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).
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).
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).
GospelJohn 2:13-25 (English Standard Version
Anglicised, India)
The
Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In
the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the
money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them
all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of
the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold
the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a
house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal
for your house will consume me.”
So
the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus
answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise
it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this
temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking
about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they
believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Since I was a child, I was accustomed to going to church and finding profound inspiration in the teachings, the sacrifice, and the crucifixion of Jesus. It was his love that led me to offer my service to the Church (Shahbas Bhatti).
Last week I focused on the life and death of Shahbaz Bhatti, assassinated in Pakistan on 2 March 2011. I want to do the same this week as I think that this man exemplifies what being a follower of Jesus is.Here are two quotations from him.
I have been asked to put an end to my battle, but I have always refused, even at the risk of my own life. My response has always been the same. I do not want popularity, I do not want positions of power. I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. I want my life, my character, my actions to speak of me and say that I am following Jesus Christ.
I, as a humble servant of Jesus Christ, will continue to serve the suffering, victimised and persecuted communities, and am ready to even sacrifice my life to defend the principles of religious freedom, human equality and the rights of minorities.
These quotations are from a politician who was a Catholic and the only Christian in the cabinet of the national government in Pakistan. Not long after he spoke those latter words he was assassinated on 2 March 2011. His name was Clement Shahbaz Bhatti. He was 42.
The first quotation is from a testament published a few days after his death in La Civiltà Cattolica, the weekly magazine published in the Vatican, and also here. The second is what he said to the media after being re-appointed to the cabinet as Minister for Minorities’ Affairs on 11 February 2011, less that two weeks before his death.
Today’s First Reading from the Book of Exodus is the proclamation of the Ten Commandments, beginning with I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
The first three commandments have to do with our relationship with God, the other seven with our relationships to one another. Shahbaz Bhatti’s vision embraced both kinds of relationships. In his testimony he wrote: My name is Shahbaz Bhatti. I was born into a Catholic family. My father, a retired teacher, and my mother, a housewife, raised me according to Christian values and the teachings of the Bible, which influenced my childhood. Since I was a child, I was accustomed to going to church and finding profound inspiration in the teachings, the sacrifice, and the crucifixion of Jesus. It was his love that led me to offer my service to the Church. The frightening conditions into which the Christians of Pakistan had fallen disturbed me. I remember one Good Friday when I was just thirteen years old: I heard a homily on the sacrifice of Jesus for our redemption and for the salvation of the world. And I thought of responding to his love by giving love to my brothers and sisters, placing myself at the service of Christians, especially of the poor, the needy, and the persecuted who live in this Islamic country.
Shahbaz Bhatti had a profound sense of vocation as a follower of Jesus Christ serving the poorest. Jesus was at the heart of his life. I only want a place at the feet of Jesus. He uses this image again in the last paragraph of his testimony: I believe that the needy, the poor, the orphans, whatever their religion, must be considered above all as human beings. I think that these persons are part of my body in Christ, that they are the persecuted and needy part of the body of Christ. If we bring this mission to its conclusion, then we will have won a place at the feet of Jesus, and I will be able to look at him without feeling shame.
That evokes the words of Jesus to St Martha after she asked him to rebuke her sister Mary: It is Mary who has chosen the good portion, which will not to be taken from her.
It also expresses a deep sense of the Mystical Body of Christ, as does the previous paragraph of his testimony: I say that, as long as I am alive, until the last breath, I will continue to serve Jesus and this poor, suffering humanity, the Christians, the needy, the poor. I believe that the Christians of the world who have reached out to the Muslims hit by the tragedy of the earthquake of 2005 have built bridges of solidarity, of love, of comprehension, and of tolerance between the two religions.
Shahbaz Bhatti lived out the Ten Commandments as a follower of Jesus in the mission our Saviour proclaimed at the beginning of his public life:The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed meto proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captivesand recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.
One of Shahbaz Bhatti’s closest friends, a Muslim and a member of the same political party, was assassinated on 4 January 2011, Governor Salman Taseer of Punjab, murdered by one of his own bodyguards. These two politicians and friends opposed the blasphemy laws and asked for the release of Asia Bibi, the Christian woman falsely accused of breaking the blasphemy laws and sentenced to death. Her long ordeal ended only in 2019 when she was allowed to go to Canada. The following year she moved to France.
St Paul tells us in the Second Reading: For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. In a video interview with the BBC four months before his death, to be broadcast in the event of his death, Shahbaz Bhatti said: I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us. I know what is the meaning of [the] Cross and I am following of the Cross and I am ready to die for a cause. I’m living for my community and suffering people and I will die to defend their rights.
El Greco's painting above shows the Crucifixion rooted in Toledo, the Spanish city where he spent the second half of his life. Jesus became one of us: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) and died for us. Shahbaz Bhatti's words are a reflection of the truth that El Greco expresses in his painting: I’m living for my community and suffering people and I will die to defend their rights.
The possibility of his being assassinated was something he spoke about a number of times. But he was ready to accept it because of his deep faith in Jesus Christ who suffered and died for us on the Cross.
In the Gospel today Jesus drives the people engaged in commerce out of the Temple telling them: Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade. The whole thrust of Shahbaz Bhatti’s life from his student days was to resist and oppose false values that held people in servitude in Pakistan. This was his ways of making a whip out of cords and driving them all out of the temple. He did this with a deep sense of vocation, awakened in him by his parents and especially by the Good Friday homily he heard when he was 13. The sacrifice of Jesus was perhaps the deepest formative influence in his life.
The Gospel today also speaks of the Resurrection: Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up . . . and when therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken. The response to today’s Psalm is You, Lord, have the message of eternal life. Shahbaz Bhatti lived out of his faith in the Resurrection: I only want a place at the feet of Jesus . . . If we bring this mission to its conclusion, then we will have won a place at the feet of Jesus, and I will be able to look at him without feeling shame.
Fr Raymond de Souza, a Canadian priest, said in a homily in Ottawa a few days after the killing of Shahbaz Bhatti: In the face of death the Christian proclaims the truth of the Risen Christ. The Risen Christ was not an abstraction, or mere theological doctrine, to Shahbaz Bhatti. He knew that the Lord Jesus was at work in his life. He had a personal relationship with Him. He believed that his life was proceeding under the Lord’s Providence. He knew that the Risen Christ is the Lord of History. He knew that the time of his departure was close at hand; he knew that he had fought the good fight; he knew that his race was almost finished.
This sense that our true home is in heaven, when we will have won a place at the feet of Jesus, has become obscured and forgotten to a large degree today. Shahbaz Bhatti was probably not familiar with the 8th Sermon of St Columban, the great Irish missionary saint (c.540 - 625), but understood what he said there: 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.
Pope Benedict's Angelus Talk, 7 March 2011
Pope Benedict speaking about Shahbaz Bhatti five days after his assassination.
Traditional Latin Mass
Third Sunday in Lent
The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 03-03-2024 if necessary).
