4 December 2011

Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
2 Peter 3:8-14
Mark 1:1-8

A young woman in her mid twenties went regularly to visit her old aunt. Because the young woman was quiet by nature it was the aunt who did most of the talking. At their last meeting it was the young woman who did nearly all the talking. She spoke practically non-stop about a young man Marcus whom she had met some time before. They had been out together a number of times and the old aunt had no doubt that she had fallen in love with him since she could not speak of anything else.

The gospel of Mark, the opening verses of which compose today’s gospel are like that. Mark has been so captivated by the person of Jesus that he has only one aim – to get people to know and commit themselves to be disciples of Jesus.

John the Baptist has exactly the same vocation. We find him in the wilderness. What is he doing? He is proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Unless people are first convicted of sin they cannot know the need of a Saviour.

Repentance is not the same as penance. For most of us penance in religious terms is depriving ourselves of something in order to atone for our sins.

Repentance however is basically changing from looking at life in the ways I normally do to looking at it from God’s point of view, through the eyes of Jesus.

What then are the most important things for me in life?  How would I prioritise my values?  Do they correspond to God’s way of looking at things?

Since the emphasis in today’s gospel is on preparation, to prepare the way of the Lord we might want to start with ourselves. Do I need to celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession this Advent?

John the Baptist is preparing the way for the coming of Jesus. He speaks of the One who is coming after him, the One who will baptise with the Holy Spirit. Like Mark John the Baptist’s role is to get the people to be ready for Jesus when he appears. John is a very humble man. He had many people going into the wilderness to see him and he could have been tempted to use this power for himself. But he is very clear about his mission. He is the one sent to announce and prepare the people for Jesus. Then he will get out of the way and leave the stage to Jesus.

Nearly all of us have had the experience of calling some office or institution. We ask the one who replies if we can talk to someone we name. She replies that she is now connecting us to that person, makes the connection and then gets out of the way. John the Baptist saw his role like that. He wanted simply to connect people to Jesus since in his humility he knew Jesus was the One the people needed.

The gospel today opens with the sentence ‘The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God’. So this is saying that the Good News is a person, the person of Jesus. Is this true for me?  Unfortunately many people fear God, whom they think wishes to punish us for our sins. This is truly disastrous and is contrary to the image of God presented by Jesus in the four Gospels. The first reading and the gospel today show this. How could we say Jesus was good news if he were out to punish us?

For the people of Isaiah’s time in the first reading, the prophet wrote his consoling words to the people of Israel when they were in Exile. They were convinced that their time in Exile was due to their abandoning God’s ways. They thought that God had forgotten them as a way of punishing them. Now the prophet is telling them the good news, the consoling words that God will bring them back from exile to their own land. What did they do to deserve this? In a word nothing. It was God’s love for them, his loving concern for them that caused this. So God’s act is not conditioned by human virtue or goodness. Our time of preparation at Advent for the Lord’s coming is not so that he will reward us. It is in fact our response of gratitude to him for his totally free, undeserved, unmerited gift of his love. Our preparation to turn back to God wherever this is necessary is our thank you to God. Preparation then is our response to a promise not a condition for its fulfillment.

The opening verse today ‘The beginning of the Good News’ is precisely that. It is a beginning.

What happens then?

Amazingly God is saying to each of you and me. “I sent my son Jesus to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. I wanted him to show you how totally and unconditionally I love you. That is why he spoke so often about my forgiveness. But I cannot forgive those who don’t want it. They have shut me out. So Jesus is the beginning of the good news. Will you help me to complete it by preparing, not only to celebrate his first coming at Christmas but also to prepare for his coming at the end of the world?

The way is simple but not always easy. It is by living according to my values: loving, forgiving, being compassionate, supporting each other especially in time of life’s difficulties, like bereavements, tragedies, loneliness, depression etc. I really need you to complete the work he began.  Will you help?”

“Lord Jesus, give us your Holy Spirit to help us prepare well for your coming this Christmas and always”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA, African Missions, Cork

13 November 2011

Proverbs 31.10-13,19-20,30-31
1 Thessalonians 5.1-6
Matthew 25.14-30

A young priest of my own Society, the Society of African Missions, shortly after arriving in an African country was sent by his parish priest to an area which had never been evangelised before. His superior told him that the first thing he needed to do was to go to the local chief as a courtesy and ask him if he could speak to the people there about God. If the answer was yes he should stay there, if not he should return. But the parish priest told him that he had heard conflicting reports about the chief. Most said he would be welcoming but one or two said he was a hard man and would refuse permission. The young priest wasn’t too confident but he went prepared to risk refusal, being told he was unwelcome. In fact, the chief was very welcoming and told him he could do his work without any interference.

Today’s parable is like that. The main point of the parable is the character of the owner. He entrusted his property to his servants, not to family members or friends as such. He was prepared to risk.  He obviously was a generous man and he saw the potential in the three servants, giving certain talents to each in proportion to his ability. He trusted that each servant would develop the talents given by him.

A long time after the owner returned and went through the accounts of each of the servants to see how they had done. The one who received 5 talents reported that he had made 5 more. The master congratulated him and gave him a reward out of all proportion to his efforts. He invited him to share in the master’s happiness. The one receiving 2 talents explained that he had gained two more. A talent was worth a thousand silver pieces which was an enormous sum. He also was complimented by the master and invited to join in the master’s happiness.

It is very interesting to note that both received the same reward. The master did not compare the one given five talents with the one who was given two. He didn’t expect the one who received 2 talents to have gained 5. He was wise and kind enough to ask each to work to his own particular capacity or ability.

When he who received the one talent went to the master he gave him back the talent with no gain. He explained that he had heard the master was a hard man and would demand much in return. Obviously this was not true as we saw with the other two. The master was happy with a fair return.

The problem, it seems, with the third servant who hid his master’s money in the ground was that he was afraid to risk, as the master risked with him in giving him the talent to develop. It was like the parish priest in the story who told the young priest that most said the chief was a kind man, only one or two said the opposite. The servant receiving the one talent depended on hearsay, not his own experience of the master. What he heard of the master was obviously untrue.

Why was the one talent taken from him and given to the one with the five? This is a truth we are all familiar with. For example – we ourselves grow in maturity when we develop our talents or we lose them if we don’t develop them. If I am perfectly healthy and decide to stay in bed for 6 months, I will lose my ability to walk so it is not God who causes this. It is my own decision not to use my legs. We may also say, what can I do with just one talent?  Look at all the problems of the world. But God isn’t asking me to solve these; he is asking me to use my talent wherever I find myself.

The parable, then, is asking us what Image of God do we have?  If we believe in the God revealed by Jesus then we will be prepared to use our talents, knowing that if we don’t always succeed, God will appreciate our efforts. God is incredibly understanding. Mother Teresa put it well.  “My God did not ask me to be successful but to be faithful”. Jesus came and developed his talents to give us an example, first of all as a carpenter and then later on as a preacher and leader and with his compassion healing many and forgiving sinners. He accepted the company of sinners, outsiders and holy people equally.

God, like the owner in the parable is marvelously generous. He trusts us as the master did the three servants with his property. It was a risk for the master but our God is surely a God of risk. He gives us a beautiful world and how are we doing? The environmentalists and ecologists will say disastrously, if one is to believe in the theory of global warming. He gives each of us many talents but never, never compares us with one another.  So how are we using our talents? Like the talents of our bodies, how do we treat them? What of our children, our compassion re asylum seekers, using our talents not only for those we love but also for the poor.  How will people have a correct Image of a generous, compassionate, forgiving God if we do not witness to it in our use of the talents received from our generous God?

“Lord Jesus, thank you for the many talents you give us, for never comparing us with each other since our talents are special to each of us.  Help to live our lives that others may come to have a correct Image of you. Amen”.

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

Mission Sunday 2011

Today we are invited to think about the missionary work of the Church. In fact, if the Church is not acting in a missionary way it is NOT Church. And the Church is not something ‘out there’ or just a building or a group of clergy and bishops. No! The Church is each and every man, woman and child who has been baptised.

Accepting that the Church is missionary by its very nature – i.e. that just as God sent Jesus so too every baptised person is sent by the Church. Sent for what? To proclaim the Christian Message that ‘God loves me’.

The mission of the Church is to proclaim that message, not just by words but also through its actions. And whenever it (i.e. you or I or other Church members) fail to do so, then we are not acting as true members of the Church. In fact, as we all now know too well, there have been too many instances when the message of Christ was not preached and the work, not of God, but of the Devil was done.

God loves me.

In order to preach – by word and action – this message it is imperative that I first know what this means for me. And so the first missionary journey is for me to go into the depths of my own heart and mind and discover what ‘God loves me’ means for me. And when I discover this then I’m able to go to others and try to make that love present in their lives.

It is because of our baptism that we are missionaries. The Baptism ceremony (which most of us knew nothing about at the time of our own baptism) commissions us to go out and preach the Gospel – not in a showy way, but by the way we live every day of our lives. When anointed with the Oil of Chrism we are commissioned to act as ‘priest, prophet and King’. When we receive the Lighted Candle we are told to keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts. We keep an ordinary fire alight by putting wood or coal (smokeless of course) on it; we keep the flame of faith alive by prayer and good deeds.

The vast majority of Church members will do this in their day-to-day lives as single or married, employed, without work, retired, students, physically challenged etc etc. But there are a small number who will leave their own country and people and go to a foreign place to preach the message that God loves the people there too. And, through many different activities – clinics, schools, provision of water etc etc – they will make those three simple words ‘real’ in the situation where they find themselves.

On this Mission Sunday, in an Ireland racked from the mismanagement of some, may the many committed Christians spare a thought, and say a prayer, for our missionaries who have left Ireland to preach the Good News in other lands.

And let us also remember the many thousands who have been forced to leave this land in recent years – may they, wherever they find themselves seeking a living – be missionaries in that place. May they experience the love of God – in New Zealand, Canada, Dubai… – and may they share that love of God every day of their lives.

Martin Kavanagh SMA

16 October 2011 

Isaiah 45.1, 4-6
1 Thessalonians 1.1-5
Matthew 22.15-21

One time I was driving a friend of mine to the airport. I jokingly asked him with which passport he was travelling on that journey. The fact was that his parents were of one nationality, he of another. As a result he had two passports. He held a passport of the country he was born in but he also had the passport of the country his parents came from. He had dual citizenship.

In today’s gospel the question of dual citizenship is raised. But it is a question which is set as a trap for Jesus. This posed a dilemma for Jesus. If he said it was unlawful to pay tax, those who asked the question would immediately report him to the Roman government officials for being anti-Roman and his arrest would surely follow. If he said that it was lawful to pay the tax, he would stand discredited in the eyes of many of the people. Not only did the people resent the tax as most people resent taxation; the Jews resented it more for religious reasons. For a Jew God was the only king; their nation was a theocracy meaning that they did not give their allegiance to any human king or ruler. To pay tax to an earthly king was to admit the validity of his kingship and thereby insult God. Therefore whichever answer Jesus gave, they assumed, would leave himself open to trouble.

The answer of Jesus certainly surprised them. Instead of laying down hard and fast rules and regulations which he rarely did, he lays down principles as was usually the case. Here he lays down a very great and important one. Every Christian has dual citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he happens to live. To it he owes many things, security, public services etc. In a welfare state the citizen owes still more to the state, education, medical services, unemployment and retirement benefits. This places him under a debt of obligation. So a Christian has a duty to be a responsible citizen. Failure to be a good citizen is failure in Christian duty. But a Christian is also a citizen of heaven and he is expected to live according to the commandments, the Law of God. If there is a clash or an opposition between the two, doing what we believe to be God’s will must prevail. Being against abortion would be an example.

There is an important lesson in today’s gospel.

Once a man went to visit his friend of school days. They hadn’t met for years but kept in contact by letter.  Now this man decided it would be good to meet up again. However, he wasn’t sure when he arrived at the street given in the address which house his friend now lived in. He decided to ask some children of about 11 years of age who were playing nearby. As soon as he saw one of them he knew he was the son of his friend. He told him later. ‘I knew he was your son as soon as I saw him since he is the image of you’. In the gospel when Jesus asks to see the coin the Pharisees and Herodians, who were out to trap him, paid the tax with Jesus asked them, whose head was on it, whose name. This was another way of saying ‘whose image is on the coin?’ Obviously it was that of the emperor Caesar. For us Christians it is not just an image stamped on a coin or something else external to us. We are told that we are created in the image and likeness of God. The image is stamped on our very being when we are created. This may have little effect for many people. It seems the image they live by is money, power etc rather than what is stamped on their very being.

So on this Sunday what image do we live out of?  Are we conscious enough of our image and likeness to God? Do we live our lives accordingly? Does our behaviour and lifestyle influence / inspire others to such an extent that it attracts them to follow Jesus because of us?

The world we live in is highly influenced by image. More and more there is a danger that we are an image conscious people. Some young people risk their lives due to anorexia or bulimia because the image presented is that of being very slim. Others will follow pop stars some of whom have died because of an overdose. With billions being spent yearly on advertising we can be seduced into living according to an image created by outsides agencies. The Good News today is that God is telling us that we are incredibly blessed in being citizens of heaven, having his image and called to be real missionaries.

“Lord Jesus, praise and thank you for creating us in your own image and likeness.  Help us not to forget this and live as true missionaries so that others may come to follow you too.  Amen.”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

9 October 2011

 Isaiah 25.6-10
Philippians 4.12-14, 19-20
Matthew 22.1-14

A married couple received an invitation to attend the birthday celebrations of the wife’s brother who had just reached 50. But her husband refused to go saying that the last 4 or 5 birthday parties had been boring, a waste of time and besides he had something better to do with his time.  When she arrived home he said to her, ‘well, I presume I made the correct decision not to go, boring as usual, was it?’  ‘On the contrary’, she replied, ‘you missed out on a terrific celebration.  Maybe the most enjoyable birthday party I have ever been at. I would have regretted not going, never knowing myself what I would have missed’.

The parable in today’s gospel is about another celebration and the response of those who had been invited. We need to remember that in the culture of the time and the difficulties regarding travel, usually the invitations were sent out a long time before the actual celebration. So the invitees would have been well warned ahead of time. Then when the food and other preparations were ready the servants were sent out to inform the guests that everything had been prepared and ready so they could now attend.

But they weren’t interested. They had other claims on their time. Most of them did nothing wrong, they weren’t planning evil or scheming to do bad things. Simply they considered other things more important. One went to his farm, other to his business. Other calls, other voices were louder. We ourselves live in a world of amazing busyness. In banks or supermarkets, there is background music. Practically everywhere, sometimes even in church, we hear the sound of mobile phones ringing. Then we have satellite dishes for TV programmes. There is the computer as well as the Internet. How are we hearing the voice of God calling to us in our lives with all these making their own claims on our time? Then there is the future to be planned for, the children to be looked after. In the midst of all this busyness can we find time to respond to the invitation of Christ? Just as we have to tune into the radio to listen to the programme we want, even more so do we need to tune into the gentle voice of God calling us to respond to his invitation.

So why did the people who went to their farms and business not respond to the king’s invitation.  Was it because they didn’t realise what they would miss like the husband in the story? Maybe they didn’t see it as a value more important than whatever else was on offer?  Since the kingdom of God is compared to a wedding feast, a banquet, we have a weekly, even daily banquet on offer in the Eucharist. Do we make even time for the Sunday Eucharist? If not, maybe we don’t realise its value for nourishing us, for strengthening us on our journey through life. We may even find it boring, not very entertaining since most of the time radio, TV, video games, Internet seem so much more stimulating. This may be true for many people but the Eucharist is not only for what it can give us. We need also ask what do I bring to the Eucharist? How do I come to it? With a week of effort to live according to Christian values, meaning my attempts at forgiveness, justice to those around me, kindness etc.

The parable reminds us too that the invitation of God is to a wedding feast. His invitation is to joy. To think of Christianity as a gloomy affair, giving up everything which brings laughter, sunshine and joy is to mistake its nature.  It is to joy that the Christian is invited; and it is that joy he is missing out on when he or she refuses the invitation.

The Good News of today’s gospel is that everyone is invited to belong to God’s kingdom, each of us is invited to the wedding feast, a symbol for heaven. No one is excluded. The parable was addressed to the Jewish leaders and they would have had no doubt was Jesus was saying. Responding or not God would choose others also. This was unacceptable to them. They assumed no Gentiles, foreigners or pagans would be invited. But God does not force anyone to enter. The invitation is his, the choice is ours. 

This is seen in the second part of today’s gospel. The king had sent his servants to the crossroads to find everyone they could find to go to the wedding feast. But during the feast the king noticed someone without a wedding garment and he was expelled. What Jesus is telling us is that once we have accepted the invitation we must be different people since to believe in Christ is to be different. We need to live our lives in a different way; that is, according to gospel values.  That is the wedding garment God invites us to put on. We need to clothe ourselves with the attitude of Jesus. There is no point in coming to worship God if we don’t feel obliged to live justice, truth or kindness. We can’t go to the Sunday Eucharist and offer a sign of peace if there is hatred in our hearts, if after the celebration we leave and act in an unchristian way. We are to clothe ourselves in truth, kindness, in forgiveness, compassion and honesty.

 “Lord Jesus, despite our many failings we praise and thank you for inviting us to the wedding feast. May we clothe ourselves with your attitudes as a practical manner of expressing our gratitude.  Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

2 October 2011

Isaiah 5.1-7
Philippians 4.6-9
Matthew 21.33-43

Recently a certain man was bitterly complaining to his friend that the government had made a court order taking almost all his farmland from him because they wanted to build a big highway and it was necessary for the development of the area. They told him that he would be compensated for the land taken. But he just could not accept this. He said that his family had lived on the land for many generations and it was now being taken from them unfairly. He said he could never forgive them no matter what reason they gave for this.

In the gospel today we have a parable about another piece of land, this time a vineyard. Here the original owner of the land planted a vineyard. He put a hedge around it, dug a winepress and built a tower. He obviously spent a good deal of money hiring people to do all this for him. Then when all this hard work was done and now that the land was much more valuable because of this development, he leased it to some tenants. These were given the finished product so to speak. They didn’t even have to do any planting. Their task was to wait for harvest time and gather in the harvest. At harvest time the owner who had gone away sent some servants to get his share.  It was the practice that he would have paid the tenants in one way or another, by money or giving them part of the harvest.

Amazingly, not only did these tenants refuse to give the servants the produce due to the owner but they actually either injured them or killed them. They probably felt the owner was far away and wouldn’t have been able to do anything in the short term. But the owner persisted and sent some more servants in the hope of getting what was due to him. There was no change of heart on the part of the tenants who acted as before. It seems odd at this stage that he didn’t arrive himself with many servants to deal with the situation. He seems to have been incredibly patient hoping for a change of heart despite all appearances to the contrary. Finally the owner sent his son hoping this might resolve the matter. To me this seems an incredibly naïve response on the part of the owner. Surely he must have been realistic enough to know that the son would receive similar treatment. And so he did.

Jesus addressed the parable to the chief priests and elders of the people.  It would not have been too difficult for these to know that Jesus was speaking about the way that the Jewish people treated the many prophets sent by God. These religious leaders would have known that the parable was addressed especially to them. They had been given authority by God to lead their people. Yet, how much violence and oppression was being committed in the name of that authority. The readers of Matthew’s gospel would have realised that the son in the parable was Jesus himself and that he had a similar ending to many of the prophets who spoke on behalf of God – persecution and death. Finally, they knew that the prophecy of Jesus was being fulfilled even shortly after his death. “The kingdom of God would be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit”.

In the first reading from the prophet Isaiah we hear that the Lord “expected justice but saw bloodshed; righteousness but heard a cry” v.7.  The God of life and love wants justice to rule in the midst of his people and he wants the rights of everyone, especially the poorest to be respected. These are the fruits that the vineyard, which the Lord planted and cared for, should have produced.

Perhaps the Good News of today’s gospel is that God never gives up on us. God continued to send prophet after prophet to call the Chosen People, the People of Israel back from following false gods and not practising justice and righteousness especially on behalf of the poor ones.  In spite of great rejection over the centuries he then sends his beloved son in one last throw of the dice, so to speak.  One might well think ‘how could he have been so naive?’  But it is not about naivete but of God’s incredible, constant, unwithdrawn love for his people.  Finally when he met with rejection he invites the non-Jews, the Gentiles to be his co-workers.

Where are we in all this? What type of grapes do we produce – good grapes or the sour grapes spoken of in Isaiah? In today’s readings from Isaiah and Matthew, God’s chosen people are described as belonging to God’s vineyard. The temptation is to act as if the vineyard (God’s physical and spiritual gifts) were our own private property. It’s not; it is God’s, and it is meant for the whole world. We are only the harvesters. We must share the harvest – physical and spiritual – with the whole world.

“Lord Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, help us to be good and faithful workers in your vineyard in return for so much love and the so many gifts received.  Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

18 September 2011

Isaiah 55.6-9
Philippians 1:20-24, 27
Matthew 20.1-16

Once there was a certain woman who complained to her brother that she felt that her husband was a bit naïve or foolish when it came to making money. Apparently her husband had a company but according to his wife employed many more workers than was necessary. She felt that he could have sacked a quarter of the workers who could easily have been done without. This would not in any way affect the smooth running of the company and a much greater profit would be the result. When the brother of his wife questioned him the man said. ‘Of course it is true but where would these men who were unskilled find work elsewhere?’. I employ them so that their families can eat and go to school. I make enough profit each year to live very comfortably. Why would I want to make more profit if it meant getting rid of many of my workers?

The story reminds us clearly of today’s gospel which is one of the parables of Jesus. The focus of the parable is the generosity and compassion of the landowner. This man goes out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He could have remained at home and waited for the labourers to come to him, as they would have searched for work there. But the landowner is the one who takes the initiative.  He is the one who goes out to search for labourers. Not only does he go early in the morning but he also goes a number of times during the day. There didn’t seem much point in going out at the ninth hour when the working hours were nearing their end. Certainly going out at the eleventh hour seemed rather foolish as these men could do hardly any worthwhile work. But of course that is the whole point of the parable. The landowner’s concern is not to make a huge profit. He is very concerned for the lives of those labourers who might otherwise be unemployed. Their families would also benefit.

The landowner is a symbol for God. He is the one who always makes the first move. He takes the initiative in seeking us out. He is not interested in seeking glory or profit for himself. His main concern is our good just as it was in the case of the landowner. God wants all people to be included in his kingdom just as the landowner wanted to give employment to as many as possible. God wants everyone to be included. The danger one feels is that some religions seem to make it hard for people to participate. They can set up many rules, which must be kept. This probably excludes a lot of people who then just leave their church.  God is the great Includer.  He welcomes everyone. As St.Paul says to Timothy: ‘God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth’. (1 Tim.2.4).

The parable is raising the question as to what Image of God we have.  It seems that quite a number of people believe that God is a Profit and Loss God. That is, if we are virtuous, kind and forgiving to others we will earn God’s favour, his friendship.  The parable is telling us that this may well give a wrong understanding of who God is. When I was a seminarian we had a superior.  Once when someone asked him what the quality he most looked for in those preparing for the priesthood he immediately replied ‘generosity’. In the parable when those who worked hard all day long saw that those who came at the 3^rd, 6^th, 9^th and 11^th hours received the same as them they were very upset as we probably would have been if we had been in their place.  The reply of the landowner as it is of God according to Jesus was ‘Why be angry because I am generous?

And yet it should be a very consoling gospel for many of us. Maybe when we were younger or middle-aged we were not too concerned about God. Sure, we may have gone to Sunday Mass and said some prayers.  A fair number of people say that they wished that they were more attentive to God when they were younger. Especially if they have sinned seriously they wonder how they will make up for this. The parable reminds them that they are similar to those who came at the last part of the day and yet received the same as those who worked the whole day.  God is an incredibly generous God.  He does not act as we do.  This may be a hard lesson for us to believe. It is never too late to turn to God. We may feel ‘how can he forgive me for this or this?’  The parable underlines his generosity. Even if we only turn to him at the eleventh hour of our lives the parable confirms that God will give us place in his eternal kingdom.

Another aspect of the gospel is that the landowner made a contract with those who worked all day to pay them a denarius which was a day’s wage for labourers. They agreed to this and received their just reward.  With the others there was no contract just the promise of a fair wage.  They had to trust that he would be true to his word.  Their trust was very generously rewarded.  It would be a pity if we felt we were beyond God’s generosity.

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah underlines for us that God’s ways are as far above our ways and his thoughts so far above ours that we cannot fully understand his ways of acting.  The gospel says that the last shall be first just as those who were employed last of all were invited to come first.

Thus the parable is meant to underline God’s sovereignty or majesty in contrast to all human conceptions of work and wages. God’s sovereignty is seen in his goodness and generosity.  Isn’t it great that God doesn’t act or judge according to our human understanding of who we think he is and how he should act? All our human conceptions of justice have to be reinterpreted in the light of God’s ways of acting as the parable shows.

‘Lord Jesus, help us to believe in your incredible generosity and patience towards us. May we be true witnesses of these to others?  Amen’

Fr.Jim Kirstein, SMA

28 August 2011

Jeremiah 20:7-9
Romans 12:1-2
Matthew 16:21-27

During the Liberian Civil war one of our SMA missionaries was kidnapped. For some time we did not know whether he was alive or dead. Eventually he was released after negotiations with the rebels. For over 100 years we have been working in Liberia, and during the civil war it was a very risky and dangerous time for our missionaries. Yet they continued to expose themselves to danger because of their strong faith. They know that to follow Jesus will involve suffering.

In the gospel today Jesus began to make it clear to Peter and the disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and the Scribes. He was to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. No sooner had Jesus said this than Peter reacted with violence. Peter had been brought up with the idea of a Messiah of power and glory and conquest. For him the idea of a suffering Messiah was incredible, in fact, unthinkable.  Peter ‘caught hold’ of Jesus, putting a protecting arm about him to try and stop him from following such a suicidal course. Peter’s words indicate this: ‘This must not and cannot happen to you’. And then came the great rebuke of Jesus that makes us catch our breaths – ‘get behind me Satan’. The literal meaning of the word ‘Satan’ is adversary. Peter’s words were not those of God but humans. What Jesus is saying here is that Peter cannot be the one who leads Jesus.  It is the other way round. Jesus is the Messiah and therefore the leader and all others are invited to follow. Jesus’ reaction contains both firmness and welcome. The Lord knows that discipleship involves a process. It takes time to understand and to put into practice.

So Peter’s Image of the Messiah, of God was a God of power and conquest, someone totally in control. Maybe we are like Peter at times. We wonder why God allows so much suffering in the world. Why doesn’t he use his power as we think he should? Again a human way of thinking. Sure, we would like to know but maybe in faith and humility we have to bow our heads and accept it. And whether we realise it or not the cross is at the very centre of all our lives.  It is easy to say this. But when suffering comes our way even when we try to lead a good life, we might feel tempted to stop following Jesus. The cross is not just on a wall in a room or in a church, or on a hill on Calvary, it is in all our lives when suffering or tragedy visits us. So it is not too difficult to understand Peter’s reaction.

We know that one does not have to be a Christian to experience the cross. Ultimately it is the motivation that counts. How will we react as Christians when any cross comes along? Jesus has gone the way before us and he invites us to follow him. We have his help and also his Holy Spirit to strengthen us.

We must remember too that each moment of our lives does not involve the cross. We could make people depressed if we gave that interpretation Reading the gospels we know that especially early on Jesus stayed in the houses of Peter, Mary and Martha. He certainly enjoyed eating and being with his friends and their families. But when the cross comes our way then Jesus is asking us to follow his way. Another reason for Peter’s strong reaction was that he began to realise more clearly what following Jesus involved.  It was not just only saying as we heard last Sunday, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ Neither was it the number of miracles or the great popularity Jesus enjoyed earlier on.

The first reading from the prophet Jeremiah is very instructive. He says ‘you seduced me Lord and I let myself be seduced.’ When first called by Yahweh Jeremiah did not see all the consequences of his call. Later on when speaking the message of Yahweh which the people did not want to hear, he suffered greatly at their hands. Nevertheless he continued to be faithful to his vocation in spite of this.

May it not be the same for us? When we marry at first all can seem great but gradually the demands of marriage and the continuing call to be faithful may be very difficult, at times even like a crucifixion. It won’t be any different for those called to priesthood or religious life. Our own experience then may help us understand what Jesus meant by saying that he would suffer, be put to death and be raised up on the last day. We need to hear this Good News as well as the rest of his statement about suffering. In fact, we will have many experiences of resurrection, of being raised up in our lives: the birth of a baby or a grandchild; the success of our children at school in spite of many difficulties during their school days and study times; the recovery from a serious accident or health problem etc.

‘Lord Jesus, you invite us to follow you when times are good and happy but also when suffering and difficulties come our way. You have walked the path ahead of us. You know our human struggles and are very patient with us when we fail. Give us your powerful Holy Spirit to help us to be faithful to the end.’

Fr. Jim Kirstein SMA

21 August 2011

Isaiah 22:19 – 23
Romans 11:33 – 36
Matthew 16:13 – 20

“Who do you say I am ?”…

We know Peter’s inspirational response –
        ‘You are the Son of the living God’.
We know the varied opinions of those who met the historical Jesus from Nazareth –  
        ‘John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets’.

But you!  Who do you say He is?

We too have varied opinions about Him and may even relate only to a historical Jesus of Nazareth who died 2000 years ago.  Or like St. Paul, do you recognise and believe in a Risen Christ.   If not, then ‘your faith is useless and my preaching is in vain’.

The risen Christ enables us to reach into the very depths of God which St. Paul refers to in his letter to the Romans. In seeing the person of the Christ we see the nature of God.  Christ told his followers ‘if you have seen Me you have seen the Father.  The Father and I are one’.

Knowing Christ enables us to plummet the depths of God’s wisdom and knowledge.  To come to an understanding of God’s motives and methods. All this while still recognising our dependency on Him.  Knowing our place in relation to Him.  As St. Paul reminds us today – “who could ever be His counsellor?  Who could ever give Him anything or lend Him anything?  All that exists comes from Him, all is by Him and for Him.  To Him be glory for ever!  Amen.”

Fr Tom Fenlon SMA, SMA House, Claregalway

14 August 2011

Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

An Invitation…
           … to strangers…
                     … can do marvels…

This Gospel story can make us ask, why did Jesus respond to the Canaanite woman in this way?

But perhaps rather than wondering if Jesus did the right thing or not in his response to the woman, it would be better for us to focus on our own life, our relationships and reactions to people who come across our path unexpectedly.

Jesus was in this area – a foreign environment – at the time because of the strong opposition of the Pharisees – he was rejected by the religious leaders.

• How often have you found yourself in a strange environment?
• When last did you feel like a stranger?
• Do you meet people who are not part of your circle of friends or work group?
• When last did you feel rejected?
• Have you said or done something to cause others to feel rejected?

In our changing world new horizons open up daily as more and more people move from their own home base to new environments. The new horizons may come about through personal choice or they may be forced on us by circumstances. No matter which way they come they present a challenge.

The new environment, our personal “region of Tyre and Sidon” can be the place of a new beginning just as it was for Jesus when he met the woman who kept asking for healing for her daughter. The new beginning happens when we get over the initial resistance to what comes at us or when we find ourselves challenged by new demands, new places, new cultures and new needs. While we may not be able to meet all the ways we or others would wish, we know that our choices do make a difference – we grow and others grow by creating a new beginning.

• What new beginnings can you name in your life?
• How has your life been enriched by new beginnings?
• When last did you welcome a ‘stranger’, a rejected or self-rejecting person?
• When did you say to someone, “you have great faith”?
• How is your faith today?

– Fr John Dunne SMA
Blackrock Road, Cork

31 July 2011

Isaiah 55:1-3
Romans 8:35, 37-39
Matthew  14:13-21

As much as they wanted

These times I find myself listening to news, reading about it and so often saying to myself: So much of it is bad! bad! Tales of war, destruction, suicide bombings, drought, famine. I picture parents struggling to get money to buy food to feed hungry children. I am sure many is the time there is simply no money, so no food. Until when? Only God knows!

In our Readings today, we hear much about the reverse side of the coin. We meet someone who has the power to give us food, all the food we would want. And no money needed.
“Though you have no money, come! Listen to me and you will have good things to eat”
– Isaiah 55:

Sounds too good to be true! But it is not just anyone who is calling. It is the Lord himself, opening wide His hand.
“You open wide your hand,
Grant the desire of all who live” – Psalm 144

The Gospel tells us of the 5,000 plus: “They all ate as much as they wanted”. From the wine at the wedding feast to the crowds that day out in the open country, there would be no rationing with the Lord.

The hunger in our world today is all too real and painful. But there are other hungers too -hunger for peace and security, hunger for help and comfort in difficulties and, perhaps the strangest and deepest of all, the hunger for happiness.

So what remains? To believe, to trust that the Lord is absolutely to be relied on.

“As much as they wanted”…
Where does your wanting, your hunger lie? Perhaps it is not all that obvious to you?
The offers of today’s Readings do not come any better in this life of ours. Why not reach out for them?

– Fr Mick McGrath SMA
Kaduna, Nigeria

24 July 2011 

1 Kings 3:5-12
Romans 8:28-30
Matthew 13:44-52

Near to where I lived in Cork an old man was dying. He had been a farmer all his life. Knowing he would die soon he called his sons and told them that he had hidden his money in a certain part of the farm which was a fairly big one. He explained to them exactly where it was. Then he showed them a copy of his will and how that money was to be divided among his children, his wife being already dead. It was not unusual many years ago for people to hide money in the ground. They distrusted banks especially in those days and felt safer with their money near them, very often in a field or garden.

So in the first little parable of today’s gospel the listeners of Jesus would have understood the background to the parable, as they would have been aware of the practice of people hiding money or treasure in a field or garden. This was still more the case in a land where a man’s garden might at any time become a battlefield. Palestine was probably the most fought over country in the world.  And when war threatened the people it was common practice for them to hide their valuables in the ground before they took to flight, in the hope that they could return one day and could then dig up what they had buried.

It seems that the latest occupant of the land was doing some farming. In other words he was about his daily work when very unexpectedly he came across the treasure. The first thing to notice is that it was during the course of his daily work. For the most part this is where we find God who rarely comes to us in extraordinary ways. If we are aware of God’s Incarnational or ordinary ways of coming to us we may find him much more in our lives than we thought. So when I bring my kids to school and they kiss and hug me on their return, here is surely a sign of God’s kissing and hugging me. When someone calls me on the phone to greet me there is God again inspiring the person to do this. Personally I have never experienced God kissing me or hugging me directly from heaven or phoning me from heaven! Have you? 

The other point in this little parable is the unexpected nature of finding the treasure. The parables suggest that things seem to happen by chance therefore surprising us. It is a way of saying that we are in the presence of mystery.  God’s gifts are always like that: totally free, unexpected and undeserved.

The main point of this little parable is the joy of the discovery that made the man willing to give up everything in order to make the treasure his own. The question begs itself. Is God our treasure? Are we so surprised by all the blessings we discover going through life that we will let go or give up all behaviour and attitudes that are contrary to God’s will.  Perhaps the most surprising aspect of all is that God regards us, his children, as his greatest treasure and he was prepared to give up all, even the life of Jesus on the cross for us, so that we could receive the fulness of life he has planned for us.  Is not this Good News?

In the second little parable the man is really searching for fine pearls. He finds a pearl of great price. And like the hidden treasure he is prepared to sell all he has and buy it. Are there not many people in our world searching for the pearl of great price, whatever or whoever it may be. We all search for a lasting happiness. Many search for it in wrong places or relationships. Many have tried these and found they didn’t answer their desires. Finally some turned to God and there found the pearl of great price they had been looking for. St.Augustine was one of these. Before his conversion he even sought it in a relationship with a woman with whom he a child. But it didn’t answer his deepest needs. Finally he turned to God and there he found the pearl of great price. The second little parable reminds us that God ought to be the pearl of great price in our lives. But is this true for you and me? Perhaps our lack of faith and trust prevents us from seeing God as such. Why not pray to him often to reveal himself to us as that great pearl and that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes and help us to respond generously and joyfully.

The third parable is that of a fishing net cast into the sea. Such a net does not select or discriminate. It is bound to include all it comes across. Jesus is telling us more Good News here. The Church is made up of saints and sinners. This is meant to be a reflection of God’s inclusive attitude towards us his children. The life of Jesus clearly showed this. He welcomed everyone.  It was one of the main reasons he was put the death. Most of the Jewish religious leaders were scandalised that Jesus accepted public sinners, adulterers, prostitutes, tax collectors etc as his friends. Can we do otherwise?

Just as a time of separation comes for the fisherman who keep the good fish and throw away the ones of no use, so too a time of separation will come when God will judge us. We are warned by Jesus not to judge others. All such separation must be left to God who is very compassionate, just and merciful.

“Lord Jesus, the three parables you have used in today’s gospel tell us that you are the treasure we really want to have, as well as being the pearl of great price. Help us not to settle for anything less. Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

17 July 2011

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
Romans 8:26-27
Matthew 13:24-43

A certain boy started Secondary School. He was quite intelligent as well as being good at sport. But he came from a disturbed family. The father had a drink problem and he and the wife were continually arguing and fighting. Before long this boy started to disturb the other boys in his class. At first he was warned to change his ways. But he didn’t seem to be able to do this. Then his parents were asked to see the principal of the school. As soon as he saw the parents he knew where the boy’s troublesome behaviour came from. Against the advice of a number of teachers who wanted to expel the boy for disturbing regularly, the principal who could see his great potential resisted. He took a personal interest in the boy who gradually because of the trust and concern of the principal began to improve his behaviour, eventually rewarding the principal’s patience and trust in him by finishing near the top of his class.

The opening parable of the gospel today is saying something similar. A farmer sowed good seed in his field but during the night his enemy came and sowed darnel or weeds among the wheat. When the wheat began to grow, the weeds appeared as well. The servants of the farmer felt the obvious thing to do was to pull out the weeds there and then. Amazingly the farmer said ‘no’. Rather, he told them to wait until harvest time and then they could gather the weeds in bundles and burn them.

In the parable, God is the farmer. God sows only good seed in our lives. Yet he knows that in the world there are people who live good lives and some who act in an evil way. This is quite obvious to us these days when we hear or see on our TV screens all the terrorist attacks in our world, many civil wars, not to mention the sexual exploitation of women and children as well as so much injustice. Many people ask the question ‘why doesn’t God weed out this people now and destroy them?’ The parable gives the answer. Like the school principal in the story only much more so, God sees the possibility for change in each of us. He is the God of many chances. He keeps on giving us more and more opportunities to change our ways. Why? Well, because he is God and that is the way God acts if we are to believe what Jesus does and teaches in the gospels. So Jesus is saying that it is God alone who makes the separation and amazingly he will only do so at the end of time. Where would any of us stand if it were otherwise and God weeded us out now? Which of us is without fault?

The Good News is that the parable is underlining the incredible patience and longsuffering of God towards us. He knows that there is the potential for good and evil in each of us. We all know this from our daily experience. And aren’t we all very blessed that God sees the great potential for goodness in each of us and gives us time to change. St.Peter says ‘think of God’s patience as your opportunity to be saved’.

Another reason why God allows the weeds in our lives even if he doesn’t put them there, is that if we didn’t have any struggles or shortcomings we would most probably not feel our need for God.  Experience tells us that it is when difficulties, suffering and trials come our way that we turn to God with greater focus and intensity. The terrorist attack of September 11 was a good example of this when many people who had lost interest in religion started praying and turning to God for strength and comfort.

In the parable the enemy came when everyone was asleep. By this we are reminded that in our lives as Christians we need to be vigilant. Isn’t it easy enough to get sucked into what is popular and to follow the present trends. For example we hear people saying ‘ I am living with my boy or girlfriend’.  After all many people are doing it. Or, if many people, even public personalities take bribes why shouldn’t I? Or again many people tell lies, why should I suffer by telling the truth. Does that mean that by doing these we are just in God’s eyes? For sure God will not punish us for these things but we will certainly punish ourselves and others whether we are found out or not. This is why God is giving us the time to convert as he knows we will suffer if we allow the weeds to become part of our lives. Sadly they can choke the wheat of peace and joy in our lives if we are not vigilant. We need to call often on God for his Holy Spirit to help us.

The parables in chapter 13 of Matthew’s gospel are about the presence of God’s kingdom in history and this involves a process. The kingdom does not arrive suddenly. Nor does conversion take place all at once.  For most of us it starts in a small way. This ought to encourage us. The parables of the yeast and the mustard seed in today’s gospel confirm this. God is patient with us.

Finally, the parable about the wheat and weeds leaves no room for ambiguous or lukewarm positions. We cannot choose both as Christians. When we are confronted with our own dishonesty or violation of basic of human rights we cannot be spectators. We have to choose life or death. We are constantly being called to be life-giving wheat. God knows we are capable of this and gives us his Spirit to do so.

 “Lord Jesus, help us to be more and more the life-giving wheat for others that you were. Amen”

Fr.Jim Kirstein, SMA

Reflection for Pentecost Sunday 2011 by Fr Pat Kelly SMA

Locked Up Holy Spirit

When great people die we often say their “spirit” lives after them. It’s not really their “spirit” – this accompanies them to await the final judgement. It’s really their “memory” that lives on and continues for a time to inspire their followers.

Jesus was different. After his Spirit ascended with him to heaven an amazing thing happened. On Pentecost he sent his Spirit back again into his disciples! He still sends his Spirit upon his followers today. Nobody else ever did that. The same Spirit that filled Jesus on earth – that empowered him to heal the sick and raise the dead – now lives in all who are open to receive him. On Pentecost we ponder this amazing truth!

“If this power abides in us” you ask, “why don’t I experience it? Why am I full of fears and anxieties? Why can’t I do the things that Jesus did?” (Read Mt.17:20) Lack of faith and trust can block this power being manifested in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is often represented as a dove. Imagine this dove locked up in a bird-cage. “I have the Holy Spirit” you say. “I received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation.” Yes, he dwells in you – but perhaps you don’t give him any freedom. Perhaps you don’t take time to encounter his presence within you or don’t trust him to guide your life. The result  – you don’t experience his power. The Holy Spirit locked in a cage. (Read Rom.8:11). This Pentecost – open the cage door!

– Fr Pat Kelly SMA
Tenafly, USA

5 June 2011

Acts 1:1-11
Eph 1:17-23
Mt 28:16 -20

A few years a certain man was driving along in his car and suddenly another car came out of a side street and collided with the car in front of him.  He went to court as a witness and although the lawyers of the driver who caused the accident tried to show that this witness may not have seen things exactly as they happened, he simply kept repeating what he saw. He spoke from his personal experience of the accident and he was so convincing as he never changed what he said no matter how often he was questioned, the judge was in no doubt that he was telling things exactly as he had witnessed them.

Today’s feast of the Ascension is a call to the disciples of Jesus to be witnesses to all the world of what they experienced when they were with him while he was still alive.  It is interesting that today’s gospel from St.Matthew does not focus on the Ascension as such but on the sending of the apostles to carry out his mission to make disciples of all nations. What matters about the Ascension is not so much about how it happened as to what it means, namely that the time of visible Jesus on earth is ended for he is now in glory in heaven. It is now the time of the apostles and the Church.

For the apostles the Ascension obviously meant three things:

1. It was an ending. One stage had finished and another had begun. The day when their faith was faith in a flesh and blood person, Jesus of Nazareth has gone. Their faith depended on his being with them physically. Now they are linked to someone who is forever independent of space and time.
2. But it was equally a beginning.  The disciples did not leave the scene heartbroken. They left it with great joy. Now they knew they had a master from whom they would never be separated. Did he not say: ‘And know that I am with you always to the end of time.’ So rather than seeing the Ascension just as the departure of Jesus we should see it as the sending of the Church on mission (you, me and all Christians). We are being asked to take the place of Jesus. Wow! Rather than seeing the Church as an orphan it should be seen as being given adult status, being given the responsibility to witness to Jesus Christ. That is how much trust and confidence Jesus has in us to continue his work.
3. Still further, the Ascension gives the disciples the certainty that they had a friend not only on earth but also in heaven. Surely it is the most priceless thing of all to know and feel that in heaven there awaits us that self-same Jesus who on earth was so marvellously kind. To die is not to go out into the dark; it is to go to him.

In the story at the beginning it was the personal experience of the man who witnessed the accident that gave him the assurance to witness clearly and simply. So too for us as Christians we will be able to witness to Jesus only to the extent of our own personal experience of him. What then is the extent of my personal relationship to Jesus?  Do I allow him to be a true friend, someone to whom I feel close?  Does my personal experience of what he has done for me in my life make me want to share my knowledge of him with others? It is like a young man who has fallen in love and keeps on telling his friends about his girlfriend. He feels more alive because of her. Is it like that with Jesus and me? If not maybe I should pray to have this personal experience of him.

The first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles tells us that Jesus informed the apostles that they were not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised, in other words to be baptised with the Holy Spirit. It was as if Jesus was telling them very clearly that unless they had this Holy Spirit they could not possibly witness to him, as he would have wished them to. It is almost as if he is telling them.  ‘Please, please, do not claim to be my disciples, my followers if you try to do this without the help of the powerful Holy Spirit because it is impossible without his help’. Trying to be a disciple of Jesus, a close follower of his is just not possible without the Holy Spirit whom we receive in Baptism and Confirmation.  But whether we are aware of this and live out of this reality is another thing altogether.

The first reading also tells us that when Jesus ascended into heaven the apostles were gazing into the sky as he was taken from their sight. But the two men in white standing there ask ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky?’ They are being told clearly that the Ascension rather than pointing to the skies directs the believers attention to the vast horizon of their mission on earth.

One very consoling fact in the gospel is that when the apostles saw him as he was about to ascend they fell down before him, though some hesitated. This phrase, ‘though some hesitated’ gives each of us so much courage and hope. That even though we may have certain doubts and hesitations about some aspects of our faith, these in themselves are no barriers to God using us. He sent out some hesitant apostles to be his witnesses. Can he not do the same with us if we offer ourselves to him?

‘Lord Jesus, help us to be true witnesses to you on earth with the help of the powerful Holy Spirit. Amen’

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

29 May 2011

Spirit of Truth…

“On a huge hill,
Cragged, and steep, Truth stands, and he that will
Reach her, about must, and about must go; 
And what the hill’s suddenness resists, win so”
                                                            – John Donne

The desire for truth is a fundamental aspiration of the human spirit.

This desire includes the desire to know the truth about what is happening in the world around us, but it is much more than that.

It is a desire for truth with a capital T. It is a desire a truth that not only illuminates the mind but that also liberates the heart. It is a truth that cannot be defined by words, only by living. Truth with a capital T is always more than knowledge. Knowledge is about things observed, but truth transcends the purely material levels. It is linked to wisdom and embraces the mysteries of who we are, where we came from and where we are going.

Knowledge originates in science; wisdom in true philosophy; truth in the religious experience of spiritual living. Knowledge deals with facts; wisdom, with relationships; truth, with ultimate values.

This is the Truth the 16th century English poet John Donne is referring to in the lines quoted above, lines which present the quest for truth as an arduous uphill journey.

In the Gospel today Christ tells us, however, that we are not alone in this quest. He sends us a helper, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, to accompany us in the quest. 

The Spirit of Truth not only teaches us a vision of life totally in harmony with the vision of God himself but guides us in all our decisions, actions and relationships, so that we may live by that vision. 

– Fr Michael McCabe SMA, SMA House of Studies, Nairobi, Kenya

15 May 2011

Acts of Apostles 2:14, 36-41
1 Peter 2:20-25
John 10:1-10

A certain young woman in her early thirties was a very fearful person. She was fearful of so many things: her health, that she would lose her job, that she might be killed in a car accident any day she travelled to work. She was fearful of risking marriage in case she married the wrong man etc. She really lived with so much fear in her life. That was 10 years ago. Since then there has been a great transformation in the life of this young woman.  She actually met a young man who understanding her fears gradually led her to an ever-greater freedom.  She eventually married him.

This young man reminds me of the last verse of today’s gospel when Jesus says ‘I have come that you may have life and have it to the full’. Of course the young man would never compare himself to what Jesus came to do. But he certainly helped the young woman who became his wife to have a much fuller, happier and less fearful existence. He led her out of her fears as the shepherd leads out his sheep.

What about you and me here this morning? How would we describe the quality of our lives?  Would we say that we are close to living life to the fulness? Are we at peace?  Do we experience much joy in our lives?  That is not to say that there won’t be difficulties and trials but deep down do we have this inner peace so many desire. So where do we go or to whom do we go to find this peace and joy? The great German mystic Meister Eckhart wrote: “As far as you are in God, thus far you are in peace and as far as you are outside God you are outside peace…for where you lack peace, you must necessarily lack God, since lack of peace comes from the creature and not from God”.

The image used for Jesus in the gospel today is that of a shepherd.  Jesus was living in a rural setting so the image of sheep and shepherd would have been familiar to the Jews. For the Jews down through their history God was seen to be a Good Shepherd for his people, always caring for them.

In the rural set-up of the time of Jesus a number of shepherds would bring their flocks home before night came. They would have put them into a common sheepfold or enclosure. Each night one shepherd would keep watch over all the sheep to guard against robbers or wild animals that could steal or kill the sheep. Early next morning all the shepherds would arrive, they would enter the sheepfold and call their sheep one by one, by name. The sheep would know the voice of their own shepherd who would lead them out to where they could pasture. Each shepherd knew his own sheep very well.

Like the young woman there are people who would are enclosed in their fears or addictions like drink, drugs, sex, money or power etc. That is why Jesus the Good Shepherd is inviting all to leave what is enclosing them and reach out for the fullness of life. He is inviting them to follow him to a greater freedom, peace, in fact to the fulness of life he offers in the gospel today.

There are many voices calling out to us each day. The voices of advertisements urging us to buy this or that product and so be happy. As if it was that easy. We rarely see sad faces in the adverts.  We are children of God and called into an ever-greater relationship with Jesus the Good Shepherd who alone can guide us along the way to true peace and joy.  I know a man who once decided to explore a large forest and nearly died of thirst because he got completely lost for nearly 3 days.  Luckily someone passed by the place where he was and so his life was saved.  From then on he would never enter the forest without a guide. Jesus the Good Shepherd is like that. A shepherd is there to guide his flock. We have a sure guide for life if we have a good relationship with Jesus. It is more than just saying prayers or going to Mass. It is asking him to teach us to become a real friend of his and have an ever-deeper friendship with him. The danger is that Jesus can remain a stranger to us unless we live close to him.

In Jesus’ time the true shepherd guided his flock, he nourished them, went after the stray, knew each sheep by name and assured their safety. Jesus does all this and even more for us if we allow him.

Before Jesus left the world, he commissioned Peter to feed his lambs and tend his sheep (John 21:15-16). The work of shepherding God’s flocks is an ongoing task that is entrusted to the whole church with Peter as head. As today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday or Vocations Sunday we need to ask ourselves two important questions:

1          Am I a faithful member of God’s flock?

2          How could I participate more closely in the work of shepherding God’s flock?

Popes and bishops as well as parents, school teachers, church ministers etc – all participate in various forms of shepherding God’s flock. How can I be a better shepherd in my own state, reaching out with understanding and compassion to the weak and misguided dropouts of church and society, so that through me they may hear the loving voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd?   Let us pray for genuine vocations to the priesthood, religious life and the lay state. 

“Lord Jesus, may I allow you to be the Good Shepherd in all areas of my life”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

8 May 2011

Acts of Apostles 2:14, 22-28
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24: 13-35

Some time ago I was visiting a family and one morning the mother was sending 2 of her children to school. After a kiss and a hug for each, her final words of advice were: ‘Remember you never, never talk to strangers’. Unfortunately in nearly all cultures today this is very necessary advice.

What would have happened in the gospel today if the two disciples had refused to talk to the stranger who appeared at their side and started to converse with them? He noticed that they were very sad and downhearted and asked them what they had been talking about that had caused this. We know the answer from today’s gospel, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know about the things that have been happening there these last few days’. And they describe what happened to Jesus. This leads to a frank and profound dialogue that set their cold hearts on fire with insight and inspiration. All because they trusted a stranger and were open to inform and be informed by him.

In their disappointment and sadness they say to this stranger ‘our hope had been that he would have been the one to set Israel free’.

What of us today? What are our hopes? Do we hope that Jesus will set us free not from the Romans as in the case of the Jews of Jesus’ time but from fears, prejudices, from looking at reality in a wrong way, from our inability to forgive etc.

Cleopas and his companion shared with the stranger all the way through. Not only were they ready to share their confidences with him, but they went all the way and shared their meal and shelter with him. It was in the process of this sharing that the moment of disclosure occurred and they suddenly realised that the one whom they had accepted all along as a stranger was indeed Jesus, the answer to all their heart’s questions. This discovery that the one in whom they had trusted, Jesus Christ, was indeed alive and not dead, gave new meaning to their lives, their faith and their vocation. Banishing all fear and fatigue they went back that same night to rejoin the apostles and followers of Jesus and share the good news with them that they had met the risen Lord and that they met him in the person of a stranger.

It is important to note that Jesus explained to the two companions all the scriptures had spoken about him. So it was in breaking the Word of God for them that opened their eyes also. He did not speak only about the wonderful things God had done for his people and is still doing for us. He spoke of the suffering which was part of his own human experience.

“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory”.  It is may be enough easy to speak generally about the cross in life. But when it touches our own lives we may wonder where God is. Yet in genuinely trying to do God’s will, suffering will come our way, as for example when we try to be faithful in marriage, be honest, forgive, show kindness to all we meet etc. Then we may expect in faith that we will also share in the resurrection of Jesus and not only when we die. We ought to pray for all priests each week that they would have the gift of preparing their homilies well by prayer so as to be able to break the Word of God for their Sunday congregations. They owe it to them to do this. It is not an option but indeed a serious obligation.

When Jesus went in with the 2 disciples for a meal, he breaks the bread in his own special way and immediately they recognize him in this action. We are told that their eyes were opened. It might be good for us to ask the Lord to open our eyes too to recognize him in his Word and in the sacrament of his Body and Blood each time we take part in the celebration of Mass.

The problem for us is that nearly always God appears to us in so ordinary ways, in so ordinary people and actions each day. If we fail to see him in these and wait for extraordinary signs we may never encounter him.

The resurrection was for Jesus the dividing line between earthly life when he was limited to the form of a male Jewish body, and his risen life when he is no longer limited in this way. The risen Lord now appears in all types of bodies: male and female, White and Black, young and old, rich and poor, those with special needs, native and immigrant, Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Muslim, liberal and conservative etc. Though we may see those who are different from us as strangers, today’s gospel challenges us to start seeing them simply as companions on the way. When we reach out to them in hospitality we reach out to God and so receive his blessing.

‘Lord Jesus, open our eyes to recognise you in the breaking of the Word of God and at the breaking of the bread at each Eucharist. May we also see you in the strangers in our midst.  Amen’.

Fr. Jim  Kirstein, SMA

1 May 2011

Acts of Apostles 2.42-47
1 Peter 1.3-9
John 20.19-31

Some time ago I was speaking to a young man of about 27 years. He wanted to make a decision. He had been going with his girlfriend for the previous two years and he felt the time had come for him to decide whether to marry her or not. He listed many good qualities she had but he still wasn’t sure. He said also ‘when I see so many marriages nowadays ending up with couples separating how can I be certain the same won’t happen to us if we marry’. The simple answer is, of course, he can’t be certain. What would you think of this young man if before marrying he wanted every guarantee and assurance that he was not going to make a mistake in marrying his girlfriend? Many would regard him as a very calculating young man who had not much of a heart to give.

Maybe things have not changed much since the first Easter, and so, like Thomas, sometimes called ‘Doubting Thomas’, we may continue to ask for more than is needed in order to believe. Maybe we too would like to see and touch Jesus and have everything proved beyond doubt. We could not then be said to believe as there would be nothing left to believe in. Neither faith nor love call for absolute certainty.

Perhaps too we may think that having doubts of faith is something to be ashamed of. In fact if we have doubts and still believe in spite of them are we not making a great act of faith in the other? So like the young man doubting whether to marry or not, we too may have our doubts but basically we are saying to God.  ‘I believe in you’.  Even on the human level is not this a great gift, a great compliment to pay to another? Did you ever say to another ‘I believe in you’ as hopefully the young man decided to say to his girlfriend, ‘I believe enough in you to want you to be my wife. I believe we can have a very good future together and work through whatever difficulties may arise. Yes, I love you because I believe in you’. Did anyone ever say to you ‘I really believe in you’?  How did you feel as a result?

In the gospel today we have many doubters, not just Thomas. We have the disciples locked into the Upper Room because of fear. They were afraid that what happened to Jesus would happen to them. They have lost all faith in ever seeing Jesus again.  After all, he died on the cross and was buried. And then the unthinkable happens. Jesus appears in their midst.  His opening words are ‘Peace be with you’ and he repeats it again. There is no condemnation and we are told the disciples are filled with joy when they saw the Lord. But Thomas was not there and he refuses to believe them when they tell him about the appearance of the Risen Jesus. Eight days later Jesus appears again and this time Thomas is there. Again the opening words of Jesus are: ‘Peace be with you’. And in his great love Jesus came to the doubting Thomas and allowed him to touch his hands and side.  Then Jesus says ‘You believe because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and believe’. Hopefully we are among those whom the Lord addresses. John is saying very clearly that the faith of the Church in the Risen Jesus does not depend on the sort of proof Thomas demanded. The reason for writing the gospel is then given. All the signs and miracles of Jesus are recorded so that people may believe that Jesus is the Son of God and believing they may have life in his name. The purpose of believing in Jesus is to have the fulness of life.

When Jesus appears to the disciples in today’s gospel he showed them his hands and feet meaning he went back to his Father in his woundedness. This is to say that we too can have confidence in going back to our Heavenly Father in our woundedness. Unlike Jesus whose wounds were physical, ours are our sins. And the Good News is that our wounds are no obstacle to our being with God. In fact he wishes we go to him and allow him to embrace us, wounds and all, as did the father of the Prodigal Son.

We are also told in today’s gospel that Jesus breathed on the disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit. We too are sent by Jesus and so need this Holy Spirit to witness to Jesus especially his forgiveness.

A very important aspect of today’s gospel is that the mission to proclaim the forgiveness of sins is entrusted to the community as a whole and not only to certain leaders. John describes the group simply as the gathering of the ‘disciples’.

It is above all by forgiving others that the gospel or Good News looks to the future, opening up the possibility of a new existence. We can always begin anew with God after failures.  The joyful realisation that one has been accepted by God even after betrayal and sin is a central part of the Easter experience and brings with it an obligation to become God’s instrument in announcing his forgiveness to all.

“Lord Jesus we believe you are risen from the dead. Praise you for always being faithful, always ready to forgive and especially for accepting us totally in our woundedness. Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Holy Thursday 2011 – Year A

During a TV interview a well-known Muslim scholar said that ultimately there is only one sin and all others come from that sin. What would you name as the worst sin?  He was quite clear that the greatest sin of all is forgetfulness. According to him if we forget Allah (or for us, God) we forget who we are, what we are about and where we are going. We are like people wandering about without any goal in life, being blown this way and that by whatever prevailing wind blows – pleasure, drugs, money, etc.

I think he is correct. For a year before my mother died she had Alzheimer’s disease, e.g. loss of memory. My mother couldn’t recall who had visited here 5 minutes earlier, when she had eaten last, if she had forgotten to turn off the gas – very dangerous, you’ll agree. It was very hard for us to see her like that. She had forgotten the most important things, through no fault of hers.

Tonight’s feast, the celebration of the institution of the Lord’s Supper is all about remembering.  Remembering who God is, who we are, what we are called to be. Above all it is a call to gratitude or to thanksgiving which is the Greek word for Eucharist. In the first reading, the Jews are warned not to forget one of the greatest events in their history – the Passover Meal. This meal is still for Jewish communities around the world a commemoration of the Jews as God’s people, namely their liberation from slavery in Egypt. For us as Christians it is a re-enactment of our Christian Passover from slavery, the slavery from sin to the freedom of the children of God.

On the night before he died Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, which became our Eucharist. The account is taken from John’s gospel. John himself does not have a Last Supper scene in his gospel, rather he assumes the Christians know about it and so he interprets the meaning of the Last Supper for us. The love of Jesus for us in giving his life and in instituting the Eucharist is bound up with the idea of service – the washing of the feet. This was the work of a slave at the time of Jesus, but Jesus the Lord and Master tells us that leadership among his followers is a leadership of loving service. To be a leader, to have authority in God’s church is to serve others in love. It is about serving not in any kind of condescending way but a service among equals.

When Jesus went down on his knees to wash the disciples’ feet Peter was appalled. And he cried out ‘you shall never wash my feet’. Here Peter reveals the mentality of those, and surely we can count ourselves among them at times, that the master never serves but is served and obeyed.  But Peter has to learn that in God’s kingdom it is the leader who is the one who serves.  It is a message for bishops, priests, religious, parents, teachers, employees, managers, chief executives, in fact for all of us.  And yet most ordinary people I know do this, parents in taking care of their children or aging parents, mothers preparing meals, fathers trying to earn enough to take care of their families, young people in voluntary organisations helping the old, sick, etc. 

If God got down on his knees before you or me here tonight would we have the fundamental poverty needed to accept this graciously?  So the incredible love and humility of Jesus in getting down on his knees at the last Supper was just another expression of what he did on the Cross the next day. Each action was a total offer of love, self-sacrifice and service for us.

The spirit of Holy Thursday is a spirit of self-acceptance. Simply because, first of all, the spirit of Jesus on Holy Thursday was precisely that: the acceptance of what Good Friday would bring.  It involves all that is still to come in our lives, not just the Good Fridays, but the Holy Saturdays, the Easter Sundays and afterwards. Indeed it involves every aspect of our vocation.

Jesus ‘yes’ on Holy Thursday was essentially no different from what occurred on Good Friday, it was only the outer expression of the inner ‘yes’ that Jesus always gave to his Father. His ‘this is my body given for you’ of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday was in essence no different from the ‘yes’ which he physically lived on Good Friday. Obviously, Good Friday was a very dramatic, humiliating and painful living out of the consequences of his ‘yes’.  

Jesus always said ‘yes’ to the Father. Whether he was working in the carpenter’s shop or instituting the Last Supper, or hanging on the Cross. For Jesus, it was always ‘yes’ to his Father.

“Lord Jesus, we praise and thank you for your great humility, for getting down on your knees before the apostles to wash their feet. Help us to follow your example of loving, humble service too. Amen”

Fr Jim Kirstein SMA 

Acts of Apostles 10.34, 37-43
Col. 3.1-4
John 20.1-9

I once visited a family with 4 children. The parents explained to me that their youngest, a boy of 14 years, had special needs with regard to his educational ability. With patience he could understand most things unlike the others who learned more quickly. The parents particularly loved this child and seemed to give him more of their love and attention because of his particular needs.

When we read the gospel today we might well think that the apostles and the women who followed Jesus were people who took time to learn, a bit slower on the uptake than many others. Many times when he was alive Jesus had told them that he would suffer, die, but would rise again. Obviously they didn’t grasp what he was saying. At the end of today’s gospel we heard ‘till this moment they had failed to understand the teaching of scripture’. Could we not also say that just as the parents gave their youngest son more of their attention and love, Jesus did the same for the disciples? Whilst he was often frustrated with them as the gospels tell us, he never gave up on them, just as he never gives up on us. Now at the empty tomb we are told one of them John ‘saw and believed’. It seemed to have taken a while longer for the others including Peter to believe fully that Jesus had truly risen. Are we ourselves not like that too? Are we not slow learners?  Those of us who are older now probably experience a deeper conviction that Jesus is risen than say 20 years ago.

Many of us may have had a similar experience to that of a friend of mine who said that when he was younger he gave lip service to the idea that Jesus was risen. But the more he prayed to Jesus over the years especially in times of great difficulty the more he experienced the presence and help of Jesus in his life. He will now say that he is convinced that Jesus is risen because of his own personal experience. I think this an important point for us to remember. The empty tomb is not the basis for our belief in the resurrection of Jesus. The conviction that Jesus was risen came to his disciples not because of an empty tomb as such but because they had experiences of meeting the Risen Jesus. When we read the gospel accounts of the Risen Jesus appearing to them he is not exactly as he was before. Yes, it is he but he is also different. They still doubt as they meet him in his glorified state so he has to convince them by phrases such as ‘It is I, touch me and see for yourselves’ or ‘have you anything to eat?  And they give him a piece of grilled fish’. I know that for myself I am totally convinced that Jesus is risen because of my own very many experiences of his presence to me.  He is a real, living power at work in my life whenever I allow him.

Why do we rejoice today?

We rejoice because our faith in Christ has been vindicated, truth has triumphed over falsity, justice over injustice, good over evil. It is like watching one of the episodes of Batman. First you see an innocent and helpless victim being attacked, robbed, kidnapped, assaulted and tortured by a wicked assailant. And we feel so bad seeing the triumph of the bad guy. Then, almost at the point where the victim has given up hope and is at the point of death, down from the skies comes Batman to the rescue. He battles and defeats the bad guy and rescues the innocent victim. And we feel happy inside at the triumph of justice.

Good Friday was not the last word as it seemed at the time to the apostles. Easter Sunday is God’s last word. He is saying to us very clearly that Easter Sunday is not just one day in the year. Every day since then has within it the potential for God to triumph over Satan, for justice to conquer injustice, love and forgiveness to overcome hatred and evil. It is the invitation by God to each of us that even though we may suffer for awhile, that is never the will of God. If people choose evil instead of good, death instead of life, even out of what seems totally impossible situations God will eventually triumph.

But God asks us to be Easter people to cooperate with him in trying to make the world a better place.

On Holy Saturday night we heard the story of creation. God wants us to work with him in creating the world to be a better place. Surely we can see this happening in all the trouble spots of the world. We see the international community going to the aid of those who suffer the tragedy, of earthquakes or wherever there is famine. We see peacemakers trying to negotiate peace wherever there is conflict and often succeeding. This is resurrection being lived out on a daily basis.

The raising to new life of Jesus Christ by the Father is a promise to us that God can do the same for us. He can offer us life where there is now death, goodness where there is now evil, light where there is darkness, freedom where there is any kind of slavery in our lives. Little wonder Easter Sunday is the greatest feast in the Church.  It is underlining for us that our God is a God of Life, Light, freedom etc. Jesus said it best when he said “I am the Resurrection and the Life’ and ’I have come that you may have life and have it to the full’.

“Lord Jesus, we praise you for your victory over sin, evil and death.  When trials come our way and when we doubt, give us the Spirit to believe strongly that you will help us to be victorious too.  Amen.”

Fr Jim Kirstein SMA

17 April 2011 – Palm Sunday

Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

Recently I was speaking to a woman who practises Zen meditation. She grew up as a Catholic. When I tried to explain to her that in the Passion narrative which we hear today we have to be honest and say that from the moment he chose them as his apostles, the 12 and the other disciples appear as a very human and weak group. Are not many of us like this at times? They come across to us as men who constantly misunderstand the message of Jesus. They stay with him but as the likelihood of Jesus being put to death becomes clear they all abandon him and run away’. Her reaction to me at that stage was: ‘Well if that is how those who were close to Jesus acted, what hope is there for the Church now?’  And, of course, she is right if the crucifixion of Jesus was the end of the story. But it isn’t. The resurrection of Jesus gives a whole new way of looking at life and what the Risen Jesus is offering us.

We are entering Holy Week today as we celebrate Palm Sunday. The Paschal or Passover mystery of Jesus, his passage from death to life, is the heart of our faith. The account of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus forms the oldest part of the gospels. It is what the disciples recorded first. We must remember that we have the great advantage of reading and celebrating the Passion accounts of the life of Jesus knowing how it all ended with his Father gloriously raising him from the dead. At the time of Jesus the disciples didn’t have that luxury. They had pinned all their hopes on Jesus. The earlier part of his life was a great success story, with huge crowds following him especially when he performed many miracles.  But, bit by bit, as he began to mention suffering and death in Jerusalem they began to have doubts and many stopped following him. Finally, the arrest of Jesus was too much for the disciples and we are told they all deserted him, except some brave women who remained faithful to the end. Little wonder it was to those that he first appeared after his resurrection!

Matthew’s version of the Passion goes into details. The betrayal, the fear, and the denial of the apostles are openly pointed out. The Master bewilders them. The same for those who wish to put him to death, either the Roman or Jewish leaders. Their security and vested interests are threatened and they wash their hands of Jesus. They act as if we can deny our responsibilities as easy as that.

They accuse Jesus of wanting to become a king. Jesus does accept his kingship but it differs from that of Herod’s or Caesar’s. It is a kingdom of service, not of domination. It is the choice of the One who emptied himself and surrendered himself to death on a cross. For anyone wishing to follow Jesus this emptying or humiliation is the obligatory path to serve others. It is the path followed by the Master and the one which the disciples today will have to follow if they are to be true to their calling.

One way of responding to the Passion narrative or story is to ask myself where do I stand myself now?  Which of the characters in the drama can I associate with most?  Am I at times like Pilate who had not the courage to stand up for the truth?  He had no just reason for condemning Jesus yet his fear of losing his position as governor would have been put in danger if the Jewish leaders complained him to the emperor.  Have I acted like the Jewish religious leaders who were not prepared to listen to the truth of what Jesus was saying? This which would have demanded a radical change in the way they were asked to respond to God, not from self-interest but of loving and humble service to all.  The soldiers mocked Jesus and even spat at him.  How do I treat others under my authority, at work or wherever?  Do I mock others in my thoughts or by my words or actions?  What of the disciples of Jesus, all betrayed him and deserted him.  Am I always faithful in following Jesus or have I deserted him for fear of what others may say if I act in a truly Christian way which may be contrary to popular opinion?

Above all let us look at the inner emotional state of Jesus.  How do you think he felt when those he chose to be his close friends deserted him?  When he was in the Garden of Gethsemene he was full of fear and distress.  He knows from the inside what it is to be fully human.  So he called out to his Father to spare him all the suffering that he would have to undergo. If Jesus wanted so much to avoid suffering and healed so many who were sick do we still believe in a God who we wrongly think wants to punish us and make us suffer.  As Jesus cried out on the cross ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me’ and no answer came from God will Jesus not now understand our situation when God at times doesn’t seem to answer our call for help as and when we wish it to be?

“Lord Jesus, we have sinned, we have sinned. Praise and thank you for becoming as human as we are. Help us to realise that suffering and death are part and parcel of life. We believe you are with us every step of the way. Praise you for being faithful to your Father. Praise you for the Good News that suffering and death are not the end but the door to the fullness of life with you beginning now. Amen.”

Fr.Jim Kirstein, SMA

10 April 2011

Ezekiel 37.12-14
Romans 8.8-11
John11.1-45 

A number of years ago my father called me, as he had to go into hospital and said: “I might not come out alive as I have a serious blood complaint”. A few nights later the nurse went to see him and she said: “There is a priest in the hospital now. Do you wish to see him?”   My father replied ‘no’.  An hour later she was back.  ‘The priest is still here. Maybe you should see him’.  My father who never seemed to fear anything asked ‘am I dying?’  The nurse replied ‘it seems you may be’, so my father said ’o.k. send him along’.  Later on my father said ‘the moment the priest anointed me with the oil of the sick I knew I was healed’.  My father didn’t see himself as a religious person. He lived a good number of years after that incident and felt he had been given a new lease of life – a kind of resurrection experience.

In the gospel today we hear Jesus being invited to go to the home of Mary and Martha who send him a short message ‘he whom you love is sick’. They refer to their brother Lazarus. They did not ask Jesus to go to the house. They gave him the freedom to respond to their request as he wished. Going to their house to see Lazarus was a risk. The enemies of Jesus were out to get him. Thomas, one of the 12 knew this and says in v.16 – ‘let us go too and die with him’. Despite this, his friendship with this family of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, people Jesus loved, was enough reason for him to risk his life to go to them in their time of trouble. When Jesus arrives at the village Martha meets him and she shows great trust by saying: “If you had been here my brother would not have died, but I know that, even now, whatever you ask of God he will grant you”. Jesus then tells her that her brother will rise again and she says she believes that he will rise again at the resurrection on the last day. Then comes the great statement of Jesus. “I AM THE RESURRECTION. If anyone believes in me, though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”  Martha believes.

What of us? Do we believe? How fully do we believe it? It is surprising how many Catholics claim to follow Jesus and yet have problems with the resurrection from the dead.

The resurrection is the central belief of our Christian religion. And as Jesus said above – whoever believes in him though he dies, he will live. Obviously there are people who are enslaved by sin now and Jesus is offering them freedom from this slavery now. It could be the slavery of fear, of drink, drugs, hatred, unforgiveness, of what others think of them or whatever. The resurrection begins now if we wish it by calling on Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life to free us, unbind us. Towards the end of the story when Jesus goes to the tomb and asks for the stone to be taken away Martha objects. She says:’It is now the fourth day. He will smell’.  Jesus asks her to trust him. Is there not always the danger that in the face of a big problem we will seek a human solution only? Here we are asked to believe and not to reduce God’s capacity to help us to our way of thinking.

So here we have Lazarus in the tomb which is closed off by a large stone. He is in the darkness. He is dead. He is bound with cloth. This is a good image of how we ourselves can feel like at times thinking there is no way out. Jesus is there. He asks for the stone to be removed. He calls out in a loud voice “Lazarus come forth”.

He does. Jesus lifts up the one who was lying down, loosens what was bound and gives life to the man who was dead. Jesus is saying here that the can call us forth from whatever tombs we may be in now.  Whatever the darkness may be for us, he can call us into the light as he himself said more that once ‘I am the light of the world’. He can unbind us too from whatever prevents us from moving freely as children of God.

It is important to remember that prior to calling Lazarus from the tomb Jesus prays to his Heavenly Father.  It is a prayer of communion with his Father and the conviction that since what he is asking the Father for is that those standing around will believe, his prayer will be answered.  It is.

Finally, it is good to note too that Jesus asked the help of others to remove the stone, to unbind Lazarus.  Jesus still uses us to help him give new life to others until the day arrives when we will receive the fullness of eternal life after we die.

In the second reading St.Paul reminds us that nowadays this is the work of the Spirit within us. The Spirit dwells in us and so death is already overcome. The Spirit must eliminate the fear paralysing us, from closing in on ourselves and preventing us from seeing what is new in our lives. Also where God is challenging us to do what we can to help our brothers and sisters to be free in whatever way we can.

“Lord Jesus we believe that you are the Resurrection and the Life. Free us on all levels of our being where we are entombed, bound, unfree and lacking in a real faith in your power to raise us up now and after death.  Amen”.

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

3 April 2011

1 Samuel 16:1,6 – 7,10 – 13
Ephesians 5:8 – 14
John 9: 1 – 41

A young woman was engaged to be married. Her friends told her that she was unwise to do so as her fiancé was an alcoholic. But she couldn’t see this. It seems her love for him blinded her from seeing his drink problem. Not too long before the marriage they were out for a meal. He got so drunk that he actually hit her as she complained about his behaviour. At that moment her eyes were opened to what her friends had been telling her. She broke off the engagement. Sometime later a young man she grew up with but was never attracted to, reappeared in her life and then she saw him in a completely new way. Her eyes were opened to his goodness and other qualities. Eventually they got married and are doing well.

In the gospel today we have a blind man whose eyes are opened by Jesus.  The opening of the man’s eyes symbolises the opening of the disciples’ eyes to faith. The phrase ‘opening of eyes’ appears 7 times in the story like a refrain in a TV advert. This story keeps emphasising that the man was blind from birth. To heal him meant the beginning of a completely new life, a life where he can see. The blind man is also a beggar. The prevailing thinking of that time was that his blindness was a punishment because of his own sin or the sin of his parents, as the disciples show in their question to Jesus. So others would look down upon him. He would be avoided. In the society of his time he would be an outsider. 

Jesus sees him, takes pity on him and opens his eyes. It is Jesus who takes the initiative even before the man could ask. We probably cannot imagine what this meant to him. By healing him of his blindness Jesus frees him on a number of levels. He is physically healed. He is no longer an outsider in society, he is part of it. He has received a new dignity. Jesus raises him up. Above all his eyes are opened spiritually also because as the story progresses he accepts Jesus as the Son of Man.

To heal him Jesus uses mud and saliva, which may surprise us. People believed that saliva could heal. We know now that saliva is a kind of antibiotic. That is why dogs and other animals lick their wounds. But more importantly by using mud Jesus helps us to remember that God used mud to create Adam, the first man. So here too is a new creation. Jesus is making a new man. Jesus tells him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam which is symbolic of baptism, when in faith we believe we become children of God.

The terrible irony or tragedy of course is that when the man is brought to the Pharisees to confirm the healing as the Law required, they do all they can to discredit Jesus the healer. The fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath was a violation of the Law so he couldn’t be from God. Yet others claimed that since he had worked a miracle he had to come from God. But many of these Pharisees, Jewish religious leaders persisted in their refusal to accept Jesus. They who should have been the first to recognise Jesus because of the miracle were blind. Like the young woman in the story at the beginning who at first was blinded to the drink problem of her fiancé, the Pharisees were blind also though a few did accept.

After his healing the man’s friends and neighbours discuss his identity. Is it really the same person because the beggar was blind and this man can see? Because he has changed some cannot accept him. We may recall St.Paul. After his conversion most disciples of Jesus found it hard to accept he had changed. Was it really the same person? They were afraid that it couldn’t be true. We ourselves may know of people who were once lukewarm Christians or had fallen away from the faith, but who later had a conversion experience and now are very committed followers of Jesus. Their eyes were opened and this led to a change in their behaviour. For you and me if we are lukewarm in our following of Jesus, do we need an identity change too? Will we ask Jesus to open our eyes so that we can see him as he really is, Lord and Saviour of our lives?  Like the blind man he will give us a new life-giving identity. But maybe we are scared of what this will demand of us as if God would ask more of us than we could give.

These Pharisees do all they can to discredit the blind man. They question him about what happened. He simply retells his experience of the cure. They don’t believe him. So they send for his parents who suggest to the Pharisees that he speak for himself. They were afraid that if they were seen to accept Jesus they would be barred from the synagogue too. Because of the blind man’s persistent confirmation that Jesus had opened his eyes, and so is from God, he is eventually rejected by the Pharisees.

Jesus, the Light of the world, hears that the man has been expelled, goes in search of him and finds him. He reveals himself as the Son of Man and the man formerly blind, bows down and worships him.  Jesus then condemns the Pharisees for being so blind that they won’t see him for who he truly is.

The Good News is that Jesus wants to reveal himself to us too and open our eyes where we are blind.

“Lord Jesus, open our eyes to all that blinds us from accepting you fully as our loving God and from letting go of all that does not lead to true peace and seeing all as our brothers and sisters too. Amen’

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

27 March 2011

 Exodus 17:3 – 7
Romans 5:1 – 2; 5 – 8
John 4:5 – 42 

One time a 12 year old girl was sent by her family, living in a semi desert area, to a well three miles away to get a bucket of water. On her way back a snake appeared almost under her feet.  She jumped away from it and sadly all the water in the bucket was lost as she fell. Because it would have been unthinkable to return home without water she had no other choice but to make her way back to the well for water and take it home. The overall journey was about 7 miles. For her family water meant life.

We live in countries where we can turn on the tap. Probably it is almost impossible for us to appreciate how people in poor countries suffer to have water just to survive.

The gospel we have just heard is about the Woman at the Well and also centres on the theme of water and life. The woman can be said to represent three oppressed groups with which Jesus and the gospel are interested: women, prostitutes and sexually immoral people generally – all kinds of outsiders. These are people regarded by many religious people as being unclean and far from God.

The woman here is a Samaritan. These Samaritans were regarded by the Jews as infidels because their religion and customs were mixed with pagan elements. The Jews and Samaritans were enemies and would have had nothing to do with each other. Once again Jesus goes beyond prejudices – religious and political boundaries and speaks to the woman who is amazed that he would do so. But the love of God knows no limits, and the God Jesus proclaims does not fit into the spaces we build for him or into the concepts through which we attempt to understand him.

Not only that but Jesus is at the mercy of the woman in the sense that he needs her help to have a drink of water. Here is an amazing reversal of roles. It is interesting to note that Jesus never worked a miracle for himself. Here he is in need of water. He is also hungry and has sent his disciples to the town to buy bread. We may rightly be amazed at how human Jesus reveals himself to us here. He is very tired as he sat down immediately by the well. He also has to be patient until someone came along to draw water, most probably a woman. It was a woman’s task to draw water, not that of a man. Does not all this give us great courage to approach Jesus in our human and spiritual needs?

This woman who had five husbands and was presently living with another is the one Jesus chooses to dialogue with, to relate to. She came alone in the hottest part of the day probably because the other women in the town rejected her because of her immoral lifestyle. Usually women in that culture came to the well in groups and in the cooler times of the day.

Jesus starts off by asking for a drink of water and she obviously thinks of the water in the well. Almost at once Jesus raises the conversation to another level. Jesus now promises her living water. Misunderstanding him she argues again on the human level. Jesus goes further and says to her ‘Everyone who drinks the water in the well will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’.  

In this dialogue we see that it is really Jesus who is longing for something. He is thirsting to give salvation (the water welling up to eternal life) to the woman and to whomever else he encounters. He also has eternal food to offer – himself – and not the human food that the disciples come back with from the town. Later on in John’s Gospel, chapter 7, Jesus invites all by saying ‘If anyone is thirsty let them come to me. Let anyone come and drink who believes in me for from his breast shall flow fountains of living water’. Jesus is in fact here talking about the life-giving Holy Spirit.

The woman is so amazed by this offer of living water and by Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah that she hurries off. She wants to tell her townspeople about Jesus. She is so full of what has taken place. As a result they come and persuade Jesus to stay with them which he does for two days. They now believe in Jesus because of their own experience of him but it was the woman who brought them to Jesus.

Here Jesus uses someone to be a missionary about him to others whom religious people have rejected. She was immoral, had five husbands and was at that time cohabiting with another. A non-Jew as well, therefore considered an infidel. The Good News is that despite our sinfulness, failings etc God can use us if we accept his call which comes to us because of the water of baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

What is the water we seek to quench our thirst with? – the water welling up to eternal life which Jesus offers or the polluted water from the wells of pleasure that cannot deliver peace and joy, or the water of success, wealth, power, drugs, etc? The Good News is that the living water Jesus offers us is free and we have but to ask for it. It alone can satisfy our longings and deepest desires.

“Lord Jesus, thank you for the life-giving water you offer us freely. Help us to reveal you to others too”.

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

20 March 2011

Genesis 12.1-4
2 Timothy 1.8-10
Matthew 17.1-9

Many years ago a young man from Canada who came from a rich family was appointed as a professor in a famous university. Because of an experience he had in meeting people with special needs he gave up his university career and a great future. He took in two young men with special needs and lived with them feeling called by God to treat them as normally as he could rather than allowing them to remain in a big institution where they received very little human friendship. The man’s name is Jean Vanier. He is regarded by many as a modern saint. From his own experience he started a foundation called L’Arche meaning Ark in which throughout the world there are over 100 small communities looking after those with special needs in as human a way possible. This man has literally transfigured the lives of these people. One can see their joy and happiness when he visits them. But most of the time it is a very challenging lifestyle for the people who have dedicated themselves to caring for them daily.

The times when Jean Vanier visits his communities are full of joy for the residents themselves and their helpers They are like transfiguration experiences. These highpoints encourage the helpers to be faithful to their daily commitment, struggle and hard work with the residents when he is not around.

Perhaps the gospel account of the Transfiguration is like that. This experience comes between two prophecies of his passion and death that Jesus gave to his disciples. The three disciples, Peter, James and John were privileged to see Jesus transfigured. Yet these three same disciples will also be with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene. It is as if Jesus wants them to see that his difficult life, his passion and death are not the end of the story. He gives them a preview, an advance look at what is the climax of his vocation.

It is as if we watch a preview of a movie, getting only an idea of highpoints without being told the final part of the movie. The final part of Jesus’ life is not his Passion and Death but the Resurrection and Ascension. Thus today’s gospel is a reminder to each one of us his followers, that despite the suffering, pain, difficulties in life that we experience it is not the end of the story. At the end of our lives there too will be the ultimate transfiguration for us as sons and daughters of God.

And yet does not each of us get occasional glimpses of great joy and happiness? It may be the birth of our first child, sheer delight at seeing the baby for the first time and in the months after. Yet there will be a lot of struggle to bring up the child as we would wish. There may be sickness, misunderstandings, and rebellion on the child’s part. But also at birthday times or other highpoints in our lives we are maybe almost overcome with joy and happiness. Perhaps for others it may be a recovery from a serious illness or falling in love. But we know these experiences are not the norm in that they do not last, but they give us the strength and courage to deal with our daily struggles.

Peter on the mountain wanted to build a permanent place and stay with that experience of joy at seeing Jesus transfigured. But he is very quickly reminded that the mountaintop experience is a passing experience, though very important to serve as a reminder when later on suffering and rejection come the way of Jesus their memory of the transfiguration will encourage and support them. Life has to go on.

The Good News is that each one of us who is a disciple of Jesus will one day be fully transfigured or transformed too. As we go through life and are trying to be faithful to Jesus we know that we are gradually being transformed into being more kind, more loving, forgiving and so on. If God can transform bread and wine each time at Mass into the Body and Blood of Jesus can he not transform us also? This is why going to Mass is so important. It is both a reminder of what God is doing for us and also to receive the nourishment that allows change to happen in our lives. Our Father says from the cloud ‘this is my Son the Beloved, listen to him. To listen to Jesus and live out what he asks is a constant struggle. Listening to Jesus and to God’s Word at Mass can transform us if we are open. To listen to Jesus means to hear what he says, to accept what he says and to make it our own, to identify with it.

Maybe we also have the experience of the three disciples who fell to the ground in fear because of being in the darkness of the cloud. When our faith is weak, when we doubt God, when we fail maybe we too feel fearful like the disciples. We feel as if we are in a cloud. Yet we can be sure that Jesus will be there to touch us as he did the disciples and encourage us with the same words, “Do not be afraid”.

The Transfiguration experience for the three disciples and for us is meant to serve as a glimpse of what is to come. It is an encouragement; it is given to reinforce our faith in the face of future difficulties and trials. It is to encourage us to follow Jesus and not give up along the way. We are called to be people of hope.

“Lord Jesus, Abraham is our father in faith.  Let us be courageous like him in setting out on our journey of faith confident that God our loving Father will transform us too despite our struggles and failings”.

Fr Jim Kirstein SMA

13 March 2011

Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7
Romans 5:12, 17-19
Matthew 4:1-11

Some years ago I spent some months in France to learn French. Whilst there I met a Catholic couple who were very helpful to me. One day the wife said to me that shortly after their marriage she told her husband that he would always be second in her life as God would have the first place. He was not in any way as religious as she was and he could not accept what she said. In fact he was quite jealous of God as he felt that he himself and not God should be the centre of their relationship. Maybe she was a bit naïve in telling that to him.

This first Sunday of Lent presents the drama of temptation. This is primarily what the first reading and the gospel are about. It is not so much about forbidden fruit in the case of the Genesis reading but what place does God have in our lives. Is God jealous of us? Do we fully realise that our lives are a gift from God and so we owe him everything. How central is he to us? How aware of God are we daily or is it just when we are at mass on Sunday or say some prayers?

According to John 8.44 the devil is “the father of lies and there is no truth in him at all”. So in the first reading the devil is telling lies to our first parents Adam and Eve. He says that ‘God is jealous and does not want to share his knowledge of good and evil with you. He does not want you to be his equal.  He jealously wants to keep things to himself. Eat the fruit that is forbidden and you will be equal to God’. Sadly Adam and Eve believe the lie told them by the devil. He tricks them, he cheats them. They eat the fruit as the story goes and their eyes are opened and they realise they are naked. In other words, they see that their sin, not God, has stripped them of happiness, peace and contentment in the relationship they had with God prior to the devil tricking them with his lies.

It is like the case of a young man who is pressurised by his friends to take drugs. They tell him he will be much happier if he uses them. He believes them and soon he is enslaved by drugs. He becomes almost sub-human the more dependent on drugs he is. It is hardly God who can be blamed for punishing him.

The devil has tricked Adam and Eve by lying to them saying that God wanted to deprive them of what would give them total happiness. Instead of trusting God and believing in him they believe the devil’s lie.

This then is the centre of all temptation, not to believe God, not to trust God. To put ourselves at the centre and decide without listening to God what we want to do with our lives. That is the choice we have. 

It is the same dynamic at work in the gospel. The devil tries to trick Jesus. It is a temptation to take the wrong turning, to centre on self instead of on God. Jesus realised that he had great powers and he could have used them to go on a big ego-trip.  If he had done what the devil wanted him to do he could have had a huge following. The Jews were expecting a political messiah, one who would overthrow the Romans. If Jesus had used his powers to turn stones into bread or whatever else he wished, if he had jumped down from the temple, and if he received all the kingdoms and their splendour promised by the devil, imagine what power he would have had over people.

Thus the devil tries to seduce or trick the human Jesus with an offer of immediate power, with a short-cut to success. Basically he tempts Jesus to cheat on his humanity.  He wants him to avoid living as fully as possible the human condition.  It was a call to instant gratification.

But Jesus rejects all three temptations. His firm conviction is that as a human being one does not doubt God. Even if God promises are not immediately present and fulfilled our faith calls us to trust that God is on our side. This is the message of the temptations. God will do everything to help us in this life because he is a father who loves us passionately and unconditionally. He is not holding anything back from us. He gives us all he knows we need. He is not a jealous parent who does not want us to live a full and happy life. No. God wants us to be truly happy and he is saying that we cannot be happy apart from him.

Jesus is showing us the path to follow. Jesus is all for God. He never doubts God’s designs, his plans for our good even in the midst of his own terrible suffering. This is basically what our faith and trust is about. It is a call us to believe God’s promises. This is what we must cling to with the help of the Holy Spirit, especially in times of crisis and pain. Is God with us? Indeed he is. But are we with God?

The Good News is that despite our doubts and failures Jesus knows our struggles to overcome temptation. He experienced them.  In the letter to the Hebrew 4.15-16 we are told: “For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us. But we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident then in approaching the throne of grace, we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.”

“Lord Jesus, help us to believe this and trust in your great desire to help us especially when tempted”.

 Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

6 March 2011

Deuteronomy 11:18.26-28.32
Romans 3:21-25.28
Matthew 7:21-27

Is my life built on rock or sand

Anyone wanting to construct a home or some other building must ensure that the foundation on which they build is solid. No point in building on marshy land or on sand. You need solid rock! And if you don’t have it naturally you must create it. That’s what all good builders do. If you don’t, you can rest assured that – in time – whatever you build will begin to have problems and may, in some cases, fall down!

Today’s Gospel is all part of the famous Sermon on the Mount (a gathering together of many teachings given by Jesus but which the Evangelist presents as if they were all presented by him on one single occasion).

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus explains what is demanded of those who want to follow him. Now, in the final part of the Sermon read today, Jesus is speaking of what will happen those who choose to follow that way and those who choose a different way. In other words, those who decide to act on the words of Jesus and those who decide to act differently. The first group decide to change their way to the Way of Jesus. And the others decide that the Way of Jesus is not their way and they continue to go a different way.

Those who decide to follow Jesus’ Way will be on solid rock; they will not follow the fickle popularity stakes or follow the latest fad.

Those who choose the other way are on sand, going with the flow of popular opinion and short-sighted solutions to complex problems etc.

The first group will be able to say ‘Lord. Lord’ as they enter the Kingdom of heaven because their lives have been lived in accordance with the principles of the Sermon on the Mount (merciful, forgiving, humble…).

The second group who seek to enter heaven by calling out ‘Lord, Lord’ will not do so because the life they have lived up to now is alien to the type of life in heaven. They would be alienated if they were to enter the Kingdom of heaven. So they have decided to enter a different place.

Which type of builder are you? Easy to say that you will build your life on Christian principles… but will you really battle for Christ against the many false messages which surround us today? Or will you keep your head down and try to ‘sneak along’ in your Christian life but not really doing anything much for Christ?

The choice is yours!

Loving God, fill us with the fire of your Holy Spirit so that we may profess our Christian faith in every situation in which we find ourselves. Loosen our tongue to speak your word and to proclaim the Way of Christ as the only way to lasting peace and justice in our society. Amen.

Martin Kavanagh SMA

20 February 2011

Lev 19: 1 – 2, 17 – 18
1 Cor 3: 16 – 23
Mt 5: 38 – 48

Be holy, be perfect – that is the resounding call from the Liturgy of the Word today. It is the call of the Christian vocation.

It is the clear challenge set out for us in the readings today. From the injunction in Leviticus, Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy to the words in the Gospel, Be perfect, as your heavenly Father in perfect, we are reminded of how a Christian must act. Last week we were given some prompts as to how radical the call to be a Christian is. Today, Jesus spells it out clearly: I have to do as God does.

The first injunction is addressed by Yahweh to all the People of Israel; the second is that addressed by Jesus to his followers in Israel but, by extension, to us who are his followers today. No one is excluded from this call, poor and rich, old and young, leaders and followers…

To be holy is to be perfect and to be perfect is to be holy. It’s doubtful that any one will reach perfection this side of the grave but, as St Paul tells us in one of his Letters, we have to be in the race, facing towards the finishing line. And that is our vocation. Even though we’ll not reach perfect love we must keep striving to do so. It is not an optional extra!

And the way we can achieve holiness is by living a life of love. And even if there are times when we fall down in our loving of others we can, like Jesus on the road to Calvary, get back up and continue the climb to perfection and holiness.

In the context of today’s Gospel, we must not return evil for evil, no matter how justified it may seem – on a human level. But Christians, though in the world are not of the world. We do not judge and act solely by secular principles. We must act to a higher standard, that of Christ.

God does not return evil for evil. He causes his sun to shine on the bad as well as the good.

But what if someone hates me? What am I to do? The Gospel is clear: you must love that person. No one can control how others see us or treat us. But we must ensure that how we look on others or how we act towards them are always in accord with God’s way. So we cannot exact vengeance as Jesus reminds us today. It’s hard…. but it’s what we’re called to do. How we do this is something which needs a lot of thought. It also needs a lot of prayer as we ask God to guide us to say and to do what is right. Sometimes it may mean going to that person and trying to sort things out; other times it may mean leaving well enough alone. But, no matter what we do, we can never return evil for evil, bad words or actions for bad words and actions that have been done to us.

Christ’s call is the most radical: to be a Christian I must be rich in mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love.

May each of us be filled with God’s Holy Spirit so that we may imitate Him, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Amen.

Fr Martin Kavanagh SMA

13 February 2011

Sirach 15: 15 – 20
1 Cor: 2:6 – 10
Matthew 5.17 – 37

Today’s Gospel is one which can cause a lot of confusion for people – if they read it literally. But it is not meant to be read in this fashion. Jesus is certainly NOT telling us to tear out our eyes or to cut off our hands.

No, what Jesus is calling for is a radical way of life. Yes, he’s nearly asking the impossible! But there are some people (not too many) who make choices which cause the rest of us to look on in wonder, even amazement and sometimes admiration. Jean Vanier and the work of the L’Arche community comes to my mind. And there are so many Irish missionaries and aid workers who leave aside the comforts of Irish life to walk with the poor, in Africa, South America, and Asia. They are the in the frontline. Theirs is a radical choice to put others first.

You are also called to this radical way of life. And you can respond! Probably not all the time and always with a full heart, brimming over. But you can reach for it. How?

St Therese once said that all she wanted to do on earth was to do the ordinary things extraordinarily well. Can’t you start there? But in fact many of us are already doing that – the single parent doing their best to raise their children; the unemployed woman or man who gets involved in some voluntary work to help others in need; the mother who washes, cleans and cooks every day so that the family are looked after… the list is endless. You’re already doing it to some degree so you’re already responding to Jesus’ invitation to build God’s kingdom on earth.

No matter what I do (or fail to do) there are repercussions. What I must do each day is to make sure that anything I do or say does not have bad repercussions. Sometimes it’s as simple as keeping my mouth shut and not passing on that bit of gossip I heard down at the shops about a neighbour. What was it someone once said: ‘if you can’t say something good about someone, say nothing.’

But there is one particular admonition in the Gospel today which we might look at in a closer way, especially at this time in our history: “I say to you that the one who is angry with their brother or sister will be liable to judgment”. Anger is the source of so much evil in our world. If it is not dealt with properly it can lead on to hatred. How many times have we read in the papers of trial where the accused expresses remorse for their actions because it was done in the heat of anger.

Here in Ireland we are hearing that many people are angry with how things have turned out with the disappearance (or is it the death) of the Celtic Tiger? People losing their jobs, homes, unable to feed their families, pay bills, our young (and not so young) having to emigrate because there are no jobs. We cannot deny our anger.

There is a righteous anger (Jesus himself was sometimes angry about bad things he saw) but he was always in control of it. And he used that feeling, not to react and do bad, but to inspire him to try to make the situation better. And that, my sisters and brothers, might be a lesson to us in our present situation. We must not just remain angry but must look for ways to harness it for the better. It’s not for me to tell you how to do it. Each of us must decide what we think is best. But I have no doubt that if we harness our anger in a positive way – and not just remain in the ‘angry state – we will be better able to deal with our individual difficulties and also help to improve things for all of us. You could say that I’m suggesting a radical way to deal with anger!

I pray that you, I and everyone in our land will take up Jesus’ invitation to a radical way of life and so show forth to the world His power at work in us. Amen.

Lord Jesus, think on me, and purge away my sin
From earth-born passions set me free, and make me pure within.

May what is false within us before your Truth give way
That we may live to praise you, today and to the end.  (inspired by Synesius of Cyrene, c375-430)

Fr Martin Kavanagh, SMA

6 February 2011

Isaiah 58: 7 – 10
1 Cor: 2:1 – 5
Matthew 5.13 – 16

A certain man was invited by his friends to a local restaurant for a meal. After having tasted the food he asked for the salt. As far as he was concerned the meal needed some salt to give it flavour. Apparently the cook had forgotten to add salt.

Jesus in today’s gospel uses some images to describe what his disciples are like. The first image is that of salt. As we know good salt is very pure so one of its functions is to purify. Another is to preserve. And as already mentioned to give flavour.

And Jesus is saying this to his disciples ‘you are the salt of the earth’.

He doesn’t say that they should become the salt of the earth. By his very calling of them they have a certain quality about them. But of course we know as he himself states that salt can become tasteless. And then it loses its value. It is also interesting to remember that salt is never actually seen in the food when it is put on the table. It remains hidden in the food and a little amount is usually all that is necessary. Salt does not draw attention to itself though it is used to give flavour, to improve the taste of the meal. Jesus in using a very ordinary well known commodity like salt is teaching his followers that they too wherever they find themselves are to be people who can purify and preserve his teachings so as to hand them on to others. For the most part his disciples are very ordinary people. They are not meant to draw attention to themselves. What they are asked to do is to live as true disciples of Jesus, so that people will be drawn to Jesus himself and not to them. And most of the time this work will be hidden – husbands, wives, children, business people, craftsmen, teachers, farmers etc. quietly going about their daily business but doing it as true disciples of Jesus.

Another image used by Jesus in this short passage is that of light.  He tells his disciples that they are to be the light of the world as he is. Jesus once said “I am the Light of the world”. For many of us living in the so-called First World with electricity available all the time the image of light may not be so striking. It is probably taken for granted nearly all the time. Many who live in developing countries, as in Africa, have no electricity available and when evening came lanterns or torches are needed see where one is going. A small light, even a flashlight could really light up the way and so the importance of light was underlined. Again, like salt, light has no value in being light for itself – its importance comes from the value it has for others. Again Jesus is asking us his followers to be like that.

Some lights, especially very large ones will light up a large area, others quite small do the same for smaller spaces. We see the same in people. People like Mother Teresa of Calcutta even though a small frail woman was a very large light on the world scene. She would constantly say that any good she may have done came from her close relationship with Jesus who for her was the Light who inspired her. She was in many ways like the moon. The moon has no light in itself, it merely reflects on to the earth the light it receives from the sun. She tried to be a reflection of Jesus, the Light of the world. She gave a meaning, importance to so many people dying in Calcutta. And because of her incredible witness many other people joined her in her work. Others are people like Nelson Mandela who in spite of the way he was so harshly treated for many years in prison in South Africa preached reconciliation instead of revenge when he was eventually released after 27 years.

Jesus then in speaking to his disciples and to us in today’s gospel is telling all of us that though we may think we are weak and insignificant we are very necessary for carrying on his work to bring about his kingdom here on earth. The gifts given to each of us by God are not given for private use but must be communicated to others. They must shine through the weakness of its bearers. We can’t all be like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela but we can be the best we can be wherever we are no matter how little we feel our contribution may be. That is all the Lord asks each of us.

So the good that we try to do is not meant to glorify ourselves but to glorify our Heavenly Father.  In today’s Gospel Matthew tells us that the light will be manifested in good works. As Isaiah says in the first reading these will be seen in precise deeds with very concrete benefits for our neighbours: sharing bread with the hungry, providing housing, clothing the naked, forgiveness etc.  If we do that ‘our light will rise in the darkness’ – the last verse of Isaiah today.

The Good News of today’s gospel is that Jesus is reminding each of us of our great vocation – that we are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  Jesus believes it of us.  Do we believe it of ourselves?

How can I be more the salt of the earth and light of the world this Lent?

“Lord Jesus, help us to believe that we are called to be salt of the earth and light of the world.  Give us the Holy Spirit to enable us to be what you ask of us.  Amen”.

Fr.Jim Kirstein, SMA

30 January 2011

Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12 – 13
1 Cor1: 26 – 31
Matthew 5: 1 – 12

Many years ago when I worked in Nigeria in West Africa a notice appeared in one of the daily newspapers.  It said ‘Advertisers for Jesus Christ wanted’.  I was sorry that I never answered this, as it would have been interesting to know what qualities they were looking for in the people they were seeking. 

Today’s gospel sums up the kind of people Jesus himself is looking for in order to advertise his kingdom.  He lists a number of qualities which he considers very important. We might say that as Moses received the 10 commandments from God, Jesus is giving his list known as the Beatitudes which complements or offers another way of looking at the original 10 commandments.  As someone pointed out they are the Be-Attitudes, the attitudes of Jesus himself which he recommends to his disciples. 

Nearly all the 10 commandments found in Exodus 20 start with a prohibition –‘You shall not’. Only a couple of them are put in a positive way like ‘Honour your father and your mother’. 

But here in the Beatitudes we have a different emphasis. Jesus is stating that those who put them into practice are Blessed or Happy. He doesn’t state you must or you have to keep them. And certainly not that you will be punished if you don’t respond positively. He is simply pointing out the reality that if you do live by them you will be truly blessed or happy not just when you die but beginning right now.  So they are offered more in the form of an invitation or an encouragement. He invites people to try them and see for themselves that they are only way to true peace and joy. We must beware of making them into commandments.  Anyone who has tried to live by them will know what Jesus is talking about. Of course, Jesus was the one who lived them out to the full and he invites us to do likewise knowing it is a lifetime’s work but he assures us of the help of his Holy Spirit.

Another way of looking at the Beatitudes is to see them as God’s dream for us.  God is offering us the possibility of dreaming his dream, of dreaming the dream of God. Jesus offers them to us as a guideline for discipleship. It reminds me of a woman in her forties who said to me that her dream is to go to university in a few years time when her children are educated. She said that she is already saving for this in order to realise her dream. She knows it won’t be easy but she is determined to make it happen.

She underlines an aspect of the beatitudes which is important. In the original language of Jesus, Aramaic, the word for ‘beatitude’ comes from an active verb so does not have a passive quality to it.  Thus to be blessed means ‘to set oneself on the right way for the right goal’ just as this woman is doing. It also includes the idea of turning away from whatever prevents one from achieving this goal. This may also include the idea of renewal. The beatitudes are offered by Jesus to empower us. They offer us the possibility of changing what is not good. Thus, ‘blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied’. We just don’t sit around hoping things will come about only by prayer. We must actually become involved in working for justice. Also ‘blessed are the peacemakers’ – again a call to ‘make peace’ not just to hope it will happen. Even ’blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness’ assumes they have been struggling to achieve this.

Because it is the first beatitude mentioned ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven’ it is the key to all the others and it is written in the present tense where all the others refer to a future reality. The best translation I have seen of this first beatitude is ‘blessed are they who desperately know their need of God’’. This was the attitude of Jesus himself. He knew that as a human being like you and me he totally needed the help of his Heavenly Father to bring about the kingdom having done all he could humanly do himself.  I am sure that if a priest asks in a church on Sunday ‘who needs God’s help?’ all hands will be raised. But to desperately know how much we need God is a different experience. Just like a drowning man knows he desperately needs the help of someone to save him. Once we are convinced of this then we will turn to God who will certainly help us because we allow him to enter our lives. Very often when things are fine we don’t think that we desperately need our God but in fact we do. And when we allow God to enter into our lives then we will be empowered to work to bring about the dream of God. One danger with this first beatitude would be to reduce it to a purely spiritual dimension. It means also working to improve the physical and material condition of the poor in whatever way I can.

It is a good idea that if we are examining our consciences in preparation for Confession, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we should use these beatitudes as a guide to see how we are living out our Christian commitment.

“Lord Jesus, help us to be more and more aware how desperately we need your help to live out the beatitudes in our daily lives so as to bring about your kingdom here on earth. Amen”

Fr.Jim Kirstein, SMA

9 January 2010

Isaiah 42: 1-4
Acts 10: 34-38
Matthew 3: 15-17, 21-22

A well known speaker started a seminar participated in by over 200 men and women by holding up a new crisp twenty dollar bill.  “I want to give this away”, he says, “but first let me do this”. Then he proceeds to crumple up the money.  “Who wants it now?” he asks.  Many hands were raised.  He drops the money on to the floor and grinds it into the floor with his shoe.  When he holds it up again the bill is crumpled and dirty.  “Who wants it now?” he asks again.  The same hands go up.

My friends he says, “you have learned a very valuable lesson”, he tells them.  “No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth twenty dollars.  Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground down by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.  We feel as though we are worthless.  But no matter what has happened or what will happen, we will never lose our value in God’s eyes.  To God, dirty or clean, crumpled or new and crisp, we are always priceless”.

In the gospel today Jesus is baptized in the river Jordan.  It is a confirmation of his vocation as a human being.  His father’s voice from heaven speaks and says: “You are my Son, the Beloved: my favour rests on you”.  It says quite clearly that it is a favour that is not for a short term but it abides.  God says the same to each one of us.  “You are my beloved child.  My favour rests on you always”.  So no matter what we think of ourselves or how we feel because of past sins or failings or present weaknesses, God is speaking with authority to assure us of his love and choice that we are his beloved children.  Just prior to hearing the voice from heaven, the gospel account tells us that the heavens opened and the Spirit, like a dove, descended on Jesus. This recalls the opening verses of the bible when God’s Spirit hovered over the chaos to bring life and order to creation.  So the Spirit, which came upon Jesus at his baptism, reminds us of the new creation, the new covenant God makes with us.  Each of us therefore that has been baptized is a ‘new creation’ as St. Paul reminds us.

A friend of mine attends a psychotherapist regularly because she has a very low self-esteem or bad self-image. He tries to help her realize her giftedness and  inner goodness in spite of all but she finds this hard to accept.  Most of us are like this whether we realize it or not. Today in the gospel, God the Great Psychotherapist is trying his best to assure us, that we are great in his eyes.  In fact at the end of the first chapter of Genesis, the first book of the bible, we hear the words, “God saw all that he made and indeed it was very good”.  So from the opening of the bible to the last verse, this is the only message that God and Jesus wish to proclaim and they do this in many ways, through stories, parables, miracles, option for the poor and the rejected in society etc.  In God’s eyes, we are great, but like the crumpled or dirty dollar bill we think we are not of much value. The measure of how valuable or priceless we are is the Crucifixion of Jesus. God is trying to show us here just how very much he loves us and that in spite of all the evil in our world and our own part in it, God cannot stop loving you and me.  Why do we find it so hard to believe this?  Maybe because human beings reject or don’t accept us at times and we take this as the measure of our value instead of listening and accepting fully what God is telling us. It shows too how important is our vocation to encourage, affirm and build up others and not just criticize and knock them down. 

So the baptism of Jesus was his call to accept how beloved he was in God’s sight. If we could accept this, that we are loved unconditionally and passionately by God, we would be free then, as the first reading Isaiah reminds us, to love others.  And especially to work for justice and so show them by the way we treat them and love them that they too are very valuable.  This is our basic baptismal vocation or calling. All our Masses, prayers, devotions, novenas should strengthen us for this work.

Today in the gospel, Jesus though not having sinned, takes his place with other human beings as they line up to be baptized by John the Baptist. John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and that makes all the difference.  So Jesus stands by our side to show he is in solidarity with us. We are told in other gospels that John the Baptist’s baptism was a baptism for repentance. This is quite important for us to accept.  We need to repent to God of our sins, failings and acknowledge our need of his total forgiveness.  If my heart is cluttered up or full of hatred against another how can we be empty and free to receive the baptism of the Spirit, to receive God’s love and gifts?

“Lord Jesus, thank you for joining us in our need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit though you never sinned.  Help us to realise the great value we have in you sight.  Enable us to love ourselves first as you command us to do, so as to witness to others just how much you love them too. Amen”  

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

5 December 2010

Isaiah 11:1-10
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

 There is an ancient story about three devils who were arguing about the best way of destroying the souls of good people in the world. The first demon said: ‘Let’s tell all the Christians that the bible is a fable, not true’. ’No, that will not do’, the second demon said: ’Let me go and I will tell them that there is no after life, no heaven, and no hell’. The third demon said: ’There is one better way.  Tell the Christians that the bible is inspired, it is true and that there is heaven and hell. Yes, but I will tell them that there is NO HURRY; there is always tomorrow’. And the devils agreed to send him. Such is Satan’s strategy; there is no hurry, there is always tomorrow, we have plenty of time.

In the gospel today John the Baptist appears preaching in the desert of Judea and says ‘Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand’.  He is saying that the kingdom of God or equally ‘the reign of God’ is at hand because Jesus has appeared and he calls upon his listeners to pay attention to him and respond now. .None of us has any guarantee how long we will live.  One of our SMA priests was killed by armed robbers a few days ago in Kenya.  I am sure when he woke up that morning he never knew what would happen.  Being a good priest no doubt he was prepared to meet his God.

John the Baptist and Jesus both began their ministry with the call to repent.  In a class of 10 year olds the teacher asked the children what the word they understood by the word ‘repent’.  A little boy answered saying it meant being sorry for one’s sins.  Immediately a little girl said it was more than that. It meant being sorry enough for your sins to quit or give up committing them.

Contrary to the devil’s strategy there is a note of urgency in today’s gospel.  John says ‘even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the fire’.  He is not saying this just to scare us but that that if what we are doing in our lives is contrary to God’s will, we will not have the deep happiness and peace God wants for us now.  

So in contemporary language John the Baptist is saying to us: ‘If you are thinking of making a Christmas confession, do it now. If you are planning to be reconciled with someone now is the time. If you are considering doing good to others do it now. Don’t delay’.

Some years ago in a newspaper a reporter wrote about an unusual programme. It dealt with the removal of unwanted tattoos from the bodies of young people.  Because of the remarkable response, a television company produced a film called “Untatoo you”.  The films tells about the dangers of tattooing and how difficult and painful it was to remove tattoos from arms and faces.

The story illustrates an important point.  All of us have done things in our lives that we now regret and would like to erase. Happily, we Catholics are blessed because Jesus gave us a way of erasing our sins. This we can do in the Sacrament of Confession.  Why not avail of this free gift this Christmas as a very good preparation for Advent and celebrating the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ?

Before he died, George Harrison (of Beatles Popgroup fame), who did not claim to be a Christian, said “Everything else can wait but the search for God cannot be delayed.  And love one another”. Not a bad summary of the Christian message!

Christmas is no accident on the part of God who knew quite well what he was doing in sending us Jesus. But Jesus cannot come into our hearts if we don’t welcome him. We won’t be able to do this if we our hearts are full up of all that does not lead to true happiness.  That is why John’s call in today’s gospel to repent is so important. It implies a change of attitude since without conversion it is impossible to welcome Christ. John reminds us that the change he is asking of us is not something formal; something done by complying with external rituals. John demands that ‘we bear fruit worthy of repentance’. Spelling this out means welcoming, forgiving and sharing with our neighbours in whatever way possible. There is no middle path; there is either acceptance or rejection of Christ’s attitudes and behaviour. Which will we choose? Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew: ‘’Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven’. Good intentions are not enough. Good deeds are what Jesus expects.  Let us not put off until it is too late to do them.

The word ‘repent’ is best understood as a new way of looking at life. Ultimately it means looking at life and people through the eyes of Jesus. It means treating people as Jesus did with kindness, forgiveness, compassion. It means doing whatever we can to make the lot of others better especially by encouraging them, affirming them, welcoming them etc.

“Come, Lord Jesus. Help us with your Holy Spirit to repent and believe the Good News today. Amen”.

Fr. Jim Kirstein SMA

28 November 2010

Isaiah 2.1-5
Romans 13.11-14
Matthew 24.37-44

 One time I was watching TV with 2 friends. Both were heavy smokers. They said they could never stop smoking. Not long afterwards each of them had a heart attack. One died immediately but the other survived. His doctor told him to stop smoking or he would die. He believed the heart attack was a warning, a wake-up call to him and he stopped. It is hard to know why one died and the other survived.

Can we not say that the gospel today is a wake-up call from God? Jesus says to his listeners: “Stay awake because you do not know the hour when your master is coming”. And he uses two little examples from their history to remind us about the unexpected coming of Christ, the Son of Man at the end of time. How will you and I heed, pay attention to this invitation? Will we neglect it or be like the man in the story above who heard the call and took the steps necessary to respond for his own good.

We must beware of seeing today’s readings of this First Sunday of Advent as a kind of threat from Jesus, from God to us. In fact, they are the exact opposite. Jesus, who loves us passionately and unconditionally, is concerned only for our well-being, for our good. This is the Good News. He came into our world to reveal to us God’s total love for us and showed us, through his teachings and his life, what leads to true peace and joy beginning now. Unfortunately very many Christians don’t see it that way.  They interpret the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes of Jesus as a kind of threat: “keep these, if not you will be punished”. Nothing could be further from the mind of God. Today’s readings are not to cause fear in our hearts, but to allow hope to take over more and more in the place of fear. Jesus is encouraging us to do this by staying alert and avoid foolish, non life-giving behaviour.

Several times I have been at courses and the speaker said towards the end of the talk that they will meet again in 2 weeks and he gives the day, date and time. Quite often before the end of the session a number of people will raise their hands and ask when the next session will be. They were not alert to the information given about this a short time before.

Today the Church begins the new Liturgical Year with the season of Advent. This season can be seen as a kind of wake-up call to us to ask us how we are preparing for the coming of Christ. Are we alert? The word Advent means Arrival or Coming.

Advent reminds us of the 3 comings of Jesus, the First was his being born in Bethlehem, which is what Christmas celebrates. But has he been born yet in my life? Have I made room for him or what fills up my life that prevents this? The Third coming will be his coming at the end of time. The Second coming is right now as each day he comes to us. He knocks on our doors through others; through the events of our lives etc. He comes to us in ways that are so ordinary that often we miss these. Like a visit we receive from someone when we feel a bit low or a compliment from another when I do something good. Or again, a challenge from someone when I may be behaving in a way that is not life-giving for myself or others. Will I allow him more and more into my life? If I try with the help of the Spirit to be alert each day through prayer and good works, then it doesn’t matter when the end of time is for the Third coming of Jesus.

Advent is also a time of learning. The first reading today is from the prophet Isaiah. He invites us to go to God in order that ’he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths’. Isaiah spells this out for us as we wait for Jesus to come. He invites us to hammer our swords into ploughshares and our spears into sickles, the tools for harvesting. What swords do we as individuals use? Maybe the swords of unforgiveness, the swords of anger, of selfishness, threats to those whom we employ or have under our influence, etc. etc. Not easy to do but Jesus never said it would be easy. That’s why he asks us to call always on the Holy Spirit for help. The second reading from St. Paul invites us to throw off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light: courage, truth, integrity, compassion and love.

So Jesus, the Son of Man comes and surprises us at the least unexpected hour especially in our daily encounters with those he gives us as brothers and sisters.  Waiting for the Lord does not take us out of history, but it involves us more in it since we are hoping for the God who has come and is in our midst. What then is inconsistent and what is unchristian in our behaviour as we wait?  Maybe we should ask ourselves “In what direction are we going as we make our way as pilgrims on this earth?”  How well am I preparing spiritually for Christmas? Hopefully the answer will be “Towards Jesus, towards peace and solidarity with everyone, a desire we all share”. A very good prayer to say often is:” Maranatha, come Lord Jesus’.

‘Lord Jesus, open our eyes and hearts to prepare in a special way for your coming more and more into our hearts this Christmas and always. Amen’. 

Fr. Jim Kirstein SMA

14 November 2010

Malachi 4.1-2
2 Thessalonians 3.7-12
Luke 21.5-19

A friend of mine, who had just come back from New York, showed me a photo of people looking at the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre as they collapsed to the ground. The expressions on the faces of these people were full of horror, fear and probably most of all disbelief. Two months after the terrible tragedy of the evil terrorist attack of 11 September nothing remained of these famous Twin Towers but a huge pile of stones where the buildings once stood. Nothing but rubble stood in place of these famous landmarks. They’re now putting up new buildings there.

Before the evil attack no one would have thought it possible that what was one of the centres of world trade and finance could be destroyed. Now we know otherwise. The prophecy of Jesus in today’s gospel is that the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would end up likewise, that one stone would not be left standing on another.  In that Jewish Temple the pillars were columns of white marble 40 feet high, each made of a single block.  The front face of this Temple was covered with plates of gold of great weight.  It had taken 46 years to build. Therefore, for the Jews it was simply unthinkable that the glory of their Temple should be shattered to dust but it was.  If that could be utterly destroyed like the World Trade Centre was anything safe any more? The very basis of their religious security and certainty was taken from them.  What then remained? 

More than one commentator after the September 11^th terrorist attack in the U.S. said that probably the worst effect of what happened was that now people felt terribly vulnerable. No longer were Americans involved only in wars outside the US.  Now on their own soil anything this evil was possible.  Where was one to find one’s security just as the Jews asked after the fall of their Temple in Jerusalem? Well, that answer for American Christians is written on their coins if it is accepted.  “In God we trust”.  But we all know that we can write phrases and speak them without them having a practical effect on our lives.

Is it not true that God often seems absent from our lives? How often do we ask this in time of trial, the sudden loss of a loved one, in time of sickness, adversity, tragedy etc. “Where is God now, where is his help now?” Everything seems hopelessly dark. But if in such moments we remain faithful, there are sometimes new, unknown ways opening up to us.  We would never have discovered them were it not for this trial. Later, sometimes we have to acknowledge that God was there after all. Maybe thanks to this suffering I have come to discover or discern better the deeper aspects of life. However, no one would wish this tragedy to happen in order to discover this. And certainly God does not and could not send it just to teach us. But I have to admit that it is not easy to understand why he allows it.

Where was God at times of tragedy?  It would seem he still comes as he did in the days of his being with us here on earth when he lived in Palestine. God comes to us in human form. He uses us humans to be his loving and caring presence, to be his concern, his compassion etc. if we allow him. New York’s response was a great example of this.  We saw people coming together in solidarity in ways they never did before. There was tremendous concern for those who lost loved ones. There were many, many heroic examples of what is best in the human person – firemen, policemen, religious, very ordinary people risking their lives.  We see it too in the efforts of people in times of earthquakes, famines, floods etc sending help both material and human to the affected areas.

Jesus does not deny that these terrible events will happen. But he does remind us powerfully in the gospel that we are not alone. He assures us that ‘our endurance will win us our lives’. He is with us strengthening us in times of trial. It means that even if evil people cause us harm or evil, the person who walks along with Jesus may lose his life as Jesus did but not his spirit or soul.

Today’s liturgy reminds us that we are called, invited, encouraged by his Holy Spirit to persevere as our temples fall around us. Nothing lasts forever, eventually they perish and disappear. What are our temples? Where do we put so much of our trust – wealth, power, a good job, health, another person? What do we need to let go of?  These things will pass away but not God.

“In God we trust”.  May this be the only true Temple in our lives, which will never pass away or be destroyed.  Jesus affirms the great power of God at work in history. It demands that we work to destroy sinful human structures or Temples that are not of God and which enslave ourselves, others.

“Heavenly Father, give me an unshakable confidence in your Fatherly providential loving care Amen” Why not pray this prayer daily at least to learn to trust God more and more?

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

31^st October 2010

Wisdom 11.22-12.2
2 Thessalonians 1.11-2.2
Luke 19.1-10

A man in his forties, Paul was invited to the birthday party of his good friend John.  During the party he met many people. The next day he met his host John who asked him what he thought of one of those present but who spent only a short time at the party and then  passed on to another engagement.  “He has changed since we were at college together”.  Paul was amazed that he did not recognize him.

In the gospel today we see Jesus entering Jericho and passing through it. So many times in the Gospel we see him passing by or through a place. If he is not stopped, he will keep going. Similarly, he constantly passes through our lives. He comes every day in one form or another. He will come into my life today. Will I recognise him? Where am I expecting to find him? In what person? In what place? In what experience? To be really ready I have to be prepared to meet him in ANY experience.

No one expected Zacchaeus a senior tax collector, a very wealthy and prominent man in Jericho hiding up a Sycamore tree.  But he was very small in stature and therefore felt he had no opportunity because of the crowds to see Jesus who was to pass that way. Certainly no one would have wanted to help him either by making way for him.  His fellow Jews would have hated him as he worked for the Roman army of occupation.  Besides tax collectors in general were a corrupt group, well known for exploiting their own people and becoming rich as a result.

There is a message there somehow. Very often we are not able to see Jesus in our lives because we are crowded out by other people and the way they think. To see Jesus clearly we often have to get away from the crowd and risk being different, risk losing our dignity. The word “holy” in Greek actually means someone who is different, someone set apart.

How determined are we to see Jesus, to come close to him? Zacchaeus had to overcome the obstacle of his small size.  What are the obstacles in our lives that might prevent Jesus coming close to us? Are we too busy to give him time in our lives? Do we spend enough time in prayer? Do we hear Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts asking us to invite him more and more into our lives?  Or are our hearts too taken up with many concerns that do not lead to true peace and happiness?  In what way may we be hiding from Jesus?

We are told that Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, to catch a glimpse of him from a distance. In order not to be seen he hides in the Sycamore tree.  We can imagine how amazed he was when Jesus looks up, calls him by name and invites himself to stay at his house. God always gives more than we ask.

One of the things we notice in the story is that the initiative comes from Jesus. God always makes the first move.  Zacchaeus responds generously by promising to give half his possessions to the poor and to pay back those he may have cheated

‘Zacchaeus, come down.  I must stay at your house today’. How wonderful when Jesus says these words to us! Yet at every Eucharist he makes this invitation at communion. At many other times too he wishes to enter into our lives. The Book of Revelation has Jesus say in a beautiful image: “I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into his house and eat with him and he will eat with me” (Rev 3:20). Are our doors always open and ready to offer him hospitality?

Zacchaeus has no hesitation. He climbs down quickly, delighted to welcome Jesus into his house. The reaction of the crowd, however, is something else. They are deeply shocked and scandalised. “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” Of all the people in Jericho, Jesus picks the house of possibly the most obnoxious and detested person in the town.

The story shows that Jesus addresses all kinds of people. No one is excluded from his call to participate in the kingdom. The kingdom is also for those who are not socially well considered or accepted, maybe today like AIDS victims, drug addicts or paedophiles. But change as in the case of Zacchaeus is called for.  If anyone is excluded from the kingdom, it is because they have excluded themselves!  Jesus came to seek out and save those who are lost.

Sometimes what prevents us from allowing God to come close to us is that we may think others may ridicule us for being a close disciple of Jesus.  Zacchaeus was prepared to accept that ridicule of his fellow Jews but he stood his ground and responded to the invitation of Jesus.

This Sunday Jesus seeks us out too in the Eucharist.  Where are we in need?  Will we hear his call?  Will we recognize him as he passes by in our lives? How will we respond?

“Lord Jesus, help me, like Zacchaeus, to hear your invitation to invite you more and more into my life.  Help me to understand ever more clearly that you alone can fulfill the deeper needs of my heart. Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein SMA

17 October 2010

 Exodus 17. 8-13
1 John 4.11-16
Luke 18.1-8

At one stage one of our priests who worked in a certain African country wanted to get a CofO – a Certificate of Occupancy for a piece of land he wanted to buy. The CofO is similar to Title Deeds in Ireland. He went to the local government office to get this but every time he went the official who wanted a bribe first, was either absent or couldn’t find the file! The priest went back every day for 6 months. Finally, he wore down the official with his persistence and got the CofO.

This incident reminded me of today’s gospel about the widow whose persistent prayer and perseverance were eventually rewarded. She refused to give up and be discouraged.

Some background to the parable:

The Judge

Clearly the judge was not a Jewish judge since disputes were taken before the elders and there were 3 appointed to judge the case.  So this judge was one of the judges appointed by the Romans or by Herod.  These people were notorious for being corrupt and taking bribes.  So to gain a favourable judgement a person would have to bribe the judge.

The Widow

is a symbol of all who were poor and defenceless. She would have had little chance of success being totally unable to bribe the judge. But she had one weapon which finally proved very effective – her persistence. She wore down the resistance of the judge. So her perseverance, her refusal to give up paid off.

This seems to be a rather simple parable about how we should keep asking; pounding on God’s door and eventually we will get what we ask for. But prayer, or persistence in asking, is more than saying words or having thoughts. God is not a judge who is manipulated by pretty words or angry suggestions.   Prayer is an intimacy which extends beyond a particular time of praying. We are urged to live as a prayer rather than separating prayer from our daily living. The main purpose of prayer is to foster our relationship with God

In the first reading Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him. We too find additional grace to persevere through the support of prayers of the Christian community.  It is a gift we can offer others too.

It is important to realise that the parable does not liken God to the unjust judge; rather it contrasts him to such a person.  Jesus was really saying: ‘if the corrupt and unjust judge can be wearied into giving the widow woman justice, how much more will God our loving Father give his children what they need?’

The widow asked the unjust judge for justice against her enemy. Quite often human justice is by no means the best example of fair play and honesty available to us. If God were simply to apply the principles of human justice to each of us, who would stand a chance? It is only in the light of divine mercy that we can hope to be vindicated and forgiven.

Of course, sometimes we don’t seem to get what we pray for. Only God knows what is good for us in the long run. That is why the lesson of the parable is to persevere and never give up. There is, of course, an important condition, that what we ask for must be according to justice and the will of God.  Do we not pray in the Our Father: ‘Thy will be done’? That is why Jesus asks the question at the end of the parable. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” Jesus in asking this question was wondering if people’s faith would stand up to the long delay before the Son of Man would come again in his glory. May we persevere in prayer and accept that God’s answer is what is best for us.

‘Will there be any faith on earth?’ We need to recall that faith is not automatic, nor is it given forever if it is not nourished. Faith grows and matures through prayer and the sacraments as well as through the practice of kindness, love, compassion, forgiveness etc.  Faith is a gift but it is also a task.

Sadly, often we forget God when things are going well.  Then there is a crisis and we cry out to God to help us.  The amazing thing is he does, instead of forgetting us as we forget him much of the time.

Prayer and faith are very closely connected.  It’s because we have faith that we pray.  At the same time prayer sustains our faith. We need to pray not just when we are in trouble but at all times.  

Finally, prayer is no substitute for action. God wants us to do all we can in any circumstance and also to pray. Prayer is not an escape from life but a journey into the heart of life.

“Lord Jesus, may our prayer deepen our relationship with you. Help us to persevere in difficult times. Increase our faith and trust in you. Amen.”            

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

10 October 2010

2 Kings 5.14-17
2 Timothy 2.8-13
Luke 17.17.11-19

A certain man saw a poor beggar at the side of the road and gave him some coins. He had walked away about 200 metres when he suddenly realized that the beggar had not thanked him and he became quite angry. He spoke to his Rabbi about it who asked him, ‘Did you give him the money only to be thanked?  And, by the way, did you thank Yahweh for inspiring you to be kind to the beggar?’

One message of today’s readings is gratitude, especially to God. Are we grateful people? The central worship we make is the Eucharist, a Greek word meaning thanksgiving because in it we offer Jesus to the Father in gratitude for the gifts he lavishes on us daily. Healing is another aspect of today’s gospel.

The gospel today highlights the fact that it is a foreigner who shows gratitude to God, not the other nine.  At the time of Jesus leprosy would have been thought of as AIDS is by many today.  Lepers had to keep their distance from people and villages. They usually had a bell which they rang warning others of their presence. Even though the disease of leprosy was terrible, eating away into the flesh until eventually killing the leper there were other perhaps worse aspects associated with being a leper. They were cut off socially from their families, their village, from attending synagogue worship. Simply they were regarded as outcasts, outsiders.  One could imagine that they would have had little self-esteem.

At one stage in Nigeria outside the church where I celebrated Mass on a Sunday there was a leper who had only two stumps of hands – no palms, no fingers etc. I often thought: How did he dress himself? He obviously couldn’t write, tie his sandals or thread a needle. I couldn’t but thank God for my hands and fingers each time I saw him. Should it not be the same when we see blind or similar people?

So on his way to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die Jesus entered a village and 10 lepers came to meet him. As the custom demanded they stood some way off and begged him to help them.  Here Jesus simply tells the 10 lepers to go and show themselves to the priests. This was in keeping with the laws of the time so that they could be certified as being free from leprosy. It is interesting that he didn’t cure them on the spot but asked them to do something by going to the priests and trusting him. 

The change effected by Jesus was far greater than merely a physical one. They were healed of being social outcasts. They could now go back to their families, their friends, and their synagogues. But for the Samaritan who was cured it was even deeper as it now meant a new relationship with Jesus, with God.  In turning back to Jesus he praises God and Jesus says ‘your faith has saved you’.

Interestingly, at first the 10 lepers stood at a distance from Jesus. The Samaritan in turning back to give thanks fell at the feet of Jesus. This shows us that he is now much closer to Jesus than before the healing.  But the others go farther away. Isn’t it true for any of us that our blessings, our gifts from God can either bring us nearer to Him or keep us away if we forget the Source, the Giver?

Luke wants to emphasise something that may be overlooked. It happens that one of the lepers is a Samaritan, a foreigner and therefore someone who would have been looked down on by the Jewish people. However, Jesus shows no partiality. On the contrary he seems to prefer marginalised and insignificant people. Luke, who in his gospel shows such sensitivity for the poor, does the same with the Samaritan. These other lepers, most likely Jews, accept a Samaritan among them. Their common pain and tragedy brought them together just like these days the evil terrorist attacks bring people of all creeds, nationalities, and languages together in great displays of solidarity.

The listeners would not have been delighted to hear Jesus describing this Samaritan as the hero of the story. And by implication Jesus expresses his disappointment that the others did not show their gratitude. Obviously God appreciates being thanked and haven’t we all so much to thank God for?

Leprosy now as in the time of Jesus always makes outcasts of people. It has a thousand names and a thousand faces: illness, old age, poverty, AIDS, unemployment, drugs, but also abuse, violence, desertion, giving up, loneliness.  In reading the story of the 10 lepers I am aware that I am a leper too because of my sins.  We can cut ourselves off from God, from others and even ourselves if we distance ourselves from God and the others who may want to help us find a meaning, peace and joy in life.

Finally, the Greek word for healing is the same for saving or making whole. So in healing the leper and the sins of each of us Jesus wants to make us whole. He wants to save us from all that could harm us or cause division. All the lepers knew how desperately they needed the healing touch of Jesus? Do we?  Let us go to him and ask him to reveal to us where we most need healing and ask him to heal us.

“Lord Jesus, help me to be aware of my need for healing and especially to be ever grateful to you for all your gifts, healing included. May you use us to be healers for those we meet who feel cut off from what is life-giving. Amen”

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

3 October 2010

Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4
2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Luke 17:5-10

A certain woman had two teenage daughters. She told them that her cleaning woman would be away for two months as her only daughter was about to give birth to her first baby and she wanted to be with her. She asked her two daughters to help her with the cleaning of the house during that period. All she asked of them was to use the vacuum cleaner once a week and do some dusting also. They asked their mother: ‘how much will you pay us for this?’ The mother was very hurt and amazed. She replied: ‘ever since your birth I loved you, took care of you, fed you, clothed you, and sent you to a very good school. I never once asked you to pay me for this. Loving you as I do how could I have asked you to pay me?’

To serve God is not a duty but a privilege. The most important quality to bring to that service is love. What sort of spirit do we bring to our worship and service of God?

In this gospel Jesus is telling us that we cannot claim anything from God because of any good we do. We can never put God into our debt. We can never make claims on him even when we have done our best. Have we not only done our duty?  How could we fail to do what God asks of in response for all his goodness to us? The whole idea of merit or reward must be abandoned in our approach to God. It is a warning against a book-keeping mentality. As Jesus says in the gospel: “So with you when you have done all that you have been told to do, say: we are merely servants”.

It is not easy for most of us to think like this. Many of us in the Catholic Church have been brought up with the idea of reward and punishment, to see God as a kind of divine book-keeper. If we do God’s will God will bless us, if we do wrong or sin God will punish us or even send us to hell if we sin badly.  This is totally false and quite the opposite of what Jesus taught. Jesus continually speaks about his Father and ours too as being a God of total love, a God of mercy, compassion and loving concern. When we put this into the overall lifestyle of Jesus, of his teaching and his attitude to outcasts, prostitutes and sinners we see Jesus speaking about a God of love.  We try then to do God’s will as an act of gratitude and praise to God for the totally free, unmerited gift of his love.

Since we are used to doing many things ourselves and are rewarded for this, because of our talents and gifts we may think that by being virtuous and good we will earn God’s love.  If we could only realize how totally opposite this is to the message of Jesus who came to reveal the sheer gift of all God gives and who wants us to accept it freely, humbly and for being grateful for the gift of his friendship and love.

We try to do good as a response to God because this is what God wants from us as an act of gratitude and also to witness to others by our loving concern and compassion what kind of God we believe in.

There is one other important point in today’s gospel and that is in the opening verses in which the disciples ask Jesus: ‘Increase our faith’. He tells us that a grain of authentic faith can achieve great things. Faith is not just about believing certain doctrines; it is about remaining faithful. It is, first and foremost, about faithfulness to God. Faithfulness is not just a matter of dogged determination. It finds its strength in God whose faithfulness is a constant theme in the Bible from start to finish. Faith is best seen as a relationship. It consists in living in a dynamic union with someone, someone in whom we place our trust because we know that he / she loves us. If we understand faith in this way it has many consequences which Jesus also explained. Faith is the total commitment on all levels of our life to God, remembering that he has, first of all, totally committed his life to us even to Jesus being crucified for us.

So if we see faith in terms of a relationship we will need to grow in faith. This takes time. Look at how long it takes to develop human skills, to become a good musician, a good parent, a good husband or wife, a good priest or religious etc. God knows it takes time and he is very patient with us. Faith grows quietly because it is God’s gift and it unfolds in God’s time. Faith grows strong if we nurture it by prayer, by the sacraments, daily fidelity to God’s love, especially by doing God’s will according to our calling in life. Maybe we need to pray at least once daily for a very great increase of faith, trust and love.

In this sense faith is an encounter with Someone we believe loves us and who invites us into a loving relationship, in order to become a partner of his in his work.  It begins at baptism but since faith is life it has to grow toward maturity, to develop.  Jesus was always faithful to the will of his Father which finally led to his death on the cross, the true meaning and outcome of faith – giving oneself totally to the other in a relationship no matter what the cost. We see this in many people who care for their children, parents, relatives, friends or neighbours, at great cost to themselves.

“Heavenly Father, praise and thank you for the gift of faith, your invitation to us to enter into a loving relationship with you, Jesus and the Spirit.  Give us all a great increase of Faith, Trust and Love. Amen” 

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA

19 September 2010

Amos 8.4-7
1 Timothy 2.1-8
Luke 16.1-13

I once attended the First Communion Mass of a 9-year-old daughter of good friends of mine. Back at their home for a celebration the little girl started to busy herself opening the gifts she had received. She focused on opening the envelopes. All but the last one she opened had money in it. She shook the offending empty envelope but to no avail and declared: ‘this one doesn’t work’. A child of our times alright, but in what way has she been brought up by us. Will the parents educate her to have a proper attitude to money? Today’s readings are about money, wealth and various attitudes towards them.

Before I went to Nigeria I was invited by a former classmate to go for a meal. He had a very important job as the Financial Manager of a company. He seemed to be very well off financially. When I returned to Ireland for my vacation I asked about him. I was shocked and very saddened to be told that he had been sentenced to 5 years in prison for fraud and stealing company money.

He reminded me of the dishonest steward in today’s gospel. Sadly, the gospel parable seems to jump out at us directly from today’s newspaper headlines. Quite often we hear of managers and others being accused of and dismissed for squandering money entrusted to them. Accounts of falsified documents, forgery, misuse of funds, scams – it seems Jesus is speaking of our time as well as his own.

What surprises us about today’s gospel is that at first Jesus seems to be praising the dishonest steward for what he has done. Rather, we would expect Jesus to condemn the actions of the dishonest steward. What Jesus praises the dishonest steward for is not his dishonesty but his astuteness or prudence in reacting to the situation when his master finds him out. He uses his imagination in a creative way to secure his future. He knows he is not strong enough to dig; he would be ashamed to beg. An important aspect of the parable then is that in the face of a crisis, of total loss he acts immediately and decisively. The crisis he finds himself in demands instant action and he responds.

Jesus compares the ‘children of light’, his followers, with the ‘children of this world’, those who live according to worldly values only. As the steward prepares for one form of ‘after-life’ when he is dismissed, Jesus invites us to be as decisive in preparing for our ‘after-life’. Jesus is not commending any form of dishonesty but rather invites us to take advantage of life’s opportunities to choose real life.

‘Use money to win you friends’ – money is there to serve us. Jesus invites us to use mammon, that is, money or material goods to share them with others, our families, friends as well as those less well off. There is a big difference between being a steward of the wealth and talents God has blessed us with and being at their mercy. Instead of us controlling them we can allow them to control us. For St. Luke, helping the poor and needy is the best way for us to serve God and not mammon.

This is what the prophet Amos speaks about in the first reading. He condemns those who are already well off but seek only to make themselves richer by exploiting the poor and the lowly. Religion can never be relegated to the purely private and subjective sphere, but must be assertive in the search for social justice.

The dishonest steward solved his problem by relying on the mercy of his master. How much will our loving God help us in our crises if we depend and trust in his mercy? Thus, the real point of the parable is to confirm the kindness and generosity of the master.  He did not send the steward to prison but only dismissed him.  He would honour the lower amounts the dishonest steward negotiated with the debtors.  Jesus is saying – ‘this is your God.  He could really punish you for your sinful ways but is merciful and compassionate to you like the master in the parable. He accepts a lot less from you than he is entitled to receive because of his incredible goodness to you’.

But Jesus is also challenging us. ‘Wake up’, he says. Be more decisive and imaginative in your Christian vocation so as to use your talents, money and the material goods of this world as is worthy of children of God. We don’t know what time remains for any of us. The terrible evil terrorist attacks we see daily on our TV screens should be a warning to us not to be complacent. God is so generous with us in spite of our dishonest ways. It is an invitation to us all to examine ourselves to see if we act honestly. Do we need to repent in any way and turn back to him using our talents and material goods to build his kingdom?

‘Heavenly Father, we are all dishonest stewards in one way or another. Thank you for your great patience in accepting far less in return from us than you deserve. Change our hearts so that we can be more loving and generous in our response to you. Amen.’      

Fr. Jim Kirstein, SMA