One immediate reaction to today's gospel is to say that Jesus just could not be serious with his suggestion that instead of inviting to our celebrations friends and those who will invite us back in return, we should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. It is just not on, we feel.
The crux is that Jesus is serious. He is condemning our exclusivity, that trait within us which causes us to exclude from our circle people who will not benefit us, or who indeed, may threaten our comfort in some way.
We exclude because we are selfish or fearful. Our selfishness causes us to grasp the good things of life for ourselves no matter what the consequences for others. Such selfishness can be so habitual that it becomes unconscious and may even be misunderstood for success. Such confusion is rampant and destructive of inner peace. Our fear prevents us trusting those who differ from us socially or economically. This fear is a paralysis that inhibits even the first step in reaching out to others and so much good is left undone.
Jesus promises to cure both our selfishness and our fear if we want him to do so now.
Young babies have an unending fascination for many people. Some try to spot the inherited looks. Others try to look for premature signs of greatness, often to the embarrassment of parents who just want to treasure their child now without outside speculation about the future. Such speculation was forced on Mary and Joseph from the beginning as the shepherds recounted the signs that accompanied the birth of Jesus.
For the parents, it had been a normal enough birth with all the discomforts and inconveniences that are the usual lot of the very poor. But the shepherds insisted that angels had told them that Jesus was to be saviour of the world. The frugality of the stable gave little indication of such future greatness.
Yet, like many parents, Mary and Joseph believed in the God-given destiny of their child whatever it was to be.
To believe in the precious destiny of each child is at the core of fulfilling parenting, both its joy and its challenge. To lose faith in one's offspring is to amputate part of oneself and to cripple the development of those entrusted to us. It can happen by substituting our own ambitions for the unique niche which God has created for each child. Like all Jewish mothers, Mary must have had her own hopes for her Messiah son. But to her eternal credit, she trusted the Father to reveal in time the role for which Jesus was destined.
Her trust was tested especially at Calvary and rewarded uniquely at her assumption.
Illness, or the untimely death of the talented and influential, often reminds us of how fragile is the gift of life. Yesterday's gift does not entitle us to to-morrow. Today is what we have and it cannot be hoarded. Indeed, it must be used extravagantly in the loving service of others in accordance with the intentions of the donor.
A heresy of our time is to believe that we are creatures of our own worth rather than recipients of the goodness of God. Such a heresy leads us to seek our security through our own efforts. Seeking security is a basic thrust in every human heart. When it is frustrated, despair sets in and anxiety erodes inner peace. The difference between the two is that some seek where it can never be found while others realise that it is only in God that lasting security lies.
God's fidelity is the rock on which we base our hope. God has promised to be with us always. With such a reassurance, the call is always to place our trust in God and always to be ready to answer his every call.
The beach was a hive of activity. Among the younger children there was an air of competition about the building of forts in the sand. Each group of youngsters wanted to build better than anybody else. Even in the heat, they worked hard and long. Their achievements were really something to admire. But the tide turned and was gradually creeping shorewards. It nibbled at the outer fortifications and then quite rapidly the entire array crumbled.
Something similar often happens in life. People may spend years building for themselves little kingdoms of wealth, power, influence or popularity. Then the tide of health or good fortune turns and suddenly or gradually, all is swept away like the sandcastles on the beach. It is a stark reminder that we have not here a lasting city. It is a reminder that we need constantly because the temptation is to imitate the youngsters in the sand and spend our energies trying to be better than our neighbour by having more wages, better holidays, nicer things, a bigger car, higher status or greater influence, whereas the most lasting achievement in life is what we do to benefit others. Giving brings more lasting happiness than getting.
Christ has another way of putting this message today.
The first prayer that arises in many hearts is one of asking for personal needs. This is fair enough because even the Lord taught us to pray regularly for our daily bread. But prayer cannot stop there. If we are to grow in the knowledge and appreciation of our God we must move on to praise his name with grateful hearts. This is what we will do for all eternity and beginning now is a good start for eternal happiness.
Genuinely, praising another is allowing oneself to recognise un- selfishly the goodness of the other person and being inwardly touched by that very goodness. Expressing such praise brings great joy and uplifts the praising heart. Such prayer is the core of
deepening faith. We strive for it in the 'Our Father' when we pray 'Hallowed be thy name'.
Petition is a prelude to praise as an awareness of our needs leads us to rejoice in our God who meets these needs. Petition and praise are joined in today's gospel.
The theme of welcome and hospitality run through the readings at Mass this Sunday. In the first reading Abraham and his wife Sarah welcomed the three visitors by attending to their needs and serving them. In the Gospel Martha and Mary welcomed Jesus when he visited them. Martha cooked for him and served. Mary listened attentively to him. In both accounts, the welcome of both parties opened the way for them to receive blessings. Abraham and Sarah, longing for the distant hope of conceiving a child in old age, received the joyous news of the future birth of their child. As for Martha and Mary, Jesus wanted to give the fullest possible blessing, one that required a quiet, attentive and listening heart to receive. Martha, distracted by all the serving and feeling aggrieved that Mary wasn't helping her, wasn't at peace and unable to receive the blessing.
How do these readings challenge us as Christians and what do they practically mean in our busy lives? I think there's a lot of sound wisdom about putting God first and foremost in our daily lives; the paradox being that when we do, even if there are so many demands upon us, everything else assumes its rightful priority. Lets try to make a little time for God in the day, if only for 10 minutes, for how can we truly claim to love someone if we don't spend time with them? The Bible is a privileged way in which God speaks to us, very personally and powerfully. The other side of the coin is the welcome we afford to others. The first command is two-fold: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbour as yourself'. Abraham got up from his siesta to offer hospitality to the three guests and he was amply rewarded! Do we go out of the way to speak to newcomers at Mass or do we just chat with those we know and like? What lengths we go to ensure that our lives are comfortable and secure! Are we prepared to be inconvenienced in caring and loving those around us? What is our rule of life: me, myself and I or the call to give myself away in love to those placed in the path of my life?
"Love your neighbour as yourself". Today's Gospel reflects the wonderful care, concern and support we Sisters of St. Paul have received from you since we first came to St. Joseph's in September 1988.
At that time Sr. Catherine was with me and Canon Doyle welcomed us into the Parish and asked you to take care of us which you have done most generously. Sr. Catherine moved to a different apostolate and Canon Doyle went to Winchester. Sr. Anthony came and Fr. Heap was Priest in Charge. Sadly Sr. Anthony got cancer and went to our Mother House in Birmingham for nursing care. Sr. Teresa took her place and was with us for ten years. Fr. Pat became Parish Priest at the same time, staying for six years. Fr. Charlie followed Fr. Pat and it was about this time that Sr. Teresa contracted cancer. Your support and care for Sr. Teresa - and for me - during her illness was unstinting. Sr. Teresa did not want to leave Maidenhead. Her death was a shock to us all, and your kindness evident at her funereal and Memorial Mass. In September 1999 Fr Tom became our Parish Priest and Sr. Christina arrived to help me in January 2002.
It has been a great privilege for us all and especially for me to have shared Parish life with you. I have learned so much from you and have been given the opportunity for a wide pastoral experience, from working with parents who want their babies baptised to taking Holy Communion to the elderly. During my time here those baptised have received First Holy Communion and even been Confirmed. Indeed those Confirmed have brought their babies for Baptism! You have taught me all I know about what it means to be a Parish Sister and because of this and because you have so ably taken on the ministries of catechist, ministers of the Word and of the Eucharist and so much more, I am free to become Pastoral Assistant in a new Parish. Fr Marcus Stock of Coleshill in Warwickshire is in desperate need of someone to help him with Sacramental Programmes and Parish work and our Superior General has asked me to help.
I am going to miss you all so much but in a sense I am taking you with me into my new apostolate. Thank you for all you have done for me and for all you have given to me, not least for your final generous parting gift. Among other things I have thoughts of a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela. I especially want to thank Fr Tom who really is a wonderful priest, a man of prayer and a community builder. He has done so much for St Joseph's since he came and done so much for me.
Please continue to pray for me as I take up my new work and for Sr. Christina who is returning to Coventry. Sr. Christina has loved her time in Maidenhead. I can truly say it is all of you who have taught me what it means to be Church. Thank you.
It is said that good parents give their children two special gifts: roots and wings. They give roots by providing a home that is secure. A home is a place where people can come and go from. It gives a sense of identity where the members can be themselves and are accepted for who they are, not what they are or what they can do.
The good home also provides wings, where the members can go away, do new things and make new friends. Through those new things people can become more themselves and can grow into maturity.
Jesus gave His disciples both roots and wings. He gave them the security of knowing Him and the comfort of His company. But He did not want them to always stay around Him. He wanted them to move out, meet new people and tell them something about Him and His Kingdom. The disciples would find out more about themselves and their newfound faith by spending time with other people.
As members of the church we are the same, needing roots and wings. We need the security of the church community but we also need to spend time with those outside the Christian family. We have our faith, not for ourselves but as a service to the community among whom we live. We need to take the example of the seventy-two. We need to go out to give and we need to return to receive support.
In today's Gospel, St Luke presents Jesus setting out for Jerusalem and nothing was going to stop Jesus from reaching His destination. He knew that what lay ahead for Him when He arrived would be suffering and death. He also knew that the reason He came down to earth was to fulfil that mission. His disciples were unclear about what the true mission of Jesus was. They certainly did not think that it had anything to do with suffering and death so Jesus had to be extra strong in keeping his goal in mind because He knew that He was going to be very much on His own.
Jesus is also very clear that those who were to follow Him also had a very definite path to travel. There was to be no turning back.
In our time we too need to have a clear set of goals so that our life has a definite focus. Without that focus we are just going to drift through life without ever achieving anything worthwhile. Having a vision can at times be a great cost to us but it will also make our lives worth living.
Who was Jesus? We might ask who Jesus is? The answer that we give will colour our whole Christian faith. If we don't know who Jesus is how can we expect to follow Him?
It was the same in Jesus' own time. People did not really know who he was or what His mission was all about. Even Peter thought that he knew who Jesus was and what He was all about, he had no idea that Jesus would have to suffer and die in order to complete His mission here on earth.
How are we going to find out who Jesus is? How are we to get to know Jesus? The answer is of course that we need to spend time with Him. We need to listen to what He says to us. We need to observe what He does: who His friends are. In other words we get to know Jesus the same way that we get to know anyone else. The more contact we have with Him the better we get to know Him, so when He asks us who He is, we will be able to give a very quick, clear reply. If we have to think about that reply then clearly we need to spend more time with Jesus in prayer and reading.
Today our liturgy reverts to the ordinary Sundays of the year. We leave behind Lent and Easter. We follow through St Luke's gospel, the public life of Jesus. St Luke tends to tell us what Jesus did and said. Through observing what He did and listening to what He said, we get to know who Jesus was and is. As we get to know Jesus, we can build a relationship with Him. He can be a person who is part of our lives and be many things to us. He can be our friend, the one that we spend time with and who supports us through good times and bad. All of us like to spend time with our friends and the more we get to know Jesus the more comfortable we get with Him and want to do what pleases Him. In this way our faith becomes one of our great joys and loves of our lives.
To get the most out of our readings, we need to spend time with them in preparation for Mass and see the context of where the reading comes from. Then we come to Mass and listen to the reader. Every reader who is well prepared puts their own emphasis and understanding to the reading and so brings something new to us in the reading. This is why we should be listeners to the word rather than fellow readers. When someone reads in church it is like hearing the reading for the first time because it is the first time that we have the opportunity of hearing the reading from that reader.
Today we celebrate the feast of the most holy Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity is the most fundamental of all our Christian truths because on it rests all of the other doctrines. If we are clear about the Trinity then we have the foundation on which all our other beliefs are based.
We believe that the Godhead is made up of three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all equal in making up the one Godhead. So instead of God being an individual or a great power, God is a community of persons. In fact God is the perfect community because of their unity, and the quality of the love that is shared. The love that is shared in the Trinity is outgoing, reaching out to include and embrace others to share in that love.
The doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery and so cannot be understood by our human minds. This does not mean that we ignore the Trinity but rather that we approach it with our affections rather than our intellect. We allow ourselves to be drawn into the life of the Trinity so that we can experience for ourselves something of the life and love of the Trinity. In this way our lives can be gradually changed as we are drawn more out of ourselves and into the life of the Trinity.
Today we celebrate the birthday of the Christian church. The Holy Spirit came down on the disciples. Their lives were changed forever. They were locked away for their own safety, afraid to go out in public. Suddenly their fear left them. They now had a sense of purpose in their lives. They had something to say to the world. They wanted to tell everyone about the risen Christ. Their newfound sense of purpose was far stronger than the fear that had paralysed their lives.
We are the disciples of our day. We too have received the gift of the spirit. But somehow with us, that spirit seems to make so little difference. We seem to lack the conviction and the motivation. What can we do? First of all we need to declutter our lives. We need to make room. Most of us are so busy with so many things that there is little room for anything else in our lives. We need to ask ourselves where our lives are leading. What purpose we have in living. If it is clear that our Christian faith is central then we need to make space so that our faith can grow.
On the first Pentecost there were only a few disciples. They were given the task of going out to the whole world and telling everyone. The size of the task did not deter them in any way from getting on with it. They allowed themselves to be driven by the Holy Spirit. If we allow the Holy Spirit to work in and through us then we too can achieve great things.
Each year the feast of Pentecost gives us a chance to make a new beginning.
The gospel of today's Mass is interesting because it gives us Christ's prayer for His disciples. This prayer is not just for those present at the time but it is for all His followers down through the ages. We are all included in that prayer. Jesus prays that we may be one just as He and the Father are one. Again and again Jesus talks about the relationship that He has with His Father. This relationship underpins His whole life and mission because He knows that whatever He does, He has His Father's full support and is never on His own. The prayer of Jesus can only come to life in our lives and community if we adopt the same attitude of Jesus. We need to work with Him and work with each other. Jesus is not going to impose His will on us so when we pray that we may be one, we need to make sure that all the conditions are in place to allow that prayer to become a reality in our lives.
Jesus was aware that His close union with His Father was the most effective way of showing the wholeness of His life and mission to the world. If we are to bear witness to our love of Jesus, we need to be able to demonstrate our unity. Our willingness of support and love for each other makes our lives so much happier but through our unity we will be able to do so much more. We will also be able to give better witness to our Christian faith in the world.
The early Christians were known to be Christian because of their love for each other, so today as we pray that we may be one with Jesus, we need to make sure that we are not putting any obstacle in the way of that unity.
Fear touches our lives in many ways. There is the fear of pain, hunger, illness, of being redundant, rejected or ridiculed. Often there is such a real basis for these fears that it would be foolhardy not to be anxious. But there is another fear; a personal inner fear that blocks one from accepting one's own goodness, from trusting the goodness of God or of other people. This is a fear that stops one reaching out with the act of kindness lest one appears to be a soft touch and so be exploited. It deadens the word of praise or good news even before it is voiced lest another be affirmed or encouraged. It postpones indefinitely the initial hug of forgiveness that could balm an aching heart and begin a deepening relationship. This fear ensures that a challenge to generosity, fidelity or truth is not uttered lest it transforms the heart of an individual, a family or a community. It traps an individual in the darkness of one's own self-centredness and limitations. It can show itself in defensiveness, arrogance or addiction. It destroys all joy in one's heart.
Today's gospel offers an escape from the web of fear that can entrap anyone. The escape route is the peace Christ promises to each one of us. To be healed of fear is Christ's gift to us. To enable another person to escape such fear is a cornerstone of the Christian's calling. It is the challenge facing God's people today.
On Saturday 24th April my mother died. She died as she had lived, passing away quietly. She was 85 years of age and she had been unwell for some time, spending the last six weeks of her life in hospital after a bad break of her leg. So in many ways, death came as a relief to her as there was very little prospect of any quality of life for her again. Yet when death came it was still a shock and it leaves an irreplaceable gap in the lives of her family. We all have only one mother and our family were blessed to have such a good mother.
I had the privilege of being the chief concelebrant of her funeral Mass. I was aware of the honour that was mine but I did never the less find it amazingly difficult. I was saying the final prayers for the one who had given me life. I felt that I was sending into eternal life the one who had given me natural life; maybe for me this was the making of another bond. My mother was blessed all her life with a very deep faith. She loved the mass and her prayers. I always felt that she was very much part of my priesthood. It was a great joy to me to be able to welcome her to the parishes where I worked. She spent many happy times here in Maidenhead where thanks to all of you she was made very welcome and felt very much at home.
I would like to thank all in the parish for your prayers and support over the past few weeks. Your support is a great consolation and source of strength to me in what has been a very demanding time. I know that I will need that continual support in the weeks ahead as I come to terms with the loss of my mother. There will be a Mass for the repose of the soul of my mother here at St Joseph's on Friday 21st May at 8pm to which you are all welcome.
This Sunday marks a special day of prayer for Vocations. Right from the outset, however, I want to dispel some widespread ideas about 'vocation'. The notion that 'vocation' refers only to a calling to the priesthood or religious life is seriously misguided. Why? Because it seems to suggest that God calls only a 'select' number of people to his service and the majority of others have a more peripheral role to play in the life of the Church. Vocation is personal and what underlies the truth of universal personal vocation is that God calls everybody by name. The Pope has spoken repeatedly of the unique calling of each baptized person in the circumstances of their daily lives and in the life and mission of the Church. This means you teenagers, you families, those of you who are single, you young folk and you not-so-young folk. An understanding of personal vocation and its meaning for the Christian life is crucial both to enriching the spiritual lives of many Christians and to the so-called vocations shortage. In fact, this old thinking about vocation discourages a lot of people from looking for their personal vocations, which in some cases may include a calling to the priesthood or religious life.
I will share some more thoughts on vocation with you at this weekend's Masses, but will leave you with a thought. As Christians responding to God's call over each of our lives, we shouldn't ask yourselves, 'What do I want out of life? - but more importantly 'What is God's plan for my life? and Lord, what do you want of me?' If we approach vocation in such a way, we can be confident that God will answer our question.
For previous "Thoughts" click here
Contact Details
Parish Priest: Fr. Tom McGrath, Tel: 01628 783988
Parish Office: 01628 783988 Fax: 01628 776863 (Monday to Friday 9.am to 12 noon)
Parish Centre: 01628 636312 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm)