Homily for 31st Sunday of Year

This homily was delivered at St Dominic's East Camberwell by Rev Fr Paul Rankin OP who was ordained in 1984.  He was, until May this year our Pastor.  He was moved to PNG for other work for the order, but is with us again at the moment.  This was the homily he delivered at 6pm Mass Saturday 4th November for 31st Sunday of the Year.

I normally listen carefully to the homily and try to remember it so I can put it into practice during the week. I departed from this approach last night and asked Fr Paul for his homily. I was so struck by it and his delivery.

During the night, I wondered whether I might ask him could I share it on my blog. I asked him this morning and he very graciously agreed.  I am delighted to be able to share this homily of Fr Paul with you.

I hope it speaks to your soul like it did to mine last night.

Do we think of Christianity as basically a simple religion?  Not easy, but uncomplicated.  Demanding hard things like tolerance and patience, long suffering, exposing ourselves to ridicule or hatred for our beliefs, but simple.

You know: “love God and love your neighbour?”’  Got it!

 Haven’t we all found, though, that we start the day with the resolution to do that, even if were brought up in those distant pre-Vatican 11 days- making a ‘morning offering’ of the day, and then, gone about the day without ever thinking about it again- until the examination of conscience before going to bed.

We probably spent the day doing good, more or less, as well as possible.  But St Catherine of Siena would not think we had done as well as we could. In her Dialogue, she writes that Jesus said to her, regarding the exercise of charity,” unless you do it for love of me, it is worth nothing to you in the realm of grace’’.

This is the difference between a good life, and a holy life.  And holiness is what we are offered.

In fact, Christianity cannot be a simple religion since the human person is not a simple being.  Listen to the advice, or exhortation, of a medieval Dominican, Humbert of Romans.  Here is what he had to say in one letter:

“…let us strive most eagerly to turn away from sin with our whole heart by avoiding faults; let us turn to the Lord with our whole heart by doing penance.  Let us seek the Lord with our whole heart by begging pardon, let us cling to the Lord with our whole heart, loving God above all things; let us serve the Lord with our whole heart with our praise; with our whole heart let us follow the path of the Lord by our pursuit.

Then, a reason why we might do all this: ‘’ We really owe all this to the Lord who gives our heart countless gifts”.

And a catalogue of these gifts: “The Lord illumines our hearts with wisdom, governs them with goodness, feeds them with delights, draws them with beauty, changes them with power, makes them one with love, allures them with promises, teaches them with harsh blows, shakes them with threats, and softens them with blessings.  Our most delightful God looks into our hearts by proving them, speaks by informing them, touches by stirring them, visits in consoling them, gives life by justifying them, and open them by shedding light on them.

 For all these gifts we ought to thank God tirelessly.”

 St Catherine again relates Jesus explaining why each person has different gifts, instead of everyone having all of them.

‘’I could well have supplied you with your needs, both spiritual and material. But I wanted to make you dependent on one another so that each of you would be my minister; dispensing the graces and gifts you have received from Me. So, whether you will it or not, you cannot escape the exercise of charity.

So, let us get the maximum benefit and offer all that we have and all that we do for the glory of God and making known His truth.


May God bless Fr Paul . New horizons.

 

Collect for 32nd Sunday of Year A

The Collect for the 31st Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

Almighty and merciful God

by whose gift Your faithful offer You

right and praiseworthy service,

grant we pray that we may hasten without stumbling

to receive the things You have promised.

 

 

 

1. What is my attitude when I attend Mass?

2. What is the gift I offer God this week at Mass?

3. How does God's gift of right and praiseworthy service be shown in my worship and in my life this coming week?

4. What are the things God has promised?

5.  Do you want to receive the things God has promised?

6. What are the things in my life that may cause me to stumble in receiving the things God has promised?

7. What action/s will I take this coming week to move forward towards God and to erase  one or two areas of stumbling with God's help.

 

Today’s readings fit in well with the two aspects of observation of pretending to be something or someone and remembering those who really know who they were (All Saints). Or there are two messages:  one concerns our attitudes towards others, and the other is about truth.

As we heard from the Prophet Malachi and Jesus in today’s readings, speakss challenging words to those leaders who have been pretenders. These leaders were given a sacred trust. Instead of serving others, they demanded service from others. They put on costumes of importance and respect so that others will notice what they are doing. Jesus warns against this sort of behaviour to the Church leaders not to be actors or hypocrites but is also speaking to us as well. We too need to show our love for God and value the sacred trust God gives us by serving others.

The problem of the Pharisees, as Jesus describes in the Gospel, is not about their words but their actions. The Lord says, “Do everything they tell you,” but be careful, not to follow their examples. In other words, they taught more truth than they actually lived. They didn’t practice what they preached. The Gospel remembers Jesus’ criticism of the Pharisees because it  shows what can happen to all of us too. Sometimes the way we speak goes against the way we act. Often we become like Pharisees in our lives. We turn to ignore the truth as long as we gain people’s attention. We all have a gap between what we say and what we do. Sometimes we just ignore the real truth that we should practice.  We need to ask why. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to shed light, so that we can through His help, become authentic Christians. 

The Lord says, “They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry, and do not lift a figure to help.” We embrace our leaders to high standards, but we make many exceptions for ourselves. We expect to do well from salespeople, professionals, and fellow workers but excuse ourselves many times. We  may write abusive letters of complaint to others but we ourselves easily  disrespect other people.  We question others’ motives and good faith, but we ourselves ready to disagree if anybody challenges to question our own. We excuse little in anybody else but will always find an excuse for ourselves.

How deeply do we let the truth sink into our life? Are we good at all the outward signs of devotion yet within us is a very different world, a darker world, a world of anger, jealousy, and self-righteousness? How deep does our faith go?  

The saints are the good examples for us to imitate in order to follow Christ because their deeds match with their words. Saints are virtuous, kind, and patient people. God shows to us, a clear way, His presence and His face in the lives of the saints in the human condition who are more perfectly transformed into the image of Christ. They are the living reflection of the face of Christ.

It is important to remember that the saints were like us. They suffered the same faults/sins, weaknesses and chose to work through perseverance to change- day by day, moment by moment. They chose to work on them and persevere moment by moment  because they loved God and had a desire to change their faults/sins/weaknesses.  The saints were like us but perhaps, unlike us at times, their love for God was strong and they desired to change their behavior so that it was in keeping with God intended- we are made in the image and likeness of God.  However, mostly our behavior does not conform perfectly to that, as the saints realized in their lives.  They set out through God's help to change it and persevered daily.

Maybe there’s a bit of the Pharisees in each of us. Finally, the Lord says the Pharisees like titles of respect father, teacher. We like titles too and are proud of titles like Australian, Catholic, a parish member, partner, friend, confidant.   But do we abide by the responsibilities, service, a dedication that go with titles such as father, mother, citizen, partner, confidant?

This should give us a good description of humility. One thing that is central to the lives of all saints is humility when we acknowledge that we all fall short of the glory of God and are all in continuing need of grace. What conclusions would people draw about Jesus from us, if there were no written Gospels and the only source from which people could learn about Christ was ourselves?

Every time we come to Mass, Jesus calls us to take off our masks and costumes and to let the word of God work within us, to make our life a living Gospel for all people to hear and to see. To grow in Christ, we never have to be afraid of the truth about ourselves. We only have to be afraid of the masks we wear.  When we use the sacrament of Reconciliation, we can take of our masks, ask sincerely for forgiveness from God, and receive absolution from Him through the priest.

If there is a little bit of the Pharisee in each of us, there also is a little bit (hopefully a lot more)  of Christ in each of us. We pray today and ask God to help us to grow in a very honest way so that our words and deeds may fruitful to other people’s lives.     

                                      

                                                 So who will you choose to be this week

                                            a Pharisee or a Saint in  progress?

This homily was given on 5th November at St Dominic's East Camberwell by

Deacon Lawrence Bosekana OP. 

New Horizons contributed in the process of editing. 

 





Collect for 30th Sunday of Year A

The Collect for the 30th Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

Almighty ever-living God,

increase our faith, hope and charity,

and makes us love what You command,

so that we may merit what You promise.

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

1. What is faith and what does my faith mean to me?

2. How will I increase my faith this coming week?

3. What is hope and what does it mean to me?

4. How will I increase hope in my life this coming week?

5. What is love and what does it mean to me?

6. How will I increase love this coming week in my life?

7. What does God command?

8.  What does God promise and how will I merit it?

 

In the first reading we are reminded that if we are harsh with the widow or orphan, God's anger will rage against you.  In other words, we are to treat those who are experiencing difficulties in their lives with respect and the more vulnerable their position is, the more we need to treat them as well as we can.

 

In the second reading, we are reminded to turn away from idols and to serve God.  We need to examine therefore what our idols are as awareness of them is the first step. If we are not aware that they serve as an idol, it is impossible to make the decision freely to turn away from them.  If we are not aware of the idols in our lives, then pray to the Holy Spirit to enlighten us- to show us the areas of our lives that need  changing- that possess some sort of idol in it.

Idols can be in themselves harmless but it is what we make them, what we do with them that makes them an idol.  For example- watching TV can be an enjoyable activity. However when we watch too much of it and neglect our duties or our families or God, then it has become an idol. We consider it to be more important than God, our family or our duty. It is out of whack with what is healthy.

Food can become another idol- we all need food but as we know some food is not good for us in extreme amounts. Food for some people can become an addiction and/or an escape from the troubles in their lives.  It can replace God in this sense because they go to food as their comfort and guide rather than seek God and His guidance.  I know- it is my weakness and something I have to watch carefully.

 

The Gospel outlines the commandment of love- the two fold one- to love God and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

From a counselling perspective it is
difficult to give and receive love if we do not love ourselves in a healthy manner first.  Note I say a healthy manner. 

God expects us to love ourselves- He does not consider it to be selfish. It can be if we only think of ourselves but healthy love of ourselves involves  respecting ourselves in our body, in our mind and in our souls. It means to give balance to our relationship to God, to oneself and to other people. It means to be aware of our shortcomings and be prepared to work on these areas so that we can become a stronger, healthier version of ourselves- to be made in the image and likeness of God. It is us who, through original sin and our contribution of sin mar God’s image. We need to love God that we wish to restore that likeness of God’s image  and do whatever it takes to live a healthy balanced and respectful life  by being the best version of ourselves- the version God intended.

Loving our neighbour can only occur effectively if we, ourselves love God.  We cannot fully love our neighbour and ourselves if we fail to spend time with God, if we do not pray and enter into relationship with Him.  We cannot love God if we do not give Him worship at Sunday Mass or we ignore His commandments. 

God must be number ONE  in our lives.  Then and only then, will our quest for loving ourselves in a healthy way and our neighbour be possible.

                      

 

 

 

 



 



29 Sunday of Year A Collect

The Collect for the Twenty Ninth Sunday of the Year reads as follows:

 

Almighty ever-living God

grant that we may always conform our will to Yours

and serve Your majesty in sincerity of heart.

 

 

In making this prayer tangible the following reflection questions emerged:

 

 

1.What is my will?

2. What do I understand God's will for me?

3. What areas of my life conform to God's will and which areas do not yet conform?

4. Why do these areas  do not yet conform to God's will?

5. What changes could I make to ensure that these non confirming areas move towards conforming to God will?

6. How will I serve God in sincerity of heart this week?

 

 

The gospel reminds us today that we are not only heirs to the kingdom but we are citizens of God on earth.  In that regard, we must behave accordingly and ''give to Caeasar the things that belong to Caesar and those that belong to God''.

So what does this gospel mean for me then?  We belong to God in body, mind and spirit- we need to put Him first in our lives in every way. The catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that our purpose in life is to know love and serve God in this life and be happy with Him for ever in Heaven. How are you doing with this purpose in your life?  I know I am struggling in my life right now.

 

It follows then that if we belong to God and are wholeheartedly knowing, loving and serving Him in in sincerity of heart that we would do all that is right and just  towards the world we share.   Many people justify cheating on their tax- they feel they are being put upon and being treated unfairly and so, take the next step of dishonesty to ''balance the scales'' in their favour.   However, they are not only being dishonest financially but dishonest to the society in which they live and more importantly, dishonest in the sight of God.

 

This does not only apply to financial matters but to time as well.  Time wasting at work is another way of being dishonest and not giving to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar.  I am not talking about here where people are expected to work long hours and given insufficient breaks as if they are a machine- the so called human resources which takes the humanity out of the workforce. 

 

If you are an employer and do not give your employees genuine breaks, then you are treating your employees unjustly and are not serving God. For example an half hour for lunch is disgraceful when the employee often has to spend 5 minutes each way to get to/from lunch room- they may have 15 minutes to hurry down food causing digestion problems, more stress and not building any collegiality amongst staff. It does not give them enough rest to renew themselves before they begin again.  It is short sighted as well as staff will find other ways when they feel put upon to get the time they need to work effectively.   So then the employee becomes dishonest in time by necessity ( still wrong) and cycle of dishonesty of time is rife in no time.  

 

Then there are issues of wages and contracts. It is unjust to treat someone as a casual when in fact they are working a regular shift for years.  Are you as an employer being just to your staff- are you being just in the sight of God to your staff? Do you treat your staff as people not machines?  Is money your god not God Himself?

 

There are so many ways that we as employers and employees can give to Caesar the things that are Caesar and the things that belong to God.

 

We may ask ourselves what belongs to God as we hear this gospel?  Remember what the catechism says'' We must love God with our whole heart, soul and mind and our neighbour as ourselves''. Our whole being belongs to God  so give Him everything. Know love and serve God in this life so you can be happy with Him for ever.

 

Part of knowing, loving and serving God then is to know and carry out your affairs in honesty and justness (whether you are an employee or employer) or regardless what you are doing in your life.   Remember the way you treat another person is the way you are treating God as God lives in the other person.


 

 

 





Collect for 26th Sunday of Year A

The Collect for the 26th Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

O God, who manifest Your almighty power

by pardoning and showing mercy

bestow we pray, Your grace abundantly upon us,

and make those hastening attain your promises

heirs to the treasures of Heaven.

 

 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week the following reflection questions emerged:

 

 

1. What does it mean to me to be pardoned by God?

2. How does God show mercy to me in my life?

3. What grace do I want God to bestow on me this coming week?

4. What does it mean to me to be an heir to God's kingdom?

5. What difference being an heir to the Kingdom make in my life this week?

6. What are the treasures of Heaven and how will these treasures manifest themselves this coming week in my life?

In today's Gospel we have 2 sons response to the father- one says yes straightaway but does not go into the vineyard and the other says no but later thinks the better of it and goes.  It should be pointed out here that in the Jewish tradition that elders were respected, especially parents. So, to say no to the parent was indeed disrespectful and hurtful. The son who initially said no to his father was therefore being incredibly disrespectful and hurtful to the father. 

Today's gospel is therefore about lip service and heart service.  How do we respond to God?  Is it lip service- do we go to Mass or say our prayers with our lips whilst our heart is lukewarm at best?
Do we respond to God with our whole heart, soul and mind? Hopefully it is the second one.!!

Still, we are human, so we can get distracted,  we can become lukewarm and we can even offend God by our sins.  Jesus, through the sacrament of reconciliation/penance or confessions provides us with the remedy of confessing our sinfulness and being absolved. When we say no to God, in its many forms, we can be absolved and start again if we are truly sorry.  We can also receive healing and grace from the sacrament through regular reception of the sacrament.  So whether we have received the sacrament yesterday/today or it has been the ice age since we used this sacrament, we can say yes to God again with our whole heart and mind and through the sacrament be refreshed, renewed and forgiven.

                                         Will YOU say YES to God?

 

 



 



Collect for 23rd Sunday of Year A

The Collect for the 23rd Sunday of Year A reads as follows:

 

O God, in whom we are redeemed and receive adoption,

look graciously upon your sons and daughters

that those who believe in Christ

may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance.

 

 

Ín  making this prayer tangible for this coming week, the following reflection questions have emerged:

 

1. What does it mean to me to be redeemed by God?

 

2. What does it mean to me to receive adoption from God?

 

3. What does it mean to me a son/daughter of God?

 

4. What difference will being a son/daughter of God make in my life this week?

 

5. What would it mean to me to receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance.

 

6. what areas of my life are a hindrance to true freedom and how might I move towards freeing these areas in order to receive true freedom from God?

 

7. What one change will I make in my life  this coming week to be a better disciple/ a better person to my family, friends, work colleagues, parishioner, a stranger and to anyone I meet?

 

 

Today's gospel provides us with a model for approaching reconciliation.  Obviously the three fold model is not something that occurs, one after the other in a short space of time- no, there is genuine effort, sincerity of heart and allowance of time that can heal ( not always) in between different phases of the reconciliation process.

 

I think it also needs to be pointed out here that when there has been significant hurt/distress that the process of reconciliation will take longer. Our hearts do not run to a timetable.  Some hurts/distress may end up being forgiven but not necessarily  seeing the person who was involved in the hurt.  We may find our own way to be at peace through prayer and kindly thoughts towards that person without actually reopening the relationship. In some cases, reopening the relationship may indeed to be to our own detriment of well being. It does not mean that we have not forgiven the person. In fact, it may be the most loving thing to do for our own well being and for theirs as well. 

 

 

The important thing from this Gospel today is Jesus invites us to think about process in reconciliation- to realise that reconciliation needs the initial heart to heart with only the people concerned and then if that is not able to be resolved, then mediation involving others may be required.

 

This topic is close to my heart this week- I have a family member who has not contacted me in 6 years. The phone call came out of the blue so I am shocked and stunned.  I have not rushed to answer the request to meet.  I am still shocked- the past re-emerges and it is difficult not to play the tapes of the past in my mind. Is it the loving thing to do to meet?  Some people would say yes and some no and some perhaps would say a yes and a no.  There is a case for a yes and a case for the no and I wish for wisdom to know what to do- what is the most loving thing to do for both parties.   There are just so many questions and thoughts.  I ask you to pray for me so I do get the wisdom to know what is the best thing to do. What is God requiring of me in this situation?

 

Reconciliation is definitely a process but at the basis of it needs to be a sense of trust and respect for both parties.  Where is trust and respect, people can have differing opinions and still be friends. We do not have to be the same as the world would want us to believe. Where trust and respect is present in a relationship, both parties can make mistakes, perhaps even hurt the other party by their behaviour/actions but even though trust and respect may be dinted/damaged, their friendship will likely to endure.  Take the trust and respect for granted- then it is likely to be a different story.

 

As we listen to this week's gospel, we might like to think about all our relationships- what makes them a good relationship, what can be improved or in my case with my estranged family member, do some more thinking/ take action to pick up the phone. We can appreciate the relationships that are working well and nurture them more by thanking God for His blessing on them.  We can ask for assistance in the relationships that need improvement and where relationships are irrevocably damaged, ask for the grace to leave them (if that is required) but with a loving attitude.

 

May this week's gospel challenge you to think about all your relationships and their quality including your relationship with God.

 

 

 

 



 



Collect for 22nd Sunday Year A

The Collect for the 22nd Sunday of the Year A reads as follows:

 

God of might, giver of every good gift,

put into our hearts the love of Your name,

so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,

You may nurture what is in us as good

and by Your watchful care,

keep safe what You have nurtured.

 



 

In making this prayer tangible for this coming week, the following reflection questions emerged:

 

 

1. What are the good gifts God has given me in my life?

2. What good gifts do I ask for and wish to receive from God?

3. What does God's name mean to me?

4. How do I react when others misuse it?

5. What can I do to heighten other people's awareness of when they misuse God's name?

6. What does it mean to me to be nurtured by God in my life/this week?

 

On a personal note, I wish to share with you an experience I had with a friend who is not a Christian.  When I first met her, she used to use God's name in conversation a lot.  As I did not know her very well, I kept quiet and did not say anything. Then one day not long later I had had enough of it, I decided that it had nothing to do with not knowing her well, but everything to do with God's name being misused. So I asked her politely to stop using God's name in that way as it is offensive to Him and to myself who honours His name as a Christian.  She apologized and said it was a bad habit she had got into and had wanted to get out of it but did not know how.  So I suggested she come up with a range of expressions she could use instead. Then that way, she would have a choice of expressions to use.

 

The point of my sharing with you this experience is that we, as Christians often put up with all sorts of things thinking that we are tolerant to others, but in fact no helping them appreciate our faith.  In Australia  ''Oh my God or OMG is used so frequently-  when I hear it said now, I just say ''that's great to hear you are praying''- it soon stops it. Hopefully it makes people think. 

Perhaps you can do the same in your circle of friends and acquaintances.

 

In today's Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we have to, as disciples deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him.  We may wish to think about:

• What does denying ourselves mean- what areas in my life could I make a start. Motive is key here- we are denying ourselves out of love for God and in the process, God will make something good for us out of our love of Him expressed through your denial/fasting. 
• What is/are the cross/es in our lives that God has given us to take up daily?  Remember, even though at times it feels like the cross is too heavy and we cannot go on, God gives us a cross that we have the strength to carry- He never gives us the cross without the graces to manage the cross. We need to ask for those graces and ask Jesus to carry the cross with us- He always carries the heavy end.
• How do I follow Jesus- what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? The 4 keys are prayer, fasting and receiving the Sacraments regularly ( receive Communion at Mass as often we can and ensure regular/monthly (as Pope Francis recommends)  attendance at Sacrament of Reconciliation.

We cannot hope to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily and follow Him if our motive is not love for God.  We have to have some type of relationship with Him. Our motive of love of God is key.

If we have forgotten this,  then start small. One small act of denial done with love in our hearts for God is worth everything to God. Yes, even that second piece of cake that you would love to eat- gone without for love of God is worth everything to God because, in His eyes, YOU are worth everything to HIM.  Motive is the key and keeping it in the forefront of my mind, helps me significantly, especially when I am tired/exhausted or feel it is all too much.

Starting small but working it into our day gets us into the habit of it and soon, it becomes part of our own nature. One small act one day becomes 7 small acts in a week, and 365 in a year.   Remember motive is key- love for God.

 

We may not understand the cross that God has given you- but we do know that God gives us a cross that we can manage- He never crushes our spirit beyond what He knows we can do.  Sometimes, we give up long before our God given strength.  Have you ever looked back on part of your life when the cross was incredibly heavy to carry and thanked God for carrying it with you.  Perhaps you wondered how you got through that phase of your life.  I know I have and have been slow to realise God's nurturing through it.   Today's Collect is a reminder of the loving caring and nurturing God we serve.

 

Finally let us remember this week that the purpose for our lives is essentially ''to know, love and serve God here on earth and be happy with Him for ever''.  ( Catechism of Catholic Church).

 

Let us be the best disciples we can this coming week.

 

 

 

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