Fr Philip Writes.... 2016
December
“The Word was the true light that enlightens all men.”
We celebrate Christmass at the darkest time of the year, but the Christmass liturgy is filled with references to light. Jesus fulfils the prophecy of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.”
St Mother Teresa told how one day in Melbourne, Australia, she visited a poor man whom hardly anyone knew existed. He lived in a basement room and rarely opened his blinds. He had no friends. She started to clean and tidy the room in spite of his protests. Under a pile of rubbish she found an oil lamp covered with dust, but she cleaned it and found it was beautiful. He told her he never lit it because no one came to see him. She told him to light it when her sisters visited him. Two of them started to visit him regularly; things gradually improved for him and he kept the lamp alight.
One day he said to the sisters: “I will be able to manage now on my own but please do me a favour: tell that first sister who came to see me that the lamp she lit in my life is still burning.”
You could say that the lamp saved him, but of course it was not the lamp itself. It was the kindness and good it symbolized in Mother Teresa and her sisters.
We live in a world darkened by war and violence. All of us have at some time experienced darkness in our personal lives and our families in sorrow, disappointment, illness, pain, sin, guilt and loneliness. At Christmass the goodness of Jesus continues to illuminate the world. The light of Jesus does not come to judge us but to save us.
Each of us can be sources of light in a darkened world, but unless our lamp is alight, we will not enlighten anyone else. There is a great joy in being in the light but a greater joy and privilege in being a source of light for others. Let us try not only at Christmass but throughout the year to spread the effects of that light, which are seen in goodness, right living and truth.
What kind of personality did Jesus have? The Bible does not say, but it gives clues: crowds flocked to him, children liked him and sinners found hope in him. He was clearly attractive, personable and a reconciler. The important thing is not just Jesus’ personality as shown in the past but his relationship with us now and above all what he wants to do through us.
Please ask yourself this Christmass:
Let us all try to be ever more loving, caring and understanding so that we can be true lights for Christ.
HAPPY CHRISTMASS!
“The Word was the true light that enlightens all men.”
We celebrate Christmass at the darkest time of the year, but the Christmass liturgy is filled with references to light. Jesus fulfils the prophecy of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone.”
St Mother Teresa told how one day in Melbourne, Australia, she visited a poor man whom hardly anyone knew existed. He lived in a basement room and rarely opened his blinds. He had no friends. She started to clean and tidy the room in spite of his protests. Under a pile of rubbish she found an oil lamp covered with dust, but she cleaned it and found it was beautiful. He told her he never lit it because no one came to see him. She told him to light it when her sisters visited him. Two of them started to visit him regularly; things gradually improved for him and he kept the lamp alight.
One day he said to the sisters: “I will be able to manage now on my own but please do me a favour: tell that first sister who came to see me that the lamp she lit in my life is still burning.”
You could say that the lamp saved him, but of course it was not the lamp itself. It was the kindness and good it symbolized in Mother Teresa and her sisters.
We live in a world darkened by war and violence. All of us have at some time experienced darkness in our personal lives and our families in sorrow, disappointment, illness, pain, sin, guilt and loneliness. At Christmass the goodness of Jesus continues to illuminate the world. The light of Jesus does not come to judge us but to save us.
Each of us can be sources of light in a darkened world, but unless our lamp is alight, we will not enlighten anyone else. There is a great joy in being in the light but a greater joy and privilege in being a source of light for others. Let us try not only at Christmass but throughout the year to spread the effects of that light, which are seen in goodness, right living and truth.
What kind of personality did Jesus have? The Bible does not say, but it gives clues: crowds flocked to him, children liked him and sinners found hope in him. He was clearly attractive, personable and a reconciler. The important thing is not just Jesus’ personality as shown in the past but his relationship with us now and above all what he wants to do through us.
Please ask yourself this Christmass:
- What is my relationship with Jesus?
- What light does He want me to share in the days ahead?
Let us all try to be ever more loving, caring and understanding so that we can be true lights for Christ.
HAPPY CHRISTMASS!
November
A woman was hurrying home from work because it was ‘Bingo night’. She spotted a man holding a placard which read: ‘THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR’.
So she went up to him and said,
“You say the end of the world is near?”
“That’s right,” he replied, “It is very near.”
“Could you be more precise?” she pressed him.
“This very night,” he answered. She paused and asked,
“…..Will it be before or after Bingo?”
Many people have claimed to know when the end of the world will come. The Gospels give us timely messages about the end, but we should be far more concerned about the end of our individual world at death – which is certain – rather than about the end of the world at the end of time – which is out of our hands. The Gospels remind us that we live in the shadow of eternity and we should try to live our lives each day in such a way that it doesn’t matter when or how Jesus comes – either at our death or in glory at the end of time. The secret is to make each day fit for God.
November is the month set aside for prayer for the dead. So what are we doing?
First: to quote Dr Kenneth McAll in his book ‘Healing the Family Tree’:
‘It is surely right that the living should try to bring Jesus Christ to them in prayer because his presence binds all evil.’
Such prayers acknowledge that the dead are still part of the community of faith in paradise. We pray they will experience “the Sun of righteousness with healing in his rays” (Malachi 3 v 19). It is the most natural thing in the world to continue to pray for our departed loved ones, who were not perfect at the moment of their death, but need to experience that full healing and peace which God alone can bring.
Second: we pray for the dead at Mass, which is the enactment in time of Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the Cross; that sacrifice is eternally present, so is offered both for the living and the dead. The Church, through the Mass, perpetuates Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary that takes away sins and prays that God will pardon and purify the dead of their sins. So in the Mass we bring before God our departed in prayer in a most profound way.
May those wonderful words of St Monica to her son Augustine be etched on our hearts as we pray for the dead:
“Lay this body wherever you may be. Let no care of it disturb you. This only I ask of you that you should remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.”
And as we prepare for the end of time, be it at death or the end of the world, the words of St Charles Borromeo come to mind. He was asked what he would do if he was going to die in 2 minutes’ time. He replied: “If I were playing chess, I would make the sign of the Cross and carry on with the game.” In other words, he was content to meet Our Lord in whatever he was doing and that should be our attitude as well. If we maintain that attitude, it won’t matter whether it is before or after Bingo!
A woman was hurrying home from work because it was ‘Bingo night’. She spotted a man holding a placard which read: ‘THE END OF THE WORLD IS NEAR’.
So she went up to him and said,
“You say the end of the world is near?”
“That’s right,” he replied, “It is very near.”
“Could you be more precise?” she pressed him.
“This very night,” he answered. She paused and asked,
“…..Will it be before or after Bingo?”
Many people have claimed to know when the end of the world will come. The Gospels give us timely messages about the end, but we should be far more concerned about the end of our individual world at death – which is certain – rather than about the end of the world at the end of time – which is out of our hands. The Gospels remind us that we live in the shadow of eternity and we should try to live our lives each day in such a way that it doesn’t matter when or how Jesus comes – either at our death or in glory at the end of time. The secret is to make each day fit for God.
November is the month set aside for prayer for the dead. So what are we doing?
First: to quote Dr Kenneth McAll in his book ‘Healing the Family Tree’:
‘It is surely right that the living should try to bring Jesus Christ to them in prayer because his presence binds all evil.’
Such prayers acknowledge that the dead are still part of the community of faith in paradise. We pray they will experience “the Sun of righteousness with healing in his rays” (Malachi 3 v 19). It is the most natural thing in the world to continue to pray for our departed loved ones, who were not perfect at the moment of their death, but need to experience that full healing and peace which God alone can bring.
Second: we pray for the dead at Mass, which is the enactment in time of Christ’s perfect sacrifice on the Cross; that sacrifice is eternally present, so is offered both for the living and the dead. The Church, through the Mass, perpetuates Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary that takes away sins and prays that God will pardon and purify the dead of their sins. So in the Mass we bring before God our departed in prayer in a most profound way.
May those wonderful words of St Monica to her son Augustine be etched on our hearts as we pray for the dead:
“Lay this body wherever you may be. Let no care of it disturb you. This only I ask of you that you should remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you may be.”
And as we prepare for the end of time, be it at death or the end of the world, the words of St Charles Borromeo come to mind. He was asked what he would do if he was going to die in 2 minutes’ time. He replied: “If I were playing chess, I would make the sign of the Cross and carry on with the game.” In other words, he was content to meet Our Lord in whatever he was doing and that should be our attitude as well. If we maintain that attitude, it won’t matter whether it is before or after Bingo!
October
The Scriptures bring us face to face with suffering, but often that becomes wrongly equated with sickness. In the New Testament sickness is always sickness and never described as suffering; when ‘suffering’ is used it is always for being a Christian and never means being sick. Suffering for the Christian is intended to be a redemptive experience by which we learn the obedience of trusting not in ourselves, but God. Sickness, on the other hand, is always to be healed.
St James says:
“Is any among you suffering? Let him pray…
Is any one among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church…’ (James 5 v 13 & 14).
He clearly saw these as different matters to be reacted to in in different ways.
We must not confuse suffering with evil; it is not the same. Some suffering may be due to evil, but not all suffering is evil. It is for our benefit that we suffer if we put our hand into the fire – it warns us of danger – a red light with an educational purpose; but not all suffering is of this kind. The world is out of harmony with God and the result is widespread evil of which we are all tainted – and that brings suffering. This can be used well or badly. It can harden a person who refuses to accept it or tries to escape it… or it can be faced and accepted and entered into with Christ and used for his glory. The suffering to which every Christian is called, however, is the suffering which comes when we oppose evil and refuse to have any part in it.
This month we keep the feast of St Luke and will have a healing service as usual. Healing is by no means first or only for bodily ailments; we are body, mind and sprit and one of our worst enemies is lack of forgiveness. Resentment imprisons us, cutting us off from other people and sometimes sickness – dis-ease – can follow from this - but forgiveness heals. Whether we are seeking health for ourselves or others we must begin by accepting the forgiveness of God – and we can make the forgiveness of God convincing only by forgiving one another.
There is a lovely story about Abraham Lincoln: A woman was shocked when she heard him speak kindly of enemy soldiers. She challenged him, saying, “I think we’d be better advised to focus on destroying our enemies rather than befriending them.”
Lincoln replied:
"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
It is this kind of wisdom and compassion that permeates the teaching of Jesus. We all need to ask ourselves: When did we last pray for those we find difficult to forgive?
The Scriptures bring us face to face with suffering, but often that becomes wrongly equated with sickness. In the New Testament sickness is always sickness and never described as suffering; when ‘suffering’ is used it is always for being a Christian and never means being sick. Suffering for the Christian is intended to be a redemptive experience by which we learn the obedience of trusting not in ourselves, but God. Sickness, on the other hand, is always to be healed.
St James says:
“Is any among you suffering? Let him pray…
Is any one among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the Church…’ (James 5 v 13 & 14).
He clearly saw these as different matters to be reacted to in in different ways.
We must not confuse suffering with evil; it is not the same. Some suffering may be due to evil, but not all suffering is evil. It is for our benefit that we suffer if we put our hand into the fire – it warns us of danger – a red light with an educational purpose; but not all suffering is of this kind. The world is out of harmony with God and the result is widespread evil of which we are all tainted – and that brings suffering. This can be used well or badly. It can harden a person who refuses to accept it or tries to escape it… or it can be faced and accepted and entered into with Christ and used for his glory. The suffering to which every Christian is called, however, is the suffering which comes when we oppose evil and refuse to have any part in it.
This month we keep the feast of St Luke and will have a healing service as usual. Healing is by no means first or only for bodily ailments; we are body, mind and sprit and one of our worst enemies is lack of forgiveness. Resentment imprisons us, cutting us off from other people and sometimes sickness – dis-ease – can follow from this - but forgiveness heals. Whether we are seeking health for ourselves or others we must begin by accepting the forgiveness of God – and we can make the forgiveness of God convincing only by forgiving one another.
There is a lovely story about Abraham Lincoln: A woman was shocked when she heard him speak kindly of enemy soldiers. She challenged him, saying, “I think we’d be better advised to focus on destroying our enemies rather than befriending them.”
Lincoln replied:
"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
It is this kind of wisdom and compassion that permeates the teaching of Jesus. We all need to ask ourselves: When did we last pray for those we find difficult to forgive?
September
Harvest Thanksgiving reminds us that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, so calls us to serve others. St Mother Teresa was a firm believer in Catholic teaching, but she did not restrict her ministry to an “in” group. She devoted a lot of her attention to Muslims and Hindus, for as far as she was concerned love was the only goal worthy of attention and the only motive for action. She served with love and though we will not all be called to go to Calcutta, we are still called to serve anyone in need in that same love and without judgement.
At Harvest we concentrate particularly on those without homes. Mother Teresa said: “Homelessness is not only of bricks, but comes from that terrible loneliness that the unwanted and unloved know along their way… if sometimes people have had to die of starvation, it is not because God didn’t care for them, but because you and I were not instruments of love in the hands of God to give them bread… because we did not recognise Him when once more the hungry Christ came in distressing disguise.”
This month we shall be serving those who are homeless who stay in accommodation provided by St Martin’s Trust in Norwich. It is easy to point the finger of blame towards God: a woman once saw a poorly dressed and ill-nourished child in the street and was angry with God. “Why did you let that happen in the world you created?” she asked, “Why don’t you do something about it?”
God replied: “I did do something about it: I created you.”
At Harvest Thanksgiving we need to ask ourselves: ‘How might I respond better to Jesus’ invitation to help him transform our world into the kind of place God created it to be?’
Most of us have an abundant supply of food and material goods. In the Gospel of St Luke (12 13-20) we hear the story Jesus told about a rich man. His crops had produced so much grain that his barns couldn’t contain all of it. So he congratulated himself and decided to pull down his barns and build larger ones. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
It is a lesson for all of us, not just for the super-rich, for it is so easy to think only of our own comfort. This man never saw beyond himself and never saw beyond this world. It never entered his head to give his riches away to others. There is no parable which is so full of the words ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’. This man’s attitude was the complete opposite of true Christianity. Instead of denying himself he affirmed himself and instead of finding his happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping. What makes us rich in God’s sight is not what we own but what we are.
Please respond as generously as you usually do with good blankets, clothes & toiletries on 18th September and fruit, vegetables and tinned food on 25th September.
Harvest Thanksgiving reminds us that not everyone is as fortunate as we are, so calls us to serve others. St Mother Teresa was a firm believer in Catholic teaching, but she did not restrict her ministry to an “in” group. She devoted a lot of her attention to Muslims and Hindus, for as far as she was concerned love was the only goal worthy of attention and the only motive for action. She served with love and though we will not all be called to go to Calcutta, we are still called to serve anyone in need in that same love and without judgement.
At Harvest we concentrate particularly on those without homes. Mother Teresa said: “Homelessness is not only of bricks, but comes from that terrible loneliness that the unwanted and unloved know along their way… if sometimes people have had to die of starvation, it is not because God didn’t care for them, but because you and I were not instruments of love in the hands of God to give them bread… because we did not recognise Him when once more the hungry Christ came in distressing disguise.”
This month we shall be serving those who are homeless who stay in accommodation provided by St Martin’s Trust in Norwich. It is easy to point the finger of blame towards God: a woman once saw a poorly dressed and ill-nourished child in the street and was angry with God. “Why did you let that happen in the world you created?” she asked, “Why don’t you do something about it?”
God replied: “I did do something about it: I created you.”
At Harvest Thanksgiving we need to ask ourselves: ‘How might I respond better to Jesus’ invitation to help him transform our world into the kind of place God created it to be?’
Most of us have an abundant supply of food and material goods. In the Gospel of St Luke (12 13-20) we hear the story Jesus told about a rich man. His crops had produced so much grain that his barns couldn’t contain all of it. So he congratulated himself and decided to pull down his barns and build larger ones. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
It is a lesson for all of us, not just for the super-rich, for it is so easy to think only of our own comfort. This man never saw beyond himself and never saw beyond this world. It never entered his head to give his riches away to others. There is no parable which is so full of the words ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’ and ‘mine’. This man’s attitude was the complete opposite of true Christianity. Instead of denying himself he affirmed himself and instead of finding his happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping. What makes us rich in God’s sight is not what we own but what we are.
Please respond as generously as you usually do with good blankets, clothes & toiletries on 18th September and fruit, vegetables and tinned food on 25th September.
August
In August we celebrate our Patronal Festival - i.e. the festival of the Saint to whom our church is dedicated – the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What do we celebrate? On that day we are rejoicing at Mary’s Resurrection, the resurrection which Jesus has promised to all his disciples and which has already taken place in the very special case of Mary, his Mother, who has a unique relationship with him.
All people are corruptible; that is, every person is made of flesh and blood, which die. Once a dead person is buried, his or her body decomposes and after a few years there is very little left to indicate that they ever walked on earth. Every person will die, for no one lives on this earth for ever. Through the Resurrection of Jesus, God has turned what is corruptible and mortal into being incorruptible and immortal. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he made it possible for every human being to be raised from the dead and experience new and everlasting life with him. The human body will still die and decompose, but God has demonstrated this is not the end. God clothed the Risen Body of Jesus in incorruptibility and immortality – he is alive for ever more. After Jesus, Mary was the first to be raised and bestowed with the gift of immortal life. What God did for Jesus and Mary will be done for every person of faith. The preface of the Mass of the Assumption expresses it in this way:
“Today the Virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way. You would not allow decay to touch her body, for she had given birth to your Son, the Lord of all Life, in the glory of the Incarnation.”
The Bible does not describe Mary’s death or burial. John’s vision in Revelation Ch. 12 of the woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon and with a crown of 12 stars provided the scriptural basis for Mary’s Assumption. It may be compared with the resurrection of the body described in 1 Thessalonians 4 v 17, where Paul speaks of those who are alive at the end of time. They will, he says, ‘be caught up in the clouds together… to meet the Lord in the air,…. and will be with the Lord for ever.’ This language is symbolic and figurative, as any language must be in dealing with such a mystery, but it expresses the underlying and stupendous reality. Mary in her Assumption has already experienced fully what we will experience at the end of time.
This feast challenges us; we will one day die and stand before Christ (2 Timothy 4 v 8). Are we living our lives so that we are ready to meet the Lord now? Do we pray for a happy death? This feast invites us to prepare with hope and confidence in God’s mercy at the moment of our death.
In August we celebrate our Patronal Festival - i.e. the festival of the Saint to whom our church is dedicated – the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. What do we celebrate? On that day we are rejoicing at Mary’s Resurrection, the resurrection which Jesus has promised to all his disciples and which has already taken place in the very special case of Mary, his Mother, who has a unique relationship with him.
All people are corruptible; that is, every person is made of flesh and blood, which die. Once a dead person is buried, his or her body decomposes and after a few years there is very little left to indicate that they ever walked on earth. Every person will die, for no one lives on this earth for ever. Through the Resurrection of Jesus, God has turned what is corruptible and mortal into being incorruptible and immortal. When God raised Jesus from the dead, he made it possible for every human being to be raised from the dead and experience new and everlasting life with him. The human body will still die and decompose, but God has demonstrated this is not the end. God clothed the Risen Body of Jesus in incorruptibility and immortality – he is alive for ever more. After Jesus, Mary was the first to be raised and bestowed with the gift of immortal life. What God did for Jesus and Mary will be done for every person of faith. The preface of the Mass of the Assumption expresses it in this way:
“Today the Virgin Mother of God was taken up into heaven to be the beginning and the pattern of the Church in its perfection and a sign of hope and comfort for your people on their pilgrim way. You would not allow decay to touch her body, for she had given birth to your Son, the Lord of all Life, in the glory of the Incarnation.”
The Bible does not describe Mary’s death or burial. John’s vision in Revelation Ch. 12 of the woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon and with a crown of 12 stars provided the scriptural basis for Mary’s Assumption. It may be compared with the resurrection of the body described in 1 Thessalonians 4 v 17, where Paul speaks of those who are alive at the end of time. They will, he says, ‘be caught up in the clouds together… to meet the Lord in the air,…. and will be with the Lord for ever.’ This language is symbolic and figurative, as any language must be in dealing with such a mystery, but it expresses the underlying and stupendous reality. Mary in her Assumption has already experienced fully what we will experience at the end of time.
This feast challenges us; we will one day die and stand before Christ (2 Timothy 4 v 8). Are we living our lives so that we are ready to meet the Lord now? Do we pray for a happy death? This feast invites us to prepare with hope and confidence in God’s mercy at the moment of our death.
July
For the next few months the Church is in the ‘green season’ – the vestments and altar frontal are green, which is a symbol of growth. We have just had a Confirmation and Baptisms, which were occasions of great celebration, but it is essential for both our candidates and ourselves to continue to grow in faith.
In a recent address I mentioned a Valentine card I had received as a single Curate in Leigh-on-Sea. It read:
'Happy Valentine's Day to the Love of my life. For you I would ...
Climb the highest mountain...
Swim the deepest ocean...
I opened the card enthusiastically … only to read the words inside:
“I’ll see you tonight if it doesn’t rain.”
That card sums up so much about our Christian commitment. We sing hymns with words such as:
“Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee… Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold,” but how much do we really mean them?
Our Baptismal and Confirmation Promises are our ‘Valentine to God’ but in reality they can so easily degenerate to the same kind of level as that card I received – particularly when it comes to the reasons why we too easily give worship a miss:
A is for Aunty who will come to tea
B is for Bed that won’t release me.
C is for Car – we do need fresh air,
D is for Dinner that I must prepare.
E is for Extremes – too high or too low,
F is for Feelings – when they’re right then I’ll go…
….and so our excuses go on.
Yet all of us need to be as totally committed to following Christ as we were at Baptism and Confirmation, when we were anointed with the oil of Chrism. That signified our service to God and His confirmation or strengthening of us to enable us to carry out this service. How easy it is to slip to the level of that card: saying one thing but doing another. Yet what we really should be doing is growing in faith.
I love the East Anglian story of a hiker going through Blundeston who saw an old boy cutting his hedge and asked,
“How long will it take me to walk into Lowestoft?”
“Can’t tell you,” was the reply. The hiker had gone a fair way up the road when he heard the old boy holler:
“Just you come back here!” He duly returned and was told:
“It’ll take you an hour and a half.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” retorted the irritated hiker.
“Well,” responded the old boy, “I didn’t know how fast you were walking.”
Each of us walks at a different pace in our spiritual journey, but the greater our commitment to daily prayer, the Sacraments – particularly Holy Communion – and reading & absorbing Scripture, the more likely we will journey into a deeper realisation of God’s presence in our lives.
I pray that this aim may become a reality during this ‘green season’.
For the next few months the Church is in the ‘green season’ – the vestments and altar frontal are green, which is a symbol of growth. We have just had a Confirmation and Baptisms, which were occasions of great celebration, but it is essential for both our candidates and ourselves to continue to grow in faith.
In a recent address I mentioned a Valentine card I had received as a single Curate in Leigh-on-Sea. It read:
'Happy Valentine's Day to the Love of my life. For you I would ...
Climb the highest mountain...
Swim the deepest ocean...
I opened the card enthusiastically … only to read the words inside:
“I’ll see you tonight if it doesn’t rain.”
That card sums up so much about our Christian commitment. We sing hymns with words such as:
“Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to Thee… Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold,” but how much do we really mean them?
Our Baptismal and Confirmation Promises are our ‘Valentine to God’ but in reality they can so easily degenerate to the same kind of level as that card I received – particularly when it comes to the reasons why we too easily give worship a miss:
A is for Aunty who will come to tea
B is for Bed that won’t release me.
C is for Car – we do need fresh air,
D is for Dinner that I must prepare.
E is for Extremes – too high or too low,
F is for Feelings – when they’re right then I’ll go…
….and so our excuses go on.
Yet all of us need to be as totally committed to following Christ as we were at Baptism and Confirmation, when we were anointed with the oil of Chrism. That signified our service to God and His confirmation or strengthening of us to enable us to carry out this service. How easy it is to slip to the level of that card: saying one thing but doing another. Yet what we really should be doing is growing in faith.
I love the East Anglian story of a hiker going through Blundeston who saw an old boy cutting his hedge and asked,
“How long will it take me to walk into Lowestoft?”
“Can’t tell you,” was the reply. The hiker had gone a fair way up the road when he heard the old boy holler:
“Just you come back here!” He duly returned and was told:
“It’ll take you an hour and a half.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” retorted the irritated hiker.
“Well,” responded the old boy, “I didn’t know how fast you were walking.”
Each of us walks at a different pace in our spiritual journey, but the greater our commitment to daily prayer, the Sacraments – particularly Holy Communion – and reading & absorbing Scripture, the more likely we will journey into a deeper realisation of God’s presence in our lives.
I pray that this aim may become a reality during this ‘green season’.
June
“Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.” (Luke 7.50)
How often people allow their sins and failings to prevent them from drawing close to God. They say, “I am a sinner; I’m not worthy.” But in St Luke’s Gospel (7 v 36-50) we see a sinful woman drawing close to Jesus in love and trust and he says those words to her:
“Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.”
In this Gospel Jesus shows himself to be ‘the friend of sinners’. The Pharisees tried to have nothing to do with sinners and Simon, the Pharisee in whose house Jesus was having a meal, was shocked; not only that Jesus allowed a sinner to approach him but also to touch him. St Luke contrasts the cold reception Simon gave Jesus with the warm reception of the sinful woman. What Jesus was saying to Simon in his parable of the debtors was that this woman, in spite of her sinful past, was nearer to God than he was. In Simon’s mind the woman was beyond redemption. As far as he was concerned she was a sinner and would always be a sinner and he didn’t want anything to do with her.
For the woman, however, it took great courage on her part to even enter the house of a Pharisee or come up to Jesus. She became vulnerable and laid herself open to the possibility of public condemnation and shaming. She was painfully aware of her sin and was sorry for it – and Jesus assured her she was loved and forgiven. Here was a woman who recognised her own sinfulness but was thirsting to be recognised as a person and not as an object.
What does this Gospel say to us in the month of June – dedicated to the Sacred heart of Jesus – that symbol of God’s tremendous love and complete forgiveness?
First we have to learn to see goodness in one another and recognise that other people’s faults can only be cured by love. We cannot change anyone unless we accept them as they are. Condemnation oppresses people and never liberates them. Simon the Pharisee looked at the woman and saw a sinner who would always be a sinner, but Jesus looked at her and saw a sinner who was capable of becoming a saint. We must remember:
There is no saint without a past & no sinner without a future.
All our sins are but a handful of dust thrown into the ocean of God’s love. So often in the past the Church has made God’s love the handful of dust and our sins the ocean!
One day a friend paid a visit to Michelangelo and found the great sculptor chipping away at a huge block of marble. “What in heaven’s name are you doing?” the friend asked.
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” Michelangelo replied.
If we follow Christ we, too, must ‘release the angel’ imprisoned in all people – including ourselves.
How do we respond to God’s great love shown in the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It should be our heart rather than our head which is the house of the Gospel, for it is not cleverness, or lack of it, that shuts out the Gospel, but pride. It is not stupidity which welcomes the Gospel, but humility. Knowing about God is the activity of the head, but knowing God is an activity of the heart. So to welcome God into our lives is not so much a question of opening a book and reading about God, but of opening our heart and loving God, so that we can help spread that love throughout the world. This month may we make these words our prayer:
‘O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.’
“Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.” (Luke 7.50)
How often people allow their sins and failings to prevent them from drawing close to God. They say, “I am a sinner; I’m not worthy.” But in St Luke’s Gospel (7 v 36-50) we see a sinful woman drawing close to Jesus in love and trust and he says those words to her:
“Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.”
In this Gospel Jesus shows himself to be ‘the friend of sinners’. The Pharisees tried to have nothing to do with sinners and Simon, the Pharisee in whose house Jesus was having a meal, was shocked; not only that Jesus allowed a sinner to approach him but also to touch him. St Luke contrasts the cold reception Simon gave Jesus with the warm reception of the sinful woman. What Jesus was saying to Simon in his parable of the debtors was that this woman, in spite of her sinful past, was nearer to God than he was. In Simon’s mind the woman was beyond redemption. As far as he was concerned she was a sinner and would always be a sinner and he didn’t want anything to do with her.
For the woman, however, it took great courage on her part to even enter the house of a Pharisee or come up to Jesus. She became vulnerable and laid herself open to the possibility of public condemnation and shaming. She was painfully aware of her sin and was sorry for it – and Jesus assured her she was loved and forgiven. Here was a woman who recognised her own sinfulness but was thirsting to be recognised as a person and not as an object.
What does this Gospel say to us in the month of June – dedicated to the Sacred heart of Jesus – that symbol of God’s tremendous love and complete forgiveness?
First we have to learn to see goodness in one another and recognise that other people’s faults can only be cured by love. We cannot change anyone unless we accept them as they are. Condemnation oppresses people and never liberates them. Simon the Pharisee looked at the woman and saw a sinner who would always be a sinner, but Jesus looked at her and saw a sinner who was capable of becoming a saint. We must remember:
There is no saint without a past & no sinner without a future.
All our sins are but a handful of dust thrown into the ocean of God’s love. So often in the past the Church has made God’s love the handful of dust and our sins the ocean!
One day a friend paid a visit to Michelangelo and found the great sculptor chipping away at a huge block of marble. “What in heaven’s name are you doing?” the friend asked.
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free,” Michelangelo replied.
If we follow Christ we, too, must ‘release the angel’ imprisoned in all people – including ourselves.
How do we respond to God’s great love shown in the Sacred Heart of Jesus? It should be our heart rather than our head which is the house of the Gospel, for it is not cleverness, or lack of it, that shuts out the Gospel, but pride. It is not stupidity which welcomes the Gospel, but humility. Knowing about God is the activity of the head, but knowing God is an activity of the heart. So to welcome God into our lives is not so much a question of opening a book and reading about God, but of opening our heart and loving God, so that we can help spread that love throughout the world. This month may we make these words our prayer:
‘O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for thee.’
May
Our twin aims as Christians should be:
‘TO KNOW CHRIST BETTER & TO MAKE HIM BETTER KNOWN.’
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have asked all Anglican congregations to pray for the evangelisation of this country from Ascension Sunday (8th May) to Pentecost/Whitsun (15th May) that all may come to know Jesus as Lord.
This reflects the time when the Apostles and the Virgin Mary were at prayer in the upper room after Jesus had ascended to Heaven and before the power of the Holy Spirit was released in their lives. They had been entrusted with a great task, but during this time they had neither the strength nor will to begin it. Yet after the coming of the Holy Spirit they were changed people. They left the upper room and set out courageously to preach the Good News. In promising the Holy Spirit, Jesus had said to them:
Our twin aims as Christians should be:
‘TO KNOW CHRIST BETTER & TO MAKE HIM BETTER KNOWN.’
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have asked all Anglican congregations to pray for the evangelisation of this country from Ascension Sunday (8th May) to Pentecost/Whitsun (15th May) that all may come to know Jesus as Lord.
This reflects the time when the Apostles and the Virgin Mary were at prayer in the upper room after Jesus had ascended to Heaven and before the power of the Holy Spirit was released in their lives. They had been entrusted with a great task, but during this time they had neither the strength nor will to begin it. Yet after the coming of the Holy Spirit they were changed people. They left the upper room and set out courageously to preach the Good News. In promising the Holy Spirit, Jesus had said to them:
What does empowerment mean?
In the first place it means to give or delegate power or authority to someone – to authorise them. This would not apply to the apostles, who had already been given authority by Jesus. In the second place it means to give the ability to enable someone to do something. This certainly applies to the apostles at Pentecost. When people are empowered they become able and willing to take charge of their situation and no longer wait for someone else to do it for them. The Holy Spirit empowered the apostles under those signs of wind and fire – wind has power to move and uproot and fire to refine and transform. This is the power, presence and action of God that provided the apostles with energy, enthusiasm, courage and love to get on with the task Jesus had given them. The Holy Spirit would help them, but he would not do it for them. As Jesus said, the power that changed the apostles – the Holy Spirit - is available to us, too, if we ask for it. (Luke 11 v 13)
The Archbishops have said: “At the heart of our prayers will be words that Jesus himself taught us – ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ During this week of prayer, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed at St Mary’s church for periods of silent prayer [10th May: 7.00pm for an hour & other times as on porch notice.] May is the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Pope St John Paul II said,
“It is Mary who will help us to find time for prayer to listen for the voice of God in the midst of a busy and noisy world.”
Mary is a woman of stillness, silence and contemplation; it is she who “stored up all these things in her heart” (Luke 2 v 52).
Silence is a healing influence, for we live out our lives against a background of noise and activity. It may have been tempting to the apostles to become caught up in activity straight away, but Jesus said to them: “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24 v 49). I hope many will be able to take advantage of this time of silence, pray “Thy Kingdom Come” and clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit, like Mary, become more confident witnesses for Christ in the world, so that all may come to know him as Lord.
April
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”
One of my most spiritual ‘transfiguration’ moments was when I was on pilgrimage to Walsingham last September. Fr Stephen was leading a healing service and there must have been about 150 people present. He related a recent healing at the shrine. A woman with an incurable illness received the laying-on-of hands and anointing for healing. When she returned home and saw her doctor, he asked her where she had been. “Walsingham,” was her reply. He simply said, “You are cured.” Fr Stephen invited all to receive this ministry with expectancy, but he added something else: “There will be opportunity for you to make your confession and there are several priests stationed around the shrine to administer absolution. When you leave the confessional you will see the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus showing God’s great love and forgiveness.”
To my surprise there was a rush to the confessionals with priests having to ‘direct the traffic’! People came away, some weeping with joy that they had shed a load of sin and were reconciled with God.
We, too, are called to open our hearts to God. Since the beginning of creation he has stretched out his arms to us – never forcing himself on anyone but always waiting. He always hopes his children will return so he can speak words of love to them. When I look as though through God’s eyes at my lost self and discover God’s joy at being reconciled with him, then my life becomes less anguished and more trusting. Questions such as these are the real issue:
God’s forgiveness is unconditional and comes from a heart that does not demand anything for itself, a heart that is completely empty of self-seeking. It demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt or wronged.
Fr Malcolm Johnson, a former vicar of St Botolph’s Aldgate in London said in a sermon:
‘I was brought up in a church which emphasised our wickedness and unworthiness all the time. At ‘Mothball Matins’ (the fur coat in front of me was overpowering) we were continually told how naughty we were. No one spoke to me as we left the church looking miserable because we had been at a Memorial Service for God…BUT… Love bids me welcome. Jesus the Host says, “Come to the party; I accept you as you are,” so we take our seats at the table.’
Let us thank God that the sacrament of Confession has been renamed ‘the sacrament of Reconciliation’ and use this prayer for healing:
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come.
Jesus said,
“Come to me, all who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest.”
One of my most spiritual ‘transfiguration’ moments was when I was on pilgrimage to Walsingham last September. Fr Stephen was leading a healing service and there must have been about 150 people present. He related a recent healing at the shrine. A woman with an incurable illness received the laying-on-of hands and anointing for healing. When she returned home and saw her doctor, he asked her where she had been. “Walsingham,” was her reply. He simply said, “You are cured.” Fr Stephen invited all to receive this ministry with expectancy, but he added something else: “There will be opportunity for you to make your confession and there are several priests stationed around the shrine to administer absolution. When you leave the confessional you will see the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus showing God’s great love and forgiveness.”
To my surprise there was a rush to the confessionals with priests having to ‘direct the traffic’! People came away, some weeping with joy that they had shed a load of sin and were reconciled with God.
We, too, are called to open our hearts to God. Since the beginning of creation he has stretched out his arms to us – never forcing himself on anyone but always waiting. He always hopes his children will return so he can speak words of love to them. When I look as though through God’s eyes at my lost self and discover God’s joy at being reconciled with him, then my life becomes less anguished and more trusting. Questions such as these are the real issue:
- Can I accept that I am worth looking for?
God’s forgiveness is unconditional and comes from a heart that does not demand anything for itself, a heart that is completely empty of self-seeking. It demands of me that I step over that wounded part of my heart that feels hurt or wronged.
Fr Malcolm Johnson, a former vicar of St Botolph’s Aldgate in London said in a sermon:
‘I was brought up in a church which emphasised our wickedness and unworthiness all the time. At ‘Mothball Matins’ (the fur coat in front of me was overpowering) we were continually told how naughty we were. No one spoke to me as we left the church looking miserable because we had been at a Memorial Service for God…BUT… Love bids me welcome. Jesus the Host says, “Come to the party; I accept you as you are,” so we take our seats at the table.’
Let us thank God that the sacrament of Confession has been renamed ‘the sacrament of Reconciliation’ and use this prayer for healing:
Just as I am, though tossed about
With many a conflict, many a doubt,
Fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come.
March
On Easter Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene visited the tomb of Jesus and found it empty, she assumed someone had stolen his body. When Simon Peter & John heard Mary’s story, they ran to the tomb. Peter saw the burial clothes but John saw more; he not only saw, but he believed. If someone had stolen the body, surely they wouldn’t have taken the trouble to strip it first and then roll up the burial clothes!
However, there are problems about this Gospel passage and it would be dishonest to ignore them. John’s Gospel says it was still dark when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb – and doesn’t mention anyone being with her. Other Gospels mention other women, but do not give exactly the same list of their names. Mark’s Gospel mentions one angel, whilst Luke’s mentions two. I could go on, but although Christians throughout the centuries have been aware of discrepancies they are not worried about them. Despite all the differences of detail, all four Gospels agree on the most important points – that:
- Jesus died on a cross and was buried;
- On the first day of the week the tomb in which he was buried was empty;
- Several people saw and touched the Risen Christ.
I believe that the diversity of minor detail actually testifies to the truth of the Resurrection. If it had all been concocted, the disciples would have made sure that their evidence was exactly the same! The lives they lived afterwards were also compelling testimony to the fact that Jesus was no longer dead, but alive again.
Early Christians were more concerned with the meaning of the Resurrection and much more about Jesus who, through his Spirit, is alive in the world today. We need to discover afresh the power of the Resurrection. It wasn’t enough for Peter to have been told about it by Mary Magdalene; he had to discover it for himself, or he would never have really believed. We, too, have to open our hearts to the Risen power of Jesus. The Good News of Easter is that nothing can defeat us any more – not pain, sorrow or even death. The Good News of Easter is that Jesus will work a miracle in our lives if we will open our hearts to his Easter power.
Mary Magdalene, Peter and John came searching for Jesus and we in turn search for him. Our prayer at Easter is that we want to know more of Christ and the power of Resurrection Life. We can show God’s love to others most of all by warm hearts that continually experience the forgiveness and mercy of an all-loving God. May we, like St John, who saw and believed, open our hearts to others and radiate the Risen life of Jesus. HAPPY EASTER!!
To see details of Holy Week and Easter Services, click here
To read more about the meaning of Holy Week and Easter, click here
February
Lent is a very special time of preparation for Easter.
‘Lent’ comes from an old English word for Springtime – a season when new life comes from the clutch of winter. It is our time for revival and renewal. Maybe you are carrying personal wounds that have been eating away at you. Lent is a time to let healing begin. It is a time to experience prayer anew. It is less a time for pain and punishment that it is a time for healing.
It is not meant to be a time for temporary improvement until Easter, after which we can go back to ‘business as usual’ Rather its purpose is for a lasting change in our lives. We need to ask ourselves: “What is one way I might follow more closely in Jesus’ footsteps during Lent?” One spiritual writer wrote:
“Everyone thinks of changing humanity; nobody thinks of changing themselves.”
The Gospel for Ash Wednesday gives 3 ways of observing Lent, but we must examine our motives:
- Giving alms (donating money to charity or church) .. is it a gesture of love…or to show off about my generosity?
- Prayer: is it an expression of our love of God and other people… or a means to win approval?
- Fasting: does it express some sorrow for sin… or is it done simply to let others know how holy I am?
Historians tell us that stone-carvers of the most famous mediaeval cathedrals never signed their art. They preferred to work anonymously - solely for the honour and glory of God. This, together with the words of Jesus about not making a show of what we do, invite us to question our motives for working, giving, praying and fasting.
- How can I witness to my faith this Lent without appearing arrogant or self-righteous?
- What practical application can I give to prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent?
If we try to live this Lent in this spirit, we will go some way in fulfilling the words of the prophet Joel: ‘Come back to me with all your heart’ and more fully experience the joy of the Resurrection at Easter.
Our Lenten giving will be for the Additional Curates Society which promotes vocations to the priesthood and helps parishes which cannot afford to pay for a priest. Boxes will be available in church.
January
The word ‘Epiphany’ means ‘revelation’.
Sometimes on a dull and wintry January day a break appears in the thick layer of cloud and we get a glimpse of a radiant sun – but all too soon the break is covered up and the sun disappears once more. But that short glimpse of a brighter and warmer world can do wonders for us. Daily life is full of little ‘epiphanies’ if we have eyes to see and minds to reflect as they each slip through the cracks of our busy lives and bring a moment of peace, beauty and goodness.
On the Feast of Epiphany (celebrated on 3rd Jan this year) there was a mysterious parting of the veil which enabled the Wise Men to catch a glimpse of the radiance of the Christ child at Bethlehem. Some people looked at Him and saw him as just another child. Others, such as Herod, saw Him as a threat, but the Wise Men paid homage to Him as they recognised Him as their Saviour. All these people had the same eyes, but they did not see the same things with them. It was faith which enabled the Wise men to penetrate the veil and see the reality beyond.
Yet the veil closed for them, too, as the star disappeared and they had to return home. What difference did the experience make for them? In one sense it made no difference as they had to go back to their old lives and occupations. However, in another sense, one would like to think it made a world of difference to them. They now had a new vision and hope. For them, the Epiphany had been one of those moments, like a flash of light, that illuminated their lives.
Like the Wise Men we worship Christ present among us, but veiled under the forms of bread and wine. For some it will only seem just bread and wine, but when we look with the eyes of faith, we know the bread and wine are channels of God’s presence. Like the Wise Men we, too, return to our ordinary lives, but I hope that every time we return we see our lives differently. As St John writes in Chapter 1 of his Gospel:
‘The Word was the true light that enlightens all men.’
In other words we see our divinity in the Christ Child.
We may not have gold, frankincense and myrrh to offer, but as a result of knowing Jesus we are able to open the treasures of our heart and share them with others.
The word ‘Epiphany’ means ‘revelation’.
Sometimes on a dull and wintry January day a break appears in the thick layer of cloud and we get a glimpse of a radiant sun – but all too soon the break is covered up and the sun disappears once more. But that short glimpse of a brighter and warmer world can do wonders for us. Daily life is full of little ‘epiphanies’ if we have eyes to see and minds to reflect as they each slip through the cracks of our busy lives and bring a moment of peace, beauty and goodness.
On the Feast of Epiphany (celebrated on 3rd Jan this year) there was a mysterious parting of the veil which enabled the Wise Men to catch a glimpse of the radiance of the Christ child at Bethlehem. Some people looked at Him and saw him as just another child. Others, such as Herod, saw Him as a threat, but the Wise Men paid homage to Him as they recognised Him as their Saviour. All these people had the same eyes, but they did not see the same things with them. It was faith which enabled the Wise men to penetrate the veil and see the reality beyond.
Yet the veil closed for them, too, as the star disappeared and they had to return home. What difference did the experience make for them? In one sense it made no difference as they had to go back to their old lives and occupations. However, in another sense, one would like to think it made a world of difference to them. They now had a new vision and hope. For them, the Epiphany had been one of those moments, like a flash of light, that illuminated their lives.
Like the Wise Men we worship Christ present among us, but veiled under the forms of bread and wine. For some it will only seem just bread and wine, but when we look with the eyes of faith, we know the bread and wine are channels of God’s presence. Like the Wise Men we, too, return to our ordinary lives, but I hope that every time we return we see our lives differently. As St John writes in Chapter 1 of his Gospel:
‘The Word was the true light that enlightens all men.’
In other words we see our divinity in the Christ Child.
We may not have gold, frankincense and myrrh to offer, but as a result of knowing Jesus we are able to open the treasures of our heart and share them with others.
