Category: Deacon Tony reflects

[Isaiah 53:10-11; Psalm 32; Hebrews 4:14-16; Mark 10:35-45]

Several years ago, Pam was caught speeding in the car. When she told me I started to act all superior; telling her off and commenting that she always drove too fast. I was in full flow, when I suddenly stopped, realising that if I ever got caught speeding, I would get the same message back only more severe. In fact, what Pam needed from me at that time wasn’t a lecture, she needed my support. She was frightened as she had gotten into trouble with the law, and she was worried about the consequences. As a husband, it is not my role to Lord it over her, it is to support her; even when she gets things wrong. As her husband, Pam should be able to trust that she can tell me anything and that I will not judge her. That would not have been her experience that day. As a husband, especially as a Christian husband, I am called to put Pam’s needs before my own and serve her, in the same way, she is called to put my needs before her own and serve me. I have to admit, Pam is far better at this than I am and even after 39 years of being married I still need to get better at this.

In a few weeks, we will celebrate Jesus as the King. He is not just a king as we understand it as humans, but He is the King of Kings; the King of the Universe. When Jesus came into the world He didn’t come to Lord it over us, he came as a vulnerable baby. Initially his parents had to flee to another country to keep him safe; he was a refugee. When it was safe, his parents brought him back and He lived under their authority until it was time for Him to gather people around Him who would build His Church on earth. He taught these people that the Kingdom of Heaven was coming and that those who believed and followed Him would have a place there. James and John didn’t want just any place, they wanted to be as close to Jesus as possible. Let’s face it, given a similar opportunity to have that conversation with Jesus, would any of us have asked for anything different?

Jesus realises that His disciples need to become more like Him. He tells them that if they want to be seen as great in heaven then they needed to be servants to all on earth. Acts of service are a way of demonstrating our love of neighbour. Jesus doesn’t ask us just to help the people we like or just do the nice things to help people. He asks us to get down on our hands and knees and wash the dirt from the feet of the beggar, He asks us to get to know those affected by addiction, He asks us to visit prisoners or those in hospital. As Pope Francis said of priests, but I think it applies to all Christians, we should be like shepherds who smell of their sheep.[1] In order to elevate ourselves to the heights of heaven we need to lower ourselves to the role of servant.

This Sunday all around the world it is Mission Sunday. On the second last Sunday of October every year, each Parish is asked to contribute towards those who go out and work in Missionary territories. The proceeds from these collections benefit 1,150 territories where the Gospel has not yet been received, has only recently been embraced, or is courageously upheld in the face of persecution.[2] The needs of those working in lands where Christians are persecuted is exacerbated by the conflict spreading through the Holy Land at the moment. The war in the Holy Land isn’t just causing problems there; but also in other lands where Jews, Muslims and Christians live side by side; including those working in Missions in the Middle East. On the Missio UK website, we hear from Fr Rouphael, who outlines conditions in the Holy Land. He speaks of 90,000 Israelis and 1.9 million Palestinians being displaced and effectively made homeless because of the war. Missio still has people working in these war-torn areas. Today’s Gospel calls us to service. It discourages us from being self-serving but instead to look at those in need. The people we support through Missio are ‘out there’ putting their own lives at risk; to serve as Jesus has called them. Our call from Jesus is to support them as best we can; this is how we can best serve them today; by being as generous as we can through our financial and prayerful support.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 599-609: Christ’s redemptive death in the plan of salvation
CCC 520: Christ’s self-emptying as an example for us to imitate
CCC 467, 540, 1137: Christ the High Priest

World Mission Sunday: Fr Rouphael’s message – Missio

Mission Prayer:  Loving God, inspire us to ‘go and invite everyone to the banquet.’ Nourished from gathering around your table, may our communities reflect your unconditional love, so that all are welcomed with open arms, and the most vulnerable find refuge, care, and compassion. May our prayers and generosity bring strength to missionaries, enabling them to share the joy that faith brings, so that everyone, everywhere, may experience your hope and love, renewing and healing our world. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, in the pastoral area.
• The fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
• The families who will complete the Baptism Preparation Programme at St Bede’s this weekend.
• Ryan, Kaleb, Kylan, Edem and Noah who will be baptised at St Bede’s this Sunday.
• Hospital chaplains in the diocese.
• Those living and working in Missionary territories.

Deacon Tony

19^th October 2024

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[1] Pope to priests: Be “shepherds with ‘the smell of the sheep'” – Inside The Vatican

[2] World Mission Sunday 2024 – The Pontifical Mission Societies (onefamilyinmission.org)

[Wisdom 7:7-11; Psalm 89; Hebrews 4:12-13; Mark 10:17-30]

Today we are asked to look at our life and answer the question “how does what I say is the most important thing in my life differ from what my actions tell me?”

In the first reading we hear that true wisdom is more valuable than all of the jewels, precious metals and positions or titles in this world. True wisdom brings true riches and the realisation of the blessings we have received from God.

It is through true wisdom, that we can accept and welcome the words from the letter to the Hebrews, that the Word of God is able to penetrate into the deepest parts of our body and soul; and that God has the power to judge everything we do and think, nothing can be kept secret from God.

We see an example of this in today’s Gospel. Jesus, after hearing the young man profess that he has kept all of the Commandments since he was a child, looked at the young man and was able to see what was holding him back from achieving his goal of inheriting eternal life. “Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him”, Jesus realised he was not just a man of wealth [anyone could probably see that by the way the man was dressed] but that he was a man who craved his possessions and the position in society that his wealth brought him.

Jesus is not saying here that being wealthy is wrong. God knows we need wealthy people to come to church and use their wealth for good. Jesus is saying that the attraction of the things which wealth brings [in other words our reliance or desire for material possessions, power or standing in the community] will hold us back from achieving the true wisdom we hear about in the first reading. That wisdom allows us to see God as our creator and serve him as our number 1; not just fitting God into the gaps we have. God has to be the centre of our life and all of our thoughts, actions and desires, need to be focussed on Him.

Jesus saw that it was the young man’s attraction to wealth that was holding him back.

When Jesus looks at us steadily, what does he see in us, that holds us back?

It could be like the young man in the Gospel, our attraction to the trappings of wealth. It could be that we feel superior to other people. It could be that we are more interested in our work than in living out our faith. It could be that we see the Commandments as inconvenient or that we pick and choose which of the Commandments we want to follow.

When Jesus looks at me steadily, what does he see in me that holds me back from the possibility of inheriting eternal life? At times, I do fit in my responsibilities around other interests, like football, and there are times when I resent that my availability to watch football is reduced because I have made these commitments. This is one thing that holds me back. There are other times when I try to do things under my own power. I am very happy to pray for other people, but when I have an issue, I find myself reluctant to ask others to pray for me. I sometimes even forget to pray for my issue myself. I need to get over my pride and remember that we all form the Body of Christ, if I am struggling and don’t share my struggles; then I am not fully accepting my role as part of the Body of Christhere on earth.

I need to be like the author of the first reading we used today. I need to pray for wisdom and understanding, I need to value that wisdom, that closeness to God more than any other desire. I need to follow the advice Jesus gave to the young man in the Gospel, and abandon everything that is holding me back from inheriting eternal life, because nothing else is more important.

Thinking about our scripture readings today, what do you now need to do?

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 101-104: Christ, unique Word of Scripture
CCC 131-133: Scripture in life of the Church
CCC 2653-2654: Scripture as a fountain of prayer
CCC 1723, 2536, 2444-2447: poverty of heart

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The continued success of the Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, which started last week in the pastoral area.[1]
• The fight to protect all life from conception until natural death.
• Prisoners, their families, prison chaplains, prison visitors and all in the Prison Service.
• The families who will begin the Baptism Preparation Programme at St Bede’s this weekend.

Deacon Tony

12^th October 2024

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[1] Money coaching sessions at St Bede’s

[Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 18; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48]

Greetings from Medjugorje. By coincidence [if there is such a thing] our group arrived a few days after the announcement by the Vatican that Medjugorje was now an approved place of pilgrimage and devotion.[1] I have been here once before; two years ago; and found it to be a place filled with peace and prayerful devotion. The number of people attending Mass every day, sometimes twice a day, the number of people attending adoration and the queues for confession in every language you can think of, are testimony that God is doing something very special here.

Everywhere we go we hear people praying in different languages There are priests and sisters [and probably a few deacons, although we can be harder to spot]; the air is filled with joy as people celebrate being Catholic.

As I write this I have just come down from ‘Cross Mountain’ a mountain on the edge of a neighbouring village to Medjugorje where the Stations of the Cross have been installed and a large crucifix at the peak of the mountain. On the way up, we prayed the stations of the cross as a group. There were 11 of us; plus our guide Draga. All around us at each station we could hear first German, then Italian, Spanish, French and on the way down I think we heard either our Korean or Japanese brothers and sisters praying the stations. At the top of the mountain, we said the prayer of Spiritual Communion, which we use at our Sunday Mass, for those unable to attend. This was beneath a cross which stands proudly declaring the mountain as a Holy Mountain marked with the sign of Christ. The people who have been around since the start of the Medjugorje apparitions started, are testimony to today’s first reading where Moses said, ‘If only the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all.’

I heard our guide say that initially, she was jealous that she had not been chosen to be one of those who had seen Our Lady. As she matured, she realised that this was not her calling and that those called had been given a tremendous responsibility for the rest of their lives. Our guide has taken her calling to use her language skills and intimate knowledge of the visionaries to share the story of Medjugorje with the visitors from around the world who come to this hilly village in Herzegovina. Everything about Medjugorje points towards Jesus. The calls are familiar to most Catholics: repent, pray and fast, worship God, give God our time, after all, the time we have been has been given to us by God.

For those who doubt the authenticity of Medjugorje, a look at today’s Gospel may help them. When St John complained that others had been casting out devils in Jesus’ name and they were not disciples; Jesus said to him not to stop them ‘no man who works a miracle in my name is likely to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us.’ Medjugorje continuously calls people back to the Church. There are people who come here for Reconciliation who have not been in decades. People come here for all sorts of reasons; some like the peace and quiet and may have no interest in God before they arrive, for some they go home the same way; but others feel called to the Lord. Other people come here for a Spiritual experience and find a prayerful haven where they can openly practice Catholic devotions. For me, I have found a place where I can feel closer to God, whether that has involved climbing a mountain or sitting quietly in a chapel before the Blessed Sacrament; I get to feel closer to my God and Saviour.

There is also a message in today’s Gospel for those who discourage someone in their faith. Jesus says there are mighty punishments waiting for those who are an obstacle or who bring down someone’s faith.

Today, we are encouraged to ask ourselves:

Are we for Jesus or against Him?  

If we are for Him, how would we demonstrate it if we had to?

What do we do to live out our Catholic Faith?

Our answers to these questions will tell us a lot about our love for God and our neighbour and may help us realise that we need to make changes to our life.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 821, 1126, 1636: ecumenical dialogue
CCC 2445-2446, 2536, 2544-2547: the danger of immoderate riches
CCC 1852: jealousy

Pope Francis grants approval for Medjugorje devotion – Vatican News

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The success of the forthcoming Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, in the pastoral area.[2]
• Those who have no faith or who are struggling with their faith that we can be good examples to inspire them.
• For all in St Michael’s Parish in Tadley as they celebrate 65 years as a Parish this weekend.

Deacon Tony

28^th September 2024

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[1] Pope Francis grants approval for Medjugorje devotion – Vatican News

[2] Money coaching sessions at St Bede’s

[Wisdom 2:12,17-20; Psalm 53; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37]

There is a story from during the war in the former Yugoslavia, of a reporter who witnessed a little girl who had been shot by a sniper. The reporter discarded his note pad and pen and stopped ‘being a reporter’ for a few minutes. He rushed to a man who had picked up the child, helped them into his car and set off for the hospital.

The man with the child said ‘hurry my friend, my child is still alive’, a few minutes later he said ‘hurry my friend, my child is still breathing’. A little further on, he said, hurry my friend, my child is still warm’ and finally he said ‘Hurry. Oh God, my child is getting cold.’

When they reached the hospital, the little girl was dead. As the men cleaned themselves up, washing her blood from their hands and clothes, the man turned to the reporter and said ‘this is a terrible task for me, I must go and tell her father that his child is dead. He will be heartbroken’.

The stunned reporter, still in shock from what he had witnessed and said, ‘I thought she was your child.’ The man looked back at him and said, ‘no, but aren’t they all our children?’

The obvious answer is that yes, they are all our children. They are also God’s children, and they are all entrusted to all of humanity.[1] It doesn’t matter whether these children are born in Basingstoke, Gaza, Jerusalem, Kiev, Moscow, or Kinshasa; they are all God’s children and today Jesus tells us we are to welcome them in His name and by doing so, we welcome Jesus.

In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom we can see a description of Jesus’ Passion; written centuries before it happened; as he was tortured and beaten before being crucified; Jesus still asked his Father to forgive the perpetrators.

In the second reading, St James is warning us that disputes come from jealousy and ambition, and wherever we find jealousy and ambition we will find disharmony and wicked things of every kind. His counter to disharmony is the wisdom that comes from God. Being close to God and living according to God’s word means living in peace, being considerate, compassionate and serving our brothers and sisters. St James continues by encouraging us to pray, God always answers our prayers. However, as we know, sometimes the answer to our prayers is, no. God will give us what we need, the things we desire which are not good for us, will be denied.

In the Gospel we hear about the disciples not fully understanding what Jesus meant by His death and resurrection. They sort of understood that Jesus would be leaving them, as they started to try and plan who would take Jesus’ place as their leader. This is when a row broke out. They were demonstrating the words from the letter from St James in the second reading about desires. They were manoeuvring their position, putting themselves forward to be number one, in charge of the others. But, as in many of the ways of Jesus, he tells them that to truly lead they must me servants of all; they and we, need to put our needs to the bottom of our list and put the needs of others first. True service, diakonia, is where the word ‘deacon’ comes from. As a deacon, I am not to lord it over anyone. My role is to serve. Service of the altar, service of the Word and service of charity. My service at the altar is probably the most visible of the things I do as a deacon; attending Mass, serving the priest, proclaiming the Gospel, distributing Holy Communion. My service of the Word also involves proclaiming the Gospel, sometimes giving a Homily, [for me, writing these reflections for publication on the Parish websites or use in my Homily are also part of my service of the Word]. In the absence of a priest, service of the Word could also involve leading a Liturgy of the Word, however, this would be in exceptional circumstances.

My service of Charity involves praying daily the prayers of the Church for the needs of my parish and the world; it involves visiting the sick, supporting the foodbank, getting involved in other charitable works, supporting those in need taking Holy Communion to people in hospital, the housebound or in care homes. It also involves encouraging and supporting others to serve God; by putting their faith into action.

I’m not listing these things to put myself on a pedestal, because God knows there is so much more that I could do that I don’t make the time to do. This is what I have been called to do, and we all have a calling; the bare minimum we need to do is love God and love our neighbour, maybe you are discerning what God is calling you to do at this time?

If we look at today’s Gospel again and reflect on our own behaviours, do we ever jockey for position, trying to get the best seat, or put ourselves above others? Do we see others as beneath us? Perhaps, we have never challenged any feelings of superiority which have tempted us? Jesus is telling us that, if we want to be first, then we need to serve. You might be sitting there thinking I’m too busy working to give up my time to help, could you make a donation to a worthy cause? You might be thinking, I don’t have any money to donate, could you give your time? You might be thinking, I’m too old or ill to help out, could you give your prayers? God has given every one of us life, all He asks of us is to give something back; we all have something to offer, because our God is a loving God.

As the saying goes, the only time we should ever look down upon someone is when we are giving them a hand up.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 539, 565, 600-605, 713: Christ, obedient Servant of God
CCC 786: to serve is to reign
CCC 1547, 1551: priestly ministry as service
CCC 2538-2540: the sin of envy
CCC 2302-2306: safeguarding peace

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The families completing the Baptism Preparation Programme this Sunday at St Bede’s.
• Cassian and his family who will celebrate his Baptism at St Bede’s this Sunday [22^nd].
• The success of the forthcoming Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, in the pastoral area.[2]
• Those excluded from society
• The success of the forthcoming pilgrimage to Medjugorje which some parishioners are going on

Deacon Tony

21^st September 2024

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[1] Jim Wallis, All God’s Children, taken from A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers, by Fr William Bausch, [The Columba Press, Dublin, 1998] 306.

[2] Money coaching sessions at St Bede’s

[Isaiah 50:5-9; Psalm 114; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35]

When I was a young boy, I was struck deeply by the story of St Damien. If you remember, St Damien was a Catholic priest who took the Good News to the Hawaiian islands and whilst there, felt called to serve the desperately sick islanders, eventually making the decision to travel across to Molokoi which had been nicknamed Devil’s Island; which is where they sent those diagnosed with leprosy. St Damien travelled there knowing he could never come back. St Damien contracted leprosy and died from it after suffering for 4 years. As a child, I was struck by the selflessness of St Damien. He was a man who trusted completely in God and through his faith in God, decided to serve those who were sick and dying; those whom the rest of society had completely rejected and discarded to save their own skins.

St Damien is the type of man who St James could have given as an example of someone who proved they had faith by the good works they carried out. St James is telling us that we can claim to have faith as much as we want, but unless we put our faith into action and serve those in need, then our faith is as strong as a paper bag, which as we know can become useless when exposed to water, is destroyed if exposed to flame and can be popped if over inflated. A good way for us to put our faith into action is by supporting the warm spaces initiative which starts this Wednesday in St Bede’s, providing a welcome for those who need shelter from the autumn and winter weather.

In the Gospel this week, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, and He knows what he must do.  In a way, Jesus is checking how His teaching has affected the apostles, so he asks them “who do (other) people say I am?” Jesus hears the predictable replies, ‘some say John the Baptist, or Elijah or one of the other prophets’; Jesus then asks the apostles – “But you, who do you say that I am?”  Peter said that Jesus is the Christ.  In Mark’s Gospel there is no statement here about Peter being given Divine inspiration or being told he is the rock.  In Mark’s Gospel they are told to keep this to themselves.

If we listen carefully to the language used, we can hear that the initial question is asking; what they have heard others say, the second question is asking ‘who do you say that I am?’  We could study every piece ever written about Jesus and find out what other people have to say about Him, but at the end of the day Jesus still comes back and asks us “Who do you say that I am?”  This is a very personal question and requires a very personal and honest response.  A response that if we are really looking to follow Jesus, will require us to enter into a truly personal relationship with Him.  Peter was only able to recognise Jesus as the Christ because he got to know Jesus up close and personal. It was this relationship that allowed the Holy Spirit to inspire Peter, to give him wisdom, courage and the leadership skills which would be essential after Jesus ascended to His Father.

Jesus is calling on us to follow him.  He goes on to tell the apostles that he is destined to suffer, die and rise again, something, which at the time was too much for Peter to accept.  Peter, who had just recognised Jesus as the Christ was immediately rebuked.  The apostles’ understanding at that time would have been that the Christ would be a mighty king who would elevate Israel above all other nations.  Jesus was teaching them that God had a different idea of the Christ and that God’s way was for the Christ to conquer something that no man could ever do.  Jesus’ victory is over death.  Death has no power over Jesus.  Jesus fulfilled His destiny and calls on us to fulfil ours.  Jesus obeyed the will of His Father and calls upon us to follow Him.

When Jesus asks us, “who do you say that I am?  How do we respond?

My response is that I believe Jesus is Our Saviour, the Son of God and to commit to trying harder to see those in need in front of me.  This has been a real challenge for me, sometimes it is so easy to go around trying to get the things done that I need to get done, that I walk past those in need. These are the times when I may be walking past Jesus, when I could be accused of not feeding the hungry. These are the times when I need to press pause on my busyness and give these brothers and sisters some of the time which God has given me.

Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  We all have different crosses to bear in this world; we are all called to bear those crosses and to help those around us who are struggling.  We can all be Simon of Cyrene to someone else, just like we all may need someone else to help us at some stage too.  Being a Christian doesn’t mean trying to carry our cross alone, sometimes we need to be gracious enough to accept help, just like Jesus accepted the help of Simon (on the road to the crucifixion) to fulfil his destiny.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 713-716: the path of the Messiah traced out in the “Servant Songs”
CCC 440, 571-572, 601: Jesus suffered and died for our salvation
CCC 618: our participation in Christ’s sacrifice
CCC 2044-2046: good works manifest faith

Life with Lepers: The Extraordinary Story of St. Damien – National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The families starting Baptism Preparation this Sunday at St Bede’s.
• The success of the Warm Spaces initiative, which starts at St Bede’s this Wednesday [18^th]
• The success of the forthcoming Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, in the pastoral area.[1]
• Those excluded from society

Deacon Tony

14^th September 2024

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[1] Money coaching sessions at St Bede’s

[Isaiah 35:4-7; Psalm 145; James 2:1-5; Mark 7:31-37]

One of the prayers which can be used during a Baptism is the Ephphatha Prayer and it comes from the Gospel used today “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.” These words recall the actions of Jesus when he healed the deaf man with the speech impediment. Jesus touched his ear and his tongue. In the Baptism Service the celebrant touches the ear and the lips of the person being baptised.

One of the ironic things in the Gospel is that after the miracle where the man was now able to speak and hear; Jesus ordered those present to tell no one, but we read that the more Jesus insisted on this the more widely they published it. While the deaf man could now hear, those present did not listen, and while Jesus released the ligament in the deaf man’s tongue those present failed to control their own tongue and spread the word about the works of Jesus.

All of this was of course prophesised in the Old Testament, and those who were present when this miracle took place would have been very aware of the words of Isaiah found in our First Reading today. Isaiah spoke about God coming to save them; this was during the time of exile and amongst the wonders which the Saviour would do are listed: ‘the ears of the deaf shall be unsealed and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy’. Surely those who witnessed Jesus’ miracle were singing for joy; they had seen with their own eyes, the difference in the man who had been healed; and recognised the signs of the Messiah within the actions of Jesus. I think, for me, remembering how the Gospel today is linked with the Baptism service will give me a new focus at the times when I baptise and use these words and a chance to remind the people attending the Baptism of this Gospel passage.

In the Second Reading today, we are warned by St James not to treat people differently according to how they look or how they appear to be in the social pecking order. All God’s children are equal in the eyes of the Lord. St James pointed out that God chose people who ‘were poor according to the world’ to be rich in faith. We can see this in the world today. In the developed parts of the world, those deemed to be rich in the eyes of the world; we see attendance at Church diminishing. However, in the poorer parts of the world, the Church is vibrant, growing and alive; this is often despite serious persecution from Governments and other organisations.

Whilst in the Gospel, Jesus tells them to tell no one, we, who are baptised, are called to actively go out and share our faith with those we encounter. Our ears have been unblocked to hear His word and our tongue has been freed to proclaim his faith. We are also aware that we don’t just share God’s word through our words; we have also been given hands and feet to do His work. There are times when it is difficult to hear God’s word, for example when we allow other words, sounds and noises to enter our ears and sadly at times we allow words, which are nothing to do with our faith; to leave our lips. The message from Jesus, our Saviour, is that His touch can heal us, we just need to come to Him and keep coming back to Him every time we fail. The well of His mercy never dries up, so let us all be like the man in the Gospel today, find a place, away from the crowd and allow Jesus to touch us, allow our hearts to be opened or in the words of Jesus ‘Ephphatha’.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 1503-1505: Christ the Physician
CCC 1151-1152: signs used by Christ; sacramental signs
CCC 270-271: the mercy of God

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The men and their families who recommence Formation for the Diaconate this weekend.
• The success of the forthcoming Christians Against Poverty [CAP] money coaching programme, in the pastoral area.[1]

Deacon Tony

5^th September 2024

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[1] Money coaching sessions at St Bede’s

[Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8; Psalm 14; James 1:17-18,21-23,27; Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23]

In the first reading today, we hear Moses tell the people about the laws given by God to enable them to have life, enter and take possession of the land that God was giving them. They were instructed to obey those laws and not to remove anything or add anything to them. They are also told that by obeying these laws they will be envied by other nations, and they will truly keep God close to them and be recognised as a mighty nation.

In the Gospel we hear Jesus turn criticism of his disciples back on to the critics, accusing them of adding to these same laws given to the Jewish nation by God via Moses. It was through this same passage that Jesus declared foods to be clean and insisted that it isn’t what we put into our bodies which makes us unclean, it is the things which come from the heart, which are evil, that make us unclean. Jesus lists a whole range of sins which we may recognise that can come from within us. The emphasis here is that if we obey the laws given by God then we are less likely to fall into evil ways, because the laws of God are perfect and the human regulations and traditions which were inserted over the years by the Jewish religious leaders, allowed ‘work arounds’ or ways of bending God’s laws, and if we remember the original statement given by Moses we know that they were not allowed to add or take away any of the law.

The second reading today, comes from the letter of St James, here we are reminded that what God gives us is perfect because it comes from the Father of all light. He never changes and He made us first fruits of all that He created. St James goes on to tell us that we must accept and submit to the word that has been planted in us and this means obeying God’s words; not looking for our own ‘work arounds’ to try and convince ourselves that what we are doing doesn’t really matter or that the sin we want to commit doesn’t harm anyone. The reality is that it harms us and our relationship with God and hardens our hearts; so that we are unable to love God and our neighbour in the way we are called to do.

This idea of first fruits is used elsewhere today, as we enter the Season of Creation. In our Pastoral Area there is a service at 3 pm today [Sunday 1^st September], in Christchurch in Chineham where we will celebrate an ecumenical service with our brothers and sisters from the other Christian denominations, as well as local politicians and dignitaries. The theme of the service is “To hope and act with Creation” and we are asked to keep in mind the first fruits of hope. I will be part of the Ecumenical Service and during it I will use a story from a nun, whose mother was a Native American from the Seneca Iroquois tribe. The story talks about the Native American tradition of looking back seven generations and forward seven generations, recognising who we came from, the sacrifices they made for us and that it is our responsibility to think about those who will come after us; by only using the resources we need to use and ensuring that future generations have what they need; through us making responsible decisions.

However, to mark the Season of Creation, I’m going to use another story this morning from Sister Jose Hobday which also looks at creation. She said that when children were born in her family, they were given a special birth gift. Her father made each of them a little leather pouch, which they referred to as their own little medicine bag. It was a tradition passed down from her mother’s family. In the bag her mother put two things in and so did her dad. They were then given the medicine bag and told to put it in a special place. The tradition was that if they died without their medicine bag then it would be buried separately. This happened with some family members who served overseas during a war. Otherwise, the medicine bag would be buried with the owner.

When they were old enough to understand, they were told what was in their medicine bag. Sister Jose said that her mother had placed inside her bag, a pinch of soil from the state of Texas because she had been born there. She had also placed a piece of umbilical cord from her birth, about two inches of it had been dried in the sun and crumbled it into the soil. She was told that these two things, the cord and the pinch of Texas, symbolised that she had come from the land and her parents. They were to help her remember that she didn’t start out by herself; that she was dependent upon the land and upon family.

She continued by saying that her dad had placed a feather into each child’s bag; he had burned a small piece of the feather and mixed it in with the things her mother had put in. The reason for this was that birds were of the sky. They can soar to the horizon and beyond. The feather said that each of the children were also to soar and find their own place in the world. Her dad would never tell any of the children what other item he placed into their bags. It represented the unknown, the mystery in life. No matter how much pleading or probing or guesses they made; he never revealed the mystery item.

Sister Jose said that to have a mystery like that set before her from an early age proved to be a big help once she began to work with the mysteries in her life, which came along later. It also helped her to understand that God is the centre of all mystery. She still has her medicine bag and describes it as a wonderful gift from her parents; she added that it has shown her the importance of making symbols that tie us to places and to people and to God.[1]

The Season of Creation prompts us to think about our Creator; what He has created and reminds us of the responsibilities God gave us to look after all that He created. This includes all life, the land, the seas and rivers. Everything He has made has a profound beauty; even if we can’t see it or if we consider it to be a pest. Everything created by God has a purpose. The symbols we use during this time remind us of the first fruits. The first fruits in nature are a sign of hope that there will be more fruits provided by our bountiful Father. At our Baptism we become new creations, if we are baptised as young children, our parents make the promises to bring us up in the faith. As parents, Godparents and as Grandparents we have a sense of joy as the youngsters start to say prayers alongside us, joining in and even making their own petitions. These are first fruits, that the seeds of faith we have sown are starting to bear fruit. So, as we begin this Season of Creation, may we always remember that God gives us everything we need and more, it is up to us to only use what we need, to share what we have been given with those who are in need and to protect our planet for those who will be around for seven generations and beyond.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 577-582: Christ and the Law
CCC 1961-1974: the Old Law and the Gospel

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• The pupils and staff returning to our schools this week and those who are starting school for the first time or are moving to new schools or colleges
• Those with mental health issues.
• The Season of Creation which starts 1^st September and continues to the Feast of St Francis on 4^th October.

Deacon Tony

30^th August 2024

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[1] Sr Jose Hobday, The Medicine Bag, taken from A World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers by Fr William J Bausch, [Twenty-third Publications, Mystic, CT, 1998] 240.

[Joshua 24:1-2,15-17,18; Psalm 33; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:60-69]

There are obvious parallels in our first reading from the Book of Joshua and in the Gospel we hear today. In the first reading, we hear how Joshua: who has by this time taken the Jewish people into the land of milk and honey following the death of Moses; gathers all of the tribes together and asks them to renew the covenant with promises to the Lord. He does this because in the 40 years of wandering, the original group of escaped slaves had been joined by various tribes; so not all of them had been present at the original covenant. Joshua gives them a choice between serving the Lord who had saved them or serving other gods. Thankfully the people chose the Lord.

In the Gospel, some of those who hear the words of Jesus, describe his words as intolerable, other translations describe it as difficult or hard. This of course could mean that they found it difficult to understand or difficult to accept or maybe even both. These followers decided they could not follow Jesus because of this. When Jesus saw there were only a few left, He asked the Twelve, ‘what about you, do you want to go away too?’ Here we have St Peter speaking up, on behalf of the twelve. St Peter did not find it any easier or clearer than the others; the difference is that St Peter chose to believe and accept the words of Jesus. Those who wandered away had had their faith eaten away by the malcontents, in other words, those who complain at every turn, those people who destroy dreams or burst people’s bubbles.

In the challenge given by Joshua, the majority accepted the covenant from the Old Testament. In the challenge given by Jesus for the New Covenant in the New Testament, it appears only a few remained behind. We have the same choice today, do we accept that the bread and wine is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ? Or do we allow those who decry our faith to eat away at what we believe in?

In the second reading we hear from St Paul that the relationship between Christ and the Church is similar to the relationship a husband has with his wife. It is a relationship of respect and mutual submission to one another in love. Building a healthy home where God is loved and revered. Enshrining God in the home and following Christ’s teachings; making every Christian home a domestic church.[1]

When we prepare couples for the Baptism of their young children, we remind them that they are the first teachers of their children, that they are to bring the children up in the faith of the Church. We speak about ensuring their home is one where prayers are said and explain how prayer can be a great way of them helping their children to grow and articulate the fears and joys in their life. This comes out of being a domestic church.

We are like the people in the first reading and the followers of Jesus in today’s Gospel.  The people of Joshua 1300 years before Christ and us 2000 years after the birth of Jesus are united in that we can choose to follow the true God who rescued us.  The Israelites forefathers were rescued from slavery in Egypt, and they made the choice to follow God based on the signs God worked and how He rescued them despite their many failings.  We have been rescued from the slavery of sin by Jesus conquering death.  We can choose to follow the other gods – the world’s way, things like pursuit of wealth, success, recognition, selfishness, apathy towards others etc. – or to follow Jesus.  Will we be like the followers of Jesus who heard Jesus speak, found it difficult to understand, difficult to accept and walk away.  Or will we be like Peter and the other apostles, who, as I said earlier, no doubt found it difficult to hear, difficult to understand as well, but stayed because they had faith in Jesus? 

We face this challenge every day when we are tempted to sin; how we respond will affect our eternal future.  Do we pick and choose the parts of the Church’s teaching which appeal to us or suit our current desires?  If we are in doubt about Church teaching, do we try to find out what is correct, or do we decide based on what we want to do?  I know that in the past I have made decisions, which I am not proud of, which if I had read a little bit more or heard a priest or a deacon speak about at Mass then perhaps my decisions would have been different.  As Christians we have an obligation to live as Jesus wants us to live. This means finding out what Jesus taught and not making it up as we go along.  When we find ourselves hearing something in the teachings of the Church which we find uncomfortable we need to ask ourselves what is it that disconcerts me?  What is it about this that troubles me?  Give it some thought, seek out a priest or a religious or even a deacon, ask them to help you understand.  Then when you have thought about it, put yourself in the middle of today’s Gospel, with Jesus standing in front of you and saying to you “What about you, do you want to go away too?”

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 796: the Church as the Bride of Christ
CCC 1061-1065: God’s utter fidelity and love
CCC 1612-1617, 2360-2365: marriage in the Lord

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• Our young people who have received their exam results recently, that we rejoice with those who are happy with their results and console those who are disappointed.
• Those with mental health issues.

Deacon Tony

24^th August 2024

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[1] Oseagwina Jerome Ituah OCD, Pastoral Review Vol 20. Issue 3, [The Tablet Publishing Company, Twickenham, London, 2024] 80.

[Proverbs 9:1-6; Psalm 33; Ephesians 5:15-20; John 6:51-58]

Today we are given choices between wisdom and folly. In the first reading we are invited by wisdom to ‘come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared! Leave your folly and you will live, walk in the way of perception.’ Jesus is the Wisdom of God when he speaks to us in the Gospel, telling us that the bread spoken of in the Old Testament has become a person in the New Testament. Jesus is the Living Bread; his flesh is given for the life of the world.[1]

Jesus is desperate for them to accept this; He emphasises that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood. Jesus wants everyone to be saved. Again, Jesus wants them to make the wise decision and choose life over death. The choice is a startling but simple one, He says ‘eat my flesh and live’, the Living Bread of the New Testament gives eternal life, those who ate the bread in the Old Testament are dead.

In the second reading St Paul is urging us to lead a simple life, he is urging us to use the talents God has given us, including our intellect. He warns us against doping our senses with alcohol. Instead of using artificial means, we have to trust in the Holy Spirit, sing psalms and hymns when we are together and continue to sing and chant them in our hearts when we are alone. This reminds me of the times when I find myself with a tune in my head on a Monday morning and realise it is either the Responsorial psalm or a hymn from one of the Masses on the Sunday.

He is telling us to stay focussed on the prize of immortality, nothing else should get in the way. If we think of the past few weeks in our country where some people took advantage of the senseless killing of children to incite hatred of others; we can see that people were influenced by the promptings of others to react, some of them were quite clearly seen to be carrying alcohol; allowing the hatred as well as the alcohol; and perhaps other substances; to fuel their lust for destruction. While St Paul was writing almost two thousand years ago, the description of ‘wicked age’ could be applied to today just as it was to those times so long ago.

Those who sewed the putrid hatred of others because of their religion or colour would do well to obey the last verse of the psalm used today: “Then keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn aside from evil and do good; seek and strive for peace.” By seeking and getting to know Jesus as the Son of God and the Bread of Life, they and we could learn to love instead of hate. If this could happen then maybe this land could become that green and pleasant land once more and all men and women could live in harmony.

Further Reading

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

CCC 1402-1405: the Eucharist, pledge of future glory
CCC 2828-2837: the Eucharist is our daily bread
CCC 1336: scandal

From Placid Murray OSB [with the new translation inserted at the prayers during Mass.]

“We cannot explain the mysteries of our faith, but we can put them into words. By comparing one mystery with another, we can help ourselves to accept and love them: the light from one mystery will clarify the difficulty arising from another.

The Son of Man came down from heaven, once, long ago, when he was born of our Lady. He comes as the living Bread from heaven repeatedly at Mass. We can help our understanding of his presence in the Eucharist, if we compare it to his first coming on earth. When we speak of his ‘coming’ in either case – at the Incarnation and in the Eucharist – there is no question of travel, distance or space, as we usually understand such things.

The Jews had asked the question: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ We can answer that question by two prayers from the Mass:

1. The bread and wine on the altar, as physical things, come from earth, not from heaven. This is quite clearly said in the prayer at the Offertory: ‘through your goodness we have received the bread we offer you: fruit of the earth and work of human hands, it will become the bread of life.’
2. The consecration of the bread and wine comes from heaven: We shall hear this during the Eucharistic Prayer: ‘Therefore, O Lord, we humbly implore you: by the same Spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration, that they may become the Body and Blood of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we celebrate these mysteries.’

This then is our answer to the Jews’ question: ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ – How?

By the power of his Spirit, in answer to the Church’s prayer, said by the ministry of her priests.”[2]

Please keep in your prayers this week

• The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
• Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
• All the staff and pupils of our schools that they have a safe and healthy break over the summer holidays.
• Those with mental health issues.
• Ariana, Ariella, George, Sophie and Lianne who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.

Deacon Tony

16^th August 2024

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[1] Oseagwina Jerome Ituah OCD, Pastoral Review Vol 20. Issue 3, [The Tablet Publishing Company, Twickenham, London, 2024] 79.

[2] Placid Murray OSB, 100 Liturgical Homilies, Artos ouranios Sunday 20, Year B, [The Columba Press, Dublin, 1988] 92.