SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD – A: 5th June, 2011
Acts 1:1-11; Ps. 46:2-3.6-9; Eph. 1:17-23; Mt. 28:16-20
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
With the Ascension of Jesus into heaven, which we celebrate today, the life of Jesus comes full circle. He came from the Father in heaven, became man and dwelt among us. He was crucified, died and was buried, rose from the dead and appeared in His risen glory to His disciples. Having accomplished His mission on earth, Jesus returns to the Father in heaven handing over His mission to us to go and make disciples of all the nations. What a precious privilege and an awesome responsibility!
The Ascension of Jesus into heaven is a mystery of hope. Where He the head has gone, we His members hope to follow. Jesus has not abandoned us. In fact, He has promised to be with us always even unto the end of time. He has gone ahead to prepare a place for us so that we His disciples may be where He is. Life on earth is a valley of tears but in heaven there will be no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering, and no more death.
What is the message of the Ascension for us? This feast teaches us that heaven is our real homeland, our final destination. We are pilgrims in this world, passengers in transit. We need to travel light and make sure that we collect and cling to only that which we can take with us into eternity. All the material possessions that we grab and grasp, all the money which we selfishly accumulate, all the good things of life that we hoard rather than share with those who have not – all these we will have to leave behind. Empty handed we came into this world and empty handed shall we leave! It is better not to be encumbered by excess baggage! We need to do load shedding while we are alive rather than be overburdened with loads that we cannot carry in death. When we travel light the journey becomes more pleasant for us and for others as well.
The feast of the Ascension teaches us further that we are citizens of two worlds: the present and the future, the here-and-now and the hereafter, time and eternity, earth and heaven. We need to be immersed and involved in the things of this world but never so engage our energies that we lose sight of the world to come. Foolish is that traveller who gets so distracted by the wayside as to forget his destination!
Finally, the Ascension reminds us that we were made for God. Our hearts were made for God and they will continue to be restless until they find their rest in God. Our human heart is so big that only God can fully satisfy it. The old Catechism put it so plainly yet so profoundly. In answer to the question “Why did God make you? it replied: God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him for ever in heaven! Jesus is the Way to heaven. He has taught us that way. He himself has walked that way. It is the way of love. It is a narrow and a difficult way but a sure way and few take it; the way to perdition is broad and easy. Alas many take it!
The holy Eucharist is food for the way. We receive Jesus in Holy Communion which is a foretaste of being with and beholding Him in heaven for ever. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (588 Words)]
2011年6月1日星期三
2011年5月31日星期二
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 29th May, 2011
SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 29th May, 2011
Acts 8:5-8.14-17; Ps. 65; 1 Pet. 3:15-18; Jn. 14: 15-21
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Several years back home in India, I was invited to guide an eight-day retreat to a Congregation of Religious Sisters. Attached to the Convent was an Orphanage that provided a home and shelter for little infants. Some of these were single or double orphans having lost both parents; others were babies abandoned either at the convent gate at dead of night or at times sadly found near a roadside garbage dump. I took time off between the spiritual exercises and conferences of the retreat to visit these orphans. I would stoop to carry in my arms one and two of the toddlers at a time only to find a third tugging at my soutane wanting to be carried too! The Sister who accompanied me gave me to understand that this was a pathetic sight. These little orphans had never felt the warmth of a home or the love of a parental embrace. They suffered not only from skin hunger but from a deeper hunger – the hunger for love. They felt lost and lonely, forsaken and forgotten.
“I will not leave you orphans”, says Jesus to his apostles. They had lived with Him for three years; they had listened to His teaching; they had witnessed the stupendous miracles He wrought like calming the stormy sea, feeding the hungry multitudes and raising the dead back to life. They had encountered Him after His resurrection for forty days as He appeared to them. And now He was to return to His Father. He would soon bid them farewell and be taking their leave. Parting is painful. Is it not? They felt lost and lonely, forsaken and forgotten. Is that not the way we too feel at times? We feel orphaned. God seems so far away and even when we pray He seems so distant and deaf. We feel we have been left to fend for ourselves. We feel we are struggling alone. We are tempted to think that we are praying in a void.
“I will not leave you orphans.” How comforting and consoling are these words! Jesus does not leave us orphans. He is with us as He promised to be – yes, even to the end of time. He gives us His Spirit to befriend us, an Advocate to plead our cause and fight our case, the Spirit of truth to guide us. His Spirit will be with us forever. We know from history that empires have risen and fallen, crises and catastrophes have hit the Church, her leaders have proved unfaithful and unworthy – but through it all the Church has emerged safe and strong.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, we must never lose heart or feel forsaken and forgotten like orphans. Not for a moment does God abandon us. We are the work of His hands and He holds us in the hollow of His palms. Can a mother forget her baby or a woman the child she has nursed? Even if these forget, I will not forget says the Lord. In the ups and downs of life, in trial and trouble, in doubt and difficulty, in darkness and despair, God is at work fulfilling His purposes and making our darkest moments our deepest moments. To Him we must turn in prayer surrendering our cares and concerns into His hands and knowing that surrender is the secret to serenity. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (564 Words)]
Acts 8:5-8.14-17; Ps. 65; 1 Pet. 3:15-18; Jn. 14: 15-21
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Several years back home in India, I was invited to guide an eight-day retreat to a Congregation of Religious Sisters. Attached to the Convent was an Orphanage that provided a home and shelter for little infants. Some of these were single or double orphans having lost both parents; others were babies abandoned either at the convent gate at dead of night or at times sadly found near a roadside garbage dump. I took time off between the spiritual exercises and conferences of the retreat to visit these orphans. I would stoop to carry in my arms one and two of the toddlers at a time only to find a third tugging at my soutane wanting to be carried too! The Sister who accompanied me gave me to understand that this was a pathetic sight. These little orphans had never felt the warmth of a home or the love of a parental embrace. They suffered not only from skin hunger but from a deeper hunger – the hunger for love. They felt lost and lonely, forsaken and forgotten.
“I will not leave you orphans”, says Jesus to his apostles. They had lived with Him for three years; they had listened to His teaching; they had witnessed the stupendous miracles He wrought like calming the stormy sea, feeding the hungry multitudes and raising the dead back to life. They had encountered Him after His resurrection for forty days as He appeared to them. And now He was to return to His Father. He would soon bid them farewell and be taking their leave. Parting is painful. Is it not? They felt lost and lonely, forsaken and forgotten. Is that not the way we too feel at times? We feel orphaned. God seems so far away and even when we pray He seems so distant and deaf. We feel we have been left to fend for ourselves. We feel we are struggling alone. We are tempted to think that we are praying in a void.
“I will not leave you orphans.” How comforting and consoling are these words! Jesus does not leave us orphans. He is with us as He promised to be – yes, even to the end of time. He gives us His Spirit to befriend us, an Advocate to plead our cause and fight our case, the Spirit of truth to guide us. His Spirit will be with us forever. We know from history that empires have risen and fallen, crises and catastrophes have hit the Church, her leaders have proved unfaithful and unworthy – but through it all the Church has emerged safe and strong.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, we must never lose heart or feel forsaken and forgotten like orphans. Not for a moment does God abandon us. We are the work of His hands and He holds us in the hollow of His palms. Can a mother forget her baby or a woman the child she has nursed? Even if these forget, I will not forget says the Lord. In the ups and downs of life, in trial and trouble, in doubt and difficulty, in darkness and despair, God is at work fulfilling His purposes and making our darkest moments our deepest moments. To Him we must turn in prayer surrendering our cares and concerns into His hands and knowing that surrender is the secret to serenity. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (564 Words)]
2011年5月20日星期五
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 22nd May, 2011
FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 22nd May, 2011
Acts 6:1-7; Ps. 32; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the Gospel according to John there are not a few “I am” sayings of Jesus. In the Gospel last Sunday Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and the Gate of the Sheepfold. He also states that He is the Light, the Bread of Life and the Vine. In today’s Gospel, He calls Himself “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Let us ponder prayerfully each of these statements.
Jesus is the Way. The way directs us to the destination where we wish to go. Jesus is the Way to the Father. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. No one knows the Father and no can come to the Father except through Him. He is the Way – the safest way but the narrow way. If we walk this Way that is Jesus we will never stumble or go astray. Our life on earth is a journey. We do not know how long or short the journey will be. But we know for sure that the journey will one day come to an end. We know too that every day we move closer to the destination. While we journey we must never lose sight of our destination. How foolish is that traveller who gets distracted by the wayside and forgets his destination! If we walk the Way that is Jesus, the Way to the Father, the Way of love which He himself trod, we are certain to reach our destination.
Jesus is the Truth. He is the Truth that sets us free. He breaks the shackles of falsehood that bind us. He is the Truth that enlightens our minds. He is the Truth that helps us discern between right and wrong, good and evil, virtue and vice. When we live the Truth that is Jesus we become free and fearless. Truth is neither popular nor palatable; but it is necessary. It takes courage to stand up for one’s convictions. No one knows the truth better than the one who lies. Yet, when we lie we live in fear – the fear of being exposed, the fear of being known for who we really are. When we lie we live in bondage for we are entangled and enmeshed in untruth and often to conceal and cover one lie we have to tell another. He who lives the truth comes out into the light. How liberating truth is! That is the fearlessness and freedom we enjoy when we live the Truth that is Jesus!
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We cling to life. We preserve, protect and strive to prolong life. We need to. The Life that Jesus offers us is not a life that is earthly but eternal, not a life that will end but one that is everlasting. He came that we may have this life and have it in greater abundance. He shares with us this life for He himself has said: “I am the bread of life. He who eats of this bread will live for ever!” How blessed we are to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! Here we receive Jesus and in Him the foretaste of heavenly bliss, the pledge of eternal life. The moments after receiving Holy Communion are indeed profoundly precious and personal. Jesus is with us and we are with Him. Heart speaks to heart and words get lost in silence!
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we walk His Way. May we live His Truth. May we enjoy His Life. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (595 Words)]
Acts 6:1-7; Ps. 32; 1 Peter 2:4-9; John 14:1-12
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the Gospel according to John there are not a few “I am” sayings of Jesus. In the Gospel last Sunday Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd and the Gate of the Sheepfold. He also states that He is the Light, the Bread of Life and the Vine. In today’s Gospel, He calls Himself “the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Let us ponder prayerfully each of these statements.
Jesus is the Way. The way directs us to the destination where we wish to go. Jesus is the Way to the Father. He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. No one knows the Father and no can come to the Father except through Him. He is the Way – the safest way but the narrow way. If we walk this Way that is Jesus we will never stumble or go astray. Our life on earth is a journey. We do not know how long or short the journey will be. But we know for sure that the journey will one day come to an end. We know too that every day we move closer to the destination. While we journey we must never lose sight of our destination. How foolish is that traveller who gets distracted by the wayside and forgets his destination! If we walk the Way that is Jesus, the Way to the Father, the Way of love which He himself trod, we are certain to reach our destination.
Jesus is the Truth. He is the Truth that sets us free. He breaks the shackles of falsehood that bind us. He is the Truth that enlightens our minds. He is the Truth that helps us discern between right and wrong, good and evil, virtue and vice. When we live the Truth that is Jesus we become free and fearless. Truth is neither popular nor palatable; but it is necessary. It takes courage to stand up for one’s convictions. No one knows the truth better than the one who lies. Yet, when we lie we live in fear – the fear of being exposed, the fear of being known for who we really are. When we lie we live in bondage for we are entangled and enmeshed in untruth and often to conceal and cover one lie we have to tell another. He who lives the truth comes out into the light. How liberating truth is! That is the fearlessness and freedom we enjoy when we live the Truth that is Jesus!
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. We cling to life. We preserve, protect and strive to prolong life. We need to. The Life that Jesus offers us is not a life that is earthly but eternal, not a life that will end but one that is everlasting. He came that we may have this life and have it in greater abundance. He shares with us this life for He himself has said: “I am the bread of life. He who eats of this bread will live for ever!” How blessed we are to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! Here we receive Jesus and in Him the foretaste of heavenly bliss, the pledge of eternal life. The moments after receiving Holy Communion are indeed profoundly precious and personal. Jesus is with us and we are with Him. Heart speaks to heart and words get lost in silence!
Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we walk His Way. May we live His Truth. May we enjoy His Life. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (595 Words)]
2011年5月6日星期五
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 8th May, 2011 Acts 2:13.22-33; Ps. 15; 1Peter 1:17-21; Lk. 24:13-35
THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER – A: 8th May, 2011
Acts 2:13.22-33; Ps. 15; 1Peter 1:17-21; Lk. 24:13-35
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
We can easily identify ourselves with these two disciples on the road to Emmaus! Their hopes had been shattered; their dreams had gone up in smoke. They were downcast, dejected, disappointed and discouraged. Their plans had gone awry. They just wanted to forget the reality of the death of Jesus and were walking away from the scene on to Emmaus, some seven miles away. At times, have we not felt that way ourselves? There is so much that we can learn from their encounter with this “Stranger” who walked with them.
The first lesson we learn is that Jesus does not abandon us when we are discouraged, disappointed and in the dumps. He journeys with us every step of the way. He listens to our story. He is with us even in our darkest moments. His presence makes our darkest moments our deepest moments! Jesus was walking with those two disciples and they failed to recognise Him. Their vision was clouded. This can happen to us too: we have met with failure or frustration, death or disaster, trial and trouble, loss and liability. Our vision gets blurred. All sorts of doubts cloud our mind. We think, mistakenly, that Jesus has abandoned us and that we are walking alone. We need to remind ourselves that He is with us always; yes, even unto the end of time.
As these two discouraged disciples walk with Jesus, they pour out their hearts and share with Him their shattered hopes. This is the second lesson that we need to learn. In prayer when we talk to Jesus we need to tell Him just what we are going through. If we are angry with Him, we must tell Him so. If we are burdened with sorrow or weighed down with anxiety, we must let Him know. Keeping our feelings bottled up can only make us feel more bitter and broken. When we tell Jesus what we are really going through, our prayer becomes real and personal. And only when we are ourselves real, we can talk and listen to a real God.
Finally, comes that magic moment when their hearts begin to burn and their eyes are opened. They realise that Jesus was with them along their road as He spoke His word. They sensed His presence when He broke bread. Indeed, He had broken into their battered lives and filled them with renewed hope. They set out that instant and hurry back from Emmaus to Jerusalem seven miles away – a mini-marathon – to share with the eleven and their companions that Jesus had risen and that they had encountered Him. This is the miracle of prayer: it does not change reality; rather, it changes us. We emerge renewed, reinvigorated and revived!
To conclude, how blessed we are to have Jesus with us. At every mass, He speaks to us as the scriptures are explained in the liturgy of the word. Our hearts must burn as we hear Him speak. At every mass, we break bread when we celebrate the Eucharist. In that breaking of the bread, we must recognise Him. Like those two disciples we need to invite Him into the inn of our hearts, to stay with us. He will change despair to hope, darkness to light, weakness to strength and failure to fulfilment. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (556 Words)]
Acts 2:13.22-33; Ps. 15; 1Peter 1:17-21; Lk. 24:13-35
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
We can easily identify ourselves with these two disciples on the road to Emmaus! Their hopes had been shattered; their dreams had gone up in smoke. They were downcast, dejected, disappointed and discouraged. Their plans had gone awry. They just wanted to forget the reality of the death of Jesus and were walking away from the scene on to Emmaus, some seven miles away. At times, have we not felt that way ourselves? There is so much that we can learn from their encounter with this “Stranger” who walked with them.
The first lesson we learn is that Jesus does not abandon us when we are discouraged, disappointed and in the dumps. He journeys with us every step of the way. He listens to our story. He is with us even in our darkest moments. His presence makes our darkest moments our deepest moments! Jesus was walking with those two disciples and they failed to recognise Him. Their vision was clouded. This can happen to us too: we have met with failure or frustration, death or disaster, trial and trouble, loss and liability. Our vision gets blurred. All sorts of doubts cloud our mind. We think, mistakenly, that Jesus has abandoned us and that we are walking alone. We need to remind ourselves that He is with us always; yes, even unto the end of time.
As these two discouraged disciples walk with Jesus, they pour out their hearts and share with Him their shattered hopes. This is the second lesson that we need to learn. In prayer when we talk to Jesus we need to tell Him just what we are going through. If we are angry with Him, we must tell Him so. If we are burdened with sorrow or weighed down with anxiety, we must let Him know. Keeping our feelings bottled up can only make us feel more bitter and broken. When we tell Jesus what we are really going through, our prayer becomes real and personal. And only when we are ourselves real, we can talk and listen to a real God.
Finally, comes that magic moment when their hearts begin to burn and their eyes are opened. They realise that Jesus was with them along their road as He spoke His word. They sensed His presence when He broke bread. Indeed, He had broken into their battered lives and filled them with renewed hope. They set out that instant and hurry back from Emmaus to Jerusalem seven miles away – a mini-marathon – to share with the eleven and their companions that Jesus had risen and that they had encountered Him. This is the miracle of prayer: it does not change reality; rather, it changes us. We emerge renewed, reinvigorated and revived!
To conclude, how blessed we are to have Jesus with us. At every mass, He speaks to us as the scriptures are explained in the liturgy of the word. Our hearts must burn as we hear Him speak. At every mass, we break bread when we celebrate the Eucharist. In that breaking of the bread, we must recognise Him. Like those two disciples we need to invite Him into the inn of our hearts, to stay with us. He will change despair to hope, darkness to light, weakness to strength and failure to fulfilment. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (556 Words)]
2011年4月30日星期六
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER: DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: 1st May, 2011
SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER: DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: 1st May, 2011
Acts 2:42-47; Ps. 117; 1 Pet. 1:3-10; Jn. 20:19-31
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
We celebrate today, the Sunday after Easter, the Feast of the Divine Mercy. This celebration of this feast, revealed privately to Sr. Faustina, was promulgated for the whole Church by Pope John Paul II who canonised her and himself is being beatified today.
The Latin word “misericordia” describes accurately the meaning of the word “mercy”. Miseri-cors means having a heart for the miserable. When we speak therefore of divine mercy we mean that God has a heart for us miserable sinners. But the history of “Divine Mercy” goes back to the book of Genesis. When Adam and Eve fell into sin and brought misery to themselves and to the entire human race, God showed them His mercy by promising them a Saviour. When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God showed them mercy by liberating them from bondage. When the people of Israel forgot their God and took to idols, God showed them His mercy by sending His prophets to stir their conscience and bring them back. When the prophets were persecuted and put to death, God in His mercy, sent His only Son Jesus, who emptied Himself and became man. When Jesus was crucified, His side was pierced with a lance and blood and water flowed out. That pierced side is a refuge for us sinners and from that pierced side streams of mercy continue to flow in the sacraments which cleanse and purify us from sin. This is the gift that Jesus gives to the disciples as he breathes on them saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Nowhere do we understand our human misery better than when we make our confession; nowhere do we experience the mercy of God more than in the confessional. It is there in the sacred secrecy of the confessional that divine mercy meets human misery. The tragedy is that when God wants to show us His mercy, we who are miserable do not want to receive it.
We who receive the mercy of God must in turn channel it to others through spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Instructing and comforting others, bearing wrongs patiently and forgiving those who offend us, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and the imprisoned and burying the dead – these are the works of mercy in which we must be engaged. This is indeed the context of today’s appeal as we make our offering in aid of the Church in Need. The Church throughout the world is suffering persecution. Three-fourths of all religious persecution in the world is against Christianity. Priests, religious and layfaithful are killed; Churches are being destroyed and their properties confiscated; freedom to practise one’s faith is suppressed. Our prayer and financial contribution can go a long way to assist those in need. Indeed, every little helps!
May we like the early Christian community described in today’s first reading learn to care for and share with others. Having been blessed by God, may we become a blessing to others so that no one may be in need. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (533 Words)]
Acts 2:42-47; Ps. 117; 1 Pet. 1:3-10; Jn. 20:19-31
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
We celebrate today, the Sunday after Easter, the Feast of the Divine Mercy. This celebration of this feast, revealed privately to Sr. Faustina, was promulgated for the whole Church by Pope John Paul II who canonised her and himself is being beatified today.
The Latin word “misericordia” describes accurately the meaning of the word “mercy”. Miseri-cors means having a heart for the miserable. When we speak therefore of divine mercy we mean that God has a heart for us miserable sinners. But the history of “Divine Mercy” goes back to the book of Genesis. When Adam and Eve fell into sin and brought misery to themselves and to the entire human race, God showed them His mercy by promising them a Saviour. When the people of Israel were slaves in Egypt, God showed them mercy by liberating them from bondage. When the people of Israel forgot their God and took to idols, God showed them His mercy by sending His prophets to stir their conscience and bring them back. When the prophets were persecuted and put to death, God in His mercy, sent His only Son Jesus, who emptied Himself and became man. When Jesus was crucified, His side was pierced with a lance and blood and water flowed out. That pierced side is a refuge for us sinners and from that pierced side streams of mercy continue to flow in the sacraments which cleanse and purify us from sin. This is the gift that Jesus gives to the disciples as he breathes on them saying: “Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” Nowhere do we understand our human misery better than when we make our confession; nowhere do we experience the mercy of God more than in the confessional. It is there in the sacred secrecy of the confessional that divine mercy meets human misery. The tragedy is that when God wants to show us His mercy, we who are miserable do not want to receive it.
We who receive the mercy of God must in turn channel it to others through spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Instructing and comforting others, bearing wrongs patiently and forgiving those who offend us, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, visiting the sick and the imprisoned and burying the dead – these are the works of mercy in which we must be engaged. This is indeed the context of today’s appeal as we make our offering in aid of the Church in Need. The Church throughout the world is suffering persecution. Three-fourths of all religious persecution in the world is against Christianity. Priests, religious and layfaithful are killed; Churches are being destroyed and their properties confiscated; freedom to practise one’s faith is suppressed. Our prayer and financial contribution can go a long way to assist those in need. Indeed, every little helps!
May we like the early Christian community described in today’s first reading learn to care for and share with others. Having been blessed by God, may we become a blessing to others so that no one may be in need. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (533 Words)]
2011年4月24日星期日
EASTER SUNDAY – A: 24th April, 2011
EASTER SUNDAY – A: 24th April, 2011
Acts 10:34. 37-43; Ps. 117; Col. 3:1-4; John 20:1-9
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Why is dawn so beautiful? Because it comes after a dark night. Why is reunion so joyful? Because it comes after a painful separation. Why is Easter so glorious? Because it comes after a dreadful death. Today, we celebrate the greatest feast in the Church’s calendar: the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the very foundation of our Christian faith, for if Christ had not risen, we would be back in our sins, unredeemed and still shackled by the slavery of sin. Mother Church cannot contain her joy. She needs a whole octave “to recover” from the glorious resurrection of Jesus Her Lord as She heaps Alleluia upon Alleluia to express her jubilation!
Easter is both a holiday and a holy day. We need a holiday when we break away from normal routine to rest, relax and recuperate. It is wonderful to see so many cars and cyclists on the road. Our caravan sites are full and our beautiful countryside, which is a bit of paradise on this side of eternity, is busy. A healthy mind in a healthy body. But Easter is also a holy day for we are not only mind and body but also soul. We are to use a rather sophisticated term “a pneumatopsychosomatic composite.” Some five hundred persons are spending the Easter holiday and holy day this year as guests at the Benedictine monastery at Ampleforth. They want a break from normal routine, from the hustle and bustle of that terrible tsunami that daily inundates their lives and sweeps everything in its wake away. They want time to be silent and still, to quieten themselves not only from the external noise that deafens them but also the internal turmoil that disturbs and destroys them. They feel the need to ponder and pray and to join the monastic community in the slow and solemn celebration of the liturgy. In doing so they are giving a holy day to their soul for a mind and a body without a soul is a dead corpse. Is it not?
You and I, my dear Brothers and Sisters, are at the fulcrum of a real tug of war, at the meeting point of two opposing gravitational pulls: On the one hand, there is the gravitational pull of the flesh and all that is sinful and evil. On the other hand, there is the gravitational pull of grace and all that is good and godly. Is not this what St. Paul adverts to when he admonishes us in today’s second reading: “Since you have been brought back true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is… Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth…”(Col.3:1). The tragedy of our time is that we try to be our own saviours. We think mistakenly, of course, that we have reached such a degree of self-sufficiency and autonomy, that we can resist the gravitational pull of evil with our own resources and reserves. The more we strive to do this, the more we struggle and the more we struggle on our own, the more we sink! It is like falling into quick sands: the more you struggle on your own, your very struggle and the gravity of your body and flesh make you sink further. You need an external gravitational force to pull you out and be saved. That external gravitational force is God’s grace. That is the Easter grace of the Resurrection that Jesus offers us, the gravitational grace that will lift us up from the quick sands of the body and flesh. Easter raises us for it reminds us that we need to rise and that we can do so only with God’s grace. Easter must be a holiday for sure; but even more surely, we must make it a holy day!
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (650 Words)]
Acts 10:34. 37-43; Ps. 117; Col. 3:1-4; John 20:1-9
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Why is dawn so beautiful? Because it comes after a dark night. Why is reunion so joyful? Because it comes after a painful separation. Why is Easter so glorious? Because it comes after a dreadful death. Today, we celebrate the greatest feast in the Church’s calendar: the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the very foundation of our Christian faith, for if Christ had not risen, we would be back in our sins, unredeemed and still shackled by the slavery of sin. Mother Church cannot contain her joy. She needs a whole octave “to recover” from the glorious resurrection of Jesus Her Lord as She heaps Alleluia upon Alleluia to express her jubilation!
Easter is both a holiday and a holy day. We need a holiday when we break away from normal routine to rest, relax and recuperate. It is wonderful to see so many cars and cyclists on the road. Our caravan sites are full and our beautiful countryside, which is a bit of paradise on this side of eternity, is busy. A healthy mind in a healthy body. But Easter is also a holy day for we are not only mind and body but also soul. We are to use a rather sophisticated term “a pneumatopsychosomatic composite.” Some five hundred persons are spending the Easter holiday and holy day this year as guests at the Benedictine monastery at Ampleforth. They want a break from normal routine, from the hustle and bustle of that terrible tsunami that daily inundates their lives and sweeps everything in its wake away. They want time to be silent and still, to quieten themselves not only from the external noise that deafens them but also the internal turmoil that disturbs and destroys them. They feel the need to ponder and pray and to join the monastic community in the slow and solemn celebration of the liturgy. In doing so they are giving a holy day to their soul for a mind and a body without a soul is a dead corpse. Is it not?
You and I, my dear Brothers and Sisters, are at the fulcrum of a real tug of war, at the meeting point of two opposing gravitational pulls: On the one hand, there is the gravitational pull of the flesh and all that is sinful and evil. On the other hand, there is the gravitational pull of grace and all that is good and godly. Is not this what St. Paul adverts to when he admonishes us in today’s second reading: “Since you have been brought back true life with Christ, you must look for the things that are in heaven, where Christ is… Let your thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on the earth…”(Col.3:1). The tragedy of our time is that we try to be our own saviours. We think mistakenly, of course, that we have reached such a degree of self-sufficiency and autonomy, that we can resist the gravitational pull of evil with our own resources and reserves. The more we strive to do this, the more we struggle and the more we struggle on our own, the more we sink! It is like falling into quick sands: the more you struggle on your own, your very struggle and the gravity of your body and flesh make you sink further. You need an external gravitational force to pull you out and be saved. That external gravitational force is God’s grace. That is the Easter grace of the Resurrection that Jesus offers us, the gravitational grace that will lift us up from the quick sands of the body and flesh. Easter raises us for it reminds us that we need to rise and that we can do so only with God’s grace. Easter must be a holiday for sure; but even more surely, we must make it a holy day!
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (650 Words)]
EASTER VIGIL 2011: 23rd April, 2011
EASTER VIGIL 2011: 23rd April, 2011
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
There are quite a few Vigils in the Church’s Calendar: the Vigil of Christmas and of Pentecost, the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. But the most important Vigil is the Easter Vigil. It is rightly called the Mother of all Vigils because it celebrates the very foundation of our Christian faith, the Resurrection of Jesus. If Christ had not risen, we would be believing in a dead God. Worse still, we would be back in our sins. But Christ has risen and by rising has destroyed sin and death. Dying He has destroyed our death and rising He has restored our life! We have reason to rejoice! Mother Church cannot contain her joy as She heaps Alleluia upon Alleluia; the Gloria which was omitted throughout the forty days of Lent is resumed; the clapper of Good Friday is set aside and the bells are rung. Indeed, we are an Easter People and the Alleluia is our song!
The Easter Vigil is celebrated at night. The night is a time of silence and stillness; it gives us the time we need to ponder and pray. God seems to have a distinct preference for the night. There are three important nights in the history of salvation. The first night is that of the Passover when God struck the first born in Egypt, led his people out of bondage to Pharaoh, decimated Pharaoh’s armies and made the people of Israel pass over the waters of the Red Sea into freedom. This is what God has done to each of us. Through the waters of baptism, we were freed from slavery to sin and ushered into the freedom of grace. We celebrate tonight our own freedom for there is no greater slavery than the slavery to sin just as there is no greater freedom than the freedom that comes from God’s amazing grace.
The second night is the night of Christmas which commemorates the birth of Jesus. He was born not in the splendour of the day but in the silence of the night; not in the pomp of a palace but in the poverty of a stable. At Christmas we celebrate not only the birth of Jesus but our own birth too for in the wonder of the Word made flesh “God has become one with man and man has become one again with God”. The mystery we celebrate tonight recalls the fact that we have been born again. If Christmas marks the beginning of our salvation, Easter is its climax. At Christmas God became human; at Easter we have been “divinised” This is as the Exsultet chants the “night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God!”
The third night is that of the Resurrection when Christ rose triumphantly from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore. As Christians, we too have died to sin. We went into the tomb with him; we joined him in death so that just as Jesus was raised from the dead we too might live a new life. At Easter, therefore, we celebrate our own resurrection as we share His glorious victory. We are summoned to strive and lead this new life, to overcome sin, to put to death all that is evil in us and be overpowered instead with God’s grace.
Easter is both a holiday and a holy day: a holiday when we take a break from our normal routine and a holy day when we take time off to ponder and pray over the mysteries of our Christian faith remembering always that we are an Easter People and the Alleluia is our song! Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (641 Words)]
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
There are quite a few Vigils in the Church’s Calendar: the Vigil of Christmas and of Pentecost, the Vigil of the Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul and the Vigil of St. John the Baptist. But the most important Vigil is the Easter Vigil. It is rightly called the Mother of all Vigils because it celebrates the very foundation of our Christian faith, the Resurrection of Jesus. If Christ had not risen, we would be believing in a dead God. Worse still, we would be back in our sins. But Christ has risen and by rising has destroyed sin and death. Dying He has destroyed our death and rising He has restored our life! We have reason to rejoice! Mother Church cannot contain her joy as She heaps Alleluia upon Alleluia; the Gloria which was omitted throughout the forty days of Lent is resumed; the clapper of Good Friday is set aside and the bells are rung. Indeed, we are an Easter People and the Alleluia is our song!
The Easter Vigil is celebrated at night. The night is a time of silence and stillness; it gives us the time we need to ponder and pray. God seems to have a distinct preference for the night. There are three important nights in the history of salvation. The first night is that of the Passover when God struck the first born in Egypt, led his people out of bondage to Pharaoh, decimated Pharaoh’s armies and made the people of Israel pass over the waters of the Red Sea into freedom. This is what God has done to each of us. Through the waters of baptism, we were freed from slavery to sin and ushered into the freedom of grace. We celebrate tonight our own freedom for there is no greater slavery than the slavery to sin just as there is no greater freedom than the freedom that comes from God’s amazing grace.
The second night is the night of Christmas which commemorates the birth of Jesus. He was born not in the splendour of the day but in the silence of the night; not in the pomp of a palace but in the poverty of a stable. At Christmas we celebrate not only the birth of Jesus but our own birth too for in the wonder of the Word made flesh “God has become one with man and man has become one again with God”. The mystery we celebrate tonight recalls the fact that we have been born again. If Christmas marks the beginning of our salvation, Easter is its climax. At Christmas God became human; at Easter we have been “divinised” This is as the Exsultet chants the “night truly blessed when heaven is wedded to earth and man is reconciled with God!”
The third night is that of the Resurrection when Christ rose triumphantly from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore. As Christians, we too have died to sin. We went into the tomb with him; we joined him in death so that just as Jesus was raised from the dead we too might live a new life. At Easter, therefore, we celebrate our own resurrection as we share His glorious victory. We are summoned to strive and lead this new life, to overcome sin, to put to death all that is evil in us and be overpowered instead with God’s grace.
Easter is both a holiday and a holy day: a holiday when we take a break from our normal routine and a holy day when we take time off to ponder and pray over the mysteries of our Christian faith remembering always that we are an Easter People and the Alleluia is our song! Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (641 Words)]
2011年4月22日星期五
《复活节：黑夜后的黎明》
《复活节：黑夜后的黎明》
四旬期是教会礼仪生活的高峰，过去称为“封斋期”，顾名思义就是40天守斋的季节，这包括：祈祷，守斋与救济。
关于守斋，常会遇到教友问起：我星期五吃肉有罪吗？需要去办告解吗？
我通常会问：那假如星期五你不吃肉，因为你较喜欢吃大鱼大虾，为你那一个才是克己的行动？或许更好的守斋是睡觉，开车别开冷气；别说人家坏话；别埋怨食物不好吃；别抱怨；别破坏……提升，跨越满足自己肉体的欲望到属灵的层次……
小时候阿嫲常提醒我们别“侨做折恶，侨念经。”（意即一面做恶事，一面在祈祷）更重要的是为什么而守斋，不仅仅是守斋而已。我们努力想做个如何祈祷就这样生活的人。
傍晚参加了受难礼仪，却无法继续完成亲吻十字圣架的礼仪，原因很简单，我没有准备好这样生活，我无法这样祈祷与行动：
1 因为我享受着舒服的冷气在观赏耶稣的苦难。
2 因为来途与回途中我看到在组屋那群还未知明日会是何天的穷人。
3 因为我还无法为在首都某个角落，正在担心，哭泣的难民做点什么。
4 因为我还分辨不了黑暗与黎明。
5 因为我还无法爱人如己。
6 因为我身边还有许多边缘人，而我无能为力。
7 因为我还没有胆量亲吻身边人的伤口。
8 因为我爱的不够彻底……
9 因为我还不敢用主爱去爱……害怕受伤。
10因为……
曾经听过这么一个故事：
一名年长博学的拉比曾询问他的弟子，他们怎么分辨得出当黑夜过去的时候，就是黎明到来的时候呢？
“也许是，当你在远处看见一只动物，然后能分辨得出它是一只绵羊还是一只猎狗。”一个弟子自告奋勇的说。
“不是这样的。”拉比回复到。
“是不是当你在远处看着一棵树，然后能分辨得出那是一棵无花果树还是一棵桃树？另一名弟子说道。
“也不对。”拉比再次否认。
“那么，是什么时候呢？”弟子们迫不及待地追问。
“当你看着任何一个人的脸，然后把这个人看作是你的兄弟姐妹。如果你不能看到这一点，那么你的心灵就仍然是黑夜。”
这个复活节期待看到每个人都是每个人的姐妹弟兄！这才是黎明，就是复活！
我在乎的不是你为我做了什么，而是你我的关系与尊重。
四旬期是教会礼仪生活的高峰，过去称为“封斋期”，顾名思义就是40天守斋的季节，这包括：祈祷，守斋与救济。
关于守斋，常会遇到教友问起：我星期五吃肉有罪吗？需要去办告解吗？
我通常会问：那假如星期五你不吃肉，因为你较喜欢吃大鱼大虾，为你那一个才是克己的行动？或许更好的守斋是睡觉，开车别开冷气；别说人家坏话；别埋怨食物不好吃；别抱怨；别破坏……提升，跨越满足自己肉体的欲望到属灵的层次……
小时候阿嫲常提醒我们别“侨做折恶，侨念经。”（意即一面做恶事，一面在祈祷）更重要的是为什么而守斋，不仅仅是守斋而已。我们努力想做个如何祈祷就这样生活的人。
傍晚参加了受难礼仪，却无法继续完成亲吻十字圣架的礼仪，原因很简单，我没有准备好这样生活，我无法这样祈祷与行动：
1 因为我享受着舒服的冷气在观赏耶稣的苦难。
2 因为来途与回途中我看到在组屋那群还未知明日会是何天的穷人。
3 因为我还无法为在首都某个角落，正在担心，哭泣的难民做点什么。
4 因为我还分辨不了黑暗与黎明。
5 因为我还无法爱人如己。
6 因为我身边还有许多边缘人，而我无能为力。
7 因为我还没有胆量亲吻身边人的伤口。
8 因为我爱的不够彻底……
9 因为我还不敢用主爱去爱……害怕受伤。
10因为……
曾经听过这么一个故事：
一名年长博学的拉比曾询问他的弟子，他们怎么分辨得出当黑夜过去的时候，就是黎明到来的时候呢？
“也许是，当你在远处看见一只动物，然后能分辨得出它是一只绵羊还是一只猎狗。”一个弟子自告奋勇的说。
“不是这样的。”拉比回复到。
“是不是当你在远处看着一棵树，然后能分辨得出那是一棵无花果树还是一棵桃树？另一名弟子说道。
“也不对。”拉比再次否认。
“那么，是什么时候呢？”弟子们迫不及待地追问。
“当你看着任何一个人的脸，然后把这个人看作是你的兄弟姐妹。如果你不能看到这一点，那么你的心灵就仍然是黑夜。”
这个复活节期待看到每个人都是每个人的姐妹弟兄！这才是黎明，就是复活！
我在乎的不是你为我做了什么，而是你我的关系与尊重。
《主下降阴府》
发生了什幺事？今日大地一片寂静，万籁无声，一片荒凉。万籁无声，因为君王睡着了；大地寂静颤栗，因为天主在肉躯内安眠，而喊醒了从古以来的长眠者。是的，天主在肉躯内死了，而使“阴府”震惊。
的确，主基督去找寻元祖父，好象找寻亡羊一般。他愿意去访问那处于黑暗之中，坐于死影中的人们。是的，天主及他的子，去把被俘的亚当，和同时被俘的厄娃，从痛苦中解救出来。
主带着十字架的胜利武器，到他们那里去。原祖亚当一见了他，立即惊恐捶胸，向众人高呼说：“愿我主与我们众人同在”。就握住他的手催醒他说：你这长眠者，醒来吧！从死者中复活起来吧！基督将光照你。
我是你的天主；我为了你做了你的子孙；我也为了你、为了你的一切子孙，如今同你说话，并用我的权能、吩咐所有被拘留的人们说：出去吧！你们在黑暗中的人，享受光明吧；你们在睡眠中的人，复活起来吧！
我要命令你：你这睡眠者，醒来吧！因为我之所以造生你，不是要你久居阴府。从死者中复活起不定期吧！我是死者的生命。我亲手所创造的，起来吧！按照我的肖像所创造的，起来吧！快醒来，从这里出去吧！因为你在我内，我也在你内，我们是不可分的一位。
我是你的天主，我为了你，做了你的子孙。我是你的主子，我为了你，取了奴仆的形像。我高于诸天，我为了你，来到了地上和地下。我为了你，变成了被遗弃的人，与死人作伴。我为了你被逐出乐园，在山园中被出卖于犹太人，也是在一个山园中，被钉死在十字架上。
请看我面上的唾污，我也是为了你而忍受，好能恢复你第一次领受的生命的嘘气。请看我面颊所受的掌击，我为了改造你所毁坏的面容而忍受，使你照我的肖像恢复原貌。
请看我背上所受的鞭痕，我忍受鞭笞，是要你摆脱肩上所负的罪恶的重担。请看我的手被牢牢地钉在木架上，是因为你曾向树上伸手犯罪。
我睡在十字架上，肋旁被长矛刺透，也是为了你：你在乐园中熟睡时，从肋旁生出了厄娃。我的肋旁治愈了你肋旁的疼痛；我的睡眠将你从阴府的睡眠中领出。我的长矛阻止了刺向你的长矛。
起来吧！我们从这里出去！仇魔曾把你引出地堂；而我如今要安置你的地方、不再是地上乐园，而是天上的宝座。我曾禁止你吃那个象征生命的果子；看，我是生命，我来和你结合在一起。我曾派了智品天使们敬礼你，好似敬礼天主一般。
由智品天使所簇拥的宝座业已备妥；抬轿的人都准备好了，洞房也安排好了；筵席备好了；永远的帐幕，永远的住所，装饰好了；万善的宝库也都开启了；天上的王国、在万世以前、就已准备好了。
对答咏：
领：我们的牧者、活水之泉，已经离去；太阳为了他的逝世而暗然失光。俘掳第一个人的那位也已经被俘。
答：今天我们的救主摧毁了死亡的大门和锁链。
领：他拆毁了阴府的围墙，推翻了魔鬼的统治。
答：今天我们的救主摧毁了死亡的大门和锁链。
结束祷词：
全能永生的天主，你的唯一圣子先下降阴府，从而荣升天国；求你恩赐我们：既因圣洗与他同被埋葬，也由于他的复活，将来获得永生。他是天主，和你及圣神，永生永王。阿们。
恭读论圣周六的一篇讲道词
http://www.chinacath.org/liyi/oficio/4/2011-04-13/11450.html
的确，主基督去找寻元祖父，好象找寻亡羊一般。他愿意去访问那处于黑暗之中，坐于死影中的人们。是的，天主及他的子，去把被俘的亚当，和同时被俘的厄娃，从痛苦中解救出来。
主带着十字架的胜利武器，到他们那里去。原祖亚当一见了他，立即惊恐捶胸，向众人高呼说：“愿我主与我们众人同在”。就握住他的手催醒他说：你这长眠者，醒来吧！从死者中复活起来吧！基督将光照你。
我是你的天主；我为了你做了你的子孙；我也为了你、为了你的一切子孙，如今同你说话，并用我的权能、吩咐所有被拘留的人们说：出去吧！你们在黑暗中的人，享受光明吧；你们在睡眠中的人，复活起来吧！
我要命令你：你这睡眠者，醒来吧！因为我之所以造生你，不是要你久居阴府。从死者中复活起不定期吧！我是死者的生命。我亲手所创造的，起来吧！按照我的肖像所创造的，起来吧！快醒来，从这里出去吧！因为你在我内，我也在你内，我们是不可分的一位。
我是你的天主，我为了你，做了你的子孙。我是你的主子，我为了你，取了奴仆的形像。我高于诸天，我为了你，来到了地上和地下。我为了你，变成了被遗弃的人，与死人作伴。我为了你被逐出乐园，在山园中被出卖于犹太人，也是在一个山园中，被钉死在十字架上。
请看我面上的唾污，我也是为了你而忍受，好能恢复你第一次领受的生命的嘘气。请看我面颊所受的掌击，我为了改造你所毁坏的面容而忍受，使你照我的肖像恢复原貌。
请看我背上所受的鞭痕，我忍受鞭笞，是要你摆脱肩上所负的罪恶的重担。请看我的手被牢牢地钉在木架上，是因为你曾向树上伸手犯罪。
我睡在十字架上，肋旁被长矛刺透，也是为了你：你在乐园中熟睡时，从肋旁生出了厄娃。我的肋旁治愈了你肋旁的疼痛；我的睡眠将你从阴府的睡眠中领出。我的长矛阻止了刺向你的长矛。
起来吧！我们从这里出去！仇魔曾把你引出地堂；而我如今要安置你的地方、不再是地上乐园，而是天上的宝座。我曾禁止你吃那个象征生命的果子；看，我是生命，我来和你结合在一起。我曾派了智品天使们敬礼你，好似敬礼天主一般。
由智品天使所簇拥的宝座业已备妥；抬轿的人都准备好了，洞房也安排好了；筵席备好了；永远的帐幕，永远的住所，装饰好了；万善的宝库也都开启了；天上的王国、在万世以前、就已准备好了。
对答咏：
领：我们的牧者、活水之泉，已经离去；太阳为了他的逝世而暗然失光。俘掳第一个人的那位也已经被俘。
答：今天我们的救主摧毁了死亡的大门和锁链。
领：他拆毁了阴府的围墙，推翻了魔鬼的统治。
答：今天我们的救主摧毁了死亡的大门和锁链。
结束祷词：
全能永生的天主，你的唯一圣子先下降阴府，从而荣升天国；求你恩赐我们：既因圣洗与他同被埋葬，也由于他的复活，将来获得永生。他是天主，和你及圣神，永生永王。阿们。
恭读论圣周六的一篇讲道词
http://www.chinacath.org/liyi/oficio/4/2011-04-13/11450.html
GOOD FRIDAY 2011
GOOD FRIDAY 2011
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
What is so good about Good Friday? Is it called good because a good man was killed? It would better be called then bad Friday! Is it called good because the Son of God was put to death? It would better be called then the worst Friday! We call it good Friday because when man is bad, God is good; when man is at his worst, God is at his best. Juliana of Norwich, the fourteenth century English mystic, was once kneeling in prayer before a large crucifix. She beheld Jesus hanging in pain and asked: “My Lord, does it please you to hang on the Cross for me?” Jesus looked at Juliana with tenderness and with a faint smile on his lips, he replied: “My dear Juliana, it pleases me very much. It is not the nails in my hands and feet that support the weight of my body but the love in my heart for you!” If ever we doubt God’s love for us, all we need remember is Good Friday where goodness died to save you and me. What Jesus once said to Juliana of Norwich he says to you and me today.
“If anyone wishes to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” The difficult texts of the gospel are not necessarily the ones we do not understand. They are rather the ones we understand only too well but find hard to practise. There is really only one way to follow Jesus. There is really only one way to be his disciple – that is the way of the Cross. All other so called short-cuts lead us nowhere! We want a plastic Jesus, a Jesus with flowing golden hair; a Jesus with rouge daubed cheeks and painted lips; a Jesus with flashing blue eyes and a silken gown; a Jesus with well manicured soft hands. The real Jesus, the Jesus of the gospel is always a Jesus with the Cross. We want the crown but not the cross; we want to share in his glory but not a sip of his bitter cup of suffering; we want an Easter Sunday without a Good Friday. That is why Jesus has so few real followers; so few faithful friends. We want a comfortable Christ. We want a Christianity made easy. We want a gospel without sweat, blood and tears. That is why we are so miserable because if we look for Jesus without the Cross we are sure to find the Cross without Jesus!
All of us have a cross to carry, a burden to bear, a weakness that weighs us down. It may be a physical ailment that has turned chronic; it could be a psychological anxiety that is eating into us; it could be a spiritual malaise with which we have been struggling. Jesus is not asking us to lead the way. He goes ahead. We need to follow Him and draw inspiration from his example. We need to carry our cross. We need to bear it with love because its burden becomes lighter only when we carry it with love in our hearts. Even more, we need to unite our cross with the Cross of Jesus for our own sanctification and for the salvation of the whole world. A woman, very young in spirit, was celebrating her 100th birthday. “What is the secret of your long life?” she was asked. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she held out the glass with the sparkle and bubble of champagne in one hand and in the other she held the Cross on which were inscribed the words attributed to Thomas A Kempis, the author of The Imitation of Christ. They read “Carry your cross and the cross will carry you!” Real wisdom indeed that comes not only with advancing years but also with the experience of deep suffering. The more you love, the more you suffer!
We take a moment of quiet prayer as we contemplate the Cross. “Its love is unquestionable; its power unconquerable; its impact unmistakable, its meaning undeniable; its sacrifice incomparable, its price unimaginable; its depth immeasurable, its absence unthinkable” (Roy Lessin) - that old rugged Cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. We must love that old cross, where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners, like you and me, was slain. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (736 Words)]
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
What is so good about Good Friday? Is it called good because a good man was killed? It would better be called then bad Friday! Is it called good because the Son of God was put to death? It would better be called then the worst Friday! We call it good Friday because when man is bad, God is good; when man is at his worst, God is at his best. Juliana of Norwich, the fourteenth century English mystic, was once kneeling in prayer before a large crucifix. She beheld Jesus hanging in pain and asked: “My Lord, does it please you to hang on the Cross for me?” Jesus looked at Juliana with tenderness and with a faint smile on his lips, he replied: “My dear Juliana, it pleases me very much. It is not the nails in my hands and feet that support the weight of my body but the love in my heart for you!” If ever we doubt God’s love for us, all we need remember is Good Friday where goodness died to save you and me. What Jesus once said to Juliana of Norwich he says to you and me today.
“If anyone wishes to be my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” The difficult texts of the gospel are not necessarily the ones we do not understand. They are rather the ones we understand only too well but find hard to practise. There is really only one way to follow Jesus. There is really only one way to be his disciple – that is the way of the Cross. All other so called short-cuts lead us nowhere! We want a plastic Jesus, a Jesus with flowing golden hair; a Jesus with rouge daubed cheeks and painted lips; a Jesus with flashing blue eyes and a silken gown; a Jesus with well manicured soft hands. The real Jesus, the Jesus of the gospel is always a Jesus with the Cross. We want the crown but not the cross; we want to share in his glory but not a sip of his bitter cup of suffering; we want an Easter Sunday without a Good Friday. That is why Jesus has so few real followers; so few faithful friends. We want a comfortable Christ. We want a Christianity made easy. We want a gospel without sweat, blood and tears. That is why we are so miserable because if we look for Jesus without the Cross we are sure to find the Cross without Jesus!
All of us have a cross to carry, a burden to bear, a weakness that weighs us down. It may be a physical ailment that has turned chronic; it could be a psychological anxiety that is eating into us; it could be a spiritual malaise with which we have been struggling. Jesus is not asking us to lead the way. He goes ahead. We need to follow Him and draw inspiration from his example. We need to carry our cross. We need to bear it with love because its burden becomes lighter only when we carry it with love in our hearts. Even more, we need to unite our cross with the Cross of Jesus for our own sanctification and for the salvation of the whole world. A woman, very young in spirit, was celebrating her 100th birthday. “What is the secret of your long life?” she was asked. With a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she held out the glass with the sparkle and bubble of champagne in one hand and in the other she held the Cross on which were inscribed the words attributed to Thomas A Kempis, the author of The Imitation of Christ. They read “Carry your cross and the cross will carry you!” Real wisdom indeed that comes not only with advancing years but also with the experience of deep suffering. The more you love, the more you suffer!
We take a moment of quiet prayer as we contemplate the Cross. “Its love is unquestionable; its power unconquerable; its impact unmistakable, its meaning undeniable; its sacrifice incomparable, its price unimaginable; its depth immeasurable, its absence unthinkable” (Roy Lessin) - that old rugged Cross, the emblem of suffering and shame. We must love that old cross, where the dearest and best, for a world of lost sinners, like you and me, was slain. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (736 Words)]
《暴风雨后，灿烂阳光，靡丽长虹》
《暴风雨后，灿烂阳光，靡丽长虹》
那天的车祸过后，接二连三的乌云密布，雷电交加，风暴连连……情绪，感情，肢体，环境……
仿佛最近的变化不定天气与阴霾乌黑的天空，人也变得难于理解。
那场暴风雨，引发了内心的揣测不安，信心动摇，事后，看到亮丽的虹桥，难怪一直以来总是相信只有阳光，没有水份，彩虹不会出现，加上，角度要精准，时候要正确，就在一刹那间，错过了，是永远！
另一场暴风雨，屋瓦飞了。屋顶不见了，而破碎瓦片就在我房间窗口飞过，我与另一个意外擦身而过。
昨夜的最后晚餐，神父说：要爱到底，爱彻底，爱到遍体鳞伤……相似耶稣那样的爱……半个小时的车程，我却在6点半到8点半在车龙里慢驶，闲驾，那场大雨，又出现炎阳；天主要肯定我他说默许的逾越奥迹有霓虹为证，而且是双虹！
难道这就是今年最好的复活体验与觉悟？
那天的车祸过后，接二连三的乌云密布，雷电交加，风暴连连……情绪，感情，肢体，环境……
仿佛最近的变化不定天气与阴霾乌黑的天空，人也变得难于理解。
那场暴风雨，引发了内心的揣测不安，信心动摇，事后，看到亮丽的虹桥，难怪一直以来总是相信只有阳光，没有水份，彩虹不会出现，加上，角度要精准，时候要正确，就在一刹那间，错过了，是永远！
另一场暴风雨，屋瓦飞了。屋顶不见了，而破碎瓦片就在我房间窗口飞过，我与另一个意外擦身而过。
昨夜的最后晚餐，神父说：要爱到底，爱彻底，爱到遍体鳞伤……相似耶稣那样的爱……半个小时的车程，我却在6点半到8点半在车龙里慢驶，闲驾，那场大雨，又出现炎阳；天主要肯定我他说默许的逾越奥迹有霓虹为证，而且是双虹！
难道这就是今年最好的复活体验与觉悟？
《耶稣受难日》Good Friday
What is so good about Good Friday?
Why it is called GOOD FRIDAY when they killed a good man on this day?
Precisely it is called Good Friday because ａ ＧＯＯＤ MAN died for all ｏｎ ｔｈｉｓ ｄａｙ！
A God who cannot die chose to die as a man!
A powerful God who chose to die as a powerless man!
Ｉｔ ｗａｓ ａ ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃａｌ ｔｒａｐ！！
只要我们活着，我们脱离不了政治！
(As long as we are living, we are in the politics!)
耶稣就是死于政治阴谋！两个仇人（比拉多和司祭长）甚至在遇到同一的敌人（耶稣）时，马上成了好朋友！
历史中，我们看到害怕自己的地位受影响，权势被削弱而嫉妒主耶稣的讲道与善行，并煽动群众处心积虑陷害的司祭长、经师等当时的犹太人上层领导，他们以保护民族利益为借口，以爱天主为幌子……
我们看到深得主耶稣厚爱的门徒之一的犹达斯，他为了自己的一点小利益而暗中算计，出卖朋友。
将爱自己的人交给不法者之手；我们看到为了保官求荣，明知主耶 稣无罪而违背良心判他死刑。草菅人命的执政官比拉多；我们看到侮辱、并将主耶稣钉死在十字架上的士兵。
他们是执行任务的，他们好象是无奈的。但你不能为了 自己活命而致死他人于死地啊！
还有无知的群众，他们高喊着要钉死主耶稣……不也是几天前欢呼耶稣荣进耶路撒冷的同一批群众吗？
这种种罪恶以不同的方式，不同的面孔出现在不同的人身上。因着罪恶，死亡来到了人间。
而耶稣３天后的复活却让死亡死了！
我国人民，本土政治情况，不也是耶稣当年黑暗政治阴谋的重演吗？君不见好人都被送入牢房，而伪善恶势却当权啊！
马来西亚的受难日何时了？妳的复活是３天后吗？
Why it is called GOOD FRIDAY when they killed a good man on this day?
Precisely it is called Good Friday because ａ ＧＯＯＤ MAN died for all ｏｎ ｔｈｉｓ ｄａｙ！
A God who cannot die chose to die as a man!
A powerful God who chose to die as a powerless man!
Ｉｔ ｗａｓ ａ ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃａｌ ｔｒａｐ！！
只要我们活着，我们脱离不了政治！
(As long as we are living, we are in the politics!)
耶稣就是死于政治阴谋！两个仇人（比拉多和司祭长）甚至在遇到同一的敌人（耶稣）时，马上成了好朋友！
历史中，我们看到害怕自己的地位受影响，权势被削弱而嫉妒主耶稣的讲道与善行，并煽动群众处心积虑陷害的司祭长、经师等当时的犹太人上层领导，他们以保护民族利益为借口，以爱天主为幌子……
我们看到深得主耶稣厚爱的门徒之一的犹达斯，他为了自己的一点小利益而暗中算计，出卖朋友。
将爱自己的人交给不法者之手；我们看到为了保官求荣，明知主耶 稣无罪而违背良心判他死刑。草菅人命的执政官比拉多；我们看到侮辱、并将主耶稣钉死在十字架上的士兵。
他们是执行任务的，他们好象是无奈的。但你不能为了 自己活命而致死他人于死地啊！
还有无知的群众，他们高喊着要钉死主耶稣……不也是几天前欢呼耶稣荣进耶路撒冷的同一批群众吗？
这种种罪恶以不同的方式，不同的面孔出现在不同的人身上。因着罪恶，死亡来到了人间。
而耶稣３天后的复活却让死亡死了！
我国人民，本土政治情况，不也是耶稣当年黑暗政治阴谋的重演吗？君不见好人都被送入牢房，而伪善恶势却当权啊！
马来西亚的受难日何时了？妳的复活是３天后吗？
MAUNDY THURSDAY
MAUNDY THURSDAY: 21st April, 2011
Ex. 12:1-8.11-14; Ps. 115: 12-13.15-18;1 Cor. 11:23-26; Jn. 13:1-15
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” is an old English word which means “commandment”. Today then is the Thursday of the Commandment. It is the only commandment that Jesus gave us: Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus commands us not merely to love but to love one another as He loves us. How does Jesus love us?
Jesus loves us with a personal love. He loves us by name. We are not just a cipher in the social scale; an anonymous face in a motley crowd. He loves us just as we are – yes, with our dimples as well as our pimples, with our strengths and weaknesses, with the beautiful and the ugly, the saint and the sinner that is in each of us. That is how Jesus wants us to love one another. We need to love others as they are and not as we would like them to be. We need to love them even when they do not meet with our expectations. Our love like the love of Jesus must be a gift that is freely given and not a merit that deserves a reward. Love is the only gift that can never be given away because it always comes back to you.
Jesus loves us with a pursuing love. He never gives up on us. He is in the words of the poet Francis Thompson that Hound of Heaven that pursues us even when we try to put him off the scent. He catches up with us even when we try to run away from Him. He is a Tremendous Lover who never forgets or forsakes us. That is how Jesus wants us to love one another. Others may spurn our love and reject it. We must continue to love because love never ends.
Jesus loves us with a pardoning love. How often have we not offended Him? How often have we not hurt His goodness? Yet, He continues to love us. That is how we must love one another. There are persons in our life who may have hurt or harmed us; persons who may have maligned and messed up our good name; persons who may have betrayed or beguiled us: it could be a spouse, a sibling or a superior. We need to continue to love them because love is never overcome by evil but overcomes evil with good.
Today we celebrate the Thursday of the Commandment of Love. And love means giving. To perpetuate that giving, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, in which He gives us Himself. “Take and eat: this is my body…Take and drink: this is my blood.” There is nothing more precious and profound that we can give another than the gift of ourselves. What a sublime sacrament the Holy Eucharist is! The Holy Eucharist is not a thing; it is a Person. We believe that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist: body, soul and divinity. The same Jesus who fed the hungry multitudes, the same Jesus who healed the sick and forgave sinners, the same Jesus who calmed the stormy the sea, , the same Jesus who raised the dead back to life – the same Jesus is present every time we celebrate Holy Mass, the same Jesus is present in our tabernacles. The whole country is revving up its enthusiasm for the royal wedding that will take place next week at Westminster. How fortunate would we not count ourselves to be among the invitees to the nuptials? Could there be a greater privilege than that of being present at and participating in the nuptials of the Lamb at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist? To these nuptials all are invited prince or pauper. It is such a privilege to be in the presence of Jesus. Nowhere in the world are we more warmly welcomed, nowhere in the world are we better understood, nowhere in the world are we more forgiven, nowhere in the world are we more loved than in the presence of Jesus!
Love never says enough. To ensure that the Holy Eucharist would always be celebrated until Jesus returns at the end of time, He ordained on that first Maundy Thursday, the first priests. My dear Brothers and Sisters, please pray for us priests. Despite our unworthiness Jesus calls, consecrates and commissions us to be His ministers. We carry such a precious treasure in vessels of clay; vessels that are beautiful but ever so brittle because we can so easily get chipped and broken. It is not easy to be a priest; it is even more difficult to remain a priest. To be everybody’s and yet belong to nobody; to see other people’s children who will never be your own; to shake a hand and not want to retain it; to be haunted and hounded by many hours of silence and solitude; to be a pillar of strength for those who are falling and have no one humanly speaking to lean on when one is collapsing oneself; to have a heart of bronze for chastity and heart of flesh for charity; to be told such sacred secrets and be unable to share them with others; to be a spotless lotus surrounded by the muck and mire of a secular world; to give without counting the cost; to labour and seek no reward; to fight without heeding the wounds. Oh what a life is yours, Oh priest of Jesus Christ!
To conclude, let us live the commandment of love by which the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus; let us make every mass as if it was our first mass, our last mass and our only mass; let us pray for our priests that they may grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus in whose priesthood they share. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (975 Words)]
Ex. 12:1-8.11-14; Ps. 115: 12-13.15-18;1 Cor. 11:23-26; Jn. 13:1-15
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today is Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” is an old English word which means “commandment”. Today then is the Thursday of the Commandment. It is the only commandment that Jesus gave us: Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus commands us not merely to love but to love one another as He loves us. How does Jesus love us?
Jesus loves us with a personal love. He loves us by name. We are not just a cipher in the social scale; an anonymous face in a motley crowd. He loves us just as we are – yes, with our dimples as well as our pimples, with our strengths and weaknesses, with the beautiful and the ugly, the saint and the sinner that is in each of us. That is how Jesus wants us to love one another. We need to love others as they are and not as we would like them to be. We need to love them even when they do not meet with our expectations. Our love like the love of Jesus must be a gift that is freely given and not a merit that deserves a reward. Love is the only gift that can never be given away because it always comes back to you.
Jesus loves us with a pursuing love. He never gives up on us. He is in the words of the poet Francis Thompson that Hound of Heaven that pursues us even when we try to put him off the scent. He catches up with us even when we try to run away from Him. He is a Tremendous Lover who never forgets or forsakes us. That is how Jesus wants us to love one another. Others may spurn our love and reject it. We must continue to love because love never ends.
Jesus loves us with a pardoning love. How often have we not offended Him? How often have we not hurt His goodness? Yet, He continues to love us. That is how we must love one another. There are persons in our life who may have hurt or harmed us; persons who may have maligned and messed up our good name; persons who may have betrayed or beguiled us: it could be a spouse, a sibling or a superior. We need to continue to love them because love is never overcome by evil but overcomes evil with good.
Today we celebrate the Thursday of the Commandment of Love. And love means giving. To perpetuate that giving, Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist, in which He gives us Himself. “Take and eat: this is my body…Take and drink: this is my blood.” There is nothing more precious and profound that we can give another than the gift of ourselves. What a sublime sacrament the Holy Eucharist is! The Holy Eucharist is not a thing; it is a Person. We believe that Jesus is truly present in the Holy Eucharist: body, soul and divinity. The same Jesus who fed the hungry multitudes, the same Jesus who healed the sick and forgave sinners, the same Jesus who calmed the stormy the sea, , the same Jesus who raised the dead back to life – the same Jesus is present every time we celebrate Holy Mass, the same Jesus is present in our tabernacles. The whole country is revving up its enthusiasm for the royal wedding that will take place next week at Westminster. How fortunate would we not count ourselves to be among the invitees to the nuptials? Could there be a greater privilege than that of being present at and participating in the nuptials of the Lamb at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist? To these nuptials all are invited prince or pauper. It is such a privilege to be in the presence of Jesus. Nowhere in the world are we more warmly welcomed, nowhere in the world are we better understood, nowhere in the world are we more forgiven, nowhere in the world are we more loved than in the presence of Jesus!
Love never says enough. To ensure that the Holy Eucharist would always be celebrated until Jesus returns at the end of time, He ordained on that first Maundy Thursday, the first priests. My dear Brothers and Sisters, please pray for us priests. Despite our unworthiness Jesus calls, consecrates and commissions us to be His ministers. We carry such a precious treasure in vessels of clay; vessels that are beautiful but ever so brittle because we can so easily get chipped and broken. It is not easy to be a priest; it is even more difficult to remain a priest. To be everybody’s and yet belong to nobody; to see other people’s children who will never be your own; to shake a hand and not want to retain it; to be haunted and hounded by many hours of silence and solitude; to be a pillar of strength for those who are falling and have no one humanly speaking to lean on when one is collapsing oneself; to have a heart of bronze for chastity and heart of flesh for charity; to be told such sacred secrets and be unable to share them with others; to be a spotless lotus surrounded by the muck and mire of a secular world; to give without counting the cost; to labour and seek no reward; to fight without heeding the wounds. Oh what a life is yours, Oh priest of Jesus Christ!
To conclude, let us live the commandment of love by which the world will know that we are disciples of Jesus; let us make every mass as if it was our first mass, our last mass and our only mass; let us pray for our priests that they may grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus in whose priesthood they share. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (975 Words)]
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday – A: 17th April, 2011
Is. 50:4-7; Ps. 21; Phil. 2:6-11; Mt. 26:14-27.66
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
With the celebration of Palm Sunday we enter into Holy Week. This week is holy because we celebrate the holy mysteries of our Christian faith. These must not be viewed as events that occurred more than two thousand years back, but events that take place today. We need therefore to get beyond the rites and touch the reality which they represent. This we will be able to do if we make this week an experience wherein we accompany Jesus on his journey from Jerusalem to Calvary with deep devotion and fervent fidelity. This is the week when we ponder the intense suffering that Jesus undergoes in the face of which he makes no resistance nor does he turn away; as he offers his back to those who strike him and does not cover his face against insult and spittle.
Palm Sunday recounts the triumphant entry of Jesus into his own city, Jerusalem. Seated on the foal of a donkey, the crowds hail him as their King as they sing “Hosannas” in his honour and acclaim him as the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. But where were these crowds on Good Friday? Were they among those who screamed: “Crucify Him. Crucify Him. His blood be on us and on our children!” Public popularity is so precarious – as precarious as a bubble. One slight puff and it is all over! We promise this Palm Sunday to remain faithful to Jesus and to follow Him not only when it is convenient but especially when following Him means walking with Him to Calvary to be condemned and crucified. Today, given the decline if not the collapse of moral values, to live for Jesus is more demanding and difficult than to die for Him.
On that first Palm Sunday, great crowds spread their cloaks in the path on which Jesus was to ride. That was a great gesture not only of a warm welcome but even more of sublime surrender and submission. That is a gesture worth imitating and emulating. We need to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes. We need to surrender and submit ourselves completely to Him. Jesus is the only one to whom we can surrender without losing ourselves. When we surrender ourselves to Jesus we find ourselves because what is lost for Jesus is never really lost but found at a deeper level.
This is what St. Paul teaches us in his letter to the Philippians. Jesus, though divine becomes human, though Lord becomes a slave, though all powerful becomes powerless on the Cross. He thus empties himself and in this self-emptying is filled and raised by God so that all beings in heaven, on earth and in the underworld acclaim and acknowledge Him as Lord.
Let us make this week holy by entering into the holy mysteries that we celebrate this week with faith and fervour. May we continue to follow Jesus more closely so that by following his example of suffering, we may be worthy to share in his resurrection. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (508 Words)]
Is. 50:4-7; Ps. 21; Phil. 2:6-11; Mt. 26:14-27.66
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
With the celebration of Palm Sunday we enter into Holy Week. This week is holy because we celebrate the holy mysteries of our Christian faith. These must not be viewed as events that occurred more than two thousand years back, but events that take place today. We need therefore to get beyond the rites and touch the reality which they represent. This we will be able to do if we make this week an experience wherein we accompany Jesus on his journey from Jerusalem to Calvary with deep devotion and fervent fidelity. This is the week when we ponder the intense suffering that Jesus undergoes in the face of which he makes no resistance nor does he turn away; as he offers his back to those who strike him and does not cover his face against insult and spittle.
Palm Sunday recounts the triumphant entry of Jesus into his own city, Jerusalem. Seated on the foal of a donkey, the crowds hail him as their King as they sing “Hosannas” in his honour and acclaim him as the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee. But where were these crowds on Good Friday? Were they among those who screamed: “Crucify Him. Crucify Him. His blood be on us and on our children!” Public popularity is so precarious – as precarious as a bubble. One slight puff and it is all over! We promise this Palm Sunday to remain faithful to Jesus and to follow Him not only when it is convenient but especially when following Him means walking with Him to Calvary to be condemned and crucified. Today, given the decline if not the collapse of moral values, to live for Jesus is more demanding and difficult than to die for Him.
On that first Palm Sunday, great crowds spread their cloaks in the path on which Jesus was to ride. That was a great gesture not only of a warm welcome but even more of sublime surrender and submission. That is a gesture worth imitating and emulating. We need to welcome Jesus into our hearts and homes. We need to surrender and submit ourselves completely to Him. Jesus is the only one to whom we can surrender without losing ourselves. When we surrender ourselves to Jesus we find ourselves because what is lost for Jesus is never really lost but found at a deeper level.
This is what St. Paul teaches us in his letter to the Philippians. Jesus, though divine becomes human, though Lord becomes a slave, though all powerful becomes powerless on the Cross. He thus empties himself and in this self-emptying is filled and raised by God so that all beings in heaven, on earth and in the underworld acclaim and acknowledge Him as Lord.
Let us make this week holy by entering into the holy mysteries that we celebrate this week with faith and fervour. May we continue to follow Jesus more closely so that by following his example of suffering, we may be worthy to share in his resurrection. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (508 Words)]
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT homily
FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT – A: 10th April, 2011
Ez. 37:12-14; Ps. 129; Rom. 8:8-11; Jn. 11:3-7.17.33-45
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
The gospels recount three instances when Jesus raises the dead to life: Luke reports the raising of the young son of the widow of Nain (Lk. 7:11); both Mark (5:22) and Luke (8:41) also narrate the raising of the dead daughter of the synagogue official, Jairus; John alone records the raising of Lazarus. Of these three stupendous miracles, the raising of Lazarus is doctrinally most dense for it describes the very mission of Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, and who came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.
John observes that Jesus loved Martha, her sister May and Lazarus. We note in this statement the humanity of Jesus. He had friends. He loved and that is why he could also weep. He felt the sorrow of Martha and Mary at the loss of their brother, Lazarus. Jesus is not insensitive to our grief, not indifferent to our struggle and not immune to our pain. He suffers with us. What strikes us is that when Jesus learns that Lazarus is ill, he does not rush to his aid but stays on where he is for two more days before visiting him. We at times like to programme Jesus and want him to act instantly to help us. He will come to us – and his coming is as certain as the dawn – but in His time.
The miracle of raising Lazarus provides the context for a very dense and deep teaching. Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Jesus asks Martha and us too. He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. He came to offer us eternal life, life that does not know death, life that never ends. At times, mistakenly, we think that eternal life is a kind of bonus which will be ours when we have died. Eternal life is a gift that Jesus offers us here and now, at the present moment, if we live and believe in Him. Even if we die, we will live because the eternal life that Jesus offers us goes on for ever. That is the guarantee that Jesus offers us for in Him as St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Christians at Rome, we have been justified. This is the hope that we cherish and cling to for the Spirit who raised Jesus, whom we have received at baptism and who dwells in us, will give life to our mortal bodies.
How are we raised to eternal life? The Preface of today gives us the answer. “Christ gives us the sacraments to lift us up to everlasting life.” We were born dead with original life. In baptism we were born again and raised to new life. As we grew in age, we faltered, failed and fell. Wounded spiritually by sin, we are healed through the sacrament of penance when we make our confession. There is an interesting detail worth noting in the resurrection of Lazarus. He emerges from the tomb live but with his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face. St. Augustine has an illuminating comment on this when speaking of sacramental confession. It is God who by forgiving us restores us to life but it is the Church to whom Jesus has entrusted the sacraments that unbinds us and sets us free. We are a fortnight away from Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. By a humble and honest sacramental confession may we be lifted up to everlasting life and be set free from the bonds of sin. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (635 Words)]
Ez. 37:12-14; Ps. 129; Rom. 8:8-11; Jn. 11:3-7.17.33-45
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
The gospels recount three instances when Jesus raises the dead to life: Luke reports the raising of the young son of the widow of Nain (Lk. 7:11); both Mark (5:22) and Luke (8:41) also narrate the raising of the dead daughter of the synagogue official, Jairus; John alone records the raising of Lazarus. Of these three stupendous miracles, the raising of Lazarus is doctrinally most dense for it describes the very mission of Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, and who came that we may have life and have it more abundantly.
John observes that Jesus loved Martha, her sister May and Lazarus. We note in this statement the humanity of Jesus. He had friends. He loved and that is why he could also weep. He felt the sorrow of Martha and Mary at the loss of their brother, Lazarus. Jesus is not insensitive to our grief, not indifferent to our struggle and not immune to our pain. He suffers with us. What strikes us is that when Jesus learns that Lazarus is ill, he does not rush to his aid but stays on where he is for two more days before visiting him. We at times like to programme Jesus and want him to act instantly to help us. He will come to us – and his coming is as certain as the dawn – but in His time.
The miracle of raising Lazarus provides the context for a very dense and deep teaching. Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? Jesus asks Martha and us too. He came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. He came to offer us eternal life, life that does not know death, life that never ends. At times, mistakenly, we think that eternal life is a kind of bonus which will be ours when we have died. Eternal life is a gift that Jesus offers us here and now, at the present moment, if we live and believe in Him. Even if we die, we will live because the eternal life that Jesus offers us goes on for ever. That is the guarantee that Jesus offers us for in Him as St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Christians at Rome, we have been justified. This is the hope that we cherish and cling to for the Spirit who raised Jesus, whom we have received at baptism and who dwells in us, will give life to our mortal bodies.
How are we raised to eternal life? The Preface of today gives us the answer. “Christ gives us the sacraments to lift us up to everlasting life.” We were born dead with original life. In baptism we were born again and raised to new life. As we grew in age, we faltered, failed and fell. Wounded spiritually by sin, we are healed through the sacrament of penance when we make our confession. There is an interesting detail worth noting in the resurrection of Lazarus. He emerges from the tomb live but with his feet and hands bound with bands of stuff and a cloth round his face. St. Augustine has an illuminating comment on this when speaking of sacramental confession. It is God who by forgiving us restores us to life but it is the Church to whom Jesus has entrusted the sacraments that unbinds us and sets us free. We are a fortnight away from Easter when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. By a humble and honest sacramental confession may we be lifted up to everlasting life and be set free from the bonds of sin. Amen.
[St. Tudwal Church, Barmouth – Msgr. Alex Rebello (635 Words)]
2011年4月18日星期一
《只有语言，没有文字的日子》
《只有语言，没有文字的日子》
最近，发现自己只有语言，没有文字；生活似乎很吵，却是空洞的！
他说：你一定要写。
他说：把故事记录下来。
他说：让文字说话。
他又说：写下你自己。
后来，最了解我的他说：这么多年了，我认识的你，一定要写，文字是你的力量，你的出口，你发挥的管道，你发泄的平台，别忘了，你一定要写……直到那日，我看到文字的力量。
有个视障者在路边乞讨，身边有个小罐子装钱，另一边是一卡片写着：我是瞎的，请帮助我。坐了很久，罐子里有几个怜悯钱币。
随后，有个人经过，看了看卡片，取走了，重写了卡片上的字；不久，罐子装满了钱币。视障者很惊讶。原来文字修改了：今天天气很美，我却看不到！
文字会说话，它更会呐喊。也许，当我们说得太多时，没有人在听，方而，文字的力量让人无法抗拒。虽然文字无声无息，它却相似水流，那股力量，来时，排山倒海，喊时，怒涛汹涌；它也可以风平浪静，但是，沉底的是那股能量与激流，就是等待时间。
最近，发现自己只有语言，没有文字；生活似乎很吵，却是空洞的！
他说：你一定要写。
他说：把故事记录下来。
他说：让文字说话。
他又说：写下你自己。
后来，最了解我的他说：这么多年了，我认识的你，一定要写，文字是你的力量，你的出口，你发挥的管道，你发泄的平台，别忘了，你一定要写……直到那日，我看到文字的力量。
有个视障者在路边乞讨，身边有个小罐子装钱，另一边是一卡片写着：我是瞎的，请帮助我。坐了很久，罐子里有几个怜悯钱币。
随后，有个人经过，看了看卡片，取走了，重写了卡片上的字；不久，罐子装满了钱币。视障者很惊讶。原来文字修改了：今天天气很美，我却看不到！
文字会说话，它更会呐喊。也许，当我们说得太多时，没有人在听，方而，文字的力量让人无法抗拒。虽然文字无声无息，它却相似水流，那股力量，来时，排山倒海，喊时，怒涛汹涌；它也可以风平浪静，但是，沉底的是那股能量与激流，就是等待时间。
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