First Sunday of Advent - 2021

With the liturgy of this Sunday we begin a new liturgical year in the Church. This is year C in the three-year cycle of liturgical texts and the main source for the gospel readings will be Luke's gospel. Today's gospel passage, taken from chapter 21 of Luke's gospel, is clearly meant to be a wakeup call to get us started into a new year. Jesus is talking about end times and his second coming and the awesome terrifying things that will proceed it. What Jesus does not say is when all these things will take place. It is not uncommon for us to hear a person claiming to know know exactly when Jesus second coming will take place; even with the very date and time it will happen. What are we to make of these predictions of end times?  In Matthew’s gospel chapter 24:36 and Mark 13:32 we read these very words of Jesus. “ No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” What Jesus does tell us that we must live our lives as if we know it will be tomorrow. “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” On the side panel of this blog, scrolling down will see this heading ... If you klick on "Advent" it will open for you several past posts on this blog with resources for Advent. You may find something that will help you get wholeheartedly into this most important time of preparation .      .

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Jesus Christ King of the Universe Sunday - 2021

Cathedral Basilica of Christ the King Hamilton Ontario CA  This liturgical year now comes to a close with the feast of Jesus Christ the King. The figure of a king may not have the same influence on us as in times past. Our experience of political leadership is one of democracy and majority rule. Even so, there arises those persons who seem to personify the values we value most. To these persons we look for leadership and are willing to follow whole heartily.  The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, has a meditation called, The Two Standards. In this exercise of prayer, Ignatius Draws us into a serious examination of who and what is shaping our life's values and where  our allegiances lay. He puts before us Christ and the Prince of Darkness. One will lead us into paradise, the other into eternal darkness and and death. To whom do we entrust the direction of our lives? To the person who has embraced the practice of prayer and a devout life, the answer may seem obvious. But here a note of caution is advised. Toward well-inattention persons, Satan changes tactics, now appearing as the "angel of light". Seeming to support the choice of a devout life, he employs all manner of deception. With suggestions that may appear to come from God but are not, he will draw the good soul into what is false and away from God's true purpose. In this exercise of the Two Standards, St. Ignatius guides us to be constantly vigilant of the tactics of the Deceiver, so that we do not find ourselves aligned behind the wrong standard bearer. It is ever so important that we learn to recognise the voice of the Lord, the voice of our enemy, and know ourselves. This prayer exercise fits so well during this week of the feast of Christ the King. The liturgy of the Church is anticipating the beginning of a brand new Year of Grace; a perfect time to take stock of our faith and devotion to Christ.  Under Whose Banner Do I Stand? Jesus Christ the King + I have a strong prayer practice. + I look to the Church for guidance on moral and ethical questions. + I see Sunday Eucharist as indispensable. + Participation in parish life remains a high priority. + I support my faith by Reading, both devotional and instructive. The Prince of Darkness # I often set prayer aside until I have the time. # I'm inclined to separated faith from public life. # Sunday Mass must fit into today's busy schedules. # Religion is not as important as a good moral character. # The bible is only a product of human imagining. * * * * * * *

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Thirty-third Sunday - 2021

We are coming to the end of this present liturgical year. Next Sunday is Christ the King, followed by the first Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new year. This year we are now completing is year B in the three-year cycle of Sundays and the gospel of Mark has been the principal source for our gospel readings. Next year is year C and the gospel of Luke will be our gospel source. The gospel readings of late have included references to end times, as we see in today’s gospel. In these days we are reminded that God’s salvific plan for us is contained in a framework of time, as is the whole of creation. It begins in time, unfolds for a time, and when completed the end time arrives. That there is to be an end time we know for certain. What we don’t know is when the end of time will come. "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." Mark 13:32 The first generation of the Church for the most part believed that the second coming of Christ would be in their time. But this seemed not to be happening and some began scoff at the idea all together. St. Peter addresses this in his Second Letter to the churches. Know this, that in the last days scoffers will come to scoff, living according to their own desires and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation.” The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. 2 Pt. 3: Down through the ages there have been predictions of the imminent end of the world which aroused many people with fear. The seniors among you will remember the Cuban missal crisis of 1962. For 13 days, from October 16–28, Russia and the United States stared down the barrels of their atomic bombs at each other. Fear of Armageddon was real and palpable. I was in the seminary at the time and some America students studying with us were notified to be ready to be called home for military duty at any moment. Today a new doomsday warning is being issued to the world from the environmental scientist – that we may be destroying the planet we live on. Added to this, the Covid-19 pandemic has shaken our confidence in the security of our ordinary daily living. These warnings must not be taken lightly.   Sadly there are religious people who claim that they have been given revelations as to when the end of the world will take place. This is causing some devout people to believe these claims - a direct contradiction to Jesus' words in the gospels; (... no one knows, only the Father) Those who buy into such claims often altar their religious practice in ways that cause them to fail in their vocation to work to bring change to the world, giving it a better future by knowing and following the truth of the gospel. But aside from the question of end times, each of us knows well that our own lives are governed by time and like sands in the hourglass time is passing. For the spiritual direction of these days the Church is counselling us to take to heart the many texts of scripture that exhort us to use wisely our God-given days of time and to live holy lives. “Be ready for whatever comes, dressed for action and with your lamps lit, like servants who are waiting for their master to come back from a wedding feast . . . How happy they are if he finds them ready, even if he should come at midnight or even later . . . you, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.” Lk. 12:35 Take some time during these next couple of weeks to check the progress of your spiritual life. How am I doing? What needs to change? What might I do better? Am I ready for that knock at my door?

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November - Month of the Living Eternal

November is commonly thought of as the month of the dead. Many cultures around the world observe various rituals honouring the dead. November itself with the dying off of all the beautiful summer plants, the shorter days and longer nights, the many animals migrating away or hibernating out of sight all have a certain resemblance to death. The Church also uses November as a month to reflect on death but with a radical different perspective. What began in the Easter season with its focus on resurrection and new life is now in November viewed not as being lost but rather as being fulfilled. Of all the things that we face in life death is the most haunting - but not for the believer. Death as a destroyer has itself been destroyed by the Prince of Life. The transformed mind of the believer sees death not as a grave but as a door, as door through which one passes to gain even more life, the fulness of life. As you listen to the voices of the saints you hear them speak of a kind of longing for death. Some people see this as being a sign of some kind of mental distortion in the saints thinking. What these critics do not see is what the saints do see – life and more life, life without end. As our faith deepens, we too will be able to speak of death, not in a morbid, fearful way but as that threshold, that stairway, that open doorway in which we see these open arms of so many beckoning us. Saint Bernard, abbot speaks so convincingly of this in a sermon which the Church sets before us as the second reading in the Office of Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints. Second reading From a sermon by Saint Bernard, abbot Let us make haste to our brethren who are awaiting us. Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning. Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them. Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ; we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory. When we commemorate the saints, we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear, and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head. Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.

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