Sunday Reflections

On a liturgical note

Just like March and April, May this year looks as if it will be a month like no other – and the temptation may be to say that there is no liturgy because our ability to physically join together for the Mass and the celebration of the Sacraments and the Liturgy of the Hours, the Prayer of the Church, is still so limited. However, this would be untrue. As troubling as these days may be, the celebration of the liturgy is a constant – together we pray in our homes, we listen and ‘stream’ the Masses and devotions from the parishes, and the religious and the clergy continue to lead us in prayer not merely for their own benefit but for the good of us all and, ultimately, for the glory of God. I remember when I was growing up in Saint Matthew’s parish in Clubmoor, Father Horan, the parish priest, always began the Mass by saying that it was being celebrated ‘for the glory of God’. It is a phrase which has stuck with me, and the current circumstances have made me reflect that, in the midst of all this suffering and uncertainty and anxiety, there is the opportunity for me to consider this fundamental attitude of my life and then to act upon it; all things are for the greater glory of God, my thoughts, words and deeds, whatever my circumstances and wherever I find myself. As the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer puts it, our giving glory to God, our placing of God as the very centre of all we are and all we do, needs to be Always and Everywhere. Saint Philip Neri, whose feast is kept on the 26th of this month, was even in his lifetime known as ‘the smiling Saint’. This was not because he was in some way ‘cushioned’ from the difficulties of each day, and nor was it because things always went his way or he was without concern or worry or difficulty in his life; rather, it was because there was a deep wellspring of joy in his heart which expressed itself in resilience, a willingness to help, and a cheerfulness which both enabled and encouraged those with whom he lived. St Philip – pray for us!

Sunday thoughts

Mgr John Devine OBE

At the time of writing our churches are closed for the duration of the Coronavirus epidemic; an end to business as usual. What is unusual, however, is that a new virtual church has come alive. Some 18 months ago at St Mary of the Isle in Douglas we invested in livestreaming equipment. Some thought it extravagant. It soon proved its worth with the housebound every Sunday and with those unable to be present at significant family events such as weddings, christenings, First Holy Communions and funerals. Many of our parishioners in the Isle of Man are accustomed to being separated from their families in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Even more are separated from families further afield. I never imagined that our livestreaming facility would take off so spectacularly with the Coronavirus epidemic. These last weeks have witnessed an amazing response to our daily Mass. I celebrate Mass each day in St Mary’s on my own, behind closed doors with a much wider group of people than I did when the church was open. Each day I receive emails, not just from our own parishioners on the island, but from all over the world: from Cincinnati, Chicago, Indiana, Maryland and Maine in the United States; from Canada, Kenya and South Africa, from India and Australia, from Ireland and from all parts of the UK. It’s a surprising example of how in God’s economy, loss becomes gain; death leads to life. We are all part of God’s family. The human spirit cannot be crushed. As St Paul tells us in the Letter to the Romans: ‘Neither death nor life, no angel, no prince, nothing that exists, nothing still to come … can ever come between us and the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

Passion for Jesus

In 1990 Pope St John Paul II appointed Father Tom Forrest as the co-ordinator for the decade of evangelisation. Tom was an American from New York who was a larger-than-life character. He had one passion in life and that was Jesus. He loved Jesus. He wanted the world to know that the Lord was alive and so he spent his time and his energy helping people find that truth. That passion for Jesus is what comes through in the writing of John. He wants the world to know that Jesus is alive and so through his Gospel he constantly reminds people that they have choices to make, choices between light and darkness, good and evil, belief and unbelief. In the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus, there are lots of choices given. We can be like Mary of Magdala, Peter or the other disciple. Mary of Magdala is presented as someone who is confused and frustrated. She thought she knew where life was leading her and suddenly it was all taken away and she couldn’t see beyond her own pain and her own need. She runs to the Disciples and her pain just overflows as she says, ‘They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don’t know where they’ve put him.’ How many of us are unable to see beyond our own pain and confusion, caught up with our own worries? Peter sets out to run to the tomb. He goes in wanting evidence. He checks all the things that he knows he can guarantee, the linen cloths and the cloth over his face. How many of us trust in the evidence around us, but are not open enough to see beyond? Then we have John. He was with Peter but what he saw had a very different effect. The empty tomb helped him to see and to know that Jesus was alive. The person of faith can always see beyond. The person of faith will always believe there’s more. The person of faith will always look for newness and possibility. These are the choices that John gives us as he ponders the resurrection. Are you going to be weighed down with the cares of your life? Are you going to put your trust in the material or are you going to be like John who saw and believed? Are you going to see – in the touch of another person, or in the listening ear or in the calming of our fears when they rage within – the truth that Jesus is alive? Are you going to see the hope, when everything seems to be collapsing around us, that the Lord is with us? When we seem to find strength where there is none, or where there is inexplicable peace in the midst of chaos, will you believe that the risen Jesus is there? The person of faith will always recognise the risen Lord, so choose who you want to be. Fr Chris Thomas