These nine days provide us with a beautiful opportunity to reflect upon the position we give to the Holy Spirit in our lives and to become more attentive to those gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us through our Confirmation.

Isaiah lists the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit as he foretells the coming of the Messiah from the stock of Jesse: ‘And the Spirit of the Lord shall abide upon him: the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and courage, the Spirit of knowledge and of reverence; and the Spirit of awe towards the Lord shall fill him.‘  When we were confirmed, these gifts were bestowed on us  like little seeds planted in the soil.  When we look now at the state of these gifts within us, we no doubt find that some have grown into strong, strapping gifts, producing fruit in due season.  Others might more closely resemble lanky seedlings in desperate need of a larger pot, more light, less competition or more water.

It is possible, too, that we look and fail to see one of these gifts in us.  ’Wisdom?’ we might say, ‘Where is there wisdom in me?’  Well, perhaps ‘in me’ is the wrong phrase, for it is God’s Wisdom that we are given and so this gift of wisdom is developed through prayerfully conforming our minds and wills to God’s.  We try to learn to see as God sees; to discern always what is truly important and then to act accordingly.  This little seedling, like all the others, needs to be nurtured if we are to produce any true leaves, let alone fruit!

In these nine days of prayer, let us take time to thank the Holy Spirit for the gifts we have received and for the fruit produced through our co-operation.  Let us take time to reflect on the state of each of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives and pray that we may develop those gifts so that through us, the Holy Spirit will renew the face of the earth.

Come Holy Spirit,

fill the hearts of your faithful

and kindle in them the fire of your love.
V. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O God, who  taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit,

grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise

and ever enjoy His consolations.

Through Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

It is written in response to a request from Diognetus, who was  ’exceedingly desirous to learn the mode of worshipping God prevalent among the Christians’ .  The extract that follows is from chapter 5:

Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based upon reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.

 

And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labour under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.

Hopefully, we can all identify to some extent with this description.  We know we are ‘only passing through’ but how easy it is to forget!  We can so easily become entangled in the mess of day-to-day life that we can forget our true identity as children of God and forget our ultimate destination as ‘citizens of heaven’.  The troubles of the present moment engulf us and we try to fight our battles alone.

How, then, do we ensure that we continually measure up to Mathetes’ rather impressive portrait?  It is not enough to kneel before the God who made us on a daily basis, anchoring ourselves in prayer before the work of the day begins: we need to be reminded more often than that.  We need to raise our hearts and minds frequently throughout the day.  Simply taking a moment (frequently!) to remember that we are ‘only passing though’ and asking for Divine Assistance on our journey may be enough to retain that ‘extraordinary’ element in our lives that will enable us – as well as those who meet us – to give praise and glory to God.

 My vows I will pay before those who fear him.

The poor shall eat and shall have their fill.

They shall praise the Lord, those who seek him.

May their hearts live for ever and ever!

 

All the earth shall remember and return to the Lord,

All families of the nations worship before him.

They shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth;

Before him shall bow all who go down to the dust.

 

And my soul shall live for him, my children serve him.

They shall tell of the Lord to generations yet to come,

Declare his faithfulness to peoples yet unborn:

‘These things the Lord has done.’

However, without knowing what goes before these final seven verses, we really miss out on what the psalm has to teach us, for this is the psalm that begins, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’  We last heard it (or at least most of it) on Passion Sunday, when it sat between Isaiah 50 and the Philippians’ hymn and then was quoted (in St Mark’s passion) by Jesus as he cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ In such a setting, we can see why those last seven verses are omitted at that point in our liturgical year.

I wonder if it puzzled the Jews, to have ‘all who see me deride me’ sharing a psalm with ‘they shall worship him, all the mighty of the earth’?  Now, in the light of the resurrection, we see with clarity the parallel between Jesus’ three predictions of his passion[1] and this psalm of passion, which also ends with the confidence one expects from an Easter people.  The psalm as a whole illustrates for us the indivisibility of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

Although we do not hear the first part of the psalm on Sunday, we know that it is there, and so in praying this second part we remember how privileged we are to live in these ‘latter days’, in Anno Domini.  In the light of the resurrection, we dedicate our souls anew to living for him and telling of the Lord to generations yet to come.

Although he attended to his duties as Archbishop with holy diligence, his biographer Eadmer writes that the administration ‘was something which he could not patiently abide, and he used every pretext to withdraw himself from it so far as he could[1]’

Indeed, when Anselm was ‘harassed by secular business’, he found ‘relief from these trials, finding his chief consolation in burying himself in the cloister with the monks and talking to them of things pertaining to their rule of life… his chief consolation was in such companionship.’[2]

It is delightful to think that this intelligent and talented Saint, who was marked out from an early stage for ‘a higher charge’ found such comfort in friendship and was not afraid to spend a considerable amount of his time and energy nurturing those spiritual friendships.  For Anselm, the time spent in conversation or correspondence with brother monks was not ‘wasted’ time, but a valuable part of his life’s apostolate .

In all humility, he trusted that as his friendships deepened, so too would the relationships between those friends and their common love: God.  We all know that it is easy to take friendships for granted but perhaps St Anselm’s example teaches us that even within the busy-ness of our everyday lives, we should not be afraid to carve out significant time to build up friendships modelled on Love.

St Anselm of Bec, pray for us!

THIS SUNDAY: We continue to think about the Resurrection this week, from three different perspectives: the Gospel gives us another story of Jesus appearing to his disciples – this time the beautiful story of the meeting in Jerusalem, when Jesus proves he is alive and no ghost by eating some grilled fish: he reminds the disciples that all he suffered and rise so the “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” could be preached to the whole world. The first reading shows us Saint Peter’s doing just that, as he addresses the crowd in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost: he takes them through recent events (fifty days earlier), highlighting the important point, that he and the disciples can witness to the raising of Jesus from the dead, and calling them to “repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out.” The second reading brings this into our lives: the resurrection is not just a historical event, which we remember. By baptism (which we renewed at Easter) we become part of Jesus in his dying and his rising, as he ‘becomes the sacrifice that takes our sins away’. So all that Saint John tells us about the commandments and avoiding sin is our way of living the Resurrection.

EASTER REFLECTION BOOKLETS: These simple reflections taking you through each of the fifty days of Easter are still available from the Narthex, priced £1. Pick up your copy from the table.

TAIZE MUSIC AND PRAYER: In the midst of the Easter Season, we gather to celebrate the living presence of the Risen Christ – our hope and our life. This beautiful and simple evening of reflection will draw our attention towards the Resurrection. Monday 23 April at 7.30pm (that’s this coming Monday). Do come along; we deepen our relationship with the Lord through prayer, through the scriptures, and through beautiful, simple, chant. All are most welcome, and chance to invite our ecumenical friends, too.

TUESDAY CAFÉ: Beginning on Tuesday 22 May, our parish will start a short series of catechesis, deepening our understanding of the person of Jesus. Titled ‘Who are you looking for? I am he.’ this course spread out over nine weeks will explore the titles of Jesus we find in the Gospel. The format will be simple and uncomplicated. We meet after Mass at about 10.15am for a short little input and then leaving time for conversation around the table to explore the theme a little further. We have a wonderful, simple chance to deepen our understanding of  who Jesus is and what it means to be a Catholic… and all over a cuppa, beginning to explore what lies at the heart of what we believe. The sessions are open to everyone and you are warmly encouraged to come along and to bring friends with you. There will be a good cup of coffee or tea and some cakes, too. Dates: 22 May, 29 May, 12 June, 19 June, 26 June, 3 July, 10 July, and 17 July. We start at 10.15am and will meet for an hour… simple, informative, engaging, and uncomplicated. The full programme of titles will appear next week.

PARISH FORUM: The Forum group meets again on Wednesday 25 April at 7.30pm in the presbytery.

FIRST COMMUNION PREPARATION: The children preparing for First Communion this summer pick up their preparation again after the Easter break, they meet on Wednesday 25 April in school. They come to celebrate the gift of the Cross NEXT Sunday, 29 April, at 10.30am Mass.

PARISH LITURGY GROUP: The group meets next on Wednesday 16 May at 7.30pm (after Mass) in the presbytery.

OPENING THE WINDOWS – IN CELEBRATION OF VATICAN II: The fifth lecture in our diocesan series takes place at the Cathedral on Tuesday 15 May, beginning at 7.30pm. Professor Gavin D’Costa from Bristol University leads the reflection upon the Church reaching out to those of other faiths. He will explore the Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions – Nostra Aetate, and the Declaration on Religious Freedom – Dignitatis Humanae. They have been fantastic lectures so far. Do go along. There’s plenty of parking and it is free to get in, too.

GOOD SHEPHERD SUNDAY – DAY OF PRAYER FOR VOCATIONS: Next Sunday, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is a Sunday where we focus our prayer each year upon praying for Vocations to the Priesthood, the Diaconate, and to the Religious Life. The second collection is taken next Sunday for the Diocesan Priests’ Training Fund. This fund supports the students for the priesthood and permanent diaconate of our diocese in their years of formation, and also supports the ongoing formation of our priests. Do please give as generously as you can and keep this intention in your prayers.

PARISH MAGAZINE: The Easter/Spring edition of the parish Magazine is available from the Narthex. Do pick your copy as there are some interesting articles in it. They are free and if you want to pop a little something towards production costs in with the newspaper money, then please feel free to do so. You will notice that many of the groups within the parish are seeking to recruit some new faces. If you can respond in any way to their requests or you want to find out a little more and how much commitment is needed, do get in touch with the particular individuals who are inviting you to use your wonderful talents and skills for the good of our parish community.

RONALD COUTTS RIP: Our prayers are offered for Ronald Coutts who died this last week, and we keep his family in our prayers at this time. We also keep in our prayers those who are sick, and for those who are suffering and close to death at this time. May God’s Holy Spirit give them comfort, solace and peace.

In his Homily for the Easter Vigil, the Holy Father spoke about the Paschal candle as being ‘a light that lives from sacrifice. The candle shines inasmuch as it is burnt up.  It gives light, inasmuch as it gives itself. Thus the Church presents most beautifully the paschal mystery of Christ, who gives himself and so bestows the great light’.  We are drawn into considering how we give ourselves so that the light of Christ might be seen in us by those around us.

There is a holy beauty to the Paschal candle which is beyond words.  However, the great hymn of the Exsultet comes close to describing it and of course this year, the candle’s perfect praises were sung in our new translation for the first time.  One of the more obvious changes to the Exsultet is the reintroduction of this (previously omitted) paragraph, which helps the Exsultet come closer still to conveying that holy beauty of the Paschal candle:

On this, your night of grace, O holy Father, 

accept this candle, a solemn offering, 

the work of bees and of your servants’ hands, 

an evening sacrifice of praise, 

this gift from your most holy Church. 

But now we know the praises of this pillar, 

which glowing fire ignites for God’s honour, 

a fire into many flames divided, 

yet never dimmed by sharing of its light, 

for it is fed by melting wax, 

drawn out by mother bees to build a torch so precious. 

The Pope referred to this paragraph towards the end of his homily, as though recognising that we English speakers could do with a little reflection on what is – to us – a new and unfamiliar part of the Exsultet.  Let’s let him complete for us, then, our reflection:

The great hymn of the Exsultet, which the deacon sings at the beginning of the Easter liturgy… reminds us that this object, the candle, has its origin in the work of bees.  So the whole of creation plays its part. In the candle, creation becomes a bearer of light. But in the mind of the Fathers, the candle also in some sense contains a silent reference to the Church. The cooperation of the living community of believers in the Church in some way resembles the activity of bees. It builds up the community of light. So the candle serves as a summons to us to become involved in the community of the Church, whose raison d’être is to let the light of Christ shine upon the world.

Let us pray to the Lord at this time that he may grant us to experience the joy of his light; let us pray that we ourselves may become bearers of his light, and that through the Church, Christ’s radiant face may enter our world (cf. LG 1). Amen.

‘And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that place which is called Calvary‘ (Lk 19:17)

‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me‘ (Lk 9:23).  We all must carry crosses in our lives.  Sometimes they are obvious to all, sometimes they are unseen, even by those who know us well.

The cross is often inescapable:  ’even the Philistines’, as Jesus might have said, ‘carry their crosses’.  So how are we – as Christians – to carry our own crosses?

We look to Jesus to learn.  Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried…  Yet the gravest of injustices drew no complaint from the victim; not so much as a murmur.  In Gethsemane, he had brought his true thoughts and feelings to his Father in prayer.  He then accepted his Father’s will – and therefore his cross – graciously.  He shouldered his cross with every ounce of energy he could muster from his beaten and torn body and carried out the Father’s will faithfully.

St Josemaria Escriva advised: don’t drag the Cross…Carry it squarely on your shoulder, because your Cross, if you carry it so, will not be just any Cross: it will be…the Holy Cross. Don’t bear your Cross with resignation: resignation is not a generous word. Love the Cross. When you really love it, your Cross will be…a Cross, without a Cross. 

My most gracious and patient Lord Jesus,

as I meditate on you carrying your cross,

I ask you for the grace to take up my cross each day

graciously, generously and without so much as a murmur.

I pray that I may always see where I can help others carry their cross,

knowing that in doing so together, we build up your Kingdom here on earth.

Help me when I stumble, Lord,

to remember that you are there with outstretched hand

and give me the grace to rise again, as often as I stumble,

confident in your mercy, love and forgiveness.

Amen.

 

The series of reflections will begin on the Fifth Sunday of Lent – 25 March 2012.

Log on each day to jounrey through those fourteen steps to the Cross and to the tomb.

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!”‘ (Mt 27:27-29).

My Lord Jesus, as I meditate upon your crowning with thorns, I look at your beloved head as you stand in the praetorium.  No looks to attract the eye, so disfigured you look, that you seem no longer human… and so my eye comes to rest on the crown they have placed upon your sacred head.  It is true that they know not what they do, for they have crowned the one who is not only king of the Jews but of the whole of creation.  And yet where the finest of diamonds and jewels should be found, there are thorns.  O my Jesus, my love above all things, I see now that these sharp thorns are the jewels in your crown!  These piercing thorns symbolise the nails that will be driven through your flesh and into the wood of your cross.  O my beloved redeemer, as you stand silently in the praetorium, you teach us the meaning of suffering!  You wear in your crown the symbols of your victory – through suffering – over death.

Beloved Lord, let me learn from you.  Let me trust and never forget that there is nothing I can give to you that you can’t use for my good.  Help me to accept from your hands the crosses that come my way.  Help me to know that I never carry them alone, for you are always with me, Lord.  Help me to unite my little sufferings with your passion and cross, that they may become jewels in my crown and I, in turn, become a jewel in yours.

Amen.

“Then Pilate took Jesus and scourged him.” (Jn 19:1)

The Evangelists all cover Christ’s scourging in few words.  Their brevity as well as Our Lord’s own silence during his passion allows the words of the prophets to be heard echoing through the years, especially, in this case, Isaiah’s Song of the Suffering Servant (ch 53),  verse 5:

But he was pierced for our transgressions, 
   he was crushed for our iniquities; 
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, 
   and by his wounds we are healed.

St Anselm once wrote that if we knew how much our sins offend God, we’d never sin.  It is a sobering thought, isn’t it?  Similarly, if we even had an inkling of an idea of how much God loves us, we would never sin again.

 My Lord Jesus, 

Out of love for mankind, 

You submitted yourself to be scourged, 

Taking upon yourself the sins of the world.

Out of love for mankind… out of love for me.  

O my Jesus, through meditating on this sorrowful mystery, 

may I come to know ever more fully how much you love me.

May this knowledge foster in me an abhorrence of sin

and a determination never to offend you again

Amen.