Our Loves are Scattered
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- Written by Conor McDonough OP
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Solemnity of St Joseph
Luke 2:41-51
St Joseph is often presented as a model of masculinity and a model of chastity. Yet these two words are rarely associated in our culture. Manly men – from James Bond to the ideal men of lads’ mags – are presented as those who know what they want and know how to get it, with little concern for consequences. Self-control, especially mastery over sexual desires, is rarely part of the picture. St Joseph represents an older tradition, which saw virility (literally ‘manliness’, from the Latin ‘vir’) as including self-control, not being subject to changing desires. It is for this reason that he is represented with a lily, the flower which represents purity. A statue of a bearded man holding a single lily looks bizarre to us, even when we understand the symbolism at work, but I think that says more about us and our vision of masculinity than it does about Joseph.
Everyone Needs God's Mercy
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- Written by Daragh McNally OP
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Solemnity of St Patrick
John 8:1-11
In today's gospel for the feast of St Patrick, we have the account of the women about to be stoned to death for committing adultery. It may strike us as a harsh reading for such a joyous day. Yet it actually is a very relevant reading for this feast of St Patrick.
The Scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus what they think should happen to her, citing the Law which demands she be stoned to death. Jesus bends down and writes on the ground, eventually gets up, and says simply "Let the one among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her". With this, everyone leaves one by one until only she and Jesus are left. No one had chosen to condemn her, because they all realised that they were not guiltless at all. Everyone present had at some point sinned and was in need of God's mercy.
To Experience a Change of Heart
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- Written by Colm Mannion OP
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3rd Sunday of Lent
Luke 13:1-9
Jesus presents the parable of the barren fig tree in the context of two disasters that had happened in Jerusalem. The first was the massacre of some Galileans by Pilate in the temple. In connection to this event, Jesus was asked ‘did these people suffer because they were worse sinners than other Galileans?’ The other incident was the collapse of a tower in Siloam which left eighteen people dead. Again, people felt prompted to ask Jesus ‘were those eighteen persons who perished worse sinners than others who lived in Jerusalem?’ The answer Jesus gives to these questions is negative, but in both replies he warns his listeners to ‘repent’, or they too will perish. It is clear that Jesus does not attribute tragedy or accident directly to any particular person’s sin. Instead, He affirms the sinfulness of everyone. Whereas victims of calamity die physically, anyone who does not repent faces spiritual death. The parable of the barren fig tree is then told by Jesus.
Repent and Believe the Gospel
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- Written by Patrick Desmond OP
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4th Sunday of Lent
Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
“Repent and believe the Gospel”. Perhaps we heard those words uttered by the priest as he made the sign of the cross on our forehead with ashes at the beginning of Lent. Who among us can genuinely meet Christ in the Gospel and not feel the need for repentance? Faced with such perfection, our many imperfections are held up to our face as if in a mirror. Today's Gospel brilliantly captures both our need for repentance and God's willingness to accept it. Anybody who has any doubt about forgiveness of sins, as the Church understands it in the sacrament of penance, may hopefully see something of the way God works through the priest in this beautiful parable. The contrast between God's attitude to forgiveness and our human attitude is beyond compare; they are of two different orders.
The Brilliant Glory of Jesus
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- Written by Damian Polly OP
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2nd Sunday of Lent
Luke 9:28-36
For me, two lines stand out in St Luke's account of the Transfiguration. The first is 'Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep'. This instantly reminds me of another time, following this event, when Peter, James and John are found sleeping by Jesus; in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Transfiguration and Jesus' agony in the Garden of Gethsemane are very much linked and not just because Peter, James and John were found to be sleeping during both events. For Peter, James and John, Jesus' closest disciples, the glory of the Transfiguration is to be a time of preparation for the horror of the garden. Archbishop Fulton Sheen puts it very well: 'To believe in his Calvary, they must see the glory that shone beyond the scandal of the Cross'.