Traversing Emmaus

Homily for Wednesday in the Fifth Week in Lent, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"King Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have erected...?' [They] replied, ‘Your question hardly requires an answer: if our God, the one we serve, is able to save us from the burning fiery furnace and from your power, O king, he will save us; [but] even if he does not... we will not serve your god or worship (cf. Dan 3:14-28).

"To the Jews who believed in him Jesus said: ‘If you make my word your home you will indeed be my disciples, you will learn the truth and the truth will make you free... the slave’s place in the house is not assured, but the son’s place is assured. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed... If God were your father, you would love me, since I have come here from God; yes, I have come from him; not that I came because I chose, no, I was sent, and by him.’" (cf. Jn 8:31-48).

"The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless: 'Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting flames?'" (Is 33:14).

Artwork: Camino de Emaús, by Lelio Orsi, 1560–1565.

Homily for Fifth Sunday (of Year A) in Lent, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I knew indeed that you always hear me, but I speak for the sake of all these who stand round me, so that they may believe it was you who sent me." (John 11).

Artwork: The Raising of Lazarus, by Duccio, 1310–11.

Homily for Laetar Sunday, the Fourth Sunday (of Year A) in Lent, 2022, delivered in St Agnes Church, Agnes Waters, Qld.

‘"Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’... ‘Blind? If you were,
you would not be guilty,
but since you say, “We see,”
your guilt remains.’" (John 9:1-41).

"Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (Rom 5:1-5).

Homily for Laetar Sunday, the Fourth Sunday (of Year A) in Lent, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Gladstone, Qld.

The Sunday Gospel passage is abridged in this episode; the full Gospel can be seen below, and heard in the following episode.

"As Jesus went along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, for him to have been born blind?’ ‘Neither he nor his parents sinned,’ Jesus answered ‘he was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

‘As long as the day lasts
I must carry out the work of the one who sent me;
the night will soon be here when no one can work.
As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.’

Having said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the spittle, put this over the eyes of the blind man, and said to him, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (a name that means ‘sent’). So the blind man went off and washed himself, and came away with his sight restored.
    His neighbours and people who earlier had seen him begging said, ‘Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?’ Some said, ‘Yes, it is the same one.’ Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ The man himself said, ‘I am the man.’ So they said to him, ‘Then how do your eyes come to be open?’ ‘The man called Jesus’ he answered ‘made a paste, daubed my eyes with it and said to me, “Go and wash at Siloam”; so I went, and when I washed I could see.’ They asked, ‘Where is he?’ ‘I don’t know’ he answered.
    They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been a sabbath day when Jesus made the paste and opened the man’s eyes, so when the Pharisees asked him how he had come to see, he said, ‘He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.’ Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot be from God: he does not keep the sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How could a sinner produce signs like this?’ And there was disagreement among them. So they spoke to the blind man again, ‘What have you to say about him yourself, now that he has opened your eyes?’ ‘He is a prophet’ replied the man. However, the Jews would not believe that the man had been blind and had gained his sight, without first sending for his parents and asking them, ‘Is this man really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how is it that he is now able to see?’ His parents answered, ‘We know he is our son and we know he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that he can see now, or who opened his eyes. He is old enough: let him speak for himself.’ His parents spoke like this out of fear of the Jews, who had already agreed to expel from the synagogue anyone who should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ. This was why his parents said, ‘He is old enough; ask him.’
    So the Jews again sent for the man and said to him, ‘Give glory to God! For our part, we know that this man is a sinner.’ The man answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner; I only know that I was blind and now I can see.’ They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He replied, ‘I have told you once and you wouldn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it all again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’ At this they hurled abuse at him: ‘You can be his disciple,’ they said ‘we are disciples of Moses: we know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ The man replied, ‘Now here is an astonishing thing! He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where he comes from! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but God does listen to men who are devout and do his will. Ever since the world began it is unheard of for anyone to open the eyes of a man who was born blind; if this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing.’ ‘Are you trying to teach us,’ they replied ‘and you a sinner through and through, since you were born!’ And they drove him away.
    Jesus heard they had driven him away, and when he found him he said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied ‘tell me who he is so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You are looking at him; he is speaking to you.’ The man said, ‘Lord, I believe’, and worshipped him.
    Jesus said:

‘It is for judgement
that I have come into this world,
so that those without sight may see
and those with sight turn blind.’

Hearing this, some Pharisees who were present said to him, ‘We are not blind, surely?’ Jesus replied:

‘Blind? If you were,
you would not be guilty,
but since you say, “We see,”
your guilt remains.’" (John 9:1-41).

"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want; If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear. You are there with your crook and your staff; with these you give me comfort." (Ps 23:1, 4). "You were darkness once, but now you are light in the Lord; wake up from your sleep, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Eph 5:8, 14).

Homily for Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Third Week in Lent), 2022, delivered in to some of the children at St John the Baptist Primary School, Gladstone, Qld.

"Listen now, House of David... the Lord himself, therefore, will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’ (cf. Is 7). 

"The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. "Rejoice, Mary!" [The angel said,] "... do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.’ Mary answered, 'let what you have said be done to me.'" (cf. Lk 1:26-38).

"The Word became flesh, he lived among us, and we saw his glory." (Jn 1:14).

Pope Francis' Act of Consecration for Ukraine and Russia, prayed on Friday March 25, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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O Mary, Mother of God and our Mother, in this time of trial we turn to you. As our Mother, you love us and know us: no concern of our hearts is hidden from you.  Mother of mercy, how often we have experienced your watchful care and your peaceful presence! You never cease to guide us to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

Yet we have strayed from that path of peace.  We have forgotten the lesson learned from the tragedies of the last century, the sacrifice of the millions who fell in two world wars. We have disregarded the commitments we made as a community of nations. We have betrayed peoples’ dreams of peace and the hopes of the young. We grew sick with greed, we thought only of our own nations and their interests, we grew indifferent and caught up in our selfish needs and concerns. We chose to ignore God, to be satisfied with our illusions, to grow arrogant and aggressive, to suppress innocent lives and to stockpile weapons. We stopped being our neighbour’s keepers and stewards of our common home. We have ravaged the garden of the earth with war and by our sins we have broken the heart of our heavenly Father, who desires us to be brothers and sisters. We grew indifferent to everyone and everything except ourselves. Now with shame we cry out: Forgive us, Lord!

Holy Mother, amid the misery of our sinfulness, amid our struggles and weaknesses, amid the mystery of iniquity that is evil and war, you remind us that God never abandons us, but continues to look upon us with love, ever ready to forgive us and raise us up to new life. He has given you to us and made your Immaculate Heart a refuge for the Church and for all humanity. By God’s gracious will, you are ever with us; even in the most troubled moments of our history, you are there to guide us with tender love.

We now turn to you and knock at the door of your heart. We are your beloved children. In every age you make yourself known to us, calling us to conversion. At this dark hour, help us and grant us your comfort. Say to us once more: “Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” You are able to untie the knots of our hearts and of our times. In you we place our trust.  We are confident that, especially in moments of trial, you will not be deaf to our supplication and will come to our aid.

That is what you did at Cana in Galilee, when you interceded with Jesus and he worked the first of his signs. To preserve the joy of the wedding feast, you said to him: “They have no wine” (Jn 2:3). Now, O Mother, repeat those words and that prayer, for in our own day we have run out of the wine of hope, joy has fled, fraternity has faded. We have forgotten our humanity and squandered the gift of peace. We opened our hearts to violence and destructiveness. How greatly we need your maternal help!

Therefore, O Mother, hear our prayer.

Star of the Sea, do not let us be shipwrecked in the tempest of war.

Ark of the New Covenant, inspire projects and paths of reconciliation.

Queen of Heaven, restore God’s peace to the world. Eliminate hatred and the thirst for revenge, and teach us forgiveness.
Free us from war, protect our world from the menace of nuclear weapons.

Queen of the Rosary, make us realize our need to pray and to love.

Queen of the Human Family, show people the path of fraternity.

Queen of Peace, obtain peace for our world.

O Mother, may your sorrowful plea stir our hardened hearts. May the tears you shed for us make this valley parched by our hatred blossom anew. Amid the thunder of weapons, may your prayer turn our thoughts to peace. May your maternal touch soothe those who suffer and flee from the rain of bombs. May your motherly embrace comfort those forced to leave their homes and their native land. May your Sorrowful Heart move us to compassion and inspire us to open our doors and to care for our brothers and sisters who are injured and cast aside.

Holy Mother of God, as you stood beneath the cross, Jesus, seeing the disciple at your side, said: “Behold your son” (Jn 19:26). In this way he entrusted each of us to you. To the disciple, and to each of us, he said: “Behold, your Mother” (v. 27). Mother Mary, we now desire to welcome you into our lives and our history. At this hour, a weary and distraught humanity stands with you beneath the cross, needing to entrust itself to you and, through you, to consecrate itself to Christ. The people of Ukraine and Russia, who venerate you with great love, now turn to you, even as your heart beats with compassion for them and for all those peoples decimated by war, hunger, injustice and poverty.

Therefore, Mother of God and our Mother, to your Immaculate Heart we solemnly entrust and consecrate ourselves, the Church and all humanity, especially Russia and Ukraine. Accept this act that we carry out with confidence and love.  Grant that war may end and peace spread throughout the world. The “Fiat” that arose from your heart opened the doors of history to the Prince of Peace.  We trust that, through your heart, peace will dawn once more. To you we consecrate the future of the whole human family, the needs and expectations of every people, the anxieties and hopes of the world.

Through your intercession, may God’s mercy be poured out on the earth and the gentle rhythm of peace return to mark our days. Our Lady of the “Fiat”, on whom the Holy Spirit descended, restore among us the harmony that comes from God. May you, our “living fountain of hope”, water the dryness of our hearts. In your womb Jesus took flesh; help us to foster the growth of communion. You once trod the streets of our world; lead us now on the paths of peace.
Amen.

Homily for Wednesday of the Third Week in Lent, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"... have life; enter and take possession; keep [and] observe [these] laws and customs [which] will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding..." (cf. Deut 4:1-9).

"Salvation comes from the Jews." (Jn 4:22 cf. Nostra Aetate; Dominus Iesus).

"Do not imagine I have come to abolish... I have come not to abolish but to complete — not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear: [Therefore] be considered great in the kingdom of heaven [by] keep[ing] and teach[ing]" all that has been received. (cf. Mt 5:17-19).

Homily for the Third Sunday (of Year A) in Lent, 2022, delivered in St Peter Chanel Church, Tannum Sands, Qld.

The Sunday Gospel passage is abridged in this episode; the full Gospel can be heard in the following episode.

“What am I to do with these people...?" The Lord answered, "Strike the rock, and the water will flow..." (cf. Ex 17). "... whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (cf. Jn 4).

Homily for Friday of the Second Week in Lent (and the Feast of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem), 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"... 'Here comes the man of dreams’ they said to one another. ‘Come on, let us kill him... our brother, and our own flesh'..." (Gen 37:19,20, 26).
 
"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotte son... [whom] they sold him... for twenty [or so] silver pieces." (Jn 3:16 cf. Gen 37:28; Mt 26:15).

"Having received this pledge of eternal salvation, we pray, O Lord, that we may set our course so well as to attain the redemption you promise — through Christ our Lord." (Prayer after Communion).

Homily for Wednesday of the Second Week in Lent, 2022, delivered in Our Lady Star of the Sea, Gladstone, Qld.

"Keep your family, O Lord, schooled always in good works, and so comfort them with your protection here as to lead them graciously to gifts on high." (From the Collect).

"Come on, let us concoct a plot; let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen  carefully to every word..." (cf. Jer 18:18-20). "You do not know what you are asking... Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink...?" (cf. Mt 20:17-28).