Faith

The first comedians ‘roast’ – Feast of St Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr – Jn 12:24-26

The setting of today’s reading is Palm Sunday (John12: 12) and these are the opening words of His Palm Sunday ‘homily’ preached to His disciples. Interestingly, He is the author of the text, He is the subject of the text and it is in Him that we find our context.

The plot to kill Jesus has already been set in motion in chapter 11 and snowballs into killing all those around Him who in any way increase the strength of His popularity, including Lazarus (12:10). Clearly it was the growing popularity of the mission of Jesus that threatened the foundations of Pharisaic beliefs. 

Their fear of losing this battle is confirmed in the scripture text that precedes the Gospel of today (12: 19), for right before their eyes they  see and confess that the “world has gone after Him (Jesus).” The message of Jesus had certainly spread like wild fire, enough to attract ‘some Greeks’ who had come to worship during the Passover festival. These ‘God fearing’ Gentiles, clearly have been drawn to the Jewish festivities, yet hearing the message of Jesus, they now seek Him and not the temple.

The Good News that Jesus came to preach, was principally to the Jews, but it soon began to captivate the beliefs of the Gentiles too. The Early Church had to struggle through this phase. Should the mission of Jesus be limited only to the Jews and the demands of its traditional customs?  It was the Jewish ritual of circumcision, demanded of the Gentile converts, which created divisions between St Paul on one hand and the apostles on the other.

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Faith

The underdog – Wednesday, 18th week in ordinary time – Mt 15: 21-28

 Hammering this Gospel passage home is not going to be that easy; you got to suss this one out. Jesus seems to have lost His empathy and perhaps this is the only narrative where, at first, He denies help to someone in need. So was Jesus just having a bad hair day after His run-in with the Pharisees in verse 1- 9?

 You got to let the muddied waters of hatred between the Jews and Gentiles settle on this one a bit, to see why Jesus initially said what He did. Matthew calls the woman a Canaanite and this already indicates a deep seated historical animosity which Mark does not use; he calls her a Syro-Phonecian (Mark 7:24-30) a far more acceptable term of address.

 Jesus, for some unexplained reason withdraws from Galilee and walks into the sea coast region, North West of Palestine, into Tyre and Sidon. The people of this land, which Israel conquered under Joshua, were considered pagans by the Jews. Many of the Canaanites had been pushed northward into Phoenicia when the Hebrews invaded the territory. The hatred was mutual and understandable.

 When Matthew wrote the Gospel, he was writing to a Jewish audience who had a deep respect for the law, the tradition. They would certainly be intrigued if not offended by the actions of Jesus who willingly strayed and led His disciples into pagan land. While Matthew’s Gospel is not entirely hostile to the Gentiles, it most certainly keeps the door ajar for them to come on board.

 Jesus thus ignores the woman’s cry for mercy; a cry not for herself but for her daughter who is tormented by a devil. It is plausible to assume that the fame of Jesus which had spread far and wide, reached the districts of this Phoenician neighbourhood. The woman, albeit a foreigner, identifies Him physically but also hails Him in messianic terms; she calls Him the Son of David.

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Faith

 The Perfect storm – Tuesday, 18th Week in ordinary time – Mt 14:22-36

 One of the earliest symbols of Christianity was the boat. This symbol stood for the Church tossed on the sea of disbelief, worldliness and persecution, but finally reaching safe harbour with its cargo of human souls.

This symbol had its origins in narratives such as the Gospel of today. Having fishermen as disciples, familiar with the sea, made it easier for Jesus to gain access to one of these many boats. It is these boats that He used as a pulpit as He spoke to the crowds on the beach, or as He crisscrossed the Galilean Sea.

Make no mistake; the Galilean Sea for all its idyllic beauty had the potential to become a fisherman’s nightmare, enough to wreck the nerves of experienced fishermen such as Jesus’ disciples. The Gospel records the condition of the sea on this occasion as ‘basanizo’, translated as ‘tortured or harassed’. Matthew narrates two such tempestuous incidents; in Chapter 8:23-27 and here in 14:22-36.

There is a marked difference in the two texts. In the former text, Jesus is in the boat; here He is not; He comes walking to them. In the first there is a storm, here the wind and waves were against them. In the first they feared for their lives; here they are terrified because they think they see a ghost. It is the ‘little faith’ of the disciples that is in question in the first incident; now it is Peter’s little faith that is under the scanner.

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Art/ Heritage

oznor

HERE WE LEAVE OUR HEART: ‘The Golden Lily’ gifted by Blessed Pope Paul VI to India in 1964

Giovanni Montini was born on September 26th, 1897 of a wealthy family at Concesio (Lombardy). After his ordination in 1920, he was sent to Rome to study at the Gregorian University and the University of Rome. He was assigned to the office of the Secretariat of State where he remained for the next thirty years.  In 1953, Montini was appointed the Archbishop of Milan. He was soon recognised as the ‘Archbishop of workers.’ In 1958, he was raised to the Cardinalate. On the death of Pope John XXIII, Montini was elected Pope on June 21st, 1963. He took the name Pope Paul VI.

True to the spirit of the Apostle, Pope Paul VI travelled more widely than any of his predecessors and was the first ever Pope to have visited the six continents. He was affectionately called the ‘Pilgrim Pope’ for indeed he was a Pilgrim of Peace and Love to the modern secular world.

On August 11, 1964 Pope Paul VI made a historic helicopter trip (the first by a Pope) to the ancient Umbrian hill town of Orvieto to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the Feast of Corpus Christi (or Body and Blood of Christ). This feast was instituted by Pope Urban IV in 1264 on account of the Eucharistic miracle that took place in the town of Bolsena. A Bohemian priest beset by doubts with regards to the Eucharist was restored to faith when the consecrated host began to bleed during Mass. The Altar cloth from Bolsena (stained with the miraculous blood) was brought to Orvieto and is the greatest treasure of its Cathedral.

The Cathedral of Orvieto

Pope Paul VI celebrated the Eucharist at the Cathedral to mark the anniversary. As a token of their love and as a lasting souvenir of the event, the city of Orvieto gifted a Chalice to the Pope. This masterpiece of art and sacred history was executed by the greatly reputed artist Marcello Conticelli also known as ‘the blacksmith of the Pope.’

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Art/ Heritage

HANGRY: ‘The Gathering of Manna in the desert’ by Nicolas Poussin (1637)

 The narrative of today’s first reading begins with some grouchy murmurs and a death – wish. After nearly four hundred years the Israelites have finally been liberated and are marching forward towards freedom. And yet, one month down the lane, they are complaining and longing to go back to slavery. Why? One may ask.

The journey to the Promised Land is not an easy path. It is the ‘road less taken’. The congregation finds itself in the midst of stark wilderness and wasteland. They are gripped by insecurity, anxiety and worst – hunger! Irritated and hangry at once they complain, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt when we sat around vessels of meat and ate all the food we wanted, whereas you have brought us to this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation..’ Notice how conveniently they blame God for their enslavement and their current food crisis.

In response Yahweh does not rebuke them. He simply accedes to their request and rains down bread a.k.a. manna from heaven. ‘What is it?’ or ‘man hû’ the Israelites ask each other.

The raining of the bread from heaven is not the soul of today’s story. The crux lies in its aftermath. The miracle of the manna was a test by which Yahweh discerned His people’s willingness to follow His instructions. Adhering to this inquiry, the French artist Nicolas Poussin through his famous painting, virtually transports us to the encampment of the Israelites at Sinai.

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