Rejoice in your salvation

Today you may have noticed your priest wore a pink or a “rose” vestment and if your Church has an advent wreath - the third candle would have been pink as well. This is similar to the 4th week of Lent (Laetare Sunday) …. The only two times in the liturgical year that a priest will ever wear pink/“rose”. 

The reason for this is that Lent & Advent are both penitential times of year. This is why the priest wears purple during this time and we don’t sing the Gloria during Mass on Sundays. It is a time to intensify and prepare for the mystery we are going to celebrate. 

Today is know as “Gaudate” Sunday - this comes from the entrance antiphon of the Mass for today, where we are told to Rejoice. This is highlighted by the opening prayer and especially the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah. As we await the Coming of Jesus, we await joyfully because we know that our God comes. 

The birth of Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of God dwelling amongst us and being in our midst. He remains with us hidden in the Sacraments, and will return again in glory to complete the Kingdom he has already started here in earth. 

Let us cry out with rejoicing - come Lord Jesus! 

———

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

Phil 4: 4-5
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.
Indeed, the Lord is near.

COLLECT

O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord’s Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

Share the testimony of the Gospel in your life

In honour of St Francis Xavier today, this is something I have learnt in the past few years… 

Do not be afraid to share your testimony with others. No matter how flawed or broken your spiritual life may be, people still need to hear your story of the Gospel in your life and the grace of God working through you. Not everyone is at the same place in their life, but your example could be the inspiration they are looking for. 

None of us are perfect, those people who pretend to be so are often hiding the biggest secrets. 

Be public with your witness to Christ and His mercy on your life. 🙏

Messianic Prophecy of the Hypostatic Union

During Bible study last night in my parish I had a very interesting insight regarding this passage… 

We were studying the symbolism and person of Melchizedek and this passage was brought up regarding the Messianic prophecy of Jesus’ priesthood and kingship - just as Melchizedek was a Priest & King. 

The interesting thing about this passage is it talks about a king on his throne and a priest next to him with the two of them in harmony or “peaceful understanding”. This can be interpreted allegorically to mean the Hypostatic Union of Jesus, fully human and fully divine. His Divinity represented by the King, and his humanity by the Priest - but their unity of “peaceful understanding” represents the two natures (human & Divine) in one Person. In theology this is called the Hypostatic Union. The temple of Lord that is referenced in this passage is the body of Jesus himself, just as Jesus tells us in John 2:19-22

Advent - awaiting the double Coming of Christ

Today is the 1st Sunday of Advent - the liturgical time that the Church gives us to prepare to celebrate Christmas, whilst also focusing on preparing for the Coming of Christ. The Church gives us this somber warning from the Gospel of Luke where Jesus tells us to be aware, be ready, remain vigilant for his coming so that when he returns we will be ready to stand before him. 

I love the open prayer for today where the imagery the Church gives us of running forth to meet and welcome Christ. As we begin this time of preparation for the Coming of the Lord - Advent, let’s us prepare ourselves through prayer, being vigilant, taking time to read scripture, perform the corporal & spiritual works of mercy so that with pure hearts we can be gathered together and welcome Jesus in the crib, in our hearts, and at his Coming on the clouds 

——————-

Grant your faithful, we pray, almighty God,

the resolve to run forth to meet your Christ

with righteous deeds at his coming,

so that, gathered at his right hand,

they may be worthy to possess the heavenly kingdom.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever.

– Amen.

Christ the King of the Universe and King of our hearts

I always find the direct bluntness of St Josemaria refreshing and challenging. 

If Jesus is not King in our heart then what is the point of trying to preach him or convert others? If Jesus reigns in our heart so much that his kingdom is present within us (Luke 17:21) then the reign of Christ will naturally start to overflow and bring other people under his sweet yoke. 

As the concluding prayer for Mass today teaches us - when we take glory in being obedient to Christ and his commandments then we are already sharing in his kingdom now. 

May Christ the King, reign in my heart and yours!              ,  

———-

Having received the food of immortality,

we ask, O Lord,

that, glorying in obedience

to the commands of Christ, the King of the universe,

we may live with him eternally in his heavenly kingdom.

Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

Trusting in Divine Providence - the patience of the Lord is salvation

This was the scripture verse for Morning Prayer in the Divine Office today. 

We can often get frustrated, hurt, angry, upset and loose our peace of soul when witnessing all the injustice in the world. This is a challenge for all of us who care and especially for us as Christians. It can make us doubt our faith or the goodness of God. 

But as Christians we also have the privilege of Divine Revelation given to us in scripture. What can often from our limited perspective look like allowing injustice or God “turning a blind eye” - can often be God giving time to situations or people to allow a greater good to come out of the evil (Romans 8:28). As it says below “consider the Lord’s patience is directed toward salvation”. 

We believe in Divine Providence - that God is the Creator of Heaven & Earth, he knows everything that is happening and because God is a Good Father, he is Goodness itself. Therefore anything God allows will ultimately be revealed as having a greater purpose. This requires an act of faith in our part - to trust in God & leave it in his hands. 

Ultimately God’s justice will prevail one day - on the great final day, the “Day of the Lord” - Judgement Day. On that day everything will be revealed and we will understand God’s plan of salvation. But in the meantime, while we wait for this we need to remain at peace with God. We need to continue to pray for ourselves and others, participate in the sacraments and read the Bible regularly so we understand what God has revealed to us. In this way we can remain in the hope that saves us (Romans 8:24) so we can at all times say with confidence- Jesus, I trust in you 

Don’t lose hope, focus on working out your salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) so that without stain or blemish we who seek after the Lord can rejoice in the midst of tribulation (Matt 5:12) as we find our joy in Him (Psalm 40:16)

Never give up on prayer - Jesus thirsts for you

Prayer is a war, it’s a daily struggle. 

If you’re struggling with sin or not praying, you can always turn back to God at anytime. Just say “Jesus I love you, help me”. As St Alphonsus Ligouri teaches, he who prays is saved. 

Never give up on prayer 🙏 

As the Catechism teaches us: 

2560 "If you knew the gift of God!" The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

The hope of the pure in heart

Happy & Blessed Solemnity of All Saints. May the fellowship we share here in Christ through the Church be brought to the joy and glory of the Communion of Saints in heaven! 

In the 2nd Reading for Mass today we have this beautiful passage from the 1st letter of St John where he talks about us being the Children of God. What better way to emphasise who and what the saints are than this - God’s beloved children! 

All of us who are baptised have been reborn as Children of God, having our relationship to the Father restored through Jesus. We are all saints in the making if we persevere in the faith, loving God, following him as best as we can through the power of the Sacraments and living lives of purity. The purity we are called to is the ascetical life - denying ourselves to take up our cross to follow Jesus. Just as Jesus was just and righteous, so we too are called to be just and righteous in Jesus’ name. This is the great calling and mission we all have, the universal call to holiness. 

The word “saint” means Holy one. We know through our faith that the Saints in heaven have already been purified and see God face to face in the Beatific Vision. We too are called to this. That is why the reading says “what we will be has not been revealed” - because we are all still saints in the making! 

In the Creed we profess in believing in the “Communion of Saints” - this refers to the Saints glorified in heaven, those suffering in purgatory and those of us here still on earth, the Church Militant on its pilgrimage back to the Father. This is the totality of the Mystical Body of Christ - The Church. 

Our hope is to rejoice in heaven with all the Saints in the presence of the Holy & Undivided Trinity, sharing eternal life, bliss and happiness as we see God face to face. This has been the hope of all the saints and it is the glory of the currents saints already in heaven. 

Let us strive for the purity of heart that Jesus calls us to the in the Beatitudes that was proclaimed in the Gospel today at Mass, for the pure of heart shall see God. 

As the prayer after Communion for today says:

As we adore you, O God, who alone are holy
and wonderful in all your Saints,
we implore your grace,
so that, coming to perfect holiness in the fullness of your love,
we may pass from this pilgrim table
to the banquet of our heavenly homeland.
Through Christ our Lord

The Shema & the Creed

Today in the first reading at Mass we had these beautiful words from the Book of Deuteronomy. This has become known as the “Shema” prayer that Jews pray every - it was the first Jewish Creed. 

When it refers to the “the LORD is our God, the LORD is one” this would have originally referred to the divine name of Yahweh - the personal name of the One True God revealed to Moses. So the Shema prayer acknowledges that there is only One God and He is Yahweh, all other ”gods” are false gods. 

For us Christians, Jesus revealed to us that God is a Trinity of persons - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. But it is still ONE God, the “Three in One & One in Three”.  It is interesting to note that for the early Christians their catchphrase was “Jesus is Lord” - they were confessing the divinity of Jesus. Etymologically Jesus means “Yahweh saves” and this is why Jesus is the manifestation or the face of God the Father revealed to us in His beloved Son. 

When we pray the Creed we still say “I believe in ONE God” and then it is divided into 3 parts regarding the Father, the Son & The Holy Spirit. So for Christians our “Shema” is the Creed. 

The beauty and mystery of Christianity is that the Trinitarian nature of God does not take away from him “Oneness”. As it says in the Catechism: # 234 The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of faith". The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin".

CCC 222 Believing in God, the only One, and loving him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.

CCC 223 It means coming to know God’s greatness and majesty: “Behold, God is great, and we know him not.”1 Therefore, we must “serve God first”.2

CCC 224 It means living in thanksgiving: if God is the only One, everything we are and have comes from him: “What have you that you did not receive?”3 “What shall I render to the LORD for all his bounty to me?”4

CCC 225 It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: everyone is made in the image and likeness of God.5

CCC 226 It means making good use of created things: faith in God, the only One, leads us to use everything that is not God only insofar as it brings us closer to him, and to detach ourselves from it insofar as it turns us away from him:

My Lord and my God, take from me everything that distances me from you.

My Lord and my God, give me everything that brings me closer to you.

My Lord and my God, detach me from myself to give my all to you.6

CCC 227 It means trusting God in every circumstance, even in adversity. A prayer of St. Teresa of Jesus wonderfully expresses this trust:

Let nothing trouble you / Let nothing frighten you

Everything passes / God never changes

Patience / Obtains all

Whoever has God / Wants for nothing

God alone is enough.7

1 Job 36:26.

2 St. Joan of Arc.

3 I Cor 4:7.

4 Ps 116:12.

5 Gen 1:26.

6 St. Nicholas of Flue; cf. Mt 5:29-30; 16:24-26.

7 St. Teresa of Jesus, Poesias 30 in The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, vol. III, tr. K. Kavanaugh OCD and O. Rodriguez OCD (Washington DC Institute of Carmelite Studies, 1985), 386 no. 9. tr. John Wall.

Delight in the Lord

As I was praying the Office of Readings, I came across this in the psalm and couldn’t get my mind off of it. 

How often do we take DELIGHT in the Lord? 

Often we feel troubled, burdened, so we go to God as our refuge and help. We might make little prayers to him out of a sense of obligation or as a way to feel like we are “ticking a box” as a kind of spiritual insurance policy…. But delighting in God? 

Some might read this and think that this can be seen as some type of Prosperity Gospel, where the desires of our heart are seen as a type of reward, usually financial. However, if we really think about it - the deepest desires of the human heart are for intimacy, connection, understanding… Love. 

This is what the Gospel offers us - that Divine Intimacy where through Jesus we can share in the life of the Blessed Trinity. 

So today I invite you, spend some time delighting in God. Find in him your joy, and see how he fills your heart with his blessings.

Battle of faith - following your vocation

Faith can be a daily battle. Sometimes we can feel discouraged and feel like there’s no point in going against the world, that it’s easier to just give in. 

But God has a plan for each and every one of us. A unique and special calling - if we just take the time to listen to Him, open our hearts and be obedient to the call. That is our vocation, our path of holiness so that we may always dwell in the house of the Lord. 

Holy stubbornness - the gift of perseverance

I wanted to share this with you all to help encourage you if you are struggling or finding it Hard to persevere…

As some of you who know me personally may be aware, I am living as a hermit and in the process of trying to be recognised as a hermit by the Diocese I live in as a hermit under canon law and be affiliated with the Carmelite Order (O.Carm) as a lay hermit. I have spent the past 5 months trying to get a meeting with my Archbishop to discuss my petition, as the Carmelite Secretary General in Rome has requested that I need a letter of approval from my Archbishop. 

After 5 months of multiple emails being ignored, I submitted my formal letter of petition with 5 written references and all my documents. A few weeks ago I was finally able to meet with our Auxiliary Bishop who was delegated by the Archbishop. The meeting went really well, i felt listened to, respected and acknowledged. However ever since the meeting I have started having some health issues which the doctors can’t work out what is wrong with me and trying to tell me it’s psychological because all my tests are saying my health is fantastic. 

So this has been causing me to feel frustrated, disheartened and to begin to experience a loss of fervor in my prayer life. I had sent a follow up email to the Archbishop’s secretary regarding my approval letter for my affiliation with the Carmelites but then was ignored again. So I started to feel it was all a waste of time. 

However, I am stubborn and so I continued on. Praying when I can, continuing work, interceding for people with sexual addictions (which is my “charism”) and yesterday finally wrote my testimony regarding my journey with SSA, loneliness, anxiety and depression. In spite of all my let downs and weaknesses, I still remained resilient and persevered. This is what myself & my fellow hermit Sr Ellen Jones-Carney refer to as “Holy Stubborness” 😂 

Today God gave me a surprise. 

I received an email from the Archbishop’s secretary with my letter of approval to be affiliated with the Carmelite Order. Praise God!!  In spite of my weakness, lack of faith and beginning to doubt - God is always faithful! Then to top it off, this evening during Vespers in the Divine Office (Friday 8th October) this was the scripture reading. 

If that is not a sign from God then nothing wise is! 

I want to encourage you to remain “stubborn” in your walk with God, follow the promptings and desires he has given you, don’t lose hope and continue to persevere in doing his will. God will reward you when the time I right!!

Nativity of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God

Today is the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary where we celebrate her birthday

I just wanted to share some of the beautiful poetic things written about her from the Divine Office from Lauds/Morning prayer to help you meditate on and increase your love and devotion to Out Lady 🙏

Antiphon 1: 

Today is the birthday of the glorious Virgin Mary, of the seed of Abraham, who arose from the tribe of Judah and the stock of David.

Antiphon 2: 

When the sacred Virgin was born, then the world was filled with light. Blessed and holy is the stock which bore such blessed fruit.

Benedictus antiphon: 

Your birth, O Virgin Mother of God, announced joy to the whole world, for from you has risen the Sun of justice, Christ our God. He released us from the ancient curse and made us blessed; he destroyed death and gave us eternal life.

If reading these doesn’t inflame your heart with love for Our Lady and make you want to Praise God then I don’t know what will!!

Spiritual aridity draw us into Divine Union

All of us by virtue of our baptism are God’s “Beloved” and are called to be cherished souls… however many of us never move past formal prayer, a relationship with God that is purely transactional - if I be a “good person” and go to Sunday Mass I’ll go to heaven, I pray when I need something. 

But God desires more than this, He calls us into intimate union with Himself. All the spiritual masters and Saints teach that God will give us a taste of himself, a “spiritual consolation” and then withdraw from us so that we seek after Him, and through our seeking, our love and desire for Him becomes purified - we seek His friendship truly because he is ultimate Goodness, Truth & Beauty - instead of seeking a relationship where we can get something out of it.

Advice from St Faustina - love Jesus in silence

If you’ve been struggling with stress or feeling overwhelmed like I have recently, read this advice, then read it again and re read it! Absorb it 

Great advice from St Faustina summed up.. 

Turn to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, make an act of trust and then love him in silence!

Radical challenge of the Gospel - to love

This is such a short simple passage of scripture but also one of the most challenging. 

It can be hard to have genuine love for those that persecute us, and then we have to bless them to? 

Only the radicalness of the Gospel has the power the make this happen. Ultimately by following and imitating Jesus, this is the only way evil can be overcome by good

People of hope

There’s a lot going on in the world, the Church, and in our day to day lives that affect us all. It’s hard to remember to take time to stop, breathe and remember God is in control. 

As Christians, though our baptism and faith we have a source of joy and peace. Peace that the world cannot give, only Jesus can. We also have the power of the Hooy Spirit in our lives - we don’t always see him or feel him, but he works in the background quietly, shaping and moulding us, then from time to time manifesting powerfully when needed. 

We are people of Hope. When all feels dark and lost, we need to hold on tight to the hope that we have in Jesus and his promises to us. 

May the Holy Spirit rekindle in you today the joy and hope to help strengthen you in your journey.

Hermits as pillars of history

I came across this quote, and thought how beautifully it expresses the spirituality and charism of hermits. 

So often people are curious as to our horarium and expect us to have strict monastic disciplines but for the eremetic life, there is an aspect of interior and spiritual freedom. The freedom to be alone with the Alone in silence, solitude and contemplation. The freedom of being a Child of God and resting in his presence, without the need to feel compelled to justify our existence by activism. 

Hermits embrace asceticism under the direction of our spiritual director and Rule of Life, while at the same time recognising the need for flexibility and freedom in all that we do - so long as it is always motivated by love of God & intimate union with Him

The Church as the Ark of Salvation

I love this comparison of St Augustine, following the typology in letter of St Peter (1 Peter 3:20-21). Through our baptism we now belong on the Ark of Salvation and are being prepared for the new creation. 

There’s is an old custom of thanking God everyday for “the grace of being a Christian” and I think this is something we need to recover. I know my anniversary of baptism is coming up in 4 days. 

Do any of you ever stop to thank God for the gift of your baptism and the graces, as well as relationship and identity that comes from it? 

Jesus I love you - His refreshing Presence

After a long day feeling a bit stressed at work, I was able to spend some time in a friend’s private chapel. I just laid down, face first on the floor breathing deep and repeating “Jesus I love you, Lord have mercy on me a sinner”. Giving him all my burdens , stress, weaknesses and sins I’ve been struggling with this week. 

It felt so good just to lay there and be in his Presence, especially as Mass was cancelled last Sunday due to Covid restrictions. Laying in His Presence was so refreshing for my soul, sometimes that is all we need - just to breathe, rest in His Presence and tell Him we love Him. 

God the source of all activity throughout creation

Today is the memorial of St Irenaeus of Lyon. He is a very important Father of the Church. He was a disciple of St Polycarp who was a disciple of St John the Apostoe himself. He is a witness in the early Church to Apostolic Succession, the importance of the Church in Rome, the Eucharist, Our Lady and the universal acceptance of only 4 Gospels. 

He specifically wrote against the heresy of Gnosticism and his writings are highly beneficial to us today as the two biggest challenges we have in the Church today (as identified by Popes Benedict & Francis) were also issues in the early Church - Pelagianism and Gnosticism. 

He had a beautiful image to describe the Word of God & the Holy Spirit as the two hands of the Father who shape us according to the Divine Plan. 

Here is a great reflection by him taken from the Office of Readings 

——— 

The glory of God gives life; those who see God receive life. For this reason God, who cannot be grasped, comprehended or seen, allows himself to be seen, comprehended and grasped by men, that he may give life to those who see and receive him. It is impossible to live without life, and the actualization of life comes from participation in God, while participation in God is to see God and enjoy his goodness.
Men will therefore see God if they are to live; through the vision of God they will become immortal and attain to God himself. As I have said, this was shown in symbols by the prophets: God will be seen by men who bear his Spirit and are always waiting for his coming. As Moses said in the Book of Deuteronomy: On that day we shall see, for God will speak to man, and man will live.
God is the source of all activity throughout creation. He cannot be seen or described in his own nature and in all his greatness by any of his creatures. Yet he is certainly not unknown. Through his Word the whole creation learns that there is one God the Father, who holds all things together and gives them their being. As it is written in the Gospel: No man has ever seen God, except the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father; he has revealed him.
From the beginning the Son is the one who teaches us about the Father; he is with the Father from the beginning. He was to reveal to the human race visions of prophecy, the diversity of spiritual gifts, his own ways of ministry, the glorification of the Father, all in due order and harmony, at the appointed time and for our instruction. Where there is order, there is also harmony; where there is harmony, there is also correct timing; where there is correct timing, there is also advantage.
The Word became the steward of the Father’s grace for the advantage of men, for whose benefit he made such wonderful arrangements. He revealed God to men and presented men to God. He safeguarded the invisibility of the Father to prevent man from treating God with contempt and to set before him a constant goal toward which to make progress. On the other hand, he revealed God to men and made him visible in many ways to prevent man from being totally separated from God and so cease to be. Life in man is the glory of God; the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation gives life to all who live upon the earth, much more does the manifestation of the Father through the Word give life to those who see God.

Jesus Christ - the echo of history & Lord of the Universe

Here is a homily by Pope St Paul VI that was in the Office of readings yesterday. 

It is just too good not to share! 

If you feel you need to reignite your passion for Jesus, this will help. All of us who are baptised and have the name “Christian” are called to preach, evangelise and witness to Jesus and His Kingdom. 

Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.

All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfillment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.

I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.

He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.

The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator — the bridge, if you will — between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.

Remember: |it| is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.

St Josemaria - my blunt spiritual companion

Today is the feast day of one of my favourite Saints - St Josemaria Escriva 

Personally I have found his short, encouraging and often blunt sayings very helpful in my spiritual life. He really has become a great spiritual friend and patron for me. 

He specifically promoted the universal call to holiness for all people before Vatican 2. He focused on a spirituality of holiness for lay people that they could make their everyday mundane life, into their personal path of holiness and sanctification for the world. 

——————- 

From the opening prayer for his feast day : 

O God,
who raised up your priest Saint Josemaria in the Church
to proclaim the universal call to holiness and the apostolate, grant that by his intercession and example
we may, through our daily work,
be formed in the likeness of Jesus your Son
and serve the work of redemption with burning love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Christ - the purity of our heart

This beautiful quote is from the 2nd reading in the Office of Readings this morning from St Gregory of Nyssa. He is a Church Father and was a highly influential theologian together with Sts Basil & Gregory of Nazianzen, they are known as the “Cappadocian Fathers”. 

It is a wonderful reflection on how we as Christians need to be imitating and reflecting Christ in all that we say and do, to be worthy of being named after Him. 

What then must we do, we who have been found worthy of the name of Christ? Each of us must examine his thoughts, words and deeds, to see whether they are directed toward Christ or are turned away from him. This examination is carried out in various ways. Our deeds or our thoughts or our words are not in harmony with Christ if they issue from passion. They then bear the mark of the enemy who smears the pearl of the heart with the slime of passion, dimming and even destroying the luster of the precious stone.

On the other hand, if they are free from and untainted by every passionate inclination, they are directed toward Christ, the author and source of peace. He is like a pure, untainted stream. If you draw from him the thoughts in your mind and the inclinations of your heart, you will show a likeness to Christ, your source and origin, as the gleaming water in a jar resembles the flowing water from which it was obtained.

For the purity of Christ and the purity that is manifest in our hearts are identical. Christ’s purity, however, is the fountainhead; ours has its source in him and flows out of him. Our life is stamped with the beauty of his thought. The inner and the outer man are harmonized in a kind of music. The mind of Christ is the controlling influence that inspires us to moderation and goodness in our behavior. As I see it, Christian perfection consists in this: sharing the titles which express the meaning of Christ’s name, we bring out this meaning in our minds, our prayers and our way of life.

Even when we sin we belong to Him

This quote is from the Midday reading for the Divine Office

I don’t know about any of you, but when I have sinned or struggled with sin, I have fallen into the false idea that I somehow no longer belong to God. However scripture teaches us that we still belong to him even when we sin. The Holy Spirit gives us the power and conviction to repent, to turn back to the Father and ask forgiveness because we belong to him through Jesus. 

Our righteousness comes from Christ and in being in Christ, not from ourselves. Knowing Jesus and the One True God he has revealed to us is eternal life (John 17:3) for us who are called the Children of God and coheirs with Christ. 

If you are struggling today, just remember that our loving Father rules all things in mercy. Come back to him and renew your commitment to him through the precious blood of our Saviour.

Baptism - the basis of our life as Christians

At Bible study on my parish tonight we were going through different verses and this one from Ezekiel 16:9 struck me, regarding the beauty and power of baptism. 

In the Catechism (CCC #1213) it refers to Baptism as the basis of the whole Christian life. Often many of you may have been baptised as infants/children so don’t remember your baptism, or the adult converts among us like myself may have been baptised but not had proper catechesis to understand it properly. It is something we often take for granted without realising the dignity and power it gives us. 

In baptism we are washed clean from Original/Ancestral sin and any personal sins too. According to the Catechism #1279 

“The fruit of Baptism, or baptismal grace, is a rich reality that includes forgiveness of original sin and all personal sins, birth into the new life by which man becomes an adoptive son of the Father, a member of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit. By this very fact the person baptized is incorporated into the Church, the Body of Christ, and made a sharer in the priesthood of Christ”. 

WOW 

Let’s unpack this a bit more… 

We understand that baptism frees us from sin (although we still suffer the effects of sin and can still commit sins), but what about being children of the Father, temples of the Holy Spirit and sharers in the priesthood of Christ? In the Old Testament, annointing with oil was only done for PRIESTS or KINGS - and yet in baptism we are annointed, why’s that? Because by becoming one with Christ we become heirs to the Kingdom, children of the Father and are made priests! This is called the “common priesthood of all believers” ref CCC 1268

All of us who have been baptised have been washed by God and reborn as His children, and annointed as His priests and royalty. This is the dignity we possess as Baptised Christians! We can offer prayers on behalf of other people, and unite our prayers with the Sacrifice of the Eucharist on behalf of others too. Baptism is what gives us access or the rights to the other sacraments as well. 

The importance of Catholics understanding their baptism is something that has really been on my mind lately. Too often we see it as our ticket to being part of the Church, but we forget it’s so much more than just that. Baptism is what sets us apart from others, it is what makes us Children of God. It is also what makes us Temples of the Holy Spirit. 

In the Old Testament the Jews and Samaritan’s disagreed over where God should be worshipped and in what Temple. But as Christians we are all individually and collectively the Temple of the Holy Spirit! This would have been mind blowing to the first Christians. This is why Jesus spoke about those who will worship the Father in “spirit and in truth” John 5:23-24, because as Christians who have the full revelation of who God is (the Holy Trinity) we are able to have true worship in “spirit and truth”. 

Worship is ultimately about union, and what closer union can you have with God than to physically be His Temple and be able to eat the Eucharist? Through baptism we are washed clean and given the wedding garment (Matt 22:1-14) and invited to the Wedding of the Lamb for eternity (Revelation 19:6-9) which we already partake of now in the Eucharist. 

At my baptism I remember reading the following passage from 1 Peter 2:9-10, may we always mediate on and remember these words!  

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy.”

Spending time with the Beloved

I wasn’t able to make it to Sunday Mass today due to being unwell with a cold/sinus infection past 4 days now. So this evening I felt the Holy Spirit calling me to go spend some time in adoration. Thankfully my parish has a 24 hour adoration chapel. 

So I went to go pray, spend time with Jesus and see what God was trying to tell me. When I got there I just sat silently and said to Jesus “I missed you today” and then just silently kept repeating “I love you Jesus”. It made me think about people in relationships who miss their beloved and just like to be in their presence, not necessarily doing anything but just miss being with them. 

It was a nice reminder of the intimacy that Jesus is calling me to in the eremitic life. A life of union and intimacy, learning to be with Him, rest in Him and just BE. 

I wasn’t able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion today because of being unwell and not attending Mass, but it was a good reminder that I am still called to Eucharistic intimacy in other ways. 

Immaculate Heart of Mary - our refuge to lead us to God

Today is the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary 

The pure, Immaculate Heart of Our Lady is a devotion related to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Our Lady who was obedient to God, has the purity of heart that she was able to conceive the Word of God made flesh. 

The Church teaches that the doctrines about Our Lady also relate to us - the pure Immaculate Heart of hers is one that we need to imitate. Here is an excerpt from St Lawrence Justinian in the Office of Readings : 

Imitate her, O faithful soul. Enter into the deep recesses of your heart so that you may be purified spiritually and cleansed from your sins. God places more value on good will in all we do than on the works themselves.

Therefore, whether we give ourselves to God in the work of contemplation or whether we serve the needs of our neighbor by good works, we accomplish these things because the love of Christ urges us on. The acceptable offering of the spiritual purification is accomplished not in a man-made temple but in the recesses of the heart where the Lord Jesus freely enters.

———-

*Preface of The Immaculate Heart of Mary*

The Heart of Mary Is the Heart of One Who Lives by the New Law.

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,

through Christ our Lord.

For you gave the Blessed Virgin Mary

a wise and obedient heart,

that she might perfectly carry out your will,

a new and gentle heart,

in which you were well pleased

and on which you inscribed

the law of the New Covenant.

You gave her an undivided and pure heart,

that she might be worthy

to be the Virgin Mother of your Son

and to rejoice to see you for ever.

You gave her a steadfast and watchful heart,

so that she could endure without fear the sword of sorrow

and await in faith the Resurrection of her Son.

With the whole company of the Angels

we sing your praises

in their canticle of joy:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.

Heaven and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest.

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - Furnace of Love

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus is the source and fountain of all heavenly graces, as it says in the collect for today’s Mass. the Saints often spoke of the Sacred Heart as being the furnace of God’s love, and this powerful image has always stuck with me. 

One of my favourite scripture passages that has gotten me through many years of self isolation from the Church has been Romans 8:39 where St Paul says that nothing can separate us from the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ. God loves us so much that he took on human flesh, and allowed his Sacred Heart to be pierced on the tree of the Cross so that by eating its fruit, we can partake of the sacraments of the Church. 

Today let us drink deeply from God’s love. Let us be drawn into the Sacred Heart - the divine furnace burning with love that transforms us. Let us enter into Jesus side, his pierced heart and take refuge there, so that through his humanity we can experience the the inner life of the Trinity. 

“Jesus stood and cried out: If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” - 2nd psalm antiphon from Morning Prayer

St Bernard on excusing the faults of others

Wonderful words of advice! 

In today’s digital age it can be so easy to be negative and critical of everyone. We criticise the Pope, our priests, our coworkers, boss, and even our family. Sometimes we need to remember to give them the benefit of the doubt, pray for them and focus on their positive traits. Build them up instead of tear them down. 

How often have we been hurt or affected by someone judging us or being critical, instead of giving us positive reinforcement? 

Many people react out of weakness, past hurt or negative coping mechanisms. So let’s remember to treat others as we would like to be treated. As I read somewhere the other day: “We all want God to hand out justice, until it comes to us, then we want mercy”

Arrow prayers

Wonderful recommendation by Pope Francis on the Jesus Prayer. 

This is a prayer that is very common among our Eastern Catholic & Orthodox brethren. During the day to constantly be repeating with your breath “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. 

Often this prayer is said on a knotted prayer rope known as a Komboskini (Greek), Chotki/Lestovka (Russian) or Brojanica (Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian). 

The Jesus prayer goes all the way back to the Desert Fathers and earlier monastic authors. Often they would keep a particular short sentence or quote from the Bible that they memorised to say throughout the day when tempted or struggling, this is known as an “Arrow prayer” - evoking the image of shooting arrows up to heaven during the day. 

I have mentioned before that often I like to repeat throughout the day “Jesus I love you” or “Come Holy Spirit, come by the means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary your well beloved spouse”. 

Do any of you have particular short prayers you like to repeat throughout the day? 

Other common Catholic prayers in this same tradition that are also known as “Ejaculatory prayers” can also be : 

* Sacred Heart of Jesus, have Mercy on us 

* Jesus, I trust in you 

* Jesus, Mary & Joseph - save souls 

* Come Holy Spirit 

* God come to my aid

Glorious Feast of Corpus Christi - precious & wonderful banquet

Happy Solemnity of the Body & Blood of Our Lord - or as it is commonly known, Corpus Christi 

Most of the prayers associated with this feast were written by the Angelic Doctor himself, St Thomas Aquinas. The hymns we sing for benediction (Pange Lingua, Tantum ergo) were also written by him. 

I wanted to share with you all the excellent reading from him this morning from the Divine Office, this is the second reading from the Office of Readings. May it help you to understand and love Jesus more and more, him who has left us a memorial of his love in the Blessed Sacrament 

——— 

From a work by Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest
O precious and wonderful banquet!

Since it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that men should share in his divinity, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might make men gods. Moreover, when he took our flesh he dedicated the whole of its substance to our salvation. He offered his body to God the Father on the altar of the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed his blood for our ransom and purification, so that we might be redeemed from our wretched state of bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us for ever, he left his body as food and his blood as drink for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine.
O precious and wonderful banquet, that brings us salvation and contains all sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it was the flesh of calves and goats that was offered, but here Christ himself, the true God, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this? No other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away, virtues are increased, and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every spiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead, so that what was instituted for the salvation of all may be for the benefit of all. Yet, in the end, no one can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament, in which spiritual delight is tasted at its very source, and in which we renew the memory of that surpassing love for us which Christ revealed in his passion.
It was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon the hearts of the faithful that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper. As he was on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father, after celebrating the Passover with his disciples, he left it as a perpetual memorial of his passion. It was the fulfillment of ancient figures and the greatest of all his miracles, while for those who were to experience the sorrow of his departure, it was destined to be a unique and abiding consolation.

Since the Second Vatican Council there has been a lot of emphasis by certain theologians and sections in the Church to change the focus of today’s feast into an emphasis on the community, on us as the “Body of Christ”, instead of the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. You may have heard many strange homilies about this. 

So I would like to leave you here with an excerpt of the Creed written by Pope St Paul VI which was written to counteract the emphasis by some theologians on heretical explanations of the Eucharist. It is called the “Credo of the People of God” 

——- 

Sacrifice of Calvary
24. We believe that the Mass, celebrated by the priest representing the person of Christ by virtue of the power received through the Sacrament of Orders, and offered by him in the name of Christ and the members of His Mystical Body, is the sacrifice of Calvary rendered sacramentally present on our altars. We believe that as the bread and wine consecrated by the Lord at the Last Supper were changed into His body and His blood which were to be offered for us on the cross, likewise the bread and wine consecrated by the priest are changed into the body and blood of Christ enthroned gloriously in heaven, and we believe that the mysterious presence of the Lord, under what continues to appear to our senses as before, is a true, real and substantial presence.(35)
Transubstantiation
25. Christ cannot be thus present in this sacrament except by the change into His body of the reality itself of the bread and the change into His blood of the reality itself of the wine, leaving unchanged only the properties of the bread and wine which our senses perceive. This mysterious change is very appropriately called by the Church transubstantiation. Every theological explanation which seeks some understanding of this mystery must, in order to be in accord with Catholic faith, maintain that in the reality itself, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the Consecration, so that it is the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus that from then on are really before us under the sacramental species of bread and wine,(36) as the Lord willed it, in order to give Himself to us as food and to associate us with the unity of His Mystical Body.(37)
26. The unique and indivisible existence of the Lord glorious in heaven is not multiplied, but is rendered present by the sacrament in the many places on earth where Mass is celebrated. And this existence remains present, after the sacrifice, in the Blessed Sacrament which is, in the tabernacle, the living heart of each of our churches. And it is our very sweet duty to honor and adore in the blessed Host which our eyes see, the Incarnate Word whom they cannot see, and who, without leaving heaven, is made present before us.

https://www.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19680630_credo.html

Sanctification through difficult people

This is so true! How often in our day to day does our work colleague, boss, drivers on the road, spouse or even children frustrate us?! We are weak and get upset, frustrated with them - but ultimately if we try to be objective and realise that they can also be teaching us patience abd humility then we can transform that negative emotion and experience into a spiritual practice to cultivate virtue 

As one of my favourite quotes from St Josemaria says : “don’t say that person gets on my nerves, instead think to yourself this person sanctifies me” 😂

Who is the “thorn” in your side that tests your patience regularly?

The medicine of redemptive suffering

This is so true. The beautiful thing of our faith is the understanding of redemptive suffering. If we humbling accept suffering and injustice, then it can be used for our sanctification and even offered up on behalf of others. 

Suffering can be horrible and brutal, just like Our Lord endured during His Passion and Resurrection. But He chose to suffer for us, not to take away suffering but to transform it, to be with us IN our suffering so that we can become united with him, strengthened in our faith that He who was innocent endured suffering for us who are not innocent. 

What suffering do you have in your life that you sometimes get angry at God about and bitter? 

Can you try to consciously accept it in humility and offer it to God instead?

Mystery of the Holy Trinity, undivided Unity

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, in the words of the invitatory antiphon from the Divine Office “Come, let us worship the true God: One in Trinity, Trinity in One” 

Often we Catholics get confused about understanding who God is, or what the Trinity is. Ultimately God is a Mystery that we will never comprehend, however he has revealed himself to us a Trinity of Persons - Father, Son & Holy Spirit. The Church teaches us this aspect of revelation in the Collect or Opening prayer for today’s Mass : 

“God our Father, who by sending into the world

the Word of truth and the Spirit of sanctification

made known to the human race your wondrous mystery,

grant us, we pray, that in professing the true faith,

we may acknowledge the Trinity of eternal glory

and adore your Unity, powerful in majesty.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, for ever and ever”

One of the best creeds or explanations the Trinity that I personally love is called the Athanasian Creed: 

Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic faith.

For unless a person keeps this faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever.

This is what the Catholic faith teaches: we worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity.

Neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the substance.

For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, another of the Holy Spirit.

But the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit have one divinity, equal glory, and coeternal majesty.

What the Father is, the Son is, and the Holy Spirit is.

The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, and the Holy Spirit is uncreated.

The Father is boundless, the Son is boundless, and the Holy Spirit is boundless.

The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and the Holy Spirit is eternal.

Nevertheless, there are not three eternal beings, but one eternal being.

So there are not three uncreated beings, nor three boundless beings, but one uncreated being and one boundless being.

Likewise, the Father is omnipotent, the Son is omnipotent, the Holy Spirit is omnipotent.

Yet there are not three omnipotent beings, but one omnipotent being.

Thus the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.

However, there are not three gods, but one God.

The Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, and the Holy Spirit is Lord.

However, there as not three lords, but one Lord.

For as we are obliged by Christian truth to acknowledge every Person singly to be God and Lord, so too are we forbidden by the Catholic religion to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father was not made, nor created, nor generated by anyone.

The Son is not made, nor created, but begotten by the Father alone.

The Holy Spirit is not made, nor created, nor generated, but proceeds from the Father and the Son.

There is, then, one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

In this Trinity, there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less. The entire three Persons are coeternal and coequal with one another.

So that in all things, as is has been said above, the Unity is to be worshipped in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity.

He, therefore, who wishes to be saved, must believe thus about the Trinity.

It is also necessary for eternal salvation that he believes steadfastly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thus the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is both God and man.

As God, He was begotten of the substance of the Father before time; as man, He was born in time of the substance of His Mother.

He is perfect God; and He is perfect man, with a rational soul and human flesh.

He is equal to the Father in His divinity, but inferior to the Father in His humanity.

Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ.

And He is one, not because His divinity was changed into flesh, but because His humanity was assumed unto God.

He is one, not by a mingling of substances, but by unity of person.

As a rational soul and flesh are one man: so God and man are one Christ.

He died for our salvation, descended into hell, and rose from the dead on the third day.

He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

At His coming, all men are to arise with their own bodies; and they are to give an account of their own deeds.

Those who have done good deeds will go into eternal life; those who have done evil will go into the everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic faith. Everyone must believe it, firmly and steadfastly; otherwise He cannot be saved.

Amen.

Come Holy Spirit - our Friend, Comforter & Consoler

As we prepare for Pentecost this Sunday, let us remember that the gift of the Holy Spirit from Jesus is the personal gift that empowers us as Christians and Catholics to be able bring Christ to others and offer the gift of ourselves to the Father. Remember to always welcome the Holy Spirit, call upon him and as Him to strengthen us through the day and our lives so that He may work in us. 

Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete - our advocate, comforter, consoled, helper and friend (John 14:16-17) who will lead us into the truth. The Holy Spirit helps us daily by inspiring us, guiding us, acting through our conscience and being the gentle voice of God in our life. By virtue of our baptism we are temples of the Holy Spirit and he dwells in us - bringing Jesus and the Father. This is known as the Divine Indwelling of the Trinity. 

Many children will receive the sacrament of confirmation this weekend, but we know that unfortunately many children are poor catechised or leave the faith no long after confirmation. Let us pray for them to always be open and docile to the Holy Spirit. 

Come Holy Spirit! Come by the means of the powerful intercession of the Immaculate heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse