The Holy Family

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. yesterday we celebrated the birth of a tiny Baby, greeted with awe and adoration. Today, we commemorate a family in deep stress because their Son  is seen as a threat to a jealous king: Joseph and Mary are running for their lives from Herod the Great. Tradition says that after three years in exile, another angel informs Joseph that Herod the Great is dead. The Holy Family returns to their homeland, not to Bethlehem, since the new King Archelaus who reigns in his father’s place is also a cruel and barbaric ruler. Joseph brings Mary and Jesus to his native town of Nazareth in Galilee. There, they lived a simple ordinary life, Joseph as a carpenter, and Mary as a housewife and mother.

Jesus grew in holiness and in knowledge of God’s will in the same ordinary ways that families do in our day.  St. Paul, in the reading from Colossians, gives families, both our own individual families, and the wider family of the Church and state a surefire formula for success. We are to act with “heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” This is a lovely piece of scripture because compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are for me signs of mercy. As we think about the Holy Family we recognize the sacrifice that Joseph and Mary  made for Jesus, in the same way as we recognize the many sacrifices our own parents made for us  and many more  are making for their children today in our I want what I want and  I get what I want world.   Our families would find the disagreements, stressful relationships, and resentments that spoil the joy of family harmony so much easier to solve by trying to imitate the faith and loving trust of the Holy Family.

“Lord Jesus, you came to restore us to unity with the Father in heaven. Where there is division, bring healing and pardon. May all people and families find peace, wholeness, and unity in you, the Prince of Peace.”

Christmas 2021

As we celebrate the Christmas Festivities this year it seems to be a good time to think about where we are. Last Christmas  was very different and again this year will be different for many reasons most of them pandemic related. Over the last 18 months many things have happened and so many people have lost much loved family members as a result of the pandemic as well as other health related reasons. I am reminded of the line in the rites of the church that reads that for gods faithful people life is changed not ended and that is true for us this year as we reflect on the Christmas Story and what it means to us today.  As we think about the Christmas story in 2021 the question to ask ourselves is this; has all our preparation been about tinsel and glitter without anything else especially the spiritual preparation that Advent calls for. Preparing for Christmas is often a tense time as the craziness goes on around us craziness that is magnified with the pandemic and all the restrictions it has brought.

At this time when we celebrate the birth of “a saviour who has been born for us”, we welcome an opportunity to put aside our cares and worries, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus the Son of God. As we do this we cannot forget those who are less well off than we are, those who have little or nothing at all. We are mindful of all those organizations such as the Salvation Army and the St. Vincent DePaul who do so much good for so many at this time of year and throughout the whole year.  We also remember in a special way all those who have been affected by COVID19 as well as their families. We thank god for all those in the caring professions that have given so much to keep all of us safe and sound they are the real heroes in all of this. None of us will travel to Bethlehem to behold the newborn infant lying in the manger in the way the original shepherds and the wise men did. Some of our Christmas customs seem to turn away from Christ. Or do they? The giving of gifts expresses love of one person for another.  Festive decorations set this season apart from all others.

Santa Claus was originally St. Nicholas, who was bishop of Myra in Lycia which is now in Turkey he was remembered for his generosity. Every letter or card sent and received bears the stamp of this special season, tidings of good will, and a reminder that those who are far away are close to us in mind and heart. The customs of this season direct all of us to one message:  Christ is born for us. To hear the good news, we gather together in our churches. There the message of Christmas speaks loud and clear. The Letter to the Hebrews clearly tells us, “In times past, God spoke in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son.” The customs of Christmas speak the message in partial ways, but God speaks the message clearly through his Son, who is in our midst this Christmas time. At this time the whole community of heaven joins with all believers of good will on earth in a jubilant song of praise for the good news proclaimed by the angels: 

Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people, for to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:10-11). So with Mary and Joseph with the shepherds and Angels and the Arch Angels and the whole company of heaven    Let us take the good news of great joy into our hearts and let the joy and peace flourish therein. We are the people who once walked in darkness who have seen the light that Isaiah talks about.  Let us be thankful for this great light that is Christ the Son of God our saviour the light of the world.  Let us keep the light burning brightly in our hearts and in our lives.  There will be many trials and difficult times for all of us as we continue to journey with the COVID pandemic as there have been many trials for so many people over the last 18 months. But for all of us who believe in Christ the light nothing is impossible for in Jesus the Christ Child God became man and he gives us faith and hope . So Come let us adore Christ the Lord the face of the fathers love for all of us whoever we are wherever we are this Christmas Time.

4th Sunday of Advent

The final Sunday of Advent draws us closer to the celebration of the Christmas mysteries. Christmas is almost upon us: yet are we ready in the true sense of the word remembering that Jesus is the reason for the season? Christmas we are told is a time for many things  yet for all of us it is a time of stress and pressure with all the extra things that need to be done and covid adds another dimension in terms of what we should or shouldn’t do.  For many it is a time when we are fearful that the children won’t be disappointed or that there will be tension in relationships or there will be a breakdown in the ceasefire with the in-laws.  And on top of all this there is a feeling of guilt for feeling like this when we should be happier that we are. Now in the midst of the preparations we meet Mary and her cousin Elisabeth in our Gospel reading for this weekend. Mary, who herself had been prepared for the coming of the Messiah.

She has received the angel’s greeting, and his strange news, and has accepted her role in God’s plan. Now she hurries to her kinswoman, Elizabeth, who herself bears John the Baptist in her womb. John, alerts us to the presence of the Lord, as he leaps for joy in his mother’s womb. His joy is that God has kept his promise, and is with his people.  That two women were chosen to play such a role in the story of salvation is remarkable, as women were often marginalized in the society of their time. In all of these events we see the great mission that Mary undertook as a privileged instrument in the hands of God. Mary is not only the mother of the source of grace; she is the very model of what a Christian heart should look like. We look to Mary to see our fullest Christian dig­nity. In Lumen Gentium 68, Vatican II describes our contem­plation of Mary as an act of entering our own deepest mystery, catching a glimpse of what we shall be at the end of our faith journey.

Over the next few days the journey to Christmas will have many pressures for everyone especially those who are worried or afraid about so many things.  Mary in her calm gentle way encourages us to trust in God’s word and to believe in God’s promises as she did. If we believe and have trust in God as Mary did then all the problems that might arise will assume their proper perspective and we will get through them and come out the other side wondering why we got so worried in the first place.

3rd Sunday of Advent

This weekend we celebrate Gaudete Sunday which translates as rejoicing Sunday and we light the pink candle on the Advent Wreath also in some places the vestments may be a rose colour.  In the readings for this Sunday both John the Baptist and Paul share one belief: that the Lord is very near. God’s nearness didn’t act as a threat to them, but gave them a infectious  source of joy that no one could take away. Their joy in the closeness of God gave an edge to their preaching and teaching exhorting others  as well as ourselves to prepare the way for of the lord; it also gave them a vision to see the far side of disaster; it moved them to draw others into that sense of joy. None of them was enclosed in his own joy each moved out going round in the hope his inner joy would be caught by the people of their time and place and many people were caught by the joy they had to pass on to them. The picture of John the Baptist as a man of joy is not one you hear about very often. John is usually portrayed as a lonesome figure, with a weird wardrobe and weirder diet remember the hair shirt and the locusts and honey he ate,. But John who rants and raves at anyone with ears  to hear was a character who intrigued people and as a result they would seek him out and follow him. People don’t journey into the wilderness just to get insulted; people don’t become disciples for the wardrobe and diet. Here was a man who cared nothing at all for comfort, money or fame, who could not be bought, and who would speak the truth without fear. In John people could see something of God. John spoke to the people in words they understand when he told them exactly what they should be doing.  

John made such a deep impression that word goes around that he might be the Christ. Again, that expectant feeling is a measure of John’s effect on people around him. John did not  claim to know who the Messiah was going to be instead he tells the people that he is not that person. That role is for someone else, someone greater and more powerful than he was. And as we know that person was Jesus the Son of the Father. We are called to be joyful witnesses to Jesus but as we know with all that is going on around us these days that is not easy especially with the ongoing COVID pandemic and all it has brought to us. There many things in the way’s of the World that continue to block the presence of the Lord from us. Once again we are reminded that It’s time for us to prepare the way for the Lord so that we will be able to welcome him into our lives our hearts and our homes when he comes at Christmas.  

As we celebrate our rejoicing and light the pink candle this weekend are we prepared to open our hearts and minds to the fact that the Lord is near and pass on the joy of St. Paul and John the Baptist on to the people around us by the way we live our lives

2nd Sunday of Advent

This Sunday we light the second purple candle on the Advent Wreath and we hear the gospel story of John the Baptist the voice in the wilderness. John was called to be the herald of the Lord calling the people of his time to  repentance John the Baptist plays a prominent role in all the gospels, but particularly in Luke. John hears the word in the desert then he tells the people throughout the whole Jordan region to prepare the way for the Lord make straight his paths. The Jordan was important place in the faith life of the Jewish believers. After their desert wanderings the people crossed over the Jordan river into the promised land. They left behind slavery, came to know God in the desert and were finally prepared by God to cross into new life. All the readings share a marvellous insight: people begin to change when they are encouraged to see the best in themselves, not when they are asked to dwell with the worst in themselves.Blessed John Henry Newman reminds us that “Advent is a time of waiting; it is a time of joy because the coming of Christ is not only a gift of grace and salvation but it is also a time of commitment because it motivates us to live the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance. We all need help and encouragement to leave behind all the things that have become destructive in our lives. We need help in thinking about ourselves differently, and imagining the good effect that will have on others. We have to take time during advent to reflect what kind of person God wants us to be, what God’s plan is for us as we prepare the way for the Lord. We need to have faith in the future, to see the power of God working in the change that Jesus brings to us and through us to others. In this Gospel passages John calls all of us to a better faith filled life. This  means the necessity, of an industrious, living ‘wait’ as we prepare the way for the Lord pruning away all that hinders us from making him welcome when he comes at Christmas .

As we continue our  advent  journey we need to stop and  ask ourselves what are we waiting for. Are we waiting for the razzmatazz and presents that the secular part of Christmas bring or are  we preparing for the greatest gift from God to us that is  his Son, Jesus the light in the darkness who John the Baptist foretold when he said prepare the way for the lord make straight his paths.