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).
GospelJohn 8:1-11 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the
morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat
down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had
been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him,
‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law,
Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ This they said to
test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent
down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him,
he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the
first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote on the
ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the
older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus
stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’
She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and
from now on sin no more.’
More than 40 years ago I did a number of brief supplies in parishes in one of the western states of the USA. In one parish, where I stayed only from Saturday till Monday morning, the Sunday gospel was one showing the mercy of Jesus. I forget which one, but know it wasn't today's. In my homily I emphasised God's love for us as sinners and how he wants to welcome us back when we turn away from him, partly or fully, by sinning.
On Monday morning I found an anonymous note that had been shoved under the front door of the priest's house. The style was that of a teenage girl. But the message was one for which I thanked God.
The writer said that for years she had hated God, thinking that God hated her. But whatever was in the gospel that Sunday and whatever I said in my homily had touched her deeply, making her aware of God's unconditional love for her precisely as a sinner, a love that led her to let go of the hatred she had been carrying.
Today's gospel shows so clearly the profound, merciful love that Jesus has for the sinner. We tend to focus on his mercy for the woman taken in adultery. She is indeed the main focal point. But we also see the merciful love of Jesus for those who had accused her. Jesus often spoke harshly to and about hypocrites. But on this occasion he brings the men who had wanted to execute the woman to reflect on their own sinfulness.Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And the men did respond:But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones.
Today's gospel reflects that of last Sunday, the parable of the Prodigal Son. The older son couldn't see beyond the great sins of his younger brother and failed even to see his father's love shown to himself each day. But the father gently points out,Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
The men in the gospel could see only the sin of the woman. And she had committed a grave sin. Adultery is never a 'peccadillo', a 'little sin'. It is among other things a grave sin of injustice and causes grief to the other spouse and to their children, as I know only too well from listening to individuals over more than 57 years as a priest. One person I knew, in her late teens attempted suicide because of her father's adultery. Fortunately, she discovered through the care they took to help her to recover that her parents truly loved her, despite the sin of her father.
We live in a time when it is considered a 'grave sin' to be 'judgmental'. The 'grave sin' is not against God but against current 'thinking' and 'feeling'. Yet certain persons are called by their very professions to be judgmental: judges, teachers, doctors, referees and umpires, for example.
And Jesus in this instance is judgmental in that sense. He first asks the woman, Has no one condemned you? He then goes on to say, Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.
Jesus judges the woman - but doesn't condemn her. He acknowledges her sin - but sends her away forgiven. By this he calls her to conversion as he does to each of us and to the whole Church through this gospel and through the season of Lent Jesus has given us through the Church a powerful way of experiencing what the woman in today's gospel did: the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession/Penance. We're not usually dragged to the confessional by people condemning us. But we acknowledge there our sins while acknowledging God's mercy and its power that is greater than the power of sin. Among other things, 'The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship.' Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation 'is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation.' Indeed the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true 'spiritual resurrection,' restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1468).
GospelLuke 15:1-3, 11- 32 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time:
The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. And the
Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats
with them.’
So he told them
this parable: ‘There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said
to his father, “Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.”
And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son
gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he
squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a
severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and
hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his
fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs
ate, and no one gave him anything.
‘But when he
came to himself, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than
enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father,
and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I
am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired
servants.’ ”
‘And he arose
and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son
said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no
longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants,
“Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand,
and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat
and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and
is found.” And they began to celebrate.
‘Now his older
son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music
and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things
meant. And he said to him, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed
the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.” But he was
angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he
answered his father, “Look, these many years I have served you, and I never
disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might
celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured
your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!” And he
said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It
was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is
alive; he was lost, and is found.” ’
About ten years ago while
still in the Philippines I met a woman from a Western country who told me that
the first lie her parents told her was that Santa Claus existed. Had I been
alert enough at the time I would have asked her, So Jesus lied to us
about the Prodigal Son, about the Good Samaritan? They never 'existed'.
As Pope Benedict XVI said in his
Angelus Talk on today's gospel on 14 March 20: This
passage of St Luke constitutes one of the peaks of spirituality and literature
of all time. Indeed, what would our culture, art and more generally our
civilization be without this revelation of a God the Father so full of mercy?
We would never have had Rembrandt's powerful and deeply moving
painting above.
Here is the full text of Pope Bendict's talk that day with
my emphases added. (I find it difficult to add emphases to
anything by Pope Benedict since I find his talks so deep, so clear and
so uplifting.)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
On this Fourth Sunday of Lent,
the Gospel of the father and the two sons better known as the Parable of the
‘Prodigal Son’ (Lk 15:11-32) is proclaimed. This passage of St Luke
constitutes one of the peaks of spirituality and literature of all time.
Indeed, what would our culture, art and more generally our civilization be
without this revelation of a God the Father so full of mercy? It never
fails to move us and every time we hear or read it, it can suggest to us ever
new meanings. Above all, this Gospel text has the power of speaking to
us of God, of enabling us to know his Face and, better still, his Heart. After
Jesus has told us of the merciful Father, things are no longer as they were
before.
We now know God; he is our Father who out of love created us to be free and
endowed us with a conscience, who suffers when we get lost and rejoices when we
return. For this reason, our relationship with him is built up through
events, just as it happens for every child with his parents: at first he
depends on them, then he asserts his autonomy; and, in the end if he develops
well he reaches a mature relationship based on gratitude and authentic love.
In these stages we can also identify moments
along man's journey in his relationship with God. There can be a phase that
resembles childhood: religion prompted by need, by dependence. As man grows up
and becomes emancipated, he wants to liberate himself from this submission and
become free and adult, able to organize himself and make his own decisions,
even thinking he can do without God. Precisely this stage is delicate and can
lead to atheism, yet even this frequently conceals the need to discover God's true
Face. Fortunately for us, God never fails in his faithfulness and
even if we distance ourselves and get lost he continues to follow us with his
love, forgiving our errors and speaking to our conscience from within in order
to call us back to him.
In this parable the
sons behave in opposite ways: the younger son
leaves home and sinks ever lower whereas the elder son stays at home, but he
too has an immature relationship with the Father. In fact, when his brother
comes back, the elder brother does not rejoice like the Father; on the contrary
he becomes angry and refuses to enter the house. The two sons represent
two immature ways of relating to God: rebellion and childish obedience.
Both these forms are surmounted through the experience of mercy. Only
by experiencing forgiveness, by recognizing one is loved with a freely given
love a love greater than our wretchedness but also than our own merit do we at
last enter into a truly filial and free relationship with God.
Dear friends, let us
meditate on this parable. Let us compare ourselves to the two sons and,
especially, contemplate the Heart of the Father. Let us throw ourselves into
his arms and be regenerated by his merciful love. May the Virgin
Mary, Mater Misericordiae, help us to do this.
Part of the genius of this parable of Jesus is that it doesn't have an ending, but an invitation. We don't know whether or not the older, dutiful son joined the celebration after his father spoke with him. He can only see at that moment the wasted life of his younger brother. Did he come to see the immense suffering this had brought to their father, suffering that Rembrandt captures so movingly?
The father doesn't argue with his older son. He is well aware of that son's sense of responsibility. The father also hears his angry and dismissive 'this son of yours'. He gently points out, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.
The father shows his love to each of his sons in their very different situations.
The invitation in the parable is not only to the older son. It is to me. Is the Father inviting me to let go of sins that have separated me from him, a separation that he doesn't want, by asking his pardon, especially in the sacrament of confession? Or is the Father inviting me to let go of my self-righteousness, my lack of humility, my lack of gratitude for daily blessings, even though I am conscientious in doing what is right?
The Father has reserved a place for each of us at the celebration.
Communion Antiphon sung in Korean and Latin
Schola Gregoriana Abba Caelum, Seoul, Korea
Antiphona ad commuionem Communion Antiphon Luke 15:32
Oportet te, fili, gaudere, quia frater tuus mortuus fuerat, et revixit; perierat, et inventus est.
You must rejoice, my son, for your brother was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found.
Traditional Latin Mass
Fourth Sunday in Lent
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-30-2025 if necessary).
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted (John 6:11; Gospel).
Then [the Lord] said, ‘Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground (Exodus 3:5; First Reading).
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, India, Scotland)
GospelLuke 13:1-9 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
There were some
present at that very time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate
had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, ‘Do you think that
these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they
suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all
likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed
them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived
in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise
perish.’
And he told
this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came
seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, “Look, for
three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none.
Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?” And he answered him, “Sir, let
it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure. Then if it
should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it
down.” ’
A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none (Luke 13:6; Gospel).
More than 40 years ago a friend brought me to
visit a widow in her 80s in Long Island, New York. I was spending a month
working in a nearby parish. I remember clearly that the woman, whom I never met
again, was feisty and we had lively discussions on a number of matters,
expressing different views but with good humour and respect.
But what I remember most clearly was that when I
put something on top of her Bible on the sideboard she very gently but very
clearly and firmly pointed out to me that that book was God's word and should
be treated with the greatest respect. My friend was saying the equivalent of For the place on which you are
standing is holy ground.
It was the same summer, 1982 if I remember
correctly, when a fire broke out in a synagogue in Boston. It held precious
copies of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (what Christians
call the Old Testament), including the Book of Exodus from which today's First
Reading is taken, and the rabbi wanted to save them. But the firefighters would
not allow him to go inside because it was too dangerous. However, the Catholic
chaplain of the fire department was there and insisted on going in. He was able
to save these precious copies of God's word.
Both of these incidents, one personal the other
public, reminded me of the respect we owe to copies of the Bible and to the
lectionaries we use at Mass for the reading of God's word. Above all, we are
called to respect and to take to heart the Word that these books contain. I felt
chastened by the quiet reprimand of the elderly woman in Long Island and a
great sense of pride and gratitude for what my brother priest in Boston had
done. He risked his life to save precious copies of God's word.
In today's First Reading God reveals to Moses Who
He is: God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this
to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also
said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: 'The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.’ This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be
remembered throughout all generations."
God also shows himself to be a God who hears and
loves his people: Then the Lord said, “I have surely
seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry
because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I
have come down to deliver them . . .
The Responsorial Psalm reveals a God who
crowns you with love and compassion (Jerusalem Bible). The New English Bible, which is not
used in any of our lectionaries, translates that line beautifully this way:
God surrounds me with constant love, with tender affection.
We see the compassion of God in the parable of the fig tree that Jesus tells in today's gospel. The owner wants to cut it down as it hasn't given fruit for three years. But the vine-dresser intervenes: ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure.Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
This is an open-ended parable that invites us, with God's grace, to help bring about a life-giving conclusion to the story. Jesus told this story just after saying, No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Jesus is not a cuddly teddy bear but One preparing to die for us on the Cross. He is the Word of God who became Man to reveal God's love for us to the greatest extent possible.
Lent is a time of repentance, a time of fasting, a time to go to confession, a time for priests to make it possible for the people they serve to do that. We priests are like the vine dresser in the parable, pleading with God on behalf of the people we serve, as Moses did. One of his greatest traits of was how often he prayed for his people while at the same time expressing his frustration with them for not following God's law.
With the free will that God has given us comes responsibility: No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
This hard saying of Jesus is also an expression of the word of God from the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us.
Communion Antiphon Cf Ps 83 [84]:4-5
The sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for her young: by your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.
Blessed are they who dwell in your house, for ever singing your praise.
Traditional Latin Mass
Third Sunday in Lent
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-23-2025 if necessary).
GospelLuke 9:28-36 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus took with him Peter and John and James
and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of
his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white. And behold, two
men were talking with him, Moses and Elijah, who appeared in glory and spoke of
his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and
those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake
they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. And as the men were
parting from him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is good that we are here.
Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for
Elijah’ — not knowing what he said. As he was saying these things, a cloud
came and overshadowed them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. And
a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen
to him!’ And when the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept
silent and told no one in those days anything of what they had seen.
The line in today's Gospel, as [Jesus] was praying, the appearance of his face was altered reminded me of an incident late in 1988 or early in 1989 in the Philippines involving two Columban priests in their late 80s, Fr Edward Allen and Fr Aedan McGrath. They were both born in Dublin in 1906, Father Aedan early in the year and Father Eddie, as he was known to us, later in the year. Father Aedan was ordained in December 1929 and Father Eddie twelve months later. Each had two brother who were priests. Father Aedan's were both Columbans. One of Father Eddie's was a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, the other a Vincentian. Another, a Discalced Carmelite, died not long before he was to be ordained priest. Both these two great friends were small in stature and both, in different ways, were what we Irish call 'mighty men'.
Father Aedan had spent most of the early years of his priesthood in China where the Cofounder of the Columbans, Bishop Edward Galvin, asked him to get involved with the Legion of Mary which had been introduced there by another Columban from Dublin, Fr Joseph Hogan, ordained in 1925. Archbishop (Later Cardinal) Antonio Riberi, then the Apostolic Nuncio to China, asked Father Aedan in the late 194os to spread the Legion of Mary throughout the country. The Chinese Communist government put him in prison in 1951 and he spent nearly three years there, mostly in solitary confinement in a tiny cell. I remember his homecoming to Ireland in 1953 when the President, the Prime Minister and thousands of people were at Dublin Airport to greet him. He once told me that when he saw the crowds from the plane he said to himself, There must be somebody important on board. He had no idea that he wasthe somebody important. He became a household name in Ireland and was one of God's signposts pointing me towards being a Columban priest..
Father Aedan spent the rest of his life working for the Legion of Mary, in his latter years based in Manila but travelling to most of the countries in the Pacific Rim and the Pacific island nations. He died suddenly on Christmas Day 2000 at a family gathering. I've written about his funeral in A Heavenly Farewell. (Video form of the article here).
Fr Aedan McGrath with Pope St John Paul
I am all yours, my Queen, my Mother, and all that I have is yours.
Totus Tuus
The late Fr Niall O'Brien, who was imprisoned in the Philippines in the 1980s on a trumped-up charge of murder, wrote an article about Father Eddie after the latter's death in 2001: He Taught Us How to Love.
Father Niall wrote: There is a little mystery about Father Eddie. He never learned to drive or at least he never drove here in the Philippines; he never built any churches or organized schools; he lived a quiet life in the convento (presbytery / rectory), going out when called. But he was never into initiating any evangelizing projects or social projects. Yet, he was the most popular and sought-after Columban priest in Negros. I don’t think the word 'popular' is the right word. He was not interested in popularity; maybe I should say 'loved', the most loved Columban priest.
Father Niall gives an example of this: As an old priest in Himamaylan he was blessing a vehicle for someone; after the blessing he said to the woman who had requested it, 'And how are you yourself?' She responded by sitting down with him and pouring out her problems for a long time. And she became one of his special friends, just like that.
We read in Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. This to me means, among other things, that it is possible to see something of God in another person, just as Peter, James and John caught a glimpse of the reality that Jesus was God when as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered.
Late in 1998 Father Eddie had a major stroke in the Columban house in Batang, Himamaylan City, where both of us were living at the time. This affected his speech and he also had to be fed through a tube. This was a great deprivation for him. Though small and wiry, he had the appetite of a teenager. However, his mind was still as clear as a bell.
He didn't know that Father Aedan was coming down from Manila to see him. I met Father Aedan at Bacolod Airport, about 90 minutes away by car. We arrived at nightfall and went straight to Father Eddie's room. When he saw his friend of more than 75 years his face lit up like the rising sun - and I caught a glimpse of the joy that only God can give. My experience was similar to that of Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor.
I had a similar experience some months later when the nurse on duty in our house called me around midnight and told me that Father Eddie was very ill. I went to his room immediately to give him the Last Rites, something I had done before. He said in a very clear voice, I'm dying. We recited the prayers for the dying, sang some hymns and said our farewells. Then we realised that he wasn't ready to go just yet and I went back to bed, though I expected he would go within a few days.
The following day and for a few days after there was a tangible joy around the house, again a joy that could only come from God. The nurses on duty were even joking with Father Eddie , You were only practising last night, Father! They had a profound love and respect for him and he was giving them strength in their faith through his physical weakness. He lived on until 3 March 2001 when he died peacefully in the Columban house. I was based in Britain by then.
The Transfiguration was a moment when Peter, James and John got a glimpse of true reality, a glimpse of who Jesus really was, a glimpse of heaven to which we are all called. It was a moment that strengthened them when Jesus was crucified, that strengthened Peter and James to be martyred for Christ and John to spend the rest of his long life bringing people to Jesus Christ. It was a moment when they saw Truth in all its beauty - in all His beauty. It was a moment of truth when they knew that the love of God is stronger than any evil force.
In those two experiences with Fr Eddie Allen I experienced the truth of the words of Jesus to the Apostles at the Last Supper: These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). Today's Gospel tells us: A voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!’ The Father's Chosen One reveals himself unexpectedly to us in so many ways.
Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear (Matthew 13:16).
Bishop Patricio Buzon SDB of Kabankalan blessing statue of St Columban in Batang in 2009
Traditional Latin Mass
Second Sunday in Lent
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-16-2025 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7. Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9.
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