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/

 

31st 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 turn up, with an open heart, just as you are.

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

All of us have a tremendous capacity to love! It is and can be the most explosive force within our universe! Its power can build enduring vectors of relationships, which can radiate extraordinary light and warmth, which nurture the building blocks of solid and all-embracing community-life in Christ! Remember the great American actor Christopher Reeve who was famous, as you know for his portrayal of Superman in the movies.

However, because of a fall from a horse, he ended up in a wheelchair, paralysed from the neck down. He said he got 100,000 letters of sympathy and support from people. This led him to ask: ‘Why does it take a tragedy before we show our appreciation for one another?’ Well, that is the big question!! It is unfortunately true!

Over the last forty seven years, I have presided at hundreds of Funerals. Sometimes it takes the death of a loved one to bring about Family Reconciliations. Over the years I have heard many Eulogies, and I have often asked myself the question: “I wonder if the deceased person has heard even half of what was said about them in their lifetime?” I don’t really have an answer to that question of mine, but I would not be too surprised if it is true to some extent.

In the ‘high tech’ times in which we live, we are surrounded by wonderful systems of communication; yet are we able to have more time for each other, love for each other, and accept each other’s differences? Again, when there is a tragedy anywhere in the world, within second’s outpourings of grief and extraordinary stories appear on Face book! However, the social media can also be the vehicle for evil and extortion, using the iPhone or Tablet as a coward’s pulpit!

So often when we go to the shops or professional services, we are forced to take a number, and join the never-ending queue, or hear the words on the ‘phone,’ Your call is important to us, you have progressed in the queue’ please hold on! Unfortunately, we are experiencing more than usual calls. Approximate waiting time is 45 minutes! For what? Then in frustration, you might hang up! In your mind you are saying to yourself, “all I want to do is speak to someone…not a robot”

The twofold commandment to love God, and our neighbours, which we hear from the lips of Jesus in this weekend’s Gospel, echo the very same words found in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy 6:4., and in Leviticus 19:18.  Yet, this twofold commandment was almost smothered within the 613 commandments of the Jewish ‘law’!! At this point we need to go back to the Old Testament reading and reflect upon it very deeply.

Notice that in the pronouncement of the commandment there is Invitatory to LISTEN! Then built on this listening is a sense of urgency to implement it. The icon or image where the implications of the great commandment reside, is in the heart! It seems that we could safely say that the overall icon or image displayed throughout the Scriptures is the heart! Then the total confirmation of this image is the Cross, with its base deeply embedded within the heart. Let us explore this for a few moments so that its impact can permeate our whole being.

In all civilizations of the world, the heart has a dominant place. Being the central organ in the body, the heart is the centre of ‘Life’; its function enables the entire body to ‘Live’. The heart has been and still is the main symbol for ‘Love.’ That in itself is very telling…. without love, nothing works! Nothing is sustained, nothing develops. A heartless person is devoid of human feelings, is hardened to the plight of the ‘suffering’ in this world, and has lost the sense of compassion. Unfortunately, in our world the heartless acts perpetrated by some people get the headlines, inherit the ‘breaking news’ slots in the media, and tend to dominate Thriller Novels and late-night Movies. So, does that mean that hard heartedness is on the front line of human advancement? I believe that the short answer is no! The countless millions of heartfelt people far outweigh its opposite. People with big hearts, do not go looking for publicity, people who are awash with love do not make the headlines on digital media or Television News time. Occasionally, a short segment of true love is shown on Current Affairs Program’s as a kind of a Postscript or appendix, just to give a little reminder that the world’s people are not all bad…………..

I think that we need to dwell on the imperative given in the Old Testament Reading of today, when it says: ‘LISTEN ISRAEL’ it is more than saying, ‘Pay attention!’ It means, Children of El… Meaning children of God listen with body, mind, and spirit….’holistic listening’……which is really Biblical Obedience! This is a far more positive and embracing concept of Obedience, then leaving it just with the following of Rules (well trained Dogs can do that) …or quoting Rules. So, in terms of loving, how does Biblical obedience come into the full picture of loving? According to the Scriptures: Listening to the truth in humility, is the precursor for us to genuinely love as God loves. Humility here is more like ‘poverty of spirit’ which is that constant hunger and thirst for hearing God’s Word and digesting it. It can be a very arrogant statement to say we speak the truth in love! Unless it is grounded in humility; maybe for us who are on the way, it might better be said, ‘Listening to the Truth in Humility’.

Finally, in an attempt to answer the big question: ‘Why does it take a tragedy to happen before we show our appreciation for one another?’  We so often leave it too late to love, and then we are full of regrets. We wait until it is too late to tell or show others that we love them. We often leave it too late to mend a quarrel, too late to enjoy health or the gift of our children or our parents. It seems that if we are going to be on time, we need to be listening to God while our hearts are being touched, and that we in turn respond in the ‘now’ not maybe; and then the words of Jesus to the scribe in today’s Gospel are then spoken to us: ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God’.

 

Your are invited to partake at the round Table of God’s Word! You are cordially invited by the Lord Jesus, to share in the breaking of the Bread of The Word, with like minded companions. The table of many hands has been set by Fr Kevin Walsh, Sydney Australia for the 29th Sunday year B 2021. kevin.w3@bigpond.com https://realhomilies.wordpress.com/

Today’s Gospel is a real cracker! It puts the so-called climb for glamour, ambition, and cold-hearted authority right in a box where it should belong, and with a lid on top of it never to be lifted……but oh no, once again we can say…’ the faces have changed, but the message remains the same.” Repeatedly, the lid gets lifted off that box, and its contents get an airing.

It has always been part of human nature and still is today, when we try and wangle opportunities in our favour, in terms of climbing the professional ladder, getting more kudos, because we have taken a substantial risk or given so much time or capital to given causes. Jesus presents us with a real blockbuster response when it comes to following him! Let’s have a look at it, through the eyes of the First Reading from the Old Testament, and the Gospel.

Readings: Isaiah 53:10-11. Gospel Mark 10:35-45

In the Old Testament Reading, we see that the Community of Isaiah, in digesting the Word of God and then proclaiming it, has a very curious blueprint for success. Suffering!!! This is completely contrary to the way ingrained human nature thinks, with its genetic formula of success in getting to the top; success is often wielding cold authority; success is in being served! As we look at the Old Testament Reading from another angle, it would seem that “the suffering” ascribed to is seen as failure in the eyes of the world. The question can then be put: – ‘What can we learn from the experience of suffering?’ It would seem from the Biblical point of view, and that is what matters here, is that we truly have the opportunity to listen! To listen to ourselves, and the ability to really listen to others, and the capability of being able to listen to God.

If we strive to live for the opposite to this formula from God’s Word; we are truly then formed in the ways of the world and can become part of the dog-eat-dog approach to everything. We have all seen this, maybe even experienced it from both sides, and the atmosphere which these kinds of ambitions create, is that of arrogance, selfishness, control, and personal narcissism; ‘the world revolves around me syndrome.’ All that glitters isn’t gold! In the evening time of my years, as I look back and see the ‘now’ I would say that people like this are more like water striders on top of a pond…. flitting over the water to stand momentarily on a Lilly leaf, but never really exploring the extraordinary and magnificent world beneath their feet.

On the other hand, Jesus makes it quite clear that true greatness is found within servant hood. Christ entered Servanthood has its roots deeply imbedded in Biblical listening, and true poverty of Spirit. Let’s just pause for a moment on the meaning of ‘poverty of spirit’. This vital Biblical concept forms the backbone for the Anawim…that is the ‘poor of the Lord God’…. the faithful who hungered and longed for the promises of the Lord God to be fulfilled. The ‘faithful’ who hung onto and lived the tenants of the Marriage covenant, initiated by the Lord God with Abraham and Moses, and reinforced by the Old Testament Prophets with their vision, hope and direction. The Virgin Mary typifies the Anawim of the Lord God….’Let what you have said be done unto me…’  Mary is the absolute example of the true ‘faith-response.’ She epitomised ‘Servanthood’…. not being over concerned with herself, but deeply committed to her ageing cousin, Elizabeth.’ For true Servanthood expresses itself in total ‘ otherness’ without the loss of self, while pondering these mysteries within the heart.

True Servanthood does not look for suffering; suffering is found within Servanthood. This element is always a refining component, it is the true catalyst for Biblical love which makes new, enables the best in others and brings about the will of God, and welcomes unconditionally all people into God’s family. The growth in, and living of Biblical Servanthood, rests on a certainty which is foreign to worldly standards. Having an inner silver thread of God’s unfailing love within us, Servanthood does not outwardly guarantee greatness as the world sees it. That being the case, and in the 21st Century, we live with more uncertainty than ever before in world history. We live in times where many people in the world who has access to the Internet can not only view our suburb, but our house and garden on Google from any place in the world. Every financial transaction that is made through Credit or Debit Card can be tracked. Every ‘phone call, email or text message can be viewed many months after they have been sent. Some Nations in our Global Village have the capacity to destroy every living thing on our planet! From within us, comes a latent desire for certainty, and this lives deep inside the human Psychic. Often within a social climate like this, subterranean actions come to the surface taking the faces of ultra conservative movements because conditions are ripe; ways of doing things become scrupulously exact, so that we can totally have within our power, the certainty of things that pertain to God, especially manifested in Law. Unfortunately, a bi- product of this ‘sticking to the letter of the law’ is the dissolving of the ‘spirit’ and a cold elementalism, which smacks of arrogance, in the face of our ‘thinking’ sisters and brothers in society. Unfortunately, but not unexpected, this is sometimes practiced and lived within the Church to some extent, when shepherd leadership gives way to the wearing of longer phylacteries and being greeted obsequiously in the market squares with titles of honour, and perfunctory laws which cross every T, and dot every I, from living Rituals to Pastoral Letters which read like raw Government Gazettes.

As the People of God, we are called to be free, to be faithful in Jesus, as Servants of the Word. Laws and Regulations which try to monitor every movement of the follower of ‘The Way’ can be nothing short of modern-day Pharisees at their computers, and some of these core practices Jesus condemned vehemently. The external expression of this spiritual cancer is so often manifested in the plethora of Hierarchical titles, clothing to match, and self-centeredness, which scorns the ‘Poor of the Lord God’ as being ignorant, and unworthy Prophets of the Word.

Having been ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament for 47 years, and being formed in Post Vatican II visions and goals, and as we are celebrating 60 years since the opening of the council, I have seen a kind of pulling back from the Council’s overall vision, lest it gets out of control. I use the word control here in a specific way, namely the Spirit’s Vision getting to far ahead for the people steering the Carriage. Coupled with greater underlying uncertainty in our world, the culture is just right for retroactive slowing down in embracing the daring vision of the Gospel and gives the green light for scrupulously exact liturgical practice and laws which can stifle the Spirit’s movements and crush the inspiring thrills for daring Christians. Running hand in hand with this is sadness, lack of joy and a misguided creeping towards superstition, in order to harness lost mystical experience and wonder. One of the great sayings of St. Teresa, which raised a few eyebrows at the time of her Beatification, was…” Lord, save me from silly devotions and sour faced saints…”  It says it all doesn’t it? Gloominess and cold Rubrics often go hand in hand; warmth and a real sense of community in worship, is often a sign that it is real, living and Liturgy!

It’s not all doom and gloom! Throughout world history and today, God’s Holy Spirit can always outwit our handmade speed humps, which we built so as we can enforce our angle on truth and authenticity. Pockets of daring Christians pop up all over the world responding to the Spirit’s invitations to renew the face of the earth. Often this happens within areas of great suffering where joy abounds. Many Founders of Religious Orders had to deal with all kinds of persecution from those whom they would have thought would listen, and foster God’s new deed being done. One of the many profound themes which run through some of the Letters of St. Paul is: – Joy in the midst of Suffering. See, we are back to the theme in the First Reading and Gospel of today; the Cross is always in the forefront of change and growth within God’s people.

The Gospel today underlines the two-sided coin of Our Lord’s call to us in mission……Servanthood/The Cross! I think that this Missionary activity is summed up ever so beautifully in the Blessing from Iona Abbey at the conclusion to this Blog….let’s renew our commitment to be Servants of one another, living the Cross and Passion of Jesus, the greatest sign of God’s love.

Blessing is taken from the Iona Abbey Sacramentary, Scotland.

The Cross!

WE SHALL TAKE IT.

The bread……………

WE SHALL BREAK IT.

The pain

WE SHALL BEAR IT.

The joy………………

WE SHALL SHARE IT.

The Gospel……………

WE SHALL LIVE IT.

The love…………

WE SHALL GIVE IT.

The light……………

WE SHALL CHERISH IT.

The darkness…………….

WE SHALL PERISH IT. Amen.

 

PRAYER FOR RECONCILIATION TO OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS Feast Day 24/5/2019 Composed by Fr Kevin Bede Walsh. C.P 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 wild life.

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.

 

Easter Sunday 2019. A realhomilie from Fr Kevin Walsh, Sydney Australia. kevin.w3@bigpond.com The Resurrection, the triumph of the Father.

Easter Sunday is with us again! Is it with a sigh of relief that we have a ‘break’ at this time of the year? Is it just another Sunday? Is it just another time of the year for the commercial world to make more money using a solemn Christian Feast to make more Dollars?

Resurrection implies new life! This is the gift we receive every morning when we wake up! Today is a totally different day from yesterday. Part of something being a gift is that someone gives, someone else receives, and there is no price tag attached. If there is a snag, it is that God gives me nothing for myself! If God gives me the gift of life today, it is because I can be a life-giving person to someone else. The Easter Liturgy celebrates the Father re breathing ‘life’ into His Son, and that ‘new life’ is to be shared among all people, and by all people.

Easter is about hope; it is unthinkable that a Christian should even entertain the ideas of hopelessness, even when we live in a world, which thrives, and makes money on bad news! Jesus triumphed over darkness, sin and death, and in the words of St. Paul, ‘having given us Christ Jesus, will the Father not surely give us everything else?’ There is a tremendous need for people of hope in today’s world, and in today’s Church, because the doomsday prophets have never had it so good! One notable Shepherd in the Church said that we Christians are under siege! What rubbish! The whole Christian way of life has been under siege since the crucifixion of Jesus! However, Easter Sunday is the answer to those who claim that we are under siege! Jesus said, @ I am sending you out as lambs among wolves…’ So what new! Sensationalism of the moment, and it can be seen as a tactic to win favour and solace from others. St. Peter wrote these words to the early Christian community: ‘Always have an explanation to give to those who ask you the reason for the hope that you have.’ Peter had experienced, witnessed, and lived through many a failure, so his point about hope is deeply relevant. I am sure that he is not alone in this regard… surely, we can identify with him!

Easter time is a reminder of our Baptismal responsibilities. We have a very real sign of that within our Parish community with the welcoming and admission of our Elect, into full communion with the Church. We are therefore reminded strongly, that we must be a community of hospitality, a community of mission, a community of Thanksgiving. Underpinning all that, we are as St Paul’s says, ‘planted on love and built on love, so that together with all the Saints we will have the strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, we are filled with the utter fullness of God.’ Ephesians 3:18.

Easter time in not a ‘one off time’ to celebrate Christ Our Light! Easter time offers an enormous challenge to everyone. Do we personally believe in the community, which we call the Church, to that point of wanting to really know, and care about each other? Or are we sometimes tempted to see the Sacramental life of the Church as some kind of Spiritual Service Station, where we fill up every now and then, like we do our cars at the Petrol Station? The Sacramental Community nourishes us, and we are called to nourish it by our active participation in every way possible.

We pray that through this Easter Season, we will be stronger in our hope, lively in our love for one another, and sensitive to see, with the eyes of faith, the saving hand of God in our lives and within our community.

 

 

Good Friday, 2019, a realhomilie from Fr Kevin Walsh Sydney Australia. ‘It is accomplished!’ kevin.w3@bigpond.com

After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said: ‘It is accomplished!’

With these words, Jesus gave up his spirit.’

These Words are taken from the Passion of Our Lord according to St. John. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

I wonder what kind of a Messiah the people in Our Lord’s time were really looking for? Was it a Messiah who would gather an army around him, and drive out the foreign occupation of the Romans? Could it have been a Messiah, who would restore the ancient tribes of Israel into one community again? Would it be a Messiah who would spread Israel’s Spirituality by force throughout the known world? The simple answer to all of this is: – NO! None of these……

From the poverty of the stable in Bethlehem, to the cruelty of Crucifixion, Jesus, the Human face of the Father, was the Messiah who ruled in loving service; not from the stance of power and glory! Jesus the radical Son of His Father, Jesus the new ‘trend setter’ of loving outreach to the ‘poor’ and to those who lived on the fringes of society. Jesus the daring Son of the Father, who was not afraid to break traditional Religious rules, if they got in the way of loving unconditionally! Jesus was not tied up and paralysed by Religious Customs which saw God’s Governance in black and white terms, and unforgiving practices, which created an image of a cruel God, a power filled God, or an untouchable God. Jesus challenged all those images!

Jesus, through his birth in the stable, and then taking on the status of a Refugee, entered into the mess of this world! A Mess whose answers could not fit into neat tidy boxes of Religion’s way of seeing the world, through pompous and arrogant lenses. Jesus, saw the world and its people through the Eyes and Heart of His Father. This way of seeing the world and its people, was new, it was real, it was true, and it was forgiving and loving!

Jesus the Messiah, could truly say the opening words of our Homily today…….’It is accomplished’….

Can we say with all our heart, ‘It is it accomplished’? If we say YES!!! That means that we are taking the responsibility given to us at our Baptism, to be Christ in our World. The YES that we say, is not like a yes that we would say for a Bucket full of KFC! It is a serious yes! It is a solemn yes! It is a challenging yes! It’s an exciting yes!

It is a thrilling yes, because we are not called to take up the Cross daily just by ourselves! We are called to take up OUR Cross daily……that means a community project, not just for now, but for always. Christians are not lone rangers…….we are a Community, we are a group, WE ARE the living Body of Christ. With this ‘community strength’, we must act ‘as one body’ in responding to our sisters and brothers in our midst. As a community we must act as one body in our loving outreach to those who are in personal, family and International difficulty.

As a community we are to serve each other like Jesus ministered to His apostles, by washing their feet, prior to celebrating the Passover meal; the meal of Christ’s body. We, as a community in Christ, are called to be Foot washers of the Lord! We are not called to be self-centred, or grasping for only that which satisfies us. We are not called to be a community of Christ who has no backbone…..which is courage! We are not called to be a Community who has no wishbone….which is hope, and above all we are not called to be a community of sad sacks who have no funny bone. We are called to live life to the fullest in every way, and to be strong, to be hopeful and to have a sense of humour, and be funny.

Good Friday, places the suffering Servant into our minds, hearts and hands…..Our yes, has the most serious consequences for a life which is open to all that God asks of us. We fail, if we put conditions on our YES to Christ, we pass with flying colours when our Yes to Christ has no conditions. Following the faith response of Mary the Mother of Jesus, Mary the Mother of the Church, our YES, like hers, is open to the endless designs of God for us.

I would like to conclude with a verse from a Song, composed by John Michael Talbot, using the words of the great St Therese….

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.

 

In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

 

 

Holy Thursday realhomilie from Fr Kevin Walsh, Sydney Australia. We are the Lord’s Footwashers. kevin.w3@bigpond.com

Jesus said, ‘If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet’.

Hospitality towards each other, is one of the most beautiful and respectful gifts that we can offer to one another. One does not have to go to some fancy, expensive Restaurant to expect genuine hospitality! There is no price tag on proper hospitality. There is an ordinary Fish and Chip Shop not far from where we live. However, it is not ordinary, it is extraordinary! Apart from the scrumptious Fish that they cook and sell, which melts in one’s mouth, and the delicious Chips made from real potatoes, and not some kind of fake potato; the respectful smiles, the welcome that customers are given, tells us that the food is prepared with an essential ingredient, which you can’t buy in Woolworths….it is called LOVE.

The Celebration of Holy Thursday is part of a triptych; Thursday, Friday and Sunday….. That is a threefold picture of Hospitality, Deep Love and New Life.
In the Gospel reading today, we see Jesus doing an action of well-known hospitality! Washing the feet of his guests, his friends, his companions. This customary action is never just attending to cleaning feet, so that there is no dirt on the Carpet! Now, this action has more to it than meets the eye. Let’s go deep sea diving into this hospitality ritual, which Jesus, by his words and actions, has made this washing of feet……Sacramental!

The washing of Feet cannot be seen as not connected to the Eucharist. It is connected to the real understanding of trust, humility, tenderness, respect and new life. The ritual action of the washing of the feet, is a unique connection between the one washing and the one being washed. Our feet are literally the gateway to our whole body. The way that the washing is done, is done with deep consciousness, respectful attitude and spiritual intimacy. Jesus calls us to follow his example in the fullest sense of the action, and wash each other’s feet.

When we literally get down on our knees before someone that is a gesture of real trust! Remember, when Moses was confronted with the Angel of the Lord in the Burning Bush, Chapter 3 of the Book of Exodus? Moses was asked to take off his sandals, which was an act of trust! The angel of the Lord said that he was on Holy Ground! What made that ground Holy? The answer would seem to be that the conversation taking place on the ground……the earth from which we were made, is a ground breaking experience of communion with the Lord God…….hence, the ground and place is Holy because of it.

The action of Jesus, was a ground breaking conversation of trust, love and service. In short, we are called to be Foot washers of the Lord! We are not called to overpower others by having Christ’s living Body subordinate to us! We are called to be genuine, real, Christ like Servants. In the new order of things, initiated by Jesus, we are cautioned not be part of a dog eat dog society, and we are not called to be ladder climbers……particularly in the Church. We are not called to be superior beings in charge of lesser beings. In the eyes of God, we are all on the ground floor……there are no top dogs, or top shelf treatment!

Holy Thursday’s message is a clarion call to all of us, to not only imitate what Jesus did in the washing of the Disciples feet, but to see Christ in those who feet we wash! This is a radical invitation because its ramifications are to turn us, and the people of the world upside down……to see other people, not as objects, but as respectful jewels within the Crown of Christ. The deep message of the washing of the feet, demands that there are no ifs and buts when it comes to acceptance of others; they must be approved of just as they are, not what we would want them to be.

The Celebration of the Lord’s Supper reaches its climax within the overwhelming dispositions that we bring to it. If we have not been washing each other’s feet in our daily life…, we have missed the boat in experiencing the full import of the Lord’s Supper, and the ongoing Mission entrusted to us.

The Celebration of the ‘real presence’ of Jesus is three fold. We hear God’s Word full of invitations, every time that we listen, it always invites our response, which has the power to change us. We do not come to the Celebration of the Eucharist like we would go to a Service Station to fill our Cars up with Petrol, to keep us on the road! We arrive at the Celebration of the Eucharist as living members of Christ’s Body, to be nourished by His Word, from the Eucharist and from the faith community. We are then sent out to proclaim what we live through our attitudes, actions and hospitality for all…..If we leave our Hospitality for a select group of people, we have then missed the mark, and are not truly convinced that what we are Christ’s living body, and it can be world changing if we do! If it can be world changing! It must change us first!

May our Holy Thursday Liturgy re-ignite us in understanding of the full implications of who washes the feet and whose feet are to be washed? Our celebration this evening, is the entrée for the Celebration tomorrow of the greatest sign of God’s love for us, in the Passion and Death of Jesus.

I would like to conclude by sharing a very wise and true saying from the great St. John Chrysostom, ‘If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the church door, you will not find him in the chalice.’

Poor old Fr Kev with his constant companion: Shauna

 

Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter Sunday Year C, 2019. A realhomilie from Fr Kevin Walsh, Sydney Australia. ‘COME, AND JOIN ME’, SAYS THE LORD! kevin.w3@bigpond.com

One week from today is Easter Sunday! We will celebrate the triumph of Jesus over the final enemy … death! It is only correct and just that if we wish to join in the victory, then we should enter into the struggle, which precedes it. During Lent, we have been given the opportunity to reflect upon the quality of our lives in the face of the Lenten Invitation: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. To help us in our Lenten response. The Readings for the five Sundays of Lent have given us a great deal of Food for Thought, and ample opportunity to reawaken our inner spirit to follow Christ wholeheartedly. As we said at the beginning of Lent, this is our Spiritual Training time. Any athlete who is serious about staying in ‘good nick’ knows that if the training fades away, we don’t fade away…we just get bigger in body weight and sluggish in most of our ways. The same can apply to our Spiritual life.

Lent is the perfect opportunity to put our Spiritual Fitness First! The rest of the year is not ‘holiday time’ it is all about keeping in practice the lessons and guidelines that we have embraced during Lent. This will help us in a big way to keep us on track till next Lent.

Today, as we receive our Blessed Palm, and give thanks and praise to God, we are given the chance to enter into the spirit of Holy Week. We can take this opportunity to walk with Jesus through this week in all its moods and complexities, and to finally rejoice in the Father’s glory when ‘life’ was re breathed into Jesus His Son: that new life which is offered to everyone which is celebrated on Easter Sunday is refreshed in us.

When we speak about Jesus in the Mass, for example, we use the past tense. “Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life” … “By your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free”. In other words, Jesus has already completed his part of the formula for salvation; now the rest is up to us. Of course, we are not alone in this venture; the Holy Spirit is alive within God’s household, to stir is, guide us and remind us of all that Jesus has said and done. This week is a sacred time; it is up to us whether we wish to enter deeply into the spirit of it or not.

The secular world is well and truly geared up for huge Easter egg sales, Hot Cross Buns, and massive attendances at the Royal Easter Show in Sydney; let alone getaway holidays, BBQ’s at home, and just taking it easy. The beginning and the end of these secular activities is often the $$$$ and relatively short intervals of happiness. … But for us, the end of this week is New Life! A renewed zest in living the Good News, and being part of THE ultimate joy, that God’s plan will always win out, even as it’s opposite forces try to stamp on it. The Faces have changed, but the methods of God, remain the same.

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 

By his holy and glorious wounds, May Christ Our Lord, guard us and keep us. Amen

May the light of Christ, rising in glory, dispel the darkness of our hearts and minds!

 

When we enter into the Church’s Liturgy at the Easter Triduum … Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil/Sunday, this newness of life and attentiveness to God’s Mission for us must be nourished and sustained. If we take ‘time out’ as family and individuals to make this journey, the results will be far more lasting for us than from a Chocolate Easter Bunny or a dozen Hot Cross Buns! Lent/ Holy Week is the most important time of the year. It’s all about the fortifying of our inner selves; it is about letting God’s Word shape and reshape our Spirituality so that we can deal with the real issues of day to day life as a Christian. If we let Holy Week pass by as just time off from work, holidays, fishing, camping or just laying around at home….we can’t expect our spiritual selves to deal with anything much. In short, as people, we can become just living objects who just exist, and are generally a pain in the neck to most other people, lacking life and drive….vegetables with legs!

There is a time and place for celebration, but it becomes all the more worthwhile when it has been earned through solid attentiveness to Jesus, who invites us to be truly servants of each other; to be responsive to His constant invitation to be with Him in prayer; to walk the Way of the Cross; and to allow the Cross to speak to our hearts. By entering into this mystery, we can rejoice in our God who loves us into life, and gives us the responsibility through our Baptism, to share it with others.

Now is the time to plan our week! Now is decision time! There will be many inviting alternatives, which could take up our time and promise us rewards. However, this is the week of all weeks in which we as a community, can be renewed through prayerfully and seriously walking the road to Calvary together … and then into the light of Resurrection.

Our reward? A greater alertness to the suffering Christ in His people today, and the strength and quality to be ‘Easter People’ in a world where His Word is still to be proclaimed and heard.

May this week be a source of blessing for all of us.

 

PRAYER REFLECTION: What Faith does?

Some people think that if you have enough faith life will be plain sailing. But this is not so.

The fact that we can swim doesn’t prevent us from being knocked about by the waves.

In the same way faith doesn’t shield us

from the hard knocks of life or death.

What, then does faith do?

It gives us bearings, and thus enables us

to live in a fragile world

without getting lost or giving in to despair.

Just as swimmers trust that if they don’t panic,

and if they do a few simple things,

then the power of the sea will uphold them.

So believers entrust their lives

to a greater power than us all.

This power is the creative dynamic of God,

who rebreathed new life into his Son at the moment of His Resurrection! We are called to re breathe new life into our sisters and brothers, our Society, our country, our world!

 

 

A Pep talk for Palm Sunday year C 2019 by Fr Brian Gleeson CP, Melbourne, Australia. bgleesoncp@gmail.com

We are beginning today the best week in the whole liturgical year. Centuries ago it was called the ‘Great Week’. Nowadays we call it ‘Holy Week’. We follow Jesus every step of the way. We have started with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he is welcomed, applauded and acclaimed, by a big crowd of followers. On Thursday we will join him at table and receive the gift of himself in bread and wine. After dining with him we will walk with him along the path that leads from the Upper Room to the Garden of Olives. There we will see him falling to the ground in fear and anxiety about the cruel death that awaits him. Friday will find us standing beside his mother at the foot of the cross, and feeling compassion for him in both his physical agony and his mental torment.

We will be feeling especially some of his sense of being alone and abandoned, betrayed and deserted, not only by friends and followers, but even by God. On Saturday we will be quiet and silent around his tomb, as we remember the injustice, hostility and cruelty, of all those evil men who murdered him. Then, late on Saturday, we will move from the darkness of our journey to the place of the brightly burning fire. There we will join the procession of the great Easter Candle, representing the risen Christ, as he lights up the darkness of our church and lives.

There and then, the pain and sadness of our journey with Jesus to Calvary, will give way to the hope and joy that comes with our awareness. Jesus Christ is not dead and gone. No, he is alive, strong and powerful, alive in himself, and alive in us. And so we will be hearing in our hearts those assuring words that the mystic Juliana of Norwich, in her vision of Christ crucified, heard from his own lips: ‘All will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well.’    Do we also believe that?

Bro Vicente CP and Fr Brian CP