Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday of the ‘Word of God’.

“Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  Today we hear how Jesus moves to his new home at Capernaum, a thriving busy fishing town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee.  This became a good base for Jesus starting his ministry.  Then he builds up a group of disciples, starting with four men, Peter and Andrew, then later James and John.  Remarkably without deliberation or hesitation they dropped everything and followed him.  I wished it was all that easy for me when I first heard my calling for the Priesthood.  I had so many barriers to overcome, with mountains of problems to deal with that I felt I couldn’t cope.  So, here is a little of my vocational story.

It was around 2008 when I started thinking more deeply about my life’s direction.  My occupation at that time was working at Preston Hospital in the Computer department, fixing and maintaining their computer systems.  But I felt something was missing, I wasn’t being fulfilled in my work any longer, I was longing to help in God’s mission of spreading the Good News, but unsure exactly how to do it.   

I was a regular church goer every Sunday’s, but all of a sudden, I felt one hour per week didn’t feel adequate to me anymore.  So, I made the effort to go more regularly.  The more I prayed, especially in front of the Blessed Sacrament during Holy Hour, the more Jesus was speaking to me, and I was being pulled towards the idea of the Priesthood.

It wasn’t until the Late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI visit to the UK in 2010 for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman when I decided that enough time had been spent thinking about the Priesthood, and I needed to start getting the ball rolling.  So, I contacted the vocations director and started my many monthly meetings. 

My discernment process didn’t go smoothly, I was rejected twice at the interview stages, that made me depressed.  But with perseverance, over the next few years, I was given a twelve month placement opportunity within the diocese.   

Finally, I was accepted by the Bishop, to study at St. Mary’s College, Oscott in Birmingham for my Seminary training.  It was a six-year course, studying for a double degree in Theology.  As you can imagine living at Seminary is not the easiest thing to do.  Living with 60 other seminaries, day in, day out, you really looked forward to your day off.  Like most communities there were arguments and disagreements that had to be worked through.  But you keep saying to yourself, its not a monastery you’re not here forever. 

It was important not to dwell too much on work or exams, even though at times, it was very stressful.  What was key is my relationship with the Lord, keeping up my prayer life, being open to change, which would mould me into a better person, allowing me to become a good priest for the future.

As you can imagine there were many dropouts at college, people you didn’t expect, thinking that they would become great priests.  But through the grace of God, I made it to Priestly Ordination.  It was all worthwhile, but it was a long and challenging time of training and discernment.  The Lord must have thought I needed it.

So, today, as we celebrate ‘Sunday of the Word of God’ may we too be open to God’s Word, God’s call in our lives, whatever it may be.  Either at home, or at work, helping with Church duties, or joining Church groups. 

Give yourself time to listen to His voice in the silence of your hearts.  You maybe being prompted to help as a Reader or an Altar server.  Or maybe the religious life of being a Sister, Deacon or Priest.  Whatever it may be, take that step, full of confidence, and the Lord will reward you with so many blessings for your faith, love and charity.

The Lord calls everybody in some shape or form.  May we too become ‘fishers of men’ ready to drop everything at His ‘Word’ to build up the Kingdom of Heaven, and to change the world.

Second Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A

“I will make you the light of the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”  Today we are reminded of Jesus’ baptism, the start of Jesus’ ministry to gather all people into the one family of God.  It also points forward to Jesus’ Passion and Dead as we read in scripture ‘when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all nations to myself.’

When we are baptised in Christ, we are anointed Priest, Prophet and King.  The Holy Spirit descended upon us, giving us the light of Christ.  When the Pascal candle is lit, it is in remembrance of Jesus’ Resurrection, bringing light into the world, conquering all sin and darkness.  Our personal baptismal candle was originally lit from the Pascal candle to be kept burning as the light of Christ shining brightly in our lives.  The priest says during the rite of baptism, ‘We are to walk always as children of the light, and to keep this flame of faith burning brightly within our hearts.’  

Our seed of faith takes a lifetime to grow in the love of God.  It needs to mature and blossom.  As we live as God’s Children, we have responsibilities to keep.  We are asked to lead good holy lives, and to follow Jesus’ example in all that we do.  But we are only human after all, and temptation is always close at hand.  If we ever feel down, depressed, feeling lost, or have a sense of darkness coming over us, then ‘switch on’ the light of our hearts. 

God’s power shines out where we least expect it, and in the most unlikely of places.  The Holy Spirit is always at work, in the very depths of our hearts, through good times and bad. 

With this free gift of the Holy Spirit given to us at our Baptism, we are called to continue the saving work of Christ Jesus.  Spreading the Good News, so that God’s salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.  John the Baptist in today’s Gospel, highlights this Good News, ‘Look, there is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.’  Through the Sacraments of the Church, especially in the Eucharist, we are able to see Jesus face to face.  What a real privilege we have been given.  Seeing Jesus’ Body and Blood shed during His  sacrifice on the Cross.  Jesus’ finest hour of Exaltation and Glorification.  Through our baptism we have become witnesses to this Good News, and it is too good, too glorious not to spread it, especially when we are a joyful Easter people, and ‘Alleluia’ is our song. 

Everyone is called to be with the Lord, to have a personal relationship with him.  We are called to be beacons of God’s light, pointing the way to Jesus.  This is our role, this is our common vocation.  To shine out like stars, allowing people to follow our good example as Christians and witnesses in the Lord Jesus.

St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians sees the community as a consecrated and holy people, set apart and distinct. 

This holiness being shared openly, brings new members into God’s family, expanding the community of Christians, allowing it to increase, in hope, love and charity.

May we radiate God’s light today, pointing the way to Jesus, allowing our family and friends to see.  May we also celebrate our own baptism, our entry into the One Holy and Apostolic Church, which gives us daily access to all the Sacraments that the Lord has given to us, to strengthen us physically and spiritually in heart, mind and soul. 

May our mission in the Lord Jesus be fruitful in spreading the light to the nations, so that the salvation of the Lord may reach to the ends of the earth.  Amen.

The Feast day of the Baptism of the Lord

“It is I who need baptism from you, said John, and yet you come to me.”  After the infancy narratives the events move forward to the start of Jesus’ public ministry.  John the Baptist has begun his mission to ‘prepare the way of the Lord’ and now calls Israel to repent and be baptised at the River Jordan. 

Now Jesus having travelled from Galilee, joins the crowd of repentant sinners to be baptised.  John acknowledges his lesser role in relation to Christ since John’s baptism is only by water for repentance.  John sees himself needing to be baptised by Jesus, the One who will ‘Baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire.’

But why did Jesus have to be baptised at all?  He was sinless and had nothing to repent.  Nevertheless, at the beginning of his public ministry Jesus demonstrates his unity with sinful Israel by going into the same waters as the repentant crowd.  In this way Jesus shows that he has come to unite himself with sinners, and by doing so, he foreshadows how he will bear the sins of humanity at the climax of his mission on the cross.

So, Jesus being baptised by John becomes the occasion for his anointing as the Messiah-king and the confirmation of his Divine Sonship.  Jesus was being commissioned as a prophet like Ezekial of old, to the people of Israel.  The heavenly world being revealed to those on earth, God is now revealing who Jesus is. 

So far in the Gospel, an angel, the Magi, and John the Baptist have confirmed Christ’s identity and mission.  Now the heavens are opened and we encounter God’s own voice revealing who Jesus is by saying: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’

The Holy Spirit descending like a dove recalls Noah’s dove that signalled the end of the flood, and the beginning of the new world. 

It also recalls Genesis chapter one, when the Spirit of God came hovering over the waters like a bird.  With both these images in mind St. Matthew is pointing out that the event of Jesus’ baptism at the beginning of his public ministry, marks the beginning of a new world, a new creation, whereby he will redeem all of humanity.

There is a lot to take in, from this relatively short Gospel passage, Jesus allows himself to be numbered among sinners, since he is already ‘the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world’.  Through his Baptism, he is already anticipating the baptism of his passion and death.   

Today’s feast reminds us of our own baptism, an important date to remember and celebrate.  It is a time of special importance because it marks our own spiritual birth in Christ Jesus, the beginning of the Lord reaching down and touching our lives, claiming us for his own adopted Children.  We are now part of God’s family, free from original sin and can call God ‘Abba Father’.  Obviously, being a member of God’s family involves obligations and responsibilities in which we should take seriously, in order to lead good holy lives. 

By our Baptism we are invited to answer God’s call to be holy, since it is everybody’s vocation to become ‘Saints’ in Heaven.

So, let us follow Jesus, by being a committed follower, spreading the Good News, and leading a life full of Happiness, Love, and Peace, as we celebrate today the Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Epiphany of the Lord

“The sight of the star filled them with great joy and as they entered into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.” 

The stars are so beautiful on a clear night, I often look up and ponder the greatness of God’s creation.  Three years ago I went to see the ‘Northen Lights’ in Reykjavik, in Iceland, but unfortunately they were not on display during my trip, so I saw nothing at all.  However, another awe-inspiring show was nearby while I was there, a volcano was currently erupting, causing havoc to the local people and businesses in that area.

Today we hear the Magi finally arriving to the manger, seeking out Jesus, King of the Jews, the one they had been waiting for.  They now see him clearly, wrapped in swaddling clothes, since he was hidden amongst the stars, all these years, before his birth in Bethlehem.

The Magi were deep in wonder at what they have seen.  Even though, they were the last to arrive, however, they became the first to believe, among the Gentile people.

The idea of a star signalling the birth of a great person or a king was popular in the ancient world.  There had been various explanations over recent years, to work out what this star might have been.  Was it a comet?  Or maybe a planet?  Was it a stellar explosion in space, or maybe an angel from God?  Some scientists think it was it a combination of two planets, Jupiter and Saturn side by side, making it extra bright in the night sky?  In the end, we do not actually know for certain what it was. 

However, this star led the Magi to Bethlehem, and it came to rest over the dwelling place where Jesus was.  Whatever the nature of this star, it was God intervening in an extraordinary way to lead the Magi to the Messiah. 

Their long journey now reaches its climax, as they see the child Jesus in front of them.  Immediately they fell prostrated, lying on their faces in order to pay him homage. 

Prostration before kings was common in the ancient Near East, but we read in Matthew’s Gospel that prostration and homage is also associated with divine worship.  The Magi therefore, offered Christ the worship that Herod, the Chief Priests and the Scribes failed to offer. 

The Magi were gentiles, thus, making this Gospel account have a deeper meaning.  The Magi represents all of us, as gentiles.  Their journey through deserts and mountains following the star, reflects our own search for purpose and meaning in life, which is not possible unless we are guided by faith. 

During this festive season, it is the innocence of the new-born child, who is honoured by adoration, wonder and mystery.  Anyone who searches, will find him, and he will shed light into our darkness, making us anew.

The Magi acknowledged Jesus’ royal dignity by offering him gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.  These three gifts represent three aspects of the mystery of Christ. 

Gold points to Jesus’ kingship, the incense to his Divine Sonship, and the myrrh to the mystery of his Passion and Death. 

The Church Fathers marvelled over the faith of the Magi, as they fell down and worshipped God in human flesh and offered up their gifts.  This is the type of response that we should continue to make as we meet Jesus in the Eucharist today.  Through our senses we see bread and wine, but with eyes of faith we know it to be the very Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Through the Magi’s example to all the nations of the world, may we keep the Lord in the centre of our lives, always seeking his love and mercy.  Through the Real Presence of Jesus, may we give him homage on bended knee, now, and in the years to come. 

Second Sunday of Christmas

Christmas is a season of reverence and wonder, a time when we come together to rejoice in the sweet mystery of the Incarnation: that God became flesh and dwelt among us.  Today’s readings deepen that mystery, inviting us to go beyond the crib’s simplicity and into the profound beauty of Christ’s presence and purpose.

In our first reading describes Wisdom as an em-bodied attribute of God.  Wisdom rests among the people of Israel, ministering in the holy temple.  In Jewish tradition, Wisdom represents God’s guiding principles, the divine blueprint through which creation comes into being.

When St. John writes in the Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word… and the Word was God” John echoes that same profound link between divine Wisdom and the Incarnation of the Son of Man.  The Word, God’s creative wisdom, became flesh.  In Jesus Christ, the Eternal Wisdom descended into our world, and dwelt amongst us.

St. John tells us: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”.  This image is central:  Jesus Christ is that light, piercing through the shadow of fear, sin, suffering, loneliness, and doubt.  Darkness, no matter how deep it is, cannot quench this Divine Light from God’s power.

This message was radical in the first Christian communities, and it also resonates with us today.  We too live in a time of uncertainty, unrest, and disconnection.  

Yet Christ’s light persists, in a world filled with hurt and darkness, the Incarnation is God’s unyielding declaration: that nothing can extinguish God’s love for us.

St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians bursts with this praise:  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… he chose us in him before the foundation of the world… in love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ”.

Christmas isn’t just a story about a child born in a manger, it’s a revelation of who we are meant to be.  Through Christ, each one of us are invited into God’s family, not as servants but as His Sons and Daughters.

This invitation is personal: as long as we are called to allow our hearts to be opened by the Spirit.  In the midst of this Christmas season, God gives us the greatest gift, our eternal belonging and identity with Jesus Christ himself.

May we today:

Contemplate, just like Mary pondered these things in her heart.  As we are invited to marvel and rest in the wonder of the Incarnation of Jesus.

May we have a Conversion of heart, letting the Divine Light of God, guide our lives.  Where there is division, let us rebuild in unity.  Where there is suffering, offer kindness.  Where there is despair, let us share in hope.  Since we have become living symbols of the Word made flesh.  May we become Witnesses, of the Good News, since St Paul says:  “We, too, can be bearers of Good News through our hearts and our lives: by praying for one another, by showing compassion, by daring to believe in God’s goodness.”

So today, even though, the world has already moved on from Christmas, the season still continues.  Christ came not to depart, but to stay with us.  So, as we start to live out this new year, may our homes and hearts remain cradles of His presence and goodness.

Let Wisdom rest amongst us, and the ‘Word’ continue to dwell with us.  We are called into a deeper adoption, through our own personal mission by Baptism?  Let us allow Christ’s light to shine through every act of our lives, in mercy, kindness, forgiveness, and especially love.

Amen.

Holy Family: Jesus, Mary and Joseph

A PASTORAL LETTER

FROM THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER

Feast Of the Holy Family

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALL PUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THE WEEKEND OF 27th/28th DECEMBER 2025

My dear people,

We should be slow to ‘pack Christmas away’, and we should be slow to ‘pack the Holy Year away’.

The Feast of the Holy Family is given to us as a gift of encouragement and hope for the time we still have.  Let us consider this gift, what is it that you and I have received?  The Holy Year of Hope was a season of many blessings and Graces.  Those blessings draw us more confidently into the life and love of the Holy Family.  Through Baptism we become adopted children of God.  Through imitating Christ in charity, He recognises us as His brothers and sisters.  Through our veneration of Mary as Mother of the Faithful, we live as her own children, given to her by Jesus as He was dying on the Cross.

We are marking the conclusion of the Holy Year of Hope.  Each of us has been prayed for.  Our prayers have been heard and answered by the Lord.  We have received blessings and Graces because the Lord wants us to be grafted onto and into the Holy Family.  He wants us to carry His light into the new year, to chase away the darkness of fear and failure not just in our own lives, but also in the lives of others.

In due time, the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds went back to their flocks, the Magi returned to their homes, and the little Holy Family left the little town of Bethlehem, making for Egypt.  They have become exiles, refugees fleeing persecution.  Fear is a constant feature in the Gospels.  Mary and Joseph are told there are people who want to destroy this child.  It sounds far-fetched, but remember, we live in a world where infanticide exists.  We know that children can be targeted in war with the intention of destroying an adversary’s future.  The Christmas story has a dark side.  With the coming of Jesus into the world sin reacts with threats and violence.  A sleeping dog has been woken.

It won’t be long before we begin to see all the lights disappearing from the streets and houses around us.  They went on in a flurry of excitement for the coming festivities.  Soon we will see Christmas packed away, as life returns to normal.  But our family is different.  We live by different beliefs and rules that will often put us out of step with our neighbours.  That is not to say we are better than others – God alone will be our judge.  If we are to serve His purpose we must accept living differently, and being known as families who do so.

May God continue to bless your homes and families as we carry His light into 2026.

+Right Rev Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

Christmas Day Homily

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.”  But first let’s start from the very beginning, in the words of the ‘Sound of Music’, ‘it was a very good place to start.’  In John’s Prologue (which will be read in the morning), it says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. 

We start to think of a moment beyond time and space before creation began.  The ‘Word’ existed with ‘God’ and it was God.  The whole of creation took place through this ‘Word’.  Whenever, God the Father wanted something created, he only had to speak it.  But who is this ‘Word’?

“The Word became flesh and dwelt amongst us”.  It is Jesus Christ who is this living ‘Word’ and now he is here on earth through the Incarnation.  So, we can trace Jesus back before time began, with God the Father, who has no beginning or end. 

In Luke’s Nativity story, we are familiar with these words: ‘The foxes have their holes, and the birds have their nets, but the Son of man has no-where to lay down.’  If we take a moment to reflect upon this, we can start to understand, that from the moment of Jesus’ birth, he belong outside of the realm, of what we see as most important in worldly terms.  However, this is the child who is the truly powerful one, the one on whom everything depends upon for our salvation. 

Mary laid her new-born Son in a manger, a space that might be consider to be unworthy, but it could be also seen as a kind of altar.

St Augustine drew out this meaning further, explaining that the manger is a place where animals eat their food.  But now, lying in the manger is Jesus, who is the true bread come down from heaven, the true nourishment that we need in our lives.  This is the food that gives us true life, eternal life – God himself.  In this poverty of Jesus’ birth emerges the miracle in which we are truly saved.

In that same region, there were shepherds out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night.  These shepherds became the first witnesses of this great event.  They represented the poor of Israel, simple souls whom Jesus would bless, and because from them, all people are granted access to the mystery of God.

The angel of the Lord appears to the shepherds and the glory of the Lord shone around them.  At first, they were filled with fear.  However, the angel took away their fears and announced to them a great joy.  ‘For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord’.   They were told to find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people of good will.’  This song was sung by all the angels in heaven, in which the glory of great joy was proclaimed.  What a sight to behold. 

And so, from that moment the angel’s song of praise has never gone silent, it continues to be sung this day, and every Sunday celebration during our Gloria in Mass.

The ’glory’ of God is real, God is glorious, and this is truly a season to be joyful; there is truth, there is goodness, there is beauty.  God made flesh, lying in a manger as the ‘bread of heaven.’ 

May I conclude by wishing you all a very Holy Christmas, and that you continue to reflect upon the full divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the ‘Word made flesh’ during this festive period. 

May this Christmas Eucharist strengthen you and nourish you throughout this Holy season.  May we become true witnesses of our faith, proclaiming the Good News to all the four corners of the world.  That ‘Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, is Christ the Lord, and Saviour to all the World.’

Fourth Sunday of Advent – Year A

We are nearly there, our 4^th Advent candle is now lit, and Christmas is just around the corner.  Not long too go.  Today’s 4^th Advent candle represents ‘Peace’ (the others were Hope, Love & Joy).

So, how are we getting on in the busyness of last-minute Christmas shopping, have we manged to find any peace, to prepare ourselves spiritually, as we look towards Our Saviour’s birth?

St. Joseph in today’s Gospel wasn’t getting any peace either, he had just found out, that Mary his betrothed was with child, and that it wasn’t his.  The people in the local community had started to talk.  Joseph was in a state of embarrassment.  What should he do?  He had a choice to divorce Mary publicly or privately.  So, Joseph decided not to put Mary to any shame, and decided to divorce her privately. 

By this statement, Matthew the Evangelist was indicating that Joseph was a ‘Just Man’.  Giving us an overall picture of St. Joseph that aligns him with great biblical figures like ‘Abraham the Just’. 

A ‘just man’ is someone who maintains a living contact with the ‘Word of God’.  Who delights in the Law of the Lord, and reads it with loving openness to God, and in this way, learns to understand, by living it deeply from within. 

The angel ‘came’ and physically appeared to Mary at the Annunciation, but the angel only ‘appeared’ to Joseph in a dream, a dream that was real. 

This shows us another important quality of St. Joseph, his capacity to perceive the divine and his ability to discern God’s will.  He was someone who was watchful with a real sensitivity for God.  He was able with God’s divine grace to discern whether it was simply a dream or had God’s messenger truly appeared to Him.  Joseph must have had extraordinary courageous faith, knowing that the dream was the truth and God had really spoken to him.

The angel greeted him with the words ‘Do not be afraid’ the very same words that the angel said to Mary at the Annunciation, with these words Joseph is now being drawn into the same mystery of God’s incarnation with Mary.

So, the divine plan which Mary and Joseph were meant to share together was put into motion, with great patience and humility Joseph accepted his vocation for which God had chosen for him.  Even though he felt unworthy to act as a foster father for the child Jesus, since this child had come from God himself. 

St. Joseph played a major role in the events of the first Christmas at Bethlehem.  He was a true loyal servant, with a husband’s love, who cherished the virgin Mother of God and with fatherly care watched over the child Jesus.

Joseph’s obedience to God’s call was not without its difficulties or uncertainties, but he welcomed everything that happened as an opportunity to increase in holiness, coming closer to the Lord. 

Joseph was a humble man, very much at peace, who gave everything in the service of Jesus Christ, his example gives us courage to face our daily problems, and to keep on believing when all seems hopeless.  Along with John the Baptist and Mary, St. Joseph is also singled out as another person who can best prepare us for Christmas. 

During this final week of Advent, be sure to know that ‘God is with us’.  May we too hear the Lord calling us to follow his divine will, as we fully and freely accept the Lord’s message in our hearts as Joseph did.  May our decisions in life, be based on a strong foundation of faith, given to us from God Our Heavenly Father, so we can also become ‘true and just’ for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Third Sunday of Advent – Year A

The joy of Advent shines forth with an inspiring message of hope and encouragement in today’s readings, urging us to rejoice and be happy because the Lord is near. 

It tells us of our Christian vocation to radiate this joy, however, rejoicing is not normally the hallmark of being a Catholic.  A lot of the time we associate the Gospel message of Jesus carrying His Cross and remembering His Passion of pain and suffering.  However, what did Jesus say just before His Ascension into Heaven, ‘all these things I have spoken to you, that my joy might be in you, and your joy be complete.’ 

We were all created for happiness.  It is why we spend our lives searching and striving to attain it.  Sometimes this happiness seems to escape us as we go searching for it in the wrong places.  Our greatest mistake is to look for it in material things, but all the money in the world cannot purchase happiness.  Christian joy is something deeper and richer, it comes from an awareness that God is with us and produces a contentment of inner peace that cannot be taken from us.  Friendship with God is the source of Christian joy.  No trials can drown this joy since it is born of faith.  On the first Christmas day when God came down in the flesh, Jesus filled the world with glad tidings of great joy.  His life was geared towards God the Father in joy, prayer and thanksgiving.  We can be caught up with all our daily problems and fail to reflect upon the joy of that marvellous truth that: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son and whoever believes in him, might not die, but may have eternal life.’ (Jn 3:16)

In the Gospel today, Jesus tells John’s disciples what do you hear and see?  ‘The Blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have Good News preached to them.’  John’s Disciples went back rejoicing because Jesus has confirmed that ‘He is the Christ, the one who is to come.’ 

As we know, charity is so important at this time, as there is no greater proof of love than to give ourselves to others who are in need.  Christmas joy cannot be complete unless we show love and charity, especially to those who have nothing to give back to us in return. 

The happiest of people are those who are doing the most for others, and the day will arrive when they will be greeted by the Lord with these words:  ‘Well done good and faithful servant, come and join in my master’s happiness.’

I would like to end with the words from one of our favourite comedians of the past, Ken Dodd.  These words were always sung at the end of his shows, and I feel they are appropriate for us today:  “Happiness, Happiness, the greatest gift that I possess, I thank the Lord that I’ve been blessed, with more than my share of happiness.”

Second Sunday of Advent – Year A

John the Baptist’s ministry was solely based at the river Jordan, probably located on the southern stretch just before it empties into the Dead Sea.  The crowds from Jerusalem would have travelled nearly 20 miles through hot barren wilderness just to get there. 

The river Jordan is more than just a river, it was a powerful symbol of hope and new life.  In the Old Testament, God did many great things at the Jordan.  He healed Naaman the Syrian from his leprosy, He took the prophet Elijah up to heaven in a fiery chariot at the Jordan.  And most of all, God let the Israelites come across the river Jordan at the end of their 40 years journey in the wilderness from Egypt to the promise Land.  So, the Jordan represented the climax of the exodus story and the fulfilment of God’s plan to bring Israel to the land of Canaan.

The wilderness itself brought to mind, hope for Israel’s future, in which God would rescue his people from their present-day persecutors.  The ritual of baptism was a powerful symbolic action.  John the Baptist was calling the people to journey out into the wilderness, to step into the Jordan river for Baptism.  Thus, in this way, they could re-enter into the promise land, once again, free from all their sins. 

The heart of John’s message is the challenge to repent.  The Greek meaning here is to change one’s mind, and in the Jewish tradition the Hebrew word for ‘repent’ means to ‘turn around’. 

John is asking for a complete change in conduct and thinking, a fundamental change of one’s life direction.  As you know many Old Testament prophets turned away from their sinful ways, and repented by returning to the Lord. 

We also heard, that John the Baptist wore clothing made from camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist.  In Matthew’s Gospel, this is highlighting something central about John’s mission.  Matthew the Evangelist was connecting John with Elijah, who was known for wearing something similar.  This connection with Elijah is important, because the Jews were expecting the return of Elijah before the ‘great day of the Lord.’  Therefore, John’s appearance in the desert and looking like Elijah would have signalled to the Jewish people that he was playing the part of the long-awaited Elijah, preparing the way for the Lord’s coming. 

John the Baptist speaks to the Jewish people who have come for baptism, by declaring that someone is coming who is mightier than he is, by saying:  ‘He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.’  Out of all the tasks a servant would be required to do for his master, the most degrading of all tasks would have involved touching the master’s feet.  Yet John the Baptist says, he is not worthy, even to do that.

John continues and says, the one who is to come, will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and Fire. 

John the Baptist points us to the tremendous power of the Church’s Sacraments, especially Baptism and Reconciliation.  Through these Sacraments God freely forgives all our sins and fills us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to become a member of a community that we could never earn on our own, by making us ‘Children of God’. 

So, during this Advent season, let us take this opportunity to come closer to Christ, and deepen our relationship with him through prayer and the Sacraments of the Church, especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. 

Let us hear and focus on the words of John the Baptist calling us to repentance, and as a result, allowing us, to open up the way for the Lord, so Jesus can enter into our hearts as we head towards our Saviours birth.