This Sunday's Readings...

We're fortunate in Ireland that the Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on the 6th of January, so we have the wonderful readings of the 2nd Sunday after Christmas tomorrow morning. A friend of mine from seminary suggested that the core of the Gospel would be preserved if, through some freak occurrence, the New Testament were lost except for the Letter of St Paul to the Galatians. I keep meaning to re-read Galatians with that hypothetical scenario in mind in order to make sense of what he was saying.
As I was reading the 2nd Reading and Gospel of this Sunday's liturgy, I realised that a somewhat similar claim could be made about those two readings. Between them they manage to encapsulate much of what is most central to our faith. If one were to commit them to memory, one would have the answers to the most pressing existential and philosophical questions.
The Second Reading ( Ephesians 1:3-6. 15-18) summarises God's plan for us quite nicely:

Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ. Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ for his own kind purposes, to make us praise the glory of his grace, his free gift to us in the Beloved.

That will explain why I, having once heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit

The Gospel (John 1-1-18), on the other hand, is virtually a complete Credo and a summary of all that follows in John's Gospel:

In the beginning was the Word:
and the Word was with God
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things came to be,
not one thing had its being but through him.
All that came to be had life in him
and that life was the light of men,
a light that shines in the dark,
a light that darkness could not overpower

A man came, sent by God.
His name was John.
He came as a witness,
as a witness to speak for the light,
so that everyone might believe through him.
He was not the light,
only a witness to speak for the light.

The Word was the true light
that enlightens all men;
and he was coming into the world.
He was in the world
that had its being through him,
and the world did not know him.
He came to his own domain
and his own people did not accept him.
But to all who did accept him
he gave power to become children of God,
to all who believe in the name of him
who was born not out of human stock
or urge of the flesh
or will of man
but of God himself.
The Word was made flesh, he lived among us,
and we saw his glory,
the glory that is his
as the only Son of the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John appears as his witness. He proclaims:
'This is the one of whom I said:
He who comes after me ranks before me
because he existed before me'.

Indeed, from his fulness we have, all of us, received –
yes, grace in return for grace,
since, though the Law was given through Moses,
grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.
No one has ever seen God;
it is the only Son, who is nearest to the Father's heart,
who has made him known.

Back in the day that (up to the words 'grace and truth') was recited by the priest at the end of Mass as the 'last Gospel'. There was a decided wisdom in repeating the richest of scriptural passages after each and every Mass.

A Homily Preached at a Cemetery Mass

As we gather here for this graveyard Mass, it is well for us to remember what it is we are doing when we gather in a cemetery and when we care for a graveyard. The monuments and crosses scattered about us remind us that this is a place of memories. Indeed, many of them bear the inscription In Loving Memory. Buried all around us are our departed ancestors, relations and friends. From them we have received so much and it is only right and just that we continue to be grateful to them and show our respect by caring for their graves. Rememberance of the dead is a mark of basic human decency.
Maybe we honour parents or grandparents who did so much for us when we were young, passing on their wisdom, their values and their faith. Perhaps we remember the kindness of departed friends and relations. Perhaps we’re here as a mark of respect to ancestors that we have no personal memory of, but about whom we’ve heard from our elders. We should also remember the many unknown and forgotten people here in this graveyard, many of whom lived lives of hardship and struggle that we today cannot fully understand. Our remembrance of the dead bears witness to the fact that a person’s good deeds and the memories of a life well-lived are of lasting value.

As Christians, however, a place like this is not simply about memories. It is not only about remembering with affection those who have gone before us. We also remember them with hope. Christ promises us that those the Father has given Him will be raised up on the last day. At every Sunday Mass we finish the Creed by saying We believe in the Resurrection of the dead, and life everlasting, Amen. We remember the Risen Christ appearing to His disciples in His glorified flesh and we believe that His victory over death is such that not only do our souls survive but that at the end of time, both body and soul will be re-united and restored in an extraordinary way that we cannot comprehend on this side of the grave. However, the respect we show to the remains of the deceased and out visits to the graves of our departed loved ones is a very concrete way of expressing our faith in this mysterious resurrection of the body. By coming to the very place where a loved one’s mortal remains were laid to rest, we are saying that we trust that some day both body and soul will be glorified, and the relationships which have been interrupted by death, will be restored in the paradise that Christ Himself has promised to those who die in His peace.

Finally, we remember the words of scripture that it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they might be released from their sins. Above all, an occasion like this is an opportunity to pray for our dead, and assist them in their final purification. Perhaps we don’t hear enough about purgatory and the importance of praying for the dead any more. Perhaps we make the mistake of thinking of the idea of purgatory as being a gloomy kind of idea. It is no such thing. It is one of the most merciful doctrines in the Catechism. To those who die in a state of grace, but have some residual imperfection or some outstanding reparation for a sin is given the chance of a final purification, so that they are totally happy when they meet their Maker in His glory. Were they not to receive this time of preparation, their joy in the presence of God would be marred by their shame at their imperfection and unworthiness. They would be like guests who found themselves at a wedding wearing the dirty old clothes they use for work about the farm. Purgatory is like the chance to clean up and get changed, so that they are ready for the great wedding-feast of heaven. Lord knows, we might all be grateful for the opportunity. I remember once hearing of a distinguished theologian who told his students that the Holy Souls are happy souls. They know that they are on the threshold of seeing God face-to-face, and it is a great mercy to speed them through this last period of preparation, so that they can worthily and joyfully see God face-to-face.

We therefore pray here for our dead – not in sorrow, but in anticipation. We also pray that this cemetery will continue to be a worthy place of remembrance and a place of prayer. Whether we are going to end up buried here or somewhere else, let us also ask the Lord to bless those who care for graveyards and ask Him that future generations will not neglect to care for our resting places and will not forget to assist us with their prayers for the dead when will have need of them.

Homily - First Mass of Thanksgiving (9th July 2007)

The word Eucharist means thanksgiving and this is, for me, a particularly special moment of thanksgiving for all the goodness the Lord has shown to me, especially in the support and goodness of so many of His servants as I prepared for ordination. And, whilst we give praise and thanks to God in every Mass for all the many gifts he has given us, this Mass of Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest, gives particular thanksgiving to God the Father for the great mystery of His sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be our one and only Eternal High Priest.

We hear in this evening’s Gospel of the piercing of Christ’s heart. This heart should be very dear to us. This heart is a human heart that burns with divine love for each and every one of us. And from the Gospels we learn that Jesus Christ, is the Son of God who became man for us and who lived a life of perfect love. Because of the love that burned within that Sacred Heart, Christ’s earthly life was a life of perpetual worship, a life of transparent love for God the Father and for all mankind. His heart was moved by compassion by the suffering of those around him. His heart knew moments of rejoicing and sorrow. But above all, His heart loved.

May we never forget that the Sacred Heart is the heart of the Son of God who became man for our salvation. And how was that salvation accomplished? The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became a helpless child, grew up, lived a fully and perfectly human life and finally, offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins on the Cross. The whole life of Jesus Christ was one of sacrifice and obedience to God the Father. His whole life was lived for the reconciliation of God and man. As perfect God and perfect man, and He was the only One who could offer a life of perfect sacrifice to God the Father for our sake. With his death on the Cross this life of self-emptying reached its consummation and fulfilment. The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross is the completion of the only perfect act of human worship, and is the greatest revelation of God’s love for us.

And so we read in the Gospel according to St John that having completed His sacrifice, and giving up His spirit, the side of Christ is pierced and out flowed blood and water. It is as if this heart of Christ, having spent itself totally in compassion for sinful man, has one last treasure to give in death. This is the final act, the completion of Christ’s total gift to us and to the Father.

The Fathers of the Church saw a great mystical significance in this. They saw that just as Eve came forth from the side of Adam, so the Church was born out of the side of Christ on the Cross. But what does this mean? They saw the Blood and Water as symbolising the Sacraments – Eucharist and Baptism in particular. By Baptism we become part of the One Body of Christ, and in the Eucharist, we are joined to Christ Himself and his great sacrificial priestly action. Because of the Cross and because of the Sacraments, we are granted salvation, made into God’s own chosen people and allowed to share in Christ’s divine life.

The Letter to the Hebrews teaches us that Christ is the One Eternal High Priest, who has offered this saving sacrifice for us, and who continues to plead for us at the right hand of the Father. And from all of this – His Incarnation, His sacrifice and His Eternal life with the Father – we have the great mystery of Christ’s priesthood. This priesthood is something that Christ alone accomplished. Only he could and did offer the reconciling sacrifice that enables man to overcome his sins and live in harmony with God.

And, not only does He win our salvation, but He also shows us God’s love. His love for us is God’s love for us and by his example we are shown how to respond to this love. What is more, by the grace he continues to grant, we have the strength to follow this example. He offers each and every Christian a share in His Priesthood.

His saving sacrifice is more than just a dead example for us. It is not something trapped in the past or between the pages of a book. The Lord of History does not allow the distance in time and space to cut us off from his redeeming work. His great priesthood does not leave us untouched. As St Augustine teaches, the God who made us without our help does not save us without our cooperation. Christ offers us a share in his saving priesthood. He is our example of humble obedience. He is our assurance of God’s love. And He is the way in which we can find the strength to follow the example of His loving heart. He offers us the chance to be transformed, if we are willing to welcome his sacrifice and his example into our lives. This is especially true when we consider the Eucharist.

The night before he died, Christ instituted the Eucharist. This is my body given up for you, this is my blood poured out for you he told his disciples, reassuring him that what would happen on Good Friday was not some brutal accident of history, but was the Lord of Heaven freely giving His life for His brothers and sisters. Do this as a memorial of me he told them. In the celebration of the Eucharist, His example and His strength, His very presence would be present to the Church until the end of time. By learning from the Eucharist and receiving Christ’s Body and Blood, we are transformed. God himself teaches us how to love as He does, and how to make all the joys and sorrows a form of worship.

Remember! The whole life of Christ was a priestly offering – and that life had moments of joy, sorrow, laughter, tears, frustration, success, and disappointment. And so, everything that happens in our life can be offered to the Father. Our joys, our sorrows, our laughter, our tears, our successes and our disappointments – they can all be offered to the Father in union with Christ. The One High Priest shares his priesthood with the whole Church and gives each and every one of us the possibility of living our ordinary lives in the extraordinary way of Christian love and sacrifice.

This was made very clear to me just 5 weeks ago. On Trinity Sunday, Fr Ragheed Ganni was celebrating evening Mass for his parishioners in the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul. Extremists has already bombed his Church and injured his sister. He had been threatened by sectarian terrorists, narrowly escaped kidnapping and had seen his church attacked on several occasions. As he left the Church, he and his subdeacons were stopped by Muslim extremists. Separating them from a number of women who were travelling with them, these men killed Fr Ganni and Companions out of hatred for the Christian faith.
Fr Ganni was studying in the Irish College when I started there in 2001. In 2003, he returned to Iraq despite the dangers. How was such a decision possible? He continued to minister to his people despite receiving several threats. Where could he find the strength to do that? He knew his life was in danger, but he continued to do his duty despite his fears. How can this be explained? He answered this question himself in 2005:

“There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say ‘Behold the Lamb of God Behold, who takes away the sin of the world’, I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.”

This is the power of the priesthood of Christ – something we all share in by our baptism, and which is renewed in us each time we participate in the Eucharist.

And so we give thanks for the priesthood of Christ. In offering Himself to the Father he offers Himself to us. He invites us to join in His offering of love and gives us the strength to follow Him. He shows us God’s love by His priesthood and asks us to unite our sacrifices, and all we have to Him.

May Jesus Christ the Eternal High Priest be praised, now and forever.