frmartinshomiliesandreflections

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18th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 8:24-21): ‘Are you still without perception?’.

Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 8:14-21 Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.

The disciples had forgotten to take any food and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Then he gave them this warning, ‘Keep your eyes open; be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ And they said to one another, ‘It is because we have no bread.’ And Jesus knew it, and he said to them, ‘Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are your minds closed? Have you eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear? Or do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves among the five thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ They answered, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many baskets full of scraps did you collect?’ And they answered, ‘Seven.’ Then he said to them, ‘Are you still without perception?’

Gospel (GB) Mark 8:14-21 ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.’

At that time: The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’

Gospel (USA) Mark 8:14-21 Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. Jesus enjoined them, “Watch out, guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” They concluded among themselves that it was because they had no bread. When he became aware of this he said to them, “Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet understand or comprehend? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?” They answered him, “Twelve.” “When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?” They answered him, “Seven.” He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Reflections (7)

(i) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Immediately prior to the gospel scene we have just heard read, Jesus had fed a crowd of four thousand people with seven loaves and a few small fish. Yet, as they cross the Sea of Galilee in a boat, the disciples are fretting because they had only one loaf with them. They completely misunderstood Jesus’ warning about the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod as a reference to the scarcity of bread present among them. Jesus didn’t intend his reference to ‘leaven’ to be taken literally. Leaven was a traditional image for a hidden element working moral corruption. Jesus is portrayed as being totally frustrated with his disciples, asking a series of eight questions, like a schoolteacher who believes he will never get through to his pupils. Jesus, however, remained faithful to them to the end, even though they would go on to desert him. Even after they deserted him, he appeared to them as risen Lord and renewed their calling. The portrayal of the disciples in the gospel of Mark can be of some consolation to us. Their inability to hear what Jesus is saying, to see what he is showing them, and their self-protective flight at the end, shows up all the more the faithful love of the Lord for them. The Lord who was faithful to the first disciples is faithful to us, even though we get it wrong from time to time. He keeps coming towards us, inviting us to renew our response to his call to be his faithful followers in today’s world, and also promising us that, if we strive to respond to his call he will give us the spiritual resources that we need.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading this morning, Jesus seems very frustrated with his own disciples. In spite of all he has said and done in their presence, they still do not really understand who he is or what he is about. They are misunderstanding his words and not grasping the real significance of his deeds, such as his feeding of the multitudes. Worse is to come of course. They not only misunderstand Jesus, but they will eventually abandon him. Mark, the evangelist, gives quite a negative portrayal of the disciples in his gospel. Yet, these are the very disciples that Jesus keeps faith with. Mark’s gospel ends with the words of the young man from the tomb, ‘Go, tell his disciples and Peter that Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him, just as he told you’. After their failure, Jesus met with his disciples again in Galilee to renew their call. The gospel of Mark proclaims that Jesus is faithful to us, even when we are less that faithful to him. He goes ahead of us into all the places we journey to and find ourselves in. He is always there, ahead of us, calling us to begin again after we have failed. St Paul puts this very simply, ‘if we are faithless, he remains faithful’.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus seems very frustrated with his disciples. They misunderstand what Jesus says to them about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod, thinking that Jesus is referring to the fact that they have forgotten to bring bread. In reality, Jesus was trying to warn them against the evil intentions of the Pharisees and of Herod. Jesus addresses his disciples as people without perception. It is likely that Jesus can be just as frustrated with us at times. Like the first disciples we too can demonstrate a lack of perception, a failure to hear what Jesus is really saying to us, a failure to see what Jesus is trying to show us. We need to keep coming before the Lord in the awareness that we do not see as he wants us to see or hear as he wants us to hear. Our eyes and our ears need opening, and, perhaps, the times when we think we see and hear well are the very times when we are most blind and deaf. We need the humility, the poverty of spirit, which keeps us praying, ‘Lord, that I may see’, ‘Lord, that I may hear’.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus speaks about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod. In that culture ‘yeast’ or ‘leaven’ was often used as a symbol of evil and with reference to how the evil of a few can infect a large group. However, the disciples interpret Jesus’ reference to ‘yeast’ in a very literal way, with reference to bread. ‘It is because we have no bread’, they said. As a result, Jesus goes on to address them as having no understanding or perception, having eyes and not seeing, having ears and not hearing. Jesus often speaks in the language of image, metaphor and symbol. Sometimes, to take what he says literally is to misunderstand him, like the disciples in today’s gospel reading. Today’s gospel reading suggests that the meaning of what Jesus says is not always obvious. If we presume too quickly that we know what Jesus says, we can dismiss it too quickly if it does not make immediate sense to us. As we listen to what Jesus says, we need to take time to ponder his words so as to hit upon the real meaning of what he says. We need to approach the word of God in a spirit of humility, recognizing that we can easily be blind and deaf, like the disciples. We listen, in the awareness that we are learners before the word and that we need the Spirit to enlighten us. 

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Not everything in the Scriptures is to be taken literally. The language of the Bible is often very often symbolic and poetic. In today’s gospel reading, we find Jesus speaking symbolically and his disciples taking him literally. He warns his disciples to be on their guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Herod. Linking yeast and bread, the disciples think that he is chiding them for not bringing enough bread with them in the boat. In reality, Jesus was using yeast or leaven as a symbol of evil, which was not uncommon in that culture. A little yeast can have a powerful impact on a large batch of dough. In a similar way, the evil of a few can infect the many. The disciples need to be on their guard that they are not unduly influenced by the mind-set of the religious experts, the Pharisees, and the political powers, Herod. Jesus was concerned that this might happen. He asks his disciples a series of questions which show his frustration with them, ‘Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception?’ As the Lord’s disciples today, we all need to be on our guard against being unduly influenced by mind-sets which are contrary to the mind-set of the Lord. We need to keep immersing ourselves in his mind-set as it comes to us through the gospels and the other documents of the New Testament. In one of his parables, Jesus used the image of leaven in a positive sense, declaring that the kingdom of God is like a woman who placed a little leaven in a large batch of flour. The Lord wants us to be leaven in that sense, bringing the values of the kingdom of God to our world by how we live.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading is unusual for the number of questions that Jesus asks his disciples. They are all asked in desperation. It seems as if Jesus is almost ready to give up on his disciples. He has invested a great deal in them, and, yet, they don’t seem to be making any progress. Jesus asks them ‘Do you not yet understand?’ His questions go on to suggest that their minds are closed, that they don’t see with their eyes or hear with their ears, that they are without perception. He speaks like a frustrated teacher who just can’t seem to get through to his pupils. Jesus may have been tempted to give up on his disciples, but he didn’t. They would go on to disappoint him in a much more dramatic fashion in the hour of his passion and death, deserting him when he needed them. Yet, it was to these same disciples that Jesus as risen Lord appeared, commissioning them to go forth in his name to preach the gospel. Today’s gospel reading suggests that there is hope for us all. We often get it wrong in our following of the Lord. Like the disciples in the gospel reading we can be slow to perceive and understand what he is showing us. In the words of James in the first reading, we can be attracted and seduced by our own wrong desires, failing to stand firm when our faith is put to the test. Yet, the Lord remains faithful to us. As long as we are seeking him, the Lord will not give up on us. In a sense, we are all he has and he needs us. If the Lord does not give up on us, we must resist the temptation to give up on ourselves, especially in those times when we feel we are falling short of where we could be.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

It is clear that Jesus is very frustrated with his disciples in today’s gospel reading. He warned them against the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod, ‘yeast’ being a traditional symbol of evil and wickedness. The disciples interpreted him in a very literal way, presuming he was giving out to them because they did not bring enough bread in the boat. This was shortly after Jesus had fed the multitude in the wilderness with bread. They seem to have been on a totally different wavelength to Jesus. Jesus’ litany of questions to his disciples expressed his exasperation at them, ‘Do you not yet understand? Have you no perception? Are you minds closed?’ It is as if Jesus was saying, ‘What do I have to do or say to get through to you?’ I suspect the risen Lord continues to struggle with us, his disciples, today. We are not always on his wavelength. Like the disciples in the boat, we can be bothered about what is not important and we can fail to appreciate what the Lord is actually doing for us and asking of us. We continue to have eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear. Those first disciples had a long way to go before their eyes were finally opened. It would be after Easter before this happened, and, even then, there was much for them to learn from the Lord. We all have a long way to go when it comes to seeing what the Lord wants us to see, hearing what he wants us to hear and opening our minds to what he wants us to understand. What is important is that we stay faithful to this journey of discovery, always having the humility to recognize that, in the words of Paul, ‘now we see as in a mirror dimly’, and always having the openness of the child to keep receiving what the Lord is trying to show us.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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17th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 8:11-13): ‘No sign shall be given to this generation’.

Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 8:11-13 No sign shall be given to this generation.

The Pharisees came up and started a discussion with Jesus; they demanded of him a sign from heaven, to test him. And with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign? I tell you solemnly, no sign shall be given to this generation.’ And leaving them again and re-embarking, he went away to the opposite shore.

Gospel (GB) Mark 8:11-13 ‘Why does this generation seek a sign?’

At that time: The Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, ‘Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.’ And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side.

Gospel (USA) Mark 8:11-13 Why does this generation seek a sign?

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.” Then he left them, got into the boat again, and went off to the other shore.

Reflections ()

(i) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading from the Book of Genesis is the first story of murder in the Bible. Cain killed his older brother Abel because he was angry and downcast over Abel’s offering being more acceptable to the Lord than his own. There are many stories of tension between brothers in the Bible. We might think of Jesus’ story of the father and his two sons; the elder son was alienated from his younger brother and refused to join his welcome home feast. Yet, not many of the stories of tension between brothers in the Scriptures results in one killing the other. When God asks Cain, ‘Where is your brother, Abel?’ Cain replies, ‘Am I my brother’s guardian?’ In the light of the gospel, we know that the answer to that question is ‘Yes’. We are called to guard one another, to look out for one another, which is the opposite of how Cain related to Abel. In the gospels, Jesus showed himself to be the guardian of all who came to him. He healed the broken in body, mind and spirit. He fed the hungry. He brought God’s merciful love to those considered sinners. He befriended the outcasts. He promised rest to the weary and overburdened. In the service of others he let himself be killed. He underwent his suffering and death out of love for all. In the gospel reading, the Pharisees ask Jesus for a sign from heaven. Jesus responded to their question ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’. He had already given them an abundance of signs from heaven, all the powerful and life-giving ways that God had been working through him for the wellbeing of others. What the Pharisees were looking for had already been given to them, but they couldn’t see it. We too sometimes fail to see the ways that the Lord is working among us and within each of us. We need to keep asking the Lord to open our eyes to the many ways that the Lord is acting as a guardian among us, especially through the goodness and generosity of others.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning we have a short reading from the gospel of Mark. Mark makes greater reference to the emotions of Jesus than any of the other evangelists. In this morning’s reading, Mark states that Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ request for a sign from heaven ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’. That sigh issued forth in a question, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign?’ We can almost sense the frustration and weariness of Jesus in that phrase, ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’. The religious quest often takes the form of a search for heavenly signs, a longing for the extra-ordinary and unusual. The Jesus of the gospels, however, will always redirect us towards the ordinary – the sower who goes out to sow his field, the woman who looks for her lost coin, the care given to a stranger on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, the man who unexpectedly finds treasure in his field, and so on. It is in the ordinary that the mystery of God’s kingdom is to be found, because God’s good creation of full of God’s glory.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus is said to be tested by the Pharisees. They demanded a sign from heaven, to test him. Mark had already said that Jesus was tested or tempted by Satan during his forty days in the wilderness. Jesus was put to the test, not only at the beginning of his ministry but throughout the course of it. Very often the test or temptation came through other people, mostly through his opponents, but sometimes even through his own disciples. On one occasion, Jesus addressed Peter as Satan, because Peter had tempted him to take a path other than the one he knew he had to take; Peter put him to the test. From the time of his baptism to his death on the cross, Jesus was tested, his faithfulness to God’s way, to God’s purpose, was put to the test; he was tempted. We can expect our own commitment to the Lord’s way to be put to the test also. We too will be tempted. The test will take many different forms in the course of our lives; the temptation will come to us from a variety of directions, sometimes in and through those who are closest to us. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Pray, that you may not enter into temptation’. Jesus was indicating that our prayerful communion with God helps to ensure that we will remain faithful to God’s ways when the test comes our way.

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Mark makes greater reference to the emotions of Jesus than any of the other evangelists. In this morning’s reading, Mark states that Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ request for a sign from heaven ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’. That sigh issued forth in a question, ‘Why does this generation demand a sign?’ We can almost sense the frustration and weariness of Jesus in that phrase, ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’. The religious quest often takes the form of a search for heavenly signs, a longing for the extra-ordinary and unusual. The Jesus of the gospels, however, will always redirect us towards the ordinary. He speaks of the sower who goes out to sow his field, the woman who looks for her lost coin, the care that a Samaritan traveller gives to a stranger on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, the man who unexpectedly finds treasure in his field, the merchant who finds the pearl he has been seeking, and so on. It is in the ordinary that the mystery of God’s kingdom is to be found, because heaven and earth are full of God’s glory for those who have eyes to see. Since the death and resurrection of Jesus, the kingdom of God is among us.

And/Or

(v) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In Mark’s gospel from which we are reading these weeks, strong emotion is often ascribed to Jesus. We find an example of that in today’s gospel reading. The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign, in order to test him. Jesus responded in a very emotional way, ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart’, with a kind of inward groan, which found expression in his question, ‘Why does this generation ask for a sign?’ The Pharisees were looking for some kind of proof that Jesus was who he said he was. However, faith is not faith if it must ask for proof. The letter to the Hebrews says that ‘faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen’. It is an act of the will; it is not a mental assent to a set of proofs. Saint Paul was a man of very deep faith, but he says in his first letter to the Corinthians, ‘now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we will see face to face’. Believing always entails an element of seeing dimly. We cannot demand signs or proofs from the Lord as a condition of our believing. Yet, the Lord does give us signs of his presence if we have ears to hear and eyes to see. When the Pharisees asked Jesus for a sign, they were failing to see that Jesus himself was the sign, if only they would open their hearts and minds. His whole life was the powerful sign of God’s presence. The Lord continues to give us signs of his presence today. Such signs are to be found in the people whose lives are shaped by the Holy Spirit, people who journey with us when we need support, people who care for us when we are ill. These are the living signs the Lord sends us. We are all called to be such living signs of the Lord in our world.

And/Or

(vi) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus displays a weariness of spirit in response to the Pharisees’ demand of for a sign from heaven. Surely Jesus had already given them sufficient signs from heaven by healing the sick, communicating God’s forgiveness to sinners, proclaiming the presence of God’s kingdom in word and deed. They clearly wanted a more spectacular sign from Jesus that would make it impossible for them not to believe in him as God’s anointed one. Jesus does not submit to the demand of the Pharisees for such a sign but, rather, leaves them and crosses to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. The demand for some kind of clear sign from God is not unique to the Pharisees. At some time in our lives, we can all find ourselves hoping for such a sign, even if we don’t demand one. Especially, if we are trying to discern what the Lord may be asking of us, we often long for some sign that would make the Lord’s will for our lives clearer to us. It is a legitimate and understandable longing. Yet, the response of Jesus to the Pharisees in the gospel reading suggests that the obtaining of clear signs should not be our primary longing. Rather than asking for signs from the Lord, what should we ask for? Wisdom is something we can certainly all pray for, in the expectation that our pray will be heard. We need the wisdom from on high if we are to discern what the Lord may be asking of us. Here is certainly a case of, ‘ask and you will receive, seek and you will find’, in the words of Jesus elsewhere in the gospels.  

And/Or

(vii) Monday, Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading shows a very human side to Jesus. He shows exasperation before the Pharisees who ask him for a sign from heaven. The evangelist comments ‘with a sigh that came straight from the heart he said “Why does this generation demand a sign?”’ Up to this point in Mark’s gospel Jesus had been healing the sick and the broken, welcoming sinners home, feeding multitudes in the wilderness. There had been no shortage of signs from heaven for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. This was the time to recognize God powerfully at work in Jesus and to believe in him as God’s unique messenger. It was not the time to be demanding that Jesus perform more signs from heaven. What God had already given through Jesus should have been enough. Because some people, like the Pharisees, were not appreciating all the Lord was doing in their midst, more signs from heaven would serve no purpose. The gospel reading calls on us to have eyes that see and ears that hear all that the Lord is already doing among us, rather than looking for more spectacular expressions of the Lord’s presence and working. In every present moment, the Lord provides us with enough to be getting on with. There is much to see and much to hear each day because the Lord is always at work deep within each of us and among us in striking ways. In our relationship with the Lord, our role is not to demand signs from him but to be open to recognizing and receiving the signs that are already there.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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16th February >> Fr. Martin's Homilies/Reflections on Today's Mass Readings for The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) (Luke 6:17, 20-26): ‘Fixing his eyes on his disciples, he said’.

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Luke 6:17,20-26 Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep.

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:

‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.

Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.

‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

Gospel (GB) Luke 6:17, 20-26 ‘Blessed are you who are poor. Woe to you who are rich.’

At that time: Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon. And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you, and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.’

Gospel (USA) Luke 6:17, 20–26 Blessed are the poor. Woe to you who are rich.

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Homilies (5)

(i) Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of the places I like to walk since coming to Finglas is the Botanical Gardens. Regardless of the season of the year, I find it a lovely place to walk. Within the Gardens, my favourite place is the walk along by the River Tolka. There are lovely trees and plants along the river. Rivers can be lovely places to walk because of the abundance of plant life and, often, animal life to be found there. In countries with much less rainfall than ours, like the land where Jesus lived, the banks of rivers are often the only places where nature thrives. Today’s first reading speaks of a ‘tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream; when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green’. The responsorial psalm speaks of a ‘tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade’.

In both the first reading and the psalm, the tree that is fully alive, because it is planted alongside flowing waters, is an image of those who put their trust in the Lord, who have the Lord for their hope, and who delight in what the Lord wants. These are the truly happy and blessed people, because they have entrusted themselves to the Lord, who is the true source of life, and who alone can sustain and nurture us, even in times of heat and drought, when life becomes a real struggle. All of today’s readings invite us to ask, ‘Who are the truly blessed or happy people?’ That is the question Jesus is inviting us to ask in today’s gospel reading. He suggests there that the people the world considers happy are not always the truly blessed ones. Jesus refers to the very rich who have their fill of everything, who are always celebrating, who are spoken well of by others. Most people would think that they have really made it and might look upon them with envy. However, Jesus is saying there that those who appear to have everything are often the least fortunate and blessed, because when all is going well we can easily forget God. We can cut ourselves off from God who is the source of true happiness and blessedness.

In the gospel reading also Jesus refers to a very different kind of group. It is really the group of his disciples. He is addressing himself directly to his disciples, fixing his eyes on them as he speaks. He refers to them as ‘you who are poor, you who are hungry, you who weep now, and you who are hated and driven out by others, on account of the Son of Man’, because of their allegiance to Jesus. They have made themselves extremely vulnerable ever since they threw in their lot with Jesus. Most people would consider them unfortunate. Yet Jesus declares them happy and blessed, because their relationship with him is more important to them than anything the world has to offer. They have come to recognize the truth that God alone, present in Jesus, can give their lives the fullness, the joy, which they so deeply desire. Jesus is saying that there is a lack, an emptiness, in all our lives that only he can fill. We can sometimes try to fill that emptiness in other ways, by grasping after what we think will bring us happiness, but, in reality, will always let us down. If we look upon the Lord as our only genuine treasure, if we give him first place in our lives, seeking to do what he wants, that will often mean taking what seems like the more difficult path, the path of self-giving rather than self-seeking. In the eyes of many, we will be losing out. Yet, in reality, we will be taking the path of life, a path that is life-giving for ourselves and others.

One of the questions that the readings this Sunday invite us to ask is, ‘Where do we really place our trust?’ If we place our trust, our hope, in the Lord, and live out of that trusting relationship, we will be like that tree planted alongside flowing waters whose foliage stays green, even when the heat comes, even in the year of drought. In the words of the gospel reading, we will be happy and blessed, even if we appear to be losing out by the standards of the age. The Lord invites us to keep seeking him out, just as the tree seeks out the life-giving stream by means of its roots. If we do so, we will have a foretaste of the joy of our eternal destiny. In the second reading, Saint Paul says that our final destiny is to share in the Lord’s own risen life, a life over which death has no power. In this earthly life, the Lord fixes his eyes on us, as he fixed his eyes on the disciples in the gospel reading, and he calls out to us to come to him to find life in the here and now, to become fully alive as human beings, and so become a source of life for others.

And/Or

(ii) Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I was fortunate enough to visit the Holy Land the year before the present conflict began. I remember being in a part of the land that was quite barren and noticing the impact that the river Jordan made on that barren land. On either side of the river was a green line of vegetation that from a distance looked like a large green snake making its way through the barren landscape. It brought home to me the life-giving power of flowing water, even in an arid landscape. Today’s first reading and responsorial psalm put me in mind of that scene. Jeremiah refers to a ‘tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream’, whose ‘foliage stays green’ and that ‘never ceases to bear fruit’. The responsorial psalm makes reference to a ‘tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade’. For both Jeremiah and the psalmist the tree by the water that never ceases to bear fruit and that remains green, even in time of drought, is an image of those who have placed their trust in the Lord, and whose lives are rooted in the Lord.

Any one of us can find ourselves in a period of drought at some point in our lives, when life seems barren and harsh; we struggle to keep going; the elements seem to be against us. What keeps us going when we find ourselves in those inhospitable places? What prevents us from drying up and shrinking into ourselves when we experience life as something of a wilderness? The first reading and the psalm suggest that it is our connection with the Lord that keeps us vibrant and fruitful, even when the place in which we find ourselves threatens to drain us of life. We do not have to bring about that connection with the Lord ourselves. The Lord has already created that connection with us. He says in the gospel of John, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’. The Lord, through his life, death and resurrection, and the sending of the Spirit, has grafted us into himself, rooted us in himself. We have responded to that initiative of the Lord. Our parents responded for us when they brought us for baptism. In the course of our lives we have made our own that response of our parents on our behalf. Our presence here this morning at this Eucharist is a sign of that. Our calling is to keep on responding to the initiative that the Lord keeps taking towards us in grafting us into himself. The Lord who says, ‘I am the vine, you are the branches’, then calls out to us, ‘Remain in me’. Our task is to remain in the Lord who has taken us into himself. As we remain in the Lord, we will draw life from him, like the tree that remains beside the flowing waters.

When Jesus looked out on his disciples in this morning’s gospel reading, he recognized people who were in something of a wilderness. He addresses his disciples there as poor, hungry and weeping. In a sense, life had become more of a struggle for them since they left their nets to follow Jesus. Getting involved in Jesus’ way of doing things had brought new demands, and, in one way, left them poorer, more vulnerable. Yet, Jesus declares to his struggling disciples that they are blessed, because in getting involved in his way of doing things, and in remaining with him, they would come to experience the abundance of God’s generosity. When our own following of the Lord makes demands on us and leaves us feeling vulnerable, the Lord declares us blessed too. Our efforts to walk in the way of the Lord will make demands on us; it will often mean taking the path less travelled. Some people looking at our lives might see us as loosing out. Yet, the Lord assures us that what we might have put aside in order to be faithful to him will seem very little in comparison to what we will receive from him. Our remaining in the Lord can appear to leave us more vulnerable at times. The gospel reading assures us, however, that in our vulnerability we will know the Lord’s strength. We will find our happiness in remaining in the Lord and in allowing him to live out his life in us.

In the gospel reading, the Lord makes a promise to his struggling disciples, ‘yours is the kingdom of God’. That same promise is made to disciples in every generation, to us this morning. That promise begins to be fulfilled for us in this life. We begin to experience the presence of the kingdom of God, as we come to know the Lord’s strength in our weakness, the Lord’s life in our barren times. We believe, however, that we will only experience the fullness of God’s kingdom in the next life. Paul says in the second reading, ‘if our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people’. We look forward in hope to that eternal moment when, in the words of the book of Revelation, the Lamb will guide his followers to springs of the water of life.

The gospel reading suggests that appearances can be deceptive. Those who seem to be loosing out, because they place their trust in the Lord rather than in themselves are, in reality, blessed. Those who seem to have it all are in reality unfortunate, in so far as their trust is only in themselves. The readings today invite us to root our lives in the Lord, and to go where he takes us, in the hope and trust that he is leading us to springs of living water. 

And/Or

(iii) Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the course of our lives we invariably find ourselves speaking in different ways to different people, or sometimes even in different ways to the same people. We might speak comforting words to those who are struggling; we can speak angry words to those who have hurt us in some way; we speak loving words to those who mean a great deal to us; we can speak challenging words to those we have some responsibility for and who are not measuring up in some way. Knowing what to say and when to say it is an art in itself. Understanding what it is that needs to be said for the good of the other person at any particular time is a great gift to have. We can probably all remember times when we said more than we should have said or, perhaps, less than we should have said. We might have spoken comforting words when, really, challenging words were needed, or challenging words when comforting words were needed.

What is true of all of us as human beings was certainly true of Jesus. He spoke different sets of words to different people. The gospels suggest that, to a much greater degree than any one of us, he indeed had mastered the art of knowing what to say and when to say it. He could find the words that people needed to hear, and he was aware that different kinds of people needed to hear different kinds of words. We have a good example of that in today’s gospel reading. Jesus addresses words of comfort to the poor, the hungry, those who weep and the persecuted. He addresses words of warning to the rich, the self-satisfied, those who were used to the adulation of others. When it comes to words to be spoken, Jesus knew that it was not a case of one size fits all. The most vulnerable, who had least in terms of human supports and human prospects, needed to hear words of comfort. They need to be assured that, whatever about anybody else, God had certainly not forgotten them, and that a day would come when the totally unacceptable situation in which they found themselves would be reversed. ‘You shall be satisfied, you shall laugh’. For some of this group, such as Lazarus in the parable Jesus went on to speak, the reversal would happen only beyond this life. Yet, Jesus was making clear in speaking that parable that Lazarus should not have had to wait that long for his situation to be reversed.

If the most vulnerable needed to hear words of comfort, Jesus was equally clear that the complacent needed to hear words of warning. They needed a strong shot across the bow. In today’s gospel reading Jesus addresses challenging words to the self-satisfied, complacent rich who, in their wealth, have totally isolated themselves from the vast bulk of the population who were living at subsistence level. Jesus painted an unforgettable picture of such a person in the parable of the rich fool, as it is often called. Here was someone who had more of this world’s goods than he knew what to do with, and his only preoccupation was where to store it all. He saw his surplus as a problem to be solved rather than as bonus that carried social responsibilities. Jesus knew that it was precisely this self-serving attitude on the part of a minority in his society that resulted in the vast bulk of the population living such vulnerable and miserable lives.

We cannot of course equate the society in which we are living today with the peasant society of Galilee in which Jesus preached the gospel. For one thing, there was no concept of a social welfare state in the time of the Roman Empire, under which Jesus and his contemporaries lived. Yet, it is as true today as it was in Jesus’ time that the message of the gospel that Jesus preached has something of the quality of a two-edged sword. At times the gospel message will find expression as words of comfort; at other times it will come to expression in words that are very challenging indeed. To reduce the message of the gospel to reassuring words of comfort alone is to distort it; likewise, to reduce it to a disturbing word of challenge is to equally distort it. The beatitudes and the woes that Jesus speaks in our gospel reading today are both integral to the gospel message, and both sets of words are addressed to all of us.

There are times in the course of our life’s journey when we need to hear the Lord’s assurance that when all else fails in our lives he will not fail us. They are times when we desperately need to know that when everything has been taken from us, whether it is our health, our wealth, our good name, our independence, the Lord is the one reality that cannot be taken from us, because he is especially close to the broken hearted, to those whose spirits are crushed. He is strength in our weakness, life in our various deaths, and those who keep on trusting in him in spite of everything are like trees whose foliage stays green when the heat comes.

There are other times in our lives when we need to hear the challenging and tough side of the Lord’s gospel message. We can all get complacent; we can easily imagine that all is well with our little world, when, in reality, what we are doing, and sometimes what we are failing to do, is having very damaging consequences for others. There are times when, in our dullness of spirit, we desperately need to hear the Lord’s wake up call. This morning we might each one of us reflect on which side of the Lord’s gospel message I most need to hear today.

And/Or

(iv) Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the course of our lives we invariably find ourselves speaking in different ways to different people. We might speak comforting words to those who are struggling; we can speak challenging words to those we have some responsibility for and who are not measuring up. Understanding what it is that needs to be said for the good of the other person at any particular time is a great gift. What is true of all of us as human beings was certainly true of Jesus. He spoke different sets of words to different people. The gospels suggest that, he had mastered the art of knowing what to say and when to say it. He could find the words that people needed to hear, and he was aware that different kinds of people needed to hear different kinds of words. We have a good example of that in today’s gospel reading. Jesus addresses words of comfort to the poor, the hungry, those who weep and the persecuted. He addresses words of warning to the rich, the self-satisfied, those who were used to the adulation of others. The most vulnerable, who had least in terms of human supports and human prospects, needed to hear words of comfort. They need to be assured that, whatever about anybody else, God had certainly not forgotten them, and that a day would come when the totally unacceptable situation in which they found themselves would be reversed. ‘You shall be satisfied, you shall laugh’. For some of this group, such as Lazarus in the parable that Jesus went on to speak, the reversal would happen only beyond this life. Yet, in speaking that parable, Jesus was making clear that Lazarus should not have had to wait that long for his situation to be reversed. If others had been sufficiently generous with their resources Lazarus’ situation could have been reversed long before he died.

If the most vulnerable needed to hear words of comfort, Jesus was equally clear that the complacent rich needed to hear words of warning. In today’s gospel reading Jesus addresses challenging words to the self-satisfied rich people of his day who had totally isolated themselves from the vast bulk of the population that were living at subsistence level. Jesus painted an unforgettable picture of such a self-satisfied rich person in what is often termed the parable of the rich fool. The man in that parable had more of this world’s goods than he knew what to do with, and his only preoccupation was where to store it all. He saw his surplus as a problem to be solved rather than as a bonus that carried social responsibilities. Jesus knew that it was precisely this self-serving attitude on the part of a minority in his society that resulted in the vast bulk of the population living such vulnerable and miserable lives.

We cannot equate the society in which we are living today with the peasant society of Galilee in which Jesus preached the gospel. For one thing, there was no concept of a social welfare state in the time of Jesus and his contemporaries. Yet, it is as true today as it was in Jesus’ time that the message of the gospel that Jesus preached has something of the quality of a two-edged sword. At times the gospel message will find expression in words of comfort; at other times it will come to expression in words that are very challenging. To reduce the message of the gospel to reassuring words of comfort alone is to distort it; likewise, to reduce it to a disturbing word of challenge is equally to distort it. The beatitudes and the woes that Jesus speaks in our gospel reading today are both integral to the gospel message, and both sets of words can be addressed to all of us at different times.

There are times in the course of our life’s journey when we need to hear the Lord’s assurance that when we are at our most vulnerable, he will be there for us. They are times when we desperately need to know that when everything has been taken from us, whether it is our health, our wealth, our good name, our independence, the Lord is the one reality that cannot be taken from us, because he is especially close to the broken hearted, to those whose spirits are crushed. He has come as strength in our weakness, as life in our various deaths, and those who keep on trusting in him in spite of everything are like trees whose foliage stays green when the heat comes, in the image of today’s first reading. There are other times in our lives when we need to hear the challenging and tough side of the Lord’s gospel message. We can all get complacent; we can easily imagine that all is well with our little world, when, in reality, what we are doing, and sometimes what we are failing to do, is having damaging consequences for others. There are times when, in our dullness of spirit, we desperately need to hear the Lord’s wake up call. All of the Lord’s words, both the challenging ones and the comforting ones, are spoken in love and their purpose is to show us the path of life for ourselves and for others. This Sunday we commit ourselves anew to listening and taking to heart all of his words.

And/Or

(v) Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The people of the parish here have always been very generous in their support of organizations and initiatives that work to support the poorest and most vulnerable among us. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society greatly appreciate the contribution parishioners make to their monthly church gate collection. Last December, parishioners contributed over €8,000 to their Christmas collection inside the church. Parishioners were also generous in their support of the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People through the parish film club, just before Christmas. Over €4,000 was raised both in this parish and in Saint Anthony’s to support poor Palestinian families, through the sale of olive wood Christmas products made by Palestinian Christians. There are various other organizations and projects that support the most vulnerable that parishioners have helped to provide funds for over many years, such as Kenya Orphan Aid. It may sometimes feel as if all these efforts are but a drop in the ocean given the scale of the need, not just locally but globally. Yet, the fact that we cannot do everything should not discourage us from doing something.

When Jesus says in today’s gospel reading, ‘how happy are you who are poor; yours is the kingdom of God’, he was not in any way suggesting that poverty was a blessed state. Jesus was saying that the poor are blessed because God was standing by their side. Throughout his ministry, Jesus revealed a God who pledged to act on behalf of the poor, the marginalized, the vulnerable, the broken in body, mind and spirit, the hungry, the sorrowful. Jesus proclaimed that God was acting in and through his own ministry to reverse the situation of these groups. Jesus made present a God who was the passionate defender of the weak and powerless. What God was doing through Jesus, Jesus wants to continue doing through us his followers, his body in the world. That is why Jesus speaks these beatitudes while fixing his eyes on his disciples. He is calling on us all to work to ensure that the promises he makes to the poor and vulnerable in today’s gospel reading comes to pass, ‘yours is the kingdom of God, you shall be satisfied, you shall laugh’. These promises of Jesus don’t just pertain to life beyond this earthly life. Jesus wasn’t saying to those in greatest need, ‘you can be happy because your situation will be reversed in heaven’. Jesus expected the promises he made to begin to become a reality in the here and now. Later in this gospel of Luke, Jesus speaks the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in which Lazarus did have to wait until the next life before his miserable situation was reversed. However, the whole point of that parable is that Lazarus should not have had to wait that long. God clearly wanted his situation to be reversed in this life, and if would have been reversed if the extremely wealthy man in the parable had given Lazarus the kind of attention that he was entitled to as a human being and a son of Abraham.

The four woes that Jesus goes on to speak after the four beatitudes are addressed to the kind of rich person depicted in that parable, those who are so self-absorbed by their very great wealth that they are completely impervious to the many who are struggling to survive. The woes are a warning to them to take seriously what God expects of them or they will end up truly impoverished. The first reading from the prophet Jeremiah declares that those who rely completely on ‘things of the flesh’ are like dry scrub in the wastelands. In the beatitudes and woes, Jesus was addressing a society where the vast majority of people lived just at or below the poverty line and where a very small minority were extravagantly wealthy. He was describing the brutal reality of his world. By his beatitudes and woes Jesus was declaring that this was a reality that makes God suffer greatly and that God wanted to radically change.

We might be tempted to think that this is not the reality of our world. Yet, there are certainly parts of our world today that correspond to the world that Jesus presupposes in his beatitudes and woes and graphically portrays in his parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Whereas in our own part of the world we do have a strong and numerous middle class that wasn’t there in Jesus’ society, nonetheless, we are all very aware of great inequalities in our own society. One of the most shameful expressions of such inequality is the housing crisis and the rising tide of homelessness. The recent demonstrations in our city at the housing crisis is indicative of how unacceptable many people find the present situation. Today’s gospel reading suggests that the Lord is clearly on the side of all those who are working to ensure that everyone has a roof over their heads. Just as Jesus fixed his eyes on his disciples when he spoke these beatitudes and woes, so he fixes his eyes on all of us today. He calls out to us to help him to bring to pass in the here and now the promises that he makes to the most vulnerable in today’s gospel reading. Elsewhere in the gospels, he assures us that if we do so we will be rich in the sight of God.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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15th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 8:1-10): ‘They ate as much as they wanted ‘.

Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 8:1-10 The feeding of the four thousand.

A great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat. So Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. If I send them off home hungry they will collapse on the way; some have come a great distance.’ His disciples replied, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ He asked them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said. Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them among the crowd. They had a few small fish as well, and over these he said a blessing and ordered them to be distributed also. They ate as much as they wanted, and they collected seven basketfuls of the scraps left over. Now there had been about four thousand people. He sent them away and immediately, getting into the boat with his disciples, went to the region of Dalmanutha.

Gospel (GB) Mark 8:1-10 ‘They ate and were satisfied.’

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away.’ And his disciples answered him, ‘How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?’ And he asked them, ‘How many loaves do you have?’ They said, ‘Seven.’ And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.

Gospel (USA) Mark 8:1-10 They ate and were satisfied.

In those days when there again was a great crowd without anything to eat, Jesus summoned the disciples and said, “My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will collapse on the way, and some of them have come a great distance.” His disciples answered him, “Where can anyone get enough bread to satisfy them here in this deserted place?” Still he asked them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven.” He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then, taking the seven loaves he gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to his disciples to distribute, and they distributed them to the crowd. They also had a few fish. He said the blessing over them and ordered them distributed also. They ate and were satisfied. They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets. There were about four thousand people. He dismissed the crowd and got into the boat with his disciples and came to the region of Dalmanutha.

Reflections (8)

(i) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The kinds of questions we ask can either open up possibilities or close them down. In the gospel reading, Jesus and his disciples are faced with a hungry crowd in a deserted place. The question of the disciples seemed to close down any hope of feeding them, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ The question of Jesus was much more hopeful, ‘How many loaves have you?’ Jesus was already looking to the possibility of feeding the crowd even with the meagre resources that were available to him. He went on to feed the crowd with seven loaves and a few small fish. These limited resources on their own would not have been enough to feed the crowd and, yet, without those resources Jesus could not have fed the crowd on his own. The evangelist is reminding us that the Lord can work powerfully through what we might consider very limited resources. Indeed, he needs them if he is to continue his work of shepherding God’s people. The Lord wants us to ask the kind of questions that create space for him to work through us. It is worth paying attention to the kinds of questions we ask. Are they coming from a place of trusting hope in the Lord or are they coming from a place where I feel it is all down to me? The Lord is always asking us to take seriously the gifts and resources he has given us, even if they seem small compared to the task that faces us. He also asks us to place them at his disposal, trusting that he will work with them in ways we could never anticipate.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading the disciples find themselves faced with a situation which they feel is beyond them. There is a large crowd of hungry people in a deserted place with no means to feed them. Their desperation comes through in the question they ask Jesus, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ There are times in all our lives when we feel like the disciples. We find ourselves facing into a situation which seems beyond our capacity to deal with. We wonder how we are going to manage. In the gospel reading the disciples discovered that the Lord enabled them to deal with the situation and to feed the crowd. Working with very few human resources, seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, Jesus made it possible for the disciples to feed the crowd. Sometimes in our own lives too, the Lord enables us to do something that we would be quite unable to do if left to our own resources. The Lord can work powerfully through the few resources that are at our own disposal if we offer them to him and invite him to come and use them. Saint Paul knew this from his own experience. He wrote in his letter to the Philippians, ‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength’.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

There are two questions asked in today’s gospel reading. The question of the disciples is a somewhat despairing one, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place?’ The question of Jesus is much more hopeful and already points to how the crowd will be fed, ‘How many loaves have you?’ When we are faced with a situation that seems beyond our resources to deal with, it is important to ask the right kind of question. Some questions only increase our sense of powerlessness. Other questions encourage us to take whatever step we can take, no matter how small. Jesus wanted his disciples to take whatever step they could take to address the hunger of the crowd. There were some resources there which they could place at the Lord’s disposal. They could not feed the crowd on their own, but their contribution was essential to the Lord’s feeding of the crowd. As people of faith, we believe that the Lord wants to work through us for the good of humanity. It may seem as if our resources are very limited before the task in hand. Yet, if we are generous with those resources and invite the Lord to work with them, he can accomplish far more through us than we could ever imagine.

And/Or

(iv) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Different people react in different ways to the same situation. In today’s gospel reading, there is a striking difference between the reaction of Jesus and the reaction of the disciples to the sight of a large hungry crowd in the wilderness. The disciples’ question, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people?’ suggests that they wanted Jesus to send the crowd away. Jesus’ question to his disciples, ‘How many loaves have you?’, suggests that he wanted them to make some effort to feed the crowd. Jesus got them to bring him the little food they could find among the crowd. Then with those few resources of seven loaves and a few small fish, he fed the crowd, with the help of his reluctant disciples. The gospel reading suggests that the Lord will always encourage us to give ourselves in service to others, even if we may feel that our resources are inadequate, that we have very little to offer. If we are generous with those few resources, the gospel reading suggests that the Lord will then work with them and through them in ways that will often surprise us. The Lord can work wonders through the very ordinary resources and gifts that we possess. He asks us to do what we can with what we have, but he will always do so much more. If we are not willing to do the little we can with what we have, the Lord’s own capacity for ministry to others is curtailed. The Lord needs our resources, small and inadequate at they may seem, if he is to continue his good work in our own time and place. If we are generous with our equivalent of the seven loaves and few fish, then, in the words of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, the Lord’s power at work within us will be able ‘to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine’.

And/Or

(v) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

This is the second time in Mark’s gospel that Jesus feeds a large crowd in the wilderness, the first feeding having occurred less than two chapters earlier. At this point in his gospel, Jesus is in a region that would have been inhabited predominantly by pagans. The fact that the disciples had already witnessed Jesus feed a large crowd in Jewish territory shortly before makes their somewhat despairing question all the harder to understand, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ It seems odd that the disciples have learned nothing from the earlier feeding. If Jesus can feed a Jewish crowd in the wilderness, why could he not now feed a predominantly pagan crowd? The disciples seem to have lacked an expectant faith. The fact that God had already provided for a hungry crowd in the recent past through Jesus did not lead them to expect that God would provide for another hungry crowd in the present. The question of Jesus, in contrast to the disciples’ question, was rooted in an expectant faith, ‘How many loaves have you?’ Jesus expected that God would provide again for this predominantly pagan crowd, even though the resources seemed meagre, seven loaves and a few small fish. This would be God’s work, which is why Jesus first gave thanks to God for the seven loaves and the few small fish, before feeding the multitude. Jesus teaches us to have an expectant faith, even in the face of situations that seem beyond us, humanly speaking. We can all be tempted to pose a version of the disciples’ somewhat despairing question when the task before us seems beyond us. However, Jesus shows us that if we engage with such situations out of our prayerful communion with God, then he will often accomplish far more than we could have imaged possible.

And/Or

(vi) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

At this point in Mark’s gospel, Jesus has journeyed into a region that would have been populated mostly by pagans. A few chapters earlier, Jesus had fed a large crowd by the Sea of Galilee. Now he is faced with another hungry crowd in this mainly pagan region. The pagan woman had told Jesus that she would settle for crumbs that fall from the table of the children of Israel. However, in this scene, there is no question of this crowd having to settle for crumbs. Jesus shows the same compassion for this hungry, predominantly pagan, crowd as he showed earlier for the Jewish crowd. The disciples show the same resistance to taking any responsibility for feeding this crowd as they had earlier shown before a Jewish hungry crowd, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ The kind of questions we ask can either open up space for the Lord to work or close it down. The disciples’ question was closing down such space; it was devoid of any expectant faith. Jesus’ question, ‘How many loaves have you?’ was his effort to open up the space for God to work powerfully through him. There were some resources among the crowd, even if they seemed hopelessly inadequate, seven loaves and a few small fish. Yet, once these were offered to Jesus, he worked powerfully through them for the feeding of the multitude. As Paul reminds us, the Lord can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, if we are generous with our resources, small as they may seem to us.

And/Or

(vii) Saturday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading is the second of two accounts in Mark’s gospel of Jesus feeding a crowd in the wilderness. At this point in the gospel, Jesus has journeyed into a region that was populated mostly by pagans. A few chapters earlier, Jesus had fed a large Jewish crowd by the Sea of Galilee. Now he is faced with another hungry crowd in this mainly pagan region. Shortly before this scene a pagan woman had told Jesus that she would settle for crumbs that fell from the table of the children of Israel. However, in this scene, there is no question of this pagan crowd having to settle for crumbs. Jesus shows the same compassion for this hungry crowd as he earlier shown for the Jewish hungry crowd. However, the disciples show the same resistance to taking any responsibility for feeding this pagan crowd as they had earlier shown before the Jewish hungry crowd, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ The kind of questions we ask can either open up space for the Lord to work or close it down. The disciples’ question was closing down such space; it was devoid of any expectant faith. There was no hope in their question. In contrast, Jesus’ question, ‘How many loaves have you?’ was full of hope. He was opening up the space for God to work powerfully through him. There were some resources among the crowd, even if they seemed hopelessly inadequate, seven loaves and a few small fish. Yet, once these were offered to Jesus, he worked powerfully through them for the feeding of the multitude. As Paul reminds us, the Lord can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, if we are generous with our resources, small as they may seem to us. We need the Lord’s hopeful, expectant, faith today. In these Covid times, we need to believe that the Lord can work powerfully through us for the wellbeing of others, even if we feel that our resources are small and insignificant.

And/Or

(viii) Saturday, Fifth week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, king Jeroboam of the northern kingdom of Israel is portrayed as, in a sense, starting his own religion to consolidate his power. Political leaders can often be tempted to use religion to serve their own purposes. We don’t have to look far to find contemporary expressions of this phenomenon. It was the very close association of religious and political authority that resulted in Jesus being crucified. He exercised authority in a very different way to how the religious and political authorities of his day exercised it. He once declared to his own disciples, who were tempted by to follow the way that authority was usually exercised, ‘’whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all’. In today’s gospel reading, we find Jesus exercising this form of servant leadership, in spite of the protestations of his disciples. When he declared to his disciples that he had compassion for the hungry crowd and was reluctant to send them home hungry in case they collapse on the way, the disciples asked the somewhat dismissive question, ‘Where could anyone get bread to feed these people in a deserted place like this?’ It was a question that showed a degree of self-concern on the part of the disciples. Jesus, however, asked a question which revealed a concern for the hungry crowd, ‘How many loaves have you?’ That question created a space for Jesus to feed the crowd, with the help of his initially reluctant disciples. Jesus’ compassion for the hungry crowd found a way to feed them. When we allow the Lord’s compassion to shape our own lives, we too will create spaces for the Lord to exercise his servant leadership in our own place and time.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

14th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for:

The Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius (Luke 10:1-9)

And for

Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Mark 7:31-37)

Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Luke 10:1-9 Your peace will rest on that man.

The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’

Gospel (GB) Luke 10:1-9 ‘Your peace will rest upon him.’

At that time: The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house!” And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick in it and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” ’

Gospel (USA) Luke 10:1-9 The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.

The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

Reflections (6)

(i) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Today we celebrate the feast of the brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were born in the city of Thessalonica in Northern Greece around 825. In the ninth century they preached the gospel in Moravia, an area that corresponds to the modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to convey the gospel message to this Slavic people, they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the texts were in the native language could they communicate to the local people. In the process they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived; it is still called Cyrillic to his day, after Saint Cyril. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavic literature. Because of opposition from Christian missionaries from Germany, who disapproved of their methods of evangelization, they had to leave Moravia and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. Pope Adrian, however, gave his seal of approval to their work in Moravia. Cyril died in Rome in 869. He is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente in Rome, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia as a bishop where he preached the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who continued to object to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 885. Both brothers are venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is only in Luke’s gospel that we hear of Jesus sending out a group of seventy two in pairs, having earlier sent out the twelve disciples. This larger group reminds us that the sharing in Jesus’ mission is not just for a select few. To be a disciple is to be sent out on mission by the Lord. We are all called to be labourers in the Lord’s harvest, in virtue of our baptism. We may not travel far from our native land, like Cyril and Methodius, but we can be the Lord’s missionaries wherever we find ourselves. He sends us out to proclaim by our lives the message given to the seventy two in the gospel reading, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. Each of us in our own unique way can be channels of God’s loving presence to others, just as Jesus was.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were brothers from Macedonia in Greece who in the ninth century preached the gospel in Moravia, the modern day Czech Republic, as well as in modern day Slovakia and Hungary. In their efforts to communicate the gospel they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slave language. They understood that if they were to communicate with the local people, these important texts would need to be in the vernacular. Because of opposition, they had to leave their mission in the Slavic lands and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. There Cyril became a monk and he is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he continued to preach the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who objected to his use of the vernacular. Cyril and Methodius were labourers in the Lord’s harvest. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus sends out 72 such labourers, and he calls on those 72 labourers to ask God to send more labourers to the harvest. Jesus was aware that God needed an abundance of labourers in God’s harvest. God needs each one of us. We are all called to be labourers in the Lord’s harvest in one way or another. We may not be asked to travel far from our homes, like Cyril and Methodius. We can labour for the Lord wherever we find ourselves. The Lord will always provide us with opportunities to make his kingdom values present to others.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were brothers from Macedonia in Greece who in the ninth century preached the gospel in Moravia, modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to do this they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the texts were in the vernacular could they communicate to the local people. In the process they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Because of opposition from Christian missionaries from Germany, they had to leave Moravia and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. Pope Adrian approved of their work in Moravia and created the two brothers bishops. Cyril died in Rome in 869, and he is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he preached the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who objected to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 665. Cyril and Methodius were both labourers in the Lord’s harvest in the language of today’s gospel reading. We are all called to be labourers in the Lord’s harvest in one way or another. We are all called to proclaim with our lives the message that Jesus gave to We may not be asked to travel far from our homes, like Cyril and Methodius. We can labour on behalf of the Lord where we find ourselves. The Lord will always provide us with opportunities to help to make his kingdom present to others.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

There is an Irish connection to today’s feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were born in Thessalonica in northern Greece in the ninth century. They became noted linguists and scholars and went on to become monks.  In response to a request from the leader of Moravia to the Emperor in Constantinople, Cyril and Methodius were sent to preach the gospel in Moravia, corresponding to modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to do this they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the sacred texts were in the vernacular could they communicate to the local people. In the process they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived. Today this alphabet is called Cyrillic and is used for Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Because of opposition to their work, they had to leave Moravia and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. Pope Adrian approved of their work in Moravia and created the two brothers bishops. Cyril died in Rome in 869, and he is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente near to the Coliseum, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he preached the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who objected to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 885. Cyril and Methodius were both labourers in the Lord’s harvest, in the language of today’s gospel reading. We can all be labourers in the Lord’s harvest in one way or another. We are all called to proclaim with our lives the message that Jesus gave to the seventy two in that gospel reading, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. We may not be asked to travel far from home like Cyril and Methodius, but we can labour on behalf of the Lord wherever we find ourselves. The Lord can use whatever natural gifts we have in the service of his mission to make present the kingdom of God on earth. All he asks for is something of the same responsiveness to his promptings that marked the lives of Cyril and Methodius.

And/Or

(v) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Cyril and Methodius were brothers who were born in Thessalonica in northern Greece in the ninth century, sons of a prominent Christian family. Because many Slavs came to that part of Greece, they became proficient in the Slav language. They became noted linguists and scholars and went on to become monks.  In response to a request from the leader of Moravia to the Emperor in Constantinople, Cyril and Methodius were sent to preach the gospel in Moravia, corresponding to modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to do this they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the sacred texts were in the vernacular could they bring the gospel to the local people. In the process of translating they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived. Today this alphabet is called Cyrillic, after Cyril, and is the basis of the Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian and Serbian alphabet today. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Because of opposition to their work, they had to leave Moravia, and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. The Pope approved of their work in Moravia and created the two brothers bishops. Cyril died in Rome in 869, and he is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente near to the Coliseum, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he preached the gospel in spite of continuing opposition to his mission, including opposition from local bishops who objected to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 885. Pope John Paul II, a Slav Pope, declared them co-patrons of Europe on 31st December 1980. A few years earlier, the Pope had spoken of the brothers as ideal examples of the true missionary spirit, faithful to the tradition which shaped them and yet striving to understand the peoples to whom they were sent. In the language of today’s gospel reading, they were wonderful labourers in the Lord’s harvest. In that reading, as the Lord sends out seventy two labourers, he calls on the seventy two to pray to God, the Lord of the harvest, to send more labourers into the harvest. We are all called, each in our own way, within our own sphere of influence, to be among those labourers the Lord so keenly desires. We all have some gift through which the Lord can work for the coming of his kingdom. If we use our gifts in the service of the Lord, then, he can say through us, in the words of the gospel reading, ‘the kingdom of God is very near to you’.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Today we celebrate the feast of Saints Cyril and Methodius. They were brothers from Macedonia in Greece who in the ninth century preached the gospel in Moravia, an area that corresponds to the modern day Czech Republic, Slovakia and parts of Hungary. In their efforts to convey the gospel message to this Slavic people, they translated the Scriptures and the liturgical texts into the local Slav language. They understood that only if the texts were in the vernacular could they communicate to the local people. In the process they invented a new alphabet, from which the present Slav alphabet is derived; it is still called Cyrillic to his day, after Saint Cyril. For that reason they are regarded as the founders of Slavonic literature. Because of opposition from Christian missionaries from Germany, who disapproved of their methods of evangelization, they had to leave Moravia and at the invitation of the Pope they travelled to Rome. Pope Adrian, however, gave his seal of approval to their work in Moravia and created the two brothers bishops. Cyril died in Rome in 869. There is an Irish connection to Cyril; he is buried in the Irish Dominican church of San Clemente, where an ancient fresco depicts his funeral. Methodius returned to Moravia where he preached the gospel in spite of great opposition, including opposition from local bishops who continued to object to his use of the vernacular. Worn out by his labourers, he died in 885. Both brothers were wonderful examples of what today’s gospel reading calls labourers in the Lord’s harvest. Their basic message was the message Jesus asked the seventy two to proclaim in whatever town they entered, ‘The kingdom of God is very near to you’. That remains the gospel message for us today. The kingdom of God, God’s loving reign, is very near to us, especially in and through the risen Lord and the Holy Spirit. There is an Irish saying, ‘God’s help is nearer than the door’. Cyril and Methodius travelled far from their hopes to proclaim to the Slav peoples that God was not far from their home but was nearer to them than the door of their home. The Lord is near and he is always inviting us to draw near to him, so that we can draw life and strength from his loving presence to us and within us.

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Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except USA) Mark 7:31-37 'He makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak'.

Returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, right through the Decapolis region. And they brought him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they asked him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, put his fingers into the man’s ears and touched his tongue with spittle. Then looking up to heaven he sighed; and he said to him, ‘Ephphatha’, that is, ‘Be opened.’ And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue was loosened and he spoke clearly. And Jesus ordered them to tell no one about it, but the more he insisted, the more widely they published it. Their admiration was unbounded. ‘He has done all things well,’ they said ‘he makes the deaf hear and the dumb speak.’

Gospel (USA) Mark 7:31-37 He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

Jesus left the district of Tyre and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, into the district of the Decapolis. And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him off by himself away from the crowd. He put his finger into the man’s ears and, spitting, touched his tongue; then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly. He ordered them not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them not to, the more they proclaimed it. They were exceedingly astonished and they said, “He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Reflections (9)

(i) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospels often describe people bringing someone to Jesus. In particular, people bring those who cannot make their way to Jesus themselves. We are given a picture of people looking out for each other, especially for those who have some form of impediment or disability. We have a good example of that in today’s gospel reading. People brought to Jesus a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech and they begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man. They lead him to Jesus and then they intercede with Jesus on his behalf because he cannot speak for himself. The people who brought the man to Jesus portray one element of our own baptismal calling. We are all called to bring each other to Jesus, and, like the people in the gospel reading, to intercede for each other with the Lord, to pray for each other, especially for those who, for whatever reason, cannot pray for themselves. The Lord draws us to himself in and through each other. He needs us if he is to do his life-giving work, just as he needed people to bring the deaf man who couldn’t speak to him. Each of us is an important labourer in the Lord’s field. The Lord is dependent on every one of us.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

At a certain point in his gospel, Mark presents Jesus as ministry to pagans, to those beyond the boundaries of Judaism. This morning’s gospel reading is taken from that section of Mark’s gospel. Jesus is in the Decapolis region, a region mostly populated by non-Jews and, there, he heals a pagan man who is both deaf and also has a speech impediment. At the end of the gospel reading, the people of that region say, ‘He has done all things well; he makes the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak’. Jesus only directly healed the man’s hearing, but once his hearing was healed, he lost his speech impediment. The gospel reading suggests that hearing is more fundamental than speaking. If our hearing is right, our speaking will be right. There is a very real sense in which listening is prior to speaking. We need to listen carefully before we speak. If we fail to listen, the words we speak may not be the right words. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus first listened to the story of the two disciples; only then did he tell a story of his own that shed new light on their story. As in all else, so in this matter of giving priority to listening over speaking, Jesus is our teacher. In the gospel reading people declare of Jesus, ‘he has done all things well’. His doing all things well was rooted in his attentive listening to God and to others, his attentiveness to all of life.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

We can sometimes take our senses for granted, the fact that we can see, hear, and speak. A friend of mine suddenly lost his sense of hearing some years ago and the impact of that loss on him at the time was enormous. It is only when we lose one of our senses or someone close to us loses one of their senses that we begin to realize how precious those gifts are. Because they are such wonderful gifts we need to keep asking ourselves, ‘How am I using these gifts of hearing, sight, speech?’ In the gospel reading this morning a deaf man is brought to Jesus with an impediment in his speech. There can be a link between the two; the inability to hear can affect how people speak. Jesus first opened the man’s ears, and then he could speak clearly. For us who have the gifts of both hearing and speech, it is nevertheless true to say that the quality of our speaking is in some way related to the quality of our hearing. The better we are at listening, the better we may be at speaking. We need to listen to each other if we are to speak well to each other. More fundamentally, we need to listen to the word of the Lord if we are to speak the word of the Lord. It is only in listening to him that he can speak through us.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading Jesus heals a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech. I am always struck by the fact that his speech impediment was healed after his ears were opened. His hearing returned first and then he could speak. There is a reminder to us there, perhaps, that hearing can be more important than speaking. Good speaking comes from good listening. That is true of our relationship with each other. We need to listen to each other before we know what to say to each other. It is also true of our relationship with the Lord. We need to listen to his word before we can proclaim that word. Attentiveness to the Lord comes before bearing witness to him by what we say and do. In the gospel reading people declare of Jesus, ‘he has done all things well’. His doing all things well was rooted in his attentive listening to God and to others, his attentiveness to all of life. There is a sense in which we are all a little bit like that man in the gospel reading who was brought to Jesus. We all need our ears to be opened that bit more so that we can speak well and, like Jesus, do all things well.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading, when Jesus was asked by people to heal a deaf man who had a speech impediment, he listened to their request and he responded to it. After Jesus healed the man, he asked those same people not to tell others about what he had done. However, the people who had brought the deaf and dumb man to Jesus did not listen to Jesus’ request. In fact, the more Jesus insisted that they say nothing to anyone about what he did, the more widely they published it. Even though Jesus listened to their request, they did not listen to his request. The man whom the people brought to Jesus did not listen because he could not listen; he was deaf. Yet, we know from our experience of ourselves and of others, that good hearing does not always make for good listening. Our failure to listen can often have an impact on what we say and how we say it. It is striking that when Jesus restored the deaf man’s hearing, he was able to speak clearly for the first time. His hearing and speaking were closely associated. Listening and speaking are also closely associated. The more we truly listen to someone, the more likely it is that the words we speak to them will build them up and bring them life.

And/Or

(vi) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a lovely prayer of blessing over the ears and mouth of the child during the liturgy of baptism. It is prayed shortly after the pouring of water on the child’s head, ‘The Lord made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father’. The Lord did indeed make the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. In today’s gospel reading, he made someone who was both deaf and dumb to hear and to speak. The prayer over the child at baptism reminds us that we all need the Lord’s help to hear and to speak, even if, unlike the man in the gospel reading, we are blessed with the gift of hearing and speech. We need the Lord’s help to truly listen to his word to us, and to courageously proclaim our faith in him. The fact that it was only after Jesus enabled the man to hear that he began to speak clearly suggests that good speaking presupposes good hearing. In many respects, hearing is more important than speaking. As it has been said, perhaps that is why the Lord gave us two ears and one mouth. We need to listen twice as much as we speak. If we listen well we are more likely to speak a word that builds up and enlightens. If we listen well to the Lord’s word to us, we are more likely to speak in the way that the Lord would want us to speak.

And/Or

(vii) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

After Jesus heals the deaf man with an impediment in his speech, he calls on his friends who brought him to tell no one about this work of healing. Of course, the friends of the man couldn’t contain themselves and they published it widely. As a result, people remarked of Jesus, ‘He has done all things well’. Jesus is often portrayed in Mark’s gospel telling people not to broadcast some healing work he had just done. We might wonder why. Surely, God’s good work done through Jesus needs to be publicly proclaimed. Perhaps, Jesus didn’t want people following him for the wrong reasons, thinking that he was a just a miracle worker and always wanting him to do more of the same. There is so much more to Jesus than a miracle worker. When he hung from the cross he seemed anything but a miracle worker. Yet, the love that moved Jesus to respond to the sick and broken with compassion was the same love that led Jesus to the cross. He was crucified because he had come to reveal God’s fatherly and motherly love for all, especially for those whom the religious leaders of the time considered sinners. The Lord’s love did not discriminate. What discriminated was how people responded to his love that knew no boundaries. Some found such a love unsettling. We follow Jesus, our Lord, in response to his love for us. His love will not always work miracles in our lives. Sometimes we will find ourselves on the cross with him. At such times, his love for us isn’t any less, even though we may be tempted to think so. His love is always at work in a life giving way in our lives, until eventually it will bring us to a sharing in God’s life of love in eternity.

And/Or

(viii) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The story of Jesus healing the deaf and dumb man in today’s gospel reading has made its way into the Rite of Baptism. After the child has been baptized, anointed with the oil of chrism and clothed with the baptismal robe, and after the godfather lights the baptismal candle from the Paschal Candle, the priest says a prayer over the child, ‘The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father’. This prayer gives us a sense of one of the ways that this miracle story has come to be interpreted in the life of the church. Jesus’ opening of the man’s ears suggests our need for the Lord to open our ears more fully to really listen to his word. Of all the many ways to pray, the prayer of listening doesn’t always come easy to us. We have much to say to the Lord, and we can struggle to listen to what the Lord may be trying to say to us through his word. We all need our ears to be opened so that we can hear the Lord’s word more clearly. When Jesus opened the ears of the man in the gospel reading, he began to speak clearly. Good hearing can make for good speaking. That is true in our relationship with each other, and with the Lord. The more we listen to the word of the Lord, the more our speech is likely to reflect the speech of the Lord. In the language of the baptism rite, the more we receive the Lord’s word, the more we will be able to proclaim our faith in him, in all we say. Today’s gospel reading invites us to ask, ‘How well do we listen to the Lord speaking to us through his word, or through others?’ and ‘How well does our speech reflect and express the Lord’s way of speaking?’ We can all adapt the prayer of the Baptismal Liturgy to ourselves, ‘May the Lord touch our ears to receive his word, and our mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father’.

And/Or

(ix) Friday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

It is said in today’s first reading that the man and his wife hid from the Lord among the trees of the garden. Having eaten from the one tree in the garden that God said was out of bounds, they couldn’t face God. They hid from him in fear. In the gospel reading, in contrast, far from hiding from the Lord, the people of the Decapolis sought him out, bringing to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech. The Decapolis was a region that was occupied mostly by pagans rather than Jews. The people recognized that God was working in a healing, life-giving way, through Jesus. There was no reason to hide from such a person. Indeed, Jesus went looking for those who were considered sinners by the religious leaders of the time, sharing table with them. In the setting of a meal, he wanted to convey to them the merciful and unconditional love of God. We need never hide from the Lord in fear, regardless of what we have done or failed to do. His love for us is perfect and complete, and as Saint John says in one of his letters, ‘perfect love drives out fear’. The Lord is always coming towards us to heal us of our brokenness, just as he healed the deaf man with the speech impediment whom the people brought to him. Sometimes we too need the Lord to open our ears so that we listen more attentively to one another, and to the Lord speaking to us through one another and especially through the Scriptures. The better we hear, the more we listen, the more likely we are to speak well, to speak a word that is helpful to others, just as the man spoke plainly after his deafness was healed. When we allow the Lord we open our ears, then we can proclaim the Lord to others by the way we speak. When the risen Lord joined the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, he listened carefully to their story, to what they had to say, before speaking to them, and when he did finally speak to them their hearts began to burn within them. The Lord shows us how good listening can bear fruit in good speaking.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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13th February >> Fr Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 7:24-30): ‘The house dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps’.

Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 7:24-30 The astuteness of the Syro-Phoenician woman.

Jesus left Gennesaret and set out for the territory of Tyre. There he went into a house and did not want anyone to know he was there, but he could not pass unrecognised. A woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him straightaway and came and fell at his feet. Now the woman was a pagan, by birth a Syrophoenician, and she begged him to cast the devil out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘The children should be fed first, because it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs.’ But she spoke up: ‘Ah yes, sir,’ she replied ‘but the house-dogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps.’ And he said to her, ‘For saying this, you may go home happy: the devil has gone out of your daughter.’ So she went off to her home and found the child lying on the bed and the devil gone.

Gospel (GB) Mark 7:24-30 ‘The dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’

At that time: Jesus arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ And he said to her, ‘For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.’ And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Gospel (USA) Mark 7:24-30 The dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.

Jesus went to the district of Tyre. He entered a house and wanted no one to know about it, but he could not escape notice. Soon a woman whose daughter had an unclean spirit heard about him. She came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, a Syrophoenician by birth, and she begged him to drive the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, “Let the children be fed first. For it is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She replied and said to him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s scraps.” Then he said to her, “For saying this, you may go. The demon has gone out of your daughter.” When the woman went home, she found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Reflections (6)

(i) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Many of us find this healing story a little perplexing. Normally in the gospels, Jesus responds promptly to someone’s request for healing, whether it is for themselves or a loved one. On this occasion, Jesus seems reluctant to grant a mother’s request for the healing of her seriously ill daughter. Jesus is in the territory of Tyre, a largely pagan area. He hasn’t gone there on mission but to keep a low profile. He didn’t want anyone to know he was there. However, a pagan woman discovers where he is and, knowing his reputation as a healer, falls at his feet, imploring him on behalf of his daughter. He replies to her using a mini parable. ‘The children should be fed first’. His mission for now is primarily to the people of Israel, the children of God. Only after the children are fed would the house dogs, the pagans, be fed. His mission to the pagans has not yet begun. Yet, this woman displays both great faith and a quick wit. She is well aware that while the children are eating, they often throw scraps to the domestic dogs who draw near in the hope of some food. In other words, why can’t Jews and pagans be served at the same time? Jesus recognized the wisdom of her response and healed her daughter at a distance. Jesus had a clear timetable, the renewal of Israel first and then a mission to the pagans through the renewed Israel. However, he also had the flexibility to change his timetable. Jesus recognized that God was speaking to him through this pagan woman. How is God speaking to us today? Perhaps he is speaking through those we would consider very different from us, even alien to us. As Saint John says in his gospel, the Spirit blows where it pleases. We need that flexibility of Jesus to respond to the ways that God may be speaking to us through the most unexpected of people.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The woman in today’s gospel reading is one of the most striking characters in the gospel of Mark. Jesus is in pagan territory, in the region of Tyre, and is approached by a pagan woman. Jesus shows a marked reluctance to engage with her, ‘it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house dogs’. The children, the people of Israel, should be fed first. Jesus seems to have seen his mission as initially a mission to the Jews and only later, after his death and resurrection, as a mission that also embraced the pagans. However, this particular pagan woman was not prepared to wait. She cleverly retorted that the house dogs can be quite happy with the crumbs that fall from the children’s table. In other words, there is no reason why the children and the house dogs, the Jews and the pagans, cannot eat at the same time. In response to her insight and perseverance, Jesus promptly ministers to her. There is a story in the Jewish Scriptures of Jacob wrestling with God. The pagan woman could be understood as wrestling with Jesus, at least verbally. Sometimes we might find ourselves wrestling with the Lord. We don’t take at face value what the Lord appears to be saying to us; we come back at him, as it were. This morning’s gospel reading suggests that such a way of relating to the Lord is not lacking in reverence. The Lord relates to us out of the fullness of his heart and he wants us to relate to him out of the fullness of our hearts, without censoring what is to be found there.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading gives us an insight into a mother’s instinct to leave no stone unturned when the well-being of her child is at stake. Jesus was in Tyre, a predominantly pagan city on the Mediterranean coast. Why had he moved so far beyond his usual area of ministry? The reference to Jesus going into a house and not wanting anyone to know he was there suggests that he may have been seeking some time away on his own. Yet, not for the only time in the gospels, his desire for solitude was frustrated. A pagan woman burst into the house and threw herself at Jesus’ feet, begging him to heal her daughter. The reputation of this Jewish prophet had reached the ears of this pagan woman. Having somehow come to hear that Jesus was in Tyre, she wasn’t going to miss her opportunity. Jesus appeared to give her short shrift, ‘the children should be fed first’ (the people of Israel), certainly before the house dogs (the pagans). Yet, the woman’s determination that Jesus should heal her daughter was in no way deflected. With both humility and humour she retorted that the house dogs and the children can eat quite happily together. Jesus was disarmed. He recognized her tenacious faith and declared there and then that her daughter was healed. There is a story in the Jewish Scriptures of Jacob wrestling with God. This woman was, in a sense, wrestling with Jesus. There can be an element of wrestling with God in our own faith. Our faith can be put to the test when the Lord does not appear to hear our prayer. At such times we need to be as tenacious in our faith as the Syrophoenician woman was.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospels, Jesus normally responds immediately to requests for help, especially to parents who come to him to heal their sick children. The gospel story is unique in showing Jesus very reluctant to respond to the request of a pagan woman on behalf of her daughter. Jesus is in the region of Tyre, which was a predominantly pagan city, although having a strong Jewish presence. Jesus’ words to the woman suggests that he sees his mission as predominantly to his own Jewish people initially, ‘the children should be fed first’. It is only after his death and resurrection that he will engage in a mission to pagans, through those Jews who have come to believe in him. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, the gospel ‘is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek’.  However, this Gentile woman is not prepared to wait. She is absolutely determined to change Jesus’ timetable. Like others before her in the Scriptures, Abraham, Moses, Job, she argues with the Lord. She acknowledges that in the eyes of many Jews she may be a Gentile ‘dog’, but she observes that some dogs are almost members of the family and eat at the same time as the children, making the most of the children’s untidying eating habits, as their crumbs fall to the ground. In the end, Jesus grants her request; he changes his plan and responds to her human need. According to the Book of Genesis, Jacob wrestled with God. The story of the pagan woman confirms that sometimes our relationship with the Lord can take the form of a wrestling match or an argument, and the Lord seems to be at ease with that.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading reminds us that Jesus was very much a Jew who saw his mission as directed initially to Jews. Jesus wanted to renew the people of Israel and it was a renewed Israel who would bring the gospel to pagans. It was indeed Jesus’ first Jewish followers who preached the gospel to non-Jews, under the inspiration of the Spirit of the risen Lord. This timetable helps to explain Jesus’ initial reluctance to respond to the pagan woman’s request on behalf of her seriously ill daughter. As he says to her, ‘The children should be fed first’, meaning, the children of God, the people of Israel. We all find a little disturbing what Jesus went on to say, ‘it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house-dogs’. Jesus was picking up a term that Jews often used with reference to pagans. Yet, Jesus was using an image here, like a little parable. He is not calling the woman a house-dog. He is simply saying that like the house-dogs who have to wait until the children are fed first, the pagans will have to wait a little longer before experiencing the fruits of the presence of God’s kingdom. However, this woman, this passionate mother, was not prepared to wait. She turns Jesus’ image to her advantage declaring that house-dogs often eat the crumbs that fall from the children’s table, with the result that children and house dogs end up eating together. Jesus recognized her wit and her faith and immediately responded to her request. The woman displays the kind of determined faith we all need, especially in these time. This is a faith that is not easily silenced or weakened, even in the face of the Lord’s apparent unwillingness to respond to us at times.

And/Or

(vi) Thursday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Most of the people who approach Jesus for help in the gospels are Jews, like himself. In today’s gospel reading, however, it is a pagan woman who approaches Jesus to heal her very disturbed daughter. It seems that Jesus regarded his ministry as primarily to Jews. As he says to the pagan woman, ‘The children should be fed first’, the children being the people of Israel. It is only after Jesus rose from the dead that he would instruct his disciples to preach the gospel to all nations, Jews and pagans. However, this pagan woman was not prepared to wait; her daughter was in great need. The parents of a sick child are never prepared to wait; they insist that their child be cared for immediately. When Jesus says, in a little parable, ‘it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the house dogs’, the woman identifies with the house dogs, ‘but the housedogs under the table can eat the children’s scraps’. In other words, the children and the housedogs can eat at the same time, with the housedogs benefiting from the children’s untidy eating habits. Jesus couldn’t but respond to such an ingenious response; he had to heal the woman’s daughter. His timetable of a ministry to the Jews before a ministry to pagans had to give way. Jesus shows us that we need to hold our plans, our programmes, our timetables, lightly. Human need takes priority over all else. God calls out to us through those in great need, even when that need disrupts our carefully laid out plans. God can be speaking to us through the unexpected and unplanned event and through those who are very different from us. We need something of the freedom that Jesus displayed, the freedom of the Spirit, to go where God is leading us and to do what God is asking of us.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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12th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 7:14-23): ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this’.

Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 7:14-23 It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.

Jesus called the people to him and said, ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from outside can make him unclean; it is the things that come out of a man that make him unclean. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen to this.’ When he had gone back into the house, away from the crowd, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, ‘Do you not understand either? Can you not see that whatever goes into a man from outside cannot make him unclean, because it does not go into his heart but through his stomach and passes out into the sewer?’ (Thus he pronounced all foods clean.) And he went on, ‘It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean. For it is from within, from men’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, malice, deceit, indecency, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within and make a man unclean.’

Gospel (GB) Mark 7:14-23 ‘The things that come out of a person are what defile him.’

At that time: Jesus called the people to him again and said to them, ‘Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.’ And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, ‘Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?’ Thus he declared all foods clean. And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Gospel (USA) Mark 7:14-23 What comes out of the man, that is what defiles him.

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, “Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) “But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.”

Reflections (8)

(i) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The words of Jesus in today’s gospel reading are part of the response to the experts in the Jewish Law who criticize Jesus’ disciples for ‘eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them’. This failure to follow the washings prescribed was considered to make someone ritually unclean. In his response, Jesus shifts the focus away from a concern with external, ritual, cleanliness, to a focus on what lies within the human person, what Jesus calls the ‘heart’. Jesus was more concerned with people’s underlying attitudes and values than with whether or not they followed various human regulations that some held to be sacred. It is not that Jesus made a sharp distinction between what was internal to someone and what was external. He was well aware that what is internal will reveal itself externally. As he declares in the gospel reading, the very visible and external behaviours of fornication, theft, murder, and adultery all have roots within the person. ‘The come from within and make a person unclean’. What is within the heart cannot be kept hidden for long. As Jesus says elsewhere, ‘a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit… Thus you will know them by their fruits’. If our heart is right, our lives will bear good fruit that is visible to all. Getting our heart right is as much God’s work as ours. There is a conviction throughout the Scriptures that it is God who works the internal transformation that shows itself in a life of goodness. That same conviction is well expressed in the prayer to the Holy Spirit, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love’.

And/Or

(ii) Wednesday of Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel Jesus speaks about the human heart. The image of the human heart is very much to the fore around Saint Valentine’s day. It is the traditional symbol of love, especially of romantic love, at this time of the year. In the gospel reading Jesus takes a somewhat more sanguine view of the human heart. He declares it to be the seat of evil intentions that are damaging and destructive of others. The heart is the inner core of the person and we know that our inner core can have both its light and its shade; it can be a reservoir for good and for harm. One of the great traditional images of our faith in the past has been the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Many of us may have grown up with an image of the Sacred Heart in our homes. It was an image which declared that at God’s inner core was a totally selfless love, a love that was revealed fully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This greater love was powerfully creative and life-giving. Our calling is to have hearts that in some sense reflect the Sacred Heart, to have an inner core that partakes in some way of God’s inner core. This grand vision of our fundamental calling is well captured in that simple but profound prayer that many of us will have learned at some time, ‘Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart, and kindle in me the fire of your love’.

And/Or

(iii) Wednesday of Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus makes a distinction between what is on the outside of a person and what is within. The religious experts of the time were very concerned about certain external rituals that needed to be performed if a person was to be right with God. Jesus declares that what is much more important in God’s eyes is what is within the heart of the person, because what is within a person determines a person’s moral behaviour, how they speak and how they act. This is what matters to God rather than various ritual washings of one kind or another or what people eat or don’t eat. As in yesterday’s gospel reading, Jesus is saying that the religious experts of the time are not getting their priorities right. Their priorities are not God’s priorities. The most important part of a tree is its roots, which are invisible because they go down deep into the earth. Jesus is suggesting God wants us to look deeply into ourselves with a view to getting our depths right. Our inner life will determine the quality of our outer, observable life. Our underlying attitudes and values are what really matters. We need to keep working on our inner core, or, rather, allow the Lord to keep working on it, asking him to keep on renewing our heart so that it corresponds more to his heart.

And/Or

(iv) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus is responding to those who pay too much attention to external ritual, external observance, and not enough attention to what is going on within, in their heart, their inner core. Jesus declares that it is from within, from people’s hearts, that evil intentions emerge. Our inner core, what the gospel calls our ‘heart’, can be a reservoir for good, but it can also be a reservoir for evil. Jesus seems to have been very aware that we are capable of great evil as well as great good. He wanted people to have hearts that were the wellspring of all that is good, wholesome and life-giving. You may recall one of the beatitudes he spoke, ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God’. He was declaring blessed those whose heart is in the right place, as we might say today, those whose heart is fixed on God, whose intention is centred on what God wants, on God’s will, God’s desire for our lives and our world. It is from such a heart that great good comes. Only harm can come from a heart that is fixed on self, centred on its own comfort and pleasure. We need to keep calling on the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, so that we are as pure in heart as Jesus was, as focused on God’s will for our lives as he was.

And/Or

(v) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading is the second of two accounts of the creation of the human person in the opening chapters of Genesis. There are two elements at play in human creation in this account, the dust of the soil and the breath of God. The author is suggesting that the human person is both of the earth and of God. We are not purely spiritual beings, and we are not purely material beings. We are embodied spirits. Because we are of the earth, we are intimately related to the rest of creation. Because we have the breath of God within us, we are intimately related to the Creator God. We don’t have to flee our bodies, or flee creation, to encounter God. We come to God in all our embodied reality. Similarly, we relate to the rest of creation as God’s agents, endowed with God’s creative Spirit, tasked with giving expression to God’s care for creation. As people who have received the breath of God, the Spirit of God, all we say and do in the body is to be shaped by God’s Spirit. In the gospel reading, Jesus lists attitudes and actions that are not shaped by God’s Spirit, such as theft, murder, adultery, avarice, deceit, envy, pride and folly. ‘All these evil things’, Jesus says, come from within, from an inner core that is not shaped by God’s Spirit. We need God to keep breathing his breath or Spirit of life into our lives, if we are to live in ways that ‘renew the face of the earth’ in the words of today’s responsorial psalm.

And/Or

(vi) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading the Queen of Sheba visits King Solomon in response to all she has heard about him. She wasn’t disappointed. In fact she declares the reality to be much greater than the rumour, ‘for wisdom and prosperity you surpass the report I heard’. According to the gospels, Jesus makes reference to this incident declaring that the Queen of the South ‘came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here’. Jesus spoke these words in response to those who were looking for a sign from him; they were failing to appreciate the signs of God’s presence that were already clearly visible in his ministry, including in the wisdom of his teaching. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus gives expression to some of his wisdom, declaring that what makes a person ritually ‘unclean’ in God’s presence is not certain kinds of food he or she may eat or how they may eat it but what resides in the person’s heart. More than once in his teaching, Jesus invites people to look beyond externals and appearances to the human heart. The widow who put two copper coins into the Temple treasury would have been regarded less favourably than those who put much larger sums into the Temple treasury. Yet, Jesus, looking at the heart, recognized that the generosity of this widow was of a completely superior quality to that of others, because the little she gave was everything she had to live on. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee who was pleased with his exemplary life was less acceptable to God than the tax collector who publicly confessed himself to be a sinner, because his heart was more open to God. Jesus encourages us to look beyond appearances to the heart, in our own regard and in regard to others.

And/Or

(vii) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The story of the creation of man by God in the first reading expresses an insight into the nature of human beings. The Lord God fashioned man from the dust of the soil and then breathed into his nostrils a breath of life. The human person is both of the soil and of God. We are intimately connected with the soil of the world, indeed with all created reality. We are children of the earth and so we are to relate to the earth, the natural environment, as we would to a parent. Yet, we are not defined by our relationship with the earth. The breath of God’s life has been breathed into us. We are intimately connected to the Creator God, sharing his very life. As Christians we believe that God has breathed the breadth of life afresh into our lives by pouring the Spirit of his risen Son, the Holy Spirit, into our hearts. The Spirit, the breath of life, catches us up into Jesus’ own relationship with God. We can call God not just the Creator but Abba Father, as Jesus did. The Spirit of God’s Son has also been poured into our hearts so that our lives might show forth the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we are open to the Spirit who resides deep within us, this is the fruit that will come from within. In the gospel reading Jesus is aware of very different realities that can come from within, what he calls ‘evil intentions’. What comes from within reveals what is really within us. Our calling is to allow the Holy Spirit, God’s breath of life, to fill our hearts, our depths, so that our lives clearly proclaim that we are not only of the earth but also of God.

And/Or

(viii) Wednesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (not preached)

In today’s first reading, the Queen of Sheba praises King Solomon to the hilt. She was deeply impressed by his wisdom, but also by his palaces, the food at his table, the accommodation for his officials, the organisation of his staff, his cup-bearers, his sacrifices in the Temple, his wives, his servants and much else. As a monarch herself, she was impressed by the extraordinary trappings of monarchy and saw it all as a sign of God’s everlasting love for Israel. The lavish scale of the visible expressions of monarchy took the Queen’s breath away. In the gospel reading, in contrast, Jesus places the focus not on externals but on what is in a person’s heart. He recognized that what lies within a person is of much greater importance because it is the source of either evil intentions or good intentions. Jesus came to transform the human heart, to create a community of disciples whose hearts were transformed by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God’s love. He said on one occasion that he had come to cast fire upon the earth, the fire of the Holy Spirit that can burn away what is not of God in our hearts and kindle in our hearts the fire of God’s love. It is only a community of people of transformed hearts who can created an opening for the coming of God’s kingdom, which bears little resemblance to the kingdoms of the various Solomons of this world. We are all called to belong to such a community.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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11th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 7:1-13): ‘You make God’s word null and void’.

Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 7:1-13 You get round the commandment of God to preserve your own tradition.

The Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered round Jesus, and they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with unclean hands, that is, without washing them. For the Pharisees, and the Jews in general, follow the tradition of the elders and never eat without washing their arms as far as the elbow; and on returning from the market place they never eat without first sprinkling themselves. There are also many other observances which have been handed down to them concerning the washing of cups and pots and bronze dishes. So these Pharisees and scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not respect the tradition of the elders but eat their food with unclean hands?’ He answered, ‘It was of you hypocrites that Isaiah so rightly prophesied in this passage of scripture:

This people honours me only with lip-service, while their hearts are far from me. The worship they offer me is worthless, the doctrines they teach are only human regulations.

You put aside the commandment of God to cling to human traditions.’ And he said to them, ‘How ingeniously you get round the commandment of God in order to preserve your own tradition! For Moses said: Do your duty to your father and your mother, and, Anyone who curses father or mother must be put to death. But you say, “If a man says to his father or mother: Anything I have that I might have used to help you is Corban (that is, dedicated to God), then he is forbidden from that moment to do anything for his father or mother.” In this way you make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down. And you do many other things like this.’

Gospel (GB) Mark 7:1-13 ‘You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.’

At that time: When the Pharisees gathered to Jesus, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, and when they come from the market-place, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, ‘Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?’ And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.’ And he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, “Honour your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.” But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, ‘Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ ” (that is, given to God) — then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.’

Gospel (USA) Mark 7:1-13 You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.) So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?” He responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:

This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.

You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and Whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, “Any support you might have had from me is qorban”’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things.”

Reflections (10)

(i) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

We sometimes use the phrase ‘the dead weight of tradition’. This is when tradition is experienced as a burden that holds us back from forging new paths. However, tradition need not always be a dead weight. There are elements of any tradition which can be liberating and life giving. For us as Christians, it is a matter of discerning which elements of our religious tradition are worth drawing on and returning to and which elements we need to shed and move on from. In today’s gospel reading, the Pharisees and scribes want to know from Jesus why his disciples are not following what they call ‘the tradition of the elders’, when it comes to the usual ritual washings prior to eating. In his response to their criticism, Jesus does not reject the value of his own Jewish tradition. Indeed, he quotes from that tradition, from the prophet Isaiah who declared that human regulations do not always correspond to God’s will for his people, ‘the doctrines they teach are only human regulations’. Jesus quoted from the tradition to critique the elements of the tradition that the Pharisees and scribes were emphasizing. Jesus was saying that all the legal traditions that have grown up over the centuries have to be interpreted in the light of the more important tradition found in the writings of the prophets, in the word of God. That remains the task of the church, of all of us, today. The Scriptures, especially for us Christians the books of the New Testament, are the most authoritative expression of the church’s tradition and all other traditions have to be judged in their light. We have to keep returning to the word of God to get the true measure of all later church traditions. We have to keep asking, ‘Is this church, family or personal tradition serving God’s purpose for our world as revealed in his word, especially the word of Jesus in the gospels?’

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel the disciples of Jesus are criticized for not respecting the tradition of the elders. Jesus defends his disciples by declaring that what is more important than human religious tradition is the commandment of God or the word of God. Jesus seems to be saying that God can never be fully contained within any religious tradition no matter how revered. We need religious traditions to help us to give expression to our relationship with God, our faith. However, there comes at time when traditional ways of expressing are faith are in need of reform or renewal. Within the Roman Catholic Church the second Vatican Council was a moment when the church looked critically at its various religious traditions with a view to discerning which of them gave expression to God’s word, God’s commandment, and which did not. Just as in the gospel reading, Jesus declares that God cannot be contained within human traditions, so in the first reading King Solomon who was responsible for the building of the first Temple in Jerusalem recognizes that God cannot be contained within the Temple, ‘Why the heavens and their own heavens cannot contain you. How much less this house that I have built!’ Both readings remind us that God is always greater than anything the human religious spirit can create. God is always beyond us and we are always seekers in God’s regard. As Christians we believe that Jesus has revealed the face of God in a unique way and that the God whom we are seeking has sought us out in the person of Jesus, his Son.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Fifth week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus confronts the Pharisees because their various traditions, about which they are so zealous, are not always in harmony with the word of God. As Jesus says to them, ‘You make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down’. The words of Jesus remind us that not every religious tradition is worth holding on to. Every tradition has to be measured against the word of God. We have to keep asking if this or that tradition is really in keeping with God’s will for our lives as revealed in the Scriptures. That is why it is so important for us to keep listening to the word of God. Pope Francis is very keen that, in particular, we listen to the gospels on a regular basis. More than once he has encouraged people to keep a small copy of the gospels in their pocket and to read from it every day. It is above all in the gospels that we encounter the Word who was with God in the beginning and who became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus not only speaks God’s word but he is God’s word in human flesh. In listening to God’s word, present in Jesus, we are helped to assess the value of our traditions, including our religious traditions.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus makes a distinction between the commandment of God, the word of God, and human tradition. He accuses the Pharisees of giving more importance to their religious traditions than to the word of God. We all have traditions of one kind or another; we have traditional ways of doing things. The church too has its traditional ways of doing things. Today’s gospel reminds us that the word of God must take priority over all human traditions, including religious traditions. The purpose of tradition should be to give expression to the word of God, to allow that word to take root in our own particular age and culture. It can happen that traditions that once served that purpose in the past may cease to do so in the present. When that happens we have to allow the word of God to purify the traditions that have ceased to serve that word. We have to keep returning to the word of God, which is in fact the church’s most ancient and authoritative tradition. The word of God remains alive and active throughout time; it works to peel away what is no longer serving the Lord in our own personal lives and in the life of our communities and institutions.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday of Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading, Jesus criticizes the religious experts of the time for giving more importance to their own religious tradition that to the word of God. He says, ‘you put aside the commandment of God to cling to human tradition’. He is saying that they are not getting their priorities right. We always need to allow our religious traditions that have grown over the centuries to be critiqued by the word of God. The word of God is itself part of the church’s tradition, because it emerged from within the early church, but it is a privileged part of the church’s tradition. We give more importance to the word of God within the church’s tradition than to any other element of the church’s tradition. The word of God is at the source of the church’s tradition; it is the earliest and most privileged part of that tradition. We need to keep on returning to the source, to the word of God as it has come down to us in the Scriptures, especially in the New Testament. In returning to the source we are helped to keep all of our other religious traditions in their proper perspective.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading, Jesus accuses the religious leaders of putting aside the commandments of God, the word of God, so as to cling to human traditions. Jesus recognized that the religious traditions of his time did not always correspond to God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures, and as revealed in a much fuller way now by Jesus himself. The church always has to be on the alert to ensure that its own traditions conform to God’s word to us, especially as spoken by Jesus. Every so often the church has to renew itself, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to purify its traditions so that they correspond more closely to the true spirit of the gospel. We can understand the second Vatican council as a significant attempt to do just that. In our own personal lives too we can get into traditional ways of doing things that are not in keeping with the core of God’s message to us in and through the Scriptures. Our own personal tradition, whether it is our religious tradition, or our tradition in the broader sense, is always in need of reform in the light of the gospel. We need to keep on hearing the word of the Lord afresh, and to invoke the Holy Spirit to help us to do so.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

There are times in our lives as individuals and in the lives of our communities that we need to recover what is truly important. We can all lose sight of what really matters and give ourselves over to what is of much lesser value. This is true in the area of our faith as well as in every other area of life. In the gospel reading, Jesus accuses the religious leaders of his day of giving more importance to various human religious traditions than to the word of God. ‘You make God’s word null and void for the sake of your tradition which you have handed down’. By ‘God’s word’ Jesus meant what we would call today the Jewish Scriptures or the Old Testament. For us Christians, God’s word also includes the gospels, the letters of Paul and the other documents that make up the New Testament. As Christians, we too are prone to making God’s word null and void for the sake of our tradition. We can give greater importance to traditions that have emerged in the history of the church and have been handed down than to the word of God in the Scriptures. As people of faith, we can get very worked up about various church traditions, giving them an authority that they do not deserve. This was the failing of the Pharisees and scribes in today’s gospel reading. We all need to keep returning to the word of God, because it is the light generated by that word which allows us to see everything else, including our religious traditions, in proper perspective.

And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The expression, ‘the tradition of the elders’, is found twice in today’s gospel reading. The Pharisees speak to Jesus in critical terms about his disciples because they show disrespect for this tradition of the elders by failing to follow the Jewish law relating to washing hands before eating. Saint Paul refers to this tradition of the elders in one of his letters. He writes to the Galatians, ‘I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers’. For Jesus, however, there was something more important than religious tradition, no matter how ancient or hallowed, and that was God’s word. He accuses his critics of giving more importance to human traditions than to God’s word. He was asking them to reflect on what is really important and what is less important. When it comes to our faith, we need to keep discerning what is important and what is less so. Within the church, human traditions, human regulations, can acquire a significance that they don’t really have. Jesus suggests in the gospel reading that we need to keep holding up our traditions to the light of God’s word, especially the light of Jesus as found in the gospels and in the other documents of the New Testament. Attentive listening to the word of Jesus, the word of the Lord, helps us to keep everything else in its proper place, including long standing religious traditions.

And/Or

(ix) Tuesday of Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading Jesus places the commandment of God, the word of God, above what the Pharisees call the tradition of the elders, the various oral and written traditions that had developed over the centuries in an effort to apply the commandment of God, the word of God, to daily life. This body of tradition was a genuine effort to bring the word of God in Scripture to bear on the concrete details of people’s lives, such as how and what to eat, which is the issue in today’s gospel reading. There is always a danger that such religious traditions can assume an authority equivalent to or even greater than the authority of God’s word. Jesus is calling on the guardians of this tradition to return to the source of the tradition, the word of God. Every religion has to keep returning to its sources so as to ensure that the traditions that have grown up over the centuries do not become more important than those sources. For the church, the sources are the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, and the early tradition that emerged through reflecting upon and living out our faith in Jesus. The work of the second Vatican Council was a movement of returning to the sources. In the first reading, Solomon recognizes that the Temple he is building cannot contain the God whom the heavens cannot even contain. Similarly, the Lord can never be contained by the church’s traditions. Those traditions need to be constantly purified by exposure to the word of God, especially as found in the New Testament. As a community of faith, but also as individual believers, we need to keep returning to the source, to the well, the living and active word of the Lord.

And/Or

(x) Tuesday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The beginning of today’s gospel reading has a contemporary feel to it. The Pharisees and scribes were complaining that Jesus’ disciples were eating with unclean hands, without washing them. We have all got used to washing our hands frequently since the onset of the pandemic. The hand washing that so preoccupied the Pharisees and scribes had to do not so much with physical cleanliness but ritual cleanliness, which is more difficult for us to understand today. The Bible prescribed hand washing rituals only for the priests who worked in the Temple in Jerusalem, but the Pharisees wanted to extend these hand washing rituals to daily life because they held that all Israel was a priestly people. These regulations of the Pharisees for daily life were not in the Bible but were part of what they called the ‘tradition of the elders’. In reply, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for giving more importance to these human traditions than to the commandment of God. Jesus is reminding us that we can be overly preoccupied with non-essentials, in religious matters as much as in other areas of life. In the religious sphere, we can easily attribute the great importance to something that in God’s eyes is not so important, while failing to take seriously what really does matter to God. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus reveals what matters most to God, a way of life that reflects the love that is within the heart of God.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

10th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 6:53-56): ‘All those who touched him were cured’.

Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 6:53-56 All those who touched him were cured.

Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.

Gospel (GB) Mark 6:53-56 ‘As many as touched it were made well.’

At that time: When they had crossed over, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognised him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the market-places and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Gospel (USA) Mark 6:53-56 As many as touched it were healed.

After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

Reflections (9)

(i) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

We have a wonderful image in today’s gospel reading of people ‘hurrying’ to Jesus all through the countryside, bringing their sick on stretchers to him. He had no sooner stepped out of the boat with his disciples, having sailed through a storm on the Sea of Galilee, than people started hurrying towards him. We all have a sense today that people are much more in a hurry than they used to be. If you drive a car, you can see it especially on the roads. Where are we all hurrying to? Today’s gospel reading invites us to ask ourselves if we are hurrying to Jesus. Are we seeking him out with something of the energy and desire of the people in today’s gospel reading? Are we hurrying towards him with the same sense of urgency that those people showed? The Lord is always inviting us to come to him, to seek him out. He certainly comes to us, he seeks us out. He comes to us wherever we happen to find ourselves. The gospel reading speaks of Jesus going to village, town and farm. He met people where they were. The risen Lord continues to meet us where we are today, even if we are not in a good place, for whatever reason. He seeks us out with a sense of urgency. He waits for us to seek him out with the same urgency, like the people in the gospel reading. One of the ways we do that is by turning to him in prayer, whether it is the prayer of the Eucharist or other forms of communal prayer or our own personal prayer. At such moments of prayer, we touch the Lord, like the people in the gospel reading, and we open ourselves to his healing and life-giving presence.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading brings home to us the extent to which Jesus drew people to himself, especially those who were sick and broken. We are told that ‘people started hurrying all through the countryside’ and that they ‘brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was’. It was above all those in need of healing who reached out towards Jesus and sought to touch even the fringe of his cloak. They reached out to him because they recognized him as the source of life and healing. We ourselves very often reach out towards the Lord with greatest energy in those times when we experience our own need of healing, whether it is physical or emotional or spiritual healing. The struggles of life, the brokenness and suffering we experience in the course of our lives, can make us more aware of our need of the Lord and more open to his presence. It is often the cracks in our lives that allow the Lord’s light to enter and shine on us. It can sometimes be through our experience of the cross that we in grow in our relationship with the risen Lord. The darker times of our lives can leave us more spiritually aware by bringing home to us our need of the Lord. It is in such moments that we truly make our own that prayer which forms part of a well-know hymn ‘Help of the helpless, o abide with me’.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel we are told that Jesus is surrounded by the sick everywhere he goes, whether it was village, town or farm. According to the gospels, the sick were one of the groups that were most open to Jesus. They flocked to him in large numbers. Those who were broken in body, mind or spirit wanted to draw upon God’s power that was at work in and through him. The path to the Lord today for many people is often through their brokenness. When we are desperate, for whatever reason, we tend to approach the Lord with the greatest earnestness and passion. It is in our brokenness that we recognize our poverty and our need of the one who came as strength in our weakness, life in our death, light in our darkness. In the gospel reading the sick wanted to touch the fringe of the Lord’s cloak; they wanted not only a personal contact with Jesus. For us today, it is above all in the Eucharist that we touch the Lord and the Lord touches us. It is there above all that we bring our brokenness before him for his healing touch.

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading today conveys a sense of the great popularity of Jesus among the ordinary people of Galilee. In particular, it was the sick and broken that he attracted, because God’s healing power was at work through him. People begged him to let him touch even the fringe of his cloak, as the woman had done who was healed of her flow of blood. It was above all the broken and needy who were desperate to get to him and to connect with him. In our own lives too, it is often in our brokenness that we seek out the Lord with the greatest urgency. Something happens to us that brings home to us our vulnerability, our weakness, our inability to manage. It is often in those situations when we come face to face with our limitations that we seek out the Lord with an energy and an urgency we don’t normally have. It is those moments when we experience life as a real struggle that bring home to us our need of the Lord and our dependence on him. It is often the darker and more painful experiences of life that open us up to the Lord. Saint Paul bears witness to that. When he was struggling with his ‘thorn in the flesh’, he said that he pleaded with the Lord three times to be rid of it, and he heard the Lord say to him, ‘My power is made perfect in weakness’. The Lord can come powerfully to us in our weakness if, like the people in this morning’s gospel reading, we hurry towards him.

And/Or

(v) Monday, Fifth week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s short gospel reading gives us a picture of the ordinary people of Galilee hurrying to Jesus, once they recognized him, with many of them bringing with them the sick on stretchers. They asked Jesus that the sick be allowed just to touch the fringe of his cloak. They believed that would be enough for them to be healed. The people’s determination to get to where Jesus was and their total trust in his healing presence is very striking. It generated tremendous energy in them. We all need to have something of that energy for the Lord for ourselves. Just as the crowds hurried to Jesus with a very clear focus on him, we too need something of their determination and focus when it comes to the Lord. We can all become a little lukewarm and indifferent in regard to our faith. Every so often we need to ask the Lord, in the words of Saint Paul, to fan into a living flame the gift that we have received, the gift of our relationship with the Lord that was given to us at our baptism.

And/Or

(vi) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading gives us a very vivid picture of people hurrying towards Jesus and his disciples in large numbers. We are told that people hurried through the countryside to get to him. It is striking that according to the gospel reading the people did not hurry to him alone. Rather, they brought the sick on stretchers to wherever he was and laid them down in open spaces. The sick having been brought to Jesus by their healthy neighbours and friends then begged Jesus to allow them to touch even the fringe of his cloak. That image of the healthy, those healthy enough to enough run, bringing the sick to Jesus, can speak powerfully to us today. There are times when we can do something for others that they cannot do for themselves. In many homes in our parishes, that is happening every day, as a healthier spouse looks after a more infirmed one, or a son or daughter looks after a frail or housebound parent, or parents care for a son or daughter who, even though younger, is not as healthy as the parent. Then there are neighbours who visit the housebound and the sick in their neighbourhood. There are parishioners who bring Holy Communion to the sick and housebound. In all of these ways today’s gospel reading is being re-enacted. The people in the gospel reading brought the sick to Jesus. We can bring Jesus to the sick by sharing the Lord with them in all sorts of simple, practical ways that are nonetheless truly life-giving for them, in the way that Jesus in the gospel reading was a life-giving presence for those who came to him or were brought to him.

And/Or

(vii) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading consists of the opening nineteen verses of the Bible. It is a poetic expression of the people of Israel’s understanding of God as Creator of the universe. There are a number of little refrains in that very poetic text. One of the refrains that has always struck me is ‘and God saw that it was good’. There is a conviction coming through in the author of this text that the created world is essentially good. In some way, all of created reality reflects the goodness of God. In these times when we can be so aware of and so preoccupied with evil, it is good to be reminded of that truth. When it comes to God’s creation of the human person on the sixth day, the author declares not only ‘it was good’ but ‘it was very good’. The human person has the potential to be a much fuller revelation of God’s goodness than anything else in all creation. Jesus was the fullest revelation of God’s goodness. In today’s gospel reading, Mark portrays great human goodness. It is said that in the countryside people brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard Jesus was present and that in the villages, towns and farms they laid down the sick in the open spaces, so that the sick could touch even the fringe of Jesus’ clock. The sick, who could not come to Jesus by themselves, were carried and brought to Jesus by the healthy. There is an image here of the goodness in human nature, with the strong looking out for the weak and the healthy for the sick. We are all capable of great good and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can live as that unique image of God’s goodness that we were created to be.

And/Or

(viii) Monday, Fifth week in Ordinary Time

Pilgrimage has always been part of our life of faith. People go on pilgrimage to places that are considered blest in some way because of their relationship to the Lord or to Our Lady or to one of the saints of the church. The primary place of pilgrimage for the people of Israel was Jerusalem and, in particular, the Temple in Jerusalem. Today’s first reading explains why the Temple was such an important place of pilgrimage. It was there that the Ark of the Covenant was placed, containing the two stone tablets of the covenant God make with Israel through Moses, the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments. As a result, the Temple was understood to be the place where the Lord had chosen to dwell in a special way. People went on pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem because they believed they were going on pilgrimage to the Lord. In the gospel reading, we find people going on pilgrimage to Jesus. When Jesus stepped out of the boat by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, they journeyed towards him from wherever they lived so as to touch him and be healed of their infirmities. We are all on a pilgrimage towards the Lord. Our lives is a pilgrimage towards the heavenly city of Jerusalem which is filled with the Lord’s presence. In the course of our earthly pilgrimage, we make smaller pilgrimages which express the essence of our earthly pilgrimage. We might go on pilgrimage to Rome, to Assisi, to Lourdes, to Knock or even to the Holy Land. In a sense, every time we come to Mass we are going on a little pilgrimage. Like the people in the gospel reading, we are journeying towards the Lord. These smaller pilgrimages help to keep us focused on the Lord as we travel our earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly Jerusalem.

And/Or

(ix) Monday, Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

It is striking to me that the first book of the Bible, the beginning of the Bible, begins with the words, ‘In the beginning’. Today’s first reading gives us the opening nineteen verses of the Bible. It is a statement of faith, in highly elevated prose, almost poetry. It is not a scientific statement but a religious one. In these verses the people of Israel express their conviction that the created world in all its complexity and diversity is fundamentally good because it came from God who is supremely good. The sky, the earth, the seas, the earth’s vegetation, the two great lights of the heavens, the sun and the moon, reflect something of God’s goodness and beauty. Heaven and earth are full of God’s glory, as we say in one of the responses of the Mass. In the words of today’s responsorial psalm, ‘The earth is full of your riches’. God comes to us in and through his good creation, which is why we need to treat God’s creation with great reverence and respect. If the created world reveals God’s goodness and glory, the fullest expression of God’s goodness and glory is Jesus, God’s beloved Son. Jesus is the pinnacle of God’s creative work. If people were often drawn to God through God’s good creation, they are drawn to God more powerfully through his Son, Jesus. Today’s gospel reading portrays the extraordinary drawing power of Jesus. No sooner had Jesus stepped out of the boat with his disciples than people started hurrying towards him from all through the countryside. The sick, the broken, the weary, the excluded were especially drawn to him. According to the gospel reading, they begged him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. God continues to draw us all to himself through his good creation, but even more powerfully through his Son. Jesus once said, ‘when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all people to myself’. Our calling is to allow ourselves to be drawn.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

9th February >> Fr. Martin's Homilies/Reflections on Today's Mass Readings for The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) (Luke 5:1-11): ‘Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man’.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Luke 5:1-11 They left everything and followed him.

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point. When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

Gospel (GB) Luke 5:1-11 ‘They left everything and followed him.’

At that time: The crowd was pressing in on Jesus to hear the word of God. He was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.’ And Simon answered, ‘Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.’ And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.’ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.’ And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Gospel (USA) Luke 5:1–11 They left everything and followed Jesus.

While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening to the word of God, he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret. He saw two boats there alongside the lake; the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.” When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him, and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners of Simon. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.

Homilies (5)

(i) Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Our prayer can take many different forms. We probably all have our favourite prayers and our preferred way of praying. I like prayers that are short and simple. One such prayer is often associated with the season of Advent but can be prayed any time, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. It is a very ancient prayer that goes back to the very early years of the church. It is a prayer that expresses our longing for the Lord to draw near to us, to be in communion with us, to enter into our lives. We can pray this prayer regardless of the situation in which we find ourselves.

I was reminded of that prayer by a verse in today’s gospel reading. When Peter was overwhelmed by the huge catch of fish that resulted from Jesus’ word to him, he prayed the reverse of that prayer, not ‘Come Lord’ but ‘Leave me Lord’. The Lord’s goodness towards him make him aware of the lack of goodness in his own life, ‘I am a sinful man’. In the presence of great human goodness and generosity of spirit, we can become more aware of what is lacking in our own lives. In the presence of God’s goodness we can certainly sense our own failings. Jesus did not do as Peter asked. He did not leave Peter. Jesus had come to journey into people’s lives, not away from them. He doesn’t wait for us to reach a certain moral level before coming into our lives. He comes to us as we are, with all our frailties and weaknesses. He wants to gift us, to grace us, as we are.

Each of today’s three readings shows how God entered the lives of three very imperfect people, blessing them in a very striking way. While Isaiah was at prayer in the Temple of Jerusalem, he was blessed with a vision of God’s majesty, of the Lord seated upon a high throne, even though Isaiah, on his own admission, was a person of unclean lips who lived among a people of unclean lips. On the road to Damascus, Paul was blessed with a vision of the risen Lord, even though at that very moment he persecuting the followers of the Lord. Peter the fisherman was blessed with the gift of an extraordinary catch of fish, even though, as he acknowledged, he was a sinful man. The way the Lord relates to each one of us is how he related to Isaiah, Paul and Peter. He bestows his favour upon us without waiting for us to do anything to deserve it. In our second reading Saint Paul says, ‘I hardly deserve the name apostle’. The Lord doesn’t relate to us on the basis of what we deserve but simply out of the abundance of his own goodness and his love for us. He doesn’t ask us to change for the better before giving us his favour. Rather, he bestows his favour on us to empower us to change for the better, to enable us to become the person he wants us to become and knows we can become. As a result of the Lord’s favour towards him, Paul the persecutor of the church became the great apostle to the pagans. Likewise, Peter the fisherman became the rock on which Jesus built his church and Isaiah became one of the greatest prophets of Israel.

When Peter said to Jesus, ‘Leave me, Lord’, he was speaking out of a sense of unworthiness at being so greatly blessed. Yet, Jesus wasn’t asking him to be worthy or deserving. It’s as if Jesus was saying to Peter, ‘I know you are unworthy, but I have blessed you abundantly anyway, and I have a job for you to do’. The Lord doesn’t ask any of us to be worthy or deserving. He wants to bless us with his presence, with his gifts, as we are, even if we are actively opposing him, as Paul was at the time. If we say to him, ‘Leave me, Lord, because I am sinful’, he will ignore us. He wants us, rather, to pray, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. He wants us to open ourselves to the many ways that he can bless and grace us. He can do that whether we are at prayer in a place of worship as Isaiah was, or going about our day job, as Peter was, or actively opposing the Lord’s good work, as Paul was. The Lord wants to touch our lives with his gracious and generous presence, wherever we happen to be on our life’s journey, and he will find a way to do so, if we give him half a chance, if we can bring ourselves to say with all our heart, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’, rather than ‘Leave me, Lord’.

When we open ourselves to the Lord’s coming, he will often move us to take a direction we would never have taken if left to ourselves. If left to themselves, Isaiah would never have become the prophet he was, Paul would never have become the apostle to the pagans, and Peter would never have become the leader of the early church. The Lord has something important for each of us to do, some vital contribution to make to his own good work in our world, and he can work powerfully even through our weaknesses, if we allow him.

And/Or

(ii) Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are times in all our lives when we can suddenly become aware of our failings. We are hit between the eyes by the wrong we have done, or perhaps, more often than not, the good we have failed to do. This sense of our own frailty can strike us when we least expect it. Any number of factors can trigger this awareness in us. It may be something somebody says or something we read. It may be an experience of someone else’s goodness or generosity that reminds us of what we too are called to be but have failed to become. We can find a strong sense of regret descending upon us as a result.

This appears to have been the experience of two people in today’s readings. The prophet Isaiah exclaims aloud, ‘What a wretched state I am in! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips’. It was not just his own weakness and failing that struck him but that of the whole community to which he belonged. In a similar vein, Simon Peter says to Jesus, ‘Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man’. For both Isaiah and Peter, what triggered their sense of themselves as sinners was their awareness that they were in the presence of God. They knew themselves to be in the presence of total goodness, of perfect love, and in that clear light they saw all that was lacking in their own lives. Simon Peter’s instinct was to step out of this light, to put distance between Jesus and himself. In a sense, he wanted to hide from the Lord. This too was Isaiah’s reaction. Neither of them really wanted to show their face.

This is a very human reaction, one that we can all identify with in some way. We know from our own experience that if we have done wrong to someone, if we have treated someone badly, we often hide away somewhere for a while. We can be somewhat ashamed to show our face. We keep a low profile, and, eventually we begin to surface in the hope that our failure will not be held against us. Just as that is how we are with each other at times, so it is also the way we can be with the Lord. We can feel that, in various ways, we have given the Lord far less than he is due, and so we keep our distance from him. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, we hide from him. We give up on relating to him, because we feel we have too much ground to make up.

The readings this morning remind us very powerfully that, whatever about our hiding from the Lord, the Lord certainly does not hide from us. If Simon Peter was uneasy at being in the presence of total goodness, Jesus was not in any sense uneasy about being in the presence of a sinner. The Lord clearly had no wish to depart from Peter, as Peter had strongly suggested. On the contrary, he wanted Peter to stay with him, because he had plans for him. It was Peter - and men and women like him - that the Lord wanted as his followers, as his helpers. ‘From now on, it is people you will catch’. The Lord does not give up on us, even though we may be strongly tempted to give up on ourselves. The Lord does not keep his distance from us, even though we may make every effort to keep our distance from him. The Lord always sees a role for us in his great work, even though we might think of ourselves as having nothing to offer him. In other words, the Lord’s vision of us is far more generous than our vision of ourselves. He is far more interested in our future than in our past, in the person we can be than in person we have been.

The Lord’s goodness is not so much a harsh light that exposes all our weaknesses and frailties, but a warm light that restores and renews us. He comes not to remind us of our sins but to take them away. As the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged’. Having declared that much, the Lord immediately asked, ‘Who will be our messenger?’, in the hope, no doubt, that Isaiah would respond to that question in the way that he did, ‘Here I am, send me’. That is really what the Lord wants to hear from us, not so much Peter’s ‘depart from me’, but Isaiah’s, ‘here I am’. The Lord is not looking for shrinking violets. You remember the parable of the prodigal son where the son had his speech prepared about what a wretch he was. When he started into it, the father would not let him finish. He was home. That was enough. It was time for a feast, not an inquisition.

In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel that he himself received and that he preached in Corinth, and the essence of that gospel is ‘Christ died for our sins’. Rather than departing from sinners, as Peter suggested he should do, the Lord lived for them, he died for them, he rose from the dead for them, and he continues to intercede for them, for us. Paul knew that and that is why, in spite of being the least of the apostles, having once persecuted God’s church, his whole being proclaimed, ‘Here I am, send me’. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we proclaim the Lord’s death; that same Christ who died for our sins is present among us, asking us, ‘Who will be our messenger?’, waiting for us to respond, ‘Here I am, send me’.

And/Or

(iii) Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are times in all our lives when we can suddenly become aware of our failings. This sense of our own weakness can strike us when we least expect it. Any number of factors can trigger this awareness in us. It may be something somebody says or something we read. It may be an experience of someone else’s goodness or generosity that reminds us of what we too are called to be but have failed to become. We can find a strong sense of regret descending upon us as a result.

This appears to have been the experience of two people in today’s readings. The prophet Isaiah exclaims aloud, ‘What a wretched state I am in! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips’. It was not just his own weakness and failing that struck him but that of the whole community to which he belonged. In the gospel reading, Simon Peter says to Jesus, ‘Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man’. For both Isaiah and Peter, what triggered their sense of themselves as sinners was their awareness that they were in the presence of God. They knew themselves to be in the presence of total goodness, of perfect love, and in that clear light they saw all that was lacking in their own lives. Simon Peter’s instinct was to step out of this light, to put distance between Jesus and himself. In a sense, he wanted to hide from the Lord. This too was Isaiah’s reaction. Neither of them really wanted to show their face.

This is a very human reaction, one that we can all identify with in some way. We know from our own experience that if we have done wrong to someone, if we have treated someone badly, we often hide away somewhere for a while. We keep a low profile, and, eventually we begin to surface in the hope that our failure will not be held against us. Just as that is how we are with each other at times, so it is also the way we can be with the Lord. We can feel that, in various ways, we have given the Lord far less than he is due, and so we keep our distance from him. Like Adam and Eve in the garden, we hide from him. We cease relating to him, because we feel we have too much ground to make up.

The readings this morning remind us very powerfully that, whatever about our hiding from the Lord, the Lord certainly does not hide from us. If Simon Peter was uneasy at being in the presence of total goodness, Jesus was not in any sense uneasy about being in the presence of a sinner. The Lord had no wish to depart from Peter, as Peter had strongly suggested. On the contrary, he wanted Peter to stay with him, because he had plans for him. It was Peter - and men and women like him - that the Lord wanted as his follower, as his helper. ‘From now on, it is people you will catch’. The Lord does not give up on us, even though we may be strongly tempted to give up on ourselves. The Lord always sees a role for us in his great work, even though we might think of ourselves as having little to offer him. The Lord’s vision of us is often far more generous than our vision of ourselves. He is far more interested in our future than in our past, in the person we can be, than in person we have been.

The Lord’s goodness is not so much a harsh light that exposes all our weaknesses and frailties, but a warm light that restores and renews us. He comes not to remind us of our sins but to take them away. As the Lord said to Isaiah, ‘your sin is taken away, your iniquity is purged’. Having declared that much to Isaiah, the Lord immediately asked, ‘Who will be our messenger?’, in the hope, no doubt, that Isaiah would respond to that question in the way that he did, ‘Here I am, send me’. That is really what the Lord wants to hear from us, not so much Peter’s ‘depart from me’, but Isaiah’s, ‘here I am’. You remember the parable of the prodigal son where the son had his speech prepared about what a wretch he was. When he started into it, the father would not let him finish. In returning, the son was saying, ‘here I am’, and that was enough. It was time for a feast, not an inquisition.

In the second reading, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gospel that he himself received and that he preached in Corinth, and the essence of that gospel is ‘Christ died for our sins’. Rather than departing from sinners, as Peter suggested he should do, the Lord lived for them, he died for them, he rose from the dead for them, and he continues to intercede for them, for us. Paul knew that and that is why, in spite of being the least of the apostles, having once persecuted God’s church, his whole being proclaimed, ‘Here I am, send me’. Every time we celebrate the Eucharist, the same Christ who died for our sins is present among us, asking us, ‘Who will be our messenger?’, waiting for us to respond, ‘Here I am, send me’.

And/Or

(iv) The Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A person’s faith journey is very personal and, indeed, unique to each individual. There can come a time in our lives when the journey of faith seems almost to disappear. What had been a clearly visible path can become very faint; our faith seems to grow very week. For some people there can then come a time of spiritual awakening. They rediscover their faith. Having drifted from the community of faith, they begin to feel a call to return to it. There can be many factors in a person’s life that can contribute to such an awakening. Sometimes children have a way of awakening the faith of their parents. When the time comes for children to be baptized or to make their first communion or their confirmation, parents can feel a call to reflect anew on their own faith. Some painful experience in our lives, such as the onset of serious illness in ourselves or our loved ones, can also be a moment of spiritual awakening. The witness of someone else’s faith can touch us in some deep way and awaken our own dormant faith. We might find ourselves at some liturgical celebration, such as the funeral Mass of a friend, where we have an experience of the Lord’s presence that somehow calls us to a renewal of our faith. These experiences of spiritual awakening tend to be very ordinary and non-dramatic for most people. A seed is sown and it grows very gradually. Occasionally for some people such experiences can be more dramatic. They experience a sudden reawakening of their faith.

Each of the three readings for this Sunday describes a moment of spiritual awakening. While the three experiences have a great deal in common, each one is quite distinctive. In the first reading, Isaiah of Jerusalem has a moment of spiritual awakening in a setting of worship, while in the most sacred place for the people of Israel, the Temple in Jerusalem. Isaiah had a sense of the Lord’s presence filling not just the Temple but the whole earth, ‘heaven and earth are full of your glory’. In the second reading, Paul speaks of his moment of spiritual awakening while he was on the main road from Jerusalem to Damascus, close to the city of Damascus. He was engaged in what he considered at the time to be God’s work, persecuting the followers of Jesus. Suddenly the very Jesus whose followers he was persecuting appeared to him, ‘last of all, he appeared to me too’. In the gospel reading, Simon Peter had a moment of spiritual awakening, an experience of the powerful presence of the Lord, on the Sea of Galilee, while he was working at his trade as a fisherman. These were three very different people, Isaiah, Paul and Peter, and the Lord touched their lives in a way that was unique to each one of them. The Lord met them where they were and spoke to them in a way that was best suited to their own situation in life.

The Lord speaks to us too in and through our own unique experience of life. Some of us may have the strongest sense of the Lord’s presence when we are in a sacred place, like Isaiah. Yet, Paul and Simon Peter’s experience of the Lord as they went about their daily chores reminds us that the Lord does not confine himself to our sacred places. In the gospels there are other examples of people having a spiritual awakening in and through the ordinary experiences of their lives. The two disciples on the road to Emmaus encountered the Lord in a fellow traveller, although it took them a while to recognize him. The Lord often comes to us in and through the routine circumstances of our lives; it is above all there that we can be powerfully touched by his presence. The readings today also suggest that a significant spiritual experience is not the prerogative of some kind of spiritual elite. At the very moment when Isaiah, Simon Peter and Paul were overwhelmed by a sense of the Lord’s presence, they had a strong sense of themselves as sinners. Isaiah cried out, ‘I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips’. Peter exclaimed to Jesus, ‘Leave me Lord; I am a sinful man’. Looking back at his moment of spiritual awakening, Paul acknowledges that at the time he was ‘persecuting the church of God’. That is why he states publicly, ‘I hardly deserve the name apostle’. The Lord does not wait for us to be worthy to disclose his presence to us or to touch our lives in some significant way. All that is needed is for us to have an openness of heart and spirit to his presence.

When we experience a spiritual awakening it is never just for ourselves. When the Lord touches our lives in some deep way it is always for the sake of others; there will be some kind of a sending involved. Isaiah was sent to the people of Jerusalem, Simon Peter was sent to his fellow Jews and Paul was sent to the Gentiles. For most of us, the people to whom we will be sent will be those among whom we live and work, with whom we have daily contact. An experience of spiritual awakening is always both a gift to us and a gift for others.

And/Or

(v) Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Indian poet Tagore wrote this prayer, ‘I come to take your touch before I begin the day’. There is a long standing tradition in the church of prayer before we begin the day. Perhaps it is less common these days when people live such busy lives and there can be so much to be done early in the morning like getting the children to school. Yet, there is still a value in even a short moment of prayer before we begin our day. It might just be a line from one of the psalms, such as ‘I thank you for your faithfulness and love’, from today’s responsorial psalm. It could be the very short prayer which we associate with Advent but could be prayed at any time, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Opening ourselves up to the Lord’s touch through a moment’s prayer is a good way to begin our day.

The Lord, of course, can touch our lives at any time of the day, and he can do so even when we are not consciously seeking to be touched by the Lord’s presence. That was the experience of Peter in today’s gospel reading. He was washing his fishing nets alongside other fishermen when Jesus touched his life, stepping into his boat and asking him to put out a little from the shore so that he could teach the crowd. As Simon had been about his daily chores, he suddenly found himself listening to Jesus’ teaching. Jesus then addressed Peter personally, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch’. Having failed to catch fish at the most likely time, during the previous night, this request made little sense to him, and, yet, he responded to the Lord’s call and, to his amazement, found himself abundantly graced with a huge catch of fish. Peter sensed that not only had Jesus touched his life but God had touched his life through Jesus. Aware that he was in God’s presence, Peter became conscious of his unworthiness before God present in Jesus, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man’. However, Jesus had not finished touching the life of Peter, declaring that from now on it would be people he would be catching, sharing in Jesus’ mission of gathering all people into God’s kingdom. The gospel reading suggests that the Lord can touch any of our lives in a very striking way as we go about our day to day chores. The fact that we are not consciously thinking about the Lord, much less seeking him, does not mean that he cannot touch us in a very personal way. We just need to be open to this possibility.

If the story of Peter shows that the Lord can touch our lives as we go about our daily chores, the story of Paul in the second reading suggests that the Lord can touch our lives even when we are actively opposing him. Paul acknowledges in that reading, ‘I persecuted the church of God’. He saw this new movement within Judaism as a dangerous innovation that threatened what he once called the ‘traditions of the elders’. He violently opposed it. In doing so, he was, in reality, opposing God who was revealing himself through Jesus, his Son, and his followers. According to Paul himself, it was while he was opposing the Lord’s work in this violent way that the Lord touched his life. As he says, ‘last of all he (the Lord) appeared to me too’. Paul’s story, even more than Peter’s, shows us that the Lord can touch our lives at the most unexpected of times. Paul’s experience left him with a sense of being abundantly and undeservedly graced, ‘I hardly deserve the name apostle, but by God’s grace that is what I am’. He had a sense of the Lord’s gracious love, a love freely given, completely unmerited. Paul’s experience reminds us that the Lord wants to grace us with his loving touch, at all times of our lives, even at those time when, like Paul, we are distancing ourselves from him. We just need an openness to this possibility. Can we allow the Lord to touch us, to grace us, as we are? Peter and Paul, who allowed themselves to be touched by the Lord, were transformed by his touch. Peter, the fisherman, became the rock on which the church was built. Paul, the persecutor of the church, became the great apostle to the pagans. If we allow the Lord to touch us, he will transform us, so that we may better serve his purposes in the world.

There is a third person who is touched by the Lord in today’s readings, and that is Isaiah in our first reading. The setting for his experience of the Lord’s touch was more conventional. It happened while at prayer in the Temple. As with Peter, his sense of the Lord’s presence made him aware of himself as a sinner, but, as with Peter, the Lord simply continued to touch his life, entrusting him with a mission. For many people of faith, it is while at prayer, in a religious setting, that they are most likely to experience the Lord’s transforming touch. Yet, the experience of Peter and Paul reminds that the Lord who fills a place of prayer like the Temple or a parish church, also fills the whole earth.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

8th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 6:30-34): ‘He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd’.

Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 6:30-34 They were like sheep without a shepherd.

The apostles rejoined Jesus and told him all they had done and taught. Then he said to them, ‘You must come away to some lonely place all by yourselves and rest for a while’; for there were so many coming and going that the apostles had no time even to eat. So they went off in a boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. But people saw them going, and many could guess where; and from every town they all hurried to the place on foot and reached it before them. So as he stepped ashore he saw a large crowd; and he took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he set himself to teach them at some length.

Gospel (GB) Mark 6:30-34 ‘They were like sheep without a shepherd.’

At that time: The Apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognised them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Gospel (USA) Mark 6:30-34 They were like sheep without a shepherd.

The Apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When Jesus disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Reflections (9)

(i) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

You are familiar with the line from Robert Byrne’s poem, ‘To a Mouse’, ‘The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley’ or, in more standard English, ‘often go awry’. We can plan carefully for something, but it doesn’t necessarily happen according to plan. The unforeseen event can knock our plans on the head. Jesus and his disciples seem to have had a similar experience in today’s gospel reading. The disciples had just returned from a successful period of mission. They returned to more ministry. The gospel says that there were so many coming and going that they had no time even to eat. Jesus knew they needed to be by themselves with himself in a lonely place. As the good shepherd, Jesus planned to lead them to restful waters to revive their drooping spirits. However, this very laudable plan came to nothing. Word got out as to where they were going and, upon arriving, the normally lonely place was full of people. We might have expected Jesus to react angrily. On the contrary, the gospel says he had compassion on the crowd because they were like sheep without a shepherd. The good shepherd discovered that he had a bigger flock to care for than the little flock of his twelve disciples. Jesus understood that God was in the disappointment of plans not working out. God was calling to him through the spiritual hunger of the crowd. When our plans don’t work out, it’s not always the disaster we think it is at the time. God can be calling to us through the unexpected and unwelcome event. The collapse of our plans can create a space for the Lord to serve us in ways we had never anticipated. When plans don’t work out, a compassionate, accepting, response, in the spirit of Jesus, is often what is called for.

And/Or

(ii) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading this morning suggests that Jesus knew the value of rest. After the disciples had engaged in a period of mission Jesus took them off to some lonely place so that they could rest for a while. There was plenty of work to be done. Jesus and his disciples could have been busy twenty four hours a day. Yet, every so often Jesus and his disciples stood back from their work. Jesus was teaching us that there is more to our lives than work. That value of rest is proclaimed in the very first page of the Bible, the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, according to which God rested on the seventh day having engaged in the work of creation for six days. As people made in God’s image, we need to rest as well as work. A time of rest is an opportunity to look around and appreciate what we have been given; it is a time to take in God’s work, in our own lives, in the lives of others, in our world. In the gospel reading, Jesus’ time of rest with his disciples was interrupted by people who sought him out, and Jesus adjusted to that with great grace. Sometimes our plans for times of rest will be interrupted too and we have to adjust. Yet, we continue to seek out times and places of rest in the course of our lives, times when we hand over the initiative to the Lord.

And/Or

(iii) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading this morning Jesus’ plans for himself and his disciples don’t work out. He had intended taking his disciples away to a lonely place where they could rest for a while. However, he had no sooner arrived in this lonely place that it was full of people who were seeking him out. Jesus did not get upset or annoyed that his plans had not worked out; he simply adjusted himself to the new situation. He recognized that the needs of the crowds were greater than his disciples’ need for rest, and, so, he immediately addressed himself to the spiritual hunger of the crowd, teaching them at great length. The gospel reading suggests that it is good to have plans but not to hold on to them too tightly. The failure of our plans to materialize can create an opening for something worthwhile to happen that we had not planned. The Lord can work powerfully in the openings that the failure of our plans creates. We need the freedom to let go of our plans when a greater good, a greater purpose, beckons to us.

And/Or

(iv) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We are all familiar with the experience of our plans not working out. In the course of our day we might plan to get something done and our plans come to nothing. On a grander scale, some plan we might have had for our life does not materialize. We can respond in different ways to our plans not working out. In this morning’s gospel reading, Jesus’ plans for himself and his disciples did not work out. He intended taking his disciples away to a lonely place to be all by themselves, because they were so busy they had no time even to eat. However, when Jesus got to the lonely place, he discovered to his surprise that it had become a crowded place; the crowd had got there ahead of him. He didn’t respond with annoyance to this unexpected interruption; instead, according to the gospel, he had compassion on the crowd and set himself to teach them. Jesus’ plans did not work out, but something else happened that served God’s purpose. When our own plans fail to materialize, sometimes something better can come to pass, which would never have happened if our plans had worked out. The Lord’s purpose is always greater than our plans. Whenever we have to let of our plans, the Lord’s life-giving purpose for our lives will always prevails.

And/Or

(v) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary time

At the beginning of this morning’s gospel reading, the disciples return to Jesus after the period of mission on which Jesus had sent them. They were keen to share with him all they had done and taught. The response of Jesus was to take them away to a deserted place where they could rest. Jesus thereby affirms the value of rest and recreation. He consecrates this time of rest. According to the first chapter of the Bible, even God rested after working for six days. We all need a regular time of rest and recreation. ‘Recreation’ suggests new creation, renewal. We all need to be created anew on a regular basis. Very often when we stop to rest it gives the Lord the opportunity to renew us, in mind, body and spirit. On this occasion, however, the plans of Jesus for a time of rest and recreation for himself and his disciples were derailed by a large crowd who had guessed where Jesus was heading and got there before him. The line of a poem by Robert Burns comes to mind, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men...’. If our plans for some rest and recreation were suddenly interrupted we might find ourselves getting quite annoyed. Jesus, however, responded to this interruption with compassion for the large crowd. I am reminded of that phrase, ‘the grace of the present moment’. The ‘present moment’ had thrown up this crowd who were like sheep looking for a shepherd. Jesus experienced them not as an interruption but as a grace and he responded out of his compassion. We are being reminded that the Lord can be in the interruptions of life as much as in the quiet moments. What we might initially experience as an inconvenience, because it cuts across our plans, can turn out to be a moment of grace.

And/Or

(vi) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus proclaims the value of rest from our labours. The apostles had been on a very busy period of mission and when they returned, Jesus insisted that they come away to a lonely place to rest awhile. However, this plan that Jesus had for himself and his disciples did not materialize. When they arrived at their destination, the hoped-for lonely place was full of people looking for Jesus and his disciples. Jesus responded to this interruption with compassion. He abandoned his plan for a quiet time with his disciples away from everybody and set himself to teach the people ‘at some length’. It is often the case in our own lives that our plans do not work out. People have a way of scuppering our plans. We have something worked out in our head, but the unpredictability of life means it doesn’t come to pass. Like Jesus, we can find ourselves helpless before a set of circumstances we had not anticipated. The question then becomes, ‘How are to going to react to this demise of our plans and purposes?’ We can react with annoyance or even anger. We can be tempted to get very discouraged. Jesus reacted to the experience of his plans not working out with compassion. He didn’t turn away from the new and unexpected situation, but engaged with it compassionately. He heard God’s call in this unexpected situation and responded generously. We too have to keep listening to the Lord’s call even in those situations that are not of our making and that leave us feeling, initially at least, very put out. The unexpected interruptions can be moments of grace.

And/Or

(vii) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The image of the shepherd links this morning’s first reading, responsorial psalm and gospel reading. The first reading speaks of God raising our Lord Jesus from the dead to become the great Shepherd of the sheep. The Responsorial Psalm is the much-loved Psalm, ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. On the lips of the Jewish people who prayed that Psalm ‘the Lord’ referred to the God of Israel. As Christians, we instinctively think of Jesus when we say ‘the Lord is my shepherd’. He is, in the words of the first reading, ‘our Lord, Jesus’. In the gospel reading, Jesus looks out upon the crowd who have so unexpectedly disrupted his plans for rest with the eyes of a shepherd. He had compassion for them, because he recognized that they were like sheep without a shepherd. Jesus would become their shepherd, which is why he immediately set himself to teach them at some length. He went on to feed them with bread and fish as a shepherd feeds his flock. The risen Lord continues to look upon us with the eyes of a shepherd. He feeds us with his teaching, with his word, which we hear in the Scriptures. He feeds us with the bread of life, his body, in the Eucharist. He looks to us to feed the physically and spiritually hungry, as he did. Jesus was not disturbed by the crowd who interrupted his plans for some rest for himself and his disciples, because his instinct was always that of the shepherd. It remains his instinct as risen Lord. His deepest desire is to feed and nourish us. He has no times that are out of bounds for us. It is always timely for us to turn to him in our hunger and allow him to feed us with his presence, so that we can be good shepherds to each other.

And/Or

(viii) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In taking his disciples away to a lonely place after their period of missionary work, Jesus highlights the value of rest and the importance of space in the midst of a busy schedule. There was much to be done, both for Jesus and his disciples. Yet, Jesus recognized that there were other values alongside the value of activity, even activity in the service of God. There was the value of being, of stepping back to spend time with oneself, with others and with God. Stepping back from what we do can help to ensure that our doing, our work, is shaped by God’s purpose and desire. In the first reading, Solomon had just become king of Israel. There was much to be done for the young king. Yet, in that reading, we find Solomon stepping back from his work as king to spend time with the Lord in prayer, asking the Lord for the gift of the wisdom and discernment he would need for his work as king. He recognized that if he was to rule in the way the Lord wanted, he would need the Lord’s help.  We all need to get that balance right in our lives between being and doing, between, on the one hand, being really present to others and to the Lord in prayer and, on the other hand, the many activities we are engaged in, some of them essential. In the gospel reading, the prayerful rest that Jesus sought out for himself and his disciples didn’t actually materialize. When they arrived at the lonely place, people were there waiting for them and, as the compassionate shepherd, Jesus set himself to teach them at great length. Thereby, Jesus was showing his disciples and us the importance of another value, the value of serving in love even those who unexpectedly disrupt our legitimate search for space, rest and prayer.

And/Or

(ix) Saturday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus had sent out the twelve to share in his mission. According to today’s gospel reading, after returning to him from that mission, he insists that they come away with him to a lonely place all by themselves to rest. Jesus knew that the harvest was great and that the labourers were few, but he also appreciated the need for the labourers to rest from time to time. There was a time to be active in God’s service and there was a time to step back from activity and rest. In this gospel reading, Jesus is consecrating the value of rest. God can speak to us when we rest in ways he cannot speak to us when we are active. For many of us there are less opportunities to be active in these Covid days, as so many options have been closed off to us. These days can be an opportunity to listen more attentively to what the Lord may want to say to us. If we have a tendency to be more of a Martha person, this time may be a call to become a little more like her sister Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to him speaking. Jesus’ planned time of rest for himself and his disciples never materialized because the crowd, guessing where they were heading, got there ahead of them. The gospel reading says that when Jesus saw the crowd, far from being annoyed at this unexpected interruption to his plans, he had compassion on them. The word ‘compassion’ in the Bible is from the same root as the word ‘womb’. Jesus is portrayed as responding to the crowd with a mother’s anguished love for her struggling children. The Lord remains a compassionate presence in all our lives today. Often it is when we step back from our various activities to spend quiet time with the Lord that we come to experience more fully his compassionate presence towards us.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

7th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 6:14-29): ‘When he heard him speak he was greatly perplexed’.

Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 6:14-29 The beheading of John the Baptist.

King Herod had heard about Jesus, since by now his name was well known. Some were saying, ‘John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘He is Elijah’; others again, ‘He is a prophet, like the prophets we used to have.’ But when Herod heard this he said, ‘It is John whose head I cut off; he has risen from the dead.’ Now it was this same Herod who had sent to have John arrested, and had him chained up in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife whom he had married. For John had told Herod, ‘It is against the law for you to have your brother’s wife.’ As for Herodias, she was furious with him and wanted to kill him; but she was not able to, because Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man, and gave him his protection. When he had heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him. An opportunity came on Herod’s birthday when he gave a banquet for the nobles of his court, for his army officers and for the leading figures in Galilee. When the daughter of this same Herodias came in and danced, she delighted Herod and his guests; so the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me anything you like and I will give it you.’ And he swore her an oath, ‘I will give you anything you ask, even half my kingdom.’ She went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask for?’ She replied, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ The girl hurried straight back to the king and made her request, ‘I want you to give me John the Baptist’s head, here and now, on a dish.’ The king was deeply distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he was reluctant to break his word to her. So the king at once sent one of the bodyguard with orders to bring John’s head. The man went off and beheaded him in prison; then he brought the head on a dish and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Gospel (GB) Mark 6:14-29 ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’

At that time: King Herod heard of Jesus, for his name had become known. Some said, ‘John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.’ But others said, ‘He is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.’ But when Herod heard of it, he said, ‘John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.’ For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.’ And he vowed to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.’ And she went out and said to her mother, ‘For what should I ask?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Gospel (USA) Mark 6:14-29 It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.

King Herod heard about Jesus, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; That is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.” But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.” Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. His own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” He even swore many things to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.” She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Reflections (12)

(i) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

It is clear from today’s gospel reading that John the Baptist had an unsettling effect on Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. It is said that Herod knew John to be a good and holy man, and protected him against the murderous schemes of Herodias, his wife. Herod liked to listen to John, even though he was greatly perplexed by what John said. He was both drawn to John’s message and disturbed by it. His wife’s reaction to John wasn’t so ambivalent. She just wanted him dead. When Herod made a rash promise to Herodias’ dancing daughter that she could have anything she wished, her mother seized the moment and prompted her daughter to ask Herod for the head of John the Baptist. According to the gospel reading, Herod was deeply distressed by his step daughter’s request but having made her a promise in public on oath, he felt honour bound to keep it. Going against his better nature, he ordered the beheading of someone he knew to be a good and holy man. There were good instincts in Herod but he couldn’t follow them because saving face was more pressing for him at that moment. He wasn’t true to what was best within him, what we would call the voice of God or the voice of the Spirit. He listened to other voices and allowed himself to be led by other spirits. We can all find ourselves in situations where what is best and deepest in us is put to the test. It can be a struggle to remain true to the promptings of the Spirit coming from deep within us. However, at such moments we are not left to ourselves. The Lord is always with us to help us to stay true to his word and to his desire for our lives. As Saint Paul says in one of his letters, ‘with the testing God will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it’. At such testing moments, we can turn to the Lord for help, knowing that his help will always be forthcoming.

And/Or

(ii) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the days running up to the feast of Christmas, we heard Luke’s account of the birth of John the Baptist. In this morning’s gospel reading, we hear Mark’s account of the death of John the Baptist. As we read that story, John is off stage, as it were, languishing in Herod Antipas’ prison. There are three characters who are centre stage, Herod Antipas, his wife Herodias and her daughter from her marriage to Herod’s brother, Philip. Of those three characters Herod Antipas comes across as the most complex. Whereas Herodias clearly hated John the Baptist, Herod’s attitude to John was more ambivalent. It is said that Herod knew John to be a good and holy man and gave him his protection, and that he liked to listen to John even though he was greatly perplexed by what he said. There was something about John that spoke to Herod; John appealed to Herod’s better nature. Yet, Herod ordered John’s execution. He had made a very public but very rash promise to Herodias’ daughter, and to protect his own honour before others he felt obliged to keep his promise, even though it meant beheading the man whom he knew to be good and holy. Herod, in the end, acted against his better nature, to which John the Baptist had appealed so strongly. Perhaps there is something of Herod in all of us. We hear a call that appeals to what is best in us, but we don’t always follow through on it for reasons of self-interest. Herod was not prepared to lose his honour to save John. Responding to the Lord’s call will often entail some loss for us. Being true to what is deepest and best in ourselves will sometimes mean having to die to ourselves in some way. Yet, we have the promise of Jesus that, if we lose our life for his sake, we will ultimately find it.

And/Or

(iii) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

According to this morning’s gospel reading, some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life, after he had been beheaded by Herod. The fact that some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life suggests just how much both had in common. John was a prophet who proclaimed God’s word, even when that word was unpopular. It is because some found his word very unpopular that John was executed. Jesus, too, spoke of himself as a prophet; he proclaimed God’s word, even when that word was experienced as threatening by those in positions of power and influence. Like John, it was because of his faithfulness to proclaiming and living God’s word that Jesus was put to death. John and Jesus had a great deal in common, and yet, as John said, he was unworthy to untie the sandals of Jesus. Jesus was not only God’s prophet; he was God’s Son. He not only spoke God’s word, he was God’s word; he was the Word become flesh. Even though John came before Jesus, and was not strictly speaking a follower of Jesus, he has a great deal to teach us about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. He teaches us that we follow Jesus by basing our lives on God’s word, especially as spoken and lived by Jesus. We are to allow that word to take root in our heart, so that it shapes our lives. We are to hear the Lord’s word and to keep it, as Mary did. Her words to Gabriel, ‘Let it be to me according to your word’ could easily be the foundation of our lives as disciples of Jesus.

And/Or

(iv) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The scene in the gospel reading is one that has inspired artists and play writers throughout the centuries. The sumptuous banquet in Herod’s palace for his birthday turns out to be a banquet of death. Mark the evangelist follows this scene with the feeding by Jesus of the multitude in the wilderness. It is as if the evangelist wants to set Herod’s banquet of death over against Jesus’ banquet of life. John the Baptist is described in the gospel reading as a ‘good and holy man’. He courageously spoke God’s truth, God’s way, and that is why he was beheaded. Jesus was crucified for the same reason, because he proclaimed God’s ways, God’s purposes, by what he said and did. We are all called to proclaim the ways of God as revealed to us by Jesus. That will call for courage at times, the courage displayed by John the Baptist and Jesus. One of the traditional seven gifts of the Holy Spirit is courage. Today, more than in the past, we need a courageous faith; we need the courage of the Holy Spirit to witness to the values of the gospel, as John and Jesus did. A courageous faith is not an arrogant faith, but it is a firm faith, an enduring faith, a faith that holds firm when the storms come because its roots are deep. We pray this morning for the gift of such a faith, the kind of faithfulness that shaped John’s life and death.

And/Or

(v) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

John the Baptist was the innocent victim of the irresponsible use of power. The gospel reading this morning suggests that Herod had John executed because he wanted to save face. Having made a reckless promise to his step daughter, he would not go back on it, as to do so would have meant a loss of honour. There have always been and still are innocent victims of the irresponsible use of power. Jesus was the supreme example of a victim of the irresponsible use of power. It was the religiously and politically powerful who had Jesus crucified. Whenever anyone is victimized in this way, it is always a terrible tragedy. Such a travesty of justice is never God’s will. Yet, both the death of John the Baptist and of Jesus show us that God can bring good out of such tragedies, out of such travesties of justice. God can work powerfully through the weakness of such innocent victims, even though it is never God’s will that such victimization should ever happen. It is Jesus and John, not Pilate or Caiaphas or Herod, who continue to shine as a light for all who seek the path of life today.

And/Or

(vi) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading that we have just heard has inspired artists and playwrights down the centuries. It is a scene that is full of drama and tragedy. Herod’s birthday party turns out to be a banquet of death. The boasting and moral cowardice of Herod, the vengefulness of his wife Herodias and the compliance of her daughter all combined to bring about the execution of John the Baptist of whom Jesus said ‘among those born of women, no one is greater’. According to the gospel reading, Herod recognized John as a good and holy man and was anxious to protect him. Yet, rather than lose face before his guests he went against his better judgement and agreed to his wife’s request. He gave in to the social pressure rather than be true to his best instincts. In that sense, Herod is every man and woman. We can all find ourselves in situations where remaining true to our values, the values of the gospel, will involve some loss or other. The temptation can be to comprise so as to avoid the loss, like Herod. John the Baptist certainly resisted that temptation. He remained true to the values of God’s kingdom even though it meant the loss of his freedom and, ultimately, the loss of his life. He remains an inspiration to us in our struggle to be true to the call of the gospel, even though it may mean some loss for us in the short term.

And/Or

(vii) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading from Mark is one of the more gruesome stories in the gospels, outside of the story of the passion and death of Jesus. A banquet celebrating the birthday of Herod Antipas becomes the occasion for the summary execution of someone Jesus described as ‘more than a prophet’. Herod comes across as a person who acts contrary to his own better judgement and better instincts. He knew John to be a good and holy man and liked to listen to him. Yet, he had John thrown into prison because it is what his wife, Herodias, wanted. Then at his birthday celebration he ordered the beheading of John even though it left him deeply distressed. Having made a rash promise to his step daughter, he felt obliged to keep his promise because it was what his guests would have expected of him. His honour was at stake. Neither action, throwing John into prison and ordering his execution, came from deep within Herod. He did both under pressure, from his wife and from his guests. The portrait of Herod in today’s gospel reading reminds us that we can all do things under pressure from others that we are not at peace about. Like Herod, we can take paths that are not true to what is best in us, to please someone or to protect our position in the eyes of others. The gospel calls on us to be true to our deepest and best values, to the Lord’s call which resounds through them. There may be some loss for us in doing so, but, as Jesus says elsewhere in the gospels, ‘those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it’.

And/Or

(viii) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We often hear the expression nowadays, ‘speaking truth to power’. It could certainly be said of John the Baptist that he spoke truth to power. He told Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, that it was against the law of God for him to have married his brother’s wife, Herodias. In certain parts of the world today, speaking truth to power is a very dangerous business. Many people have ended up in prison or even killed for doing so. John the Baptist’s speaking truth to power initially landed him in prison. Herodias considered prison too good for John and wanted him killed immediately. However, Herod had a certain respect for John, considering him a good and holy man. The gospel reading suggests that there were good instincts in Herod which he initially listened to, against the wishes of his wife. However, he abandoned those good instincts at his birthday banquet when he made a rash promise to Herodias’ daughter to give her anything she wanted. When, at the prompting of her mother, she said she wanted the head of John the Baptist on a platter, Herod acted against his better instincts to save face and ordered John to be beheaded. John the Baptist ended up paying the ultimate price for speaking truth to power. In the end Herod listened to the voice of Herodias rather than the voice of his better self. We can all find ourselves caught between conflicting voices. The voice of our better self, the voice of the Holy Spirit, that prompts us to take the Lord’s way can be opposed by a very different voice that prompts us to take a very contrary way. Jesus was aware that his followers would all find themselves facing this fundamental conflict, which is why he taught us to pray, ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’. He encourages us to turn to God for strength when we are tempted to take a path that is not in keeping with God’s will for our lives, with that voice of the Holy Spirit within us.

And/Or

(ix) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

At the beginning of today’s gospel reading, people express their views as to who Jesus really is. Some say that Jesus is a prophet, like the prophets of old. Others are more specific and say that he is Elijah the prophet, whose return was expected at some time. Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, thought that Jesus might be John the Baptist risen from the dead. If this is what Herod Antipas actually thought, it may have sprung from a sense of guilt over ordering the execution of John the Baptist. The gospel reading goes on to say that Herod was afraid of John, knowing him to be a good and holy man and that Herod liked to listen to John even though he was often perplexed by what John had to say. It seems that Herod had John beheaded against his better judgement. He felt bound by a rather rash public oath he had made to his step daughter. Herod’s wife, Herodias, took advantage of Herod’s rash promise by getting her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Rather than follow his better instincts, Herod gave in to his wife’s request, to protect his honour. He couldn’t be seen not to keep an oath he had publicly made. Preserving his honour was more important than preserving the life of a man whom he knew to be good and holy. The dilemma of Herod is the dilemma of us all, at some time in our lives. We sense a call from deep within us to do what is good and noble and honourable, what is generous and life-giving. At the same time, we feel pressures of various kinds to ignore that call and act in a more self-serving way. At such moments, we need help from beyond ourselves, the help of the Holy Spirit, so that we can take the path the Lord is calling us to take, even though it is the more difficult path, the one that will demand more of us.

And/Or

(x) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

It could be said that some of the worst traits of human nature are on display in today’s gospel reading. There is Herod who, contrary to the Jewish Law, married his brother Philip’s wife. Herod knew John the Baptist to be a good and holy man and, yet, to save face he succumbed to his wife’s request to have John beheaded. Herodias, Herod’s wife, had wanted to kill John the Baptist for a long time for objecting to her marriage and she seized her opportunity when it came. Herodias’ daughter coolly brought the head of John the Baptist on a dish to her mother. Herod’s birthday feast turned into a grisly celebration of the death of a man of God. There is a moral darkness at the core of today’s gospel story. Yet, if the three people in the foreground of this gospel story exemplify some of the worst of human nature, the light of God’s goodness was there as well, even if in the background, off stage, as it were. There was the good and holy John the Baptist in Herod’s dungeon. He had been faithful to his mission to preach God’s word, even to the powerful like Herod, although that meant risking his life. Then, there were the disciples of John the Baptist, who, as soon as they heard of John’s cruel fate, made haste to give him a dignified burial, even if he hadn’t had a dignified death. At the heart of sin and moral darkness, goodness and holiness are always to be found, sometimes in the background, away from the main stage. Saint Paul assures us that where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more. In his letter to them, he called on the church in Philippi to shine like stars in the world. Therein lies the calling of each one of us. We are to let the light of the Lord’s goodness, love and beauty shine in our sometimes dark world, holding firm to the conviction that the darkness will never overcome the light.

And/Or

(xi) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

There is a lot of darkness in the gospel reading. Some of the worst human instincts are on display. There is Herod who had chained up in prison an innocent man because he challenged Herod on the morality of marrying his brother's wife, Herodias. There is Herodias who wanted Herod not just to imprison John but to kill him, for the same reason. At Herod’s birthday feast, Herodias seized her opportunity when her daughter beguiled Herod into making a rash promise. Herod displayed moral weakness in submitting to his wife’s request for the head of John the Baptist, even though he knew John to be a good and holy man and wanted to protect him. Herod’s birthday feast turned out to be a very grisly affair. Is there any light there in the darkness? The one great light is John the Baptist himself. He courageously proclaimed God’s word, even though he must have known it could have deadly consequences for him. He was a man of integrity, of courage and of deep faith. Then there are the disciples of John the Baptist who took his body and laid it in a tomb, ensuring that, even if his death was undignified, he would have a dignified burial. There is always some light at the heart of darkness, some goodness at the heart of evil. You have heard the expression, ‘it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’. We can be tempted to get very discouraged by the various expressions of moral darkness of our time. However, our calling as followers of the risen Lord, who declared himself to be the light of the world, is to reflect the light of his goodness and love by our lives. Every good and loving act is a protest against the darkness, and we can be assured that if we are faithful to our calling, in the end the darkness will not overcome the light.

And/Or

(xii) Friday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading calls on us to ‘keep in mind those who are in prison, as those you were in prison with them’. I am reminded of the words of Jesus in the gospels, ‘I was in prison and you came to see me’. He doesn’t say, ‘I was unjustly imprisoned and you came to see me’. Jesus identifies himself with all prisoners; those who visit them visit him. In caring for those in prison, we care for the Lord himself; in rejecting or ignoring those in prison we reject and ignore the Lord. In the gospel reading, John the Baptist is in the prison of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. His treatment in prison is in stark contrast to the call of Jesus in the gospels and the call of today’s first reading. He had challenged Herod for breaking God’s law by marrying Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. It seems that it was Herodias who put pressure on Herod to put John in prison. Nothing has changed much. In our own time, many people find themselves in prison because they challenged those in power. It was also Herodias who was directly responsible for having John beheaded. When Herod offered to give her daughter whatever she wanted, after she danced for him, Herodias prompted her daughter to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod was too morally weak to refuse her request. Jesus would suffer a similar fate at the hands of powerful people, because they found his message too disturbing. How do we respond when we hear a word addressed to us that leaves us feeling uncomfortable? We can be tempted to make little of the messenger rather than being open to the possibility that the Lord may be saying something important to us through this message that we find so unsettling. It is always worth asking, ‘Is the Lord trying to show me something here?’

Fr. Martin Hogan.

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6th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 6:7-13): ‘He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out’.

Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 6:7-13 'Take nothing with you'.

Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.

Gospel (GB) Mark 6:7-13 ‘He began to send them out.’

At that time: Jesus called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts — but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, ‘Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Gospel (USA) Mark 6:7-13 Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out.

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Reflections (9)

(i) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading says that Jesus ‘began’ to send out the Twelve to share in his mission. The word ‘began’ suggests that it was the beginning of a process. Jesus would continue to send out his disciples to share in his mission. The risen Lord today continues to send out his disciples to share in his mission. Each one of us, in virtue of our baptism, is called to share in the Lord’s mission. We are called to be missionary disciples. According to the gospel reading, one of the ways the Twelve were to share in Jesus’ mission was by caring for the sick and disturbed. Jesus’ mission was to bring God’s healing and life-giving love to all, and especially to those who were broken in body, mind or spirit. This is the mission he sent out the Twelve to continue, and it is the mission he calls on all of his disciples, the whole church, to continue today. Whenever we journey in a caring way with those who are vulnerable and broken in some way, we are sharing in the Lord’s mission. We are allowing the Lord to continue his mission through our lives today. The Lord who sends us out to share in his mission in this way always journeys with us. It is his mission and he will always engage in it through us. Each day we can invite the Lord to come alive within us and to work through us, so that his mission can continue to touch the lives of others in a healing and life-giving way in our own time and place.

And/Or

(ii) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We tend to attach a lot of importance to preparing for every eventuality. We like to feel that we are in control and that if anything unexpected happens we will have the resources to deal with it. In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus sends out the twelve remarkably unprepared by today’s standards. They were to take nothing for their journey except a staff, no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their purses. They can wear sandals but they were not to bring a spare tunic. As he sent them out, they were certainly not in control; they were not self-sufficient. Rather, they were to depend on the generosity and hospitality of those who welcomed their ministry. Perhaps Jesus was trying to teach them that, in reality, they are not in control; God was ultimately in control and they would have to learn to trust in God more than in themselves. There is a message there that we all need to keep on learning. The reality is that we are not in control of our lives, not matter how well we prepare ourselves for unexpected eventualities. A brush with serious illness can bring that home to us. Suddenly, all our plans and preparations have to be put to one side. The realization that we are not in control of our lives, that we are not Lord of our lives, frees us to surrender ourselves more fully to God, the real Lord of our lives.

And/Or

(iii) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the gospel reading this morning Mark shows how early into his ministry Jesus sent out the twelve that he had chosen to share in his work. He sent them out to do what he has been doing, to preach the gospel and to heal the sick. Jesus understood that he needed the help of others to do the work he had been sent to do. He continues to need us today to do his work. We are to be his eyes, his ears, his hands, his feet and his voice. As risen Lord he wants to work in and through us. Paul understood this very clearly. He understood the church to be the body of Christ in the world. He was very clear that every member of Christ’s body had a vital role to play. The body of Christ could not be all Christ wants it to be unless everyone plays the role they are called and equipped to play through their baptism. Each one of us has a unique contribution to make to the life of Christ’s body, the church, and, thereby, to the work of the Lord in the world today. Each one of us is indispensable and necessary. The first reading from the letter to the Hebrews puts it very simply. In the church everyone is a ‘first-born child’ and a ‘citizen of heaven’. There are to be no second class citizens in the church. Each of us is a vital member of Christ’s body uniquely graced by the Lord for his work and mission in the world.

And/Or

(iv) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

When Jesus sends out the twelve to share in his mission in this morning’s gospel reading, he anticipates that not everyone will welcome their words or their works. Jesus had just been rejected by the people of Nazareth in the passage immediately preceding our gospel reading. His disciples can expect something similar at times. In the words of the gospel reading, Jesus anticipates that the disciples will enter places which do not welcome them and where people refuse to listen to them. Yet, that experience of failure is not to discourage them, just as it did not discourage Jesus. They are to be faithful to their calling to share in Jesus’ mission, in season and out of season, regardless of how they are received. In spite of the experience of failure and rejection, the disciples did great good, proclaiming the gospel and healing the sick. The Lord encourages us to keep being faithful to our baptismal calling, in spite of the setbacks along the way, whether they are failings in ourselves or failings in others. We are to be more attentive to the Lord’s call and promise than to the negative voices that come to us from others or from within ourselves.

And/Or

(v) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

When Jesus chose a group of twelve from among the larger group of disciples, he chose the number twelve very deliberately, as an echo of the twelve tribes of Israel. He seems to have seen the group of twelve as the nucleus of a renewed Israel. They were to have a special role in Jesus’ mission of renewing God’s people. In this morning’s gospel reading, we have Mark’s account of Jesus sending out the twelve for the first time to share in his mission. It is noteworthy that Jesus sends them out in pairs. Rather than twelve individuals going off in twelve different directions, there are six groups of two going off in six different directions. Some might think that it would have been more effective to send out the twelve individually; in that way twice the area could have been covered. However, Jesus clearly saw a greater value in sending out the twelve in twos. No one was to work alone; each would have someone else to work alongside. As disciples of the Lord today, we still need to work together, rather than as individuals or loners. When we work together we learn to receive from and give to each other and, thereby, the Lord is more fully present to others. He did say that where two or three are gathered he would be there in their midst. Even Paul, the great apostle to the Gentiles, was very aware of the debt he owed to what he called his co-workers. The Lord needs us to work together if his work is to be done in today’s world. As members of the Lord’s body, we are interdependent. In the life of faith, we never go it alone.

And/Or

(vi) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In the instructions that Jesus gives to the twelve as he sends them out on mission, he takes it for granted that their message and ministry will not be well received everywhere. He makes reference to places that do not welcome them and to people who do not listen to them. In such situations, all they can do is walk away. Yet, the prospect of their message not being welcomed and listened to by some should not deter them. They are to preach the gospel and give expression to the gospel in their works of healing. Jesus himself knew that his message and mission would not be welcomed by everyone but would be rejected by some in the most violent way possible. The situation with regard to preaching the gospel today is not any different to how it was for Jesus and his first disciples. We are called to be people of faith in a context that is not always supportive of faith. When we come up against a lack of openness to faith, or indifference or even hostility, it can easily unsettle our own faith. Today, more than even, we need a faith that is not dependent on the approval of others. Ultimately, our faith needs to be rooted in the Lord; it is a response to his faith in us, his faithfulness to us. It is the Lord’s faithful presence to us that keeps us faithful, regardless of how are faith is received by others. One of the ways we experience the Lord’s faithful presence is in and through the community of faith, the family of his follower. The first reading speaks of the church is which everyone is a first born and a citizen of heaven. We need to belong there, to be grounded there, if we are to experience the Lord’s faithful presence to the full, so as to witness to our faith even in settings that have little appreciation for it.

And/Or

(vii) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

There comes a time in life when we need to let others do what we have been doing. We have to let go so that others can take on. None of us can keep doing what we have been doing forever. We need the wisdom to know when to entrust some of our responsibility, some of our work, to others. We find that happening in both of today’s readings. As David comes towards the end of his life, he passes on his role as king, his responsibilities to God’s people, to his son Solomon. In the gospel reading, Jesus entrusts the twelve whom he had earlier chosen with a share in his mission. They had spent time with him and now he is ready to send them out as his ambassadors to preach what he has been preaching and to engage in his healing ministry. This happened reasonably early on in Jesus’ public ministry. We might be tempted to think that, like David, Jesus would have waited until nearer the end of his life before entrusting a share in his mission to others. However, it seems, for Jesus, this task of entrusting to others a share in his work couldn’t wait any longer than was absolutely necessary. The Lord desperately needs us to share in his work today. As members of his body the church, we are his feet, his arms, his legs, his eyes, his ears, his mouth, his heart and mind. As the Lord once expressed himself through his physical body, he now expresses himself through all of us, his ecclesial body. The Lord needs us all if his work is to continue today, and just as he sent out the twelve in pairs, in six groups of two, he does sends us out not as individuals but with others. He can work through us most effectively when we work together, pooling our gifts and resources.

And/Or

(viii) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading portrays in striking language the goal of our earthly journey. It speaks of ‘the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… in which everyone is a ‘first born’ and a citizen of heaven’. In this heavenly city, the distinction between citizens and non-citizens will not apply. All will have equal access to God and to his Son. Jesus’ mission was to make something of this heavenly city a reality on earth. This is what he meant by proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. He gathered people from all walks of life and backgrounds around himself, declaring that they could all be his brothers and sisters if they did the will of his heavenly Father, if they followed in the way of God’s Son. He taught his followers to pray to God his Father, ‘they kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven’. He called others to help him in his work of creating an opening for the coming of God’s kingdom, the city of the living God. This is what we find Jesus doing in today’s gospel reading, as he sends out the twelve to share in his mission of word and deed. In the course of the gospels, he calls and sends out many more, men and women. He needs each one of us to share in his work of creating an opening for the coming of the city of the living God, a community where all are cherished equally as sons and daughters of God and brothers and sisters of Christ. Our earthly cities fall far short at times of the city of the living God, but the Lord needs the goodness and the giftedness of us all if our earthly cities are to become more like the heavenly Jerusalem.

And/Or

(ix) Thursday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The disciples whom Jesus had earlier called and who have been with him for some time are now ready to be sent out on mission. They are to travel light, so as to be open to what God will give them through those to whom they preach the gospel. They are not to be so self-sufficient that they feel they have everything they need and nothing to receive from those to whom they are sent. Yes, they have much to give to others, the richness of the gospel, the life-giving power of the Lord, but they also have something to receive from others. The Lord is reminding us that we are dependent on each other. This is especially the case within the realm of faith. The Lord wants to work through us for the building up of others in the Lord and the Lord also wants to work through others for our building up. We are to be generous enough to share what the Lord gives us with others and humble enough to receive from others what the Lord has given them. This is the essential nature of the church. Saint Paul expressed this nature of the church when he spoke of the church as the body of Christ in which no one was self-sufficient and everyone was needed. It is very much a vision of church for our time. All of the baptized are called to be both givers and receivers. As the Lord sent out the Twelve, the Lord sends each one of us to everyone else and is sending others to each one of us. We are always to be asking ourselves, ‘To whom is the Lord sending me?’ and ‘Whom is the Lord sending to me?’

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

5th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Wednesday, Fourth Week of the Year (Inc. Mark 6:1-6): ‘Where did the man get all this?’

Wednesday, Fourth Week of the Year

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 6:1-6 'A prophet is only despised in his own country'.

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Gospel (GB) Mark 6:1-6 ‘A prophet is not without honour, except in his home town.’

At that time: Jesus came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour, except in his home town and among his relatives and in his own household.’ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

Gospel (USA) Mark 6:1-6 A prophet is not without honor except in his native place.

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Reflections (5)

(i) Wednesday, Fourth Week of the Year

Jesus had spent the best part of thirty years in Nazareth. During that time he was known by all as the carpenter, or the son of the carpenter, and the son of Mary. However, since leaving Nazareth, Jesus’ life had taken a new direction. He had thrown himself into the work that God had given him to do. He had left Nazareth as a carpenter; he returned as a teacher and a healer. There was in fact much more to Jesus that his own townspeople had ever suspected while he was living among them. The gospel reading suggests that, when he returned for the first time after leaving, they could not accept this ‘more’; they rejected him. They wanted him to be the person they had always known; they would not allow him to move on from their former perception of him. The image they had of him, which they held on to with great tenacity, became a block to their learning more about him. There was more to Jesus than the people of Nazareth were aware of. Indeed there is always more to every human being than we are aware of. That is true even of those we would claim to know well. We can easily assume that we know someone, when, in reality, we only know one side to them. We are each made in God’s image. There is a profound mystery to each one of us. We can never fully grasp the mystery of another person’s life. This is uniquely true of Jesus. It was Jesus’ very ordinariness that made it difficult for the people of Nazareth to see him as he really was, in all his mystery. God was powerfully present to them in and through someone who was as ordinary, in many respects, as they themselves. God continues to come to us today in and through the ordinary, in and through those who are most familiar to us. Indeed, the primary way the Lord comes to us is in and through the everyday. The ordinary and familiar will often reveal to us the mystery of God’s presence, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The ground of daily life is often holy ground.

And/Or

(ii) Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The people of Nazareth were slow to recognize the implications of the great wisdom Jesus possessed and the power for good that was at work through him on behalf of the sick and suffering. They should have concluded from all of this that God must be working through this man in a special way. Instead, they would not accept him; in the words of Jesus, they despised him. He was too familiar to them; they knew his mother and his family. He was one of their own; he was too ordinary. He could not possibly be all that different to everyone else in Nazareth. It is a clear case of familiarity breeding contempt. The reading suggests that we can sometimes be slow to recognize the presence of God in the ordinary and the familiar. We don’t have to go long distances, or encounter extraordinary phenomena, to make contact with the wisdom and the power of God. The Lord’s presence is all around us in the near and the familiar, in the humdrum and in the ordinary, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear. The gospel reading invites us to see the familiar and the ordinary with new eyes, the eyes of faith. The failure of the people of Nazareth to see in this way inhibited what Jesus could do among them, ‘he could work no miracle there’. Our seeing with the eyes of faith gives the Lord space to work among us in new ways.

And/Or

(iii) Wednesday, Fourth Week of the Year

In today’s gospel reading the people of Nazareth took offense at the fact that one of their own, someone whose family they knew well, someone whom they had known as a carpenter, was now displaying great wisdom in the words he spoke and great power in his deeds on behalf of others. ‘What is this wisdom that has been granted to him, and these miracles that are worked through him?’ They took offense, it seems, not at his actual wisdom and power, but at the fact that one of their own was displaying such wisdom and power. It was as if Jesus was too ordinary, too much like themselves, to be taken seriously. They were coming up against the scandal of the incarnation, the Word who was God became flesh as all of us are flesh. God chose to come to us in and through someone who was like us in all things, except sin. When Jesus went on to speak about God, he often pointed to the ordinary, to the familiar, to the normal – a farmer sowing seed, a man on a journey from Jerusalem to Jericho, a rebellious son in a family, a widow looking for justice from a judge. The life and teaching of Jesus shows us that God speaks to us in and through the ordinary events of life. What we need are the eyes to see and the ears to hear the extraordinary in the ordinary, the divine in the human.

And/Or

(iv) Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s first reading, the author says to his listeners, ‘Be careful… that no root of bitterness should begin to grow and make trouble; this can poison a whole community’. That bitterness is in evidence among those who were present in the synagogue of Nazareth when Jesus was preaching. According to Mark, when Jesus had preached elsewhere in Galilee people ‘were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching – with authority!”’. When he healed the paralytic, ‘they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”’. The reaction of the people of Jesus’ own village was very different. They recognized the wisdom of his teaching and the powerful deeds that were worked through him. However, far from glorifying God, recognizing that God was the source of his wisdom and powerful deeds, they would not accept him. Jesus met with a wall of unbelief, with the result, according to Mark, ‘he could work no miracle there’. It was as if the resistance of the people of Nazareth disempowered him. The gospel reading suggests that the very familiarity of Jesus, one of their own, prevented them from appreciating the true identity of the one who was standing among them. Sometimes familiarity does breed contempt. Our very familiarity with the gospel message can breed, if not contempt, a certain indifference within us. We need to keep on recovering the freshness of the gospel, which is both ever ancient and ever new, so that we continue to stand in amazement at all Jesus says and does in the gospel story, and, also, at the enduring power of his words and his presence among us today. The people of Nazareth couldn’t accept that an ordinary carpenter could be revealing God to them. The gospel reading encourages us to keep recognizing the presence of the Lord in the familiar. As the poet Patrick Kavanagh says, ‘God is in the bits and pieces of everyday’.

And/Or

(v) Wednesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We are familiar with the saying, ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. We see this saying working itself out in today’s gospel reading. Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth. It was a very ordinary, insignificant, out of the way kind of place, which is never mentioned in the Jewish Scriptures. Jesus’ family were as ordinary as all the other inhabitants of this small town. He was the son of a ‘carpenter’, a term that can refer to a person with a skill not just with wood but with stone. Such a skill would have been in demand but indicated nothing exceptional. The people of Nazareth were familiar with Jesus’ family who continued to live among them and whose members they could name off. Rather than rejoicing in the life-giving power of his ministry and the wisdom of his teaching, the people of Nazareth were scandalized by him, because, in so many ways, he was no different from themselves. We encounter here the scandal of the incarnation. God was powerfully present to them through someone who was one of their own. God comes to us all in and through the ordinary and the everyday. The great saints never ceased being amazed at the mysterious presence of God that they sensed all around them. To grow in faith is to grow in our capacity to recognize the presence of the Lord in and through the ordinary and the familiar. What we call in the liturgy ‘Ordinary Time’ is filled with the mysterious presence of the Lord and every place can be holy ground. In today’s psalm, the one praying says, ‘You are my hiding place, O Lord’. The Lord can be our hiding place, protecting us from harm. There is also a sense in which we are the Lord’s hiding place. The Lord is present, often in a hidden way, in each one of us, and, also, in all the circumstances of our daily lives. The Word who took flesh and dwelt among us continues to dwell among us, even though we are not always aware of him. In the words of John the Baptist, ‘Among you stands one whom you do not know, the one who is coming after me’.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

4th February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 5:21-43): ‘My daughter, your faith has restored you to health’.

Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 5:21-43 Little girl, I tell you to get up.

When Jesus had crossed in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered round him and he stayed by the lakeside. Then one of the synagogue officials came up, Jairus by name, and seeing him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is desperately sick. Do come and lay your hands on her to make her better and save her life.’ Jesus went with him and a large crowd followed him; they were pressing all round him. Now there was a woman who had suffered from a haemorrhage for twelve years; after long and painful treatment under various doctors, she spent all she had without being any the better for it, in fact, she was getting worse. She had heard about Jesus, and she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his cloak. ‘If I can touch even his clothes,’ she had told herself ‘I shall be well again.’ And the source of the bleeding dried up instantly, and she felt in herself that she was cured of her complaint. Immediately aware that power had gone out from him, Jesus turned round in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ His disciples said to him, ‘You see how the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ But he continued to look all round to see who had done it. Then the woman came forward, frightened and trembling because she knew what had happened to her, and she fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. ‘My daughter,’ he said ‘your faith has restored you to health; go in peace and be free from your complaint.’ While he was still speaking some people arrived from the house of the synagogue official to say, ‘Your daughter is dead: why put the Master to any further trouble?’ But Jesus had overheard this remark of theirs and he said to the official, ‘Do not be afraid; only have faith.’ And he allowed no one to go with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. So they came to the official’s house and Jesus noticed all the commotion, with people weeping and wailing unrestrainedly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. So he turned them all out and, taking with him the child’s father and mother and his own companions, he went into the place where the child lay. And taking the child by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha, kum!’ which means, ‘Little girl, I tell you to get up.’ The little girl got up at once and began to walk about, for she was twelve years old. At this they were overcome with astonishment, and he ordered them strictly not to let anyone know about it, and told them to give her something to eat.

Gospel (GB) Mark 5:21-43 ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’

At that time: When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.’ And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, ‘If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.’ And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my garments?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, “Who touched me?” ’ And he looked round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?’ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi’, which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was twelve years of age, and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Gospel (USA) Mark 5:21-43 Little girl, I say to you, arise!

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him and a large crowd followed him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, Who touched me?” And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.” While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

Reflections (8)

(i) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

When Jesus set out walking to the house of Jairus in response to Jairus’ urgent plea for this daughter, his urgent journey was interrupted by a woman who approached Jesus furtively for healing. Yet, Jesus gave himself fully to this interruption. He could have kept walking when the woman touched his clothing, but he attended to her in a very personal way. That was the call of the present moment for Jesus, even though he was on an urgent mission. In answering that call, he was doing God’s work, and the task he initially set out to accomplish did not suffer. Jairus had his daughter restored to him. The gospel reading encourages us to pay attention to the interruptions in life. What can seem like distractions can be where the Lord is calling us to be. When matters don’t turn out as we wanted because of some unexpected turn of events, it may not be the disaster that we think it is at the time. When what we had planned doesn’t quite come to pass, it can create the space for something else to happen that we did not plan for but which can have great value for ourselves and for others. Sometimes we need to embrace the interruptions, rather than just driving on with our head down towards the goal we have set for ourselves. We can misjudge where the real work lies. Sometimes the interruptions are our work, especially when they involve responding with compassion to the needs of others. When we set out on a journey, what happens on the way can be just as important as what happens at our destination.

And/Or

(ii) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

There are two stories in this morning’s gospel reading. There is the story of Jesus healing the daughter of Jairus and the story of the healing of the woman with a flow of blood. The woman’s condition not only cost her a lot of money on physicians but would have left her on the margins of the community. In virtue of her condition she would have been considered ritually unclean and would not have been able to attend the synagogue. On his way to the house of Jairus, Jesus is interrupted by this nameless woman who furtively touches the cloak of Jesus and, as a result, experiences healing of her condition. Although he is interrupted while on an important mission to heal Jairus’ daughter, Jesus looks to engage this woman in a very personal way. She simply wanted the most secretive and impersonal of contacts, the touching of Jesus’ cloak. Jesus wanted more. He sensed a woman of faith had touched him and had opened herself to the life-giving power of God’s kingdom at work within him. Jesus wanted to acknowledge this woman’s faith publicly; he wanted her to witness publicly to her own faith in him. When she comes forward to do so, Jesus assures this woman who had been excluded from the community that she belongs; he addresses her as ‘daughter’. She is as much a daughter of Abraham as anyone else. Jesus also acknowledges that while many people were touching him, her touching him was an act of faith that was life-giving for her. The story suggests that when we are heading somewhere and we are delayed or interrupted, the interruption can be just as important as the destination towards which we are journeying.  Jesus shows us that the interruption can often be an opportunity to reach out to someone in a way that leaves them with a greater sense of belonging.

And/Or

(iii) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, two people approach Jesus for help. One was a synagogue official named Jairus, a person of some standing in the community, who approached Jesus very publicly on behalf of his dying daughter. The other was a nameless woman who would have been excluded from the synagogue because of her condition and who approached Jesus very privately on her own behalf, discreetly touching the hem of his garment. For all their differences, these two people had something in common. Their need was great, and they approached Jesus in their need. They also shared a great trust in the power of Jesus to bring life where there was death. Faith in the Lord can bring together people who otherwise might have very little else in common. The church, the community of believers, is very diverse. All of humanity is there. The gospel reading also suggests that the Lord wants to engage with each one of us in our uniqueness. He wants a personal relationship with each of us. That is why he wanted to meet the woman who touched the hem of his cloak. He needed to look into her eyes, to talk to her, to confirm her faith that led her to him. The woman who wanted to be anonymous found herself addressed by Jesus as ‘my daughter’. The Lord calls each of us by name; he relates to us as the unique individual that we are.

And/Or

(iv) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading gives us two stories that are interconnected. At the centre of the two stories are two adults who differ greatly from each one. We are given the name of one, Jairus; he was a synagogue official and, therefore, a person of reasonably high social status and probably well to do. The other person is a woman, whose name we are not given; she had a condition which excluded her from the synagogue and had become impoverished because of her illness. Here we have two people from opposite ends of the social and religious spectrum. Yet, they have something in common and that is their trusting faith in Jesus as the Lord and giver of life. Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet in a very public way; the woman came up behind Jesus and secretly touched his cloak. One didn’t mind being noticed; the other didn’t want to be noticed. They approach Jesus in very different ways but their faith is equally strong. Yet, it was the woman that Jesus challenged to be more public about her faith, with the question, ‘Who touched me?’ The Lord looks to us to publicly witness to our trusting faith in him. Our public witness is a support to the faith of others.

And/Or

(v) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus asks many questions on the pages of the four gospels. It can sometimes be worthwhile to notice the questions he asks and to sit with them. In this morning’s gospel reading we have one of those questions, ‘Who touched me?’ The disciples found this a very strange question, ‘You see the crowd is pressing round you and yet you say, “Who touched me?”’ The disciples were saying, ‘how can you ask that question; there are dozens of people touching you’. Yet, Jesus knew that one person touched him in a way that was different. Many people were brushing up against him; one person took the initiative to make personal contact with him. When Jesus discovered who it was, he said to her, ‘your faith has restored you to health’. The woman was seeking him out in a way that was not true of others who were around him. The Lord is always passing by; he is always among us. Sometimes we can brush up against him without paying him much attention. The woman shows us the value of a very personal and very deliberate reaching out towards the Lord. The gospel reading suggests that this is how we will experience his life-giving presence in our lives.

And/Or

(vi) Tuesday, fourth week in Ordinary Time

In this morning’s gospel reading, two people approach Jesus in their need, one a well-to-do synagogue official and the other an impoverished woman. There is quite a difference in the way that each of them approaches Jesus. The synagogue official approaches him in a very public way, falling at Jesus’ feet and pleading with him earnestly before the crowd that was gathered around him. In contrast, the woman approached Jesus in a very private way, coming up behind him through the crowd and touching his cloak. She didn’t have the self-confidence of the synagogue official. Perhaps she felt unworthy to be approaching Jesus. After all, she was a woman; she was penniless; she had a physical condition that, under the Jewish Law, rendered her ritually unclean and prevented her from entering the synagogue. Yet, Jesus wanted a personal encounter with this woman; he wanted to engage publicly with her, just as he had engaged publicly with the synagogue official. That is why he asked aloud, ‘Who touched me?’ When the woman eventually came forward, Jesus addressed her as ‘My daughter’ and commended her for her faith. The gospel reading reminds us that the Lord does not make distinctions between people. He wants each one of us to approach him in trust as beloved sons and daughters regardless of where we find ourselves in life. There is nothing that need block us from confidently coming before the Lord in our need and opening ourselves to his personal presence to us.

And/Or

(vii) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading presents us with two interlocking stories. Two desperate people approach Jesus in their need, a man and a woman, a prominent person within the synagogue community and someone excluded from that community because of her physical condition. Both stories make reference to touching. Jairus pleads with Jesus to come and touch, lay his hands, on his seriously ill daughter, and Jesus goes on to take Jairus’ daughter by the hand and lift her up. The woman reaches out and touches the hem of Jesus’ cloak. In both stories, the act of touching brings life where there was death, healing where there was sickness. Both stories can speak to our own faith lives. The Lord wants to touch our lives in a healing and life-giving way, as he touched the life of Jairus’ daughter. The Lord does not relate to us at a distance. As he entered the home of Jairus and took his daughter by the hand, so he enters our homes, our lives, and takes us by the hand. He has entered fully into our human condition and meets each one of us where we are. The Lord who comes to us also desires us to come to him, like the woman in the gospel reading. As he touches our lives with his presence, he looks to us to touch his presence with our faith, like the woman. Michelangelo’s masterly painting of God creating Adam on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel comes to mind. The Lord reaches out to touch our lives and, in doing so, moves us to reach out in faith and touch his presence to us.

And/Or

(viii) Tuesday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The grief of David in the first reading is very moving. Even though his son Absalom had led a rebellion against his father, he was still David’s son and on hearing the news of Absalom’s death David grieved bitter tears, as any father would for a son, even a rebellious son. In the gospel reading, we hear of the death of a daughter, not a rebellious daughter but a young girl of twelve years of age. Her death causes people to grieve, to weep and wail unreservedly, in the words of the gospel reading. The death of children is especially heart-breaking, especially for the child’s parents. In the gospel reading, Jesus takes the child by the hand and restores her to life and instructs that she be given something to eat. The evangelist is showing us that the power of Jesus is stronger than the power of death. This became very evident to the early church in the light of the resurrection of Jesus. As believers in a risen Lord, we continue to grieve when a loved one dies. Yet, there is hope in our grief because we are convinced that the Lord is stronger than death. If we open ourselves in faith to the Lord, like Jairus and the woman with the flow of blood in the gospel reading, we will experience his life-giving power just as they did. Jesus remains the life-giver for all who turn to him in faith, both in the course of this earthly life and, especially, at the hour of our death.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

3rd February >> Fr. Martin's Reflections/Homilies on Today's Mass Readings for Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Inc. Mark 5:1-20): ‘What do you want with me?’

Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Mark 5:1-20 The Gadarene swine.

Jesus and his disciples reached the country of the Gerasenes on the other side of the lake, and no sooner had Jesus left the boat than a man with an unclean spirit came out from the tombs towards him. The man lived in the tombs and no one could secure him any more, even with a chain; because he had often been secured with fetters and chains but had snapped the chains and broken the fetters, and no one had the strength to control him. All night and all day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he would howl and gash himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and fell at his feet and shouted at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? Swear by God you will not torture me!’ – for Jesus had been saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit.’ ‘What is your name?’ Jesus asked. ‘My name is legion,’ he answered ‘for there are many of us.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the district. Now there was there on the mountainside a great herd of pigs feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, ‘Send us to the pigs, let us go into them.’ So he gave them leave. With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. The swineherds ran off and told their story in the town and in the country round about; and the people came to see what had really happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his full senses – the very man who had had the legion in him before – and they were afraid. And those who had witnessed it reported what had happened to the demoniac and what had become of the pigs. Then they began to implore Jesus to leave the neighbourhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed begged to be allowed to stay with him. Jesus would not let him but said to him, ‘Go home to your people and tell them all that the Lord in his mercy has done for you.’ So the man went off and proceeded to spread throughout the Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.

Gospel (GB) Mark 5:1-20 ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’

At that time: Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, ‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.’ For he was saying to him, ‘Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!’ And Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ He replied, ‘My name is Legion, for we are many.’ And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, ‘Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.’ So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marvelled.

Gospel (USA) Mark 5:1-20 Unclean spirit, come out of the man!

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” (He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”) He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned. The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. Then they began to beg him to leave their district. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. But Jesus would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.

Reflections (10)

(i) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s first reading mentions a number of people from the Old Testament. It is said of them, ‘they were weak people who were given strength’. God gave them the strength they needed to face the most difficult of situations. The man who lived among the tombs, in the gospel reading, could not be described as weak. He had the strength to snap the chains and break the fetters with which he had been secured. No one had the strength to control him. He seems to have had an almost superhuman strength. Yet, it was a destructive strength, damaging to himself and to others. According to the gospel reading, he would gash himself with stones and was clearly a danger to the local townspeople, which is why he had been banished to the local graveyard. Here was someone who had a storm raging within him. When Jesus came within sight of him, he addressed Jesus very aggressively, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God?’ His destructive strength came from his anger, and his anger was a sign of how damaged and broken he was. Yet, Jesus did not run from him, as others did. He absorbed his anger and then healed his brokenness. When the townspeople saw him in the company of Jesus, he was ‘in his full senses’. The story reminds us that Jesus never runs away from us, no matter how unapproachable we may be to others. He comes to us as we are, sometimes in our brokenness and anger, and, if we are open to his coming, he can calm the storm that might be raging within us, just as he calmed the storm at sea. The risen Lord is always entering our personal storms to give us a share in his strength, which is a life-giving strength that empowers us to become the person he is calling us to be.

And/Or

(ii) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading this morning puts before us probably the most disturbed person in the whole gospel story. He loved alone among the tombs; he was so violent that he could not be secured even with fetters and chains. He howled among the tombs night and day and regularly inflicted serious injury on himself. Here is someone who is out of control who, from a Jewish perspective, is living in territory that is out of bounds, a graveyard in a Gentile region. Yet, he was not out of bounds, as far as Jesus was concerned. Jesus met with him and spoke to him. After his meeting with Jesus he ceased to be out of control. Indeed, we are told that, in response to the call of Jesus, he went on to spread the word about all that Jesus had done for him throughout a very large region. This very disturbed person became an evangelist, the preacher of the gospel to the Gentiles. It is hard to imagine a greater transformation in someone’s life. We all need to be transformed in one way or another. We all need the Lord to help change us for the better. We too can find ourselves out of bounds, out of control. We ask the Lord this morning to bring us within the bounds of his love and to free us to submit to his control.

And/Or

(iii) Monday, Fourth week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading is one of the most unusual miracle stories in the four gospels. The story is set in pagan territory and at its centre is a very disturbed person who was a danger to himself and probably to others. The response of those in his neighbourhood was to secure him with chains and to place him among the tombs with the dead. There was no place for him among the living. When Jesus arrived in this territory, this disturbed man approached him, and even though the man’s initial approach to Jesus was very aggressive, Jesus engaged him in conversation. By the end of the conversation, the man was freed from what had left him so disturbed and not only that but he had taken on a ministry. In response to Jesus’ invitation, he proclaimed throughout the region all that Jesus had done for him - all that God had done for him through Jesus. He became a preacher of the gospel. Jesus had just calmed the storm at sea; now he had calmed the storm in this man’s life, and released him to serve others. The risen Lord continues to calm the storms in all of our hearts if we approach him in confidence. When he does so, it will be with a view to releasing us to share in some way in his own work.

And/Or

(iv) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This morning’s gospel reading follows directly on in Mark’s gospel from Saturday’s gospel reading. There Jesus calmed the storm at sea and calmed the panic of his own disciples. As Jesus and his disciples reach land they are met with another storm, this time a storm of the human spirit, a man who was so disturbed that people had him chained so that he couldn’t harm himself or others. He had also been banished to the local graveyard, to the tombs. He was living among the dead, cut off from the living. The Lord’s response to him was not to chain him up but to release him, to release him not only from his chains but from the spirit that left him so disturbed. We have an image here of how the Lord works. He works to free people from all that diminishes and dehumanizes them. This is not only the Lord’s work, but it is also the work of the church, the work of his followers, our work. That work of helping people to live a freer and fuller life is work we are called to engage in each day of our lives. If we are to engage in that work of the Lord, we need to open up our own lives to the Lord’s healing and life-giving presence. It is always as broken people in need of the Lord’s healing that we engage in his work of healing the broken.

And/Or

(v) Monday, Fourth week in Ordinary Time

The central character of the gospel story is one of the most disturbed people that we find in the gospels. He was someone out of control, completely alienated from himself and from others. He was more dead than alive, as is shown by his living among the tombs. He was the total outsider. Yet, Jesus engaged with him and as a result of his encounter with Jesus he was restored to himself and to the community from which he came. Having just calmed a storm at sea, Jesus calmed the storm in this man’s psyche and spirit and sent him out as a messenger of good news to his community. We may never be as disturbed as this man evidently was, but we can all find ourselves out of joint from time to time, out of sorts with ourselves and with others, feeling only half alive within ourselves, tossed and thrown about. It is then that we need to come before the Lord as the man in the gospel did. His initial approach to the Lord was quite aggressive; it was full of anger, ‘What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?’ That can be our starting point too when we come before the Lord in prayer. Yet, he is never put off by our disturbance within. If we allow him, he will pour his peace into our hearts; he will calm us as he calmed the storm, and having done so he will send us out to share his peace and mercy with others, just as he sent out the man in the gospel reading.

And/Or

(vi) Monday, Fourth week in Ordinary Time

The gospel reading is a story of how Jesus transforms a very disturbed man. There is an extraordinary transformation in the man between the beginning and the end of this story. At the beginning of the story he is living among the tombs on the outskirts of the town because people could not manage him. He could not be kept under control and so he was banished to a place where nobody but the dead lived. The temptation can be great to banish those who are considered too troublesome to keep. An important part of Jesus’ work consisted in bringing in from the cold those who had been excluded and restoring to the community those who had been banished to the margins. Jesus did not try to get rid of this man when he approached and spoke to Jesus in a very aggressive way. Rather, he calmed the storm within him and brought him to a place of inner calm. It is curious that when Jesus healed the man, the people reacted to Jesus in the way they had earlier reacted to the man. They wanted Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. There was something unsettling about someone who could show that a very disturbed person was not all that different from anyone else after all. Having healed the man, Jesus sent him home to his people to tell them all that Jesus had done for him. The one who had been expelled by the community now became their evangelist, sent by Jesus to proclaim the gospel, the presence of God’s kingdom in Jesus. The story suggests that those we might be tempted to expel or remove from our company can become messengers through whom the Lord preaches the gospel to us.

And/Or

(vii) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

This is one of the most graphically narrated of Jesus’ miracles. Jesus is on the far side of the Sea of Galilee, mostly pagan territory. The man at the centre of the story is a very disturbed person. A powerful storm is raging within him. The community’s response to him was to chain him and exile him to the tombs outside the town. They considered him as good as dead and consigned him to live among the dead. Yet, his spirit would not be chained. Although he continued to live among the tombs, he broke free of his chains. When he saw Jesus at a distance, he ran to him. He left the tombs and threw himself at the feet of the Life Giver. We are given a picture of someone who is desperately trying to move beyond his situation of enslavement and death. Through his encounter with Jesus, the storm within him is calmed. The community who were so determined to enslave him and to be rid of him now find him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. Whereas the community only succeeded in making the storm within the man worse, Jesus calmed his storm and restored him to himself. The Lord invites us all to come before him in our need, with whatever storm may be brewing within us. If we open ourselves to the Lord’s life-giving presence, as we do in prayer, he will calm us as he calmed the storm; he will restore us to ourselves and to others. There is a striking contrast between the reaction of the man’s neighbours to what had happened and the reaction of the man himself. The neighbours implored Jesus to leave; the man begged to be allowed to stay with Jesus. The neighbours found Jesus’ presence disturbing; he had disturbed their ordered lives, restoring someone to the community who had been judged not to belong there. The man found Jesus’ presence calming; he had calmed the disturbance within him. We are being reminded that the Lord can both disturb the calm and calm the disturbed. It is striking that Jesus would not allow the man to go with him as he requested. Having received the gift of wholeness from Jesus, he now had a mission among his own people, the very people who had treated him so badly. He was to proclaim in this pagan region the gospel of the Lord’s mercy to the broken. Whenever we receive the Lord’s mercy, in whatever form, he sends us out as messengers of his mercy to others. What we receive in prayer, we give with our lives.

And/Or

(viii) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

We are all aware of the phenomenon of violence in our world, both in far off places and closer to home. We can be shocked at how violent people can be towards others, especially towards the most vulnerable. As well as violence done to others, sometimes people can do violence to themselves. Our natural instinct is to protect ourselves, but when some people are in a dark place that natural instinct can be abandoned and they can end up harming themselves. We have an example of that kind self- harm in today’s gospel reading. It features someone who is probably the most disturbed person in all of the gospels. He was so disturbed that the local community had banished him to the tombs, the graveyard, outside their town, and they had tried to chain him there. Such was his disturbed strength that he broke the chains and harmed himself, gashing himself with stones. He was a total outsider; he knew that no one wanted him. Yet, according to the gospel reading, when Jesus arrived in the area, he ran up to Jesus. Perhaps, he sensed that Jesus could help him. Whereas others shunned him, Jesus went on to engage with him, asking him his name, and, finally, releasing him from his demons, freeing him from his disturbance. The people were amazed to see the man sitting beside Jesus, properly clothed and in his full senses. It is strange that they should then implore Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. It’s as if they were disturbed by Jesus’ capacity and power to release this man from his disturbance. The story reminds us that there is no human situation or condition so disturbed that the Lord cannot touch in a healing and life-giving way. It can be tempting to write off certain people or even ourselves as lost causes. We give up on what seems like a lost cause, just as the people in the gospel reading gave up on this member of their community. Yet, the Lord never gives up on us. He can calm even the most disturbed and disturbing of human spirits. The power of the Lord’s calming presence can never be underestimated. We can open ourselves to his calming presence in prayer, so that we become a calming influence, the Lord’s calming influence, on those we come across in life.

And/Or

(ix) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

When David was cursed by one of his opponents in today’s first reading, he did not do what one of his soldiers suggested to him, namely to have this man’s head cut off. Instead, David absorbed the man’s curse and went on his way. In the gospel reading, Jesus is related to in a similarly threatening way by a very disturbed person, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God?’ Like David, Jesus did not return aggression for aggression. However, Jesus went beyond what David did. He did not simply continue on his way, like David, but, rather, he addressed his opponent in a very personal and respectful manner, ‘What is your name?’ and then went on to heal him of his demons, restoring him to himself and to his community. At the end, the disturbed man was so touched by Jesus that he wanted to stay with Jesus and join him on his journeys. David, and to a greater extent, Jesus, reveals to us something of God’s way of relating to us. God is not put off by our resistance to him, or even by our hostility towards him. Rather, regardless of how we relate to God, God continues to relate to us out of the goodness in his own heart. He keeps asking us, ‘what is your name?’ inviting us to reveal ourselves to him, to open our hearts to him, even when darkness lurks there. As Jesus shows in the gospel reading, God works in our lives to rid us of our demons, to restore us to harmony with ourselves and with others. What the Lord needs from us in response is some openness of mind, heart and spirit to his healing and life-giving presence, the kind of openness shown by the man in the gospel reading after his healing, when he begged to be allowed to stay with Jesus.

And/Or

(x) Monday, Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel reading portrays one of the most disturbed people in all of the gospels. He is portrayed as the living dead. He lives among the tombs, far from the community of the living. He was inflicting bodily harm on himself on a regular basis. The only response of the community to him was to try and secure him with chains and fetters, a version of locking him up and throwing away the key. Even that totally inadequate response to him was a failure. Such was the energy generated by his rage that he snapped the chains and broke the fetters. He was completely out of control, unapproachable. Yet, although the gospel story does not say so explicitly, Jesus approached him. According to the gospel reading, the man caught sight of Jesus from a distance, ran up and fell at his feet. His words to Jesus were seething with anger, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?’ Jesus had every reason to walk away, but he didn’t. He spoke a word to him that healed him of his demons. The gospel reading says that he sat there beside Jesus, clothed and in his full senses. What does this passage tell us about Jesus? It tells us that there is nothing in our lives that we cannot bring to the Lord for his healing touch. It tells us that there is no one whom Jesus regards as unapproachable or out of bounds. It assures us that there is no disturbance or turmoil in our lives that the Lord cannot calm if we approach him and fall at his feet. After the man was restored to his right mind, Jesus gave him a task. He told him to go and tell others all that the Lord in his mercy had done for him. Whenever we open ourselves to the Lord’s healing and calming presence, he sends us out to share what we have received, to bring his healing and calming presence to all who need it.

Fr. Martin Hogan.

[frmartinshomiliesandreflections]

2nd February >> Fr. Martin's Homilies/Reflections on Today's Mass Readings for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord (Inc. Luke 2:22-40): ‘A light to enlighten the pagans’.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Gospel (Except GB & USA) Luke 2:22-40 My eyes have seen your salvation.

When the day came for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. Now in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:

‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised; because my eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared for all the nations to see, a light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel.’

As the child’s father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’ There was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. When they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity, and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.

Gospel (GB) Luke 2:22-40 ‘The child grew, filled with wisdom.’

When the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons’. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the Temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.’

And his father and his mother marvelled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed — and a sword will pierce through your own soul also — so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’ And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the Temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon him.

Gospel (USA) Luke 2:22–40 My eyes have seen your salvation.

When the days were completed for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph took Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout, awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to perform the custom of the law in regard to him, He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:

“Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”

The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted —and you yourself a sword will pierce— so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer. And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Homilies (13)

(i) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

As a priest I love to celebrate the Sacrament of Baptism. Young parents bring their child to the church for baptism. In doing so, they are expressing a desire that their child would belong to the Lord in some way. They are inviting the Lord into the life of their child. They recognize that connecting their child with the Lord and with his body, the church, at such a young age will be beneficial for their child. As a priest, it is a great privilege to be able to respond to this desire of parents. The focal point of the liturgy of baptism is when the parents hold their child over the baptismal font, with the godparents standing by, and water is poured over the child’s head, accompanied by the words, ‘I baptize you…’ I always feel at that moment that something very special is happening for the child and his or her parents. It is a sacred moment when the Holy Spirit is moving in a special way. Because of the Holy Spirit coming into the life of the young child at that moment, all of us in the church are in some way touched by the Spirit.

Today’s feast, and today’s gospel reading, brought that sacramental moment to my mind. There in the gospel reading, we find a young Jewish couple bringing their child to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. There is a real continuity between what young parents are doing when they bring their child to the church for baptism and what Mary and Joseph are depicted as doing in the gospel reading. The fundamental spiritual movement is the same, parents presenting their child to the Lord. I have often noticed at baptisms that the presence of grandparents is very significant. As they brought their children to the Lord at their baptism, those children, now adults, are bringing their child to the Lord. There is no reference to Jesus’ grandparents in today’s gospel reading, but there is a very significant reference to two people, Anna and Simeon, who would have been the same age as Jesus’ grandparents, if not older. Anna is eighty four years of age, having been a widow for much of her adult life. We are not given Simeon’s age, but the sense is that he has lived a long life. He has been looking forward to Israel’s comforting, probably for many years. When he sees the child Jesus, he knows that he has finally set his eyes on the one who is to bring God’s comfort not just to Israel but to all the nations. He is moved to pray, ‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace, just as you promised’. He has seen what he had always hoped to see and he is now ready to leave this world. Simeon has been described as the patron saint of all who, having found meaning at last in their lives, are ready to let go and surrender all to the Lord. It is fitting that Simeon’s prayer, coming at the end of his life, is now part of the Night Prayer of the church, coming at the end of the day.

The sense you get from the gospel reading is that this young couple and their child are greatly blessed by the presence of this older man and woman, both of whom are clearly people of God, people of prayer, whose prayerful presence graces the lives of others. It is often the way that the lives of children and their parents are blessed by the prayerful presence of the children’s grandparents. Simeon and Anna represent continuity with the great figures of Israel’s past and, likewise, grandparents often represent continuity with all that is best in the church’s tradition. Just by their presence, they hold the faith that is both ever ancient and ever new, and they offer their own faith in the Lord to the generations below them. It is what we find Simeon and Anna doing in the gospel reading. Simeon proclaims to Mary and Joseph the true identity of their child, ‘a light to enlighten the pagans, and the glory of your people, Israel’. Anna spoke of the child to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. There is a wonderful meeting of the generations in that gospel reading. The young couple and their child touched the lives of these two elderly people in a wonderful way, and Simeon and Anna, in turn, touched the lives of this young couple and their child in an equally wonderful way. There is an image here of the life of the church in our own time. Within the church, we need all the generations. On the journey of faith, we have much to receive from and give to one another, across the generations.

The young couple, Mary and Joseph, learned from the older Simeon that they were carrying God’s light, the one who would go on to proclaim himself to be the light of the world. We are all called to be carriers of the Lord’s light to each other, at every stage of our life’s journey, from childhood to advanced years. All the generations need to journey together in faith, giving to and receiving from one another, if the Lord’s light is to shine in its full splendour before the world.

And/Or

(ii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

One of the great blessings of our parish here in Corpus Christi is what is known as the Drumcondra Active Age Association. The work of this association reflects the association’s name. It helps older people to live active lives. The generosity and commitment of a large number of parishioners ensures that older people in the parish are offered a whole range of activities that they can choose from. We thank God for the work of this association, and we hope and pray that it will continue to thrive for many years.

There is a very good example of an active older person in today’s gospel reading. Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, was an eighty-four year old woman. The gospel reading tells us that she was serving God night and day, with fasting and prayer. She was also something of a preacher because we are told that she spoke of the child Jesus to all who looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. She certainly qualifies as one of the active aged. We are not told how old Simeon was, but it is likely that he was elderly too. He had been waiting a long time to see the Christ, and having seen him he was now ready to depart this life. He was a regular visitor to the Temple, going wherever the Holy Spirit led him. Here was another active, aged person. He was also someone who was alert to the deeper meaning of things. He recognized the true significance of the child that was brought into the temple by the young couple Mary and Joseph to be presented to God..

The gospel reading puts before us a meeting between youth and age. A very young couple with their child enter the Temple of God and there they meet a much older man and woman. This meeting turned out to be a source of blessing for both generations.. Simeon and Anna were graced and blessed by the coming of this young couple and their child into the Temple. The young couple were themselves blessed and graced by the older pair. Each generation brought the Lord to the other generation in different ways.

This can be true of our own experience as well. The younger generation can be a source of great blessing to the older generation, and vice-versa. They each have something to give the other. The energy of youth can be an inspiration to older people. The experience and wisdom of age can serve as a source of strength and stability for the young. We need to bring the generations into contact with each other, because each generation can bring something of the Lord to the other generation. On this feast of the presentation of the Lord each of us, regardless of our age, are being called to allow the Lord to present himself to others in and through our lives.

And/Or

(iii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Today we celebrate Jesus’ presentation in the Temple in Jerusalem by his parents, in accordance with the Jewish Law. In the opening chapters of his gospel, Luke portrays Jesus’ parents as faithfully observing the Jewish Law. In this way he wants to stress that the movement that became known as Christianity has its roots deeply in the Jewish faith. In the Jewish Scriptures, especially in the prophet Isaiah, Israel’s role was to be a light to the Gentiles, to reveal the light of God to the world. According to our gospel reading, the elderly Simeon, a devout Jew, recognizes Mary and Joseph’s child as the one who is to embody this calling of Israel. He is to be a light to enlighten the pagans, and in being faithful to this role he will bring glory to Israel. Simeon had spent his life looking forward to ‘Israel’s comforting’. When Mary and Joseph entered the Temple with their new born first child on that day, Simeon’s longings and hopes were brought to fulfilment. It has been said that Simeon has become the patron saint of those who, having found meaning at last in their lives, are able to let go and surrender to the Lord. His prayer of surrender has become part of the Night Prayer of the Church. We pray that prayer as people who have been graced by God’s light shining through Jesus. Like Simeon, we have come to recognize Jesus as the light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of Israel. We have candles blessed on this day; we light them and carry them as a sign of our joy of discovering Jesus as the light of the world. Indeed, every time we light a candle in church or at home, we are acknowledging Jesus as the light of the world and we are also recognizing our own need for his gracious light as we struggle with the various forms of darkness in our lives.

And/Or

(iv) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

This morning’s gospel reading features a man and a woman, Simeon and Anna, who had given themselves over to the service of the Lord for many years. Simeon is described as upright and devout, on whom the Holy Spirit rested. It is said of Anna that she never left the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. As well as being the Feast of the Presentation, today is also the World Day for Consecrated Life. Simeon and Anna remind us of those men and women who have consecrated themselves to serve the Lord in the religious life. Today we thank God for them all and we ask God’s blessing upon them. Simeon and Anna’s close relationship with the Lord gave them a special gift of insight. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the Temple, Simeon recognized their child as a ‘light to enlighten the pagans’ and as ‘the glory of your people Israel’. Anna recognized their child as the one who fulfilled the hopes of those who were looking forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. They had a rich insight into who this child really was and they shared this insight with others; they continue to share their insight with us today. As our relationship with the Lord deepens, through prayer and through our following his way, we too will grow in our insight into the Lord’s identity and into the meaning of his whole ministry from his birth to resurrection. We too will be called upon to witness to that growing insight as Simeon and Anna did. This morning, we celebrate Simeon’s insight into Jesus as the light to enlighten all peoples. We recognize our own need for this light and we invite the Lord to shine his light into whatever darkness may be in our own hearts and lives.

And/Or

(v) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The gospel reading for today’s feast describes a meeting between a young couple and their infant child and two people who were well on in years, Simeon and Anna. Simeon’s response when he met the infant Jesus was to pray; he blessed God. His prayer has become part of the official prayer of the church and is prayed every night by those who pray night prayer. Anna’s response on meeting the child Jesus was to speak about Jesus to others, especially to those who were waiting for God to visit them in a special way. Simeon’s meeting with Jesus and his parents led him to look upwards towards God in prayer; Anna’s meeting with Jesus and his parents led her to look outwards towards others in witness. Simeon and Anna have each something to say to us about how to receive the Lord. We too are called to respond to the Lord’s coming to us as light of the world, in the same two-fold way, in prayer and in witness. We bless God, we thank God, in prayer for the gift of his Son, the light to enlighten all people, and we also allow that light to shine through us before others, by witnessing to the Lord in the way that we live, by what we say and do. The Lord who entered the temple in Jerusalem as the light of the world has entered and is entering all our lives; this morning we look to Simeon and Anna to show us how best to respond to his gracious coming.

And/Or

(vi) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

At the centre of today’s gospel reading are two older people, Simeon and Anna. They were both blessed with the gift of recognition or insight. They both recognized the true identity of the child who was carried into the temple by his young parents. Simeon recognized Jesus as the light to enlighten the pagans and as the glory of Israel. Anna recognized him as the Deliverer for whom people had been waiting. They both went on to proclaim to others what they had come to recognize for themselves.  Their gift of recognition was the fruit of their prayer. They were people of prayer; Simeon’s prayer has become part of the Night Prayer of the church; Anna is described as serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. Their prayerfulness made them sensitive to the Lord’s presence and helped them to recognize the Lord even in the surprising form of the new born child of a young couple. Simon and Anna remind us that our own faithfulness to prayer can help to make us more sensitive to the various, and sometimes surprising, ways that the Lord is present to us throughout our life. The time we spent with the Lord in prayer makes it easier for us to recognize him when he comes to us.

And/Or

(vii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Today is a day when we traditionally bless candles. It is a feast of light, of God’s light revealed in Jesus. In the gospel reading Simeon declares Jesus to be a light to enlighten the pagans, as well as being the glory of Israel. Today’s feast closes the Christmas festival of light. It is a joyful feast and, yet, a shadow is cast over this joyful scene in the Temple in Jerusalem. Having declared the child Jesus to be God’s light to enlighten the pagans and to bring glory to Israel, Simeon goes on to declare that this same child is also destined to be a sign that is rejected. Not everyone will welcome the light that he brings which is why this child, according to Simeon, is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel. Some in Israel will stumble over Jesus; others will be lifted up by him. In the language of the fourth gospel, ‘the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil’. We are all capable of turning away from the light, the light of God’s love and God’s truth shining through Jesus. We can be more comfortable with lesser lights. Yet, the light of God continues to shine through Jesus, the risen Lord. No amount of human rejection diminishes that light. Every day we are called by God to keep turning towards this radiant light of Jesus, after the example of Simeon and Anna in the gospel reading.

And/Or

(viii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

In today’s first reading, the prophet Malachi announces that the Lord will one day enter his Temple in Jerusalem as the refiner and purifier of his people, so that their worship will be as the Lord desires it. In the gospel of John, Jesus declares that he will enable people to worship God as God wants to be worshipped, a worship in spirit and truth. Jesus is referring to a worship of God that is inspired by the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit. This worship of God, inspired by the Spirit of God, is not confined to a religious building, a church. The Spirit inspires us to worship God not only with our lips, as in the liturgy, but with our lives. Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans refers to our spiritual worship, by which he means a worship which embraces all of our lives. He calls on us to present our bodies, our embodied selves, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is the worship of our lives. Each day we are to offer our lives to God. This was the kind of worship that characterized the life of Jesus. In the gospel reading, Mary and Joseph came to the principal place of worship for Jews, the Temple. They come not just to worship, but to present their son to God. As an adult, Jesus lived out that presentation of himself to God that was made by his parents at this time. Throughout his adult life, Jesus presented himself as a living sacrifice to God, in the words of Saint Paul. He lived his life with a clear focus on God at all times. Jesus calls on us to have that same focus. Because Jesus is the full revelation of God, to live our lives with a clear focus on God amounts to living our lives with a clear focus on Jesus, our risen Lord. Today’s feast encourages us to keep presenting ourselves, our hearts, minds and bodies, to the Lord. We are to keep our relationship with the Lord to the fore in all we say and do. In that way, our whole lives will be a worship of the Lord.

And/Or

(ix) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The feast of the Presentation of the Lord is a day when, traditionally, we bless candles that will be used in the church’s liturgy or at home. The blessing and lighting of candles speaks to us of Jesus, the light of the world. When Mary and Joseph brought their child, Jesus, to the Temple in Jerusalem to present him to God, Simeon addressed their child as a ‘light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel’. We all have a longing for light, especially at this dark time of the year. During the week, we had one very bright day, when, even though it was very cold, the sun shine all day and the sky was blue from sunrise to sunset. We appreciate such days all the more in these dark winter months. When Mary and Joseph brought their new born child into the Temple, they were presenting him not just to God but, in a sense, to all of humanity as a light to shine in darkness, a ‘light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel’. We can all experience a darkness of spirit at any time of the year, but perhaps especially in the dark months of winter. Today’s feast reminds us that no matter how dark our spirit, we always walk in the light of the Lord’s presence. The candles we bless today, the candles we light in our church or in our homes. speaks to us of that greater light from God, Jesus, our risen Lord. In the words of Saint John’s gospel, ‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. Today’s feast invites us to keep opening our minds and our spirits to this light from God, which shines through Jesus. It is the light of love and the light of life. As Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, we are invited to keep presenting ourselves to the Lord, the light of whose presence is always shining upon us, especially in those times when we sense a darkness of some kind coming over us.

And/Or

(x) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Sometimes older people have an insight into life and into other people that is the fruit of long experience. Life has taught them what is important and what is not so important. In today’s gospel reading, we find two older people who express a great insight into the young child of a young married couple. Simeon declares the child to be God’s salvation, a light to enlighten the pagans and to bring glory to Israel. Anna announces that this child will fulfil the hopes of all who have looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem. Simeon made his declaration to the child’s parents, and Anna made hers to a larger group. They both speak to all of us today about the true identity of Jesus. As Mary and Joseph present Jesus to God in the Temple, in a sense, Simeon and Anna present Jesus to us by what they say about him. Perhaps, we might remember to day and give thanks for all those who presented Jesus to us, especially the older members of our family and our community. We bless and light candles on this day in response to Simeon’s recognition of Jesus as the light to enlighten all people. God’s light has shone and continues to shine upon us through Jesus, the light of God’s love, God’s truth and God’s life. It is a light that has the power to overcome the darkness that can easily hang over us, especially the darkness of fear and of death. The second reading declares that Jesus shared in our flesh and blood so that by his death he might set free all those who had been held on slavery by the fear of death. On this feast, we open our lives and hearts afresh to what Saint John Henry Newman calls God’s ‘kindly light’ which has shone so abundantly upon us through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

And/Or

(xi) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The feast of the Presentation of the Lord is celebrated forty days after the feast of Christmas, as it was traditionally understood that Jesus was presented in the Temple forty days after his birth. This day is also known as Candlemas, because candles are blessed on this day to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and the light of our life. This is in keeping with Simeon’s reference to the child Jesus in the gospel reading as a ‘light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel’. Simeon’s prayer beginning, ‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace’, has become an integral element of the Night Prayer of the Church. Simeon recognized the true identity of the child that the young couple from Nazareth brought into the Temple. Simeon realized who had just entered the Temple, who had entered his life. Looking at this new born child, he could see the ‘salvation’ that God had been preparing for all the nations to see. Simeon recognized that the light of God’s love was shining through the face of this child, a light that would enlighten the pagans and bring glory to Israel. The gospel reading suggests that Simeon had this level of insight into the child of Joseph and Mary because the Holy Spirit rested on him and he came to the child prompted by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who allows us to see Jesus as he really is. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, says, ‘No one comprehends what is truly God’s except the Spirit of God’ and declares, ‘we have received… the Spirit that is from God, so that we can understand the gifts bestowed on us by God’. We need the Holy Spirit to appreciate the gifts that God has given us, especially God’s greatest gift, his beloved Son, who is with us until the end of time. On this feast, we invite the Holy Spirit to rest upon us afresh, as he rested on Simeon, so that, like him, we may recognize the many ways that the risen Lord enters our lives.

And/Or

(xii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

The prayer of Simeon in today’s gospel reading has become part of the Night Prayer of the Church, ‘Now, Master, you can let your servant go in peace’. He is now ready to embrace death because his eyes have seen the Saviour promised by God in the Jewish Scriptures. It is often said of people who are dying that they seem to hang on until some loved one who has been away arrives to their bedside. Then, having seen their loved one or heard their voice, they slip away. When a young couple came to the Temple that day with their new born child, Simeon knew that the one he had been longing to see had finally arrived and he was now ready to depart this life. Simeon’s prayer has become part of the Night Prayer of the church because believers have recognized from earliest times that Simeon’s prayer can easily become our prayer. Our eyes too have seen the salvation that God has prepared for all the nations to see. The light of God that shone upon Simeon through the child Jesus in the Temple on that day has shone upon all of us. The risen Lord journeys with us every day as God’s light, dispelling our darkness, guiding us along the right path. The candles we light on this day remind us that we have seen Jesus, the light of the world, with the eyes of faith, and that we will see him face to face in heaven, when eternal light shines upon us. The other elderly person in the gospel reading, Anna, spoke about the child of Mary and Joseph, God’s light to enlighten everyone, to all those who were looking forward to the Saviour God had promised. She reminds us that having looked upon Christ our Light with the eyes of faith, we are called to allow his light to shine through us so that others can be drawn to him.

And/Or

(xiii) Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

On this feast we bless and light candles to express our belief that, in the words of Simeon’s prayer to God in the gospel reading, Jesus is a ‘light to enlighten the pagans and the glory of your people Israel’. People of all faiths and of no faith often feel the need to light a candle, especially in times of darkness, when faced with some human tragedy. We seem to have a deep conviction that no matter how deep the darkness a light can always shine in it. We are familiar with the saying, ‘it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’. As followers of the risen Lord we certainly know that to be true. We share the faith of the fourth evangelist who wrote, ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’. It could be said that the darkness was at its deepest as Jesus hung from the cross on the hill of Calvary. The worst instincts of humanity had put to death in the cruellest way someone who revealed not only God but the best of humanity. Yet, in that terrible darkness a light was shining, the light of God’s merciful and unconditional love. It was above all when Jesus was lifted up on the cross that he revealed the glorious light of God’s love to the full. As the fourth evangelist puts it so memorably, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. In our own experiences of darkness, whatever for they take, the light of the Lord’s loving presence shines brightly. In the words of a modern chant, ‘Within our darkest night, you kindle a fire that never dies away’. We bless and light candles on this feast to express our conviction that Jesus by his life, death and resurrection has shown that God is Love and God is Light. It is a good day to pray the prayer of Simeon in today’s gospel reading, a prayer of confident trust in God who has given us Jesus, his Son, as a kindly light to lead us on towards that place of eternal light which is our final destiny.

Fr. Martin Hogan.