“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too, is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek out and save what was lost.”  In our first reading from book of Wisdom, teaches us that everything that comes from the hand of God is good through his love and mercy.  Our sins are forgiven, they are wiped away.  St Paul reminds the community in Thessalonica, to continue to pray in faith and virtue.  Now is the time to turn our good intentions into good achievements, while we wait for the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  Our duty is to ‘seek out the lost and to save,’ for the salvation of the world.  Good achievements takes time and perseverance, even if these are only little and small. 

‘From a little spark it may burst into a mighty flame’ (Dante).  ‘If I cannot do great things, I can still do small things, but in a great way’ (J.F. Clarke). 

In our Gospel today, we hear the story of Zacchaeus who climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus.  Jericho is located about 17 miles northeast of Jerusalem.  The road close to the town was well travelled by pilgrims and traders.  It was near the Roman controlled border of Judea and Perea (p-re-a), on an east to west trading route.  Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector overseeing the collection of tolls and duties on the transportation of goods.  Zacchaeus was determined to see Jesus after hearing all the wonderfully things is had done, quickly and in haste, he climbed up a sycamore tree. 

I have visited Jericho during my 4^th year at Oscott college and the sycamore tree is still there.  I know what you are all thinking, is it the same tree, and did I climb up it?  Sadly, no to both questions, it isn’t the same tree, but it does help to imagine the scene of the story while visiting the town.  Unfortunately, the tree is also surrounded by fences so you can’t climb up the tree anyhow. 

Jesus sees the tax collector, and senses his natural goodness which must not be lost.  This encounter was not just an encounter by chance, but one that occurs by divine necessity in fulfilling God’s plan, to ‘seek and to save’ Zacchaeus from his sinful ways.  Visiting his home was something Jesus had to do.  Zacchaeus came down the tree and welcomed Jesus into his home, like Abraham welcoming two divinely sent visitors.  With haste, and being a descendant of Abraham, Zacchaeus now imitates his hospitality to Jesus.  This meeting marks out a turning point in the chief tax collector’s life.  Zacchaeus thought that he ‘was seeking’ the Lord, but in reality, it was Jesus who had ‘come to seek him out’ and to ‘save him’ and his household.  Zacchaeus responds by changing his life and using his possessions, giving back to the poor, indicating the good fruits that he will produce as evidence of his repentance. 

St Augustine compares the sycamore tree that Zacchaeus climbed to Jesus’ cross.  And I quote “Climb the tree on which Jesus hung for you, and you will see Jesus.”  This quote can be developed further.  Whereas Jesus hung on the tree because he was crucified, Jesus told Zacchaeus to come down from the tree.  In effect, the sinner is replaced by the Saviour.  This is the substitution accomplished by Jesus.  He died on the cross in our place, giving us salvation of eternal life, through his merciful grace and loving kindness. 

Zacchaeus was ‘touched’ by God while he was watching in the tree, this single meeting with Christ was enough to move him into the right direction.  Jesus saw his good intentions, but Zacchaeus couldn’t put them into practice due to his weight of sin and shame. 

Let us today wipe away our sin and shame, that is holding us back from completing our good works and good intentions.  Our encounter with the Lord is also through God’s divine plan, through his love and mercy towards us.  As we approach Advent and Christmas, let us start to complete little good intentions, the more we do, the bigger our overall success will be. 

We have all been asked to build up the Kingdom of God, through our actions, may we ‘seek out the lost’ and bring them to the Lord. 

During my priestly ordination the words in the Rite echo the words of Jesus:  “keep always before your eyes the example of the Good Shepherd, who came to seek out and to save what was lost.” 

Through our Baptism we have been called to be Priests, Prophets, and Kings, by our Holy anointing.  May the grace that we have received, allow us to accomplish many good fruits for the Kingdom of Heaven, bringing salvation to our home, while we await the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God and thanked him.”  Today’s theme is about giving gratitude to God. 

Are we grateful to God for what he has done in our lives?  Do we manage to say thank you during our night-time prayers?  These are important questions to ask ourselves during the coming weeks, and to see if there are any areas we can improve on.

It is so easy to take things for granted.  Good health, good friends, good food.  All these have been given by God as a gift, and it only takes a second to say ‘thank you’ from the bottom of our hearts.

I should have been more grateful when I was studying in seminary college.  Good company of friends, cheap beer in the bar, and sausages every Sunday for breakfast, with the customary HP Sauce.  The good old days.  In parish life it is lucky if I have time for toast and a coffee before the phone rings or the door knocks.  I didn’t appreciate the time I had, set aside for prayer, study and relaxation.  The only thing on seminarians minds was the countdown to ordination and leaving the college to start parish life.   

Ingratitude is probably the most common of all human failings.  Being taken for granted without a word of thanks can be so hurtful.  What causes most pain is the neglect and coldness of those, for whom we have done our best for. 

I remember when I was a young boy, at Christmas my Mum would say to me, make sure you note down everybody’s names who had given you these Christmas presents, so you can write to them and say thank you.  Even though it was time consuming and slightly boring, I did write those letters of thanks, saying how grateful I was to receive my presents.

If neglect and ingratitude are painful to our own friends and family, how much more is it painful to the Lord, who has given us everything?  In the Gospel ten lepers in their misery, cried out for mercy to the Lord.  These lepers were treated as outcasts and isolated from their community.  Jesus answered their prayers and all ten were cleansed, but only one came back to say thank you, just one. 

Jesus expressed genuine disappointed towards the attitude of the other nine, they missed the great richness and inner joy that comes from giving thanks.  The Samaritan man returned glorifying God, who Jesus refers to as being a foreigner.  By doing this Jesus is overcoming the barrier between Jews and non-Jews, thus fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy:

“Foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, will be brought to my holy mountain.  They will be joyful for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.”

Jesus says to the Samaritan, your faith has saved you.  This suggests that the Samaritan received more than a physical healing, like the other nine lepers, but for the Samaritan who returned, his faith in the Lord Jesus led him to salvation.

In our first reading today, we hear about Naaman an Aramean officer who also suffered from leprosy.  He was instructed by his King to see the prophet, Elisha.  When he arrived at an unimpressive location, Naaman half-heartedly agrees to bathe in the river Jordan.  But his efforts were rewarded, and he was cured.  In gratitude Naaman returns to the prophet now convinced in Israel’s God is the One true God and asks Elisha if he could take back some Israeli soil, so he could offer sacrifices to God on Holy Land. 

God has brought us out of darkness into his most wonderful light.  Jesus as conquered Sin for all humanity, by His Death, Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven.  That is more than enough to be grateful. 

We are God’s holy people, he has done so much for each and everyone of us.  Let us take the Samaritan’s example today, by returning to the Lord, giving praise and glory for his steadfastness of love and mercy. 

“Never be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord,” this was the key theme in our second reading today, from the second letter to Timothy.  St Paul is reminding Timothy and us as well, ‘to fan into a flame, the gift that God has given to you.” The image here is like a coal fire, coals that have been covered with ashes and need to be stirred and fanned into a flame. 

St John Chrysostom comments on this by saying, ‘It takes much zeal to stir up the gift of God, but it is in our power to either kindle or extinguish His loving grace.  For by sloth and carelessness grace is extinguished, or by watchfulness and diligence grace is kept alive.’

We have received this grace through the ‘laying on of hands’, at our Baptism and Confirmation, also through the Sacrament of the Sick, and for some people like myself by Priestly Ordination.  The ‘laying on of hands’ is the formal method of invoking the Holy Spirit.  For those who received my 1^st blessings last month, I laid my hands on your heads, invoking the Holy Spirit to come down upon you in a special way.

St Paul continues by saying, this grace is not a spirit of timidity, but the spirit of power, and love, and self-control.  We should never be ashamed to be a witness to the Lord.  By embracing the many hardships for the sake of the Good News, we rely on the power of God to be with us as we bear witness to him.

Through the ‘laying on of hands’ especially at Confirmation, we receive the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  The bishop and the con-celebrating priests raises their hands and prayers over the confirmandi. 

The bishop says:  “Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who brought these your servants to new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, freeing them from sin:  send upon them, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete; give them the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and piety; fill them with the spirit of the fear of the Lord.’

We have been given these seven gifts through the Holy Spirit, and we should use them and treasure them, like looking after something holy and precious.

In the Gospel reading the apostles felt that their faith was lacking and weak, asking the Lord to increase their faith.  Jesus replied if your faith is the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree to be uprooted and plant itself in the sea.  Or another verse in Matthew’s Gospel refers to asking a mountain to move into the sea and the mountain will obey you.  Jesus is explaining if you have faith, even if it is small like a mustard seed, you can do the impossible.  Since everything is possible for God. 

So let us, stir up our flames, enkindle our loving kindness through watchfulness and diligence.  Stand up straight with confidence, radiating with the power of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming the Good News.  We are merely servants of the Lord, his disciples.  We have a duty to perform spreading love and mercy, pronouncing the Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus Christ.  We are his people, chosen by God before we were born, to be his many parts in the One Body of Christ.  Strong in faith, he will never leave us, place your trust in him always, because we are not ashamed to be witnesses of the Lord God Our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

There is a double spread about my ordination and discernment journey.

Blessed Jesus, Lord of Lords and King of Kings, we give you thanks for our late sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II; for the grace and mercy she received from you, for all that she reflected of your gracious sovereignty, and for the great love she held for you and for her people. Enfold her in your everlasting arms, grant her rest and raise her up at the last in the company of the saints in light. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

“Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”  These are challenging words from Jesus.  The image of the cross, brings to mind suffering and pain.  Not something we want in our lives if we can help it.  As you know life has its ups and downs.  Happiness and sadness, joy and pain.  We cannot avoid it.  It is all around us in some form. 

Following Jesus’ life through the Gospels we see the same ups and downs that we experience.  It is comforting to know that Jesus experienced everything that we do in our lives.

If we want to be true disciples of the Lord, then we must follow and experience the same ups and downs of being a Christian.  We have been called to be ‘Salt of the Earth.’  As you know salt, tasted plainly brings a distaste into our mouths.  This is the same as being a Christian who spreads the ‘Good News’ and talks about their faith.  People will accept it and people will refuse to listen.  We can be loved, or we can be hated due to our believe in the Lord Jesus.  This is our Cross.  Jesus says, ‘If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.’  The closer we come to the Lord, the more we would do anything for him.  Even give up our possessions.  This has a couple of meanings.  Jesus mentions in another passage of scripture, let us store up heavenly things, and not earthly things.  He is not saying having possessions is wrong but let us not be greedy.  Be thankful for what the Lord has given us and have already received.  Keep the Lord firmly in the centre of our lives, praying and focusing on heavenly rewards.

Another meaning about having no possessions points to a small group of people.  Mainly religious Monks or Sisters, who have promised a vow of poverty.  These groups of people have very limited possessions, and many of the items are shared within the community.

Luckily, I am a priest, and I don’t promise a vow of poverty.  Many priests enjoy having some possessions.  It took me three car loads to move to Blackpool. But there was a time, 7 years ago when I did sell all my possessions.

Before being accepted for seminary at Oscott college, the Bishop gave me a 12 month placement in the Diocese.  I was sent to Workington for 8 months and Lancaster for 4 months.  I was currently living in Preston, renting a flat, and working at Preston Hospital.  With no guarantee that Bishop would accept me after my 12 placement, I left my place of work, and gave notice for my flat, selling most of my possessions, like the settee, chairs, bed, and TV to charity shops, friends and family.  Any money I raised I gave to charity.  My Dad wanted me to take a sabbatical from work, so I had something to fall back on if I wasn’t accepted by the Bishop.  But I said I am going to leave it into the Lord’s hands.  Luckily, 12 months later the Bishop did say ‘yes’ to me and I started my 6 years training at Oscott College in Birmingham. 

Now my next stage in my life is living down sunny Blackpool.  A place where I visited many times as a child.  My Grandparents had a caravan in Great Eccleston, so my family would take me and my brother on our family holidays.  I believe the Blackpool lights were turned on last Friday night, I was so disappointed I didn’t get the call to turn them on, but there is always next year.

I am so pleased to have my first appointment here in this parish, I am really looking forward to the months and years ahead.  Big shoes to fill following Fr Stephen, even thou, he has only small feet.  He has been a good friend to me over the years, as we were at college together for some time, Fr Stephen was three years ahead of me and  I wish him all the best in Preston.

I am really looking forward to getting to know you all, unfortunately it does take a while for me to remember people’s names.  So please bear with me.  You are my new family in the Lord, and I will do my very best to provide for your pastoral needs.  We all have our crosses to bare and to carry in the uncertainty of this world.  Simon of Cyrene helped carry Jesus’ cross in his time of need.  I will try and help carry your cross in your time of need.  We are all one family in Jesus Christ, let us all be close disciples of the Lord in love and charity.

Below is my homily for todays memorial.

Today is the memorial of St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of Mary, and the Grandparents of Jesus.  There is very little known about them, we receive their names in the gnostic gospel of St. James.  Stories about Mary’s parents came to us mainly through legend and tradition.

We are told they were childless and sterile into old age, and after Joachim’s fasting and prayer in the desert and Anne weeping in lamentation for many years, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child.  Anne promised to dedicate this child to God.  They were told by the angel the reason why it has taken so long.  It was to increase their longing, to increase their awareness that every child comes from God. 

The conception in Anne’s womb was unlike any other in human history, because her long awaited daughter was conceived without any stain of original sin, she was immaculate.   

Mary was given Prevenient grace, which is a grace given by God before she was conceived.  In the same way as God had always thought from the beginning of time, to send his Son Jesus to the world.  It was also his thought to make Mary spotless, and full of grace so she could conceive Jesus as her Son.

Mary is full of Grace because of the divine task she had willingly accepted.  She needed the full amount of grace to fulfil her role as God’s Mother.

St Joachim and St Anne knew that Mary was conceived miraculously in their old age, as a result of many prayers, but they had no idea of what God had planned for Mary. 

It was the parents of Mary who nurtured her, taught her, and brought her up to be a worthy ‘Mother of God’.  It was their teaching that led her to respond to God’s request with faith.  “Let it be done to me as your will”.  It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus.  It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and allowed her to still believe in God’s plan. 

Such parents can be examples and models for all parents and grandparents today. 

St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and also Pope Francis have all stressed how important it is for grandparents and great grandparents to be the transmitters of wisdom to the younger generation.  How important it is for the younger generation to ask them for wisdom, which they have gained through years of experience and lifelong reflection and prayerful examination on the Word of God. Let us have the inspiration to pass on our faith for the sake of the younger generation, so they may receive the wisdom and knowledge we have received through our years of prayer and close relationship with the Lord.  “We are the virtuous that will shine like the Sun in the Kingdom of our Father in Heaven.”

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