9th Week of Ordinary Time

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

 

31^st May Monday.

Mark 12:1-12

¹ Jesus went on to speak to them in parables, 'A man planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug out a trough for the winepress and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. ² When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. ³ But they seized the man, thrashed him and sent him away empty handed. ⁴ Next he sent another servant to them; him they beat about the head and treated shamefully. ⁵ And he sent another and him they killed; then a number of others, and they thrashed some and killed the rest. ⁶ He had still someone left: his beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, "They will respect my son." ⁷ But those tenants said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours." ⁸ So they seized him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. ⁹ Now what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and make an end of the tenants and give the vineyard to others. ¹⁰ Have you not read this text of scripture: The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; ¹¹ this is the Lord's doing, and we marvel at it ?' ¹² And they would have liked to arrest him, because they realised that the parable was aimed at them, but they were afraid of the crowds. So they left him alone and went away.

Jesus condemns the Jewish priests for their continued obstinacy. The vineyard was the people of Israel, described by Isaiah in his parable of the vineyard of Yahweh. Through this parable Jesus is also saying that he is the Messiah and indeed the Son of God. He foretells his ignominious end at the hands of the priests. God does not destroy his vineyard but hands it over to new tenants. Those who accept ‘the Son’ become the vineyard and the tenants the priests of the new Covenant. In the parable the owner does not interfere in the day to day running of the vineyard yet he expects his fruits in due time. Likewise God gives his Church freedom but looks for the fruits. Everyone with any form of responsibility for others will have to yield the fruit. Each of us must ask: I am producing the fruit pleasing to the Lord?

Tuesday June 1^st 2010

Mk 12:13-17

³ Next they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to catch him out in what he said. ¹⁴ These came and said to him, 'Master, we know that you are an honest man, that you are not afraid of anyone, because human rank means nothing to you, and that you teach the way of God in all honesty. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or not?' ¹⁵ Recognising their hypocrisy he said to them, 'Why are you putting me to the test? Hand me a denarius and let me see it.' ¹⁶ They handed him one and he said to them, 'Whose portrait is this? Whose title?' They said to him, 'Caesar's.' ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, 'Pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar -- and God what belongs to God.' And they were amazed at him.

The heart of the matter is not the paying of taxes. His enemies hated Jesus. They wanted him destroyed and so proposed this trick question. The Pharisees, strict observers of the Law, compromised. Their conscience said paying tax to Caesar was wrong but could they face the consequences of not paying? They grudgingly paid. Could a prophet of God compromise? He must say yes or no. They didn’t believe a word of what they said, in fact the opposite, but Jesus, so they thought, must come out straight. No trick question deserves a straight answer. Before the crowds he shows them to be hypocrites. They have the hated coin issued by Caesar and so his property. They thereby acknowledge his authority. You have his coin. Give it back. Jesus doesn’t have it. How do you stand before Jesus? Do you stand transparent before him or try to justify your compromises?

Wednesday 2^nd June 2010 

Mk 12:18-27

¹⁸ Then some Sadducees -- who deny that there is a resurrection -- came to him and they put this question to him, ¹⁹ 'Master, Moses prescribed for us that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers; the first married a wife and then died leaving no children. ²¹ The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, ²² and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. ²³ Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?' ²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Surely the reason why you are wrong is that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God. ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. ²⁶ Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? ²⁷ He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.'

The Sadducees were the aristocracy having a religion of convenience to further their political ends. They only accepted the Pentateuch in which there is no explicit mention of resurrection.  They try to show the stupidity of the idea. Jesus tells them they do not understand the Scriptures. Every page of the Bible talks of a God who loves mankind. Is he a God who lives in his own glory while caring nothing for his friends and lets them fall into nothingness at death? They know nothing of the power of God. Nor do we. Before God we are not even as ants before us. If you had never seen the beauty of flowers and the majesty of trees what would you imagine by looking at some colourless and lifeless seeds in your hand. We live in a hopeful expectation which is fully grounded in God’s infinite love for us.

Thursday 3^rd June 2010

Mark 12:28-34

²⁸ One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had given a good answer and put a further question to him, 'Which is the first of all the commandments?' ²⁹ Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord, ³⁰ and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. ³¹ The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.' ³² The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one and there is no other. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.' ³⁴ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' And after that no one dared to question him any more.

Like the Jews we may have heard this from childhood with the familiarity which makes us pass it by. But Jesus takes our minds off individual laws and casuistry. He focuses us on what life is all about. Everything we have including the very breath we breathe is a gift from God. He gives us freely everything we see around us, the whole universe. We are preserved in being by his constant loving thought. Our existence is to be a response of love for him. There is no room for anything else. Then how often we fail and need to repent. All our dealings with our neighbour are to be an expression of love. We do not love them as we love God but as we love ourselves. We must then love ourselves, see ourselves as precious to God and love others in the same way. How often we fail.

Friday 4^th June

Mark 12.35-37).

³⁵ While teaching in the Temple, Jesus said, 'How can the scribes maintain that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, moved by the Holy Spirit, said: The Lord declared to my Lord, take your seat at my right hand till I have made your enemies your footstool. ³⁷ David himself calls him Lord; in what way then can he be his son?' And the great crowd listened to him with delight.

His enemies have tried to belittle Jesus in the eyes of the crowds by asking trick questions about taxes and the resurrection and a scribe admiring his answers had asked publicly about the most important commandment in the Law. Jesus had answered them all to their amazement. Now he asks a question to make them and us think more deeply. The Messiah is the son of David. But how could he be son and so inferior if David himself calls him Lord and has God say that he will sit at his right hand. He is making the Messiah equal with God. It is a veiled way of speaking but Jesus wants them to reflect. In the historical situation no one guessed that Jesus was truly God. We know that.. How does that change your perception of Jesus present to you now? Your Friend and Saviour is God.

Saturday 5^th June

Mark 12:28-44

³⁸ In his teaching Jesus said, 'Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be greeted respectfully in the market squares, ³⁹ to take the front seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; ⁴⁰ these are the men who devour the property of widows and for show offer long prayers. The more severe will be the sentence they receive.' ⁴¹ He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great deal. ⁴² A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny. ⁴³ Then he called his disciples and said to them, 'In truth I tell you, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they have all put in money they could spare, but she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.'

Jesus is contrasting two kinds of devotees. On the one hand those scribes who are full of self. They wear distinctive religious clothing, desire to be honoured and respected in public while having no love of God in their hearts. In daily life they satisfy their greed while giving the opposite impression. We find this type everywhere. On the other hand is a woman who has very little but out of love for God offers everything she has to His Temple. She lives for God. Where am I? Do I belong to Christ? Do I use all his gifts, many or few, for him alone or do I use them for myself? What kind of a devotee are you? We cannot compartmentalise our life. We either use all our gifts for him alone or we hold back and keep things for ourselves. Jesus accepts my ‘treasure’.

The Holy Trinity C

The Holy Trinity Sunday C

Proverbs:8:22-31. Ps 8:4-9. Rv.2. Rom. 5:1-5. John 16:12-15.

Wisdom ever at play in his presence and delighting to be with the sons of men.

You have made man little less than a god.

The love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

All the Father has is mine. All the Spirit tells you will be taken from what is mine.

John 16:12-15

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you to bear now. ¹³ However, when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking of his own accord, but will say only what he has been told; and he will reveal to you the things to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, since all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine. ¹⁵ Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he reveals to you will be taken from what is mine.

A loving Dad in heaven

            We have all heard of shamrock and the Trinity, a triangle and the three persons but one God. The mind boggles. If we try to get the Trinity into our head then it splits. It’s like an ant trying to understand us. In fact that is easy compared to us  trying to understand God. Then why did Jesus reveal this mystery? It was for our happiness and salvation. Many parents and teachers have unwittingly often caused great harm. Many taught us that God is a God who punishes sinners, that he has put us in a straitjacket with his commandments and forbids us to do the very things we want to, that he always says ‘no’ and throws a wet blanket over everything, almost that he likes to see us suffer and doesn’t seem to bother about our pain and lets the wicked escape. How many have thought, “Anyway he will throw me into hell, I may as well enjoy myself now” Those who reject God, reject a God who doesn’t exist. Those who walk away, walk away from a God they have never met. God is nothing like what even saints imagine.

            No one has ever seen God. The Scriptures say further, no one can see God. As a result no human being can say anything about God. Whatever they say is as valuable as the description of the elephant given by the six blind men. Only the Son who dwells in the bosom of the Father knows him. Only Jesus can teach about the Father because he is the visible image of the Father. Jesus is the invisible God translated into human form. Look at Jesus and you look at the Father. Listen to Jesus and you listen to God the Father.

            Far from condemning sinners Jesus welcomed them – the tax collectors, the sinful woman in the house of Simon, the woman taken in adultery, the paralytic, Zachaeus the swindler par excellence, Peter after his threefold denial, and so many others till in his last moment the thief on the cross – the only person guaranteed a place in heaven. He had fellowship with them without preconditions. He simply loved them and hoped that his love would be contagious. In this he confirmed the Word: God takes delight in forgiving sins.

            Most of all he revealed God as Abba – our heavenly Dad who loves to take his children in his arms and bless them (Hosea11:3). He is Abba who longs for his children to come to him even if they have ruined their lives and hit rock bottom. He embraces them and gives them the best robe and ring and makes a feast for all the angels and saints.

            What is your image of God? Do you see God as Jesus did or as people speak of him?  How does Jesus speak of his Father to you?

Father, grant that we may bring you joy by calling you Abba from our hearts.

8th Week of Ordinary Time

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real

Monday 24^th May 2010

8^th Week of Ordinary Time

Mk 10:17-27

He was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, 'Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' ¹⁸ Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and mother.' ²⁰ And he said to him, 'Master, I have kept all these since my earliest days.' ²¹ Jesus looked steadily at him and he was filled with love for him, and he said, 'You need to do one thing more. Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.' ²² But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. ²³ Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!' ²⁴ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, 'My children,' he said to them, 'how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God.' ²⁶ They were more astonished than ever, saying to one another, 'In that case, who can be saved?' ²⁷ Jesus gazed at them and said, 'By human resources it is impossible, but not for God: because for God everything is possible.'

Back in Ordinary Time we follow Jesus along his way. We will see everything and listen to everything just as his disciples did. A man comes and kneels before him. Who is he? Maybe he’s you. He calls Jesus ‘good’. Jesus directs him to the Father. Jesus’ life is doing his Father’s will. It must be ours too. Jesus repeats the Old Testament. The man justifies himself. But has he never defrauded his labourers? Jesus loves him and invites him to be a disciple. There is a condition however. Go and sell everything you have. Don’t give the money to the Temple but to the poor. Relieve their hardship. Then come as you are. He cannot do it. He is a rich man. He cannot give up his wealth. ’Where his treasure is, there is his heart’ and what about you? Jesus demands everything.  What are you clinging to?

Tuesday 25^th May 2010

8^th week of Ordinary Time

Mk 10:28-31

Peter took this up. 'Look,' he said to him, 'we have left everything and followed you.' ²⁹ Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel ³⁰ who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land -- and persecutions too -- now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life. ³¹ Many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'

Peter left his nets and so did the others. But did they leave everything? Did they leave their longing for power, position and the first places in the Kingdom? We will see that they had not. Did they understand that Jesus must suffer and they also? God wants to be generous. When we give up our ‘possessions’ for Jesus’ sake then God can abundantly bless us even if others persecute us. He gives us contentment of mind and the happiness of friends. Life becomes a joy. This is not a ‘reward’. God owes us nothing. It is his love for us. Have we the courage to make Jesus the centre of our life, to surrender our desires to him so that having only what we need, we long only to do his will? Do you daily surrender to him and listen to what he wants you to do?

Wednesday 26^th May 2010

8^th Week of Orinary Time

Mk 10:32-45

³² They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem; Jesus was walking on ahead of them; they were in a daze, and those who followed were apprehensive. Once more taking the Twelve aside he began to tell them what was going to happen to him, ³³ 'Now we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man is about to be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the gentiles, ³⁴ who will mock him and spit at him and scourge him and put him to death; and after three days he will rise again.' ³⁵ James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached him. 'Master,' they said to him, 'We want you to do us a favour.' ³⁶ He said to them, 'What is it you want me to do for you?' ³⁷ They said to him, 'Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.' ³⁸ But Jesus said to them, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I shall drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I shall be baptised?' ³⁹ They replied, 'We can.' Jesus said to them, 'The cup that I shall drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I shall be baptised you shall be baptised, ⁴⁰ but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.' ⁴¹ When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, ⁴² so Jesus called them to him and said to them, 'You know that among the gentiles those they call their rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. ⁴³ Among you this is not to happen. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. ⁴⁵ For the Son of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How little the disciples understood and how frustrating for Jesus, yet he remains patient with these slow learners.  He has just told them in the clearest of terms that humiliation and death await him in Jerusalem. As if they have heard nothing, James and John ask Jesus if they can be second in command when he achieves glory. The others are angry that they asked first. We humans see and hear everything with our own mindset. Jesus tries again to teach them that he is establishing a new kind of community, one not built on power but a community in which each of us humbly serves the other out of love. Jesus himself is the great model. He came to serve and give his life for others? For whom are you giving your life? Would those who know you, think you their loving servant?

Thursday 27th  May 2010

Mark 10:46-52

They reached Jericho; and as he left Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus -- that is, the son of Timaeus -- a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. ⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and cry out, 'Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.' ⁴⁸ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, 'Son of David, have pity on me.' ⁴⁹ Jesus stopped and said, 'Call him here.' So they called the blind man over. 'Courage,' they said, 'get up; he is calling you.' ⁵⁰ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. ⁵¹ Then Jesus spoke, 'What do you want me to do for you?' The blind man said to him, 'Rabbuni, let me see again.' ⁵² Jesus said to him, 'Go; your faith has saved you.' And at once his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

The disciples are blind. Bartimaeus represents them. But Mark writes for the blind in his community and are we not blind? Once we could see – when baptized, when we had a conversion experience or entered on a special state of life such as religious life or priesthood. But then we sank into blindness again. We could no longer follow Jesus but sat helpless by the side of the road. Bartimaeus represents us all. He knows that only Jesus can give him sight. Only Jesus can open our eyes too. He is desperate to get to Jesus and overcomes the opposition of the crowd. Are we as anxious to meet Jesus? Jesus sends others to call him. It is in the community now that we will meet Jesus. Bartimaeus throws off his cloak. He leaves everything to get to Jesus. Do you? Have you met Jesus? Has he cured your blindness?

Friday 28^th May 2010

Mark 11:11-26

Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the Temple; and when he had surveyed it all, as it was late by now, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve. ¹² Next day as they were leaving Bethany, he felt hungry. ¹³ Seeing a fig tree in leaf some distance away, he went to see if he could find any fruit on it, but when he came up to it he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And he addressed the fig tree, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And his disciples heard him say this. ¹⁵ So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out the men selling and buying there; he upset the tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers. ¹⁶ Nor would he allow anyone to carry anything through the Temple. ¹⁷ And he taught them and said, 'Does not scripture say: My house will be called a house of prayer for all peoples? But you have turned it into a bandits' den.' ¹⁸ This came to the ears of the chief priests and the scribes, and they tried to find some way of doing away with him; they were afraid of him because the people were carried away by his teaching. ¹⁹ And when evening came he went out of the city. ²⁰ Next morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered to the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered. 'Look, Rabbi,' he said to Jesus, 'the fig tree that you cursed has withered away.' ²² Jesus answered, 'Have faith in God. ²³ In truth I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, "Be pulled up and thrown into the sea," with no doubt in his heart, but believing that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴ I tell you, therefore, everything you ask and pray for, believe that you have it already, and it will be yours. ²⁵ And when you stand in prayer, forgive whatever you have against anybody, so your Father in heaven may forgive your failings too.' ^{26 27} They came to Jerusalem again, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him,

Jesus goes to the fig tree. It looks very good, full of foliage but there is no fruit. Jesus is bitterly disappointed. He curses the tree and by evening it will wither away. He then goes to the Temple and what he sees fills him with anger. You have made the house of prayer a den of thieves. This too will wither when the Romans destroy it in 70A.D. Jesus condemns a religion which has plenty of external practices, rules and regulations but little or nothing else. The heart of religion is our love for God in Jesus. Without this personal love for Jesus our religion is just a fig tree full of foliage but without fruit. Sacrifices and prayers were forever being made in the Temple, but Jesus was not impressed. Is he impressed with your way of life? Do you have deep and personal relationship with him?

Saturday 29^th May 2010

Mark 11:27-33

 They came to Jerusalem again, and as Jesus was walking in the Temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, ²⁸ and they said to him, 'What authority have you for acting like this? Or who gave you authority to act like this?' ²⁹ Jesus said to them, 'And I will ask you a question, just one; answer me and I will tell you my authority for acting like this. ³⁰ John's baptism, what was its origin, heavenly or human? Answer me that.' ³¹ And they argued this way among themselves, 'If we say heavenly, he will say, "Then why did you refuse to believe him?" ³² But dare we say human?' -- they had the people to fear, for everyone held that John had been a real prophet. ³³ So their reply to Jesus was, 'We do not know.'And Jesus said to them, 'Nor will I tell you my authority for acting like this.' 

The Jewish Leaders are not interested in the truth. Hence though they claim it, they have no authority. They are politicians through and through. They want to get Jesus off the scene. But Jesus is their match. They ask him a question about his authority. Jesus counters by asking about the authority of John the Baptist. To accept John is to accept Jesus.  And so  they refuse to answer, saying they do not know.  Jesus refuses to answer their question. He will say to Pilate that those only who love the truth listen to his words. The truth will make them free. The Jewish Leaders were blind and bound by their own prejudices. Is there some area of life were you too are blind and refuse to listen to Lord’s voice because you cannot face the truth? In Jesus’ hands the truth will make you free.

 

The Feast of Pentecost C

Pentecost Sunday C

Acts 2:1-11. Psalm 103: 1, 24. 29-31. 34.Rv. 30. Romans 8:8-17. John 14: 15-16. 23-26

We hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.

May my thoughts be pleasing to him. I find my joy in the Lord

The Spirit of God has made his home in you.

We shall come to him and make our home with him

  

John 14:15-16, 23-26

If you love me you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ I shall ask the Father, and he will give you another Paraclete to be with you for ever, ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth whom the world can never accept since it neither sees nor knows him; but you know him, because he is with you, he is in you.

Jesus replied: Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me. ²⁵ I have said these things to you while still with you; ²⁶ but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.

Take his help

            People affect us in different ways. Some people make us believe we are lost. Their attitude and their words depress us. The result is we feel inadequate. Other people have the opposite effect. When they are around we feel enthusiastic and ready to give ourselves for the cause in hand. Churchill during the Second World War galvanized a nation and gave it the power to sacrifice and defeat its enemy. He actually didn’t give it anything but brought out what the nation already had. Psychologists tell us that we use only a fraction of our ability. We all have great potential but it sleeps. We don’t believe in ourselves, consider ourselves failures even before we begin and so are paralyzed. We need someone to get us going and then we are amazed at what we can do.

            Jesus had been with the disciples for two years. They had seen him at work and listened to him preaching. He was their Master and Guru. Now he was going away. They felt lost. They were dependent on him. But he told them, “It is better for you that I go away... If I go away it is to send the Helper to you” (John 16:7). Jesus will send the Holy Spirit. What Jesus was in the foundation of the Church the Holy Spirit will be during the life of the Church. Jesus handed his mission of Salvation to us and sent the Holy Spirit to assist us in this work. But the work is ours. If we welcome the Spirit he will put new life and enthusiasm into us. He will galvanize us more than any leader can galvanize a nation. People who are filled with the Spirit will experience powers they never thought they had. He will give them courage and fortitude. He will bring out from the recesses of their minds what Jesus had taught but they had forgotten. They will be the same people but now on fire with enthusiasm, boldness and wisdom. The Spirit is the great Animator. He encourages us to love, bring peace and justice and develop all the other qualities we call the fruits of the Spirit.

            Jesus was a man like us in all things but sin. He was a quiet man going about his business in Nazareth. Then at the Jordan River he welcomed the Spirit in a new way. He enjoyed the fellowship of the Spirit (2 Cor.13:13). The Spirit ever with him set him on fire with a mission, encouraged him to have great faith and trust and love for his Father. Combined with a consuming love for men and women he could heal their sicknesses and give them the Word of life.

            This Pentecost let us welcome the Spirit into our lives and we will blossom in ways we never dreamt of.  

Father, may I experience a new Pentecost in my life and be transformed.

Weekdays of 7th Week of Easter

JESUS CONTINUES HIS LAST SUPPER DISCOURSE: HIS PRAYER

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus rea

 

Monday 17^th May, 7^th Week of Easter

 John 16:29-33

29 At the Last Supper His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly, not in any figure! 30 Now we know that you know all things, and need none to question you; by this we believe that you came from God." 31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? 32 The hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, every man to his home, and will leave me alone; yet I am not alone, for  the Father is with me. 33 I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

We can feel the sadness in the air. Those precious days of God in Jesus walking this earth have come to an end. These are his last words before his death. The disciples think they are beginning to understand him. He tells them that the time has come when they will all run away to save their skins and leave him to his fate. But though they are gone he will be in constant and loving union with his Father. Like a lamb among wolves he will be alone, but he is not alone. He is in conscious communion with Abba. Suffering cannot be avoided. It is a dark mystery. In our suffering we too need to be in constant union with our Abba, a father who cares and loves infinitely more than the best of earthly fathers. Have you had this experience? It can be yours.

Tuesday 18^th May  7^th Week of Easter

John 17:1-11a

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son so that your Son may glorify you; ² so that, just as you have given him power over all humanity, he may give eternal life to all those you have entrusted to him. ³ And eternal life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I have glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you before ever the world existed. ⁶ I have revealed your name to those whom you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now at last they have recognised that all you have given me comes from you ⁸ for I have given them the teaching you gave to me, and they have indeed accepted it and know for certain that I came from you, and have believed that it was you who sent me. ⁹ It is for them that I pray. I am not praying for the world but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. ¹⁰ All I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. ¹¹ I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us.

We have heard previously of ‘the hour’ but now it has come. It is the hour when Jesus will make the supreme sacrifice out of love for his Father. Obedience has brought Jesus the hatred of the leaders. They will kill him and he will offer his life as ‘a ransom for many’. He will give eternal life to all who accept him as their Lord and Saviour. They will live in the intimacy of the divine Family. It will be a relationship of love of which we now have no idea. He has completed his work. He has revealed God as Father, Abba, who treasures each of us with a love beyond limit. His love makes him welcome his prodigal children with a hero’s welcome. Jesus has made this possible. He is glorified in our being God’s children. By your life in God do you bring glory to Christ?

Wednesday 19^th May

John 17:11b-19

Jesus continued to pray to his Father at the Last Supper:

11b keep those you have given me true to your name, so that they may be one like us. ¹² While I was with them, I kept those you had given me true to your name. I have watched over them and not one is lost except one who was destined to be lost, and this was to fulfil the scriptures. ¹³ But now I am coming to you and I say these things in the world to share my joy with them to the full. ¹⁴ I passed your word on to them, and the world hated them, because they belong to the world no more than I belong to the world. ¹⁵ I am not asking you to remove them from the world, but to protect them from the Evil One. ¹⁶ They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. ¹⁷ Consecrate them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world, ¹⁹ and for their sake I consecrate myself so that they too may be consecrated in truth.

God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son into the world. He still loves the world. He sends us anointed by the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t want to take us out of the world but wants us to build up the world. Jesus prays that we do not embrace the values of the world taught by the Evil One. Rather we are to be consecrated in the Truth. In the midst of the world we are to live according to the values taught by Jesus in the Gospel. In your life, do you live by the Word of God? Are you salt to the earth and a light to the world? If each believer truly lived as Jesus would in their circumstances the world would be a different place. Do people around you see a 21^st century Jesus in you or just someone like the rest?

Thursday 20^th May  2010

John 17:20-26

Jesus continued to pray to his Father at the Last Supper:

²⁰ I pray not only for these but also for those who through their teaching will come to believe in me. ²¹ May they all be one, just as, Father, you are in me and I am in you, so that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. ²² I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. ²³ With me in them and you in me, may they be so perfected in unity that the world will recognise that it was you who sent me and that you have loved them as you have loved me. ²⁴ Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ Father, Upright One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.

What do unbelievers see? They don’t see Jesus. They see us and our parish. If they are to come to know Jesus it is through us. People are not moved so much by words as by what they see. It is what they see in us that will move them to believe or not. Jesus prays that we may have a unity in love the like of which cannot be found anywhere in the world. It is to be unique to his community. It springs from the heart of each member where dwell the Holy Spirit and Jesus. All the members are then united through the Holy Spirit in him. Unity will be unconsciously manifested by their mutual love and fellowship and constant acts of love. Onlookers must be amazed: “See how they love one another!”. Is this the goal of your life, of your parish community?

Friday 21^st May 2010

John 21:15-19

¹⁵ When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these others do?' He answered, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my lambs.' ¹⁶ A second time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' He replied, 'Yes, Lord, you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Look after my sheep.' ¹⁷ Then he said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go.' ¹⁹ In these words he indicated the kind of death by which Peter would give glory to God. After this he said, 'Follow me.'

Peter denied Jesus three times. Now Jesus reinstates him. Three times he has him profess his love before the others. Jesus does not look at our past but at what we are and what we can become. Peter’s weakness now becomes his strength. He will not betray again but will die for Jesus, as he once professed he would. Jesus tells him to feed his sheep and lambs. The more we love Jesus, the more we will look after his community. Love for Jesus is the source of pastoral ministry. The more we love Jesus, the more we minister to his flock.   The flock does not belong to the pastor. “Feed my sheep”. Each pastor must give an account to the Shepherd of his care for his sheep. None should be lost through his negligence. Are you a good pastor? Jesus prayed for Peter. Do you pray for your pastors?

Saturday 22^nd May 2010

John 21:20-25

²⁰ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them -- the one who had leant back close to his chest at the supper and had said to him, 'Lord, who is it that will betray you?' ²¹ Seeing him, Peter said to Jesus, 'What about him, Lord?' ²² Jesus answered, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come, what does it matter to you? You are to follow me.' ²³ The rumour then went out among the brothers that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus had not said to Peter, 'He will not die,' but, 'If I want him to stay behind till I come.' ²⁴ This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. ²⁵ There was much else that Jesus did; if it were written down in detail, I do not suppose the world itself would hold all the books that would be written.

Peter is now ‘leader’ and he represents authority in the Church but who is the anonymous ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’. He stands for the ‘little ones’ of the Church whom only Jesus knows and loves. They have no position in the hierarchy. Yet they are close to Jesus and lean on his breast. They do not run away but stand at the foot of the Cross. They are the ones who passionately love Jesus with all their strength. They live and die for him. They are the heart of Jesus’ Church. They are the ones whom Jesus holds dear. The witness of the Beloved Disciple remains, likewise there will always be “beloved disciples’ in the Church and so in the world. Each one could tell their own story of life with Jesus. If written the books of the entire world would be insufficient. Are you one of these disciples?

 "Peter's Fish" as served to tourists on the banks of the Lake of Galilee today