Mar 23, 2017
Living Life to the Full
Are we living our lives, or are we sleepwalking through life?
God has given us the gift of life and desires us to make the most of it. Yet how often are we just going through the motions? Or do we feel like the dried bones of the first reading? Perhaps we feel like Lazarus in the gospel, bound, blind, and buried?
Lent is Christian Spring. Just as the natural world comes to new life in Spring, so God gives us the season of Lent as a time for us to come alive in new ways.
What is it that binds us in mediocre living? What prevents us from using our talents to the full, or even from knowing all of our capabilities? What causes us to miss the mark of living a full life, free of useless habits and addictions?
In Hebrew, the word which we translate as “sin” literally means to “miss the mark”. It comes from the world of archery. Sinning is not just breaking laws; it is a failure to live life to the full. It is choosing to stay in the safe familiar tomb, rather than risking the big open world.
Today, and every day, God offers us His life giving Spirit to transform us from being half alive to being fully alive. This offer is made in a special way at Easter through the Resurrection. However, even now in Lent, God invites us to allow His Spring to take root in our lives.
Mar 16, 2017
On this Feast of our Patron Saint, I send warm greetings from the Cathedral City of Saint Patrick in Armagh to Irish people everywhere. Today unites the Irish at home with our relatives and friends who live abroad and with the hundreds of thousands of others who are happy to celebrate this day with us.
Conscious that our National Apostle first encountered Ireland as a migrant, I offer special greetings to the “new Irish” – the many migrants who have made their home among us. Céad míle fáilte romhaibh!
This Saint Patrick’s Day, prompted by the situation of thousands of displaced people around the world, let us think about Patrick the “unlearned refugee” (as he once described himself), the slave in exile, Patrick the undocumented migrant. Many of our compatriots remain undocumented in various countries around the world and in some cases feel vulnerable and treated with suspicion.
As Irish people, we cannot think of Patrick without acknowledging the enormous humanitarian and pastoral challenges facing growing numbers of people who find themselves displaced and without status in our world. This is so shockingly exemplified by the refugee crisis here in Europe. I invite you to pray for refugees and for all displaced families at this time and, wherever you are, to encourage the hospitality and welcome for which we, Irish, are famous the world over.
In 2017, when we think of the treacherous journeys many migrants are forced to make, we are powerfully reminded of those who commit their lives to the protection of humanity. I salute the tremendous work of the Irish navy which has helped rescue thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean. Today I especially bring to mind the bravery, commitment and dedication of the women and men of our own search and rescue services at home. Our prayers are with the families of the crew of Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue 116: Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Ciaran Smith and Paul Ormsby.
Saint Patrick’s experience of isolation and captivity as a teenager transformed and shaped his whole life and his relationship with God. His lonely time as a slave on the hills of Ireland became a transforming experience, where he felt embraced by the fatherly love of God. The more he prayed, day and night, the more he came to realise that God was calling him to conversion and close friendship with Him.
Having once been “like a stone lying in the mud” he now felt as if God had picked him up and placed him at the very top of the wall!
Much later in his life Patrick, now a bishop, became the object of character assassination and faced a vote of no confidence because of the sins and mistakes of his youth. Once more, in his exile and isolation, he felt the presence and protection of God who loved him as the “apple of his eye”.
No wonder our Patron Saint was able to feel great empathy with the struggles of his people, especially those of his new converts in Ireland who were themselves captured and sold into slavery by the human traffickers of his day. Centuries later Saint Patrick continues to inspire Irish people everywhere to speak and work for an end to similar exploitation where it is happening today.
Guím idirghuí Naomh Pádraig ar ár lucht imirce scaipthe ar fud na cruinne. Ba dheoraí NaomhPádraig é féin tráth. Tuigeann sé ar n’uaigneas agus ar m’briseadh chroí. Guím beannacht, ráth agus séan ár bPatrúin oraibh uilig.
Archbishop Eamon Martin is Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
Mar 14, 2017
Gospel Reflection for the Third Sunday of Lent
The Gospel (4:5-42).
A spring of water welling up to eternal life.
This is a rather lengthy reading containing different themes. Central themes are the Samaritan woman, the well, and the water. In Jesus’ day, there was deep enmity between Jews and Samaritans, who were regarded by the Jews as heretics and not part of the Jewish people at all. This division seems to have had very old roots. There was enmity between the northern kingdom, Israel, with Samaria as its centre, and the southern kingdom of Judah. A noted well in the area was connected with the patriarch Jacob.
In the evangelist John’s writing, the episodes in this reading function at two levels – this earthly one, and at a spiritual level, to which the earthly ones point. Thus, the water from the well is a symbol of the water that Jesus will give his followers, welling up to eternal life; this is the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Samaritans worshipped at their own sacred site and the Jews at their Temple in Jerusalem, which led Jesus to speak of the coming age when both would be irrelevant, and God worshipped in Spirit and in truth. His own hunger gives Jesus an opportunity to speak of his intense desire, his hunger to complete the work the work the Father had given him, with the sowing of the Gospel seed and the ensuing harvest.
As a reflection on this reading, we can recall Jesus’ promise to give to those who believe in himself a spring of water welling up to eternal life – that is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives faith and hope, while Christian faith brings certainty.
A common feature of the world in which we live is doubt in matters relating to faith – doubt about elements of moral teaching, about truths of faith, and even at times about the very existence of God. An assertion of a certain philosophy, prevalent today, is that there is no certainty about anything. All we can have is speculation and guesswork rather than certainty, and opinions that vary from age to age.
An atmosphere of this sort adds to the difficulties of religious observance. Such doubt about fundamental matters is completely contrary to the teaching of the faith in matters relating to truths concerning this life and the life to come. Christian faith is thus described in the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:1): “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen”. Two of the terms used there call for our reflection: assurance and conviction.
The assurance and conviction spoken of in this verse are not psychological attitudes of souls rooted in the human mind or soul. They refer instead to the divine, theological, virtue of faith – a gift from God that gives conviction which is beyond that which human nature can provide. This assurance and certainty bring with them a peace of soul, the peace which Jesus has granted to believers, and a peace that no-one can take from them.
Mar 6, 2017
The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart are pleased to announce the election of Fr Carl Tranter MSC as their next Provincial Superior. He will take over from the present Provincial, Fr Joseph McGee MSC, in September of this year, immediately after the MSC General Chapter in Rome.
Fr Carl was born in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, and was educated by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart at their school in England, Princethorpe College. After a couple of years working in banking, he began his formation with the MSC in Ireland in 1986 and was professed in 1989. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1993.
Fr Carl began his ministerial life in the parish of St John the Baptist, Tamworth, Staffordshire. In 1998, he commenced further studies in adult education and pastoral theology in Boston College, Boston, USA. For the following five years, he was involved in the formation of laity and clergy for collaborative ministry across all the territories of the Irish Province.
In 2005, Fr Carl was appointed superior of an international MSC community living a ministry of presence in a poor, multicultural, and troubled neighbourhood of the city of Birmingham, UK. For the last six years, he has been Assistant Superior General of the MSC Congregation and a member of the General Council in Rome. During this time, he has travelled extensively throughout the world, with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart ministering in 50 countries in all of the world’s continents. Fr Carl brings with him a great variety of cultural and religious experience, which will enrich his leadership contribution to the Irish Province.
We congratulate Fr Carl on his election and look forward to welcoming him back to the Province in September when he completes his mandate in Rome.
Mar 6, 2017
“To be on Earth the Heart of Christ”
This year’s Provincial Chapter takes place between March 5th and 12th at the Emmaus Retreat Centre in Swords, Co. Dublin.
The theme of this year’s Chapter is “To be on Earth the Heart of Christ”.
As we gather for the Provincial Chapter, we ask that the spirit of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding be with all of the participants. May our charism of bringing the love of the Sacred Heart to all focus us in our deliberations and guide us in our decision-making. We pray for our new Provincial-Elect, Fr Carl Tranter MSC, that the Lord will guide and bless his term of office, giving guidance and direction to the Province over the coming years. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Mar 2, 2017
The Word is a gift. Other persons are a gift.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Lent is a new beginning, a path leading to the certain goal of Easter, Christ’s victory over death. This season urgently calls us to conversion. Christians are asked to return to God “with all their hearts” (Joel 2:12), to refuse to settle for mediocrity and to grow in friendship with the Lord. Jesus is the faithful friend who never abandons us. Even when we sin, he patiently awaits our return; by that patient expectation, he shows us his readiness to forgive (cf. Homily, 8 January 2016).
Lent is a favourable season for deepening our spiritual life through the means of sanctification offered us by the Church: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. At the basis of everything is the word of God, which during this season we are invited to hear and ponder more deeply. I would now like to consider the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (cf. Lk 16:19-31). Let us find inspiration in this meaningful story, for it provides a key to understanding what we need to do in order to attain true happiness and eternal life. It exhorts us to sincere conversion.
1. The other person is a gift
The parable begins by presenting its two main characters. The poor man is described in greater detail: he is wretched and lacks the strength even to stand. Lying before the door of the rich man, he fed on the crumbs falling from his table. His body is full of sores and dogs come to lick his wounds (cf. vv. 20-21). The picture is one of great misery; it portrays a man disgraced and pitiful.
The scene is even more dramatic if we consider that the poor man is called Lazarus: a name full of promise, which literally means God helps. This character is not anonymous. His features are clearly delineated and he appears as an individual with his own story. While practically invisible to the rich man, we see and know him as someone familiar. He becomes a face, and as such, a gift, a priceless treasure, a human being whom God loves and cares for, despite his concrete condition as an outcast (cf. Homily, 8 January 2016).
Lazarus teaches us that other persons are a gift. A right relationship with people consists in gratefully recognizing their value. Even the poor person at the door of the rich is not a nuisance, but a summons to conversion and to change. The parable first invites us to open the doors of our heart to others because each person is a gift, whether it be our neighbour or an anonymous pauper. Lent is a favourable season for opening the doors to all those in need and recognizing in them the face of Christ. Each of us meets people like this every day. Each life that we encounter is a gift deserving acceptance, respect and love. The word of God helps us to open our eyes to welcome and love life, especially when it is weak and vulnerable. But in order to do this, we have to take seriously what the Gospel tells us about the rich man.
2. Sin blinds us
The parable is unsparing in its description of the contradictions associated with the rich man (cf. v. 19). Unlike poor Lazarus, he does not have a name; he is simply called “a rich man”. His opulence was seen in his extravagant and expensive robes. Purple cloth was even more precious than silver and gold, and was thus reserved to divinities (cf. Jer 10:9) and kings (cf. Jg 8:26), while fine linen gave one an almost sacred character. The man was clearly ostentatious about his wealth, and in the habit of displaying it daily: “He feasted sumptuously every day” (v. 19). In him we can catch a dramatic glimpse of the corruption of sin, which progresses in three successive stages: love of money, vanity and pride (cf. Homily, 20 September 2013).
The Apostle Paul tells us that “the love of money is the root of all evils” (1 Tim 6:10). It is the main cause of corruption and a source of envy, strife and suspicion. Money can come to dominate us, even to the point of becoming a tyrannical idol (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 55). Instead of being an instrument at our service for doing good and showing solidarity towards others, money can chain us and the entire world to a selfish logic that leaves no room for love and hinders peace.
The parable then shows that the rich man’s greed makes him vain. His personality finds expression in appearances, in showing others what he can do. But his appearance masks an interior emptiness. His life is a prisoner to outward appearances, to the most superficial and fleeting aspects of existence (cf. ibid., 62).
The lowest rung of this moral degradation is pride. The rich man dresses like a king and acts like a god, forgetting that he is merely mortal. For those corrupted by love of riches, nothing exists beyond their own ego. Those around them do not come into their line of sight. The result of attachment to money is a sort of blindness. The rich man does not see the poor man who is starving, hurting, lying at his door.
Looking at this character, we can understand why the Gospel so bluntly condemns the love of money: “No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money” (Mt 6:24).
3. The Word is a gift
The Gospel of the rich man and Lazarus helps us to make a good preparation for the approach of Easter. The liturgy of Ash Wednesday invites us to an experience quite similar to that of the rich man. When the priest imposes the ashes on our heads, he repeats the words: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return”. As it turned out, the rich man and the poor man both died, and the greater part of the parable takes place in the afterlife. The two characters suddenly discover that “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Tim 6:7).
We too see what happens in the afterlife. There the rich man speaks at length with Abraham, whom he calls “father” (Lk 16:24.27), as a sign that he belongs to God’s people. This detail makes his life appear all the more contradictory, for until this moment there had been no mention of his relation to God. In fact, there was no place for God in his life. His only god was himself.
The rich man recognizes Lazarus only amid the torments of the afterlife. He wants the poor man to alleviate his suffering with a drop of water. What he asks of Lazarus is similar to what he could have done but never did. Abraham tells him: “During your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus had his fill of bad. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony” (v. 25). In the afterlife, a kind of fairness is restored and life’s evils are balanced by good.
The parable goes on to offer a message for all Christians. The rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, who are still alive. But Abraham answers: “They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them” (v. 29). Countering the rich man’s objections, he adds: “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead” (v. 31).
The rich man’s real problem thus comes to the fore. At the root of all his ills was the failure to heed God’s word. As a result, he no longer loved God and grew to despise his neighbour. The word of God is alive and powerful, capable of converting hearts and leading them back to God. When we close our heart to the gift of God’s word, we end up closing our heart to the gift of our brothers and sisters.
Dear friends, Lent is the favourable season for renewing our encounter with Christ, living in his word, in the sacraments and in our neighbour. The Lord, who overcame the deceptions of the Tempter during the forty days in the desert, shows us the path we must take. May the Holy Spirit lead us on a true journey of conversion, so that we can rediscover the gift of God’s word, be purified of the sin that blinds us, and serve Christ present in our brothers and sisters in need. I encourage all the faithful to express this spiritual renewal also by sharing in the Lenten Campaigns promoted by many Church organizations in different parts of the world, and thus to favour the culture of encounter in our one human family. Let us pray for one another so that, by sharing in the victory of Christ, we may open our doors to the weak and poor. Then we will be able to experience and share to the full the joy of Easter.
From the Vatican, 18 October 2016
FRANCIS
