Father Philip writes.....
2017
December
I have recently read about a priest who was so concerned about the homeless that he decided to try to experience living that way. One day he put on some shabby clothing and a rucksack around his shoulders. After some days he had a stubble of a beard and nobody recognized him any more. In telling his story he said he felt hardly able to reach and get help from those who were better off. Their homes were unapproachable and he was chased away from their streets by dogs. He even went to the rectory of one of his friends and was neither recognized nor helped. The only people who helped were those who were not too well off themselves.
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This was the experience of Mary and Joseph when they looked for a place to allow Mary to give birth to Jesus. The person who provided the manger and the shepherds were the only people who respected the dignity of the Holy Family. The shepherds’ faith in the message given by the angel was confirmed by the sight of the young girl and her husband and the new-born child in the manger.
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That sense of poverty and oppression was familiar to them in their everyday lives, so what astonished them was not the poverty but the realisation that God is present in the midst of poverty.
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We tend to romanticise the birth of Jesus and make everything ‘nice’ about the stable. The shepherds are clean and nicely dressed, the manger pleasant, of polished wood and filled with fresh hay. The Gospel encourages us to a view different picture: Mary is poor, the stable was probably filthy and the shepherds were definitely outcasts. Without doubt it teaches us that God’s love reaches us in all circumstances – however lowly.
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The child we see is God made man. We trip that off our tongue so easily, but let us stop and think about the enormity of it for a moment. He is light and love for all who believe, but leaves the response to us. Our faith will be shown by the way we live. We all need to be like the shepherds, to allow the love of God into our hearts to make time and room for him so he will live in us. We also need to ask ourselves: “What can I do to make the light of Christ burn more brightly in today’s darkness?”
St Theresa of Calcutta writes:
St Theresa of Calcutta writes:
“Welcome Jesus at Christmasstide, not in the cold manger of a selfish heart but a heart warm with love for one another.”
November
This month, with her permission, the words in most of this article are those of Marie. We became aware of Marie’s story very recently, when we received a message from the General Secretary of the Guild of All Souls, whom she had contacted about her exhibition in Kesgrave. This portrayed an eight-year-long journey of coming to terms with a child loss caused by a miscarriage. On looking at Marie’s website, http://www.grievingmother.co.uk under the tab ‘Blog’ we found the following:
Marie writes:
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The Guild of All Souls
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‘When I found out about the loss of my second child, I was devastated but to my own surprise also terribly relieved. Three years of waiting for this embryo transfer, having treatments, gynaecological procedures, being on hormonal medications for months, worrying every single day, hour, minute whether this child was going to live. At least something was resolved. I knew the score. I felt free for the first time in many years. I fulfilled my promise, I gave everything to this child. Everything for this special baby who I was united with for several precious weeks.
The grief came later, it descended like a hailstorm. I was lost, what I was to do with this life? There was a big black hole inside me where the child had been. The effect of hormonal medicine was lethal. I was fuelled by anxiety and rage, running around the house cleaning. I had to use all my mental strength just not to explode and not to hurt my lovely family. They so wanted to help me but I had to be alone with these explosive emotions. So I took a day off and went for a drive. I wanted to keep driving away from home, away from this painful experience. I wanted to drive and never come back. And then it dawned on me… I had nowhere to go. The only place for me was with my loving family, in the centre of all pain. There was no escape for me.
‘When I found out about the loss of my second child, I was devastated but to my own surprise also terribly relieved. Three years of waiting for this embryo transfer, having treatments, gynaecological procedures, being on hormonal medications for months, worrying every single day, hour, minute whether this child was going to live. At least something was resolved. I knew the score. I felt free for the first time in many years. I fulfilled my promise, I gave everything to this child. Everything for this special baby who I was united with for several precious weeks.
The grief came later, it descended like a hailstorm. I was lost, what I was to do with this life? There was a big black hole inside me where the child had been. The effect of hormonal medicine was lethal. I was fuelled by anxiety and rage, running around the house cleaning. I had to use all my mental strength just not to explode and not to hurt my lovely family. They so wanted to help me but I had to be alone with these explosive emotions. So I took a day off and went for a drive. I wanted to keep driving away from home, away from this painful experience. I wanted to drive and never come back. And then it dawned on me… I had nowhere to go. The only place for me was with my loving family, in the centre of all pain. There was no escape for me.
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As I was driving, I found a little church in Mendlesham village surrounded by tall lime trees. It was a quiet time of day and I walked slowly to the church across the pebble path. I stepped in and shut the world away with the door behind me. In the blessed silence and the scent of church wood I walked along the isle and found a place to pray. A prayer was provided and I was grateful. I don’t know many. I sat down and prayed. It brought me comfort. I also discovered a small side chapel with beautiful, suggestive paintings on the walls and a candle stand in the middle. The sign said’ please light a candle for a loved one you lost’. … so I did. I lit a candle for the little soul that lived in my body and departed for an unknown reason. I prayed and wept.
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I found a poem on the little church table: ‘Walking with grief’ by the Guild of all Souls. I was so upset with myself that after years of therapy and my own artistic work I was still grieving. I thought I had done with all that. Not yet, there is more bitterness in my cup. A pain to be drunk. So I walked, I walked along the river that afternoon, I walked slowly and I walked with grief.
When I got home I painted. I had to create this big black hole that was inside me. I had to see it for what it was. I painted with my hands the huge black space. I wanted to curl up in the middle of it. But the paper was wet, so I painted instead -turquoise, lime green- slapping the paint on with my palms. I asked myself: what lives in the hole? Red eyes appeared, that was my fear. Then a nose and lips and the lips were moving. Were they talking, screaming? No, they were singing! So I began to sing while a face appeared. An old, wise shaman and we sang together the song of life and death filled with love and sadness.’
When I got home I painted. I had to create this big black hole that was inside me. I had to see it for what it was. I painted with my hands the huge black space. I wanted to curl up in the middle of it. But the paper was wet, so I painted instead -turquoise, lime green- slapping the paint on with my palms. I asked myself: what lives in the hole? Red eyes appeared, that was my fear. Then a nose and lips and the lips were moving. Were they talking, screaming? No, they were singing! So I began to sing while a face appeared. An old, wise shaman and we sang together the song of life and death filled with love and sadness.’
Having now had the privilege of meeting Marie, I have invited her to stage her exhibition ‘The Grieving Mother’ at St Mary’s Mendlesham from Tuesday 21st November – Friday 1st December (see 'Whats on' page for more information). Inspired by her story and aware of that of many others in Mendlesham and beyond, we are also holding a ‘Service of Light’ on Saturday 25th November at 2.30pm.
It is for any parents or relatives whose children have died, before birth or at any time after, of any cause and however long ago. Candles will be given and lit, to be carried and placed on the altar of the Lady chapel as a sign of prayer for these children.
It will be short, quiet and reflective, consist of readings, prayers and a little music and open to any who wish to come. It will finish quietly, to allow those who wish to stay or go in silence to do so. However, an opportunity will also be provided afterwards for any who would like to talk to a sympathetic listener.
October
The Dedication Festival should always be a great event, for it is the celebration of the dedication or consecration of our first church building in late Saxon or early mediaeval days. The bishop would have read the sentence of consecration and anointed the stone altar with the oil of Chrism (5 crosses for the 5 wounds of Christ).
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He would then have proceeded similarly to anoint the walls of the church with 12 crosses which had previously been painted. These 12 crosses represent the 12 Apostles, and the anointing signified that the church should adhere to the faith of the Apostles.
The bells would have been baptised and given names, as their purpose is to summon people to the worship of God; the churchyard would have been consecrated and Communion vessels, vestments and crucifixes would have been blessed. A very similar liturgy still takes place when a new church is consecrated today. |
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We need to remind ourselves as to why we spend thousands of pounds restoring our parish church of St Mary’s.
1. Because it is a ‘Sacrament of Stone’. By its presence it proclaims the faith of Christ 24 hours a day and 365/6 days a year. |
2. It is a place where people find God in peace and quiet. Clive Strickland, in a book entitled, “The Church in the City” writes these words:
‘In the past few years a number of books have appeared which have documented the architectural features of churches; these works, admirable in themselves, have tended to see churches as repositories of artistic excellence in all its many forms. However… the church is first and foremost a place where one meets God through and in Christ.’ |
The church building may well be the place where a person meets God for the first time. Some people enter for prayer, to light a candle or to escape the pressures of the day, for churches – and especially St Mary’s - have an atmosphere of sacredness.
3. Our churches are repositories of art. Simon Jenkins in “England’s Thousand Best Churches” says: ‘It is as if every ‘art worker’ had come to leave his mark in honour of the master.’The importance of this is summed up in the following prayer from the Divine Office:
‘Pour forth your spirit, Lord, on all artists, musicians and craftsmen. May their work bring variety, joy and inspiration to our lives.’
So as we thank God for St Mary’s we are reminded that, just as the building is consecrated, so are we, through our Baptism. We all need to know Christ better and make him better known.
Perhaps you have never been baptised or were baptised as a baby and not Confirmed. Perhaps you would like to know more about the Christian faith or would love to make a commitment but don’t quite know how to start. Perhaps you would like a ‘refresher’ to help revitalise your faith.
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I shall be starting Confirmation classes on Sunday 8th October in Church at 11.15 after Parish Mass & coffee. This first session will be to explain the meaning of vestments in church. I will arrange timings for subsequent classes which are mutually convenient. You are welcome to come and you are not committing yourself by doing so. I hope there will be a Confirmation next Spring for those who would like to make a commitment. |
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I am letting Pam Rhodes have the last word as I quote from her book “Living and Loved Favourite Churches”:
‘If the Church is God’s home, then Britain has far more than its fair share of exquisitely beautiful houses of worship which are built to his glory. But God doesn’t confine himself to church buildings. His real home is the human heart.’
September
Some weeks ago I was talking to a parishioner who rarely comes to church. I was talking about an occasion when I had been stopped by a Security Guard at a London Tube station. He had taken me aside and asked me to open my black suitcase as he thought it contained a suspicious item.
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That item was, in fact, my Office Book (Breviary) – the book of Bible readings, prayers and meditations which, as a priest, I use several times every single day, containing Morning Prayer, Prayer during the Day, Evening Prayer, Night Prayer and Office of Readings. My book is covered in an all-round black leather cover and has ribbon markers at various pages throughout. The Security Guard had thought it was an explosive and remained suspicious until I explained that it wasn’t. The parishioner said, |
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“You should have told him it was explosive, because if we took Christ’s words to heart they would explode in our lives!”
He was right. God is continually calling us to a better life through his Word. Jesus compared the Word of God to a seed which a person plants in the ground (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15) but for the seed to grow well it needs to be planted in good soil. To develop a relationship with God requires expressing and developing that in worship and action with other Christians, or else we become like football players trying to develop a game on our own without being part of a team.
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There are four categories of soil Jesus mentions, which correspond to four ways people receive the Word of God:
1. The Path: hardened by people’s footsteps, where birds eat the seed: |
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2. Stony Ground: seed goes in but roots don’t spread: A person’s initial enthusiasm for the Gospel soon falls away when there is no depth & they can’t be bothered to allow their spiritual life to develop. |
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3. Thorns: prevent the plant from flourishing & eventually smother it: A person’s spiritual journey may develop for some time, but then becomes smothered and eventually killed by other things which take on ever greater importance in their life. |
Here is an Alphabet of Excuses which people use for not coming to worship God in church; they may seem innocuous, but can so easily be thorns which stunt spiritual growth and eventually kill it. I’ve mentioned it before, but, like a thorn, it's perennial:
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4. Good Soil: summed up in the following prayer:
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Lord, Give us grace to be doers of your Word, not only hearers. Not only to admire your doctrine, but to obey it; not only to believe your religion, but to practise it; not only to love your Gospel but to live it. |
.........May we fulfil it so God’s Word explodes in our lives! |
August
August is dominated by our Summer Festival - the Patronal Festival of our parish church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
This day celebrates Mary’s resurrection. The resurrection which Our Lord has promised to all his disciples has already taken place in the very special case of Mary, Jesus’ mother. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because it lies at the heart of our faith. God became man in Jesus Christ to give us life now and in eternity. This life does not stop when we undergo physical death.
What sort of life shall we receive? It will be what is shown in Jesus’ resurrection – new and endless life for our whole selves, body and soul alike – not some shadowy half-life for our soul alone. On Easter morning, Jesus’ body was alive again, more glorious than before and now incorruptible. Jesus ate, walked, spoke and was touched by his disciples.
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This is resurrection. God is not concerned with salvaging just one bit of us; it is our whole selves – body and mind as well as soul, to whom he promises a future that is better than our present existence.
Before this resurrection life we have to undergo death just as Jesus did. St Paul compares our dying to grain sown in the earth. It is sown dead in order that it may sprout and grow and become more alive than ever it was before. The seed sown in the earth is an image of our body destroyed by death. Life lies ahead, however, and on the last day our bodies will be remade and transformed, just like the risen body of Jesus. |
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The Assumption of Mary is simply the resurrection of Mary, and because she is special it has happened to her already. As mother of Jesus (God made Man) she is the one who gave flesh to the Saviour, so it is appropriate she should have this privilege. Christ is risen and Mary is risen and we, too, await our resurrection. So the story of Man and Woman is to have a happy ending, for all things are going to return to perfection.
This is what we celebrate at the Assumption. |
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July
When Jesus ascended into Heaven it was not the final chapter of his story, but a new one…. for it was now up to his disciples to carry on where Jesus left off.
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At his last meeting with his disciples on earth, Jesus did 3 things:
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We, too, are Jesus’ disciples and he says the same to us, but so often people say they don’t know how to ‘make disciples’. However, God has given all of us the tools for mission and they are as simple as this:
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1: Listen to God:
Ask God to open your mind to his word in the Scriptures and your heart when Jesus comes to us in the Blessed Sacrament. After meeting Jesus we can’t go out without a desire to share in his work: “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”
2: Pray
Praying for others is one of the most powerful things we can do.
I would ask all who claim to follow Jesus to prayerfully choose 5 people to pray for: they may be agnostic; they may claim to be atheist; they may be searching for faith or they may have lapsed from practising their faith.
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Having prayerfully chosen these 5 people, take a cord, shoelace or piece of string about 15” long and tie 5 simple knots - one for each of them - praying for them as you do. (There are a number of pieces of leather cord on the table near the porch. You are welcome to take one.) Then write their names on a card. Carry this card and the cord in your pocket or bag or put it somewhere you will see it and pray every day for these 5 people. I suggest the prayer:
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“Lord, I pray that you will lead [name of person] to you. Amen” |
3: Invite people to come to church:
There were 2 businessmen – one very keen on golf, who kept asking his friend to join him for a game on Sunday, but always received the following reply:
“I am churchwarden at my church and can’t join you.”
After a number of times the golfer said,
“Golf means everything to me; I’ve invited you several times, but I take it that church means little to you, as not once have you invited me!”
There were 2 businessmen – one very keen on golf, who kept asking his friend to join him for a game on Sunday, but always received the following reply:
“I am churchwarden at my church and can’t join you.”
After a number of times the golfer said,
“Golf means everything to me; I’ve invited you several times, but I take it that church means little to you, as not once have you invited me!”
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All of us can invite someone to come with us to church – not for the sake of keeping up the building or helping with the finances - but to share the good news of Jesus Christ and help them grow into a deeper relationship with him. So often the fear of rejection is what stops us, but let us always remember that promise of Jesus:
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“I will be with you always – yes, to the end of time.” |
June
The great commandment Jesus gave us is to love God with our heart, soul and mind and our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22 v 37 – 40). The Church has been entrusted with making disciples (Matt 28 v 16 – 20) and the great command to love is summed up in what is called the ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ – the heart being a symbol of God’s great love for us in Jesus.
In today’s society so many people are what we term ‘marginalised’. These include the homeless, disabled, drug addicts, prisoners, people with mental health problems, those who have limited job prospects.
The great commandment Jesus gave us is to love God with our heart, soul and mind and our neighbour as ourselves (Matt 22 v 37 – 40). The Church has been entrusted with making disciples (Matt 28 v 16 – 20) and the great command to love is summed up in what is called the ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ – the heart being a symbol of God’s great love for us in Jesus.
In today’s society so many people are what we term ‘marginalised’. These include the homeless, disabled, drug addicts, prisoners, people with mental health problems, those who have limited job prospects.
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Jesus reached out to marginalised people. There was the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4 v 1 – 26). She had been divorced 5 times and was living with someone. Jesus healed 10 people with leprosy (Luke 17 v 11 – 19); he healed a demon-possessed girl – the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matt 15 v 21 – 28). He had a meal with Zacchaeus the tax-collector – a person who was excluded from Jewish society. Jesus tells us in Luke 19 v 10 that he had come “to seek and save the lost.”
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In the Acts of the Apostles we see the difference the resurrection of Jesus meant to the lives of early Christians. They were faithful to the teaching of the Apostles They did not make up different creeds in each generation, but their faith was like a baton in a relay race – handed on from one to another. They prayed daily in the temple; they shared their food; they celebrated Mass daily; they practised the ministry of healing.
The last chapter of St Mark’s Gospel gives us a picture of what the Church should be like (Mark 16 v 16 -20): |
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- It should preach the Gospel;
- It should have power over the forces of evil;
- It should heal the sick;
- Every Christian should tell the story of the good news that Jesus died and rose again for us…
But Jesus assured us that the Church would never be left alone to do its work - he works with it, in it and through it: “and know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.” (Matt 28 v 20)
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Some time ago someone wrote an obituary in The Church Times for a priest. It said “he was a poor preacher and was a bad administrator, but, he showed me more clearly than anyone the life and love of Jesus.” The Church today needs priests and laypeople to “know Christ and make him better known.” – What better challenge can I give in the month of the Sacred Heart?
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May
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CHRISTIAN AID WEEK (14 – 20 MAY) –
Celebrating its 60th anniversary. |
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“It is an opportunity for us to invite our churches and wider community to join together in demonstrating God’s abundant generosity to those in greatest need…. When we put our faith into action and at together, we have the power to make lasting change in the lives of people… we need to speak up for refugees at home, using our voices to make the case for refugees to be supported to have a permanent safe place to call home…” Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury.
(The full text of Archbishop Justin’s appeal for Christian Aid is on the church notice board inside St Mary’s.)
I do hope that the people of Mendlesham respond in their usual, generous way during this week. We shall have a special speaker from Christian Aid on Sunday 7th May at the 9.30 Parish Mass.
(The full text of Archbishop Justin’s appeal for Christian Aid is on the church notice board inside St Mary’s.)
I do hope that the people of Mendlesham respond in their usual, generous way during this week. We shall have a special speaker from Christian Aid on Sunday 7th May at the 9.30 Parish Mass.
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May is also Mary’s Month and from 25th May to 4th June is the Archbishop’s call for Mission and Evangelism: ‘Thy Kingdom Come’. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is our example of communal prayer. We find her at the heart of the early Christian Community after the Ascension as the followers of Jesus gathered in the upper room and prayed for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1 v 14). |
Mary is a perfect model of prayer because she knew from her own personal experience what the power of the Holy Spirit could work in the lives of those first disciples of Jesus. As she prayed in the upper room she must have ‘pondered all these things and reflected them in her heart.’ (Luke 2 v 19)
When the Holy Spirit gives life, he does not do so just for an individual but to create and strengthen a community – the family of God. St Luke (who wrote both the Gospel under his name and the Acts of the Apostles) also tells us that prayer was one of the most important ingredients of the early Christian Community. Of the Jerusalem community, he says: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”
(Acts 2 v 42)
When the Holy Spirit gives life, he does not do so just for an individual but to create and strengthen a community – the family of God. St Luke (who wrote both the Gospel under his name and the Acts of the Apostles) also tells us that prayer was one of the most important ingredients of the early Christian Community. Of the Jerusalem community, he says: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”
(Acts 2 v 42)
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Today the Holy Spirit is constantly forming a new living community and one of the essential elements is prayer. ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ is a global prayer movement, which invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension and Pentecost for more people to come to know Jesus Christ. |
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What started out as an invitation from the Archbishops’ of Canterbury and York in 2016 to the Church of England has grown into an international and ecumenical call to prayer.
Communal prayer is the mortar which binds individuals into a dynamic, strong Christian family. By sharing our prayer with one another we begin to experience in some measure the unity for which Christ prayed:
The hope is that:
Please feel free to go into church for all or part of these hours.
More information and resources about ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ are available at:
www.thykingdomcome.global/about
Communal prayer is the mortar which binds individuals into a dynamic, strong Christian family. By sharing our prayer with one another we begin to experience in some measure the unity for which Christ prayed:
The hope is that:
- people will commit to pray with God’s world-wide family;
- churches will hold prayer events;
- people will be empowered through prayer by the Holy Spirit, finding new confidence to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.
Please feel free to go into church for all or part of these hours.
More information and resources about ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ are available at:
www.thykingdomcome.global/about
April
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He was dead…. Now he is alive!
This is the incredible news that St Peter shouted. Peter knew that Christ’s new life was not simply the resuscitation of a corpse but a whole new existence, but he did not comprehend this all at once and neither did St Mary Magdalene. She only knew that our Lord’s body was no longer in the tomb. When Peter saw the shroud lying in the tomb he initially failed to grasp its meaning. St John was quicker to understand. He observed the same evidence and believed. |
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Abraham Lincoln’s coffin has been opened twice since his death. The first time was in 1887, after rumours that the coffin didn’t contain his body. It was opened and the body in it was proved to be Lincoln’s. Exactly the same thing happened 14 years later. Rumours had circulated about the body of Jesus after his death, but the difference was that Jesus’ body wasn’t in the tomb.
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Resurrection is not resuscitation; it is not restoration to our former life but a leap to a new life, so no dead body of Jesus was ever found. His body was, instead, transformed. St Paul likens the body before resurrection to a seed and the body after resurrection to a plant. In the wall paintings in the Holy Cross Chapel in St Mary’s the butterflies are symbols of resurrected life – transformed from the mundane existence of the caterpillar.
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In the Gospel accounts of the Resurrection, Jesus’ disciples consistently failed to recognise him when he appeared to them. Mary Magdalene thought he was the gardener, the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24 v 1-33) thought he was a fellow traveller and the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee thought he was a beachcomber.
What about us? Jesus does not force himself on us but waits for an invitation from us. The greatest and most precious gift we possess is our free will. We can use it to invite Jesus into our lives or let him pass us by. |
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How hard is it for you and me to recognise the risen Jesus in our world when we don’t have the benefit of his physical presence? There are 3 things that contributed to the recognition of Jesus by the disciples travelling to Emmaus:
- The broken hearts of the disciples: when they realised that whatever in their lives had been missing was now restored, they knew they were in his presence;
- The broken word of scripture: the Word of God came alive for them only when they listened to Jesus unwrapping it for them and they allowed it to take root;
- The broken bread of the Mass: in receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus, his disciples experienced his risen presence in their own lives.
The same can be true for us. One priest wrote: “To the preacher who kept saying, ‘We must put God in our lives,’ the Master said,
‘God is already there; our business is to recognise him.’
For Easter to have that same deep meaning for us, if we, too,
- recognise our brokenness,
- immerse ourselves in Scripture and
- love the presence of our Risen Lord in the Mass,
Happy Easter!
March
Lent is a very special time of preparing for Easter. Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent - takes its name from the ashes put on our foreheads in the shape of a cross at Mass. These ashes are from last year’s palms and we receive the ashes for 2 reasons:
Lent is a very special time of preparing for Easter. Ash Wednesday – the first day of Lent - takes its name from the ashes put on our foreheads in the shape of a cross at Mass. These ashes are from last year’s palms and we receive the ashes for 2 reasons:
1. They remind us that, like Jesus who died on the Cross on Good Friday, we, too, are destined to die.
2. They remind us that we are all prone to sin and that if we want to rise to new life we must want to turn from our sins and follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
2. They remind us that we are all prone to sin and that if we want to rise to new life we must want to turn from our sins and follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
The three disciplines which are emphasised in Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving (giving money or goods to charity/the poor)
Whatever we do in Lent should not be done to bring attention to ourselves. We could well learn a lesson here from the craftsmen of our mediaeval cathedrals and churches. They never signed their art, but preferred to work anonymously and solely for the glory of God. They followed the instructions of Jesus, which we read in St Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18 – the Gospel for Ash Wednesday.
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ALMSGIVING:
The purpose of Lenten giving is not to respond to (or impress) other people, but God. Giving money is ‘praying with the pocket – often the last part of a person to be converted. Our Lenten project at St Mary’s is the Additional Curates Society and its work in encouraging and supporting vocations to the priesthood. |
Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; ... when you give alms, your left hand must not know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be in secret… |
And when you pray…go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in that secret place… |
PRAYER:
A soldier nearly drowned when his canoe capsized near a waterfall. As the water swept him towards death, the words of the Lord’s Prayer flashed into his mind and he began to pray. Suddenly he experienced a burst of energy and the feeling of a presence greater than himself. He battled the water with new strength and reached safety just in time. The soldier’s experience makes me ask: “What about my prayerful contact with God? When was it strongest in my life? What keeps it from being stronger now?” When there are severe storms or snowfalls, Radio Suffolk is the best source of local news, but if you don’t listen very often, it’s hard to find the right radio frequency. It can be the same if you want God’s help in trouble, but are in touch with him so rarely that you can’t find him when you need him. Lent is a good time to have a stock-take of our prayer life so that we communicate with God as a matter of course and not just in emergencies. |
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FASTING:
A lot of people ‘give up’ something for Lent. However, when we fast or do without food or drink we should do so for God and not to gain attention for ourselves and the money saved should go to some good cause. This is nothing new; the Old Testament prophet Isaiah brought God’s people face to face with their hypocrisy when he said they were simply observing an outward show of discipline and he said, “Share your bread with the hungry! Shelter the homeless!” So this Lent Jesus calls us to examine our motives in almsgiving, prayer and fasting so they are an expression of our love for God and not to bring admiration from others… and let us try to resist the temptation to see what is wrong in everyone else. As Leo Tolstoy said: “Everybody thinks of changing the world, but no-one thinks of changing himself.” |
When you fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do…to let men know they are fasting… when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no-one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is done in secret…. |
February
At the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a man was shot dead as he drove his family to Mass in Belfast. Soon after the tragedy his widow was praying with the children when her young son, Gavin, asked, “Mummy, will the men who killed Daddy go to Heaven?” Breathing a silent prayer, his mother replied, “If they are really sorry and ask Jesus to forgive them, they will go to Heaven.”
On hearing this, Gavin replied, “Well, if they are going to be there, I don’t want to be in Heaven with them.”
His mother thought about this and said, “If Jesus forgives and saves them, setting them free from their terrible sin, he will change them. They will be different people.”
Gavin paused and said, “Mummy, let’s pray for these men and ask Jesus to save them.”
Jesus asks us to respond to darkness with light. Most of us think we have done our Christian duty if we refrain from doing harm to our enemies, but Jesus asks more of us. He asks us to love our enemies and that Belfast mother shows it can be done. The escalation of evil can be stopped only by one who humbly absorbs it without passing it on. Revenge and retaliation only add darkness to darkness and then we become poisoned by hatred. Oscar Wilde wrote:
At the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, a man was shot dead as he drove his family to Mass in Belfast. Soon after the tragedy his widow was praying with the children when her young son, Gavin, asked, “Mummy, will the men who killed Daddy go to Heaven?” Breathing a silent prayer, his mother replied, “If they are really sorry and ask Jesus to forgive them, they will go to Heaven.”
On hearing this, Gavin replied, “Well, if they are going to be there, I don’t want to be in Heaven with them.”
His mother thought about this and said, “If Jesus forgives and saves them, setting them free from their terrible sin, he will change them. They will be different people.”
Gavin paused and said, “Mummy, let’s pray for these men and ask Jesus to save them.”
Jesus asks us to respond to darkness with light. Most of us think we have done our Christian duty if we refrain from doing harm to our enemies, but Jesus asks more of us. He asks us to love our enemies and that Belfast mother shows it can be done. The escalation of evil can be stopped only by one who humbly absorbs it without passing it on. Revenge and retaliation only add darkness to darkness and then we become poisoned by hatred. Oscar Wilde wrote:
“When Jesus says, ‘Forgive your enemies,’ it is not for the sake of the enemy but for one’s own sake that he says so, and because love is more beautiful than hate.”
Love releases extraordinary energies in us, for the power of love is greater than the power of evil, but it is the most difficult thing in the world to love someone who hates you.
Some time ago I was speaking to someone who had been sexually abused as a child and I asked her if she could forgive the person who had done it. I received the reply: “I have forgiven him; I am forgiving him and in eternity I shall have forgiven him,” implying that forgiveness is a process.
As we celebrate at Candlemass may the light of Christ penetrate the darkness of our lives and as we soon approach Lent, let us pray we may be a more forgiving people.
January
On Sunday 8th January we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany - the arrival of the Wise Men. “Epiphany” means “showing forth” or “revelation” – that Jesus is the Saviour of the World. One of my daughters gave me a joke mug which states: “JESUS LOVES YOU, BUT I’M HIS FAVOURITE” – but the Jewish people living at the time Jesus was born thought they were God’s favourites and that Christ would be the saviour just of them. In the Old Testament the Jews are certainly portrayed as God’s chosen people, but this came to be interpreted in a way that non-Jews were seen as ‘second-class’.
On Sunday 8th January we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany - the arrival of the Wise Men. “Epiphany” means “showing forth” or “revelation” – that Jesus is the Saviour of the World. One of my daughters gave me a joke mug which states: “JESUS LOVES YOU, BUT I’M HIS FAVOURITE” – but the Jewish people living at the time Jesus was born thought they were God’s favourites and that Christ would be the saviour just of them. In the Old Testament the Jews are certainly portrayed as God’s chosen people, but this came to be interpreted in a way that non-Jews were seen as ‘second-class’.
The manifestation of Jesus at Epiphany can be compared to a royal birth in this country. When a member of the Royal Family has a baby the entire nation is told via TV, radio and the internet, but many still camp on the pavements outside the hospital to catch a glimpse of that child being carried out and the Royal couple will show the child to them. Christ was born at Christmass, but the Epiphany is a ‘showing forth’ to the Wise Men in the same way as a Royal couple show their child.
The manifestation of Jesus at Epiphany involved a journey of faith. The Wise Men saw a star but they didn’t know where it would lead them. The Bible shows the journey was one of searching, questioning, pain, joy, fear and hope. The star was only there at the beginning and end of their journey and even when they saw the child, they had to believe it was a royal birth as their gifts demonstrated: gold for a King, incense for God and myrrh for his death.
This feast challenges us. The Wise Men gave their best gifts; what gifts can I bring? The Epiphany is associated not with a cave or stable but a house. That is why chalk is blessed and we mark our houses as a token of dedication and evangelism; not ‘in-grab’ but reaching out. God loves ALL and we are not his favourites. There is nothing worse than the attitude, “I’m saved (and you are not)” or “superior Christianity” - “I’m a better Christian because I go to church more often.”
The manifestation of Jesus at Epiphany involved a journey of faith. The Wise Men saw a star but they didn’t know where it would lead them. The Bible shows the journey was one of searching, questioning, pain, joy, fear and hope. The star was only there at the beginning and end of their journey and even when they saw the child, they had to believe it was a royal birth as their gifts demonstrated: gold for a King, incense for God and myrrh for his death.
This feast challenges us. The Wise Men gave their best gifts; what gifts can I bring? The Epiphany is associated not with a cave or stable but a house. That is why chalk is blessed and we mark our houses as a token of dedication and evangelism; not ‘in-grab’ but reaching out. God loves ALL and we are not his favourites. There is nothing worse than the attitude, “I’m saved (and you are not)” or “superior Christianity” - “I’m a better Christian because I go to church more often.”
Fr Faber wrote a beautiful hymn about the totality of God’s love:
This doesn’t mean ‘anything goes’ but it should mean our attitude changes.
I shan’t throw my mug away, but treat it as the joke intended, but I hope we can all make St Mary’s an even more welcoming place for all. Jesus is manifested to us in his royal birth and we must do the same to others.
This doesn’t mean ‘anything goes’ but it should mean our attitude changes.
I shan’t throw my mug away, but treat it as the joke intended, but I hope we can all make St Mary’s an even more welcoming place for all. Jesus is manifested to us in his royal birth and we must do the same to others.
