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).
Showing posts with label Patricia Janečková. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patricia Janečková. Show all posts
This year All Souls' Day falls on Sunday - in most places. It takes precedence over the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C.
There are no specific readings for All Souls' Day. Readings may be taken from those for Masses for the Dead. Matthew 5:1-12a, below, is proper to All Saints' Day and may also be used on All Souls' Day.
In England & Wales and in Scotland this year All Saints' Day will be celebrated on Sunday and All Souls' Day on Monday.
Readings(Jerusalem
Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
GospelMatthew 5:1-12a (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the
mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his
mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and
persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’
I don't know much about the faith of Scottish poet Norman MacCaig (1910 - 1996). Wikipedia tells us that he described it as 'Zen Calvinism' - 'a comment typical of his half-humorous, half-serious approach to life'.
A favourite poem of mine is Country Postman. It expresses for me something of the reality of the Communion of Saints that we celebrate and remember in a special way on these two days. I've no idea if Norman MacCaig was thinking of the Communion of Saints when he wrote it. But the poem captures something of what holds us all together as a community. With email, Facebook and all the ways of communicating in 'this digital continent', as Pope Benedict called it, perhaps the role of the postman has changed, though he is still vital in rural communities, not only to deliver the mail but to keep an eye on older persons living on their own, some of whom perhaps are reclusive but who still welcome him.
The poem too catches something of the fragility in all of us, especially in those who serve the broader community quietly and generously for so many years. And could Jesus, who turned water into wine at a wedding for people like those whom this mail deliverer served, turn away this poor man who died after probably celebrating a little too much?
It is persons such as MacCaig's Country Postman whom we remember on All Souls' Day and it is our prayers that help them move from being numbered among All Souls to being numbered among All Saints.
Country Postman
Before he was drowned,
his drunk body bumping down the shallows
of the Ogle Burn, he had walked
fifteen miles every day
bringing celebrations and disasters
and what lies between them to
MacLarens and MacGregors
and Mackenzies.
Now he has no news to bring
of celebrations or disasters,
although, after one short journey,
he has reached
all the clans in the world.
['Burn' means 'creek'; MacLaren, MacGregor and Mackenzie are common Scottish surnames, 'Mac' meaning 'son'.]
The belief that love can reach into the
afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our
affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death—this has been a
fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages and it remains a
source of comfort today. Who would not feel the need to convey to their
departed loved ones a sign of kindness, a gesture of gratitude or even a
request for pardon?
. . . We should recall that no man is an island,
entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another . . . The lives of
others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve.
And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for
worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person,
something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being,
my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his
purification. And for that there is no need to convert earthly time into God's time:
in the communion of souls simple terrestrial time is superseded. It is never
too late to touch the heart of another, nor is it ever in vain. In this way we
further clarify an important element of the Christian concept of hope. Our hope
is always essentially also hope for others; only thus is it truly hope for me
too.
Pie Jesu
Composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his father's funeral
Please pray for the soul of Patricia who died of breast cancer on 1 October 2023 aged only 25. May our loving Father welcome her into the heavenly choir.
Traditional Latin Mass
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 11-02-2025 if necessary).
Epistle: Ephesians 6:10-17. Gospel: Matthew 18:23-35.
GospelLuke 18:1-8 (English Standard
Version, Anglicised)
At that time: Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in
themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men
went up into the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not
like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax
collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” 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!” I tell you, this
man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who
exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be
exalted.’
The tax collector ('publican' in older translations) acknowledges his sinfulness when he prays, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! Jesus tells us, This man went down to his house justified. That means that God had forgiven him and lifted the burden of his guilt from him.
The tax collector asked God for mercy and received it. The parable calls us to ask for mercy and to give it when we are asked for it, in that way sharing God's mercy with another. The act of asking for mercy and the act of showing mercy both lead us to an inner freedom.
The story below from Rwanda is a powerful witness to God's mercy shown through a murderer begging for forgiveness from the daughter of the man he killed and through her forgiving him.
Over 5,000 people seeking refuge here were killed by grenade, machete, rifle, or burnt alive during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.
A religious sister from Rwanda, Sr Genevieve Umawariya, speaking during the Synod on Africa held in Rome in 2009, the theme of which was The Church in Africa at the Service of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace, spoke of an incident that parallels today's gospel. Here is what she said:
I am a survivor of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda 1994.
A large part of my family was killed while in our parish church. The sight of this building used to fill me with horror and turned my stomach, just like the encounter with the prisoners filled me with disgust and rage.
It is in this mental state that something happened that would change my life and my relationships.
On August 27th 1997 at 1 p.m., a group from the Catholic association of the 'Ladies of Divine Mercy' led me to two prisons in the region of Kibuye, my birthplace. They went to prepare the prisoners for the Jubilee of 2000. They said: 'If you have killed, you commit yourself to ask for forgiveness from the surviving victim, that way you can help him free himself of the burden/weight of vengeance, hatred and rancor. If you are a victim, you commit yourself to offer forgiveness to those who harmed you and thus you free them from the weight of their crime and the evil that is in them'.
This message had an unexpected effect for me and in me . . .
After that, one of the prisoners rose in tears, fell to his knees before me, loudly begging: 'Mercy'. I was petrified in recognizing a family friend who had grown up and shared everything with us.
He admitted having killed my father and told me the details of the death of my family. A feeling of pity and compassion invaded me: I picked him up, embraced him and told him in a tearful voice: 'You are and always will be my brother'.
Then I felt a huge weight lift away from me . . . I had found internal peace and I thanked the person I was holding in my arms.
To my great surprise, I heard him cry out: 'Justice can do its work and condemn me to death, now I am free!'
I also wanted to cry out to who wanted to hear: 'Come see what freed me, you too can find internal peace'.
From that moment on, my mission was to travel kilometers to bring mail to the prisoners asking for forgiveness from the survivors. Thus 500 letters were distributed; and I brought back mail with the answers of the survivors to the prisoners who had become my friends and my brothers . . . This allowed for meetings between the executioners and the victims . . . From this experience, I deduce that reconciliation is not so much wanting to bring together two persons or two groups in conflict. It is rather the re-establishment of each in love and allowing internal healing which leads to mutual liberation. And here is where the importance of the Church lies in our countries, since her mission is to offer the Word: a word that heals, liberates and reconciles.
Pope Francis echoes this last
sentence of Sr Genevieve in his message for World Mission Day 2016: Mercy finds its most noble and complete expression in the Incarnate Word.
Jesus reveals the face of the Father who is rich in mercy.
The man who killed Sister Genevieve's father experienced God's mercy through her as she did through him. Each was freed of the very different but related heavy burdens that they carried. And the man had no more fear of whatever punishment he might receive for his crime. Like the tax-collector in the gospel, he made no excuses. He simply asked for mercy.
The tax-collector in the
parable, Sr Genevieve Umawariya and the man who had killed her father
experienced the truth of the First Beatitude (Matthew 5:3) usually translated
into English as Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. For years I never quite understood what this meant until
I read the translation in the New English Bible:How blest
are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
May each of us, like the tax collector,
like Sister Genevieve, like the man she forgave and who accepted her
forgiveness, know our need of God and of his mercy.
Alleluia from Exsultate jubilate
Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)
Sung by Patricia Janečková (1998 - 2023); organist: Petr Cech
Alleluia (Hallelujah) is a joyful Hebrew word that means 'Praise God'.
I end with a prayer from a Psalm, Psalm 27[26]: 'One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and contemplate his temple' (v. 4). Let us hope that the Lord will help us to contemplate his beauty, both in nature and in works of art, so that we, moved by the light that shines from his face, may be a light for our neighbour. (Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 31 August 2011)
Traditional Latin Mass
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful (Benedict XVI).
Feast of the Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 10-26-2025 if necessary).
GospelJohn 6:60-69(English Standard Version, Anglicised)
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying;
who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his
disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offence at
this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the
flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit
and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For
Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe,
and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why
I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the
Father.”
After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with
him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as
well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have
come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
My ordination day, 20 December 1967
With my parents John and Mary and my brother Paddy
My father, who was widowed in 1970, spent six weeks with me in the Philippines from mid-February to early April 1981. He spent most of that time in Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, where I had been parish priest for a few months and from 1979 to 1981 was in charge of Paul VI Formation House, part of the seminary programme in the Diocese (now Archdiocese) of Ozamiz but serving the neighbouring dioceses also.
One evening, along with some parishioners, we went to visit a family who lived maybe 400 meters from the church and the formation house. When we were walking back later, at a slow, relaxed pace, someone remarked that my Dad and I were walking in exactly the same way, with our hands behind our backs. I had never noticed that before.
When I thought about it later, I realised that I must have learned that when I was a child from Sunday morning walks with Dad and my brother Paddy in the Phoenix Park, near where we lived in Dublin.
The pond is knows to Dubliners as 'The Duck Pond' as there have always been ducks there along with some waterhens. On occasion, like countless other youngsters, I fed the ducks with bread.
My Dad often took me to soccer matches in Dalymount Park, about 20 minutes' walk from our home. This would be called 'bonding' today. But before I was of an age to attend football matches, when I was still a toddler, my Dad took me to Sunday Mass. My brother was a baby then and my mother would go to a later Mass. And on special days like Easter Monday and Whit (Pentecost) Monday Dad would take me to Solemn High Mass in the Dominican church or the Capuchin church. I didn't particularly appreciate that at the time, as I found those Masses very long. But I could see how important they were for Dad.
I also saw Dad go to early Mass every weekday morning before coming home to make his and my mother's breakfast. In the winter he would clear out the fireplace and then prepare it to be lit later in the day before cycling off to a long day's work on building (construction) sites. I was to join him on one of those during the summer before my ordination, when I was already a subdeacon. I saw there what I already knew, that he was a general foreman who respected the workers, never raised his voice to them and never swore, even though quite a lot of swearing went on. He led by example. And the workers deeply respected him, younger ones seeing in him a great mentor.
Dad rarely spoke about his faith but I do remember telling me when I was still a child that the Apostles' Creed was very important.
The First Reading tells us that Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel,put it to them to choose false gods or the God who had led them out of Egypt into the Promised Land. In the gospel we see Jesus challenging the Twelve Apostles after many of his disciples had walked away, unable to accept the teaching of Jesus in last Sunday's Gospel: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
St Peter spoke on behalf of the Twelve: Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
The Hebrew people listening to Joshua accepted the One True God. They included many young children who would not have understood. But as they grew older they did and made their parents' choice for them their own. When I was a small child and my Dad took me to Sunday Mass I didn't understand very much but I was part of a believing community and as I grew older I made my own the choice my parents had made for me at baptism. The solemnity of the High Masses that Dad took me to has left a positive impact on me to this day even though at times the actual experience of what for me was a very long Mass wasn't entirely positive.
As I grew older I made my own choices in the faith I had received in baptism because of my parents' decision to raise me in the Catholic Christian faith. I knew what I was doing when I went to confession for the first time and made my First Holy Communion at the age of seven. I knew even more clearly what I was doing when I was confirmed at the age of ten, then the age for receiving that sacrament in Ireland. And when I entered the seminary at the age of 18 I knew I was preparing for a life-long decision. My parents had given me the example of their own faith and their faithfulness to one another in marriage, which St Paul speaks about so eloquently and deeply in the Second Reading, and left me free to make my own decisions for my Christian life.
In a homily on the Solemnity of the Assumption in 2005 Pope Benedict XVI said, This was also the great temptation of the modern age, of the past three or four centuries. More and more people have thought and said: ‘But this God does not give us our freedom; with all his commandments, he restricts the space in our lives. So God has to disappear; we want to be autonomous and independent. Without this God we ourselves would be gods and do as we pleased’.
Pope Benedict describes the contemporary Western world where God has to disappear, a world where each of us has to make the choice that Joshua asked of the Hebrews, that Jesus asked of the Apostles. We make this choice as individuals who are part of a believing community.
Benedict goes on to say, This was also the view of the Prodigal Son, who did not realize that he was ‘free’ precisely because he was in his father's house. He left for distant lands and squandered his estate. In the end, he realized that precisely because he had gone so far away from his father, instead of being free he had become a slave; he understood that only by returning home to his father's house would he be truly free, in the full beauty of life.
St Peter's choice and that of most of the Apostles led to their martyrdom, which they freely accepted. God doesn't ask that of most of us. He asks us to make daily choices in little things that come from our faith in Jesus Christ, God who became Man, the kind of choices I saw my parents make each day.
They and the many others like them whom I have known and who probably would not be able to articulate their faith in words were revealing to me where true freedom and authentic life lie. The apparent loss of freedom
to two individuals who marry gives them the freedom to truly love each other as
spouses and, as parents, to love their children and bring the whole family closer
to God.
The response to the Responsorial Psalm today sums it up: Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Panis
Angelicus
Words
by St Thomas Aquinas, music by César Franck
Sung by Patricia Janečková (1998 – 2023)
The
Janáček Chamber Orchestra
Panis angelicus[Thus Angels' Bread is made]
fit panis hominum;[the Bread of man today:]
Dat panis cœlicus[the Living Bread from heaven]
figuris terminum:[with figures dost away:] O res mirabilis![O wondrous gift indeed!] Manducat Dominum[the poor and lowly may] pauper, servus et humilis.[upon their Lord and Master
feed.]
Traditional Latin Mass
Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 08-25-2022 if necessary).
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26; Gospel).
