Good Friday

‘The Hour begins.’  Crucifixion was recognised as the lowest point of human humiliation in the Roman empire.  However, Jesus accepted His Cross for the salvation of the world.  His ‘hour’ had come.  The saving power on the Cross was His finest ‘hour’ that opened the doors to paradise.  He was the Lamb, that was led to its slaughter, and who took away the sins of the world. 

St John the Evangelist clearly highlights the ‘Kingship’ of Jesus within the Gospel.  We also see clearly, it is Jesus, the Sovereign Lord, who is in total control over all the events in His Passion.  He possesses the Divine Power, and these events would only happen because He allowed them to happen. 

Through His Kingship we see the freedom with which he goes to the Cross.  We hear in scripture: “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down on my own.  I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again.”  By freely going to the Cross, Jesus offers His life as a perfect gift of love, given to the Father for the world’s salvation.  Through His obedience, Jesus reveals the infinite depths of the Father’s love and mercy towards us, since we are sinners. 

I would like to focus on three specific elements of interest within the Passion narrative.  The Title on the Cross, the division of Jesus’ garments and the piercing of Jesus’ side.

According to Roman custom a board was carried in front of the condemned person or sometimes it was nailed to the cross itself.  Jesus’ board read.  ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ 

It was Pilate who was responsible and took the initiative on writing these words down, making Pilate declare Jesus’ royal status to the whole world.  The Title board was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, the three great nation languages in the Roman empire.  So, it is interesting that the greatest nation in the world, should claim Jesus, King.

However, there might be a special hidden meaning that we are missing?  Since many of the Jews were there at the place of crucifixion, near the city walls, everybody had the chance of reading the Title board and to understand it.  Scholars have wondered, was God giving everyone a last chance, to understand Jesus’ offer of salvation, as King of the Jews?

The division of Jesus’ garments and the seamless tunic.  St John the evangelist goes into great detail on the sharing of Jesus’ garments.  Every Jew wore five items of clothing, however, there were only four soldiers.  The main item was a long under garment which was worn next to the body.  Described as being without seam and woven from top to bottom.  In the book of Exodus and Leviticus it says that this type of seamless garment was only worn by the high priests.  So, John the Evangelist was pointing to Jesus not only as King but also as eternal High Priest of the Church.

The Piercing of Jesus’ side.  This is unique to John’s Passion Narrative.  One of the soldiers thrust a lance into Jesus’ side.  In doing so a twofold prophecy was fulfilled.  The ‘Passover Lamb’ in Exodus: ‘None of his bones shall be broken’ and the ‘Pierced Messiah’ in Zechariah ‘They will look on the one whom they have pierced’. 

With Water & Blood being signs of the Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.  There is also another important symbol here, that points to Jesus being the ‘New Temple’.  During the 1^st century AD when Jews approached the temple mount at the time of Passover, when the sacrifices were being offered around 3pm, they would see a stream of blood and water flowing out from the side of the temple mount and down into the Kidron Valley.  This would have been a familiar image in the mindset of the 1^st century Jew.  The Evangelist would have recognised the sign of Jesus’ body, when water and blood flowed from His side as the ‘New Temple of God.’  ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’  It is not the Temple in Jerusalem that will flow with blood sacrifices any longer, but it has been replaced with a new temple by the crucified body of Jesus.

So, let us today, take to heart the true meaning of Jesus’ Passion and Death, it isn’t the time to be sad or down-hearted.  Since it was Jesus’ finest ‘hour’, His ultimate Glorification and Exaltation of the Son of Man, in order to save the world and bring us into Eternal Glory.   

Maundy Thursday

Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. ” 

Jesus knew everything that was going to happen, he knew that his ‘hour’, his moment of Exaltation and Glorification was looming.  He is now surrounded by those whom he loved, his chosen friends and Apostles.

Jesus approaches his final moments by giving them his final teaching.  Jesus institutes the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the life of the Church.  He also institutes the Ministry of the Sacred Priesthood to his Apostles, in a new and beautiful way. 

Jesus loves his own right up to the end.  He shows the intensity of his love, even to give up his life, but this love doesn’t stop at death.  Jesus who is aware that he is the Son of God, and that the Father has put everything into his hands, humbles himself to perform a final service.  A service that is more appropriate for the household servants.  Culturally, the underside of the foot was considered a dishonourable part of the body, and the washing of another person’s feet was performed by a someone of a lower status. 

We are reminded of the hymn in the letter of St Paul to the Philippians:  “Christ, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.”

Christ came into the world, ‘not to be served but to serve’, this scene of the washing of the feet teaches us the same thing.  Through Jesus’ example we should serve each other in all humility and simplicity.  So, in the presence of his most beloved disciples, Jesus gladly carries out the task of a servant. 

We see on one hand the malice of Judas, who fails to respond to Jesus’ demonstration of love, and on the other hand we see the great emphasis of goodness in Christ.  Jesus then reaches out beyond Judas’ malice by washing his feet and treating him as a friend, right up to the moment when he betrays him.

In our daily lives, you might find Jesus whispering in our ear, from time to time, saying ‘I have given you an example of humility’, so that you too may learn to serve with a meekness of heart.   

Peter sees how inappropriate it was for Jesus to wash his feet, starts to protest.  St Augustine comments by saying: ‘Who would not, shrink back in dismay, from having their feet washed by the Son of God.’  However, Our Lord’s loving gesture has a deeper significance than Peter was able to grasp.  It was only after the Resurrection that the Apostles understood the mystery of Jesus’ service.  By washing their feet, he was stating in a simple and symbolic way that he came to serve and that his service consisted of giving ‘his very life as a ransom for many.’  Jesus’ whole life was an example of service, fulfilling his Father’s will to the point of dying on the cross, to save all humanity from their sins, and allow them to enter into eternal life.  

Our Lord has promised us that if we imitate him, our teacher, we will find true happiness, that no one, can take away. 

So, let us always reject from our hearts any pride or malice that we face, in order that, peace, love and joy will reign around us and within us, during this Holy Season of Easter. 

Passion Sunday – Year A

We have finally begun the period of Holy Week, a day of glory and impending tragedy.  The scene is set for us, as Jesus makes his triumphal journey from Bethany to Jerusalem, his final movement to bring everything together through his death and glorious Passion.

Imagine the sight of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey with people waving palm branches and shouting, ‘Hosanna in the highest’, acclaiming him King, must have made the visiting crowds who were gathered for the Passover festival, stop in amazement.  Little did the people know that the rejoicing would quickly be swept aside.  Before long, the triumphal shouting turned to tragedy, those palm branches changing into the wood of the cross, the hosannas, became jeers and calls for his death.

This Holy Week is a most sacred time, it highlights the peak moments of Christ’s love for us, gives us an opportunity to look at our lives and accept responsibility for our failings.  Jesus was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter and abandoned by all.  If we are honest with ourselves, we can see shades in our hearts, that shadow, those who put Jesus to death.  Peter and Judas, Pilate and the soldiers.  This should cause us to reflect on our own sins and failings inside each one of us. 

Every Christian becomes aware that in their own life they need to meet the same fate as Jesus.  We should join in Christ’s suffering and death, in order to share his eternal glory.  Our victory, like Christ’s, comes only through the cross. 

Let us during these final days of Lent offer ourselves the opportunity to harmonise our minds and hearts with Christ, allowing the truth of Jesus’ ultimate, finest ‘Hour’ of Exultation and Glorification for the nations, to dawn deeply into our hearts.  The truth is that:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that, everyone who believes in him may not perish, but have eternal life.”

5th Sunday of Lent – Year A

Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life.”  We have arrived at the last part of John’s Gospel narrative, which is called the book the ‘signs.’  This shows the final events of Jesus’ public ministry and looks towards the ‘hour’ of His Passion and Death.  Over the course of John’s narrative Jesus’ miracles or ‘signs’ have been increasing.  Starting with the superabundance of good wine in Cana.  Then healing the man who was paralyzed, followed by the feeding of the five thousand, and then the healing of the man blind from birth. 

Now we hear Jesus’ greatest sign of His public ministry: He brings Lazarus who has been dead for four days, back to life.  A ‘sign’ that reveals Jesus’ divine power over life and death, and many will come to believe in him as a result.

Most of us at some point have stood at a loved ones grave, so we know that pain and hurt that Martha and Mary felt at the loss of their brother.  We can even sense Martha’s rebuke towards Jesus for not being there sooner.  Echoes of anger, bitterness and resentment which many of us feel on the occasion of an un-timely death. 

The death of a loved one brings into sharp focus the big question of the meaning of life.  It makes us realise how frail our human bodies are, and lets us ponder about what the next life will be like. 

People who have no faith, must be in a desperate state, not knowing of the hope that is out there. 

However, we are people of the light, and we must not allow the darkness to overcome us.  Death for a Christian, is the great moment of bodily change, when we receive our new heavenly bodies, free from all physical weakness and ailments.  This hope and joy is rooted in the central truth of Christ’s Resurrection.  It tells us that God is stronger than death and he will bring all, who are his, into eternal life. 

The raising of Lazarus points out, that the life we are searching for is not an extension of physical life but eternal life with God.  The law of nature indicates that we must all die at some point, but during our life here on earth we share it with God through our Baptism.  At that moment we were given the power to start seeing Jesus as He sees, to love as He loves, and to follow Him to the right hand of God the Father. 

In this story of Lazarus there is also symbolism.  Lazarus represents the faithful Christian person.  The one that Jesus loves, the one for whom He weeps for.  The raising up of Lazarus symbolises the resurrection of the Christian person.  We understand that whoever comes to Jesus in faith will never experience spiritual death. 

St John in his narrative was also showing that Lazarus who was in the tomb for four days already, was definitely dead and not in a coma-tose state.  Making it the longest time in any of the gospel accounts of a miracle to happen from death to life.  It clearly shows Jesus’ power over physical death … and on another level, points to Jesus’ life-giving power.

Let us through these final days of Lent join ourselves to the passion and death of Christ by deepening our response in prayer, penance and acts of charity.  So, at Jesus’ Resurrection at Easter, we may respond with Mary and Martha by saying: “Yes, Lord, I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who was to come into this world.”

4th Sunday of Lent – Laetare Sunday

(Mothers Day)

“Jesus said ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ The blind man replied ‘Lord, I believe.’”

There are two intertwined themes in today’s readings.  The first is about light and darkness.  Jesus being the focal point of the true faith, the source of light and the giver of sight.  St Paul in our second reading encourages the Ephesians to live in the light and to avoid the darkness of sin.  Young David, in our first reading, is brought into God’s light and was anointed King.  David being singled out by God who sees the inmost depths of his heart, a man of faith. 

The second theme is baptism.  The man born blind was converted, baptised in the pool of Siloam, and given both a physical healing of sight, and also a spiritual healing of the heart, as he came to believe in Jesus Christ and worshipped Him.

The blind man signifies us, Humankind.  While we were all born into original sin, we were blind in our faith at birth.  We could also say, living as Christians now, we have our own personal blind spots in our day to day lives.  However, God is a Father of love and mercy, He sent down his only Son, Jesus to heal our sin and division, giving us sight of true faith and wisdom of heart. 

In the Gospel Jesus smears mud on the eyes of the blind man, and we are smeared with Holy Oil at our Baptism.  The blind man was washed in the pool of Siloam, and we were washed in the baptismal font in the Church.  

The blind man gained sight and understanding in faith in Jesus and so do we, receiving sight in faith, hope and charity in Jesus Christ through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

During this fourth Sunday of Lent, is a day to stop and reflect on the joys of Easter, Jesus being the ‘Light of the World’, gaining ‘New Life’ with Him at His Resurrection.  Lent is the liturgical colour of purple and Easter being the colour of White.  So, if we mix the two together, we get Rose. 

The only other day in the church’s calendar where we wear Rose is on the 3^rd Sunday of Advent, when the rose candle is lit on the advent wreath, because we are ‘Joyful’ once again, and ready to partake in the big festive celebrations.

Jesus is our Salvation.  He is the source of our light and our hope.  He has made us beacons of His light.  A light that has been entrusted to us to be kept shining brightly in our lives, setting an example for others to follow, by leading good Christian lives.

Whoever, believes and accepts their Christian faith, will have their eyes opened, and hearts lifted out of the darkness, into God’s wonderful divine light, that liberates us and heals our spiritual blindness.  Making us have the confidence to say the words of our psalm today “The Lord is my Shepherd, there is nothing I shall want”.

So, today is a time to relax from all your Penitential commitments, especially for all the mother’s here today.  As it is your special day, to relax and put your feet up.  Enjoy the celebrations with your family and friends, making sure someone else is doing the cooking. 

Let us rejoice, because Our Lord and shepherd, lightens our way and heals us from our blindness, bringing us ever closer to Him.  We have been called ‘Children of the Light’, let us continue to say in our hearts ‘O Lord, I believe in you, help me, so that I may see.’

Third Sunday of Lent – Year A

Today a very human picture is painted of the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan Women at the well.  Jesus who was exhausted from his long walk in the heat of the sun, sat wearily down and asked a woman for a drink of water.  By doing so, he dismissed a century’s old Jewish tradition.  Since Jews did not talk to Samaritan’s because of an old feud during the time when Israel was divided into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.

Jesus begins the conversation with what seems like weakness: “Give me a drink.”  God comes to us as one who thirsts.  This is not only physical thirst; it symbolises His longing for us.  St. Augustine famously said, “God thirsts, to be thirsted for.”  In Jesus, God reveals that He desires a relationship with us more deeply than we often desire Him.  He takes the first step, initiating conversation, breaking boundaries, crossing lines that humans have drawn.

The woman taking Jesus literally, and was astonished to hear that he could provide her with water that would last forever.  As the conversation deepens the woman came to realise that her problem was not the lack of water, but an inner thirst that no earthly water could satisfy.  A thirst that was caused by the absence of God in her life.  Jesus led her to look deeply into her troubled life and helped unburdened her soul.  Jesus accepted her as she came to terms with everything she ever did wrong, and was released from her guilt.  Jesus gave her hope and offered her nothing less than the living waters of friendship and the Holy Spirit of God which leads to eternal life.

It took five husbands to teach the Samaritan Woman from her mistakes.  Jesus’ conversation gives her great hope, because a worthwhile life seemed to be beyond her.  However, Jesus won her over by gently leading her out of herself and raising her mind and heart to higher things.  This conversation at the well restored this woman’s dignity and changed her life.

Notice what happens next. She leaves her water jar behind. The very symbol of her old routine, her old thirsts, her old patterns, she abandons it. When Christ truly enters a life, something must be left behind.  Conversion means letting go not only of sin, but of the illusions we cling to, those false wells from which we keep drawing.

Then something remarkable happens:  she becomes an evangelist. The woman who came alone, avoiding others, now runs to the town to tell them about Jesus. Grace does not merely soothe wounds; it sends us out.

She becomes a witness not because she has all the answers, but because she has encountered the One who knows her completely and loves her still.

Many believed in Jesus because of her testimony. The one who felt least worthy, becomes the means by which others meet the Saviour. That is the pattern of the Gospel. God chooses the unlikely. He works through the broken. He builds His kingdom with people who know their thirst and have discovered where the true water is found.

The people eventually say, “We no longer believe because of your word; we have heard for ourselves.”  Evangelisation always leads to this. Our task is not to convert others ourselves, but to lead them to the One who speaks to their hearts more deeply than we ever could.

The Lord sits today beside the well of our own lives. He meets us in our routines, our hidden wounds, our unspoken loneliness. He comes not to judge but to draw out our thirst so that He may fill it.

Let us bring to Him the jars we carry, our burdens, our disappointments, our sins, our desires, and let us ask Him for the living water only He can give.

May we, like the Samaritan woman, allow ourselves to be known, to be healed, and to be sent. And may we discover in Jesus the One who satisfies every thirst.

Second Sunday of Lent – Year A

In the first reading from Genesis, we hear the new covenant being made between God and Abraham, where his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the night sky. 

Like Abraham we are also called to journey into the unknown, to test our limits, to go that extra mile, and to respond to God’s call at all times.  In our moments of crisis or when life is clouded with despair, it is important to keep on trusting God in his Word.  As Christians we walk by faith, since Jesus is the ‘Word of God’, and he is almighty and powerful, he will always walk along with us. 

In the gospel, we hear the story of that amazing event of the Transfiguration.  I had the privilege to visit Mount Tabor, while on pilgrimage at Seminary college.  Time to contemplated the bible scene in my head, which was an overwhelming and humbling experience. 

We hear that the three apostles were also completely overwhelmed when they saw Christ, in all his Divine Glory.

This event came soon after the announcement from Jesus, about his coming Passion and Death.  This Transfiguration is the visible anticipation of what Jesus had revealed to the apostles about his Resurrection and future Glory.  For a brief moment, three of his closest apostles, had the privilege to see Jesus as he really is, human and divine, full of Power and Glory.  It was to establish beyond all doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. 

It was a blessing for these three Apostles, because it gave them the steadfastness of faith they needed, to accompany the Lord through the darkness of Jesus’ arrest at Gethsemane and the humiliation of his Passion and Death.

A cloud covered them and a voice from Heaven saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

Clouds have a profound significance for the people of Israel, since it was the means by which God visibly manifested his presence during their wanderings in the desert.  The cloud symbolises the Mystery of God, and it is also a sign of the Holy Spirit, who overshadowed the Virgin Mary at the Annunciation, and dwells in the hearts of all believers.  At the Transfiguration the cloud reveals that God’s new and eternal dwelling place, where heaven and earth meet, is Jesus Christ himself.

For us today and during this Lenten season, we should not be spectators of this wonderful event of the Transfiguration, but like the apostles, we should be encouraged to climb the mountain and to reflect upon his message. 

It is only through his Passion and Death that Christ came to the Glory of his Resurrection.  If he is to transfigure our sinful bodies, to make them copies of his own glorious body, then the road we should take, is also one of suffering, travelling with Christ, along our own pilgrimage journey here on earth. 

Lent provides us with an excellent opportunity, through prayer, fasting and almsgiving, to put our hearts in order.  It teaches us that the road to heaven is by the sweat of our brow, through our daily frustrations and disappointments.  However, by working through these problems we are able to meet people with kindness, with love and with compassion. 

May this season, help us to overcome our weakness’ and to grow in maturity, through God’s grace and patience.  Because nothing in this world, that is worthwhile or worth waiting for, is ever simple or straightforward. 

May we all grow brighter, the more we turn towards God, since we are created in his image and likeness. Furthermore we are meant to reflect his Glory, through our Baptism, being beacons of God’s divine light, for the whole world to see.

Then one day, when we are finally called from this life, we may have the greatest of all privileges to see the Lord’s Glory, by seeing God face to face, with all the Angels and Saints in his Heavenly Kingdom.

First Sunday of Lent – Year A

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALL PUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THE WEEKEND OF 21st/22nd FEBRUARY 2026

Pastoral Letter First Sunday of Lent 2026

My dear people,

The simple invitation of Jesus to each of us is, ‘Follow me’.  But we dither and pause and fall behind and lose our way.  We have given in to temptation and lost heart and spoilt life not only for ourselves but for others too, and we have lost our Guide and don’t know what to do. Each Lent Jesus tells us to rise up and follow Him.  He has not given up on us; nor should we give up on ourselves or on each other, no matter what catastrophes have befallen us.  He enters the wilderness in search of Adam and Eve who were expelled from Eden when they sinned, but with hope that they might be found and forgiven and restored.

Jesus also sends His disciples out to search for the fallen. In two weeks’ time we will hear the Gospel telling us about the woman Jesus met at the well.  I would like us to reflect on that woman today, in advance.  She is sent to us by Christ and is a helpful companion for us on our Lenten journey.  There may be much in her story that we share.

It is usual for the girls and women to walk together to the well, normally in the cool of early morning or in the evening after the heat. Some suggest that this woman is out of favour with the others. Perhaps she has a bad reputation, given the tragic life she has suffered, and finds it easier to avoid the company of others.  But there is another way of understanding her.  She wants the best water she can find for her family and for herself.  After all that has happened and all the failures, deep within her heart she still has the desire for something good.  She wants the best water.  It makes me think of prisoners who still hope for a better life, or people whose lives have been devastated by war, daring to hope for something better.  I think of those who have been abused but will not let the memories rob them of a better future.

Let us picture the group of girls going for water at dawn.  Chatting, laughing, gossiping, enjoying one another’s company.  The chatter continues as buckets are thrown down the well, one after the other. They hit the sides of the well going down, knocking earth into the water.  Hitting the water, the buckets stir up the sediment.  Pulled up, one after the other, they knock against the sides of the well, and the water level drops because so many buckets have to be filled.  A price is paid for following the crowd – dirty water.

Now let us notice this woman, approaching the well alone at the hottest time of the day.  The dirt has had hours to settle. The aquifers have fed fresh water into the well, and the water levels has risen.  With care she can draw up the best water the well can offer.  The loneliness and the heat are worth the trouble.  This woman can be a model of encouragement for us.  

The efforts we see her make encourage each of us to search for the best life, the Life Jesus offers us.  Our religious practice will often mean we live differently from those around us, but see the reward!

Let us turn now to the classic exercises of Lent, given to us by Christ Himself; these are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving.  I note how Jesus speaks to His disciples assuming they do these things.  He says, ‘When you pray, when you fast, when you give alms. . .’  The first question I must ask myself is – if I wish to be counted as a disciple of Christ, do I pray, do I fast, do I give alms?  Jesus Himself waits for my honest answer, not waiting to condemn me but telling me to choose these exercises if I want to be His disciple.

So, why do they matter?  Prayer acknowledges that God is the source of all that is good.  God is the life and love we long for and He offers us eternal life.  Prayer engages the spirit, reminding us that we are spiritual beings, made in God’s image and likeness.  Fasting acknowledges that we are also flesh, we have bodies and bodily appetites.  Created by God, we must somehow find ways of showing who we belong to, body and soul, where we come from, and where our ultimate loyalty lies.  Fasting also enables us to admit that we have done wrong and must do penance as an expression of our guilt, shame and sorrow for the hurt and damage caused.  Almsgiving acknowledges that my life – even my spiritual life – is not just a private affair.  I am part of a body of people, and part of the Body of Christ.  I must have a concern for the well-being of others, both spiritually and materially.

Almsgiving makes this real, and as well as being a matter of justice it is a clear expression of generosity inspired by my awareness of the Father’s generosity.  Almsgiving prevents my prayer and fasting becoming selfish.

Practically I encourage us all to renew or refresh our prayer life, especially parents with young children.  Establish habits of simple prayer.  I commend the School of Prayer promoted through the parishes this Lent.  May it give you more confidence in your prayer lives.  Many of you may have your own favourite charities, but I encourage you to support the work of CAFOD, Aid to the Church in Need and MISSIO (the Pontifical Mission Societies).  (I do understand many have limited budgets.  You aren’t expected to give to everything!)  I also encourage you to make a strong effort to pray the Stations of the Cross this Lent either at home or in your parishes.  See what Christ has done for us and what He wants for us.  I also ask you to pray for the many people who are preparing to be Baptised and received into Full Communion this coming Easter.  

Have a serious but joyful Lent!

With my blessing,

+ Right Rev Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

“You are the light of the world and salt of the earth.”  This is an unusual sentence to comprehend.  What does scripture mean about being the salt of the earth?  Salt is used to flavour and preserve food.  So, Jesus is explaining to us, that by living out the beatitudes that we heard last week, His followers, which were the early Christians, and us to, will help to preserve ‘goodness’ in the world.  Salt also adds taste to food.  I bet all of us at some point, have had ‘salt and vinegar’ added onto their fish and chips as we walked through town or along the sea coast.  Salt brings out the taste that we all enjoy and love, as we remember happy times from our childhood, having fish and chips with our parents or friends. 

We can start to understand that being a Christian adds flavour to our daily lives.  It gives us joy, inspiration, love and hope that we need to carry on with our duties, this flavour of saltiness of being a Christian, rubs onto others, which helps them to, keep society wholesome and upright.

In the book of Genesis, we hear in the creation account, that God’s first act was to dispel darkness and bring order out of chaos by producing his divine light.  Today’s gospel reminds us of our noble calling to bring Jesus’ light into our world.  The brightness we receive in our lives is the result of following Christ closely in his divine footsteps. 

To reflect God, our hearts must be a mirror, clear as glass, bright as light, without spot or stain, in order to reflect God’s love and mercy. 

When I was a Seminarian, I asked a priest whom I was on placement with:  Why do priests seem to go to confession very regularly?  To me, it seemed that they went every couple of weeks, while I was only going every couple of months or sometimes even longer.  The priest said to me in reply:  When looking in a mirror from a distance, you can only see the really large imperfections on the mirror, which are blocking your view of yourself.  The closer you get to the mirror, the smaller details of imperfections start to appear.  If you relate these imperfections to sin on your heart, the closer to get to God, the more imperfections you notice in the mirror of your soul.  The light reflecting from it, becomes dull and it needs a good clean, through the Sacrament of Confession. 

Living a Holy life will produce the deepest impression on people around you.  Take the example of a lighthouse, it shines out, showing people away from disaster and rocks.  We can use our light in the same way, to show people away from sin and evil, bringing goodness, joy and happiness into people’s lives. 

There is a warmth and attractiveness about reflecting the image of Jesus, this genuine presence of God in our hearts enriches the whole community and enables the best in others.  We can celebrate the presence of God either at home or at work, without going out of our comfort zone, or doing anything exceptional. 

Living a Holy live doesn’t need to be over complicated, we can incorporate it easily in ordinary things, like selfless love, loyalty to each other, dedication to your children.  This provides an environment where Christ can be seen, loved, and cherished.  This is what being ‘salt of the earth’ looks like, it gives flavour and sparkle to our daily lives and lets the light of Christ shine forth for the world to see.

Let us take Jesus’ teachings to our hearts today, allowing the world to see our good works, our good examples as Christian people.  This will enable the world to come closer to the Lord Jesus and to give Glory and Praise to our Heavenly Father in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

‘Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’  By Jesus’ announcement of the Kingdom of Heaven, he has been drawing up a large crowd from Galilee and around the surrounding regions.  In this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains what it means to live under God’s reign.  It shows the fundamental attitudes that his disciples should have in order to have a loving relationship with God the Father, towards Jesus who is Lord, to one another as brothers and sisters, and even to our enemies.  We as God’s children are to live differently from others in the world, following a standard that is nothing less than being ‘perfect’, as our Heavenly Father is perfect.  As we all know, we are sinful people, and you may think this bar seems too high to reach, but we have to try and keep trying again and again, allowing the Lord to help us and mould us through his love and mercy.

This Sermon on the Mount compels the listener to ask themselves, who is this man?  Who is Jesus?  With Christ’s radical demands and unique claims of authority, Jesus asserts himself as the key interpreter of the Torah, (which is the Jewish Bible) and is superseding all previous understandings of the Law of Moses.  Jesus is making his own teaching the new standard for righteousness, making the claim that he is on the same exalted level as the Lawgiver, God himself.  With Jesus making these claims, it is no wonder that the crowds are astonished at his authority. 

Jesus teaches on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, a place where I have visited and stayed on pilgrimage.  It is a beautiful setting and well worth a visit. 

Hills and mountains are often a place of divine revelation.  We often hear in the scriptures Jesus walking up the mountain to pray.  Also, in the Old Testament we hear Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.  So, in this way, when Jesus went up the hillside of the Sea of Galilee, it shows to the Jewish people that he is the New Moses, not to receive the Law this time, but to teach it with loving compassion and zeal.         

In the beatitudes Jesus puts a high value on mercy, forgiveness and gentleness.  He rejects wealth and the freedom to do as we like, because this gives us the impression that we can manage on our own, without taking God into consideration. 

Everything the world values, is absent from what Jesus teaches in the beatitudes. What the world rejects as bad, Jesus counts as a blessing.  The beatitudes give us a cause to reflect, since they turn our normal values upside down.  Let us ask ourselves, are we guided by the secular society around us or by the moral values of the Gospel, founded on Jesus Christ?

What can we do to share God’s love in the world?  As Christians we are called to be a beacon of light for the world, setting an example for others to follow.  When we imitate Christ’s love, mercy and charity, the world  sees our good deeds and will glorify Our Heavenly Father.  Rejoice and be glad then, that we are follows of Christ Jesus, a witness to the Good News, and happy to boast in zeal about God Our Father, and your reward will be great in Heaven.