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).
After the crowd had eaten and
were satisfied: Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go
before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had
dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When
evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from
the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth
watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ and
they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take
heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you,
command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of
the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind,
he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus
immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of
little faith, why did you doubt?’ And when they got into the boat, the wind
ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of
God.’
I first learned about Father Willie during my kindergarten in Stanhope Street, Dublin (1947-51). Sr Margaret Stanislaus, a member of the Irish Sisters of Charity, now known as the Religious Sisters of Charity, was the principal of the boys' kindergarten. She prepared our class for our First Holy Communion on 20 May 1950 and was for ever talking about two holy priests. One was Fr Damian of Molokai, a Belgian, who chose to liver with lepers on that Hawaiian island and who died among them in 1889 aged 49, a leper himself. Pope Benedict XVI canonised him in 2009.
The other priest Sister Stanislaus spoke about very often was Fr Willie Doyle SJ, killed in Belgium on 16 August 1917 while trying to save two wounded soldiers who happened to be Protestants from what is now Northern Ireland in the Third Battle of Ypres/Ieper, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele. His story became very widely known through the biography written by Alfred O’Rahilly and published in 1922.
Bishop Thomas Deenihan of Meath lauuched the process for the canonisation of Fr Willie Doyle on 22 November 2022
. Father Willie did his Jesuit novitiate in Tullabeg, which is in the Diocese of Meath. There is a wealth of information about him and of his writings on Father Willie Doyle Association.
The following is Father Willie's reflection on this Sunday's Gospel.
About the fourth watch of the night he cometh to them
Christ did not show himself until the fourth watch of the night. How often is this same history repeated in our own case! There is no encouragement, no comfort. We are wearied waiting. There is no sign of approaching help. Why not give up! Surely we never bargained for this. We never believed things would come to such a pass! Oh, the anguish of these moments, when in the midst of struggle, depression and loneliness Christ withholds his sensible presence.
Christ delays to come. But he is watching all the time; he would only test us. Let him not be disappointed. This is a moment of tremendous grace. If we are stout of heart and bear our trial manfully, we will emerge from the crucible with well-nigh herculean strength. These are moments that disentangle us from many of the trappings that weaken and weigh us down. After they have passed, invariably we find our vision clearer and our appreciation of the value of things truer.
Walking upon the sea
Thus does he come to us also walking upon the sea with these words upon his lips. 'Have a good heart, fear not. It is I.' And we whisper to ourselves, 'It is the Lord.' Yes, then we understand. Then everything goes easy and we wonder that we should ever have doubted. Then we are ashamed of our wavering. What a beautiful tribute to Christ our trust would have been. So we determine next time we will understand. We decide that when next the tide of our life runs high, when our heart-boat is lashed by a rugged sea, we will understand that Christ is near, watching us and we fight fearlessly and cheerfully. Thus, little by little, troubles and crosses will serve to clamp the trust in Christ that will steady our hearts and like St Peter will will cry out: 'Lord if it be thou, bid me come to thee across the waters.' O the joy of our hearts as the master says 'Come.' And we go. We really walk upon the sea. We do wonders until some tremendous sorrow-wave dashes up between us and Christ, and for a moment we lose heart and cry out 'Lord save me'.
Immediately he spoke with them
Immediately - that word is full of love - stretching forth his hand he takes hold of me. And when He has come into my heart-boat the wind ceased. But it is only after Christ has been given full control of our heart-boat that the winds cease. This is the struggle of our life - to let Christ rule.
So long as he must come over the waters to us there will be many a lonely struggle. But when through great generosity on our part we have emptied our lives of everything likely to raise a tempest in the heart, then Christ will sit at the helm and the waves may toss, the winds may roll and blow about the boat. We are calm. We have no cause to fear. Christ sits at the helm and rules.
The reflection above was taken from pages 182-184 of To Raise the Fallen, compiled and edited by Patrick Kenny and published by Veritas. He also maintains Father Willie Doyle Associationthe official site for the canonisation cause of the Servant of God Fr Willie Doyle SJ and which has a wealth of information on Fr Doyle and many extracts from his writings, a new post each day.
Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Cor 15:8-9; Epistle).
At that time: When Jesus heard
of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a desolate place by
himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the
towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them
and healed their sick.
Now when it was evening, the
disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a desolate place, and the day is now
over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for
themselves.’ But Jesus said, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to
eat.’ They said to him, ‘We have only five loaves here and two fish.’ And he
said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the
grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and
said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and
the disciples gave them to the crowds.
And they all ate and were
satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Stamp issued in Chile for the beatification of Fr Alberto Hurtado SJ, 16 October 1994
The late Fr John Griffin, a Columban colleague from
New Zealand, who after many years in the Philippines went to work in
Chile, wrote an article for our Columban magazines about a great saint of our times, San Alberto Hurtado SJ (1901-1952), a native of that country.
One story in the article is a perfect expression of what happened in
today's gospel. But first a little background to it:
Overall, Fr Hurtado is best known and remembered
throughout Chile for his Hogar de Cristo (Christ’s Home) Foundation. The seed for
this was sown late one night when he was on his way home to San Ignacio. He met
a man who was in poor health, had eaten nothing all day and had nowhere to go.
This was the priest’s first encounter with such
poverty and it moved him greatly. He did what he could for the man and then
asked: ‘What are our Catholics doing for those who have no roof over their
heads?’ He began asking this question during his retreats and so was born the
idea of ‘Hogar de Cristo’. He formed a board of directors from people eager to
help – six men and 30 women. Land was available alongside the Jesuit parish of
Jesus the Worker and the first night-shelters were built and an appeal for
funds began. By 1945 there were five shelters that had been able to house
12,000 poor men. Now it was time to do something for the numerous ‘street kids’
who spent their nights under the many bridges over the Mapocho River which runs
for miles through Santiago. These youngsters needed educations as well as
shelter and land was donated for this purpose a few miles to the north of the
city near Colina railway station and a children’s home was built.
Today's gospel tells us: But Jesus said, 'They need not go away; you give them something to eat.'
Fr Griffin continues about San Alberto:
Providence was always on his side. At a meeting one night his board of directors was unwilling, for lack of funds, to approve a new project. In the midst of discussions there was an unexpected call for Fr Hurtado to attend to someone at his front door. He had a brief conversation with the caller who said she wanted to leave a gift to help the great work he was doing.
He gratefully put her envelope in his pocket, wished her a good evening and returned to his meeting. He looked at the contents of the envelope as he sat down. Then he tossed a cheque onto the table saying, ‘There you are, you of little faith!’ It was for one million pesos – worth about US$30,000 at that time.
The directors on the board of Hogar de Cristo were being prudent, as they were supposed to be and, in being so, following what Jesus teaches us elsewhere in the gospels. But Father Alberto was listening to what Jesus said to the Apostles today: They need not go away; you give them something to eat.
I'm sure that when Father Alberto threw the check on the table and said 'There you are, you of little faith' he did so with a smile that expressed both irony and gratitude and that the board members saw the irony and felt the same sense of gratitude.
Once again we find the presence of Jesus in the needs of others - and in one who joyfully lives the Gospel.
This is a meditation on the gift of self and cooperation given by San Alberto during a retreat. Some of the details here are found in St John’s Gospel.
Indecision,
faintheartedness is the great obstacle in the plan of
cooperation. We think: I’m not worth all that much, and
from this comes discouragement: It makes no difference whether I act or
fail to act. Our powers of action are so limited. Is my
unpretentious work worthwhile? Does my abstaining from this have any meaning?
If I fail to sacrifice myself nothing changes. No one needs me . . .
A mediocre vocation? How many vocations are lost. It is the
advice of the devil that is partly true. The difficulty must be
faced.
The solution
5,000 men along with women and children have
been hungry for three days… Food? They would need at least 200 denarii to
feed them and this is the approximate yearly salary of a labourer.
In the desert! Tell them to go! But
Andrew, more observant says: There are 5 loaves and 2 fish, but what are
these among so many! Here we have our same problem: the disproportion.
And the loaves. Made of barley, hard as
rocks (the Jews used wheat). And the fish. They were from
the lake, small, rather mushy in texture, carried by a young boy in a sack that
had lain on the ground for three days in the heat . . . not much of a solution.
Did the Lord despise this offering? No, and with
his blessing he fed all the hungry and had leftovers. Neither did he despise
the leftovers: 12 baskets of the surplus were gathered, fish heads and bones,
but even this he valued.
The young boy consented to give Christ his poor
offering, not realizing that he would feed the multitude. He
believed that he had lost his small possession but he found instead that there
was even a surplus and that he had cooperated for the good of the others.
And me . . . like those fish (less than those
loaves) bruised and perhaps decomposing but in the hands of Christ my action
may have a divine scope a divine reach.
Remember Ignatius, Augustine, Camillus de Lellis,
and Matt Talbot, base sinners whose lives were converted into spiritual
nourishment for millions who will continue to feed on their witness.
My actions and my desires can have a divine scope
and can change the face of the earth. I will not know it, the fish
did not know it either. I can do a great deal if I remain in Christ; I can
accomplish much if I cooperate with Christ . . .
A Hymn to Alberto Hurtado SJ
Written by Pablo Coloma for the beatification of Blessed Alberto on 16 October 1994, Sung by Pablo Coloma and Ximena Concha
Alberto, hoy resuena tu nombre
Se escucha tu palabra encendida
Tu rostro hoy recorre las calles
Tu huella marca un nuevo camino
Profeta que anunciaste el Reino
Supiste denunciar el dolor
Reíste con un canto a la vida
Mostraste un camino mejor.
Alberto, your name resounds today,
your enlightening word is heard,
your face is seen today on the streets,
your footprints mark a new path.
A prophet who proclaimed the Kingdom,
who knew about pain,
who laughed with a song to life,
who showed a better way.
Alberto contemplé tu figura
incendiando las calles de una oscura ciudad.
Y vi que mil rostros reían
y otros más comprendían que era el paso de Dios.
Alberto has tocado nuestra alma
y ya siento que enciende ese fuego de Dios.
Tu vida fue un regalo divino,
una historia que hizo de este Chile un hogar.
Alberto, I watched you
lighting up the streets of a dark city.
And I saw a thousand faces laughing
and others who understood that that was the way of God.
Alberto, you have touched our soul
and I feel that I am lit by the fire of God.
Your life was a divine gift,
a story that made this Chile a home.
Maestro que enseñaste a vivir
la vida como lo hizo Jesús,
mirando en los hombres que sufren
su cuerpo castigado en la cruz.
A teacher who taught how to live
as Jesus did,
looking at those who suffer,
his body punished on the cross.
Apóstol, compañero de pobres,
viviste en tu carne el dolor
de tantos que viván despreciados,
tus manos fueron pan y un hogar.
Apostle, companion of the poor,
you lived in your flesh the pain
of the many who are despised,
your hands were bread and a home.
Alberto contemplé tu figura
incendiando las calles de una oscura ciudad.
Y vi que mil rostros reían
y otros más comprendían que era el paso de Dios.
Alberto has tocado nuestra alma
y ya siento que enciende ese fuego de Dios.
Tu vida derramada en las calles
se alsa inmensa hasta el cielo en las manos de todos.
Alberto, I watched you
lighting up the streets of a dark city.
And I saw a thousand faces laughing and others who understood
that that was the way of God.
Alberto, you have touched our soul
and I feel that I am lit by the fire of God.
Your life poured out on the streets
is infinitely raised to heaven in the hands of all.
Just as St Teresa of Kolkata is known to everyone simply as 'Mother Teresa' and St Pius of Pietrelcina as 'Padre Pio', San Alberto Hurtado is known to Chileans still as 'Padré Hurtado'.
Traditional Latin Mass
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English ishere. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 08-02-2026 if necessary).
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!’ (Luke 18:13; Gospel)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it (Matthew 13: 45-46; Gospel).
In his Introduction to the Devout Life (1608) the mystic St Francis De Sales (1567-1622)
wrote: 'Both now and in the past it has been customary for women to hang pearls
from their ears; as Pliny observed, they gain pleasure from the sensation of
the swinging pearls touching them. But I know that God's friend, Isaac, sent
earrings to chaste Rebecca as a first token of his love. This leads me to think
that this jewel has a spiritual meaning, namely that the first part of the body
that a man wants, and which a woman must loyally protect, is the ear; no word
or sound should enter it other than the sweet sound of chaste words, which are
the oriental pearls of the gospel.' [Web
Gallery of Art]
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings(English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)
GospelMatthew 13:44-52 or 13:44-46 (English Standard Version)
At that time:
Jesus said to the crowd: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a
field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all
that he has and buys that field.
‘Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding
one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
[‘Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish
of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the
good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw
them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.
‘Have you
understood all these things?’ They said to him, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them,
‘Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like
a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is
old.’]
In July 2020 I took part in
Mass, as a concelebrating priest, outside of where I live for the first time
since Covid-19 restrictions were introduced in Ireland in early March of that
year. It was in the monastery of the Poor Clares in Dublin. The Mass was for a
friend and former parishioner of mine in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental,
Philippines, Mrs Sophronia Gelera, who had died in June at the age of 86.Nang Ponying, as she was known, had lost her husband
Fortunato, whom I never knew, in an accident when Gina, the youngest of their
six children, was less than a year old. (Nang is an honorific used by Visayan-speakers when
addressing or referring to a woman or girl older than themselves, including
sisters).
Jimmy, the second in the family and the eldest of
three brothers, was killed in a motorcycle accident on 26 January 1980, a
Saturday, a few weeks after his 24th birthday. Just a few hours after giving
him Holy Communion at Mass that morning I was called to the hospital to give
him the Last Rites. That was when I became really close to the Gelera family.
Jimmy's funeral Mass was the most difficult I have ever celebrated. But I
remember at the very end of the funeral in the cemetery Nang Ponying said a prayer in which she handed back her
eldest son to God.
Gina's graduation from college, October 1983
Immaculate Conception College, Ozamiz City.
With her sister Grace, her mother and me.
None of Nang Ponying's children were in the Philippines when she died, though they were able to 'meet' her before she died through Zoom family gatherings. And because of quarantine restrictions none of the five were able to travel home for her funeral.
Gina works with the Poor Clares and at the end of the Mass she gave a beautiful testimony to her mother's faith. It wasn't the shallow 'canonisation' that has become all too common at funeral Masses, but something that showed me the depth of Nang Ponying's faith.
Gina told of how on one day not long after Jimmy's death her mother had run out of cash and the only food in the house was a bunch of bananas (of the kind you cook - something Westerners are not familiar with). At the time only two of the family were still living with their mother, Gina and Grace, both in their teens. Nang Ponying decided that they would have half the bananas for breakfast and the other half for lunch. As it drew near six in the evening Gina asked her mother what they would do, since they had no food, Nang Ponying said, 'We will pray the Rosary as we always do at this time'.
As they finished there was a knock on the door. It was a neighbour who knew nothing of their situation bringing them newly-harvested rice as a gift.
After Mass on Nang Ponying's 80th Birthday
11 March 2014, with family and priests
Gina mentioned a number of times her mother's great trust in God's providence. Her words reminded me of a wonderful book called Self Abandonment to God's Providence by Fr Jean-Pierre de Caussade SJ, which I have read five or six times. It was edited and put together more than a century after Fr de Caussade's death in 1751.
Nang Ponying had developed a form of dementia in her latter years but still got up each morning at 5 to attend the parish Mass at 6. And Gina wrote on Facebook that her mother had once said to her, I will not stop going to Holy Mass everyday even if my feet and slippers are worn out.
Gina spoke of her mother's great trust in the presence
of Jesus the Risen Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. She would go to the parish
church and pour out her heart to the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament
whenever she felt burdened. She truly believed the words of Jesus: Come to me, all who labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take
my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)..”
Nang Ponying was not a Scripture scholar or a theologian. But she knew that God had given her two precious 'pearls' as gifts. One was the gift of her Christian faith through baptism. The other was the gift of Jesus the Risen Lord in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Blessed Sacrament. And by her example she continues to share these 'pearls' from God with her family and with many others, including myself. Solas na bhFlaithease uirthi - The Light of Heaven upon her.
The last photo of Gina with her mother
An Old Irish Prayer for the Dead
Abraimís cúig Phaidir do na mairbh, le hanam ár n-aithreacha, agus ár máithreacha, ár ndeartháireacha agus ár ndeirfiúracha, ár gcomhluadar agus ár ngaolta agus ár ndaoine muinteartha go léir a d’fhág an saol seo. Gach
n-aon nach bhfuil duine aige, guímid leis: go dtuga Dia cuidiú na guí seo dó agus dea-bhás dúinn féin an lá déanach. Amen.
Let us say the Lord’s Prayer five times for the dead, for the souls of our father and our mothers, our brothers and sisters, our family and our relations and all the members of our community who have left this life. For those who have no one, we pray: may God help them with this prayer and give us a good death on the last day.
And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’; but you have made it a den of robbers" (Luke 19:45-46; Gospel).
