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).
GospelMatthew 5:17-37(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
At that time:
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law
or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly,
I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will
pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of
the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be
called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter
the kingdom of heaven.
‘You have heard
that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders
will be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with
his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be
liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell
of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that
your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar
and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court,
lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and
you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you
have paid the last penny.
‘You have heard
that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that
everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed
adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it
out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than
that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to
sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your
members than that your whole body go into hell.
‘It was also
said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.”
But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of
sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.
‘Again you have
heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall
perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” But I say to you: Do not take an oath
at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it
is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do
not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let
what you say be simply “Yes” or “No”; anything more than this comes from evil.’
Shorter form of the Gospel
GospelMatthew 5:20-22a, 27-28, 33-34a, 37 (English Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
'For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
'You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.’" But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, "You fool!" will be liable to the hell of fire.
'You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery."But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
'Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn."But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
'Let what you say be simply "Yes" or "No"; anything more than this comes from evil.'
Responsorial Psalm (NAB Lectionary, Philippines, USA)
More than forty years ago I spent part of a summer working in a parish near New York City. One day when I was on duty I answered the phone. The caller gave me his name, which I wrote down. He told me he was living in an irregular situation, having been divorced from his wife. He was asking what the Church could do for him in that situation. I tried to tell him about programmes that the Church had in the diocese for Catholics who were divorced and re-married civilly or living with someone else. The latter situation wasn't nearly as common then as it is now.
But he was getting more and more angry, though I remained calm. He eventually hung up.
I was able to find his mailing address easily on the parish register and wrote him a letter letting him know that I had understood his situation and the reason for his anger and frustration. Again, I informed him of the ways the Church was trying to be with those who found themselves in situations such as his.
The following day I had another phone call from the man. He thanked me profusely for my letter, for having listened to him and for having heard what he was trying to say. He also acknowledged that he was in a situation that he himself had created.
Today's Gospel shows us a Jesus who is somewhat different from the 'domesticated' meek and mild Jesus that we often imagine or create. He speaks of hard things: the consequences of breaking God's law, the necessity of forgiving and accepting forgiveness, the fruits of anger - not the feeling, which is something spontaneous, but the decision to remain angry/to hate - and the effects of adultery. Some of the most difficult parts of today's gospel may be omitted and probably will be by many priests, for various reasons.
The media at the moment are giving lots of coverage to how the Church approaches those who are living with someone not their spouse. One might be led to think that the Church is being harsh for the sake of being harsh, imposing impossible difficulties on some of its members and failing to be 'merciful' and 'pastoral'.
In 2014 Fr Edward McNamara LC in zenit.org, a Catholic news agency, replied to a question about this very matter. He quotes from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Nos 1650 and 1651. The latter says, Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons: 'They should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts for justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God's grace.
I have friends in such situations and in visiting parishes in Britain to do mission appeals for the Columbans I met couples in irregular situations who were very much involved in their parishes, but who accepted the teaching of Jesus, expressed through his Church, and live with that painful reality which they know they have created for themselves, for whatever reasons.
In the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) we find this exchange at the end:
Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, sir.'And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.'
Jesus shows the woman the greatest respect. Part of that respect is not denying that she had sinned. She knew that she had. God alone knew what had been going on in her heart. Jesus restored her dignity to her, gave her hope: Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.
Jesus has taught us very clearly what marriage is: Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?' He answered, 'Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning "made them male and female," and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh"? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate' (Matthew 19:3-6).
This is a hard saying. Many utterly reject it, even the part about male and female. Others wrestle with the consequences of not accepting the teaching of Jesus when they find themselves in difficult situations.
Some think, wrongly, that the Church does not allow anyone who is divorced to receive Holy Communion. That is not quite accurate. Some are. An ongoing seriously sinful situation is created when two persons, at least one of whom is married in the eyes of the Church, choose to live together whether after a civil wedding or otherwise. The same, of course, applies to any two persons not married to each other who live together in a sexually intimate relationship. That is a choice people make. But if a divorced person lives a chaste life he or she isn't living in a sinful situation. The First Reading (Ecclesiasticus 15:15-20) makes it very clear that God gives us the freedom to choose - and that there are consequences to the choices we make:
If you desire, you will keep the commandments,
and to act faithfully is a matter of choice.
He has placed before you fire and water:
stretch out your hand for whichever you wish.
Life and death are in front of people,
and whichever one chooses will be given to him.
For great is the wisdom of the Lord;
he is mighty in power and sees everything;
his eyes are on those who fear him,
and he knows a person’s every deed.
He has not commanded anyone to be ungodly,
and he has not given anyone permission to sin.
The response in the responsorial psalm, which is an echo of the first reading, is Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord! (NAB). This is taken from Psalm 119 [118], as are the verses used in the responsorial psalm. this is the longest psalm, 176 verses in groups of eight in praise of God's law as something that makes us free.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus challenges us in every aspect of our lives. He challenges us to think with a new mindset. St Paul expresses it well: Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). That means taking to heart the words that Jesus repeated a number of times in the Sermon on the Mount: You have heard that it was said . . . But I say to you . . .
Angel of God
Angel of God
Composed by Blaž Strmole, sung by Voces8 & Ingenium
One of the first prayers I
learned in kindergarten was that to our Guardian Angel. I had never heard it
set to music before. This setting was uploaded to YouTube on 6 February. It is by Blaž Strmole, a young Slovenian composer and musician and founder of
Ingenium. I have often featured Voces8 and here the two ensembles sing together.
TEXT
Angel of God, my guardian dear,
to whom God’s love commits me here,
ever this night be at my side,
to light and guard, to rule and guide.
Amen.
Traditional Latin Mass
Quinquagesima Sunday
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 02-15-2026 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Gospel: Luke 18:31-43.
GospelMatthew 5:13-16(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You are
the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness
be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trampled under people’s feet.
‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a
hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket,
but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let
your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give
glory to your Father who is in heaven.’
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden (Mt 5:15; Gospel).
One of the darkest periods in the history of the world was 1939 to 1945 when much of the world was at war. At the heart of the darkness was Nazi Germany, where freedom had been almost entirely suppressed. But not quite. Between June 1942 and February 1943 a small group of students at the University of Munich with their philosophy professor Kurt Huber formedThe White Rose, a non-violent resistance group working against Hitler and the Nazi regime.
Among the leaders were Sophie Scholl and her older brother Hans who were later executed by guillotine within minutes of each other. Both were devout Lutherans. It is said that Sophie was influenced by the writings of St John Henry Cardinal Newman. Others in the group, such as Willi Graf, were devout Catholics. Not all were Christians but they shared a commitment to speaking the truth, even if it cost them their young lives. Most were in their early 20s.
One German Catholic who had a great impact on the group was Blessed Clemens August Graf von Galen, Bishop of Münster, Germany, who died just after being made a cardinal in 1946, a giant of a man physically (6 feet 7 inches /2.01 m tall), morally and spiritually. He was known as 'The Lion of Münster'. In a series of sermons in 1941 he denounced some of the policies of Hitler, including that of euthanasia. Hans and Sophie Scholl used one of these in a leaflet that The White Rose printed and distributed secretly.
It was while distributing leaflets - the movement produced a total of six, their only means of communication - at the University of Munich, that Hans and Sophie were caught and then executed.
The members of The White Rose are remembered and honoured today and a number of films have been made about them.
Hans and Sophie Scholl and their companions knew that their lives were in danger. But their Christian faith led them to be the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world. Through them at least some experienced the truth of the words of Isaiah 9:2 quoted in Matthew 4:16, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.
Salt is of use only when it is mixed with other things. The light of the sun doesn't exist for itself, for us to look at it. If we did we would be blinded. It is meant to light up everything around us, as we are meant by being salt and light to bring others to taste and see the joy of knowing Jesus the Risen Lord.
Not many are called, as some of the members of The White Rose were, to be the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world by laying down their lives. But those in The White Rose got their Christian faith, their moral values from others who for them were the salt of the earth . . . the light of the world. Some of them, including Sophie and Hans Scholl, had belonged to various Nazi movements for young people but saw through the false values being promoted and left.
In other words, they had been formed in solid values by others, older persons such as parents, some teachers perhaps. others trying to live honest and upright lives as followers of Jesus, 'missionary disciples', as Pope Francis calls us to be in Evangelii Gaudium No 120, without even being aware that they were such. The Pope reminds us there: In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples.
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If you google 'Sophie Scholl' or 'The White Rose' on YouTube you will find many videos about the movement. The FilmSophie Scholl - the Final Days (with English subtitles), directed by Marc Rothemund and starring Julia Jentsch as Sophie, was made in 2005. The trailer is below.
I find the opening scene incredibly poignant: two young German women living under a tyranny and singing along with American singer Billie Holiday with Teddy Wilson and his orchestra (here). The Nazis were very ambivalent towards jazz music and would have considered Billie Holiday and Teddy Wilson Untermenschen - subhumans - because they were African-Americans.
Praise our Lord
Music by William Byrd, sung by Voces8.
Praise our Lord all ye Gentiles, praise him all ye people,
Because his mercy is confirmed upon us, and his truth remaineth for ever. Amen. (Psalm 117 [116]).
Traditional Latin Mass
Sexagesima Sunday
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 02-08-2026 if necessary).
Epistle: 2 Corinthians 11:19-33; 12:1-9. : Gospel: Luke 8:4-15.
The Sower
Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]
A sower went out to sow his field (Luke 8:5; Gospel).
L'Arche, Cainta, near Manila. I have known both for many years.
In Ireland this Sunday is the Feast of St Brigid, Secondary Patroness
of the country. The Mass is that of St Brigid but the readings are those of the
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A.
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: (England & Wales, Scotland, India)
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.’
A study of
abortions in the United States from 1995-2011 found that 67% of
women who were told their baby would have Down syndrome decided to abort. This
number is much higher in other countries. BBC reports that 90% of women in
England whose babies are diagnosed with Down syndrome choose to abort .
. . We see that trend in other
countries as well. For instance, the Life Institute reports that in Iceland,
nearly 100% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted. And in Germany, more than
90% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted.
Research will show that these figures have become higher in recent years in Western Countries. Since 2018 it has been legal in the Republic of Ireland, where I am from, to abort children in the womb simply because they have Down Syndrome.
Pope Francis on abortion
This central paragraphinLaudato si', the encyclical of Pope Francis 'On care for our common home' is all but ignored by the vast majority who profess to be concerned about Planet Earth. I've highlighted the words of Pope Francis and of Pope Leo XIV below because of the importance and clarity.
Since everything is interrelated, concern for the protection of nature is also incompatible with the justification of abortion. How can we genuinely teach the importance of concern for other vulnerable beings, however troublesome or inconvenient they may be, if we fail to protect a human embryo, even when its presence is uncomfortable and creates difficulties? 'If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of the new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away' (Laudato Si’, No 120).
Pope Leo XIV on family, abortion and surrogacy
On 9 January in his address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See Pope Leo said: The vocation to love and to life, which manifests itself in an important
way in the exclusive and indissoluble union between a woman and a man, implies
a fundamental ethical imperative for enabling families to welcome and fully
care for unborn life. This is increasingly a priority, especially in
those countries that are experiencing a dramatic decline in birth rates.
Life, in fact, is a priceless gift that develops within a committed
relationship based on mutual self-giving and service.
In
light of this profound vision of life as a gift to be cherished, and of the
family as its responsible guardian, we categorically reject any practice that
denies or exploits the origin of life and its development. Among these is
abortion, which cuts short a growing life and refuses to welcome the gift of
life. In this regard, the Holy See expresses deep concern about projects
aimed at financing cross-border mobility for the purpose of accessing the
so-called 'right to safe abortion.' It also considers it deplorable that
public resources are allocated to suppress life, rather than being invested to support
mothers and families. The primary objective must remain the protection of
every unborn child and the effective and concrete support of every woman so
that she is able to welcome life.
Likewise, there is the practice of surrogacy. By transforming
gestation into a negotiable service, this violates the dignity both of the
child, who is reduced to a 'product,' and of the mother, exploiting her body
and the generative process, and distorting the original relational calling of
the family.
Postscript
A report on Thursday 29 January says that primary school enrolment in the current school year in the Republic of Ireland is down by 6,470 compared to last year whenenrolment fell by almost 4,000 and by just over 2,000 two years ago.
In 2018, when abortion on demand was legalised up to 12 weeks and, in special cases at a later stage of pregnancy, there were 6,666 abortions. In 2024 there were more than 10,000.
I haven't seen any commentaries yet on the clear connection between these two sets of statistics.
Rachel's Vineyardoffers healing retreats in many countries for persons affected by abortion.
Lala and Hachiko, each looking more content than the other!
Sadly, this beautiful dog choked to death from a chicken-bone.
Second Reading. 1Corinthians 1:26-31
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
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The two photos of Lala above show to me the truth of the words of St Paul. They show pure love. I have seen both Lala and Jordan draw love out of others, especially out of those living in L'Arche (Ang Arko): the 'core members' - the VIPs, if you wish - and the assistants.
Pope Benedict with young friends
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3; Gospel).
Traditional Latin Mass
Septuagesima Sunday
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 02-01-2026 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 10:1-5. Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16.
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