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).
GospelLuke 2:16-21 (English Standard Version, Anglicised)
At
that time: the shepherds went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the
baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the
saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it
wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all
these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as
it had been told them.
And at
the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the
name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The alternative Entrance Antiphon of the Mass for this feast reads: Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and he will be called Wondrous God, Prince of peace, Father of future ages: and his reign will be without end.
Jacopo Bassano's painting Adoration of the Shepherds captures beautifully the opening words of the Entrance Antiphon: Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us. Light is breaking through from the heavens at the top but the much greater light at the bottom is radiating from the Child in the manger, lighting up the face of Mary and, behind her, that of St Joseph, and those of the shepherds in awe of what they are seeing: glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Even the cow and of the shepherds' dogs in the bottom right-hand corner seem to have some sense of the wonder of the occasion.
Caravaggio's light in his painting of the same scene below is much more subdued but so deeply touching.
The First Reading (Numbers 6:22-27) emphasises this: The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 66 [67]) in turn reinforces the theme of the light of love shining from the face of God: God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us.
The Preface of the Mass, addressed to the Father, draws our attention once again to the theme of the Light that has come into the world: For by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit she conceived your Only Begotten Son, and without losing the glory of virginity, brought forth into the world the eternal Light, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Communion Antiphon reminds us that the Light that has come into the world in Bethlehem never goes out: Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and for ever (Hebrews 13:8).
The Prologue to St John's Gospel, read at the Mass During the Day on Christmas Day and at the Mass on the last day of the year, speaks of the same Light: In him was life, and the life was the light of men.The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world (John 1:4-9). This gospel used to be read at the end of every Mass, known as 'The Last Gospel'. It still is when the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated.
We need to focus on the reality that the Word of God, the Light of life, Jesus Christ, God-made-Man, is living among us and has conquered the darkness through his death and resurrection. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Six years ago on this very day, The Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God, here in the Republic of Ireland abortion on demand up to twelve weeks came into law. This, for me, was the darkest day in our whole history. 34,009 children were legally aborted up the end of 2023, the vast majority in the early stages of pregnancy. Yet the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. And the Light is the Divine Infant, Jesus, God who became Man
Despite the fact that in the whole Christmas Season, which ends this New Year on Sunday 12 January, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are celebrating the Light coming into the world, there are hints of the darkness that still lingers. We have the Feast of the Holy Innocents on 28 December where the infant boys in Bethlehem were slaughtered. This is echoed in the gospel for the Epiphany. We saw the pain of Mary and Joseph in last Sunday's gospel when they could not find the 12-year-old Jesus after their pilgrimage to the Temple.
Today's feast celebrates the mission that God chose for Mary from all eternity: to bring his Son Jesus to us and to bring us to Jesus. In the paintings by Bassano, Caravaggio and Rembrandt we see Mary presenting Jesus to the shepherds, presenting Jesus to all of us. She is not drawing attention to herself. And Bassano and Rembrandt show Jesus so clearly to be The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world(John 1:9). That Light, in God's plan, came into the world through Mary and she is, as it were, the lighthouse that guides us to that Light, Son of God and her Son.
And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb (Luke 2:21; Gospel).
GospelMark 6:30-34(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
The apostles
returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.And he said to them, “Come
away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure
even to eat.And they went away in the boat to a desolate place
by themselves.Now many saw them going and recognized them, and
they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.When he went ashore he saw a
great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep
without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
This is Pope Benedict's Angelus talk on Sunday 22 July 2012. He refers to St Mary Magdalene, whose feast is celebrated on 22 July, though not observed liturgically that year because it fell on Sunday. I have highlighted parts of the Pope's talk.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Word of God this Sunday presents us once again with a fundamental, ever fascinating theme of the Bible; it reminds us that God is the Shepherd of humanity. This means that God wants life for us, he wants to guide us to good pastures where we can be nourished and rest. He does not want us to be lost and to perish, but to reach the destination of our journey which is the fullness of life itself. This is what every father and mother desires for their children: their good, their happiness and their fulfilment.
In today’s Gospel Jesus presents himself as the Shepherd of the lost sheep of the House of Israel. He beholds the people, so to speak, with a 'pastoral' gaze. For example, this Sunday’s Gospel says: As he disembarked, 'he saw a great throng, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things' (Mk 6:34). Jesus embodies God the Shepherd with his manner of preaching and his works, caring for the sick and sinners, for those who are 'lost' (cf. Lk 19:10), in order to bring them back to safety through the Father’s mercy.
Among the 'lost sheep' that Jesus rescued there was also a woman called Mary, a native of the village of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, who for this reason was known as 'Magdalene'. It is her liturgical Memorial in the Church Calendar of today. [Pope Francis has raised it to the rank of Feast.] Luke the Evangelist says that Jesus cast out seven demons from her (cf. Lk 8:2), that is, he saved her from total enslavement to the Evil One. In what does this profound healing which God works through Jesus consist? It consists in true, complete peace, brought about by the inner reconciliation of the person, as well as in every other relationship: with God, with other people and with the world. Indeed, the Evil One always seeks to spoil God’s work, sowing division in the human heart, between body and soul, between the individual and God, in interpersonal, social and international relations, as well as between human beings and creation. The Evil One sows discord; God creates peace. Indeed, as St Paul says, Christ is our peace, he who made us both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh (cf. Eph 2:14).
In order to carry out this work of radical reconciliation Jesus the Good Shepherd had to become a Lamb, 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world' (Jn 1:29). Only in this way could he keep the marvellous promise of the Psalm: 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me / all the days of my life; / and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord / for ever' (Ps 23[22]:6).
Dear friends, these words make our heart beat fast for they express our deepest desire, they say what we are made for: life, eternal life! These are the words of those who, like Mary Magdalene, have experienced God in their life and know his peace. They are words truer than ever on the lips of the Virgin Mary, who already lives for eternity in the pastures of Heaven where the Shepherd-Lamb led her. Mary, Mother of Christ our peace, pray for us!
Responsorial Psalm
‘Sé an Tiarna m’Aoire (The Lord is My Shepherd)
Music by Fintan Carroll
Sung by the University of Notre Dame Choir
Responsorial PsalmPs 22[23]. Response The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
1. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose. Near restful waters he leads me, to revive my drooping spirit. Response
2. He guides me along the right path; he is true to his name. If I should walk in the valley of darkness no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort. Response
3. You have prepared a banquet for me in the sight of my foes. My head you have anointed with oil; my cup is overflowing. Response
4. Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and ever. Response
Traditional Latin Mass
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-21-2022 if necessary).
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).
GospelLuke 2:16-21 (English Standard Version
Anglicised: India)
The Shepherds went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And
when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning
this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary
treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them.
And at the end of eight
days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the
angel before he was conceived in the womb.
The above is a setting of the alternative Entrance Antiphon in Latin for today's Mass, also used for the Mass at Dawn on Christmas Day.
Antiphona ad introitum Entrance Antiphon
Cf Isaiah 9:1,5; Luke 1:33
Lux fulgebit hodie super nos, quia natus est nobis Dominus; et vocabitur admirabilis, Deus, Princeps pacis, Pater futuri saeculi: cuius regni non erit finis.
Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us; and he will be called wondrous God, Prince of peace, Father of future ages: and his reign will be without end.
Jacopo Bassano's painting Adoration of the Shepherds captures beautifully the opening words of the Entrance Antiphon: Today a light will shine upon us, for the Lord is born for us. Light is breaking through from the heavens at the top but the much greater light at the bottom is radiating from the Child in the manger, lighting up the face of Mary and, behind her, that of St Joseph, and those of the shepherds in awe of what they are seeing: glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. Even the donkey and one of the shepherds' dogs in the bottom right-hand corner seem to have some sense of the wonder of the occasion.
Caravaggio's light in his painting of the same scene below is much more subdued but so deeply touching.
The First Reading (Numbers 6:22-27) emphasises this: The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be
gracious to you;the Lord lift up his countenance upon
you and give you peace.
The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 66 [67]) in turn reinforces the theme of the light of love shining from the face of God: God, be gracious and bless us and let your face shed its light upon us.
The Preface of the Mass, addressed to the Father, draws our attention once again to the theme of the Light that has come into the world: For by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit she conceived your Only Begotten Son, and without losing the glory of virginity, brought forth into the world the eternal Light, Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Communion Antiphon reminds us that the Light that has come into the world in Bethlehem never goes out: Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and for ever (Hebrews 13:8).
The Prologue to St John's Gospel, read at the Mass During the Day on Christmas Day and at the Mass on the last day of the year, speaks of the same Light: In him was life, and the
life was the light of men.The light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness has not overcome it. There was a
man sent from God, whose name was John.He came as a witness, to bear witness about the
light, that all might believe through him.He was not the light, but came to bear
witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world (John 1:4-9). This gospel used to be read at the end of every Mass, known as 'The Last Gospel'. It still is when the Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated.
We need to focus on the reality that the Word of God, the Light of life, Jesus Christ, God-made-Man, is living among us and has conquered the darkness through his death and resurrection. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Three years ago on this very day, The Solemnity of Mary, The Mother of God, here in the Republic of Ireland abortion on demand up to twelve weeks came into law. This, for me, was the day of greatest darkness in our whole history. Yet the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Despite the fact that in the whole Christmas Season, which ends this New Year on Sunday 9 January, the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are celebrating the Light coming into the world, there are hints of the darkness that still lingers. We have the Feast of the Holy Innocents on 28 December where the infant boys in Bethlehem were slaughtered. This is echoed in the gospel for the Epiphany. We saw the pain of Mary and Joseph in last Sunday's gospel when they could not find the 12-year-old Jesus after their pilgrimage to the Temple.
The 16th-century (or earlier) English song, the Coventry Carol, according to the Wikipedia entry, takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children. And the martyrdom of the young boys in Bethlehem continues to inspire such ministries as Rachel's Vineyard (in Ireland here), which reaches out to women and men [who] have been wounded by abortion. On Rachel's Vineyard retreat weekends participants truly experience the healing truth that the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
The Coventry Carol
Sung by Anúna, arranged by Michael McGlynn
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
I do not know if any readers looked at this addition to Sunday Reflections before. But I am resuming it out of a sense of solidarity with priest-friends and others who are deeply hurt, discouraged and disillusioned by recent restrictive and petty legislation in the Church about the celebration of the Mass that nourished my faith as I was growing up and during my seminary years and the faith of countless generations of our ancestors and the many who died as martyrs for celebrating it or enabling it to be celebrated.
Octave-Day of the Nativity
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 01-01-2022 if necessary).
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached
Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to
them, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey
tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says
anything to you, just say this, “The Lord needs them.” And he will send them
immediately.’This took place to fulfil what had been spoken
through the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a
donkey.’
The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed
them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them,
and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the
road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The
crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
‘Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!’
When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in
turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’ The crowds were saying, ‘This is the
prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.’
Responsorial Psalm (New American Bible Lectionary)
This is used in Years A, B and C.
A few nights ago on the news on TV here in
Ireland a woman spoke about the death of her 78-year-old father fromCovid-19. Emily and her mother were present when he died but could not go near him to say goodbye. Her mother wanted to lie beside her dying husband but could not. (What a beautiful image of marriage!) And when he died his daughter could not hug her mother.
Death notices in Ireland online and in newspapers, such as that for Columban Fr Seamus O'Connor who died last Sunday, carry statements like this: Respecting
current national health guidelines, Fr Seamus's funeral will be private.
Your personal prayers for Fr Seamus are deeply appreciated. Those who would
have liked to have attended the funeral but cannot due to current restrictions,
please feel free to leave a message for the family in the Condolences section
below.
Father Seamus died from natural causes at the age of 94, the oldest Columban in Ireland. He had been ill for some years. He was one of the pioneering group of Columbans to go to Fiji in 1951 and later worked in Australia and Peru. May he rest in peace.
The experience of the wife and daughter of the man who died from Covid-19 and that of all bereaved families at this time when normal funerals cannot take place is, I think, a sharing in the abandonment that Jesus experienced on the Cross.
The response for today's Responsorial Psalm is My
God, my God, why have you abandoned me? ('forsaken me' in the
Jerusalem Bible Lectionary), the last words of Jesus according to St Matthew,
whose version of the Passion is read today. The readings carry that theme,
explicitly or implicitly. The Prophet Isaiah says in the First Reading, I gave my back to
those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I
did not shield from buffets and spitting. The church applies these
words to the sufferings of Jesus. Yet there isn't total abandonment: The
Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face
like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Psalm 21 (22) is fulfilled in the Passion and Death
of Jesus. St Paul in the reading from his Letter to the Philippians speaks of
the self-emptying of Jesus who: though he was in the form of God, did
not regard equality with God as something to be exploited but emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to
the point of death—even death on a cross.
An tAthair Pádraig Ó Croiligh (Fr Patrick
Crilly) of the Diocese of Derry, Ireland, reflects on this in his poem in
Irish, An Crióst Tréigthe (The Abandoned Christ).
I have added my own English translation.
An raibh sé ina aonar ar feadh a shaoil,
Was he alone throughout his life,
An Críost seo scartha ón Trionóid naofa?
This Christ separated from the holy Trinity?
Ar chrothnaigh sé an dá phearsa eile,
Did he miss the two other persons,
Nó an raibh sé in aineolas orthu?
Or was he unaware of them?
Agus i ndiaidh fhás na spioradáltachta ann,
And after the growth of spirituality in him,
I ndiaidh greim a fháil ar a cheangal le Dia,
After he grasped his connection with God,
Ar fágadh in aonar arís é ar an chrois
Was he left alone again on the cross
Gan a fhios aige cén fáth ar tréigeadh é?
Not knowing why he had been abandoned?
Nuair a fhuair sé bás ar an chrois,
When he died on the cross
Ar ócáid cheiliúrtha é filleadh abhaile?
Was his going home an occasion of celebration?
Nó ar bhraith sé tréigean a dhaonnachta
Or did he feel the abandonment of his humanity
I gcumha a shaoil abhus mar dhuine?
In the loneliness of his life here as a human
being?
Ag leanúint Chríost dúinn i mbeocht an tsaoil
In following Christ in the living of life
An mbuailfimid lena thréigean siúd?
Will we encounter his abandonment?
An féidir linn a bheith Críostaí
Can we be Christian
Gan casadh sa saol leis an Chríost tréigthe?
Without coming across the abandoned Christ in life?
Poem taken from Brúitíní Creidimh, published
by Foilseacháin Ábhar Spioradálta (FS), Dublin, 2005. The title could be
translated as 'Mashed Potatoes of Faith'. Potatoes are the main staple in
Ireland.
El Greco shows the city of Toledo in the background. It is only 80 kms from Madrid, both in the general area that has had the highest incidence of Covid-19 in Spain. El Greco, who died on 7 April 1614, shows the Crucified Lord in the midst of us. Perhaps we can remember this great painter in our prayers.
Father Ó
Croiligh, I think, is teasing out some of the meaning of St Paul's words in
today's Second Reading: Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human
in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Jesus wasn't acting or engaging in any kind
of 'drama-drama' (play-acting), as they say in the Philippines. He truly suffered
a sense of being forsaken, of being abandoned, in the very depths of his being.
He did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. We
see that in the Garden of Gethsemane when the three Apostles closest to him
fell asleep during his hour of greatest need. His cry from the Cross, Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me? comes from the innermost recesses of his heart, from
a sense of even his Father having abandoned him.
This touches on the mystery of what the Church calls the 'Hypostatic Union.' Jesus Christ is fully God and fully Man, one person with two natures, divine and human. Fr Thomas Joseph White OP speaks about it on this video. (If you are confined to your home at this time you might spend some time watching the video and reflecting on this mystery.)
At this time many people are experiencing a form of being abandoned. Emily on Irish TV spoke about her family not being able to grieve properly because she and her mother are in isolation together, while two of her five brothers are overseas, one in Australia and one in the USA. Many other families are in a similar position. I remember a few years ago flying from Toronto to Dublin and the man beside me was 'in bits', as we say in Ireland. His mother had just died but he was too late for the funeral because his Irish passport had expired and he had to get a new one. At the funeral of Fr Seamus O'Connor here on Tuesday none of his relatives could come. And only two priests were allowed to attend the burial in our own cemetery. We could not pray a decade of the Rosary at the graveside after the final prayers of commendation nor sing the Salve Regina there as is our custom.
Many others are sharing the pain of separation by not being able to meet their close relatives and friends in person, grandparents and grandchildren, for example. Young children don't know what this is all about. Neither do many older people with dementia.
Pope Benedict reflected on Psalm 21 (22), used in today's Responsorial Psalm, in his Wednesday Audience on 14 September 2011. In his talk the Pope said:
God is silent and this silence pierces
the soul of the person praying, who ceaselessly calls but receives no answer.
Day and night succeed one another in an unflagging quest for a word, for help
that does not come, God seems so distant, so forgetful, so absent. The prayer
asks to be heard, to be answered, it begs for contact, seeks a relationship
that can give comfort and salvation. But if God fails to respond, the cry of
help is lost in the void and loneliness becomes unbearable.
Yet, in his cry, the praying man of our Psalm calls the Lord ‘my’ God
at least three times, in an extreme act of trust and faith. In spite of all
appearances, the Psalmist cannot believe that his link with the Lord is totally
broken and while he asks the reason for a presumed incomprehensible
abandonment, he says that ‘his’ God cannot forsake him.
Two images I have seen on the news recently symbolised for me the sense of desolation that many experience at this time, but also the sense of hope, both reflected in the psalm. One was of a fleet of Italian army trucks taking coffins to crematoriums. The other was of a fleet of Irish army trucks earlier this week carrying consignments of protective clothing for medical workers in different parts of the country that had just arrived at Dublin Airport from China.
Salve, Regína, mater
misericórdiae
vita, dulcédo et spes nostra,
salve
Ad te clamámus, éxules fílii
Evae.
Ad te suspirámus, geméntes et
flentes
in hac lacrimárum valle.
Eia ergo, advocáta nostra,
illos tuos misericórdes óculos
ad nos convérte.
Et Jesum, benedíctum fructum
ventris tui,
nobis post hoc exsílium osténde
O clemens, o pia, o dulcis
Virgo María.
Hail,
holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
hail,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To
thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve:
to
thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping
in
this valley of tears.
Turn
then, most gracious Advocate,
thine
eyes of mercy toward us,
and
after this our exile, show unto us
the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus,
O
clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
St Roch Asking the Virgin Mary to Heal Victims of the Plague
There is great devotion to St Roch in the central and southern Philippines where he is known as San Roque. (In Italy he is known as San Rocco).
The notes on this painting on Web Gallery of Arts say: David's first independent commission was for an altarpiece for the chapel of the Lazaret (or quarantine centre) in Marseille, France's major Mediterranean port, and a place that lived in continual fear of contagion brought by travellers from the East. The picture was to commemorate a miraculous episode from the 1720 outbreak of the disease in the city when the fourteenth-century saint, who had suffered from the plague himself, reappeared and came to the aid of the sick.
St Roch among the Plague Victims and the
Madonna in Glory
Adoration of the Shepherds
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