'The last word belongs to God and to his Son, the conqueror of sin and death.' Sunday Reflections, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Steps (after Millet)

Vincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]

Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me. (Mark 30:37; today's gospel).

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

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Mark 9:30-37 (English Standard Version Anglicised: India)

Jesus and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Bishop Joseph Nathanel Perry on Men and Mass

Bishop Perry is an auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

From March 2020 people in most parts of the world were not able to take part in Mass in church on Sundays or weekdays while the Covid pandemic lasted. Parish priests were celebrating Mass in empty churches. Funeral Masses here in Ireland were open only to the immediate families of the deceased during the strict lockdown periods. 

Many became used to online Masses, which were a great comfort to people and still are for many who cannot attend Mass in person because of illness or age. But have we come to see this as a normal way of participating in the Holy Sacrifice?

Families were communicating by Zoom, Facebook and the like, and these were truly a blessing in the situation we were going through. But this is not the same as meeting in person. (I recently heard of a priest who quipped that in the days of lockdown it was all 'gloom and Zoom'!)

In the video above Bishop Perry is talking about Sunday Mass in the context of the family. A number of times he says husbands and fathers or husband and father emphasising that in God's plan a man is meant to be a husband before he becomes a father. The same holds for a woman. She is meant to be a wife before she becomes a mother. Marriage is the primary vocation of a couple. They are first called by God to be spouses. As spouses they are then, in most cases, called to be parents. The Church honours St Joseph above all as the Husband of Mary. It was as such that in a very real sense he fulfilled the role of being a father to Jesus, Son of God and Son of Mary.

Bishop Perry speaks of the importance of the husband/father leading the family by taking part in Sunday Mass. Though I have memories of my mother taking me to Mass when I was a young child, my abiding memories are of my father taking me to Sunday Mass - my mother would be taking care of my baby brother and went to a later Mass - and seeing him attend Mass every weekday morning before preparing my mother's breakfast and then going off to work.

Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe celebrates First Mass in freed Qaraqosh, Iraq, 30 October 2016

Archbishop Moshe is now the Archbishop Emeritus of  the Syrian Catholic Archeparchy of Mosul.

We want to be Christ's witnesses here. Words of Archbishop Youhanna Boutros Moshe of Mosul. He belongs to the Syrian Catholic Church, one of the Eastern churches in full communion with Rome.

Mass had been celebrated in Qaraqosh without break since the early days of Christianity until ISIS drove out its Christians - the majority in the town - in 2014. ISIS gave Christians three options: pay a tax, convert to Islam or be executed. 

When churches were closed because of the pandemic none of us were faced with those choices.

Pope Francis visited Qaraqosh on 7 March 2021. Here is part of his address to the people there in the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

Our gathering here today shows that terrorism and death never have the last word. The last word belongs to God and to his Son, the conqueror of sin and death. Even amid the ravages of terrorism and war, we can see, with the eyes of faith, the triumph of life over death. You have before you the example of your fathers and mothers in faith, who worshipped and praised God in this place. They persevered with unwavering hope along their earthly journey, trusting in God who never disappoints and who constantly sustains us by his grace.

Now that we have returned to normality, maybe we can reflect on what it means to us to take part in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, particularly in Sunday Mass, whether we attend it on Saturday evening or on Sunday itself. We have before us the example of our fathers and mothers in faith. In the words of Bishop Perry, Sunday is the day when husbands and fathers can lead their families to the Lord.

Visit of Pope Francis to Iraq, 5-8 March 2021

Traditional Latin Mass 

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 09-22-2022 if necessary).

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:4-8.  Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8.

Christ Healing the Paralytic

Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini [Web Gallery of Art]

'But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins'—he then said to the paralytic—'Rise, take up your bed and go home' (Matthew 9:6; Gospel).