07/06/2023

Each individual one of us lives out our lives in a unique way. We are each a complete being and each of us lives in God's Providence with complete freedom as to how to react in our encounter to the many faceted reality that is our world. 

The story of Tobit is the story of one man and his reaction to his circumstances in life. He is more than miserable; he is lamenting his condition but knows that it is God's Providence, not an impersonal "fate", that has brought him so low. Just as I am now alone responding to the Scriptures with my individual being there were thousands of others then reacting to reality as they experienced it. All human life is unique as is each moment of time.

Tobit who knows his own sins calls out to God for forgiveness. Amongst the millions living then, Sarah heard the disrespect in which she was held by her father's slaves. Sarah had been brought low by the mysterious deaths of her potential husbands. As she contemplated suicide her conscience called her to a better way to confront her reality. She and her family knew the Law and so she turned in prayer to the Lord.

Jesus in the Gospel is confronted by the "No life after death" wing of the Temple Authorities who put a carefully crafted "thought experiment" question to him. They were used to catching each other out by sophistry but the human intelligence of  Jesus was enough to unravel their nonsense. It is not, however, human intelligence that tells us that after our resurrection, the last day, " we will be like "angels" and that there will be no marriage  for it is the Son who reveals this to us all.

Dear Lord, let me remember the joy which has inspired the psalm today. Let me know your ways and let me follow them with sincerity of heart and firmness of will. May Mary who displayed only faithfulness during her time on earth bring comfort to souls suffering in purgatory and open the eyes of us all on earth to the way, truth, life that is Jesus, Son of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

 06/06/2023

The story of Tobit continues in this morning's first reading. His misfortunes begin with his blindness. His wife complains that his righteousness has only brought misery to his family. In the Gospel, Jesus is still being attacked by the big-shot clergy of his day.

The scribes and high priests although belonging to very different theological backgrounds, they are divided by their beliefs in a life after death, present a unified front to attack Jesus. Jesus can never be fooled by man's intentions and so we hear "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's".

The problems of the extent of  Church authority in this world are still with us, although increasingly swept under the carpet. Were our Bishops and priests right to close our churches during "Covid"? Is possible for "marriage" to take place between individuals of the same sex? Can mankind possibly over-rule the law of God?

Jesus did tell us that there is an institution that he founded to ensure that his presence would be with us in the world until "the end of time". In the very public setting of his trial, he also told the representative of worldly power, Pilate  that  "My Kingdom is not of this world". Do we really think that God's providence would contradict the Word? So what are we to make of the fact that the political power of the Papacy did exist for most of the 2000 years since the resurrection.?

 Jesus' foundation soon claimed for itself "Supreme Power on Earth"and millions had to die over centuries for the "World" to finally win this struggle between Pope and Emperor and confine the worldly Power of the Keys to one only of the hills of Rome. Has the Spiritual Kingdom  founded by Jesus completely disappeared or can it be found if we search hard enough?

The behaviour of popes bishops and priests over the centuries has also done very little to confirm the moral or other worldly authority of the Church. Recent revelations of the personal sins, even against children, of clergy do not give me much confidence that I can truly find the Jesus, "Do this in memory of me" within the Church that claims Apostolic Succession as the guarantor of her being the Spiritual Body on Earth of her Founder.

Dear Lord, I know that you have not abandoned your people. I know that somewhere within your Church there is still beating the "fire of your love". I am only one sinner who in the past, has wasted much of your grace but by its ever greater power has sincerely returned to you. Mary, John and all the Saints are the perfect Church with you in Eternity, please listen to their pleas and let your love pour out over the whole world and bring to their senses Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Canons, Deans Priests, all of the ordained to do your will and refrain from their sinfulness which brings not only them but also us all to ruin.

 05/06/2023

Tobit and the other exiles were deprived of the centre of their worship. Their temple was no more and they were no longer in the Promised Land. They still remembered Zion and the Lord. This consciousness of their relationship to God manifested itself in their solidarity as a people, continued observance of festivals and corporal works of mercy. 

Tobit is ready to invite a poor man to eat with him but the feeding of the hungry has to wait as he is compelled by his conscience to first bury the corpse abandoned by murderers in the market place. His devotion to God displayed in his care for his "fellow man" is scorned by his neighbours.

Jesus' parable is so obviously about the Father and his love for his Chosen Ones that everyone who heard it, Scribes and High Priests, knew that it was aimed at them. The "clergy" were afraid to act because the listeners seemed to approve of Jesus and his message. They even ignored the blasphemy  implied by "owner's son ". 

We read the parable in the light of 2000 years of Christianity but they who heard it for the first time knew only the Old Testament scriptures. Maybe "Son of God" was so inconceivable a concept that it did not register at first. They went away without acting at that time but later that week it would be part of the main evidence used to justify the Crucifixion.

Dear Lord, let me  maintain the consistency of Tobit in devotion to you. Show us how the Church can be one with you. Help our English clergy to overcome the pressures of our national culture and know that nice living in comfort and pleasant surroundings is an affront to the spirit of the Gospels. May Mary and all the saints support all our priests in their devotion to virtue and avoidance of vice. Send us a new St Boniface to repeat in present day England what he did in Germany and may my sins and those of the Holy Souls become ready to receive your boundless mercy.

 04/06/2023

Today the Catholic Church asks us to celebrate the total being of God, the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 

She also reminds us that if we are to be "Catholic" this is the last day for us to pledge ourselves to our professed belief by receiving the Eucharist in a "state of grace" brought about by Sacramental Confession.

God has never said directly to us IAMFATHERSONANDHOLYSPIRIT. 

 "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased"

 "You will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit".

"Who has seen me has seen the Father".

In Rudyard Kipling's novel "Kim" the boy Kimball O Hara would lose himself in a semi-mystical trance in questioning "Who is Kim?" The word "Kim" is itself the word for "Who" in Turkic languages. He asks "WHOISWHOIS" and, whirling dervish-like, loses himself in the depths of his own soul.

In the Jewish Scriptures "IAMIAM" reveals a person responsible for "Being", the Creator , the Almighty Father. In the New Testament, Jesus, Christ, True God and True Man, reveals all that we need to know about the Kingdom of Heaven and three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit are with us as one substance, even to the end of time.

The wonder of the Kingdom, the Power and the Glory of the Trinity, is with us not to understand but to worship with the totality of our finite beings. God is unknowable except in what he reveals to our openness to him. If we seek him out as did Nicodemus we too will be given direct answers to what is troubling us. Our God wants to bring us all into his Eternal Kingdom. Why do we refuse such lavish love?

Dear Lord, You know that I hope that I am within the bounds of your Mercy. I hope that your Church is much more than the Human Institution it became as soon as our first prelates took on the trappings of worldly rulers. I hope that your grace can find me. May Mary lead all the saints in praise of your total being and may the grace of your Mercy flow over all of us bringing forgiveness to sinners on earth and complete penance to the souls in Purgatory.

 03/06/2023

Today the Church celebrates the faith displayed in martyrdom by Charles Lwanga and his companions. Africa has suffered much at the hands of Christian and Moslem nations who have used great force to take from the Africans what they wanted with no justification at all other than "might is right".

In the first reading the writer continues to praise God for the peace of mind brought to him by wisdom. He can understand his place in the world and his relationship to God. I too find comfort in trying to understand the scriptures and theological commentaries on them.

Jesus is confronted by the theologians of his day. They are challenging his "authority" to speak about God as he has not taken part in any formal "formation" process. The interpretation of the Law is in their hands alone. Jesus knows that they are worldly wise and sets them up with a sophist's unanswerable question as his reply.

God's ways are not ours. Jesus could have answered the chief priests and scribes directly. God could have saved Charles from death. We are all aware of events that leave us questioning why God does not act either to support victims or prevent tragedies from happening. In Gethsemane Jesus pleaded that the cup be taken away from him but in his perseverance he won for us salvation. 

In this world we have to accept God's Providence as the only reality we can know here and  entrust our entire Faith, Hope and Love to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sure knowledge that in that moment when we die we will be the simple ones to whom our God reveals everything that we need to be fulfilled in the being he has created for us to share.

Dear Lord, may I have the grace to face death in complete loving acceptance of your will. Heaven cannot be won even by the most heroic virtue for it is you who decide and are perfect in your judgment. Our Lady is the only human who has been created fit for Eternity may she and all the saints welcome today the unknown martyrs and devoted souls who by thy grace have persevered in their devotion  to you until the hour of their death. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithfull departed rest in peace. Amen.

 

 02/06/2023

The first reading in today's mass could have been taken from any pre-Christian source. The sentiments are 100% human and unguided and could have been written by any sage of the ancient Middle-East.

The writer is sure that the most important thing for a human being is to be acknowledged by his fellow man and to create a legacy of fame and fortune. It seems to me that mankind has always had  the "celebrity-culture" which today is the focus of so many lives around the world. The only difference between then and now being that becoming famous has been democratised. Our influencers do not have to be produced only by lineage, education and ancestral wealth but can become celebrities without going out of their own bedrooms.

The psalmist, however, knows that the only "glory that will not fail" belongs to the God of Israel, and that we all, "illustrious or not", need to put our human heroes aside and sing praise to him who takes "eternal delight" in his people. To know that God loves us is much more than riches for he "crowns the poor with salvation".

Jesus, true man and true God, does something odd this morning. He "curses" the fig-tree because it is not producing fruit out of season. Could it be that our Lord has a sense of irony and mocks all of our petty irritations which, although less than sinful, disturb the equilibrium of our souls.

There is nothing ambivalent about his actions later that day. There is a right way to use the Temple. The purpose of our Temple of the Resurrection is to praise God and to exemplify right action, morality. Our Church leadership has to avoid their focus on the things of this world i.e. financial balance-sheets and building funds, and avoid becoming entangled in fashionable cultural trends.

We are men or women and "Pride" in sin should be condemned outright rather than brought into our Cathedrals by those who should speak out against the sinful laxity of our times. Jesus was never afraid to speak the truth to the powerful or to the weak. What is the matter with our clergy today?

Dear Lord, forgiveness is what we all need from you. Help me to avoid anger and selfishness that I may make my soul open to your grace. How can I move mountains if I am not sure that I will remain without sin for the rest of this day.? Strengthen my faith and help me to see in your mother the perfect faith that enabled her to accept without question her part in your plan and let these words not be "noise" but sincere acknowledgement of your Loving Mercy.

 01/06/2023

In today's readings, two sons are subjected to incredible pain.

Poor Isaac in the first reading was forced to come to the realisation that his father was ready to slaughter him as a Sacrifice to God who had captured his father's entire being.

Jesus knows that his "hour has come" and knows that he has to use his human freedom to subject his human will to the will of his Father. He pleads with Peter and the others for the loving support that he has taught we owe to our "neighbour" especially in his hour of need. They sleep.

I have heard it preached that the drama of Abraham and Isaac is, as it were, a fable told to forbid human sacrifice which was a commonplace in the first years of humanity."Do not teach your children that God ordered Abraham to kill his son!"

The earliest years of our Faith were similarly blighted by those who could not accept the Crucifixion, "a scandal to the Jews and a foolishness to the Greeks", as the torture and death of a real body. Jesus on the Cross was some sort of wraith or deception. This is still the teaching of Jews and Moslems.

 Jesus undoubtedly consecrated his Apostles to become priests of his new Sacramental Covenant but their authority was to be exercised within his own Eternal High Priesthood. Our priests say the words of Consecration but our Sacrament is confected in heaven by the action of the High priest whose feast is celebrated today.

Dear Lord, you know the doubts that are generated in the hearts of your faithful by the lack of belief in either faith or morals of too many of your clergy. Teach us how to reform so that we all can feel confident that the words of institution are spoken at Mass with a firm belief in your Son, our High Priest. May Mary continue to lead the faithful priests on earth and the saints in heaven in their continuing fight against the evil powers of darkness that smother our world in disobedience and sin.