Monthly Archives: February 2018

Where is the Lamb?

In last Sunday’s Gospel, Our Lord was tested in the desert by being tempted by Satan. This week we hear how Abraham was tested by God, when God told him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. This might seem like the worst kind of barbarism towards children, but when we look at the text, it is Isaac who carries the wood up the mountain for the sacrifice. The wood would have been extremely heavy, so Isaac certainly wasn’t a small child. Rather he was a strong, albeit young man. But still, this is an extraordinary test of Abraham’s faith and obedience. As Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, Isaac asked his father, “Where is the lamb?” “God Himself will provide the lamb” replied Abraham. Suddenly an Angel appeared and prevented Abraham from sacrificing his son, and Abraham looked up and saw a ram (a male sheep), caught in the thorns of a bush by its horns, and this was to be the offering in sacrifice. Many of the Fathers of the Church see the ram as a prefiguring of Christ. Just as the ram is caught by its horns in a thorn bush, so Christ wears a crown of thorns. And just as the ram is the substitute for Isaac, so Christ is the substitute who will lay down His life so that the world may be saved. He is the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

It is significant that Abraham is told to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah, the same location where Solomon was to build the Temple, and which was also within the sight of Mount Calvary where Our Lord was crucified.

In today’s Second Reading, St Paul reminds us that while God spared Abraham’s son, He did not hesitate to sacrifice His own. Sacrificing Christ proves that there is nothing God will not do to save us – such is His love for us. In the Gospel account of the Transfiguration, JESUS shows Himself in all His glory to Peter, James and John to help prepare them for His upcoming Passion and Death, thus strengthening their faith. So there is a balance then between the Cross and the Resurrection, and so God gives us crosses as well as joys. But whatever crosses we are asked to carry, Christ will help us carry them. Let us ask Him to help us do the same for those suffering around us, and thus we become His instruments.

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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What Can I Do For Lent?

I can hardly believe that we are now already in Lent, but with Easter fast approaching, we need to draw our spiritual battle lines now, otherwise we may find we have arrived at Easter and have made no spiritual progress. The reality is, although this is not said as often as it should be, we are engaged in a spiritual battle for our souls and so we need to take up spiritual weapons. The Collect for Ash Wednesday made this clear:  “Grant, O Lord, that we may begin with holy fasting this campaign of Christian service, so that, as we take up battle against spiritual evils, we may be armed with weapons of self-restraint.”  So the Church recommends we take up with even greater vigour than usual the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving during Lent.  Do you have your plan of action ready?  If not, here are a few suggestions:

• Try to go to a daily Mass at least once a week.
• Make the Stations of the Cross each Friday. (There is a 6pm Mass followed by the Stations at 6.30pm every Friday in Lent).
• Try to do some spiritual reading each day; either the Bible or some other spiritual book or the life of a saint. There is a lot of good material on the CTS rack at the back of the church
• Choose one of your bad habits and try with renewed vigour and God’s help to overcome it. But don’t expect instant success.  The spiritual life is the work of a lifetime.
• Recite an extra Rosary each day, or say the Divine Mercy Chaplet.
• Go out of your way to perform a kind deed for someone each day.
• Cut back on the computer, especially things like Facebook.
• Give up something you enjoy and donate the money saved to your favourite charity.

Of course there are many other things one can do, but it’s a good idea to have a plan. Confession or Penance is always good for our spiritual progress and all Catholics are bound to confess their sins at least once a year. All of us have something to confess whether it be impatience, anger, a lack of charity, distractions while praying, neglecting our religious duties, not attending Sunday Mass and so on. It is sometimes difficult to remember all our sins exactly, so an examination of conscience is available at the back of the church should you need some help. Remember, JESUS is the “Doctor” of our Souls, and sometimes the sacrament of Penance is just what the Doctor ordered!  I hope you all have a good Lent.  Let us pray for each other.

Fr Paul

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Come closer

The forty-plus-day season of Lent, which we begin this Wednesday, is the time that we, as Christian disciples, are encouraged to draw closer to God. It is something which Jesus both demonstrates and encourages. As the incarnate Son of God, He comes close to us to heal and rescue us, and in His earthly life He encouraged those in need to come close to Him and receive His healing touch. Just as the leper does in our gospel reading this Sunday.

In many ways it is ironic that on the day (Ash Wednesday) we hear Jesus speak of praying, fasting and almsgiving being done in secret, we participate in what may be the year’s most public physical statement of our belief in Him!! We are signed on our foreheads with black ash – a sign of our sorrow, repentance and desire to grow and change. While it’s fine to wash it off after Mass, many people keep it on their forehead throughout the day. Often, it becomes a discussion starter and an opportunity to share our faith and encourage others to ‘come closer’, with us, to God in Christ.

Lent, our Christian Springtime, is our time to grow, grow closer to God, as we make time to pray a little more, exercise self-discipline a little more, care for others a little more and nurture our souls a little more.

There will be lots of opportunities to examine our consciences, repent and confess. Lots of opportunities to pray, walk the Stations of the Cross, adore and receive the Sacrament. Lots of encouragement to fast and abstain, not just from food, sweet things and alcohol but also behaviours – gossip, mean judgements and angry retorts – attitudes that may not save us money but go further in bringing us closer to God. Let’s take the opportunities too that enable us to invite others to St Mary’s, to come with us and draw closer to Him who is the source of all Life and Life Eternal.

Jesus reaches out his hand to touch and heal. May we all give Him that opportunity this Lent to draw us closer, by ourselves making time to draw close to Him.

Deacon David OLW

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Difficulties in Prayer?

In today’s Gospel, we are told that after JESUS had cured Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, He went off to a lonely place to pray. Perhaps it might seem amazing to us that in spite of JESUS being the Divine Son of God, through Whom all things were made and Who was perfect and sinless, that He should have this need to go off alone and pray to the Father. But Our Lord always prayed and He needed to in order to fulfil His mission – winning our eternal salvation. So if He Who was perfect and sinless needed to pray, what does this mean for us?

Difficulties in prayer can put us off, but we are in good company because many of the saints struggled with it too, so difficulties need not be an obstacle to our spiritual growth. St Thérèse of Lisieux, even after she had become a nun found community prayer and the Rosary difficult. St Bernard wrote that he was so overrun by life’s anxieties and cares that he could barely find time to pray! So often prayer can seem very unsatisfying.

We all suffer from distractions in prayer, but so long as they displease us and we do what we can to re-focus our mind, our prayer doesn’t stop being pleasing to God. The important thing is to persevere even if things become difficult. Giving up accomplishes nothing and we may be depriving ourselves of many spiritual benefits without even realising it. St Thérèse of Lisieux also said, “I have many distractions, but as soon as I am aware of them, I pray for those people, the thought of whom is diverting my attention. In this way, they reap the benefit of my distractions.”

So let us be reassured – difficulties, dryness and distractions in prayer are quite normal for those who seek God. And personal prayer is not the only aspect of our spiritual lives. We also have communal prayer, the sacraments, the reading of the Bible and other spiritual books, or we may find the Liturgy moving and inspiring. God can and does speak to us in many ways.

Fr Paul Gillham IC

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