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 Sir Edward Elgar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sir Edward Elgar. Show all posts
Gospel Mark 10:2-16 or 10:2-12(English Standard Version Anglicised: India)
And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”He answered them, “What did Moses command you?”They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.”And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
[And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them.But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.]
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it (Mark 10:15; Gospel).
I have been involved with Worldwide Marriage Encounter since 1981, initially in Canada and then from 1984 until 2017 in the Philippines and now in Ireland. The most important reality that I have come to see very clearly through Marriage Encounter is that the relationship between husband and wife in the Sacrament of Matrimony is the foundation of the Christian family.
Nineteen or twenty years ago we in Worldwide Marriage Encounter in Bacolod City, Philippines, held a family day. One of the last activities was for the pre-teen children. They were asked to share what they loved most about their parents. One boy, aged about ten or eleven, told us that what he loved most about his parents was that they were always together.
He didn't mean, of course, that they were tied to each other 24/7. But he saw that for his father and mother the most important reality in their lives was to be husband and wife and he felt drawn into the love that they had for each other. Jesus in today's Gospel quotes from today's First Reading: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).
In my closing remarks at the family day I picked up on what the boy had said and pointed out that he had articulated that the foundation of the family is the relationship between husband and wife. If that relationship is sound the other relationships in the family will normally be sound too. Children won't feel left out but rather will feel drawn into the love their parents have for each other, the very love that brought them into life in the first place. In God's plan, it is as husband and wife that a man and a woman are called to become father and mother. It is God's plan that their children be drawn into the love they have for one another. This is the foundation of the family. And perhaps this can give us some idea of the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity where the Father, Son and Holy Spirit draw us into the circle of their life, having given us life through our parents.
A young journalist, a single man, happened to be present at our family day that afternoon and approached me afterwards. He had never heard marriage being described that way before and really wanted to know more. For him it was truly an experience of hearing the Good News for the first time in this context.
It is God who joins together a man and a woman when they exchange their marriage vows. In the Sacrament of Matrimony they are giving Jesus Christ himself to each other. This is far more than a 'blessing by the priest', as so many misunderstand the Sacrament. It is the bride and groom who confer the sacrament on each other, who give Jesus himself to each other. This is such a profound and sacred union, as Jesus teaches us so clearly today: What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. Today's gospel is very clear on that. Jesus spells out what the sin of adultery is: Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.
So often in visiting Catholic schools in the Philippines I was struck by the fact that so many students in their teens knew by heart the words that the bride and groom exchange: For better, for worse; for richer . . . These words, etched into their hearts, express their deep-down sense of the words of Jesus in the gospel today, God made them male and female . . . so they are no longer two but one flesh. They also express their dreams and aspirations for their own future, dreams and aspirations that have been placed in their hearts by God himself. For to such belongs the kingdom of God.
In worldly terms, Chiara Corbella’s life (1984 - 2012) was not a success story: two children dying shortly after birth, herself ravaged by an aggressive cancer, which killed her at the young age of 28, leaving a beloved husband and a small son behind. This is not the kind of material dreams are made of. Yet when one listens to the testimonies of her friends, husband, and spiritual director, and hears more about her story and looks at her radiating, beautiful face on photographs and in video clips, one can’t help but feel that hers was an extraordinary life. Each saint has a special charisma, a particular theme, some facet of God, which he reflects, due to his particular character, call and story. Hers, I’d say, is to be a witness to joy in the face of great adversity, the kind which makes the heart overflow despite the sorrow over loss and death.
Meet Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Story of Joy & Hope
Salut
d’Amour (L0ve’s Greeting)
Composed
by Sir Edward Elgan
Played
by Esther Abrami, violin, and Iyad Sughayer, piano
In the photo at the top Chiara is holding a violin. She would have been familiar with Salut d'Amour, composed by Sir Edward Elgar in 1888 as an engagement present for his future wife Alice. She was disinherited by her family for 'marrying beneath her' and for marrying a Catholic.
Maybe Chiara played this accompanied by Enrico on the piano.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 21:5-19 (New Revised Standard
Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
When some
were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and
gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, ‘As for these things
that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another;
all will be thrown down.’
They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will
be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many
will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do
not go after them.
‘When
you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must
take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom; there will be great
earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be
dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
‘But
before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand
you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and
governors because of my name. This will give you an
opportunity to testify. So make up your minds
not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you
words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be
able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed
even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some
of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
Earthquake destroys Basilica of St Benedict on 30 October 2016
Norcia (or Nursia) is the place where St Benedict was born c.480
This Sunday falls between two celebrations of
church buildings in Rome, the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
on 9 November and the Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilicas of
Saints Peter and Paul on 18 November. When the former falls on a Sunday its
celebration takes precedence over the Sunday. The official name of the Lateran
Basicilica is the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour and of Saints John the
Baptist and the Evangelist. It is the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome, sometimes referred to as 'Mother of all Churches'.
In the gospel Jesus speaks of the future
destruction of the Temple where he had worshipped all his life, where he had
been presented to the Father as an infant by Mary and Joseph, from which he
threw the moneylenders because they were turning it into a market.
On 30 October 2016 the Basilica of St Benedict in his
birthplace Norcia in Italy was destroyed in seconds by a powerful earthquake as
if fulfilling the words of Jesus today, all will be thrown down.
Jesus warns us in today's gospel warns us of wars
and insurrections . . . great earthquakes . . . famine and plagues . .
. You will be hated by all because of my name.
We are seeing all of these things in our time. They
can lead us to lose hope - if we forget the closing words of Jesus in today's
gospel: But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance
you will gain your souls.
On 4 October 2016 Hurricane Matthew caused
great destruction in southwestern Haiti, the poorest country in the Western
Hemisphere. But Sunday Examiner, the weekly English-language newspaper of the Catholic
Diocese of Hong Kong, carried the following report in its issue for 30 October 2016.
Port-au-Prince. Survivors of Hurricane Matthew put
on their Sunday finest as they picked their way through rubble and downed power
lines to gather in ruined churches on October 9, just three days after the
devastating storm ravaged their homes.
Photographs posted on news websites show pews in
the open air, with the rubble from the hurricane piled to one side, as a neatly
clad congregation in suits and ties, smart slacks and dresses made a colourful
scene in what had once been churches with roofs.
Grave of Bishop Edward Galvin
St Columban's, Dalgan Park, Ireland
'But the spiritual edifice is, I think, intact.'
After being expelled from China, September 1952
In the January/February 2006 issue of Far
East, Fr Dan Fitzgerald recalled the following of Bishop Edward
Galvin (Co-founder of the Columbans with Fr John Blowick):
Bishop Galvin was my bishop in China for six years.
Three of us Columban priests arrived in Hanyang in central Chine in July 1946.
We were the first Irish priests to arrive there after the war had ended in
1945.
The man we met on that July day looked older and
more worn than his 64 years would suggest. He didn't look like a bishop either.
He was in an old crumpled cotton Chinese shirt and pants, with perspiration
running down his face and chest. Only for the plain episcopal ring he had on
his finger, he might have been the gate-man. There was something about him that
suggested one who had lived through a lot, had suffered and had survived.
His exile for Christ ended in September 1952. As he
arrived in Hong Kong he said, They have taken our churches, schools,
hospital and mission compounds, but the spiritual edifice is, I think, intact.
I blessed the compound and the cathedral, the whole diocese, its Sisters,
priests and people. I put then under the protection of Our Lord and His Blessed
Mother, and of St Columban, the patron of the diocese and the cathedral. It was
all I could do, but it was enough.
Choral arrangement by John Cameron to Nimrod from Enigma Variations by Sir Edward Elgar, sung by Voces8
Lux aeterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in aeternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem aeternamdona eis, Domine,
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
May
light eternal shine upon them, O Lord,
with
Thy saints forever, for Thou art kind.
Eternal
rest give to them, O Lord,
and
let perpetual light shine upon them.
World Day of the Poor
The first World Day of the Poor, an initiative of Pope Francis, took place in 2017. This Sunday is the third World Day of the Poor and the theme of the Pope's message for the day is The Hope of the ooor shall not perish for ever. A concert with the poor and for the poor will take place in Paul VI Hall in the Vatican to mark the day. After the concert those present will share in a meal. Nicola Piovani will conduct the Orchestra of Italian cinema in Paul VI Hall. The musicians will play excerpts from Roberto Benigni’s film Life Is Beautiful, for which he received an Oscar in 1999 in the best film category. Here is the main theme from that film for which Nicola Piovani composed the music and received an Oscar.
Christ (Toledo Cathedral)
