easier to overcome. We put plans in place for looking after our teenage children for the times we would be away. Pressures from work seemed to become less and we both found our employers and work colleagues were extremely co-operative with the role. This is when we heard that ‘God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.’
In the Gospel reading we hear towards the end about the calling of Peter. We know that Peter would eventually be given the keys of the Kingdom. Does anyone think that Peter was able to carry that burden when he first met Jesus? No way would he have been ready, and I would guess that when Jesus said to Peter that he would have the authority on earth to lead God’s people, that Peter did not think that he was either worthy or capable at that time. We are enabled or equipped to do God’s work through the presence and influence of the Holy Spirit. When we try to do things under our own power it is far more difficult. But when we ask God in prayer to help us, He sends his Spirit, His advocate to help us. Jesus did not desert us when he Ascended into Heaven, He sent his Holy Spirit to be with us, we are never alone. We need to trust in God, trust that his Holy Spirit; who we received in Baptism and again in Confirmation; is with us and he gives us the gifts and charisms to do His work.
Today has been designated by the Holy Father as a day to pray for peace. In his message for today, Pope Francis is examining the influence of modern technology on peace in the world, in particular he is looking at artificial intelligence. The link in the St Bede’s Newsletter is well worth a read. We may read that and find it very interesting and think that is for governments and big business to concern themselves with, and Pope Francis does aim some of his message at them. However, we all live in the same world, and just as we can all contribute to destructive things we can also contribute to things which make the world better.
If we can find a way of having peace in our own hearts then that can help us to have peace in our household, we can then take that peace; which for us comes from Christ; out into the world. We all know someone who needs peace in their life, as we pray for peace during our Mass or in our own personal prayers later, bring their face into your mind, concentrate on that image and pray that God brings peace into their life. If you don’t know anyone personally who could really appreciate that prayer at this moment then maybe God is calling you to go bigger, pray for peace in a certain town, or city or country.
Remember, God created this world, and he created us. He asked mankind to look after this world, and His Son asked us to love God and our neighbour. Praying for other people is an act of mercy, it is a way for us to show our love, it is a way for us to show we care.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 462, 516, 2568, 2824: the Father’s will fulfilled in Christ CCC 543-546: to welcome the Kingdom, welcome the Word of God CCC 873-874: Christ the source of Christian vocation CCC 364, 1004: the dignity of the body CCC 1656, 2226: helping children discover their vocation
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.
Those on pilgrimage or those planning a pilgrimage at this time.
For the families due to attend their 1st Baptism preparation session On Sunday at St Bede’s.
For those individuals and countries who do not experience peace; may they come to know God in their hearts.
The wise men are truly an example for us. These men were not content to sit around and wait for the birth of the King of the Jews, they read the signs of the day and decided to seek out the newborn king. Wise men indeed. Their intent was to pay homage to Jesus, to bow down before him and worship this much promised Messiah. Herod’s intent was far from noble, he said he wished to pay homage, however, his intention was to stay in power and to quash any talk of anyone else becoming King of the Jews.
These wise men represent all of the Gentiles; all those born outside of the Jewish race. In reading the signs of the day, they became signs themselves; a sign that God was sending his Son to the whole human race and not just the Chosen Jewish Race and also that our Faith is a not a passive faith it is a faith where we are called to follow the light and walk towards Jesus and when we have found Jesus we are to follow him wherever He takes us.
This is in line with the reading we have from the prophet Isaiah today. The prophet mentions light coming to Jerusalem; all nations coming to the light. All assembling and coming to you, can be compared to the census; sons from far away [Joseph] and daughters being tenderly carried [Mary is traditionally portrayed as riding on a donkey towards Bethlehem]. Isaiah talks about the wealth of the nations coming to you, camels carrying people from Midian, Ephah and Sheba and bringing gold and incense and singing the praise of the Lord. Our Gospel from Matthew, reports all of these as having happened.
These wise men travelled great distances at personal cost and risk to find the child Jesus. What have we done to find Jesus; how do we pay Him homage?
We hear in the Responsorial psalm today that “all nations shall fall prostrate before you, O Lord.” These wise men, who came to pay the Lord homage fell onto their knees and “did him homage”, as we come to Mass, coming together as the Body of Christ, we kneel and worship Our Saviour, we share from His banquet table, call His Father Our Father and as we leave the church building we are told to “go and announce the Gospel of the Lord” or to “glorify God by our lives.” Just like the wise men we have to get up and go, only our task is not to seek the child Jesus, but to seek those who do not know about Jesus. We are to take Jesus out of the church building and shine his light onto a world that is broken and so in need of Jesus.
I am in a very privileged position, as an ordained minister; I get to go out and meet people, I am representing the Church in a formal manner in some very informal locations. In my short time in ministry, I have met so many people that I would never have encountered before. I recently spent some time with a Catholic lady in hospital, who is close to the end of her life. This lady’s faith energised me. This lady still displayed a great sense of humour, and the strength of her witness was powerful. I told her how her faith gave me lots of encouragement, and if it had that effect on me, it must surely have made a similar impression on her daughter and two granddaughters who were with me in that room. This was a lady who; without using any form of a book; was announcing the Gospel of the Lord.
The birth of Jesus, and the arrival of the wise men from the east are a gift to every single person who has been born since the time of Jesus. This was God saying, I’m no longer calling just one race as the Chosen People, I now choose everyone. God is saying I want every man, woman and child, who God has created in his image and likeness; to become his adopted children.
Finally, I would like to repeat the words of Pope Benedict XVI; who died just over a year ago; when he spoke about today’s Solemnity:
Men and women of every generation need on their pilgrim journey to be directed: what star can we therefore follow? After coming to rest ‘over the place where the child was’, the purpose of the start was ended, but its spiritual light is always present in the Word of the Gospel, which is still able today to guide every person to Jesus. This same Word, which is none other than the reflection of Christ, true man and true God, is authoritatively echoed by the Church for every well-disposed heart. The Church too, therefore, carries out the mission of the star for humanity. But something of the sort can be said of each Christian, called to illuminate the path of the brethren by word and example of life.1
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Solemnity of the Epiphany
CCC 528, 724: the Epiphany CCC 280, 529, 748, 1165, 2466, 2715: Christ the light of the nations CCC 60, 442, 674, 755, 767, 774-776, 781, 831: the Church, sacrament of human unity
In the Missal I use at home, there is a short commentary by St Pope John Paul II on today’s feast, I like it and thought I would share it with you today. St John Paul said
If we aspire to a deeper understanding of Jesus’ life and mission, we must draw close to the mystery of the Holy Family of Nazareth to observe and listen. Today’s liturgy offers us a providential opportunity to do so. For every believer, and especially for Christian families, the humble dwelling place in Nazareth is an authentic school of the Gospel. Here we admire, put into practice, the divine plan to make the family an intimate community of life and love; here we learn that every Christian family is called to be a small ‘domestic church’ that must shine with the Gospel virtues. Recollection and prayer, mutual understanding and respect, personal discipline and community ascetism and a spirit of sacrifice, work and solidarity are typical features that make the family of Nazareth a model for every home.1
This image of the Holy Family is something, as Christians we all aspire to. In our homes and churches at this time of year we have the Nativity scene, the baby Jesus at the centre with his devoted parents usually on either side, staring in wonder at this miraculous child. These images, while idyllic, do not depict the type of family Jesus grew up in, but are there as a reminder to us, that Jesus; the Son of God; grew up in a family. Every family is different, and we never truly know a family unless we are part of that family. Sadly not every family stays together, and for some people the image of the Holy Family and the expression of us being called to be a small ‘domestic church’, is so far away from their reality that they struggle to imagine what that could possibly mean.
Where God’s love is present and everyone pulls together, regardless of what that family looks like, it can be a small domestic church. This is where everyone in that family puts the needs of others before their own needs. The family I grew up in was far from perfect. We were never a wealthy family in terms of finances, but my parents made sacrifices to do their best for us. Does that mean we always got everything we wanted? Definitely not. But we got most of the things we needed, we always had a roof over our head, we always had food and we always felt loved; even if the word love, was not used very often until later years.
We look at our Christmas Crib and see this family, from 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, and we recall some of the feast days we have celebrated in the past week related to the Christmas story and we compare them to Bethlehem today. The crib at Bethlehem has been different this year2, here we see a baby lying in the rubble, symbolising the children who are having to be dug out of buildings destroyed by war. For some families in Ukraine and Gaza this is their reality.
Earlier this week we had the Feast of the Holy Innocents, where we commemorate the deaths of hundreds of children; killed by a jealous king who was afraid that he might lose his throne or that his son may not inherit his throne. As we end 2023, this is the reality for some families, for them it is not something from history books, it is their reality now. When terrorists attacked occupying families in Israel, they claimed it was to highlight injustices committed by Israelis against the Palestinians. What they have brought down on their own people, through the vengeance of a very angry leader is a modern-day slaughter of the innocents.
One of the first casualties of war is the truth, and with so many sources being difficult to verify in this world today, it is difficult to understand what is actually happening in war torn areas. However, what is not in doubt is that entire cities are being destroyed in the hunt for the terrorists, with the innocent people caught up in the events since the terrorists attacks seen as collateral damage, used as human shields by some, as hostages by others, forced from their homes, imprisoned, killed or forced to become refugees. Just like the Holy Family 2000 years ago.
Today we hear how Simeon, rejoiced to set eyes on the infant Messiah, Oh how the whole world needs to stop and recognise Jesus as Saviour now. We hear how Mary and Joseph wondered at the things being said and how Mary was forewarned that her soul would be pierced, that she would know suffering and that through this others will come to her when they are suffering.
We look at our crib and share the Christmas story with our family, we aspire to be like them, we encourage our children to be like the baby Jesus and the young Jesus we know from our Scriptures. As we look at the crib, please remember the families in the Holy Land and if you can make a donation. As requested by Bishop Philip, all the donations for our crib this year are going to Friends of the Holy Land3. If you are able to support this, please help as the people living there are desperate and in need of our help.
Finally, the modern world gives us opportunities, which our grandparents could only dream of. We are able to stay in touch with family members wherever they live elsewhere in the world, for a fraction of the cost of what it cost years ago. I would like to encourage us all to make this new year, a year when we stay in touch [perhaps better] with our families, a year when we are kinder to the people we meet and a year in which our prayer life remembers those in our families who have gone before us and are hopefully now with the Lord praying for us.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Holy Family
CCC 531-534: the Holy Family CCC 1655-1658, 2204-2206: the Christian family, a domestic Church CCC 2214-2233: duties of family members CCC 529, 583, 695: the Presentation in the Temple CCC 144-146, 165, 489, 2572, 2676: Abraham and Sarah as models of faith
At first glance, the readings for the Christmas night mass appear to speak for themselves. We are all familiar with these readings, especially if coming to this Mass during the night has become a Christmas custom within your household. The reading from Isaiah, speaks about people who have been living in darkness seeing a great light, and our churches, normally in darkness at this time of the night are lit up, instead of being empty they are filled with people. At this Mass there is an air of expectation as before this Mass we are in Advent and as we take part in this Mass we announce the birth of the Saviour, Our Immanuel; Christ is with us!
Tonight, we proclaim Gloria and join the hosts of angels in praising Hosanna in the Highest.
For today a child is born for us and he is Christ the Lord. We, his people are called to tell everyone of every nation the Good News, the news we first hear at our Baptism, that Jesus Christ is born, He is our Saviour and Lord, let the whole world rejoice, for He has come to rule the earth.
St Paul in his letter to Titus remind us to live good and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the second coming of Christ. We are asked to follow Christ’s example by loving God and our neighbour, follow God’s word in what we say and what we do; ultimately ‘giving up everything that does not lead to God’.
In the Gospel used for this Mass tonight, we are reminded of the first census, where all were asked to go to their hometown and register their family. We are so accustomed to this story that we accept that everyone went along dutifully to put their mark in a register, so that the Romans would know how many people they ruled over [and could tax]. However, if we think about this, the occupied people must have had great suspicions over the true intentions of these occupiers. Were they really asking people to travel great distances just to count them? Or did they have more sinister motives? I would guess that Joseph and all the other heads of household set out for their hometown with a bit of trepidation, Joseph also had the concern of his wife being heavily pregnant.
Our God is a God of surprises. When the Jewish people expected a powerful king, the messiah arrived as a helpless newborn baby. While royalty and religious leaders assumed their own nearness to God, God chose a woman, a manger, a family in hiding. The first people to hear about the birth of Jesus were not kings, nor the wealthy, nor people of great status. Just like when God was choosing the first king of Israel, He chose shepherds. This is a sign for us that Jesus did not come just for the well-educated, or for the wealthy or the elite; Jesus came for everyone, and we can all share in the wonder of His birth and in the Salvation which His life, death and resurrection promises for us.
Whether you are here at Church every week, or you are only here because you are expected to be here with your family at Christmas, or whether you have walked in tonight because you see the lights on, whatever the reason you find yourself here, know that you are welcome here, there is a place for you here and that God loves you and has sent His Son for you. This helpless baby is the Son of our Creator, he is the Word made flesh, the Light of Lights and the Lamb of God. He is my personal Saviour and he is your personal Saviour. There is no other Way to The Father except through him. He is the Good Shepherd, who will keep searching until he has gathered all of his lost sheep. He seeks those who are weary, he will give us rest. He is love, and quite simply he asks us to love, nothing more, nothing less. He asks us to love until it hurts and when it hurts, he asks us to love again.
I am going to finish with the words of Pope Benedict XVI,
God’s sign is simplicity. God’s sign is the baby. God’s sign is that he makes himself small for us. This is how he reigns. He does not come with power and outward splendour. He comes as a baby – defenceless and in need of our help. He does not want to overwhelm us with his strength. He takes away our fear of his greatness. He asks for our love: so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing from us than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will – we learn to live with him and to practice with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. God made himself small, so that we could understand him, welcome him and love him.1
I wish you and yours a very happy and holy Christmas.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Solemnity of Christmas
CCC 456-460, 466: “Why did the Word become flesh?” CCC 461-463, 470-478: the Incarnation CCC 437, 525-526: the Christmas mystery CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616: Jesus is the Son of David CCC 65, 102: God has said everything in his Word CCC 333: the incarnate Christ worshipped by the angels CCC 1159-1162, 2131, 2502: the Incarnation and images of Christ
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.
Those who are working at Christmas to keep other people safe, whether they are drivers, nurses, doctors, carers, emergency responders or military, the unseen heroes who keep our lights on and our water and gas supplies flowing, the food delivery people providing a lifeline to the housebound. Those working in prisons.
Those volunteering to help others at this time.
Those who are alone this Christmas.
Those imprisoned and their families who will not be together this Christmas.
Deacon Tony Darroch 23rd December 2023.
1 Pope Benedict XVI, The CTS New Daily Missal, People’s Edition, [Catholic Truth Society, London, 2012]80.
Last week, before Mass Fr John and I were remembering Nativity plays from schools. I told him about one I had read about years earlier, where a young man was devastated not to have been given the part of Joseph, he thought he had been promised in the play, and instead given the part of an Innkeeper. He had no lines, instead all he had to do was shake his head and slam a door closed when Joseph asked if there was a room. The big night came along, the school was full of parents and other children and his moment arrived, Joseph asked if he had a room, and the Innkeeper replied, “Come in! We have plenty of rooms”.
In today’s Scriptures we hear God make a promise and fulfil that same promise centuries later. If we remember when David was called by God to be king of Israel, he wasn’t thought to be worthy enough by his family to be present when the prophet Samuel was sent to Jesse to choose one of his sons to be king. David was left out in the fields as the youngest son. But God chose him to be king of His Chosen People. Likewise, Mary was a lowly virgin from a town hardly on the map, when the angel Gabriel was sent to her to ask her to be the Mother of God; and eventually Queen of Heaven. This is a reminder to us that God does not call the able, He enables the called.
Nothing is impossible to God, He created everything around us, He created us and as we know, He created us in his own image and likeness. As we have heard frequently in recent months, God’s way is not man’s way. So, when God was choosing a King, he did not do it in a way that men would typically do it. History has shown us that mankind traditionally choose mighty warriors or manipulative families or sometimes a combination of both to rule over the people. This was not God’s way. Instead, God chose the youngest child, a shepherd boy to be king; and then told him that his family would rule forever. When that promise was fulfilled, the king who would rule forever was not born in a palace, or to a ruling family, but to a lowly maiden, betrothed to a man from the house of David.
“Imagine the pregnant pause before Mary’s ‘yes’. So much tilling of the soil: her Immaculate Conception, her childhood formation as a Jewish girl, her pondering and discerning. All of this preparation hung in the balance, waiting for her consent.
Do we honour consent with the same reverence as our Creator?” 1
Christmas Day is right around the corner; most of our preparations for the big day are almost complete. We may have family visiting or we may be going to visit. Gifts are wrapped, children are getting really excited, sometimes this can mean being with people we don’t see very often and there may well be reasons behind that.
Have we prepared for that?
What are we going do to, to ensure we can all have a peaceful Christmas?
Not forgetting have we prepared spiritually for Christmas?
How is our relationship with Jesus today?
Like most other years my preparations during Advent have meant an absence of social media for me. I step back from these things in order to spend more time in prayer or in reading. The truth this year is, that apart from adding the Office of the Day to my normal Morning Prayer, I haven’t replaced my time on social media with meaningful relaxation, but with trivial things. I need to get better at organising my time and how I spend my “down time” in particular. Especially if I want to practice what I preach.
Tomorrow, when we wake up, we will celebrate the birth of Our Saviour, we must also remember how He saves us, and that was by His unflinching obedience to Our Father. He lowered Himself from His Heavenly home, to become like us; so that He can raise us to become like Him and we can be with Him forever. Yes, we remember The Nativity of Our Lord, but we need to be prepared for when He comes again to judge us and separate the goats from the sheep.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Fourth Sunday of Advent
CCC 484-494: the Annunciation CCC 439, 496, 559, 2616: Jesus is the Son of David CCC 143-149, 494, 2087: the “obedience of faith”
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.
Those who are working at Christmas to keep other people safe, whether they are drivers, nurses, doctors, carers, emergency responders or military, the unseen heroes who keep our lights on and our water and gas supplies flowing, the food delivery people providing a lifeline to the housebound. Those working in prisons.
Those volunteering to help others at this time.
Those who are alone this Christmas.
Those imprisoned and their families who will not be together this Christmas.
12024 Sourcebook, [Liturgy Training Publications, Chicago, Illinois, 2023]26
As I sit to write these words, I have sunshine outside and I can here the trickling water of a splash pool outside my hotel bedroom in Malta. I am currently less than an hour’s walk from where St Paul was shipwrecked and I attended Mass this morning, in a place where legend says St Luke painted a Madonna and child on a cave wall. This is a place of pilgrimage, where for nearly two thousand years people have travelled to pray and ask for the intercession of Our Lady to help them. As we know Our Lady is a vessel to help bring Christ closer to His people, just as she brought Him into the world on that first Christmas morning.
Being in a Catholic country, it highlights how much more secular our own country has become. The majority of the Christmas decorations in Malta, show images from the Nativity, whereas in our own country, there are more secular focuses, things like Father Christmas, snowmen, holly or post boxes covered with snow. But with this secularisation, comes a challenge and an opportunity.
The Gospel today speaks of a voice that cries in the wilderness, as we are introduced [again, this time by St John the Evangelist] to John the Baptist. In some ways the Gospel of John is laid out like a report into a criminal trial. He speaks of signs and not miracles, he introduces St John the Baptist as a witness; although from the interactions between John and the priests and Levites we hear today, he appears reluctant to witness for Christ during their interrogation. Listen again to his words – “I am not the Christ”, “ I am not”, “No”.
He then of course tells them that he is the one foretold by Isaiah as being “a voice crying in the wilderness: Make a straight way for the Lord” and then “There is one standing among you whom you do not know, and I am not fit to undo his sandal strap.”
Today, in the world we are Christ’s witnesses, it is us who are called to prepare a way for the Lord by the way we interact with those around us.
If we take a long hard look at ourselves, and try and see ourselves as other do, would they see us as followers of Christ?
Or have we entered into the ‘spirit of secularism’ so much that we tend to hide our Christianity?
For example, there are times when I feel very self-conscious, if I am having a meal at a restaurant and say grace; worried what people will think. My concern should be more about what Jesus will think if I don’t acknowledge that I get to eat today through His benevolence.
In our first reading today, we hear about the spirit of the Lord being sent to Isaiah, and a message there which is also relevant for us today. Through our Baptism and Confirmation, we received this same Spirit, we have the same call to bring good news to the poor, to heal broken hearts, proclaim liberty to captives, to proclaim freedom and a year of favour from the Lord. We are called to rejoice, this Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, Gaudete, meaning Rejoice in Latin. The entrance antiphon sings out “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.”Does the Lord feel near to us? If I answer that question and the answer is no, then it is me who needs to change, because Jesus is always there, He never moves away from me, because He cannot move away. It is me who needs to change, because Jesus does not change, He is the same forever.
St Paul, in his letter to the Thessalonians; used today in our second reading; asks us to be happy always and to keep praying, thanking God for everything we have. We are to rely on the Holy Spirit, never try to suppress it, think before we act, avoid evil, ensure we are ready when the Lord comes again. Be sure that we realise, recognise and acknowledge that Jesus Christ Our Saviour is coming again and that He wants to see a faithful Body of Christ when He returns. We are part of that Body and we are called to maintain that Body while we are here on earth; and to make sure that we continually pass on our faith to those who will be here after us.
There is a very powerful message coming from the Church in Bethlehem, this Christmas. It says that all Christmas celebrations have been cancelled, and instead there is a time for prayers for peace. The image they are using is of the infant Child Jesus in the midst of rubble; symbolising the rubble found when a Palestinian home has been destroyed and the babies who have been pulled from the rubble. This is the reality of Christmas in Palestine, in Bethlehem in 2023. Families are being displaced, their homes destroyed, in what at times is indiscriminate destruction, while the world looks on and celebrates the birth of Our Saviour.
We pray that the people in war torn countries may be abler to rejoice again one day, when peace is restored to the whole world and all of mankind can recognise that we are all brothers and sisters from different parents, we are all friends who we have not gotten to know yet and that Jesus Christ came to save the whole human race, not just a chosen few.
Further Reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Third Sunday of Advent
CCC 30, 163, 301, 736, 1829, 1832, 2015, 2362: joy CCC 713-714: characteristics of the awaited Messiah CCC 218-219: God’s love for Israel CCC 772, 796: the Church as the Bride of Christ
Please keep in your prayers this week
Those who are sick, those recovering from surgery, those who are dying, the recently deceased and those who mourn.
All those struggling to feed their families at this time.
Those working to help others who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.
Those discerning a vocation and those considering coming into the Catholic Church.
The innocent people caught up in wars and conflicts around the world, but especially those in Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and Russia.
