Love Always Hopes

"This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him.
Mk.6:3

The home town of Jesus couldn't see past the Jesus they thought they knew. For them he would always be a carpenter.

Placing people in a box is a weakness of mine. I tend to rain on people's parades. I need to acknowledge that Jesus can do new things in peoples lives. Just look at what he did in mine! Love always hopes. Hopes in what? Hopes for the better, hopes for change.

Judgement stops progress dead in its tracks. Hope encourages growth and new life. 

Lord, let me be a hope-filled cheerleader.

The Key To The Kingdom

I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mt.18:3,4

Simplicity, innocence and littleness meld to form a key to the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus isn't just giving advice, he's giving a warning. Unless I change... I will never enter the kingdom. Change from what? Sophistication, impurity and aggrandisement. 

There's work to be done but the God who forgives, who heals who redeems and who crowns me with love (Ps.102:3,4)  is on my side.

Saint John Bosco, please pray for me.

An Open Hand

With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.
Mk.4:24

Jesus defines God's heart as a generous heart. 

The more I give, the more I receive. Generosity is a strange thing. Not only does it bless the receiver, it folds back and blesses the giver. 

Was it Winston Churchill who said, 'We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."? 

Jesus warns the reverse is also true. Miserliness shrinks a life. 

My wife is naturally generous. She will happily stuff $20 notes into a needy family's letterbox. Knowing that I struggle with this, she gets me to do the stuffing. 

Also, I've noticed that generous people tend to be joyful people. They are life-giving. Their hand is an open palm, not a grasping fist. They are the sort of people I like to hang around.

Lord, open my hand. Give me a generous heart like yours.

Simple is Best

Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one Teacher, the Christ.
Mt.23:10

The desire for honorific titles is a common enough human weakness for Jesus to see the need to address it. 

It's intriguing that the Church chooses this scripture for the memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, one of the Church's greatest of teachers. Maybe a key is the word "allow". This infers a fostering and encouragement of the title. 

For me this is a temptation from the world, a desire to become a mini-god in place of Jesus. The world exalts the rich, the powerful, the beautiful and the brainy while turning sharply from the poor, the weak, the plain and the simple. Scripture records Jesus being drawn more to the later group. 

So, the message from scripture for me this morning? A warning. There is a road to Hell and it is paved with self-exaltation. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas, please pray for me.

Anyone Welcome!

Anyone who does the will of God, that person is my brother and sister and mother.
Mk.3:35

Jesus identifies who can be included in his family. Anyone!

"Anyone" emphasises that it doesn't matter who. All are welcome into the family of God. "God wants all to be saved." (1Tim.2:4). 

I've heard it said that if our congregation doesn't include people who look different, sound different, act different... then we're in danger of becoming a club and there are clubs out there that do it better. 

Does my parish project a wide open door of invitation to the oddballs, deadbeats and reprobates? Do I? 

"So go into the highways and byways, and invite everyone you find to the wedding feast.’ And those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all they found, both bad and good; and the wedding was filled with guests." (Mt.22:9-11)

I think Church history is filled with times when groups have had a genuine encounter with God and then built a picket fence around the experience and started issuing membership tickets. Meanwhile the Holy Spirit quietly steps over the fence and moves on. 

Jesus, help me stop building fences and start building bridges. 

Complete Joy

I have told you this so that my own joy may be in you and your joy be complete.
Jn.15:11

It's the night before Jesus' passion and death. He comforts his disciples with the promise of something that the world cannot take away. Complete joy.

The disciples were about to experience complete despair. But joy comes in the morning (Ps.30:5). What was it that Jesus had just told them for their joy to be restored? That he loves them. 

This is the source of my complete joy today. Yes, it's raining outside and "stuff" is happening in my life. But, Jesus loves me in the midst of it all. He is with me. He is for me. He walks beside me on the road. His love is tangible and yes, my joy is complete. 

Jesus, I receive your love. Your joy is in me and my joy is complete.
Saint Francis de Sales, please pray for me.

Seek and Keep

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Mt.13:46

The Kingdom of heaven is something to seek and on finding, give my all to keep.

This Gospel is well chosen for the memorial to Saint Agnes, a girl who gave her all to keep her pearl of great price. I suspect at times we all quail at the prospect of martyrdom and ask ourselves, "Would I stay true to Jesus on threat of torture and death?" 

Our parish has been blessed in recent years by the arrival of immigrant families, many from countries where Catholics are a persecuted minority. I've noted that their faith is white hot. For them, lukewarm is not an option. They are inspirational.

Seek and then keep. 

Lord Jesus, may I never be something lukewarm that you spit from your mouth.
Saint Agnes, please pray for me.