The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands, now! Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia, has set the table for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary time Year C. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open mind and heart. See you there!

Have you ever had the experience of wanting to watch Television in the evening, and you flick around the Channels, and nothing really catches your attention; then for good measure you try it again, and suddenly you land on a channel that is showing a fantastic Documentary, and you know this is the one to watch?

I just don’t know what channel to watch!

Well, it happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I had looked up the Television Guide for the week and had completely missed seeing this Documentary advertised on the Works of Michelangelo! One of the many absolute inspiring works of art which makes my heart jump a beat or two is the Pieta. Now let’s refresh our memories about this famous work of art.

This is what Michelangelo saw in the marble.

The Pietà (1498–1499) by Michelangelo is a marble sculpture in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned by the French cardinal Jouhnd-Billairesz, who was a representative in Rome. The statue was made from a single block of marble, and it was for a Cardinal’s funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the Basilica, in the 18th century. This famous work of art depicts the body of Jesus in the arms of his mother Mary after the Crucifixion.  In the Cardinal’s memoirs it is recorded that he marvelled at the finished work of art! Michelangelo responded by saying that he chipped away at the block to unveil what he could see within. Let us stay with that last point for a little while…. what he could see within the block of marble.

The Call of Isaiah within a moment of inspired stillness and gazing.

Now as we look at the call of the Prophet Isaiah, and the call of the Apostles, the Lord God sees within us, what can be! Let’s have a closer look at the Call of Isaiah in the first reading for today, and then carefully see the stages within that call, where finally Isaiah can say…’Here I am, send me.’

Isaiah was called to speak God’s Word in season and out of season.

The context for this Vocational change in Isaiah’s life is very, very important. It is a moment, captured within the ‘faith-life’ of Isaiah; it is a deliberate gazing into the void, and within that stillness and conscious focusing, it is as if floating, unbounded but totally consumed in body, mind, and spirit, that this religious experience takes place. Isaiah sees himself within a place of Holiness, par excellence, where he is experiencing in 3D and surround sound an invitation to ‘change’ in order to become, what the Lord God saw in him. Isaiah gradually undergoes a transformation within his spiritual self. Now let’s go through the stages of awareness of self, before the Lord God, and then on to the mission. If you are at home as you read this, you might like to make a cup of Coffee or some strong Irish Breakfast tea to sustain you for the rest of the read……

This picturesque Theophany, which comes from the Greek, theophania, meaning an appearance of God/Adonai which reveals some of the divinity, power and glory of The One, who has always been, and will continue to be…..the loving architect, and cause of all that was, all that is, and all that will be…..who issues forth the breath of life, to all that lives and breathes. The Temple…Holy of Holies, this Sacred Space is the Templum, and for Isaiah, it becomes the tempus…the time to gaze within this atmosphere of profound impact. So, that we don’t get lost in what I am trying to say, the Templum is the PLACE! The tempus is the TIME/MOMENT…hence within this Spiritual experience, the two become ONE! A sense of timelessness takes over, and from that, Isaiah’s response to the Lord God’s invitation is firstly a sense of CONTRITION! Then follows his RESPONSE. It is within this heightened experience, that Isaiah realizes his poverty of spirit, and that of the people whom he represents. It is seeing with the eyes of faith, his and their ‘missing the mark’ (wretchedness/sin) both personally and corporately. He experiences a sense of ‘lostness’ momentarily, which develops into a realization and exclamation of his contrite heart. The similar contrite heart which sings, and lives is Psalm 50/51   The Miserere: Isaiah becomes the embodiment of this Psalm…here are a few verses…

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Now this Psalm, and its motifs, had already become part of Isaiah’s bone marrow……he would have prayed this kind of prayer many, many times, and actualised it in and through the Covenant Renewal Ceremonies, and Atonement Liturgies. This is not about reciting the prayer regularly; it is about praying the prayer habitually, and with focus. I had a pet Galah

(Pink and Grey Australian Parrot) and it recited lots of things…for example…it often said, “I love you Kev, does the Bishop know? That’s the big question!” I could teach the Parrot to recite Psalm 50/51, but it could never pray it. Praying the sense of this Psalm has to be done often…it is like applying Polish to a timber floor that hungers for it….one application is never enough! The prayer needs to be digested and become part of us…. this comes about by letting the prayer, pray in us…. notice the subtlety? With Isaiah, the inner disposition was already present, and hence within this Dream, the Parable of his conversion and calling, is teased out, and put into action by his holistic response….“Here, I am, send me!”

As we cross over the bridge to the Gospel, we see a similar embodiment of Psalm 50/51 in the Apostles, when they were called by Jesus, and the deliberate invitation by Jesus to make happen the seemingly impossible, to be possible……the huge catch of fish!

So much so, that the ‘faith-activity’ of the Apostles becomes so contagious, that only a signal was needed for help, because the ‘newcomers’ could see what was happening, from the point of view of seeing/hearing and knowing through faith. This is just not information for the readers that the catch was so big that help was needed to get the fish out of the breaking nets and get them to the markets while the catch was fresh!  No, the Gospel Community of Luke, who put this narrative together, were not interested in that, they were deeply absorbed by the “faith-response” of the Apostles, and its direct implications for the fledging Church, and of course for us, it is ever new!

After the catch of fish, and the filling of two boats to almost sinking point, Simon, in seeing this and processing this in his mind and heart, dropped to his knees, at the feet of Jesus….this being a ‘living action of Repentance and Conversion’, is like that of Isaiah, in the first reading. In the face of such a phenomenon…. that is the inner change in Simon, and his companions. Notice their reaction?” They were frightened”, then in another translation from the Greek it says: they were astonished/ amazement had seized them!  Then Jesus, sensing their fear, as Simon represented the group; Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, from now on it will be people that you will catch”. To conclude the activity of Conversion preceded by Contrition, they hauled in their nets; dropped everything, left everything on the beach…not even getting cash for their catch; and they followed Jesus.

The new Apostles left everything, and followed Jesus.

When I was a teenager, I used to often think that the Apostles were rather thoughtless in just leaving all this gear on the beach and following Jesus. Well, of course as I later discovered, the authors of this Gospel were not concerned by the details of leaving boats and nets for someone else to pick up….it is about a “faith-response” which the Evangelistic Community were keen on….In other words, it was an immediate change of life style…..in terms of faith, meaning in this instance, that their insight into the One who was calling them, enabled the Apostles to experience Salvation, that also means  the ability to see the saving hand of God at work in Jesus. Hence with the pre-condition of a contrite heart, the change can then become immediate……but not necessarily final. Continued work would need to be done to fortify and nourish their faith response, and contrition, as we see further on in the unveiling of the Good News. We should also keep in mind that this experience of Salvation did not safeguard Simon Peter for the denial of his Master, when the chips were down, prior to Our Lord’s arrest! But it does say a lot about the Lord’s profound understanding of our human nature, because He shared in it too, in all things, but sin.

That’s the big question!

What about us? The message is the same, but the faces have changed! In order for our ‘faith life’ to be highly tuned, we need to nourish our inner sense of contrition frequently, so that we can see more clearly the One who continually calls us to change, to newness of life and to mission! This enables us to respond to the constant invitations from Jesus which come to us each day. We don’t go looking for the Mission, the Mission finds us.  Are we as keen on nourishing our inner conversion, as we are to getting our cars put in for Service? Do, we regularly spend time working at our sense of contrition, by praying reflectively Psalm 50/51 or other kinds of Life Reviews and associated Reflections? Is our response to ‘pop up’ mission invitations each day, taken up promptly, or done in our time when we are ready?  These questions are just as important for me as they are for you. Then there is the feeling of ‘powerlessness and fear’ when we are face to face with the living Body of Christ within our communities; do we give the time to hear the comforting words from Jesus: “Do not be afraid!” Are we prepared to sit silently with these words????

Finally, who gives us the push, the urge to press on with the Mission of Christ in today’s world? An answer could well be that which alerted the Apostle Paul to the very same thing…’ I can do all things through Him who gives me the strength….’ Food for thought, eh?

As a concluding Twitter message to comfort us, and give us strength, may the prayerful words in the concluding verse of our Responsorial Psalm 137:8, echo throughout our being, always… “You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me. Your love is eternal….”

‘The Cross is the greatest sign of God’s love for us’ says St.Paul of the Cross.

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The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands, now! Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia, has set the table for the 4th Sunday in Ordinary time Year C. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open mind and heart.

The Spirit filled fire within Jeremiah

Often the First Reading at Mass comes from one of the Old Testament Prophets, today it comes from the Prophet Jeremiah. Perhaps we might be tempted to think that ‘a Prophet’ is someone who foretells the future! Well in Biblical terms, a Prophet is one who is called by God to speak ‘His Word’ before others, and to discern through an openness of heart and mind, as to what is going on within God’s people. Sometimes God’s people need correction, other times they need affirmation and direction. It would seem that it is not the kind of vocation that one would be caught in the rush to take on! Yet, according to the Prophet Jeremiah, we catch a glimpse into the actual meaning of ‘the call’ to be a Prophet. Jeremiah is stunned to realize that he was known and set aside by God for this vocation before he was formed in the womb! Jeremiah comes to understand that his ‘calling’ is not necessarily going to win him popularity! ‘Brace yourself for action’ says the Lord! But it is not all sad stories or battles; ‘I am with you to deliver you- it is the Lord who speaks.’

The Sacred Name of God YHWH respectively, Adonai – Lord.

In the Gospel for today, we see Jesus living his Prophetic calling, speaking aloud ‘the Word’ in his hometown. The people’s reaction moves from amazement, to wonder, and then to resentment and anger! How can someone from the ‘home turf’ speak with such authority and directness, and bring God’s Word “alive” with such authenticity? As Jesus said, ‘no Prophet is ever accepted in their own country’! Well as we look back over two millennia, the faces have changed, but the message remains the same. So often we too, can easily fall into the very same trap as the people of Nazareth, when someone from within our midst humbly rises, and shines. We may be tempted to say the very same thing…” I have known this person for so many years…how can they develop and mature beyond my expectations?” We know only so well how celebrities often make it to the top when they travel to another country, and get accepted for who they are, because there are no pre-judgments. Let us pray earnestly in response to God’s Word this weekend, that we will encourage the Prophets within our community, and when the slightest temptation comes our way to discard them, ignore them, or walk away from encouraging them…. let that be an inner sign for us saying: WRONG WAY, GO BACK!

The rejection of Jesus in his hometown.

Now let’s go back for a reconnaissance over the three Readings. Normally the Second Reading does not always connect with the 1st Reading and the Gospel, because it is a continuing Reading from week to week, but this Sunday, it compliments them, and is truly the meat in the Sandwich between the other two Readings, giving us a 3D living image of God’s saving activity.

Often called the weeping Prophet Jeremiah

As I have already mentioned above, no one would be caught in the rush to be an authentic Biblical Prophet; far from it, to the contrary the Lord God captures or snares the person called to be a spokesperson for the Lord. As the chosen one responds to the Lord God’s invitation, in the midst of fear and unworthiness, a God-like element emerges from them, and that is true ‘poverty of spirit’….and authentic humility, not just some pious innuendo which skims the surface in a syrupy way; no it is deep founded openness and fear as to what this all means for them and their burgeoning mission!. In turn the Lord God assures the chosen one that they will never be alone, even though at times it might seem like that. Take the case of the Annunciation…. the Blessed Virgin Mary radiated fear and unworthiness when the Angel of the Lord called her to be the Christ-bearer.

Here with Jeremiah, we see a dumfounded man who is totally astonished why the Lord God should call him to speak The Word in season and out of season. The Lord God tells Jeremiah in the strongest conceivable way that God has known him, is known by God, and will continue to be known by God. Here we are speaking of true Biblical knowledge, not academic knowledge. Biblical knowledge is that which enables God to know everything about us in a most loving, accepting, and pardoning way. Biblical Prophecy is not necessarily telling the future by assumed knowledge and then making a prediction……no, those kinds of Prophets can be found in interesting ‘write-ups’ in Magazines that we often find in the Doctor’s or Dentist’s waiting room.

So, the promise that is underpinning this address to Jeremiah is founded in the Lord God’s Covenant….” I will be your God and you will be my people.” We also note that a bright future is not promised by the Lord God to Jeremiah, but there is something that we might easily overlook in this reading, and it is in the following sentence…’They will fight against you, but shall not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you- it is the Lord who speaks.’ In bold type let’s look at this…. the I am, is the Biblical name for God as revealed to Moses in the burning Bush in the Book of Exodus, Chapter 3. What is I am going to do? Deliver you…. this has a profound meaning….it means that Jeremiah will experience deliverance…not from some evil spirit, but more importantly, Jeremiah will experience the saving hand of God in and through all of what is outlined in this address to him, which is the substance of this first reading. In other words, Jeremiah himself, and those who listen to the Lord God’s invitations through the spoken Word will experience salvation……i.e., being saved from something, for someone, and the someone is the Lord God……” You are precious in my sight says the Lord.” 1 Samuel 26:12

This is an example of a Dipyukhos. Two events connected to each other, like the 1st Reading and the Gospel today.

Now moving over to the Gospel for today is like gazing at a typical Diptych ….that is a double Oil painting with a Piano hinge down the centre, and for the fullness of meaning contained in the paintings, it needs to be ingested from left to right…in this case the First reading is the left hand oil painting, and the Gospel is the right hand oil painting….the artist? The supreme artist of all! The Lord God!

For a start, all that the Lord God said to Jeremiah in that opening address is taken for granted as being in Jesus…in fact in fleshed in Jesus as The Word made flesh – par excellence! The locals voice similar opposition to Jesus, as was the case with Jeremiah, saying that this is all too good to be true! we know who this man is……. But notice it is not a Biblical knowledge, it is an academic knowledge, which Biblically only skims the surface like a water strider on a mill pond. As Jesus says…” a Prophet is not accepted in one’s own country…” That’s true, isn’t it? The faces have changed over the years, but the message remains the same…. the locals are the hardest ones to break out of their preconceived notions and summing up of a person, which can progress to be totally blind and angry. It still happens in our world, and sadly in our Church!

Notice that the anger fuelled by the truth of God’s Word was too much for them, and they wanted to do away with Jesus. Just as Jeremiah and all the other Prophets in the Scriptures, with Jesus, and in our lived History, many have been and will continue to be led to the same fate either physically or tactically!

Now, we go back to the meat in the sandwich…the second reading. Here we see an insight into the inner fortification and miss ion of one who is called to be a Prophet……Unconditional/Biblical Covenant Love. This Hymn to Charity/Love written by St. Paul, is not only a masterpiece in Christian Spirituality, but it is also an exceptionally good examination of conscience……very simply, substitute your own name for Love in this Reading, and see how you go? This Reading brings to the surface our ‘real self.’ Now after reflecting on this reading, and the innate invitations it has for us to ‘change’ i.e., experience true metanoia …that is simply looking at oneself and the relationships we have with people, and our environment, by metaphorically standing on our hands….it all looks different, doesn’t it? It can even upset us and make us sick…. may that be not lost on us in our meditation as well. Then as part of this examination of conscience, kindly go to Psalm 50…the great Act of contrition in the Old Testament……. Let the words of Contrition become our words, may is seep deep within us like liquid polish on hungry wood; this ought to be practiced   regularly and it will erode any arrogance, pompousness, and any pursuit of ‘power inclinations’ we might have…. ha-ha, but like Vitamin B12 Injections…one shoot is not enough, we need to have it regularly, so that we can build up that inner strength and vigour, so that the ordinary diet of living in love, encased by forgiveness, and elevated by compassion become our true spiritual food. This of course receives its distinctive Christ-likeness in and through the Eucharist, listening with the Heart to God’s Word, and hearing the heartbeat in God’s people.

So, when we feel that not only our car needs a ‘tune-up’ but our spiritual selves as well…quietly sing the Song of St. Paul’s Hymn to Charity in the second Reading today…’ Love is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited, it is never rude or selfish….’ In short, there are three things that last: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.’

Psalm 50… the great Biblical Act of Contrition.

^{Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.}

^{Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.}

^{Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
Deliver me from the guilt O Lord.}

^{Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.}

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The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands now. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia, has set the table for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary time, Year C. No RSVP is required, just turn up with an open mind and heart.

The next time you are at a Funeral, pay particular attention to the readings, and to the words that are spoken. These are meant for you, and not for the person who has died! What is the point in reading a Gospel to a lifeless loved one in the Coffin? The same goes for today’s gospel. The people who were in the Synagogue all those years ago are well dead by now! Today’s gospel is meant for us…. right here, today, and we are called to play a paramount part in it! We will check this out shortly.

It’s not so long ago since we celebrated Christmas. That was good, and all very well, even though Covid was in our minds all the time. However, it was for bringing a message, like the one in today’s Gospel, that Jesus came in the first place. The celebration of Birthdays are fine and important, they celebrate the uniqueness of the person who is invited to cut the Cake. Birthdays are all very well, but it would be hardly appropriate to ignore that person until the next birthday comes along.

The Word of God is always new, it is always present tense, and it calls for a response right now. The words of the prophet that Jesus quotes in today’s gospel are repeated several times in the gospel. Jesus quoted them to the disciples of John the Baptist who came to ask if he were the Messiah, or should they look somewhere else. Jesus told them to look around and see for themselves that these words were being fulfilled. When he sent out his apostles, he quoted these words, and told them that their lives should give witness to the reality of these words. If some people from Mars arrived here today, and asked ‘Are you Christians, or will we have to look elsewhere?’ could we quote these words, and ask them to look around, and see for themselves?

The Old Testament is like Radio, the New Testament is like Television, and the life of the Christian should be a Live Drama. The value in Christianity lies in its witness. We write new pages of the gospel each day, by the things that we do, and the words that we say. People read what we write! What is the gospel according to Kevin? What is the Gospel according to Margaret? What is the Gospel according to Ethan? Each Gospel is about the things that Jesus said and did, in us, within our community; the community assists us in writing our personal Gospel story. In each of our Gospel stories, we have our infancy narratives. We have our formal beginnings in ministry, we have our miracle stories, we have our parables, we all have our own Passion narratives. In time we have our resurrection story, namely ‘in death, life is changed, not ended,’ as we hear in the Preface for the Deceased within the celebration of the Eucharist. All these chapters happen in our personal Gospel story. Perhaps some homework, could be to spend some time reflecting on how you have seen and been part of these Chapters. There is only one provision required to be able to see all this, and that is FAITH! Let me define what I mean here….’the ability to see the saving hand of God at work’ in these Chapters.

In the Gospel passage today, we get some particularly good clues about this point; namely that each Christian is a Gospel Writer or Evangelist. Unfortunately, the word Evangelist conjures up ideas of big Bible rallies, Billy Graham, Hillsong etc. But that is not the root derivative. It is a Gospel writer; and enfleshed edition of the Good News. In the early part of today’s Gospel, the Lucan Community address the receiver of the Good News as Theophilos. The translation of this name gives us an evergreen meaning. The name means God lover! Therefore, today’s Gospel is addressed to us. We are all God lovers. Food for thought!

Jesus came to do and to teach, in other words, he did the thing himself first, and then he taught his disciples to follow his example. A good illustration of this was when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. Copy what I have done! So, let’s take that further; a disciple, a leader within the Christian community, should be a foot washer! A foot washer is not dressed in cloth of gold! That is an Emperor!

You and I are asked to live the gospel, we are asked TO BE the Gospel; to be the Good News on legs, to have our heart grafted into Christ! You may be the only gospel someone will ever read; they may never buy the book! Something to think about.

PRAYER FOR RECONCILIATION TO OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS (Australia Day January 26, 2022)

Composed by Fr Kevin Walsh CP (1988)

O God,

The Great South Land of the Holy Spirit

was entrusted to a people who saw your mighty hand at work

in the majestic, rugged mountains, in the rolling plains, parched earth, flowing rivers and thundering surf.

May we under the guidance of your Spirit, work at reconciliation, with all the different peoples of this land. May we reverence the “Dream Time” …and those wedded to this land; May we in turn respect and heal all that we have hurt; the land, its people and wildlife.

We dedicate all our efforts under the patronage of Mary Help of Christians, who always points the way to wholeness, to harmony and to Jesus. We make this our prayer to you Father, through Christ Our Lord. AMEN.

 

Christmas Day, 2021. A Christmas Sermon from Fr Kevin Walsh, Sydney Australia. We celebrate, Jesus born in History; We celebrate Christ now in mystery, we celebrate with expectant faith our waiting for Him to come in Glory.

Christmas is the reward for waiting: We spend so much time in our lives waiting! We wait to be born! We wait to grow up; we wait for love to come into our lives, we wait to see our children grow etc. On the day-to-day level, we wait in endless queues at the Post Office, Woolworths, Harrods, and then on the telephone as we are continually being told that ‘your call is important to us, you have moved along in the queue,’ and so on. Waiting is part of life, and we can make valuable use of it, or we can drive ourselves mad by trying to fight it! I have been prone to being a little impatient at times…to say the least, so I am no model of this virtue. However, waiting gives us the prime time to prepare for important moments, especially personal growth, and personal examination as to what drives us, and what is the real meaning in living life to the fullest can happen while we wait!

During Advent, God’s Word has led us on a pilgrimage of ‘waiting’ episodes. The ‘waiting’ that took place during and up till the time of Our Lord’s birth, was a test in many ways for Israel. However, the ‘faithful few’…the Anawim (the poor of the Lord God), reaped the benefits of waiting as the Lord God’s promise was fulfilled in the birth of a Baby, named Jesus. Christmas is the reward for waiting.

Christmas is a time of hope: The prophets of doom have never had it so good! The world thrives on ‘bad news’ Television News programs increase their ratings when the most gruesome of stories can be told while we are having our Tea (Supper, Evening Meal in Australia) within the comfort of our own home. Yet, every now and then we see a really delightful story, an uplifting moment when people are truly reaching for their potential and are supported by others or inspired by them. We say to ourselves….’isn’t it great to see some ‘good news’? These events can lift our spirits!

When all seemed lost for God’s people, we see that God is always faithful to His promises. In looking forward to a time when a young woman of marriageable age would bear a son, who would be called, Emmanuel…God-is-with-us, that took some waiting! Our Lady is a sign of hope, and a model of faith for us, the flowering Lily of the Anawim, and the representative of the faithful few…. Only real trust in God’s Word is lived in hope….’Let what you have said be done unto me.’ Nothing is impossible to God!

In our world of today, the faces have changed, but the message remains the same….’Let what you have said be done unto me’ is an evergreen wisdom saying which bears fruit…the fruits of Hope. We are called to be people of hope during seeming hopelessness. Evil may seem to triumph so often, as we have seen this in the terror attacks of Islamabad and Haiti and in many other places in our world; we have witnessed the absolute genocide by blood thirsty maniacs, in the name of Islam in the Middle East. The world Pandemic of Covid and its variants has touched everyone! It has radically changed so many ways of doing things and living our lives. Yet, during all this nightmare of unseen viruses, we see so many people in our world butting their lives on the line to help others. However, the fruits of hope are mostly not seen nor heard; but we know it happens, and it begins always with us. Christmas is a time of hope.

Christmas is a moment of challenge: God’s Word to humanity has always, been and is, a mighty challenge and invitation to us…. the RSVP is now! Not tomorrow! If there was no challenge, there would be no everlasting value. Christmas challenged the world of Mary and Joseph; there was no place for them to stay while she who was with child could give birth. When all seemed lost; there was no room in the Inn, the Stable became ‘home,’ and it was freezing! This time and place is the opposite of what the world sees as ‘greatness,’ yet again, God’s ways are not always our ways. Greatness is not seen in foot washing either, yet the Jug of water, the towel, ministered by the Word made flesh, are the real symbols of true greatness. Jesus invites us to copy his example. Jesus calls us to be challenged by it. If we dare to say that we ‘speak the truth in love,’ it can only happen when we listen to the truth in humility.

Our Church is facing an almighty challenge; in so many places, the corporate world with its own trappings has infiltrated the Church. Running the Church like a business, with its so-called efficient style, so often is ‘deaf’ to the ‘little ones.’ Impersonal dealings with individuals from ‘on high’ demean the very nature of the personal touch of the Lord Jesus. The ‘dressing up’ in cloth of gold by some of our leaders, and the extravagance of so-called odds and ends on the altar, turn the altar and sanctuary into a Garage sale! And a performance equal to Gilbert and Sullivan. I am appalled at many of our so-called Liturgical extravaganzas these days, which is not true Liturgy, but a painful performance of sad looking people acting out in order to please God, while the gathered community sits in awe and feels out of the picture. Let us remember one of the great sayings of St Therese, ‘Lord, save me from sour faced saints and silly devotions’ something to consider and a challenge for the Church. Pope Francis is trying to refresh the real meaning of mission and liturgical expression in our Church, but sadly for so many of our local Leaders, it falls on deaf ears. To me the ‘change’ to become a poorer, church, a simple church and spirit filled church, and embracing church is like trying to turn around a three masted sailing ship in a canal. Christmas is a time of challenge! Always has been, is today and will be in the future.

Jesus is the human face of the Father, being born amongst us, was an immediate challenge to King Herod! The quest for power is the opposite of servanthood, and again the action of God causes a challenge for all of us. In our place of work, in our relationships with other people, in our acceptance or rejection of newcomers to our land, in the ghastly treatment of our government and many other Governments in the world to the treatment of Asylum seekers. We are called to make a positive response if we are to be authentic living editions of the Good News. It’s opposite, is being part of the Dog-eat-Dog attitude, which shows up a lot in our society, and in our Church. Some of these attitudes might be related to King Herod’s problems. Christmas is always a moment of challenge. Christmas and the Cross are hinged and inseparable.

Christmas is an opportunity for reconciliation: Within that wonderful word, Reconciliation, is ‘conciliation.’ Conciliation comes from its Latin root meaning ‘a desire to meet.’ So therefore, before any lasting reconciliation can happen, there must be that desire, otherwise it can all be ‘window dressing.’ Christmas can be a time of deep sadness for families due to various forms of estrangement or divisions. Some of these rifts between people may only be healed in the next life. Sometimes the pain can run so deep. It can be a form of ‘fake news’ to say to oneself…’ well all is forgiven…let’s start again.’ Maybe because the again and again has worn thin. However, we can let that inner sadness simmer for years like a Slow Cooker, and it can either make us bitter and crusty, or more loving and compassionate. Some of the greatest lovers in this world are those who have suffered much. Lest we forget, that ‘the greatest sign of God’s love is His Passion and Cross.’  Says St. Paul of the Cross, Founder of the Passionists.

The desire to meet each other is the first step to reconciliation; maybe that opportunity might arise for us during this Christmas time. If so, let’s take it!

Christmas is a time of celebration: The various Christmas Carols bristle with Joy! All that the Lord God had said in the Old Testament became flesh in the Living Word – Jesus! Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to His people on earth!

The people who walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone……Lord Jesus Christ you are the light of the world, you are the corner stone and our center. Light of Christ, light flaming bright, burn in our hearts Holy Fire. It is that ‘fire’ within, that sparks the celebration and gives meaning to authentic Liturgy. If the Christmas Masses are just cold rubrics, exactly acted out, and the Music and song worthy of the Sydney Opera House; that needs to be questioned as to whether it is all a performance, or something so deeply moving that it changes us and consolidates us in Christ as a community. The Christmas Masses, especially Midnight Mass, has that extra special electric feeling of Holy Joy when it runs through to our very bones. Then there are the family celebrations at home with relatives and friends, the strengthening of the bonds of love and acceptance. However, the latest variant of Covid is being caught by thousands every day. Our governments are cautioning us to keep the numbers down. It is so so sad………Once again there can be the sadness of empty chairs due to members of our family going off to the Lord’s loving embrace, through the gateway of death, or have gone overseas for Holidays or are stuck Overseas and cannot get back home due to the Covid. Visits to our Cemeteries at this time, is a stilling moment of ‘presence’ and ‘love’ as we kneel on the Holy Ground of our loved one’s graves. There can also be the sadness of being thousands of miles away from our families who live overseas. This aspect rings true for my family, and most families these days. May that spark of ‘fire’ continue to be kindled through the coming New Year? May God’s Word be always a light for our path, and may we continue to be nourished, through regular Sacramental moments, carried by His Word with our community-the living body of Christ into the Mission of bringing Heaven to Earth!

God sent His Angels to Shepherds to herald the great joy of our Saviour’s birth. May he fill you with joy and make us heralds of his Good News, today, tomorrow, and always. Amen.

We celebrate, Jesus born in History, we celebrate Christ now in mystery, we wait for Him to come in Glory.

The Mural of The Communion of Saints in St.Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, New South Wales. Australia

May the Lord’s choicest Blessings be absorbed by you and your family, your loved ones, and all the people that you know. May the world open up to the blessings of Peace, justice, freedom, and equality within all the civilizations of mother earth.

Email: kevin.w3@bigpond.com Web:https://realhomilies.wordpress.com/

 

The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for the 4th Sunday of Advent Year C. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open heart.

Here we are at the Fourth Sunday of Advent, and only a week away till the Christmas Celebration! According to the Television News, this is going to be a bumper time (Big Sales) for the Shops and Department Stores, Amazon, and online shopping…the economy is starting to move, good times are coming, while the Australian $ is way above it is worth!

Come, Lord Jesus!!The weather here in Eastern Australia is topsy turvy (Upside Down, inconsistent) …one day cold, the next day hot! Flooding Rains, huge bush Fires, but mainly a sunburnt country. What about the tourist industry that we depend on so much for income, if the weather is not going to perform nicely for us? What about the constant awareness of ‘Covid lockdown and lock outs! Come, Lord Jesus! What about the plight of the poor people in Pacific Islands of Samoa dealing with massive civil unrest and hundreds of Islands to our North who are slowly being inundated by rising waters due to climate change!

What about the distraught people in Syria who are constantly in the middle of dreadful warfare? Come, Lord Jesus! What about the Holy Land….the place of Christ’s birth where the sound of gun fire and rocket grenades takes the place of Church Bells? Come, Lord Jesus is the Advent cry of God’s people!!!!   Maranatha!!!!!!!!!

The link between the close of Advent, and the Birth of Christ, bursts forth in joy with humility, mixed with surprise in the sharing of the Word, within the context of God’s visitation! With our God, the impossible becomes possible!

The Prophet Micah 5: 1-4 in our First Reading, lifts up the ‘faithful few’ in hope, who were looking forward intently to God’s saving action as he says, ‘You, Bethlehem, the least of the clans of Judah, out of you will be born for me the one who is to rule over Israel’. What would that ‘rule’ be like? Would it be that of the pursuit of power and glory, and local domination? No! In the Prophet’s final words today he says,’ He (the promised One) himself will be peace.’

In the Gospel Luke 1:39-44, we see Mary as not only the representative of the New Israel and the ‘faithful few’, who longed for the fulfilment of God’s promises; she was about 15-16, a woman of marriageable age. Her “Yes” to God’s invitation was nurtured through her pondering, and inner hopeful expectancy, that God is doing a new deed in an era, which lacked that general expectancy! Christmas is a clarion call to be people to be a people of deep faith, like the Blessed Mary. It is a siren reaching our ears to see the saving hand of God ‘at work’ NOW! But not knowing the finer details! Have the times changed? The short answer is NO! After receiving the mind-blowing news that God was going to overshadow her with blessedness, and she was to be the Christ-bearer, through the birth of the Emmanuel, “God-is-with-us,” she immediately responds with loving sensitivity to be with her older cousin, in her time of seeing the impossible become possible. The meeting of these two women at the Visitation is truly a moment when God’s Spirit rejoicing.. As St Luke and the community who weaved the story of this precious moment says:’ Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ And blessed are we who believe and know that God will never let us down; no matter how much darkness may be in the skies of our lives. Because like a shooting star, the saving hand of God can surprise us and beckon us with light and love at the most unexpected times, and through the most unusual people and circumstances.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent calls us to look deeply into FAITH; where does it come from? How is it developed? How does it inspire action? These are some of the questions that we need to explore at this ‘prime time’ moment in our year, in our life. Mary is what the Church calls the paradigm of ‘faith response.’ What does that mean? In simple words it means the profound example of ‘faith lived and practiced.’ How question is how did this happen and from where did this gift come from? OK let’s look at her family and her DNA! Mary, her father Joachim, and her Mother Anne came from a ‘faith filled’ group of people called the Anawim. That means in belonging to a group who were deeply rooted in the Biblical Scriptures, and who maintained that the Lord God had made an eternal Covenant with His people…. they were committed in their lives to the reality of that Marriage contract. The ‘faithful few’ realised their need for mercy and forgiveness based on Psalm 51, they knew that their Lord always wanted their return to Him at all costs, and that as a people they were called to live as images of God’s enfleshed Word.

However, through the Lord God speaking through His Prophets, the Anawim longed for a time when the Lord God would do something new, something outlandish, something so radical that it would be the last thing on their minds that God’s Word made flesh would be born in a feeding box of stable animals. This was a deep part of the DNA of Mary’s relatives and people. But there is something else! Look at Mary during the Annunciation……. she was caught ‘off guard’……she was disturbed by the Lord God’s Invitation issued to her through the Angel’s message. Sensing Mary’s surprise and bewilderment, the Angel assured her that she was ‘blessed’ and hence, that gave her the inner vitality to say, ‘Let what you have said be done unto me.’ Notice there were no questions of what the fine print would mean, like we would pour over in a building contract! No! there was calmness, there was a ‘blessed peace’……. the New Eve had responded to the Word of God wholeheartedly. So, what is faith? It seems that it is the ability of seeing the saving hand of God happening! Either in the past, in the present and a hopefulness to the future. The Biblical Readings from the four weeks of Advent come at the message of Faith-response from all angles. Hence, if we are to continue growing as God’s people, the Church, we must be deeply rooted in God’s Word.

Our lives must be fashioned and nourished by God’s Word. Its like food. As and advert for dieting says, ‘we are what we eat.’ St John Chrysostom was the first to coin that phrase in reference to us partaking of the Eucharist. He was not talking about McDonalds or KFC in terms of fast food, and the fat that becomes part of us!

Finally, we need to ingest God’s Word….it must become part of our bone marrow! Then it will shape us, and mould us into the living presence of Christ!

The Prophet Ezekiel eating God’s Word as a sign of ingestion of the nourishing Word.

Christmas invites us to be people of ‘visitation;’ to be bearers of God’s love, to respond to the inner stirrings which call us to ‘make haste’ to be with someone.

Mary greets her cousin Elizabeth

Christmas invites us to listen with the heart, through deep sensitivity, and like Mary, to be people who are alert to the opportunities in daily life which urge us to cross the hills of indifference, and intolerance, and celebrate with joy in Him who calls us to be the ‘Living Word’ every day. Being called to be people of visitation, the fruitful response often starts with a little inner nudge! Thinking……. I wonder how Aunty Kate is? Then you reach for your iPhone and call her. Upon receiving your call Aunty Kate did not see your name on the screen and when you told her who you were, she said, ‘I’ve just been thinking about you and the family.’  Now, I am not going into telepathy or anything else, but is it a coincidence? I believe that it is mostly an incident in God’s plan………. especially when she says that I have been meaning to mention to you that your Uncle Fred had a fall last week and his injury may not allow him to drive the car anymore………’  Knowing your Uncle Fred, this will nearly kill him….so it gives you the opportune time to say that you and your wife and kids will be over to see you all at Christmas.’  That’s a simple everyday example. Or it could be as serious as knowing that there are three people in your life that reconciliation is needed…….

Maybe this estrangement has gone on for years………this has gone on for years. Hopefully, when the occasions arise, your faith will see the saving hand of God at work, and you will either make the first steps in reconciliation or at least be sensitive when these steps are being made to you. We must be people of FAITH! We must be people of VISITATION! ‘Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face in our sisters and brothers, and we shall be saved.’

 

The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for the 3rd Sunday of Advent Year C. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open Heart.

What is our image of God? I am sure that for each of us, lots of different images may come into our minds. For many, the name ‘God’ conjures up thoughts of: “Watch out, I am keeping an eye on you?”  Is it an eye of love, or an eye for judgment? In the first reading today from the Old Testament, we hear about a God who sings! A God who laughs, and a God of Dance! (Zephaniah 3:18)

The Lord of the Dance

It can come as a bit of a surprise to know that we have a joyfully singing God! I must say that when I was growing up, that notion never dawned on me; nobody talked about it, and I didn’t know much from the Scriptures either. Thanks to Fr. Robert Crotty CP, who taught us in our Formation House; he inspired us with his teaching of Scripture, his eyes would fill up, when he spoke to us about our God of the dance…. When you think about it, it’s really a powerful metaphor; one that captures God’s joy in being what God is good at being, a God who saves! St. Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4), but today, we learn that it’s God who leads the way by doing it first with loud, joyful singing. God in fact delights in rescuing us from our fears, from our estrangement from each other, and in so doing; we have an experience of “salvation”. The words from Anne Murray’s Song: YOU NEEDED ME; can assist us in seeing the depth to which our God will go, to save us. She says: ‘You held my hand, when it was cold, when I was lost, you took me home, and you gave me hope, when I was at the end, and turned my lies back into truth again, you even called me friend…somehow you needed me.’ In this instance, the one who saves, in fact needs the one who is being saved!

Today is most certainly called: REJOICING SUNDAY! Or in Latin it is called: “Gaudete Sunday”, because there is a lot to be happy about, and that happiness can stay with us, live in us, and be contagious for others forever. This evening on Sydney Television, a lady won $100,000 in a Quiz show; she was over the moon with happiness, and so she should, but that kind of happiness is transient, it’s on the move, the money will eventually run out…. what will make this person happy again……win another $100,000; but we all know that generally won’t happen. That is not the kind of Joy or Rejoicing that we celebrate this Sunday, and deep down we all know that. However, it is beneficial for us to revisit the finer threads of God’s Word in the three Readings so that we can be renewed from within, so that the Advent invitation of Maranatha….Come, Lord Jesus, is refreshed, and refashioned in us, due to the evergreen invitations which are constantly within The Word, thus resulting in transforming responses, which mould us into the living image of Christ the Suffering Servant.

In the First Reading, it sounds like the Prophet is almost out of breath as he makes this pronouncement…It is more or less similar to a child-like expression of the real Wow factor! There is so much to say in a short time…. but look how it is promulgated?

Many years ago, and for me it is almost Old Testament times when I was a young Seminarian in Melbourne Victoria, Australia, I remember that Fr Carey Landry came on down to Australia for Liturgical Music Seminars. The Music that he put to some of these words from the first reading was a real blast! Some of you who are old enough will remember…….” And the Father will Dance!!!!!” it was fantastic for us because we were actually getting excited about these enthusiastic Words…God’s Words. Why? ‘The Lord your God is in your midst!’ So, we have nothing to fear! We certainly need to hear these Words again these days!

Let us not forget similar words spoken by St. Teresa of Avila:-

The Responsorial Psalm needs a mention; notice that it is not a Psalm? But it is written like a song of praise! The Stanzas of this Song give the community, reasons for their response. May I suggest that where possible we could do well to pause after the first reading so that our personal response may bubble to the surface, and then with one voice with the community we mystically gather all our responses into one response…in this case, CRY OUT WITH JOY AND GLADNESS: FOR AMONG YOU IS THE GREAT AND HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL. Says it for us as the Living Body of Christ.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul pastorally encourages the young Church at Philippi to be happy, because there is a very profound reason for being happy. It is a timeless prayer! We are besieged so often with reasons not to be happy…In fact the Television News each night is full of reasons not to be happy……yet it sells and gathers ratings. Every now and then we might see an extraordinary act of kindness from someone who does not count the cost….and in our heart of hearts, we say to ourselves….” Isn’t that great!!!!” with a smile on our face. We are called to be people of optimism! It can be an ungainly habit to be a ‘knocker, as we say in Australia.’ That is someone who always looks for the negative side of any positive suggestion that is presented. Not only does that get on one’s nerves, as it does me, but these people are not generally happy and open folk. Here we see St. Paul with his tremendous understanding of human nature speaking about tolerance; the importance of praying with thanksgiving before one’s prayer is answered, and above all that true and unmistakable Adonai Shalom will guard and guide us.

Why not take some time this week to spend just 10 mins away from Mobile Phones, Tablets, iPod and iPads, and anything else that has an i in front of it…to spend some we time, with the Lord, as you saunter down the Lanes of your Heart, with a sense of thanksgiving as you re discover the saving hand of God at work in your personal Gospel story.

Well, what are the words that God sings aloud in us? They are forgiveness, peace, love, gentleness, justice, integrity, and dignity. They are the fiery and cleansing Word of the Spirit that gives life, where there is none, destroys death wherever it reigns that strengthens weary hands, and gives victory to the oppressed. To each of us, this Word comes as freedom: the song to be shared with others, a song whose musical tones and harmony enable the best to come forth from each other.

It is a song that enables people to feel “special” …it is a song that issues forth from us through our smiles, our words of genuine concern; it is a song that remembers those who may feel forgotten! We are never alone; as the Response to the Psalm says: ‘cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.’ (Isaiah 12:6)

To conclude, I have something special for us…this little reflection…. someone gave it to me, but I don’t know who composed it. In the Gospel this Sunday, the question is asked of John the Baptist…

’What must we do?’

This reflection might help us in answering the question.

ADVENT GARDENING…What must we do?

First, Plant four rows of peas.

Pray

Perseverance

Politeness.

Promptness.

Next to them plant three rows of Squash.

Squash gossip

Squash Criticism.

Squash indifference.

Then plant lettuce.

Let us be truthful.

Let us be loyal.

Let us be faithful.

Let us love one another.

Let us be cheerful!

No garden is complete without turnips

Turn up for the Sunday Eucharist.

Turn up for Community Reconciliation.

Turn up for ‘Prayer and Christmas Carols

Turn up for Parish sharing & evaluation.

Turn up to celebrate with the community

Turn up on time!

Turn off your Mobile ‘phone before you pray with your community.

Turn up and gather your family for prayer at home.

Crimson Rosellas and King Parrots.

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The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for the 2nd Sunday of Advent Year C. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open heart.

On this the second Sunday of Advent, we hear the shout from John the Baptist…’Prepare a way for the lord, make his paths straight.’ Is it like the sound of the man at the entrance to Wynyard Station here in Sydney, who shouts out the headlines…?

’’Read all about it, people from outer space captured!”  Would we really hear the man’s voice with that stunning news? Would that be enough for us to scramble among all the other people to get a copy of the newspaper? Or just saunter down to the station, keeping our wits about us, just in case we get tripped up by some person riding a scooter or texting on their Mobile ‘phone! Maybe the words, “UFO LANDS” might trigger our minds and cause us to: ’Read all about it.’ Why? Perhaps it might have an impact on us!

The Prophet Baruch

Let’s have a look at the first Reading, and again the three readings are thematically connected during Advent. The Prophet Baruch’s 5:1-9 proclamation is fantastic! God’s Word is so rich in content and import; and again, it is totally evergreen.

It is for all seasons and ages…. the faces have changed, but the message remains the same! No matter how gloomy and dark our world and its people can become, our God is Lord of all, overall and God’s mercy and integrity are our escort!

In the second Reading, Philippians 1:3-6.8-11, if you listen carefully as you meditatively read it, you will hear the gentle-strength in the Apostle Paul. We cannot help but be touched by his sincere love for the fledgling Philippian Church. His pastoral letter to this community is so uplifting, isn’t it? As I suggested in last week’s realhomilie, what another example for Leaders to flesh out Pastoral letters to the Church of today, using the Pauline way as a menu…………. Notice his prayer for the community…….’ Is that your love for each other may increase more and more and never stop improving your knowledge and deepening your perception, so that you can always recognize what is best……’  What a wonderful prayer for the Church as it meets Christ unexpectedly, every day. Look how personal it is! Much more personal than a Christmas card in the mail, and the sender’s signature is part of the printing……

The King’s Highway present day Jordan

Today’s Gospel 3:1-6, Luke paints a vivid picture of a man with a mission! His name is John! His message is: “Change your ways; Repent!” Does that impact on us? He quotes the Prophet Isaiah from the Old Testament:” Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight!”  But how was the Lord going to appear? Would he manifest himself like a meteor blazing a trail across the heavens before losing itself once again within the infinite galaxies? Would people perhaps glimpse him only for an instant before darkness closed in upon our world once again?

No! For this “Word” who quietly and gently came into our world would be born in the poverty of a stable, lying in an animal’s feeding box for his bed. What heat there was, came from the breath of the animals, the love that nurtured Him, was from the hearts of Mary and Joseph as well as the inquisitive Shepherds, and the wise men from the East.

The Word was made flesh; Jesus the human face of the Father is the Emmanuel of Isaiah 7:14….’God is with us!’  Maybe it is the hills in our hearts, and the valleys within our being which need to be levelled, and filled in. The words of our Opening Prayer today say it all: ‘God of power and mercy, open our hearts in welcome. Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy, so that we may share his wisdom, and become one with him when he comes in glory…’

May we continue with our self-appraisal in this time of Advent, using the Gospel of Jesus as our Invitation and Guide. May we have a complete ‘change of heart’ so that nothing may hinder us from seeing, and receiving Jesus in one another, and in ourselves with joy!

The White Candle in the centre is the Christ Candle lit on Christmas Day

Beginning Advent….

What does it mean that we do this again?

Four weeks, four candles, ‘the people who walk in darkness” Looking for light?

What does it mean that we do this again?

We who rush through everything who sometimes hardly notice where we are.

Having to slow ourselves enough to light one candle at a time and to understand what it is for?

What does it mean that we do this again-?

Proclaiming yet once more the One whose birth we’ve

Announced every year

As long as we can remember.

Are we such creatures of habit that we’ll keep a festival?

For no good reason?

Or can it possibly be that He keeps being born?

Probably so.  Most assuredly so.

Otherwise, the “again” would have no power for us.

But in our one candle hearts our ever-waiting-for-the-Christ candle hearts,

We somehow know that all the power is in the “again”.

The Word becomes flesh….and the people who walk in darkness rejoice again.

Breaking open God’s Word at the round table of many hands.

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The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for the 1st Sunday of Advent Year C. No RSVP is required. Just come as you are with an open heart.

Christmas is nearly here! Well, as far as the shops go, Christmas has been here for at least a month or two!

Advent does not mean anything for most people. Here in Australia, the time of Advent is usually celebrated with Shopping Sprees, Office Parties, summer heat with flies and mosquitoes, relaxing around Bar-B-Q’s, sharing a Beer or Wine and even Maxi Coke! Not so much for this year! Covid is still causing us to restrict our movements, shopping sprees like Black Friday will be mainly online. As for summer, that seems to be ‘on hold’ here in Sydney…. Cool days, rain, and chilly winds. However, lots of our Houses are covered inside and out with all kinds of coloured lights in the form of Reindeers, Santa Sleighs, and maybe one or two Angels; occasionally there are a few Nativity scenes in our shopping centres.

Martin Place in Sydney

Maranartha! Come, Lord Jesus! Advent is a fantastic time, and prime time, to sharpen our awareness to the Christ who continually comes to us.

Advent is a time for us to STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN to God’s Kingdom present, but not yet fully realised. Advent is a time for us to check out our virtue of Hope especially in these testing times. It is a time for us to re-evaluate our relationship with God, and each other. It is a time to be strengthened by the Gospel, and to facilitate the Spirit’s activity within us. It is a time for us to discern with sharper spiritual vision, the signs, and the times in which we live, as an invitation to renewed personal and community mission. Come, Lord Jesus!

So that being the case, let’s dig into God’s Word for the First Sunday of Advent. The Prophet Jeremiah 33:14-16 speaks God’s Word to a people who needed uplifting. They needed that kind of Radar that our Armed Forces use these days at sea; over the horizon views, so that they can be just that little more prepared for what may be coming towards them. Jeremiah, empowered by God’s Word, invites his listeners to see outside themselves to a future time when God’s saving hand will be manifested in a particular way, which will be seen and praised by those who hunger and thirst for this Epiphany. The city will be called: the Lord our Integrity…Jeremiah 33:16. Are we talking about a City like Jerusalem or Bethlehem? Or could the city be within an itinerant group of people called the Anawim, “the Lord’s poor”?…….Food for thought!

The Responsorial Psalm 24:4-5. 8-9 is the “community response” to the First Reading; hence its Antiphon is like a Text message for our hearts. To you O Lord, I lift my soul! The verses of this wonderful Psalm flesh out why we can pray that Antiphon. At this stage you might like to scroll back to the Psalm. The first verse is full of imperatives! Verses two and three outline why the Psalmist/Us can ask the Lord God so directly in verse one. We need to prayerfully pray the Responsorial Psalms with the assistance of Music, or the community representative who is praying this Psalm on our behalf should take it slowly so that we can pray it, and not say it…..See the difference? Fortunately, while at home viewing this Blog on your Tablet, Smartphone, or PC, you can take your time in savouring God’s Word.

The Second Reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians 3:12-4:2 is such a warm, uplifting and encouraging Pastoral Letter to the Christian Church/Community in Thessalonica. The content, tone and wording of this Letter is evergreen, and should well be a guide for all Christian Leaders for all times. Modern day Pastoral Letters sometimes read like cold, calculating Government Gazettes; many of them are not pastoral but clinical and legalistic, more appropriate for BHP Executives. The spirituality of the Gospel is being affirmed and encouraged by the Apostle, within the fledgling Church. This is truly an Advent extract from this Pauline Letter. See how the Second Reading builds on the First Reading, and then the Psalm responds? The savouring of God’s Word this Sunday will enable us to truly enter into the spirit of Advent.

We MUST be available for it! Why not re visit these Readings during the week, and as you go through them, have in the back of your mind a good question like; “Lord, what are you saying to me through your Word, how can my life be changed in response to your Word.” As the so called ‘silly season’ (I absolutely hate that name) is thrust upon us everywhere we go, we must make a special effort to enjoy, and be nourished by the Advent season.

The Gospel, Luke 21:25-28. 34-36 today develops the ” Advent” theme even more; the first paragraph calls us to be sensitive and astute as to what goes on around us. If there is one situation that scares the life out of all us, is when the ‘ earth moves under our feet’, or when other potential cataclysmic events rock the world, we begin to realise once more, how fragile we are, and how vulnerable we are in the face of natural disasters, and Bombings in war torn places, or horrible surprise Terrorist attacks on innocent people, let alone  the world wide Covid Pandemic at present.

In fact, it seems that the world’s population is ‘on edge’ all the time these days! These events can bring out the best/the divine elements within human nature, and it can bring out the worst in us as well! The state of ‘readiness’ and sensitivity which is brought to the surface as a by-product of natural disasters and war, ought to be a sign in us for something greater. We need to be on a spiritual ‘standby’ mode within us all the time. This ‘readiness’ for Mission and encountering Christ is the key to what Advent is all about! Advent puts us into auto focus, as we realise the need to be more alert in responding to Christ within our sisters and brothers, in His Word and Sacrament. The ‘Grace’ of this preparedness gives us the inner courage to live and actualise this internal integrity within our society, which is something like the Prophet Jeremiah was speaking about in the last line of the first reading today………‘the city will be called, ‘ the Lord our integrity’.

The beautiful and realistic mural of The Communion of Saints at St.Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta Sydney.

The second paragraph of the Gospel tells us very clearly as to what can anesthetise our response to our Christian calling. So, the first Sunday of the Liturgical Year in this season of Advent, has a particularly prominent place in our lives. If we jump to Christmas and dismiss Advent, it is a bit like skipping the Entre’ and Main course at Dinner and going straight to the Sweets!

Advent has more social opposition than Lent! December in the Southern Hemisphere is ‘party time’, ‘beach time,’ and holidays. The weather is warm to hot, and there is a feeling of lethargy in the air! This is not a good combination, especially for Australians who are so ‘laid back.’ Whereas for our Northern Hemisphere sisters and brothers, it is mostly cold, dark, wet, and gloomy, punctuated by dazzling coloured lights in the Cities, Towns and Villages. However, Covid has put a blanket over the lot of us. In the country areas, the gathering around gorgeous fireplaces, preparing to eat Baked Ham and Turkey, Plum Puddings with Brandy Custard, and shopping for presents are on our minds. But this year, like last year is different…. Lockdowns, Covid Passports, and the like. Christmas is right in your face from the moment you hop in your car to go somewhere. Advent is a subtle undercurrent which when visited, ingested, and savoured, can nudge us to see the world, and its people, as truly God’s people, with the latent Missionary adventure of bringing Heaven to Earth, as we pray in The Lord’s Prayer. Advent has the innate power to transform all of us into the living and walking city of ‘the Lord is our integrity ‘The season of Advent is a time and opportunity for inner renewal, the discarding of numbing ways which can inhibit our feeling for, and response to, the Christ who comes to us all the time in Word, Sacrament and His People.

May we all be blessed during this time of Advent, and as we engage in savouring God’s Word, may the Spirit of God find a responsive heart in all of us.

Come, Lord Jesus!

The Red and blue parrots are called Crimson Rosellas, and the red heads and green bodies are called King Parrots

 

The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year B: The Solemnity of Christ the King. No RSVP is required, just come as you are with an open heart.

(LAST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME)

Pope Pius XI instituted this feast in 1925 in response to the rise of totalitarianism. It celebrates Christ’s reign over the human race and human hearts. The feast emphasises God’s ultimate forgiveness as well as Christ’s eschatological return and final sovereignty over all creation. This last theme is continued during Advent.

We come to the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, and I guess that our celebration of Christ the King may cause us to think,” fair enough, but the year is not over yet!” End of year celebrations are all around us…. for some, School exams are over, for others University exams have been marked, and for others, Office Christmas parties, and the like, will happen soon. In many countries the Covid lockdown and restrictions are being eased, as more and more people are double vaccinated, and many are lining up for their booster shot! Yet, in the midst of all this, we hear the resounding words of Jesus, (John 18:36) “Mine is not a Kingdom of this world”. And most certainly it is a Kingdom contrary to what our concept of a realm or Monarchy can be about. The modern Kingdom is often experienced as a reign of terror; and hence its rulers build huge images of themselves as signs of their power. We saw something like this years ago in Iraq with Suddam Hussein, and Kaddafi in Libya. We see it today in places like North Korea, Burma and many African states.

Tyrannical Kings demand and command; they often rule through fear. However, we don’t need to travel overseas in order to see a Tyrant! They often live in our own houses………maybe in the house next door. Statistics from the Australian Government have shown us that particularly during this Covid time, many households have become places of War! Vicious attacks on wives and children from husbands who in some instances caused bodily harm to their family along with psychological manipulation of the family. One of the major causes in unliveable family situations is the lack of conversation, and too much blaming. Issues should be talked out, and sometimes a Professional person might need to be called in to adjudicate the ‘in house’ conversation, or maybe personal therapy is required. It’s not always the Husband who is the tyrant! It can be the mother or one of the children. There must be dialogue to unravel problems, and humility and contrition are the main ingredients for family PEACE and GROWTH. Here below are two pics of being gathered around the table. These images speak for themselves.

Christ our King invites! He rules through love. Throughout the photographic album of the Gospels, we see the Shepherd-King, bringing hope to those who lived in despair and alienation, enabling the pagans and Jews to see in him, the saving hand of God. Remember the Roman Centurion soldier standing at the foot of the Cross-, seeing the way Jesus died; he was able to say, “In truth this was a son of God.” (Matt 27:54)

Christ’s presence could change beyond recognition the lives of those around him. His attitude towards sinners was one of kindness and persuasion rather than condemnation and alienation. There can be great persons who make everybody feel small…. but the really great person makes everybody feel great.

In that sense, Jesus was and is indeed a King! We are called to see Christ in each other and be Christ to each other. What a fantastic Kingdom! Now, let’s revisit the Scripture Readings for this Sunday, and then the full picture will be painted for us.

The Prophet Daniel’s dream catches our attention…the elements in this vision have caught Artists, Movie Makers, and literal minded Preachers to colour up this Heavenly vision, so much so that it can distort the intention, and inherent meaning for the listeners. So, what are Dreams, what are they trying to tell us? We all have had dreams, and I bet from time to time you have said to other members of your family, ‘I had a strange dream last night….and then immediately you go on to tell them about it….’ Sometimes in the telling of the Dream to others, some clues come into focus. Other times, they can be so random that it can be an exceedingly complicated process. Well, in a nutshell, it seems that dreams are a way of processing the parables within our daily lives. For example, something might happen to you out of the ‘blue’ as we say, and we might even spontaneously tell those around us that you will probably dream about that experience or issue. At this stage it won’t be within my scope of expertise to talk with any authority on ‘Nightmares….’  So, Dreams are a way of processing the parables of our daily life! Following that through, the elements in dreams are often symbolic, but they bring to the unconsciousness within our ‘sleep time’ often very vivid pictures, so much so that in the morning, we often wonder if this or that did really happen?

So, in looking at Daniel’s dream, he starts off by saying…….’I gazed….’ let’s stay with that; gazing has Biblical connotations; simply put, it means: – Meditating….in this context having God’s Word and design as Food for Thought. Meditating is like savouring a Fry’s Turkish Delight 98% Fat Free!!!!!!Daniel’s own name adds to the import of this dream, because his name in Hebrew means …. God Judges! God adjudicates! So, it would seem that an approximate outcome of this dream, is saying something about God as Judge, as Supreme Initiator of a Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven! Meditating is like savouring honey from the comb! This wonderful experience is done slowly……so that it can be thoroughly tasted! God’s Word in Scripture is sometimes seen as food to be eaten as we see here with the Prophet Ezekiel. Let’s look at Ezekiel’s name: God strengthens. So this action of eating the scroll of God’s word is a vivid expression of the vitality from ingesting and digesting God’s Holy Word. Very Eucharistic in its overtones. Food for thought!

The next part of the process is: – Contemplating…….that happens within a creative silence which abounds within the experience, due to the Meditation…. So, it is gazing within the dream or vision. So, Daniel gazes into the Nada…the nothingness, the night, and look what he sees? In typical Apocalyptic Literary Style, we see as Daniel sees, an anointed one being led to the One of great Age……he who is the personification of wisdom, creative love, mercy, and justice, sees in the one being led to him, a reflection of God’s true self! Then as a consequence, all peoples will recognise in him, who is like unto God, all that God has ever said, done and will do. This dream is an excellent vision of hope! God’s Servant-hood Kingdom will one day reign supreme! Hence, it is an evergreen Prophecy.

The Second Reading from the Book of Revelation is connected to the first reading and Gospel of this Sunday, because it is a Solemnity. On the Ordinary Sundays of the Year, the First Reading and Gospel are bridged, but the Second Reading is a continuous reading of New Testament Letters week by week, and generally it has no intended relation to the First Reading or Gospel.

The Author of the Book of Revelation….one named John, whom we call John the Divine, saw in Jesus, the Christ, all and more than the Prophet Daniel was looking forwarded to; John sees,  the Wounded Healer, the Keystone, the Shepherd, the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, the Son of God, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace, the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Emmanuel, the pre-existent Word, in fleshed in Jesus, the Christ.

The Kingdom, not of Power and Glory, or Might and Strength as the world sees it, but of servant hood, with a foot washer King; dying was the Triumph of Jesus as the greatest sign of God’s love, re breathed into life as the Triumph of the Father…….. Resurrection…….’ Mine is not a Kingdom of this world,’ as we hear in today’s Gospel, the Kingdom of God lives, breathes and creates ‘truth,’ hand in hand with God’s loving kindness. It is a Kingdom that can be heard, with those who have the ears to hear…….. It is a Kingdom whose presence and future mission is experienced by the recipients’…it is heard through the ears, seen with the eyes, and lived within the heart and the mind, in and through unconditional love, and fortified through the two-way street of ‘prayer’ as in listening and speaking.

No fancy clothes for this King! No ornate Chair for this King. No honorific worldly titles for this King, no seeking the front seats to see this King….He will come in the back door! As St. Teresa Avila once said, and then put to Music by John Talbot: –

Christ has no body now but yours, no hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through He looks compassion on this world, yours are the feet with which He walks to do good. Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world.

YOURS ARE THE HANDS, YOURS ARE THE FEET, YOURS ARE THE EYES,

YOU ARE HIS BODY.

Christ has no Body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through He looks, compassion on this world. Christ has no Body now on earth but yours.

We give thanks to God our Father, for his Son, the faithful witness to his truth. When we celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection, we proclaim the kingship of him who was lifted up on the Cross.

email: kevin.w3@bigpond.com

Blog: https://realhomilies.wordpress.com/

 

33rd Sunday Year B, 2021. The Lord Jesus is inviting you to partake of His Word at the round table of many hands. Fr Kevin Walsh from Sydney Australia has set the table for us. No RSVP is required, just come as you are, with an open heart.

Blog: https://realhomilies.wordpress.com/  email: kevin.w3@bigpond.com

THE LITURGY OF THE WORD.

First Reading: Daniel 12:1-3  Psalm: Ps 15:5. 8-11 Gospel: Mark 13:24-32

THE END TIMES IN OUR CULTURE ALWAYS HITS THE HEADLINES

Today we have our own apocalyptic visionaries – environmentalists warn of global destruction, activists warn of nuclear annihilation, etc. The recent Meeting in Glasgow about Climate change suggests convincingly, that the life and death of our Planet is really in our hands, NOW! They call us to see signs of this happening now, and act on them, so that we might change our present ways. Jesus talks of the future, so that we might make a deliberate choice for Him, now.

Nearly every day when we go to our letterboxes to get the mail, there is always some “junk mail”!! Advertising for this or that, a note from a Real Estate Agent suggesting to you that many people would like to buy your house; should you wish to sell.

Give them a call for a fast sale!!! I am sure that we have all seen that before. Then when you see in the midst of all this impersonal junk mail, a few letters with windows in them…. Bills, we may prefer to read them last; then up pops a Postcard from a friend who is overseas.

Once you see the handwriting, a spark of joy flickers within, and when you read it, you can actually hear the person speaking to you. What a wonderful experience it is, to receive the written word from a loved one. It can be read repeatedly, and it fills us with a communion of loving friendship all the time.

Today’s Readings come from God’s Word, and its contents are recognisable just like the hand written postcard. The contents of the Word of God today is absolutely URGENT!

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’ Words are very important and very powerful. Once spoken, they take on a life of their own, for good or ill. Some words spoken by wise and loving people can remain in our minds and hearts forever. I remember Fr Bonaventure CP giving us a Retreat when I was a Novice at Mary’s Mount Passionist Novitiate, Goulburn, NSW Australia, and he knew that some of us were facing difficult times as we came to accept each other’s differences, which is part of growing up and living in Religious Community.

In one of his talks he said, ‘If you can’t change a situation in your life, change your attitude towards it’. That has stayed in my mind ever since I was 18 years of age. These words are true, but to live them can be very hard; yet it is real wisdom. I am sure that there are words and sayings that you have had spoken to you over the years, and they will never leave you. In the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah 43:1, we hear these precious words,’ But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.’ These words, and the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel are evergreen, and they remain with us to this very day and beyond, comforting us, guiding us, and challenging us. They turn our values upside down. Once heard, they can never be forgotten. It does us well, to listen to God’s Word with all our heart and attention….” Lord, what are you saying to me through your Word today?” Spend some time in silent waiting, as the Spirit stirs an inner response, thus making its own reply in Words beyond our imagining.

Now let’s have a look at the first Reading from the Prophet Daniel…I suppose one of the first things that come to our mind is Daniel in the Lion’s Den! Well, that is a start; but let’s check out his name and what it means….Dani el or daniy el. Now, you can see already that his name has something to do with an attribute of God, el being a prefix or suffix for El=God. Now the first part of his name means. Judges or another English synonym would be adjudicator. So, his name means, God adjudicates. That being the case, we see the inner and living aspect of God permeating like a silver thread running through this Book in the Old Testament. It is so important for us to have this kind of background, so that the milieu of the intention and delivery of God’s Word, has its origin within this Godly quality of El.

The next name that pops up is Michael…we have all heard of this Archangel of the Lord; look at his name…. Micha….el. So, following our dissection of Daniel’s name, this one means mica el….who is like el, God.

So, taking all that into account, when Michael begins to speak…the sense of occasion here mutes any chatter…JUST LISTEN! The literary form of this extract is what is called apocalyptic literature, it is a form of writing which is deliberately intended to shake up people who maybe hearing impaired to God’s Word or their possible lethargic responses to living out the God initiated Covenant, ratified in Jesus. It’s a bit like what we do to our swimming pools…. when it goes green through neglect or a broken-down filtration pump…. we shock it with chlorine, to get it back to its pristine beauty!

This kind of literature was never meant to be taken literally……no way, enough Hollywood Film Producers have done that for us…… But it works!!!!  As we look at the natural disasters that have been happening in recent times, they have an apocalyptic flavour about them, and many people like to play on that as well, and make various predictions about the end times, or why this or that is happening as a manifestation of God’s wrath. This is where we can miss the point, and get side tracked, and get embroiled within the fantasy of sensationalism. Notice what happens to the majority of people in and through natural disasters? Look at what happens ‘in’ them? It is a crisis, which means an ‘opportunity’ or ‘turning point’ to resurrect inner Divine attributes, like reaching out to others selflessly, bringing in the homeless to shelter, feeding anyone in need, as we saw on Television News with that dreadful Mud slides in Italy, and the catastrophic effect of the recent Typhoon in the Philippines. In short, the results of the Disaster, even though horrendous, can bring us back to the basic humanitarian building blocks of community building. Unfortunately, it also gives an opportunity for some people to take unfair and unlawful advantage of others, and their goods. Wherever goodness abounds, evil often raises its ugly head……. even in some of the holiest of places. So, to cut a long story short, surely part of the message of the First Reading is………No time for resting on our laurels, because if we do, we will miss opportunities of being Christ to each other, and meeting Christ in each other, and that is too good to miss.

Now, let’s go to the Gospel…. here we have another fine example of apocalyptic literature in the New Testament, here in Mark’s Gospel, the first paragraph is like the setting for a huge 3D, surround sound stage, and the curved backdrop is a living collage of natural disasters, cataclysmic as they may seem, interwoven with a multitude of ‘life-scenes’ focusing on unconditional loving moments of our global sisters and brothers, together with moments where opportunities for recognizing the ‘divine’ in each other has been bypassed. It’s like a JUDGEMENT! It’s like the personification of DANIEL! Then after all this apocalyptic commotion, the eye of the storm is present, and there is an eerie feel as what it is like being within the eye of a Hurricane. There is an unnerving silence, while the swirl of the water filled clouds surround us! Then with the Voice of Michael whose timbered tones resound and enter the inner quick of people’s spirits…. the words in paragraph two are proclaimed…….

‘Take the fig tree as a parable: as soon as its twigs grow supple and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. So, with you, when you see these things happening: know that he is near, at the very gates. I tell you solemnly, before this generation has passed away all these things will have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.                

‘But as for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son; no one but the Father.’

At this stage of our realhomilie, you might be thinking that I have seen too many Movies……..Well, such a ‘shake-up’ calls us to be extremely sensitive to Christ’s presence in His people, His Word and Sacrament, just as our awareness of what happens with the Fig Tree, as summer approaches. May we be ever mindful of the nearness of Christ to us in each other. Let us be alert by graced insight, that God’s Word once issued forth, continues to resound around the Universe through its own perpetual motion. However, we must make the move to tune in to God’s frequency. Words from God for all times and Seasons….As we pray while Blessing the Paschal Candle at the Easter Vigil: –

Christ yesterday and today

The beginning and the end,

Alpha,

And Omega;

All time belongs to him,

And all the ages;

To him be glory and power,

Through every age for ever. Amen.

‘ Stay awake, be on the alert, for we do not know the time when the Lord will come in Glory! Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

‘Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my Words will never pass away,’ says the Lord!

Would you like to read some Interesting Essays on Spirituality?

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