A JOURNEY THROUGH LENT - SPEAK LORD, YOUR SERVANT IS LISTENING

We are a little late in putting up our Lenten reflections but we trust that they may still be helpful for those who read this blog.  We are united with the whole Church as we journey through this Lenten season towards Easter..

It is that time again, LENT. Like anyone who is bothering to read this blog I am thinking about what I should do for Lent this year. The thought occurs to me that if I rephrase the question I might come up with a more fruitful answer. So I ask myself what do I want Lent to do for me? By the time Easter arrives what would I like to be different about me? How can I make that happen?

The season of Lent is God’s gift to us to renew our lives in holiness. By the end of Lent I want to be more aware of God’s love for me and in response to that love to love God more and to reveal his love to others.

The word Lent comes from an old English word lencten meaning ‘springtime’. Spring cleaning is a term we are all familiar with. Once the days begin to lengthen and get brighter we get an itch to empty cupboards and wash curtains, to get into corners where dust, grime and dirt may have gathered without our noticing it during the dark days of winter. This image might not be very vivid in our time when electricity provides us with light twenty four hours a day . But think back to a time of candle light and gas lamps. Light that focused on one area and left the rest in shadow and it becomes quite a powerful image for the season of Lent. There is so much one does not see in the dark. What a fail-safe programme for Lent- to spend time allowing CHRIST OUR LIGHT to light up all that is hidden in the dark corners of our hearts, so that we may remove the accumulation of sin  that we may not have been even aware of. ‘Purify me then I shall be clean, wash me I shall be whiter than snow’ is the clarion call of Lent as we encounter ourselves. Jesus is our Saviour. During Lent we learn how much we are in need of Him.

Our parents and grandparents depending on our age, observed Lent  with rigorous physical penances and severe austere fasting from food. In some respects we seem to be getting off lightly. But while Vatican 11 eased the severe bodily discipline, it was in order to change our focus during Lent, encouraging us to make it ‘a period of closer attention to the Word of God and more ardent prayer’.

I can think of no more powerful programme for Lent than to make a commitment to spend time each day reflecting on the Word of God, in the readings at Mass, allowing God to speak to us of his love and mercy and bringing his Word to bear on our lives.

I invite you to join with us in being faithful to this commitment. Let us journey together, supporting one another with prayer.

Mary, temple of the Trinity, Mother of the Word made flesh, teach us how to ponder the Word in our hearts and to respond as you did, ‘Be it done unto me according to you will’.

ASH WEDNESDAY

READINGS: Joel 2:12-18, Psalm 50, 2Cor 5:20-6:2, Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Turn to the Lord again, for he is all tenderness and compassions slow to anger, rich in graciousness and ready to relent.

Two little words in the first reading from the prophet Joel became the focus of my reflection, again and ready. ‘Turn to the Lord again’. God knows we have wandered off. There is no need for us to be afraid. That little word assures us that he is aware of our predicament. No matter how often we have strayed or where we have strayed to, he is inviting us back yet again. He welcomes us, encourages us. “I’m here waiting, ready to relent, watching for your return. My heart is full of tenderness and compassion. Come my beloved, come.”

Who could not respond to someone who makes it so easy for us to return? While we are still a long way off, He sees us. I picture Him coming, rushing out to meet me with outstretched arms, embracing me and then putting his arm across my shoulder and leading back into His House. I have returned home.

Now I am going to remain in his company, allowing Him to speak to me of His Love. 

Thursday after Ash Wednesday.

Readings: Deut. 30:15-20, ps.1, Luke 9:22-25

Happy indeed is the one

whose delight is the Law of the Lord

 and who ponders his law day and night.

He is like a tree that is planted

beside flowing water

that yields its fruit in due season

and whose leaves will never fade

The Gospel for today speaks of renouncing myself and taking up my Cross. It all sounds a bit daunting. It is easy to feel a certain dread. I want to draw back from the inevitable cost. This Word seems more death dealing than life giving. My death to myself and my comforts.  I resist.

 But then I remember my prayer time yesterday, and God’s longing for my return to Him and I think not of what I am giving up but of Who I am giving it up for. I am  being asked to let go of my way in order to remain in His company. There will be hard choices, yes, because I am selfish and I need to take on the responsibility of facing myself. Self indulgence, self centrednes, self will,  all these need to be purified but I see Him standing at a fork in the road, beckoning me to take His path, to remain in His presence, to journey with Him. The psalm puts it so beautifully, in choosing Jesus way over my own will, I am choosing happiness and fruitfulness and He will be with me to guard my way. I do not journey alone. Every step on the journey to Calvary is a step nearer to the Resurrection. In each little death the seed of God’s life becomes more deeply rooted in me.

3rd Sunday of Lent - 2015

Destroy this sanctuary and in three days

        I will raise it up .
He was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body.

Reading this passage in to-days Eucharist on the cleansing of the Temple I was struck by the intensity of Jesus’ zeal for the purity and integrity of his Father’s house.

His attitude had always been one of immense respect for the temple as many incidents related in the Gospels tell us.    The prophecies had foretold of the destruction of the ancient temple which would be replaced by the New Temple, a temple of the living God, Jesus himself, who would offer to the Father the true worship in Spirit and in truth.

        This theme of the true temple can be traced right through the scriptures to reveal that “Jesus has truly transferred to his own person the privilege, long held by the temple, of being the place where mankind would find God’s presence and salvation.”( Congar  The mystery of the temple) It makes for a fascinating study but is too long to go into detail here.

     Thro’ the mystery of the Incarnation Jesus becomes for us the image of the invisible God, the one whom the gracious Father with love sends into our world to draw it back to Him who first created it.  We thro’ our baptism are incorporated into the life of this Jesus to be come thro, with, and in Him,  temples of the Blessed Trinity.

 Will we ever be able to fathom so great a mystery? a mystery which touches us not only as individuals but as a community and Church.

“ Do you not under stand that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit has his dwelling in you ?   He is God’s gift to you so that you are no longer your own masters.   A great price has been paid to ransom you ; glorify God by making your bodies the shrines of his presence. 1 Cor.

         “ A great price has been paid to ransom you”, yes indeed ,that of the immolation of Christ’ s body which would be raised up again on the 3^rd day, in other words His loving and whole-hearted submission to the will of his Father leading him to the glory such as belongs to the only begotten Son.  .Here we are at the heart of the whole work of Jesus, the work which the Father had given him to do.  And is not this our work too, we who are his brothers and sisters?  The Church encourages us in Lent to stir up our memory and conscience to that fact as we journey with Jesus to the glorious transfiguration of the Resurrection .     The witness of so many of to-day’s Christians who are ready to shed their blood for Christ spurs me on to deepen my faith, my hope ,my love for the blessed Three who dwell within me .

All praise, O Blessed Trinity,

Be yours, from whom all graces flow,

On those who triumph through the cross

The victor’s crown in heaven bestow.

Second Sunday of Lent – 2015

 

All the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize.  You must run in the same way, meaning to win.  All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither.  (1 Cor.9:24-25).

 

 

Beginning with this passage from St. Paul where in effect he tells us that in the Christian contest we are all called to be winners not of an earthly but a heavenly wreath, I would like to reflect on the great hope for living our Christian life. which the mystery of the Transfiguration of our Lord, gives us.

In his commentary on last Sunday’s gospel where Jesus was tempted by Satan in the desert, St. Augustine says “do you notice that Christ has been tempted and fail to notice that he overcame the temptation?  Recognise your own self tempted in him and conquering also in him”.  In today’s Gospel something similar is happening.  Notice where the Transfiguration is placed in all three synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke.  It comes between the first and second prediction of the Passion and of Peter’s Profession of faith in Jesus as Messiah, and in Matthew, as Son of the living God.

This is very significant.  It demonstrates that the Transfigured Christ, that is Jesus risen and glorified, is at the centre of the Cross i.e. of every form of suffering and of death itself; and secondly, that it is the crucified and risen Jesus that gives suffering and death its meaning as we sang at Lauds this morning – “Jesus Christ, our Lord, brought an end to death; he has proclaimed life and immortality through his gospel”.

How does all this affect our Christian life?  I think nowhere in our modern world is it seen so clearly as in the heroic witness of the 21 Coptic Egyptian young men who were martyred for their faith in Jesus.   And seen in the mother of the two brothers among them, who forgave their murderers and prays for their conversion as told by their brother who said he was proud of his martyred brothers, and that the whole village was not sad but rejoicing over the witness of so many of them who gave their lives confessing Christ.

Pope Francis in this year of Consecrated Life has called on Religious to wake up the world.  Where I ask, would any of us get a more inspiring wake-up call to match that of these martyred young men?

I will conclude with a verse from a hymn on the feast of the Transfiguration and will say it in union with these martyrs who have already won the prize, and with a prayer for ourselves that one day, we too, will be accounted among the blessed.

Transfigured Christ, believed and loved,

In you our only hope has been;

Grant us, in your unfathomed love,

Those things no eye has ever seen.

3rd Sunday of Lent - Year C

 

“Strong is His love for us” –

we could say that this phrase from the responsorial psalm sums up the message of today’s Mass readings.

Our God is a ‘consuming fire’ who “forgives all our guilt” and “heals our ills” (Ps 102).  He is “compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy.”

In the Gospel Jesus explains in the parable of the fig tree which did not bear fruit that he is always prepared to give us a second chance, to give us more time, in the hope that we will repent of our sins and failures.  “Give it (ie the fig tree) one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it – it may bear fruit next year!” (Gospel - Lk 13:1-9).

It is the same God who appeared to Moses while he went about his daily work of tending the flock and spoke to him from the burning bush.  Moses was standing on “holy ground” without knowing it!  God reveals His name as I AM.  When we live in the present we live in the PRESENCE of our God who knows all about the plight of His people and their desires for freedom. 

As God sent Moses to the people of Israel to be His mouth-piece and His instrument in freeing them from their bondage, so today He needs each of us to tell others of the love, compassion and forgiveness of our God.  We need not be afraid to open to Him for He will surpass all our expectations and dreams with the abundance of His love - “Strong is His love for us!”

“Only where God is seen does life truly begin.  Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is.  We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution.  Each of us is the result of a thought of God.  Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.  There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ.  There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.”  (Pope Benedict XVI).

1st Sunday of Lent - Another Reflection

Having set for myself a headline for Lent “It is your face, O Lord, that I seek, hide not your face” – it is encouraging to find that Jesus in today’s gospel gives me inspiring texts to guide me on my way.


His responses to the devil can become ours. Indeed each of these quotes are taken from the book of Deuteronomy, that story of the people of Israel’s forty years wanderings through the desert to the promised land – a blue print of our struggles too on our journey home to our Father’s house.

‘Man does not live on bread alone’ – Though immersed in, and in need of many material and tangible things to sustain us in life, yet our faith tells us that this is not our real life, no, our real life is the faith we have in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

…’but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ First and foremost, the Word, with a capital ‘W’’, Jesus Christ, was breathed forth by the Father, to become man eventually, to suffer and die and be our Saviour. It is only through, with and in Him that we can return to the Father. Because of our love and faith in Jesus, the words of Scripture, ‘the revealed love letter’, as it has been described, came to enlighten and lead us home. ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.’

“Exalt the Lord in your praises as high as you may – still he surpasses you. Exert all your strength when you exalt Him, do not grow tired, you will never come to an end.

We could say much more and still fall short, to put it concisely - He is all.

Is not this the worship and service that shapes our lives. Our inward eye is fixed steadfastly on Him. It is indeed your face. O Lord, that I seek.

In response to the devil’s third temptation Jesus replies ‘you shall not tempt the Lord, your God.’ In the context of Deuteronomy, Jesus’ response is reminding us to do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord that it may go well with us.’ So let us earnestly pray ‘It is your face, O Lord, that I seek, hide not your face.’

First Sunday of Lent - Reflection on Deuteronomy

In today’s First reading at Mass, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, we are presented with the prayer of the Jewish man to God on presenting to Him the first-fruits of all the Lord had given to him. In a few short - actually long! – sentences, he summarises all the Lord has done for him since the call of Abraham, through the formation and election of Israel; her persecution at the hands of the Egyptians; to her deliverance and after wandering in the desert, at last, entering into and taking possession of the land given to her by God. (That was a fairly good imitation of the long sentences!!)


And this is the First Sunday of Lent; that time of year again – already – when we know we would like to make a concerted effort to be cleansed of everything that separates us from God; prevents us from living as He invites us to, in Jesus. And with all our good intentions, for most of us, we’ll have fallen by the end of the first week, if we haven’t fallen already.

What can we do that would seem worthwhile and a real expression to God of our love for Him and our gratitude for His mercy and unfailing nearness: for the wonder of His love?

In this prayer, I would dare to suggest, is a very profitable and healthy undertaking; one that may not seem to be much – but in this age of dismissal of God as a necessary ‘element’ of our lives – maybe after all, it would be well worth considering. An act of faith in this Year of Faith.

Two Big Words!

Acknowledgement and Thanksgiving

‘He brought us here and gave us this land,

a land where milk and honey flow.

Here then, do I bring the first-fruits of the soil

that you, Lord, have given me.’

Lent is a place of grace, as we know – a place, now, where you can most intensely know, accept and believe the truth about God: that He has made you for Himself, and wants you to begin even now to live in communion with Him, so that you may be prepared for the wonder and light and joy of eternity in Him, when He calls you home: so great is His love for you.

This Lent is a place where milk and honey flow: the milk and honey of the love of the Lord … for you. And if you try to imagine how strong and ‘overpowering’ that love is – only think of Jesus: in the garden; being whipped and scourged and spat upon; hanging and gasping for breath; pouring out His life’s blood – His love for you gave Him physical pain beyond anything we could ever imagine. And the amazing thing – this is milk and honey to Him. You are worth every second of what He went through for you – you. This Lent, it would be good, would it not, to let yourself believe that and to accept the gift .. and to be grateful.

The pilgrim in Deuteronomy mentions the return he offers to God: the first-fruits – what seems to me to be the best of himself. When I look to the Lord and believe that where I am now, wherever I am – this physical place, maybe emotional place – is where I have been brought: God has brought me here.

Do I have the courage to acknowledge that as a gift of love from Him? Dare I say ‘thank you?’ Can I find the goodness in this place where I am; look hard for it if it is not plainly seen?

God has brought me here – it seems that what then I must do is to give Him the best of myself, here, where I am; and not save the best of me for somewhere else, that may not even yet exist. Do I have the courage to love God here and now? And if it seems to be beyond my strength – can I ask for the grace from Him to be able to love Him? He is infinitely patient; He is there in the struggle; He is the Only One who truly knows. Can you let Him in?

Lent Week 2 - Monday

A few words on to-day’s Gospel – Lk 6:36-38:
It opens with the words: “Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.’ Perhaps the most important words in this passage are: ‘as your Father’. God is our Father! As the Christmas Preface puts it: “the wonder of our making is only surpassed by the wonder of our coming to life in Christ” (old translation) – i.e. by our Baptism we are inserted right into the heart of the Blessed Trinity – into the family and inner life of God. We are sons and daughters of God the Father, sisters and brothers of Jesus, the Son of God and we have the Holy Spirit living in our spirit- thus making us cry out ‘Abba, father’ and to proclaim Jesus as Lord. So that is why Jesus can ask us to have the beautiful attitude He annunciates in this Gospel passage - being compassionate, not judging, not condemning, granting pardon and giving. These attitudes do not come naturally to us – they must be desired and prayed for, cultivated and practised – then the light of Christ will shine forth in our life and actions and so glorify our Father in heaven.

1st Sunday of Lent - Desert Experience

In this morning’s Gospel St Mark tells us that “the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert and he remained there and was put to the test by Satan” (Mk 2:12f)– a very stark picture at first glance!

Immediately before this passage we read about Jesus’ Baptism when He, the sinless One, took on the burden of our sins and was baptised by John. The heavens were opened and the Spirit descended on him and the voice from heaven declared: “You are my Son, the Beloved, my favour rests on you.” Strengthened in the conviction of being the Beloved of the Father, at once the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert…..

In the Old Testament the desert symbolised both the place of testing and the place of intimacy with God. We read in the Book of Deuteronomy:

“Remember the long road by which the Lord led you for forty years, to humble you, to test you and know your inmost heart – whether you would keep his commandments or not …learn that the Lord was training you as a man trains his child.”

For the Old Testament prophets the desert symbolised the place of intimacy with the Lord as we read in the Prophet Hosea:

“I am going to seduce her and lead her into the desert and speak to her heart …there she will respond to me”.

Hosea continues:

“when that day comes I shall make a treaty for them with the wild animals …and I will let them sleep secure.” (2:21)

and there follows these beautiful lines:

“I shall betroth you to myself forever
I shall betroth you in faithfulness and love
And you will come to know the Lord.”

For me these lines throw light on Mark’s description of Jesus being with the wild animals but the angels looked after him – the Father’s care for those who trust in Him.

The monastic way of life had its origin in the desert and in monastic spirituality the desert symbolises both the place of testing and the place of intimacy:-
The place of testing whereby we experience our own sinfulness and poverty and thus come to share and carry in our hearts the pain, the suffering and anxiety of all our fellow men and women as we journey through the desert of this life to our Father’s house.
The place of intimacy with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a silent witness which is a reminder to all of the truth of God’s existence and is worthy of the gift of our whole lives and at the same time is an invitation to everyone to enter “that space in the heart where every person is called to union with God.” (Verbi Sponsa).

This Lent may we allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit into the desert of our own hearts – we need not be afraid of the wild beast or whatever obstacles we meet on the way for we are never alone – Jesus has already travelled through the desert for us and has conquered Satan and accompanies us every step of the way.

Fourth Sunday of Lent

The Spirit if the Lord seized on David, and stayed with him. (first reading at Mass)

“The Spirit of the Lord seized on David.” This is the strength that is given to great hearts, this is the light of brave and faithful souls, that unhesitatingly can believe what they cannot see with the eyes of the body and direct their longings beyond the range of human sight.

In 1 John 4.16 we read: "We have known and believed the love that God has for us.”
If we believe and know that the Spirit is love, then we have a means to return love with love.

If we know and believe in our heart that we too have been seized by this same Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation then we will know that this great love is above us, and around us and in us. It will make no difference whether we sense God’s Presence or not, it should make no difference whether He sends us joy or pain, because we believe in His personal love for each one. Indeed the more we are tested the more our faith grows, because faith in this Spirit Who has seized us pushes through all obstacles, until we are completely captivated by Him and unable to break out of the circle of His radiance.

It is true that David broke away from the Spirit's grasp from time to time, but in experiencing his own weakness he gave us, who are weak and sinful, that deeply repentant Psalm 50:

Have mercy on me God in your kindness
in your compassion blot out my offence,
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.

It is so true, the Spirit of the Lord seizes us and helps us somehow in our very blindness to keep our gaze fixed on Jesus. With the man in to-day’s Gospel we beg the Spirit that we may see. He can change our cowardice through His gift of fortitude - we can see how the disciples experienced this. The Spirit became their armour so that they did not yield to the attacks of their persecutors, but held fast to the love of their Master and Teacher.

As our thoughts are with David we must not forget another heart which was also seized by the Spirit - Mary

"The Holy Spirit will came upon you Mary and the power of the most high will overshadow you"

Just as David left us his wonderful psalms, Mary gave us with THE WORD MADE FLESH through of the power of the Holy Spirit who seized her and stayed with her throughout her life.

Mary pray that we too may be seized more and more by this same Spirit.

“O consuming Fire, Spirit of love descend within me and reproduce in me as it were an incarnation of the Word that I may be to Him another humanity wherein he renews all His Mysteries.” (cf Bl Elizabeth of the Trinity).

Third Sunday of Lent – Year A

All three readings today have rich baptismal overtones. From earliest times they have been used, especially the Gospel of the Samaritan woman, in the catechesis during Lent of adult candidates for Baptism, which took place during the Easter Vigil. So now the Church prays and exhorts us through the Word of God to be renewed in spirit so that we can renew our Baptismal promises with renewed dedication during the Easter Vigil.

In today’s first reading, the Israelites ‘tormented by thirst’ in the wilderness were crying out for water. God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb and water gushed forth. In the second reading St Paul reminds us that ‘it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. This hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us.’ We receive this surpassing grace at our Baptism.

In the Gospel we have the marvellous account of Jesus, the Word made flesh, with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus was tired and thirsty from His journey and asked her for a drink. But as St Augustine says His real thirst was for this woman’s faith and salvation. We are all present in this woman - enslaved by her natural desires or perhaps somebody else’s; estranged from God, ourselves and others because of the sin of our first parents. To quote St Paul again ‘we were still helpless when at the appointed moment Christ died for sinful humankind'. (cf Rom 5:6). Jesus revealed to this woman His intimate knowledge of her. By doing so in such a non-judgmental and accepting way He liberated her from her past. He aroused her thirst for the living waters of the Spirit which He was offering her. He revealed to her in the most personal and moving way that He was the Christ. He used the words ‘I am He’ which recall God’s Name to Moses ‘I am who I am’ and thus that He is God.

The Good Shepherd has found His lost sheep and carries it home rejoicing. The immediate response of the Samaritan woman was to hurry back to the town and she could say ‘rejoice with me I am found! Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did. I wonder is he the Christ?’ Like St Mary Magdalene who after the Lord’s Resurrection became ‘the apostle to the apostles’ this woman became an apostle to her own townspeople and was the means of bringing many of them to believe in Jesus. Unlike some of the towns in Galilee Jesus could not resist their desire for Him, the openness and faith of these Samaritans and stayed for two days preaching the word to them. Many more came to believe and hailed Jesus not only as the Messiah but as the Saviour of the world. Do we hear Jesus say “go and do likewise”?

Second Sunday of Lent – Year A

Today’s Gospel reading at Mass gave us a lovely account of the transfiguration of the Lord according to Matthew - an event in the Lord’s life of light, life, radiance, beauty, majesty, silence and awe as the writer Michael Hewlett put it:
“Once on a mountain top there stood three startled men and watched the wheels of nature stop and heaven break in.”

Just before the account of the Transfiguration which we read to-day from chapter 17 we find the first prophecy of the Passion at the end of chapter 16:
“From that time on Jesus began to make it clear to the disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.”
Immediately after that – the condition of our following Christ is given: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine”, Jesus says “he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

It seems quite obvious why Jesus leads Peter, James and John – the three chosen witnesses who accompanied Him to Gethsemanie and on other special occasions, up the mountain to experience this extraordinary event in His life, was to help them accept the revelation He had just made regarding His forthcoming Passion and death or to avoid them being scandalised in their hearts by the Cross. We know that Peter in no uncertain terms, up to now refused to accept that fact “Heaven preserve you Lord, this must not happen to you.” But Jesus replies: “get behind me Satan”.

Here on the mountain we are very familiar with the account of the Transfiguration
Jesus is transfigured
His face shines like the sun
His garments become white as light
Then they see Moses and Elijah who represent the Law and the Prophets. St john Chrysostom explains why it is these two men who appeared – Jesus was always being accused of breaking the Law and blaspheming so it is important by Moses’ presence here that Jesus prove himself guiltless and then Elijah because the multitudes thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the prophets. He brings with Him the chief of the Prophets that hence at least may be seen the difference between the servants and their Lord.

It is in Luke’s account that the answer to our curious minds’ question is answered. What were Moses, Elijah and Jesus talking about? Luke says: “They spoke of His departure/ His Passing – in other words His death which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem (Lk 9:30). Passover through Death to Life.

Then Peter says: “Lord it is wonderful for us to be here – if you wish I will make three tabernacles – one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah. St John Chrysostom says: “Peter yet fears for Christ going up to Jerusalem and thought this place of quietude and solitude would be a fit place to take up their abode and concluded that if Jesus did this He would not go up to Jerusalem and therefore He would not die”. But St Jerome says: “Thou art wrong Peter – think not of three tabernacles when there is but one tabernacle of the Gospel in which both Law and Prophets are to be repeated – just make one tabernacle in thy bosom for Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”

Then the bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased – listen to Him.” The Father makes it quite clear to the apostles that Jesus is the One to whom they must listen – to obey and follow.

The three Apostles are filled with fear but Jesus gently touches them and speaks words of comfort: “Stand up and do not be afraid” - they raised their eyes and saw no one only Jesus – the Law and prophets are now found in the Gospel.

We all have our Mount Tabor experiences and we too have to stand and descend the mountain with Jesus to the plain – holding His hand at all times knowing that in the words of the hymn: “Christ leads me through no darker rooms than He went through before.” I cannot forget, as Peter was tempted, that I am mortal and cannot come to eternal happiness without the taste of death and only then reach eternal life.
Today’s Prayer sums up the mystery very well:
God our Father,
You bid us listen to your Son, the well-beloved.
Nourish our hearts on your work,
Purify the eyes of our mind
And fill us with joy at the vision of your glory.

First Sunday of Lent - Year A

“Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil”

The Church in her liturgy presents Lent as a time of ‘grace’; a ‘springtime’ – a time of conversion when we open our eyes or rather let our eyes be opened to all the Lord wants to give us instead of being content to live an impoverished life with eyes half closed.

At every stage of our lives we are always in need of radical conversion, of a change of heart, whereby we turn away from all that alienates us from God - from all that blinds us to His Presence – and open ourselves to receive the Holy Spirit and all His gifts of love, peace and joy so that we become more truly the people He created us to be, always doing the will of our Father. This ‘doing’ of the Father’s will is not so much about our great effort at our doing and achieving – it is rather a ‘let it be done unto me’.

When we look at the example of Jesus and Mary in the Gospel their doing of the Father’s will was more a surrender than the taking of any initiative on their part. Mary’s response to the Angel was ‘be it done unto me according to thy word’. Jesus’ prayer in the garden was ‘Father not my will but Thine be done’. They simply surrendered to what the present moment presented, believing that they were in Someone’s grip. This Someone had a plan which would be revealed moment by moment and they were being invited to surrender, to let go of their own cherished plans.

In today’s Gospel we see Jesus being led by the Spirit into the desert. This abandonment to the Father does not guarantee a life free from suffering (as we see in the lives of Jesus and Mary); neither does it mean that we will necessarily suffer more but when we embrace each moment, with whatever suffering or difficulty it brings, as coming from the hand of One who loves us, then we are held in the embrace of the One who alone can fill us deep peace and joy even in the midst of suffering and hardship.

At times this abandonment may appear like falling off a cliff and into an abyss and yet when we have the courage to let go we can discover that we are standing on a foundation of solid rock – held in the arms of a loving Father.

Because Jesus lived continually in the Presence of His Father, content with whatever each moment brought, He was able to overcome all the temptations of the devil. May He teach us this Lent to live in the present – without regrets about the past or worry for the future. May He grant us the grace to joyfully accept what each moment may bring and so to live in the Presence of Him who loves us so much that He died to restore us to His friendship.

Mary's sorrows

Recently one of our sisters wrote this beautiful icon of 'The Mother of Hard Hearts' under the guidance of Icon Master Mihai Cucu. while attending an icon course hosted by the Redemptoristine community in Drumcondra.

The Mother of Hard Hearts is one of the few icon types where the Mother is shown without the Child. It is a relatively recent development in Orthodox iconography and reveals evidence of the increasing influence of Western religious painting and concepts. This iconographic type represents Mary's meditation on the Passion of her Son and has its origins in the Western representations of the Mother of Seven Sorrows, in turn inspired by the words of Simeon to Mary during the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple ..."and a sword shall pierce thy heart" (Lk 2:55).

The seven swords in the icon each designate one of the following sorrows:
- the prophecy of Simeon
- the flight into Egypt
- the Boy Jesus leavng his parents to visit the Temple in Jerusalem
- the Mother of God's meeting her Son on the Via Dolorosa
- the Crucifixion of Christ
- the deposition from the Cross
- the Entombment of Jesus

During the coming weeks you will find on our web-site meditations on each of these sorrows of Mary - from this link- (also found on top left of this page)

Wilderness Experience - 1st Sunday of Lent

Today's Gospel (Luke 4:1-13) introduces us to the great mystery of Jesus, Son of God, spending 40 days in the wilderness - fasting and praying and being tempted by Satan. St Luke tells us that Jesus is filled with the Spirit and is led by the Spirit through this wilderness experience.

All of us experience in our own lives, in one way or another, the wilderness and bewilderment.

The following is a quote from Pope Benedict's homily on Ash Wednesday when he, according to custom, celebrated the Eucharist in the Dominican Basilica of Santa Sabina:

.........To go into the desert and to stay there a long time, alone, meant to be willingly exposed to the assaults of the enemy, the tempter who made Adam fall and through whose envy death entered the world (cf Wisdom 2:24); it meant engaging in open battle with him, defying him with no other weapons than limitless confidence in the omnipotent love of the Father. Your love suffices me, my food is to do your will (cf John 4:34): This conviction dwelt in the mind and heart of Jesus during that "Lent" of his. It was not an act of pride, a titanic enterprise, but a decision of humility, consistent with the Incarnation and the Baptism in the Jordan, in the same line of obedience to the merciful love of the Father, who "so loved the world that he gave his only Son" (John 3:16).

The Lord did all this for us. He did it to save us and, at the same time, to show us the way to follow him. Salvation, in fact, is a gift, it is God's grace, but to have effect in my existence it requires my consent, an acceptance demonstrated in deeds, that is, in the will to live like Jesus, to walk after him...........He, as always, has preceded us and has already conquered in the battle against the spirit of evil. This is the meaning of Lent, liturgical time that every year invites us to renew the choice to follow Christ on the path of humility to participate in his victory over sin and death.

Understood in this perspective also is the penitential sign of the ashes, which are imposed on the head of those who begin with good will the Lenten journey. It is essentially a gesture of humility, which means: I recognize myself for what I am, a frail creature, made of earth and destined to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to him. Dust, yes, but loved, moulded by love, animated by his vital breath, capable of recognising his voice and of responding to him; free and, because of this, also capable of disobeying him, yielding to the temptation of pride and self-sufficiency. This is sin, the mortal sickness that soon entered to contaminate the blessed earth that is the human being. Created in the image of the Holy and Righteous One, man lost his own innocence and he can now return to be righteous only thanks to the righteousness of God, the righteousness of love that -- as St. Paul writes -- was manifested "through faith in Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:22).

Dare to Believe

Then she knows the truth about me the eternal Father: that in love I have created her to give her eternal life. This is the truth, and I have revealed it to her in the blood of Christ crucified. Once the soul has come to know this, she loves it, and she shows her love by genuinely loving what I love and hating what I hate. …
… So the memory, all imperfection past, is filled … because it has remembered and held within itself my blessings.
… Understanding receives the light. Gazing into the memory it comes to know the truth, and shedding the blindness of selfish love it remains in the sunlight of Christ crucified in whom it knows both God and humanity. … Then the will, which follows understanding, united itself in a most perfect and burning love. And if anyone should ask me what this soul is, I would say: She is another me, made so by the union of love.

[Dialogue, ch.96]

These are words spoken by God, our eternal Father, to St Catherine of Siena, whose feastday occurs at the end of this month. She had an astounding love for the Lord, uncontainable, and it pours out in the words of the ‘Dialogue’. The words quoted above caught my attention, and then on re-reading them, caught my attention still more, and in these last few days, even hours, of Lent – they are quite powerful when you sit with them. St.Catherine’s ‘Dialogue’ is demanding that way, you can’t read too much at a time, because it contains so much.

St.Catherine was passionate about the Lord, and she was passionate about people – all of us, who were created in His image and likeness – and she longed for everyone to know how precious we are in our Father’s sight; how infinite is His love for us, and what dignity is ours as His children.

And we can come to know this too, if especially in these days – we allow ourselves to be open to the ‘possibility’ that even we – even you – are just that precious to God … no matter what. In times when it is so easy to feel that nothing is ‘going right’, when the point of any of our efforts is beyond us; no work, no hope, and our worth as people is lost – the words of our Father to Catherine are vital. Read them again, and let yourself be amazed at how amazing you are.

YOU ARE AMAZING

God’s words to Catherine are His words to you – if you let yourself come to Him, just as you are, and sit with Him, watch Him, and ask to be drawn to know Him a little bit better – what you will discover is that in every moment of your life, in your every breath – your Father is watching you with eyes that love you infinitely; with a love that does not judge you as you judge yourself; and with mercy that is deeper than anything you could grasp.

The Lord carried you, as a man carries his child, all along the road you travelled

Deut 1:31b

A CLAP OF THUNDER

Here comes a reflection on today’s Gospel Reading, taken from StJohn, chapter 12. It came rather late in the week – in fact this morning just before our celebration of the Eucharist - just to prove that with the Lord even the last minute can be loaded!

I was sitting quietly in my choir stall, in the Chapel, gathering myself and trying to get my head around the reality of this being now he fifth week of Lent – and whatever happened to the previous four??!!! It’s supposed to be – and is – a season of returning to the Lord, fasting praying and almsgiving, and I feel that I haven’t even made a beginning!

The Gospel reading for the day is so full of treasure that it’s impossible to know where to begin – every word contains more than you could absorb in the space of time it would take the priest to proclaim it! But we believe God doesn’t give himself to us that we may keep him for ourselves, we must share what he gives, and in our giving we are given more – the height and the depth, the length and the breadth of love!

My ‘clap of thunder’ this morning was only heard by myself – I think the Lord wanted to remind me of my calling – the mystery and the wonder of it. We as Dominican nuns, call ourselves ‘nuns of the Order of Preachers’ – and we are contemplative – we don’t go out and preach! Seems a bit of an irony – and yet that is what we are, and today’s Gospel is a big help in understanding the fact, and they are the words of Jesus Himself.

I’d better get to the point! In our different ways, we have been touched so intimately by God, and have experienced beyond anything you could put into words – His love. How very vital it is, how life-giving and how saving. And we have so passionately wanted it to be made known – to the whole world – that we have come to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him speak; we have chosen to celebrate His word and to keep it, to ponder it and pray over it – knowing that by doing this we can reach out more effectively to every one this way. It is a sheer gift. If I chose to become a missionary, I would be limited in my preaching, because I am only one and can be in only one place at a given time. But by hearing the Lord call me, and by being here where He wants me, I can be everywhere! Because look at what He said:

‘If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too….’!!!!!!!!!

Do you see? If I respond to the Lord as He invites me to, it makes me to be with Him, and He keeps me with Him – so that wherever He is, there I am! That is our vocation as nuns – and the word of God is powerful, because the Word Is GOD. So when I meet these words on the pages of the Bible, I am meeting Jesus – God Himself –and that is the truth!!

I think this has gone on long enough – but it was for me a ‘clap of thunder’ – and a wonderful reminder of the nearness of the Lord, and of His intimacy – which He wants everyone to know and have. So keep close to Him, as Jeremiah reminded us – He is planted ‘deep within’ you.

Second Sunday of Lent

On this second Sunday of Lent the liturgy focuses on the Gospel of the transfiguration of Jesus (Mk 9:2-10) in the presence of three of His apostles – the same three who would some time later witness His agony in the garden. Jesus invites Peter, John and James to accompany Him up “a high mountain where they could be alone by themselves”. Last week we found Jesus in the wilderness with the wild beasts being tempted by Satan. In the Bible the wilderness and the mountain are portrayed as places both of struggle and temptation on one hand and of intimacy with God on the other hand.

So in our Gospel today Jesus invites us to join the apostles on the mountain where He reveals Himself to them. In prayer Jesus not only reveals Himself to us but He also reveals our own and each person’s true identity and dignity for we are all one in Him. We hear the Father’s voice addressed to us: “This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to Him.” After this, the Gospel tells us that “they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus”. Would it not be wonderful if we too could only see Jesus in every person we meet, in every circumstance whether it be one of joy or pain? For He has promised to be with us always, yes to the end of time.

It is your Face, Lord, that I seek
The face of every person who suffers
is your Face
And calls on me to wipe it
You have taken on Yourself
The anguish and the pain
of all who are despised
oppressed and rejected
Your Face is so disfigured
as to seem no longer human
It is the Face of God
The face of man
The face of love
Show me Your Face O Lord
And I shall be safe.

In his apostolic exhortation on consecrated life Pope John Paul II, reflecting on the mystery of the transfiguration of Jesus, says: “In the countenance of Jesus, the ‘image of the invisible God’ (Col 1:5) and the reflection of the Father’s glory we glimpse the depths of an eternal and infinite love which is at the very root of our being. Those who let themselves be seized by this love cannot help abandoning everything to follow him. Like St Paul they consider all else as loss ‘because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus Christ’ by comparison with which they do not hesitate to count all things as ‘refuse’ in order that they may gain Christ (Phil 3:8). They strive to become one with Him taking on His mind and His way of life. This leaving of everything and following the Lord is a worthy programme of life for all whom He calls in every age.”