'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.' Sunday Reflections, 5th Sunday of Lent, Year B

 

Sheaves of Wheat

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit (John 12:24).

In Ireland the Solemnity of St Patrick is celebrated this Sunday, with everything from the Mass for that feast including the Gloria. However, the readings are those of the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B.

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel John 12:20-33 (English Standard Version Anglicised, India)

Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.

“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Christ in Agony on the Cross

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself (John 12:32; Gospel).

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I am using here what I posted in 2012 on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Year B, with some modifications.

When Fr Patrick Sheehy died suddenly at the age of 80 in the Columban retirement home in Ireland eight days before Christmas 1999 people began to notice that certain things weren’t being done anymore, simple things such as newspapers and letters being brought to men who weren’t very mobile.

Father Pat, from Union Hall, in west Cork, one of the most beautiful parts of Ireland, if not the world, was ordained in 1944 and went to China in 1946. He was expelled from there in 1951 and moved to Japan, where he was to spend the next 38 years, apart from a two-year break for health reasons. When he retired to Ireland ‘he quietly kept busy at many corporal works of mercy until his sudden death, as Those Who Journeyed With Us, the Columban book of brief obituaries, puts it.

 

When I read in today’s Gospel, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself, I thought of Father Pat. He didn’t do anything to draw attention to himself. But in his death he drew the attention of those around him to the simple ways in which the Lord had been present through him in his thoughtful acts.

The Venerable Matt Talbot (2 May 1856 - 7 June 1925)

This is the only known photo of Matt Talbot, taken near the end of his life.

I thought of the Venerable Matt Talbot, - ‘The Workers’ Saint’ - whose sudden death in Granby Lane, behind the Dominican church in Dublin, where he was on his way to Mass on Trinity Sunday, 7 June 1925, led to the discovery of the extraordinarily ascetical life he had led for 41 years after giving up the alcohol to which he had been addicted. A penitential chain was found on his body. All the evidence later discovered pointed to the fact that this was something he wore only occasionally and with the permission of his spiritual director. But without that chain nobody would have known anything about this extraordinary man, with little formal education, living a profound life of penance and prayer while working as a labourer on the docks of Dublin and sharing the little money he had with those poorer than himself.

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Again, Matt Talbot never sought any attention for himself. As a poor, working man, he would have got little attention anyway. But in his death he brought many closer to the Jesus he loved, especially alcoholics like himself. He had to decide each day to live soberly. He had to decide each day to pray, to attend Mass, to fast, to give himself to his work, to give away what he earned.

Father Pat Sheehy had to give up his dream of spending all his life in China when, with so many others, he was expelled. He had to let go of Japan for two years in the mid-1950s because of poor health, though the Lord brought him back there. When retired he had to decide each day to do each act of kindness that he did quietly, many of which weren’t clearly seen until he died.

Each decision we make to die to self in some way is a living out of the words of Jesus today: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Very often it is others who reap this rich harvest.

Matt Talbot Servant of God Part 1

In 1985 the late Fr Desmond Forristal, a priest of the Archdiocese of Dublin, wrote the script for a video showing the life of Matt Talbot. It used the device of having Matt himself, played by Seamus Forde, walking through the streets of Dublin 60 years after his death and telling his own story. For me this device works marvellously well. The two videos above and below form a unit and last less than 30 minutes.

When I was growing up in Dublin in the 1940s and 1950s Matt Talbot was a household name. I don't think it is now. In Matt's time alcoholism was a scourge. It still is for many. But today the use of illegal drugs is an even greater scourge, accompanied by violent crime that is an international business causing countless deaths.

Matt Talbot Servant of God Part 2

Prayer for the Canonisation of Matt Talbot 

Lord, in your servant, Matt Talbot you have given us a wonderful example of triumph over addiction, of devotion to duty, and of lifelong reverence for the Most Holy Sacrament. 

May his life of prayer and penance give us courage to take up our crosses and follow in the footsteps of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

Father, if it be your will that your beloved servant should be glorified by your Church, make known by your heavenly favours the power he enjoys in your sight. 

We ask this through the same Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Traditional Latin Mass

Passion Sunday

The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-17-2024 if necessary).

Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-15. Gospel: John 8:46-59. 

Young Jew as Christ

Rembrandt [Web Gallery of Art]

Whoever is from God hears the words of God (John 8:47; Gospel).