faith

SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER 2024: THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT.

| bayswater2016

Be Vigilant at All Times and Pray, The Lay Institute of Divine Mercy, California, USA. 

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

“Be vigilant at all times and pray….”    Luke 21:36.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

You know of course that our Christian scriptures were originally written in Greek, not Latin. So today, as we welcome the first Sunday of Advent, note that the word advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming”. This Latin word is a translation of the original Greek word “parousia”, παρουσία, which more often than not in the New Testament means the second coming of the Lord at the end of time. Perhaps this should be the word used in today’s gospel as it is so focussed on that specific moment when Jesus will return in all his glory. But it certainly trains our sights on the whole intent of Advent – the arrival of the Lord. We would normally mean this as a preparation for Christmas Day, but today’s readings remind us that there is a much greater meaning here. We should never forget that we are all on a much greater journey, one which will conclude with each of us standing before the Lord of Light, either when we are called from this life, or on the Last Day, should we be witness to that. 

So there are, it seems, three possible arrivals in mind here. First, of course, is the 25th December (or January 7 for our Orthodox and some of our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters), the commemoration of the arrival of Jesus in our midst, poor, laying in a food trough for animals and visited by the shepherds, the poorest of the poor in that society. It is hard to imagine a more challenging start to anyone’s life! Then there is the certainty of each of us being called to judgment when we leave this world. We should be prepared for that moment. As today’s gospel says, “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap”. Good advice for the Christmas season. Although this refers to the Second Coming, it can easily be applied to the last moments each one of us has on earth: are we ready, even if at Christmastide? But we should not forget that the reading’s intent is to remind us of the promise of the end of time, the parousia, the return of the Lord in majesty and power, to judge us all. Well, I know which one of those I am most comfortable with! The presents are being readied, the decorations are about to be put up, the special foods purchased, and on and on. As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” 

But these days everyone complains that the whole season is commercialized beyond imagination. Consider, for example, the humble Advent calendar on sale in many places. Some are “luxury” editions, with expensive gifts behind every day-gate. And that is just in anticipation of the day! Can’t help thinking that a donation to a favorite charity would be money better spent. Shouldn’t that be an automatic part of the season for all of us? I do remember that, as a child, Advent seemed endless, a long, long time waiting for Christmas to come. Perhaps there’s a lesson there too. It gives us time to prepare what’s in our mind and heart and set up the decorations to welcome the Lord into our very soul, the innermost me – you – us. The baby Lord should find there something better than a shabby dwelling in a cattle shelter, adequate to the need, but not suitable for the arrival of the King of the Universe, as last Sunday’s celebration says. Something beyond spring cleaning is called for here. So be it – let the preparation begin!

Christmas enacted in St. Patrick’s Church, North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.

IF YOU FEEL MOVED TO SHARE THIS REFLECTION WITH ANOTHER, PLEASE DO SO. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER 2024: THE THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

Saint Michael the Archangel, artist unknown.

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass 

At that time there shall arise Michael, the great prince, guardian of your people…    Daniel 12:1.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

In my parish at the end of every Mass, we recite the Prayer of St. Michael the archangel, and today we have one of the classic references to this chief messenger (the meaning of the world “archangel”). Angels always deliver messages from God, the very reason they exist. And today this archangel predicts the end time of great distress when many asleep “in the dust” will awake, some to eternal life, others condemned to “everlasting horror and disgrace”. Scholars suggest that this passage from the Old Testament Book of Daniel may be the first reference to resurrection. Jesus in today’s gospel also talks about the end time, “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken”. He also added, “But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”. But the whole idea of the apocalypse, the end of everything, has been catnip to many people who have not been able to resist predicting when it will happen, despite Jesus’ words that even he did not know when that would happen! There are currently about five predictions of doom, ranging from 2026 to 2280, none of which is by a Christian, which might be a record! But there is one prediction which might be very real, the possible end of the universe itself according to some calculations, possibly in 20-100 trillion years time. Well, who knows? So what we have to do is simply take Jesus’ words seriously, because one thing is absolutely, rock-solid certain: each one of us will reach that moment personally and all alone, when we are called from this life, perhaps peacefully in our sleep, or possibly in terrible circumstances. And that is what we should be thinking about, I believe, in today’s readings.

Each one of us will be summoned, one day, to account for our actions in the here and now. Considering that certainty, what will each one of us have to say before a judge who knows us better than we know ourselves? But clearly what we have to say for ourselves is pretty important, warts and all. And I think, to try and understand what the Lord is talking about today, we have to recognize within ourselves the signs of the impending time when we will be summoned. For example, Jesus says, “Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.” Can’t that be interpreted in our lives? When things are going well, we should not be complaisant but ensure that we are still being obedient to God’s laws which, paradoxically, might be more difficult to follow in good times than in bad times. It is in bad times that more people go running to God than come to Mass every Sunday, recognizing a deep need that only God can handle. But we will be judged on everything we have done in our time, not just on those challenging times when we ran to God for help.

So as we approach the end of the church’s year – next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King, after which Advent will begin the following Sunday – the theme of reckoning comes up frequently. Each one of us is responsible for our own life. There can be no passing of the buck when we stand before God. We will have to justify everything we have done in the light of God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice for each one of us. Have we acted generously (consider last week’s gospel of the widow’s mite)? Have we acted always with love? Have we acted just as Jesus would in all kinds of situations and challenge? Have each of us always been a good and trusty servant of God? If there are any hesitations there, then what are we all going to do about it in the time we have left, because when we stand before God we will be unable to do anything to correct it. All our life should be focussed on that ultimate moment, starting today if necessary, when we can, right now, really do something in preparation for that ultimate moment. For we are not alone; the Lord waits for us to respond to his call to love and is ready and always willing to help us be our best.

What is Your Final Message? Joyce Holzman Hanscom.

IF YOU FIND THIS REFLECTION RINGING TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2024: THE THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

The Widow’s Mite, João Zeferino da Costa 1876, Museu Nacional de Belas Artes, Rio de Janerio, Brazil.

A poor widow also came [to the Temple treasury] and put in two small coins worth a few cents.  Mark 12:42.

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

I’m guessing that very few of us have a clue what a widow’s mite actually is. No doubt we have heard of it many times, but where does it come from? So I looked it up. It was the smallest coin in circulation at the time of Jesus, and it was Jewish, not Roman. And the word mite is English rather than Jewish, a translation of the Latin word minitum, itself translated from the Greek word λεπτὸν, lepton, a small coin of the lowest value. But we do use the word in another sense, perhaps referring to a newborn as a “little mite”. But the sense with which Jesus uses it in today’s gospel is that the widow’s donation to the running of the Temple in Jerusalem was enormous. She gave from her essential funds, whereas the rich merely shaved a little of their wealth to give to the Temple funds, something they would not miss. She, on the other hand, would. All this was duly noted by the Lord, and by God. Remember that the Temple in Jesus’ time was the center and heart of the Jewish faith. It was here that the Ark of the Covenant used to be located, inside which the stone tables of the Law were kept, the 10 Commandments given to Moses by God. The Ark completely vanished when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple (which was later rebuilt). The area where the Ark was once kept was called the Holy of Holies, and only the High Priest could enter it once a year, even though it was empty. That was at the holiest time of the year, Yom Kippur, and he would sprinkle the room with the blood of a bull representing his own sinfulness, and of a goat, signifying the sins of the people. He would then burn incense, symbolic of prayer rising to God, a kind of mediator between the people and God. Today, the symbolic heart of Judaism is the Western Wall, thought to be the foundation of the Temple. Almost all trace of the Temple vanished after a second destruction following a Jewish revolt against the Romans in AD70. And recall it was in the Temple that Jesus lost his temper at the merchants who degraded the sacred building for their profit; in a sense, the widow’s mite in today’s gospel was the mirror opposite of that moment, with its shining example of generosity and sacrifice. 

Today’s first reading also recalls a widow’s generosity, offering nourishment to the prophet Elijah apparently in the midst of famine, the last food she had kept for herself and her son. That too did not go unnoticed. And our second reading today alludes to the Holy of Holies also, contrasting the sinfulness of the high priest with that of the Lord, whose own blood sanctifies our own Holy of Holies, the altar of the Mass. And note that the Lord offered himself, spotless as he was, for our sinfulness as an eternal remedy for our evil, offering us forgiveness and and reunion with himself when we have come to our senses, or, as it says in today’s reading, “to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him”. Hence it would seem that generosity is the major theme for today’s readings. Each of the two impoverished widows was incredibly generous, and the Lord himself, offering himself for our salvation, gave his own life as payment for our sins. So we are called to be incredibly generous at all times and in all situations. It is a hallmark of the true Christian, though as a priest I have to admit that I do not recall the sin of greed ever being confessed – ever! We must give! Now how we do that is entirely up to each individual, but it is perfectly clear that to be truly Christian, it is necessary. So I ask myself – and you – how generous have I been over the last year (as we approach the end of the church year on November 24)? If lacking, what am I going to do about it? Ah….. 

The Paradox of Generosity, Smith & Davidson 2014, Oxford University Press.

IF YOU FIND THIS REFLECTION RINGING TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2024: THE THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

Milan Cathedral, 1386-1965, Milan, Italy 2012.

[Jesus said to the scribe], “You are not far from the kingdom of God”.   Mark 12:34.

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

Those words of Jesus must have been music in the ears of the scribe, bursting with love of God, recognized by the Lord of Life, and told he was on the right way to the welcoming arms of God. Isn’t that what each of us longs to hear as we navigate our way through the thorns and confusion of this life, doing the best we can to be a true followers of the Lord? And today’s gospel is so clear as to what we must do in this life to hear those words: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength and you shall love your neighbor as yourself”. So what we must all do is translate that wonderful statement into action, live it out as best we can, and hope we too are close to the kingdom of God with a clear conscience and with a history of love of God, neighbor and self lived to the fullest. And note the timing of this gospel, deliberate or accidental I know not, but it’s close to the end of the church’s year. It is clearly a clarion call to each of us either confirming  our lifestyle, or calling our attention to a need to change it! 

Let’s take a look at today’s first reading from Deuteronomy. This was clearly the inspiration of the scribe’s joyous outburst is the presence of Jesus. It is thought that this passage was written just as the Hebrew people were about to enter their long-promised Holy Land. It sets the scene for what God expects of them once they are settled, and in no uncertain terms, God expects their total love, and God will return it. Love is the driving force of this relationship, not rules and regulations. Remember St. Augustine’s exhortation: “Love and do what you will”. If we do everything as an act of love for the other – or others – then God is present, because God is love. As St. Paul says in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth, “Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury. Love does not rejoice over wrong-doing, but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 4-7). And I suspect everyone, the good and even the bad, will see the truth in that exhortation. There is something life-giving there, something of the eternal, something of pure truth. Such a life, not without challenge, is a happy life, as it is constantly focussed on the other, not the self. Happiness is to be found there, especially in the love that is freely and happily returned. For there will God be. Finally, the letter to the Hebrews, our second reading, contrasts the spiritual leaders of the Hebrews, even the very best, are still poor sinners like the rest of us, and so have to make amends for their own sins as well as those of the community. Christians, on the other hand, have the sinless Lord Jesus as their high priest, who conquered even death itself to be our sinless leader and our life. There is someone in whom we can place our total trust and hope, one who will also help us, if we ask, when we fall. For that is what the shepherd does. That is his job to which he is utterly devoted. So each of us is called by name to the flock of the faithful and trusting. There is nowhere safer.

Christ the Good Shepherd, Engebrechtsz c.1510, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

IF YOU FIND THIS REFLECTION RINGING TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER 2025: THE THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

The Healing of the Blind Bartimaeus, Workshop of Fernando Gallego c.1484, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Tucson, Arizona, USA. 

Jesus said… “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.”    Mark 10:51.

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

It is usually fairly easy to read all sorts of symbolism into the gospel stories, usually indicating Jesus’ extraordinary powers and the presence of God he demonstrated. Today’s gospel is no exception. Firstly, the passage begins with the fact that Jesus and his friends were leaving the city of Jericho and, it turned out, were headed for Jerusalem where he would be greeted as the new Messiah, the new King David. There is symbolism in that short statement. Jericho is widely considered to be one of the oldest human settlements in the world; some would say the oldest. It is also 900 feet below sea level. So it could be said to be the city symbolizing  humanity in all its fragility and weakness when compared to Jerusalem, their destination. If any city in the world which could claim to the City of God, it is Jerusalem, holy to the three Abrahamic faiths. It is also 3,800 feet above sea level, much nearer to God, if you will, than Jericho. (compare that to Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, where the traveller was going down in the opposite direction, towards Jericho…). Secondly, blind Bartimaeus called Jesus “Son of David”. That was the first time in Mark’s gospel anyone had so named him. It was code for Messiah, as the Messiah was widely believed to be the one who was going to restore the kingdom of David and rid the country of the pagan unclean and hated Romans. And the spectacular cures and powers demonstrated by Jesus certainly gave credence to that belief. It was the reason he was greeted so on entering Jerusalem (in the following verses in Mark’s gospel). And it was at that moment, setting off for Jerusalem, that the blind beggar yelled at the top of his voice to Jesus to notice him. Which he did, despite being told to be quiet, probably in vulgar terms. But he persisted, and Jesus heard him. Thirdly, the cure of the blind man, who would have been widely known in that small community for years, would be taken as the conclusive proof of his identity as the promised Messiah (and note, in John’s gospel, the equivalent miracle was the raising of Lazarus from the dead, Jesus’ most spectacular “sign” or proof, of his identity). Today’s first reading from Jeremiah, speaks of the Lord gathering the blind and the lame, once in tears but now amid praise and glory, which marked Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem. Not only that, but Jesus was the new high priest, chosen by God, to lead everyone into the new Jerusalem.

There are a few more symbolic notes to this story of the blind man being cured. His determination to have Jesus hear him is seen in his two loud cries for help, making sure he would be heard. Isn’t that a lesson for us all? It says, don’t be afraid to ask for anything which is truly life-affirming, and look carefully for the divine response. Then the gospel says the blind man “threw aside his cloak”, presumably the only possession he had, as he fully expected and believed he was to begin on a new, sighted, life where begging was no more. Finally, this miracle named the  blind man, which was unusual. Recipients of Jesus’ miraculous powers are rarely named; but this man was identified, Bartimaeus. It is thought that he probably entered Jesus’ circle of friends to become one of the very first Christians, a life of gratitude for what he had received from God.

Finally, bearing in mind all of the above, remember that such life impediments as blindness  were, in those days, considered to be God’s punishment on the sinful. Bartimaeus, with God’s help, overcame this with his conviction that Jesus was the Son of David, and presumably set out with Jesus’ followers in the correct way, from Jericho to Jerusalem (the symbolism as stated above), up from misery, trapped in a terrible handicap in Jericho, to the freedom and triumph of entering God’s city of Jerusalem and life eternal. So no matter what handicaps each of us may have which distance us from God, a simple, silent, cry for help, louder if necessary, will bring us into God’s fold, to be guided to the New Jerusalem and eternal happiness. Miraculous healings still do take place today, but they are extremely rare and we really should not expect them, even though we can and do pray for them fervently. So we should look elsewhere, searching for God’s response to our requests. It may be spectacular, but much more likely to be more like an interior peace and acceptance, carefully guided by the hand of God. After all, we are all headed in the same direction no matter what, and the more ready we are to accept the inevitable, the readier we will be to meet the Lord of all. And perhaps our best response might be ευχαριστώ, eucharisto, the modern Greek for “thanks”, and the source of our word Eucharist. A life of gratitude, after all, acknowledges all God has given to us, and will give even more: ευχαριστώ.

Σέ ευχαριστώ Κύριε, Se eucharisto Kurie, Thank You Lord,

St. Gabriel Antiochian Orthodox Church, Lafeyette, Louisiana, USA.

IF YOU FIND THIS REFLECTION RINGING TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER 2024, THE TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

What is Servant Leadership? “Indeed”, a Job Search Engine and Hiring Platform. 

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

[Jesus said] “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.  But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant….     Mark 10:42-43.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

Among the most criticized and ridiculed expressions is the DYKWIA response in any situation, in words, “Do You Know Who I Am?”. It would seem to be the easy way of dealing with a delicate situation, but it almost inevitably gets peoples’ backs up, and makes the situation (whatever it is) much worse. It is also risky, because most times the answer is going to be “No, and it serves you (whoever you are) right!” I mention this because of the phrase in today’s gospel when Jesus says, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt”. It is very easy to put a leader into a position where he or she is temped to use the DYOWIA. One imagines that things have never changed when it come to such things. So Jesus clearly and unequivocally states, “It shall not be so among you”. Then what should it be Lord? The answer: Whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. Why Lord? The Answer: For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And there you have it; pretty clear, concise and to the point. Christians are never to play the DYKWIA game! We are to be servants, doing our best for those around us, for we are their servants.

Sounds very nice, but can it work in practice? Doesn’t someone have to rule? Is it even possible for every living Christian to rank him/herself a servant? And so we arrive at the theory of servant leadership. Now that has a modern ring to it. Indeed the theory of servant leadership as a scholarly concept was born not in the Age of Enlightenment (when Christianity was more often a target rather than an inspiration) but in a scholarly article by Robert Greenleaf in 1970 who worked for AT&T! From such a beginning have grown courses taught by the Center for Servant Leadership at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, at the Harvard Law School, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, among other disparate educational institutions, showing a broad level of support. The key elements of this style of leadership are listening, persuasion, intuition, foresight, use of language and pragmatic measurements of outcome.

But we are talking about Jesus’ teaching in today’s gospel rather than sitting in a tutorial situation with a polymathic professor! What is clear though is this: once again, Jesus, teaching 2000 years ago, is as modern today as it is possible to be! And one thing more: his teaching applies to each and every one of us. In a multitude of different ways, we are all leaders at certain times in certain places. We could be chatting in a group, and suddenly become the focus, the leader. We could be directing a family gathering, or pointing something out at work, or helping a stranger who is lost, or taking care of a neighbor’s children, any situation where, perhaps even momentarily, we are called to lead. At such times, Jesus’ teaching comes into play, and those qualities listed above might become very handy. That must not be a DYKWIA moment, to say the least. Even if it is a provocative situation at the check-in desk at the airport, for example, when the choice seems to be an convulsive eruption of incandescent anger or, better, a moment for trying to look for options. All these situations are opportunities, even if brief, to display patience, care and discretion as best we can. In other words, to reflect what the Lord would do and say. 

I am reminded of the famous story concerning the funeral of the well-known actor David Niven, the biggest wreath, worthy of a Mafia Godfather’s funeral, was delivered from the porters at London’s Heathrow Airport, along with a card that read: ‘To the finest gentleman who ever walked through these halls. He made a porter feel like a king’. A quiet, understated example of leadership. Generous, uncalled for and kind. The story is telling us that we can all exercise that kind of leadership whatever the situation. When we are shopping, and at the register, how we react will display leadership quality – or not. Patience, demeanor, even humility are all possible qualities in such a situation. In any line or queue, where impatience is not unknown, how we act can set the tone and the mood. Of course it is easier to lose all patience and begin to grumble, or worse. But a true leader will try to intervene and defuse such a situation. Even a little humor will go a very long way. And any one of us might well be in the middle of such a moment. For example, when in the middle of Mass, it might happen that a baby has lost it and starts to make a great noise. The tension will rise very quickly, even to the point of turning round and glaring angrily at the desperate mother. The priest, at such a moment, needs only to say: “Ah, the wonderful sound of life; thank you Lord!” or something similar, and the tension will immediately vanish, like magic. So you don’t have to be a Churchill at such moments; just a little common sense, and the knowledge that we can all grab the moment as a Christian and things will improve. And that can happen to any of us. So Jesus’ teaching today is really a call to common sense, humility and a little courage, and the Christian message will come through even if disguised as peacemaking or gentleness. Let us hope that any one of us is able to rise to such a challenge!

Lord, Where Are you Going? Learning from the Past, Fr. John Harris.

IF YOU FIND THIS REFLECTION RINGING TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com 

SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER 2024: THE TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Johann Wenzel Peter c. 1820, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City State. 

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

The LORD God said: “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.”  Genesis 2:18.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

This is one of those Sundays which presents a real challenge to an unmarried person, such as me. Far be it for me to expound on the perfect married life! So I will talk of something which should be a part of any profound and dedicated marriage, which is friendship. This I do understand and try to live. True friendship demands, I would suggest, almost the same challenges which the married life demands. If you look online for a moment concerning that topic, headlines such as Friendships: Enrich Your Life and Improve Your Health (The Mayo Clinic),  and The Science of Why Friendships Keep Us Healthy (American Psychological Association), and Benefits of Friendship (Care Counseling) tend to leap from the page. So clearly those who know about physical and mental health agree that friendship is life-affirming and, in some way, essential to one’s well-being. It seems even God thought so, looking at the quotation from Genesis above! The reverse of the statement would be It is bad for the man to be alone. I even remember reading years ago about a life insurance company which asked potential clients if they had good friendships, especially a friendship where nothing was concealed, and premiums apparently went down if they did! Look at this, for example. And, of course, don’t forget the people Jesus gathered around him, though one wonders about Judas… Clearly Jesus was totally human in his ability to make a mistake concerning that man. And remember we, and Judas, all have the freedom to behave in any way we wish; that is part of the glory and challenge of being human! Jesus clearly did not control any of the people around him; he hoped and prayed for them, but their fates were clearly in their own hands. 

But true friendship has both benefits and costs. The costs, of course, are when things go wrong, and the statement A friend in need is a friend indeed comes into play. Life is not always pleasant. Each of us encounters challenges at times, and that is when true friendship manifests itself. I recall the time when I was in hospital three years ago recovering from triple by-pass open heart surgery. My doctor walked into the room when I happened to have three friends visiting. He looked around and said “This is the best therapy you can get”. It is never fun visiting a hospital. It involves inconvenience, special journeys, time, commitment and a host of other unwelcome requirements. But the benefits to the patient which come from such costs can be immeasurable. I was, and remain, deeply grateful for such true friendship and I trust and pray you feel the same way. And it is at such times that true friendship manifests itself. It is not to say that other friends are lacking. Remember how many of Jesus’ friends were present at his death… They made up for it later. The bitterness of Peter’s betrayal of the Lord in the high priest’s garden when Jesus was being insulted and  unjustly accused, when Peter did nothing to support him – and even denied knowing him! –  then his remorse, which must have been immeasurable. That is the shadow side of friendship, the consequences of betrayal. Remorse at such times is, I believe, a foretaste of hell.

So, true friendship is the solid ground on which, I hope, we all stand. It is life giving, life enhancing and life fulfilling. It should be at the heart of all marriages, partners who can trust each other totally, no matter what. And supremely, it is at the heart of our relationship with the Lord, the ultimate friend, the giver of life and love. Christ’s three questions to Peter later, “Do you love me?” will be demanded of us also. Let there be unbounded joy at that moment, when we enter upon unending love and life eternally.

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Mosaic in the Church of St Peter Gallicantu, Jerusalem, Israel (2018).

IF THIS REFLECTION RINGS TRUE, PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS. THANK YOU. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com

SUNDAY 29 SEPTEMBER 2024: THE TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

Christ Blessing (The Saviour of the World), El Greco c.1597, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.    Mark 9:39-40.

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

Click on words highlighted in red for further information.

I grew up in London many years ago. At that time it was pockmarked with bomb sites galore, there was very little money to spend on anything except essentials, and it is a wonder how my mother, and the millions like her, managed to bring children up at all. But my childhood was additionally difficult in that I was Catholic in a predominantly Protestant country. I felt this especially on Ash Wednesday. I had that black mark on my forehead (and no-one else did at that time) and had been told it was NOT to be removed (mortal sins flew around in those days like leaves in autumn) and so I had to endure grown-ups looking at me as if in pity because I had a mother who didn’t care, who let her son out with a filthy face. It was agony. But at least I had the consolation knowing that they were all going to hell because they weren’t Catholic! Except my Protestant mother, of course. It was one of the givens back in those days. I’m sure it wasn’t strict church teaching, but there was (as far as I could tell at the age of 10) a widespread acceptance of that belief. There were certainly echoes of it even in pontifical letters. Pope Pius XI, for example, responding in 1928 to the ecumenical movement which was then gaining ground, had this to say in his encyclical Mortalium Animos:

Let, therefore, the separated children draw nigh to the Apostolic See, set up in the City which Peter and Paul, the Princes of the Apostles, consecrated by their blood; to that See, We repeat, which is the root and womb whence the Church of God springs, not with the intention and the hope that the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth will cast aside the integrity of the faith and tolerate their errors, but, on the contrary, that they themselves submit to its teaching and government.

There was little room for movement there, and needless to say, not one non-Catholic group responded to the Pope’s invitation. I wonder what Pope Pius would say about this gathering in the shadow of the cathedral at Assisi in 2016, sponsored by Pope Francis, with, among many others of Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic faiths, Bartholomew, the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch, Aphrem II, Syro-Orthodox Patriarch and Justin Welby, the Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury, praying for world peace:

So we seem to have come quite far in recognizing that God can be worshipped in many different ways, not just “our” way, even if there are doctrinal differences with others. Today’s second reading from the letter of St. James seems to condemn those who lord it over lesser mortals, perhaps in some way condemning those who stand in power or judgment over others who have done no wrong yet suffer at their hands. Indeed Jesus seems to be especially harsh on those who force others to act, for example, against their consciences. Remove from yourself, he seems to say, those elements which, though precious to you, cause suffering in others. He even seems to say that hell awaits such perpetrators (Gehenna being an image of hell, the name taken possibly from the Hinnom Valley outside Jerusalem, where the city garbage was once incinerated and child sacrifice once conducted). So maybe intolerance can be reckoned as utterly condemned by the Lord, hence along with it, racism, discrimination, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, ageism, and all the other unhappy examples of my way or the highway. Note that the Lord himself practiced what he preached, helping the Roman centurion (who would have encountered hatred from the Hebrews over whom he ruled), who appealed for help for his servant (Matthew 8:5-13), talking to the Samaritan woman, considered a heretic, (John 4-26) and even to a pagan woman whose daughter was, in her words, possessed (Matthew 15:21-28) and of course promising the repentant thief crucified with him that he would be with him in Paradise, relayed in three gospels (Matthew 27:38, Luke 23:32-43 and Mark 15:27). So, sinners, the despised, with women, to the Lord these were people crying for help, and he recognized their suffering, in one way or another. It mattered not what they were, it was WHO they were! And there is our example of simple kindness, acceptance and warmth which we are all encouraged to reflect. Let us all pray that we are indeed capable of such acceptance.

Peter and the others refusing to enter the house of Levi the tax collector when Jesus had dinner with him and his friends. Levi was an excommunicated Jew who collaborated with the pagan Romans. A Jew who entered his house would become ritually unclean. Yet Jesus entered his house and dined with him. Levi became Matthew and followed Jesus thereafter. Zeffirelli (brilliantly) has Jesus tell the story of the Prodigal Son here, with Levi the prodigal, and Peter the outraged older brother. Jesus of Nazareth 1977, Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

IF YOU LIKED THIS REFLECTION, PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW. 

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com

SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2024: THE TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME.

| bayswater2016

One Minute Reflection, AnaStpaul.com

“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”    

Click here to read today’s Sunday Mass Readings.

Click on words highlighted in red for more information.

Reading through today’s Scripture passages, a mixture of emotions might rise up. From the Book of Wisdom comes anger (a plan to bring down the righteous through the actions of sinners), possible guilt from the Letter of James, where we might have been jealous or angry about someone or something, and, putting ourselves into the shoes of Jesus’ disciples, guilt over admitting they were figuring out who was the greatest among them, and confusion and possibly even fear over Jesus’ prediction of his own death at the hands of evil men. In other words a real slice of fallible human nature! Who hasn’t fallen victim at one time or another to one or more of those faults? Which leads to the question of Why? Why aren’t we satisfied with all God has given us, beginning with life itself? Once upon a time, when I was in studies in the 1960 working to my Economics degree, I asked the teacher, relating to the basic law of supply and demand, what happens if you have all your material needs satisfied, and your demand no longer exists – you don’t want anything else! The professor solemnly opined that you had reached the state of “hither bliss”. I guess that meant heaven here and now, total material satisfaction. Is such a state ever possible? We can always see others with more money, talents, self-confidence, or whatever, comes to mind, and feel oppressed or short-changed in some way. Which is all grist to the Devil, pure catnip to the Evil One, who will make merry with our doubts and jealousies. Hence the concluding thought in today’s gospel, that the one who is last, least, among us is the first, and to be that, Jesus shows, we must be like a child, innocent of everything, open and trusting and eager to trust and love and experience the joy of life. 

Yes, I can hear myself say, and be open to being robbed, the butt of jokes, the easy touch, the sitting duck for just about anything. Do I really want that? Does anyone want that? So, I ask myself, what does the Son of Man, God among us, really mean when he seems to be demanding such risky attitudes and behavior? Does Jesus suggest that we all should be gullible and offer ourselves on the sacrificial block to the first one who comes to take advantage of us? Clearly not, but what then? After all, look what happened to Him! Intriguing readings today therefore, with much food for thought. One cannot believe that the Lord is asking us to be defenseless and open to hucksters of all kinds. Again, then what? Well, just remember a few other words of the Lord. From Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves”. St Paul says: “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15). And St. James in today’s second reading says we should attain “the wisdom from above [which] is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity”.

Not easy, true, but whoever said the virtuous life is easy? We have to work to be the kind of people God is asking us to be, even if it provokes the anger of the unrighteous (which it often does). But, as ever, we are not left alone to battle evil. We have the Lord with us always, the one who conquered evil; we have a voice which can ask for his help, and we have the faith which can get us through anything. Doesn’t all that mean we are, at that point, the child that Jesus is asking us to be? Then we should be always trust in God, and act accordingly.

The Infant of Prague, Church of Our Lady of Victories, Prague, Czech Republic (2024).

PLEASE LET OTHERS KNOW OF THIS REFLECTION OR, PERHAPS, FORWARD IT TO THEM.

THANK YOU.

Reflections on next Sunday’s Mass Readings will be posted on Wednesday.

Please send your reactions to: RogerJohn@aol.com

© SundayMassReadings.com