Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
Gospel Luke 21:5-19(English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: While some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, Jesus said,“As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.This will be your opportunity to bear witness.Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.You will be hated by all for my name's sake.But not a hair of your head will perish.By your endurance you will gain your lives.
I went down to Knock last Sunday and came back tonight, Friday 14 November. A time of grace.
Many of the Gospel stories of the interaction between Jesus and individuals or groups take place on the road. They are not planned though Jesus, who is both God and Man, would have foreseen them. I am often uplifted and strengthened in my Catholic Christian faith by such encounters, usually totally unforeseen.
One such was in Heuston Railway Station in Dublin on Friday 4 November 2022. I was waiting for the noon train from Dublin to Cork, where I was to be part of a team conducting a Marriage Encounter Weekend. At the spot from where the photo at the top of the page was taken I saw a tall young man with his three children, the youngest being carried in a kind of backpack. I was struck with a feeling of utter delight. I approached the man who knew by my Roman collar that I was a priest. When his wife caught up with him and their children he introduced her as 'Lizzie'. Their love for one another and for their children, a girl and two boys aged seven, five and three, was palpable.
The family were from Texas and were waiting for the train to Claremorris, County Mayo, the station nearest Knock Shrine where they were going on a brief pilgrimage. (Unlike other major shrines to Our Lady, most pilgrims to Knock don't stay overnight.) We chatted for only a couple of minutes. Before we parted the couple asked me for a blessing. Lizzie knelt down for this, not in the least bothered by the many people around.
I know that God truly blessed them on that occasion but He also blessed me through them. I was uplifted and strengthened in my faith.
It brought to mind a similar experience in late 1968 or early 1969 when I was studying in Manhattanville College, Purchase, New York. The Religious of the Sacred Heart, who owned the school, had just dropped 'of the Sacred Heart' from its name. It was a time of deep crisis in the Church and, in the USA, because of the Vietnam War.
One Saturday morning after Mass, Sr Kathryn Sullivan RSCJ, one of the first women to become internationally renowned as a Scripture scholar, approached me in the sacristy. She told me she was about to go on a lecture tour overseas and knelt down and asked me for a blessing. As a young priest, about one year in the priesthood, I felt deeply humbled. I was blessed by her humility, which reminded me of what God had called me to be.
Today's gospel reads like today's headlines and 'breaking news' - as it has always done. But in the midst of great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences Jesus tells us, This will be your opportunity to bear witness. The Texan family in Heuston Station and Sr Kathryn Sullivan, without being aware of it, took the opportunity to bear witness to me.
The Prayer over the Offerings reminds us of what our lives are ultimately about : . . . may obtain for us the grace of being devoted to you and gain us the prize of everlasting happiness. The Communion Antiphon from the Old Testament - I wish the Church wouldn't include so many options throughout the Mass - reinforces this: To be near God is my happiness, to place my hope in God the Lord (Psalm 72 [73]: 28).
Whether in great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences or in our ordinary day-to-day quiet lives, Jesus says to each of us, This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
This painting shows the two miracles in the Gospel.
Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, 'Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.' And instantly the woman was made well (Matthew 9:22; Gospel).
The full name of the church is: Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist at the Lateran. It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome.
The Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, as a feast of the Lord, takes precedence over the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: (England & Wales, Scotland)
GospelJohn 2:13-22 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the Temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the Temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’
So the Jews said to him, ‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the Temple, with the sheep and oxen (John 2:15; Gospel).
This Sunday we celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral of Rome. In a real sense it is the Mother Church for Catholics.
In a homily in Spain on 3 November 1982 Pope St John Paul II said: Any church is your house, and the house of God. Value it as the place where we encounter our common Father. For most of us the church where first we were able to encounter our common Father was the church or chapel where our parents and godparents brought us to be baptised. The First Reading, from the Prophet Ezekiel, which speaks of the life-giving waters flowing out from the Temple, reminds us of the waters of baptism which cleanse away sin and give us the life of God himself. The response to the psalm reflects this: The waters of a river give joy to God’s city, the holy place, the abode of the Most High.
The First Reading and the Responsorial Psalm are connected with the fact that St John the Baptist is one of the patron saints of the Pope's Cathedral.
St Paul in the Second Reading tells us what baptism accomplishes in us: Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? We become sons and daughters of God the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus and brothers and sisters of one another. We are a living community, sharing in the mission of the Church to preach the Gospel to every creature. The Church becomes alive when we gather together in the church building, especially to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Many years after my ordination I realised that I learned what family is from being together each day for our evening meal and for our special Sunday lunch. In the same way I learned what the Church is from my parents taking me to Sunday Mass when I was a young child until I was old enough to go on my own. We all went to Sunday Mass, though not together. The term 'Family Mass' wasn't used when I was growing up in Dublin.
The words of Jesus in today's Gospel, Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade, always made sense to me since my experience of the church, the building, was that it was the place where we gathered for Mass, especially on Sunday, and where people went to pray during the week, old people like my paternal grandfather for long periods, workers and school children dropping in for a few minutes on their way home from work or school. In other words, the church building truly was my Father's house. And it usually was a house of beauty that invited one to pray.
Something we can do today is to recall and thank God for the significant churches in our lives: the church where we were baptised, the church where we made our First Holy Communion, the church where we were confirmed, the church where we went to confession regularly, the church where we were married or ordained. For some, all of these important events happened in the same church, for others not so. But on all of these occasions we were able to encounter our common Father and in every church where the Blessed Sacrament is in the tabernacle we meet our Risen Saviour Jesus Christ our Brother.
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Dedication of the Archbasilica of our Saviour
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 11-09-2025 if necessary).
Jesus said to Zacchaeus, 'Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost' ((Luke 19:10; Gospel).
This year All Souls' Day falls on Sunday - in most places. It takes precedence over the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
There are no specific readings for All Souls' Day. Readings may be taken from those for Masses for the Dead. Matthew 5:1-12a, below, is proper to All Saints' Day and may also be used on All Souls' Day.
In England & Wales and in Scotland this year All Saints' Day will be celebrated on Sunday and All Souls' Day on Monday.
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
GospelMatthew 5:1-12a (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the
mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his
mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and
persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’
I don't know much about the faith of Scottish poet Norman MacCaig (1910 - 1996). Wikipedia tells us that he described it as 'Zen Calvinism' - 'a comment typical of his half-humorous, half-serious approach to life'.
A favourite poem of mine is Country Postman. It expresses for me something of the reality of the Communion of Saints that we celebrate and remember in a special way on these two days. I've no idea if Norman MacCaig was thinking of the Communion of Saints when he wrote it. But the poem captures something of what holds us all together as a community. With email, Facebook and all the ways of communicating in 'this digital continent', as Pope Benedict called it, perhaps the role of the postman has changed, though he is still vital in rural communities, not only to deliver the mail but to keep an eye on older persons living on their own, some of whom perhaps are reclusive but who still welcome him.
The poem too catches something of the fragility in all of us, especially in those who serve the broader community quietly and generously for so many years. And could Jesus, who turned water into wine at a wedding for people like those whom this mail deliverer served, turn away this poor man who died after probably celebrating a little too much?
It is persons such as MacCaig's Country Postman whom we remember on All Souls' Day and it is our prayers that help them move from being numbered among All Souls to being numbered among All Saints.
Country Postman
Before he was drowned,
his drunk body bumping down the shallows
of the Ogle Burn, he had walked
fifteen miles every day
bringing celebrations and disasters
and what lies between them to
MacLarens and MacGregors
and Mackenzies.
Now he has no news to bring
of celebrations or disasters,
although, after one short journey,
he has reached
all the clans in the world.
['Burn' means 'creek'; MacLaren, MacGregor and Mackenzie are common Scottish surnames, 'Mac' meaning 'son'.]
The belief that love can reach into the
afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our
affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death—this has been a
fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages and it remains a
source of comfort today. Who would not feel the need to convey to their
departed loved ones a sign of kindness, a gesture of gratitude or even a
request for pardon?
. . . We should recall that no man is an island,
entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another . . . The lives of
others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve.
And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for
worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person,
something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being,
my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his
purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time:
in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never
too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we
further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope
is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me
too.
Pie Jesu
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his father's funeral
Please pray for the soul of Patricia who died of breast cancer on 1 October 2023 aged only 25. May our loving Father welcome her into the heavenly choir.
Traditional Latin Mass
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 11-02-2025 if necessary).
Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-17. Gospel: Matthew 18:23-35.
GospelLuke 18:1-8 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men
went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not
like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax
collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but
beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be
exalted.’
The tax collector ('publican' in older translations) acknowledges his sinfulness when he prays, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Jesus tells us, This man went down to his house justified. That means that God had forgiven him and lifted the burden of his guilt from him.
The tax collector asked God for mercy and received it. The parable calls us to ask for mercy and to give it when we are asked for it, in that way sharing God's mercy with another. The act of asking for mercy and the act of showing mercy both lead us to an inner freedom.
The story below from Rwanda is a powerful witness to God's mercy shown through a murderer begging for forgiveness from the daughter of the man he killed and through her forgiving him.
Over 5,000 people seeking refuge here were killed by grenade, machete, rifle, or burnt alive during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
A religious sister from Rwanda, Sr Genevieve Umawariya, speaking during the Synod on Africa held in Rome in 2009, the theme of which was The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace, spoke of an incident that parallels today's gospel. Here is what she said:
I am a survivor of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda 1994.
A large part of my family was killed while in our parish church. The sight of this building used to fill me with horror and turned my stomach, just like the encounter with the prisoners filled me with disgust and rage.
It is in this mental state that something happened that would change my life and my relationships.
On August 27th 1997 at 1 p.m., a group from the Catholic association of the 'Ladies of Divine Mercy' led me to two prisons in the region of Kibuye, my birthplace. They went to prepare the prisoners for the Jubilee of 2000. They said: 'If you have killed, you commit yourself to ask for forgiveness from the surviving victim, that way you can help him free himself of the burden/weight of vengeance, hatred and rancor. If you are a victim, you commit yourself to offer forgiveness to those who harmed you and thus you free them from the weight of their crime and the evil that is in them'.
This message had an unexpected effect for me and in me . . .
After that, one of the prisoners rose in tears, fell to his knees before me, loudly begging: 'Mercy'. I was petrified in recognizing a family friend who had grown up and shared everything with us.
He admitted having killed my father and told me the details of the death of my family. A feeling of pity and compassion invaded me: I picked him up, embraced him and told him in a tearful voice: 'You are and always will be my brother'.
Then I felt a huge weight lift away from me . . . I had found internal peace and I thanked the person I was holding in my arms.
To my great surprise, I heard him cry out: 'Justice can do its work and condemn me to death, now I am free!'
I also wanted to cry out to who wanted to hear: 'Come see what freed me, you too can find internal peace'.
From that moment on, my mission was to travel kilometers to bring mail to the prisoners asking for forgiveness from the survivors. Thus 500 letters were distributed; and I brought back mail with the answers of the survivors to the prisoners who had become my friends and my brothers . . . This allowed for meetings between the executioners and the victims . . . From this experience, I deduce that reconciliation is not so much wanting to bring together two persons or two groups in conflict. It is rather the re-establishment of each in love and allowing internal healing which leads to mutual liberation. And here is where the importance of the Church lies in our countries, since her mission is to offer the Word: a word that heals, liberates and reconciles.
Pope Francis echoes this last
sentence of Sr Genevieve in his message for World Mission Day 2016: Mercy finds its most noble and complete expression in the Incarnate Word.
Jesus reveals the face of the Father who is rich in mercy.
The man who killed Sister Genevieve's father experienced God's mercy through her as she did through him. Each was freed of the very different but related heavy burdens that they carried. And the man had no more fear of whatever punishment he might receive for his crime. Like the tax-collector in the gospel, he made no excuses. He simply asked for mercy.
The tax-collector in the
parable, Sr Genevieve Umawariya and the man who had killed her father
experienced the truth of the First Beatitude (Matthew 5:3) usually translated
into English as Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. For years I never quite understood what this meant until
I read the translation in the New English Bible:How blest
are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
May each of us, like the tax collector,
like Sister Genevieve, like the man she forgave and who accepted her
forgiveness, know our need of God and of his mercy.
Alleluia from Exsultate jubilate
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Sung by Patricia Janečková (1998 - 2023); organist: Petr Cech
Alleluia (Hallelujah) is a joyful Hebrew word that means 'Praise God'.
I end with a prayer from a Psalm, Psalm 27[26]: 'One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and contemplate his temple' (v. 4). Let us hope that the Lord will help us to contemplate his beauty, both in nature and in works of art, so that we, moved by the light that shines from his face, may be a light for our neighbour. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 31 August 2011)
Traditional Latin Mass
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-26-2025 if necessary).
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