What’s so important?

“With busy lives and so many demands, it can be difficult to prioritise. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus makes a strange detour from his plans.” Here’s our reflection from the Daily Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Tuesday in the fourth week of the year here.

Everyone has such busy lives with so many demands on our time and attention, and we can often find it difficult to prioritise. Do we remain loyal to the first thing that went into our diary, or do we do replace it with something else we prefer? How do we cope when family demands and work commitments collide with one another? Yes, at times, it can be difficult to prioritise what is most important. It is often impossible to please everyone all of the time.

In the gospel reading, Jesus is in great demand. The crowds are pushing around him, each person wanting something. Many come to him for healing. One person manages to get through. An official from the synagogue whose daughter is sick. As Jesus makes his way to Jairus’s house, someone else grabs his attention. An anonymous person has reached out to touch him for healing. Rather than speeding onwards to the sick girl, he reprioritises his time. He lingers with the crowd as his disciples try to identify the woman. Jesus lingers for so long that word comes to them that the little girl has died.

Perhaps, we would have prioritised a young life over an older life. Or thought that Jairus’s daughter was more of an emergency? After all, the woman was already healed it seems. Although, for Jesus, the healing wasn’t complete until a true encounter occurred.

When we seek God’s help and healing in prayer, we can often be disappointed if he doesn’t respond in the way we had anticipated, or in the time we expect. But, as we proclaim at the blessing of the Easter candle, “All time belongs to him, and all eternity.” So next time we are anxious about time and priorities, may it lead us closer not to stress, but to the one who is the Lord of time.

Mass today is at St Mary’s Church at 630pm

DAY BY DAY

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Channels of Peace

“The healing touch of Jesus comes in many ways. But in so many ways, we see how he can bring calm to a turbulent situation, peace to where there is conflict, love to where there is hate.” Here’s our reflection from the Daily Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: Mark 5:1-20

In the novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, the wild desolate Yorkshire moors with its turbulent weather, reflect the intense, raw emotions of the two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine. The landscape isn’t just a location where the story happens. The author uses it to reflect the passionate and destructive personalities of the characters at the centre of the story.

Likewise, in the gospel reading, the setting for the character at the centre of the story paints a colourful picture of a wild and uncontrollable person, someone to be feared, living in the tombs among the dead. His life is filled with agony and pain as he gashes himself with stones and cries out throughout the night. The spirit which possesses him confronts Jesus to warn him off. But even confronted by such a frightening scene, Jesus remains calm and in control and instructs the spirit to come out of the man.

There are many things in our own lives and in the world today which we would prefer not to confront. Life is easier if we pretend they don’t exist or that they are someone else’s problem. There are many people too who suffer in silence, far away from the watch of others, keeping their problems and pains locked inside. The healing touch of Jesus comes in many ways. But in so many ways, we see how he can bring calm to a turbulent situation, peace to where there is conflict, love to where there is hate. Reflecting the prayer of St Francis, may we be channels for his peace and love in the world today, and look out for the wounded, the lost and those in pain.

Mass today is at St Dyfrig and St Samson Church at 630pm

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.

 

In the eye of a storm

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers the various storms that assail us in life, and hoe God guides us through them.

Readings for Saturday of the third week of Ordinary Time can be found here.

In 2015, the UK’s Met Office began the practice of naming winter storms. The first one, in November of that year, was Abigail. Storms are given names suggested by members of the public which are applied in alphabetical order as the storm season progresses. The most recent, on 26 January, was Storm Chandra, which brought widespread flooding to the south of England.

The disciples of Jesus included experienced fishermen. You would have thought that they had seen storms like the one described in today’s Gospel many times before. Yet sometimes a storm can arise the likes of which have rarely been seen, and even those who have been through a lot are left terrified, wondering if they will survive. 

It can be like this in life. Sometimes we are assailed and battered by circumstances and events that are so frightening we might question whether we will be able to get through it. These storms may be beyond our control, or they might be self-inflicted. In our first reading, David experiences such a storm of his own making when Nathan the prophet confronts him about his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband Uriah. Matters worsen when the child which Bathsheba bore as a result of the affair dies; David lies on the ground, will not get up, and will not eat.

In the boat on the lake, Jesus was with the disciples all the time, albeit asleep. It is he to whom they turned in their hour of need. Likewise, David acknowledges his sin before God, who later blesses him with another child, Solomon. God does not promise that we will never experience the storms of life, but he does promise to be with us, to be there for us, and to help us survive.

God’s work, human hands

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard reflects on how God uses the flawed and the fallible to further his purposes.

Readings for Friday in the third week of Ordinary Time can be found here.

The popular press, and nowadays the internet, loves a scandal. Especially if it involves a political or religious leader who comes unstuck because of a sexual indiscretion. The public, of course, say it is terrible to see such filth in the papers, but then rush to the shops or switch on their phone so they can find out all about it!

The Biblical equivalent of a tabloid scandal is today’s reading from 2 Samuel. The great King David is shown to be a reprehensible character on three counts. First, he sends others out to battle while he stays at home. Second, David decides he wants to have another man’s wife, Bathsheba, and so he does just this, and makes her pregnant. And then, worst of all, he arranges for Bathsheba’s husband Uriah to be killed so he may take her for his own wife. It’s a grim tale indeed. But … David is still revered as the father of the Israelite nation, and as the ancestor of Jesus. For Bathsheba’s part, she later bore David another son who would become his great successor Solomon.

The truth is that God can work through the most unlikely, the most flawed, and the most fallible people in order to further his purposes. In the Gospel, Jesus indicates that this principle can be applied to the Kingdom of God itself. The mustard seed is so small, so insignificant, so seemingly unpromising. And yet, from those beginnings, thanks to God’s grace, something amazing and transformative can emerge. The church can often feel small, marginalised, broken and struggling. As individuals we might be all too aware of our flaws and inadequacies. Be that as it may, let us thank God that he can even use us to build his Kingdom of justice and peace.

Growing our faith

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers the importance of nurturing and growing our faith so that we might be a blessing to others

Readings for Thursday of the third week of Ordinary Time can be found here.

The great Polish pianist Ignacy Jan Pederewski, who also briefly served as his country’s prime minister after World War One, said this about his art: “If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.” Even a superb talent such as his needed daily nurturing if he was to continue to give of his very best.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is saying something similar about our faith. He uses these two phrases: “The amount you measure out is the amount you will be given”; and “for the man who has will be given more.” This is not quite as crude as saying “you get out what you put in”. Faith is not as transactional as that, and of course salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, not obtained by our own efforts. Nevertheless, our faith needs nurturing, no matter how long we have been at it, just like Pederewski and his piano playing. When we pay more attention to our prayer life, we will indeed find ourselves growing closer to God. When we spend a bit longer reading and studying the Scriptures, we find that we come to know him a little bit better. 

And what is all this for? Great musicians do not spend hours in practice to play alone in a room. They fill concert halls and give pleasure to hundreds. Jesus says that a lamp should not be hidden but put on the lampstand for all to see. We are called to grow and develop in our faith so that we might be that lamp on a stand, shining for all to see, and bringing others to know the love of God.

Part of God’s family

In today’s reflection on the daily mass readings, Fr Richard considers what it means to be part of God’s family

Readings for mass can be found here

Recently I was sorting out my father’s house in Somerset following his move to a care home here in Cardiff. I unearthed a trove of photographs, including the house where he lived being built back in 1968; him and my late mum moving in; and me and my brother as babies. Those photos documented a family establishing itself and growing, as so many do all of the time, all around the world.

Our readings today are also about a different sort of family taking root, the family of God’s people. In our first reading King David triumphantly brings the Ark of the Covenant to his new capital of Jerusalem. The Ark contained the tablets of the law given to Moses and represented God’s presence with his people. David had already established a political kingdom; by returning the Ark, he also began a religious or spiritual one. The Israelites are united as one family under one earthly king, and with God in their midst.

In the Gospel, Jesus reimagines what it means to be family. Membership is no longer defined by blood ties but rather by those who are in union with God and ready to do his will. That means there is a place for everyone. Let us always remember that we are part of this wonderful, mysterious, enriching family which is God’s people. Let us seek always to do his will, remembering that he is with us, not as the Ark of the Covenant but through his Son Jesus. And let us always make room at the table of God’s family for others to come and join us, so that they too may know the joy of being his brother or sister or mother.

Mass tonight is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.

God’s vision for the world

Mass tonight is offered for all victims of the Holocaust, in advance of Holocaust Memorial Day tomorrow. Here Fr Richard offers a reflection on the Gospel to be used at mass, Matthew 5.1-12

The famous Gospel reading that we have just heard, the Beatitudes from Matthew, presents a topsy-turvy, back-to-front vision of the world. Those who are so often looked down upon, ignored, or regarded as nothing turn out to be blessed. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the peacemakers, the persecuted. Not, you notice, the rich, the powerful or the mighty, those who so often call the shots. It’s a topsy-turvy, back-to-front vision indeed. Why does Jesus call those groups of people blessed? Because he recognises that true blessing, true holiness, true goodness, comes not from a place of domination and power, but from one of vulnerability. Those who have known deep grief and suffering can comfort the ones who mourn; those who have been persecuted are best placed to fight for justice. The poor in Spirit – those who know their own need of God – can point others towards his love.

Holocaust Memorial Day reminds us all too powerfully of what happens when this vision is rejected. When the dignity, identity, uniqueness and vulnerability of human beings is trampled upon by those who value power, domination, and hatred of the other above all else. It leads to the massacre of six million Jews, half a million Roma and Sinti, 300,000 disabled people, 15,000 LGBT folk, and tens of thousands of communists, trade unionists and clergy. It leads to a world where, today, the forces of hatred, discrimination and fear are being allowed to rise up once again.

So, what can we do in response to all this horror, both past and present? The first step is simply to do what we are doing tonight, which is to remember. The voices of the victims of the Holocaust (and indeed the survivors, growing fewer as the years go by) must continue to be heard in and through our remembrance here, and into the future. And then we must protest. Protest against that dark and dangerous vision which led to the Holocaust, by living out the values of the Beatitudes. It’s about reminding the world that every single life, no matter how weak, how vulnerable, no matter the race, religion or colour, no matter how small the minority they’re part of, is sacred in the sight of God. This is a truth seen throughout both the Hebrew and Christian Bible.

Tonight, we remember all the victims of the Holocaust. Let us pledge ourselves to protest and to work tirelessly for that topsy-turvy, back-to-front world to become a reality here and now. 

Mass tonight is in St Dyfrig & St Samon, Grangetown at 6.30pm

Twelve times

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus appoints the twelve apostles. Here’s our reflection from the Daily Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Friday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time here (Universalis Website)

It’s a well known saying that “History is written by the victors.”  Those who win conflicts, define the narrative. They tell their own story which often downplays the truths of the other side in favour of their own.

However, in every generation, history is rewritten, providing a more truthful narrative of the past. One such example is “Black History Month” which celebrates the contribution that black people have played in the life of our country.

Jesus was immersed in the history of the people of Israel and true to the heritage of which he was a part, and the prophecies which went before. From among the many people who followed Jesus, he chose the specific number of twelve to be his apostles—those he would send out to preach and who after his ascension into heaven would form the foundation and leadership of the infant church. The number is symbolic. As there were twelve tribes of Israel, so Jesus builds on the old covenant with Israel, renewing a people for his own. He is true to the past, and to God’s chosen people, to whom God first chose to reveal himself.

The church first began as a movement within Judaism, and what we know as the Old Testament continues today to be the holy book for the Jewish people. Judaism is the rock from which we were hewn.

We know of the many distressing and evil ways in which the Jewish people have been treated, and on Monday is Holocaust Memorial Day when we remember the millions of people murdered during the holocaust of the Nazi persecution. As the Jewish people were the first to be called, so we pledge ourselves anew to nurture loving and respectful relationships with them and people of all religions. 

Mass today is at St Saviour’s Church at 10am

DAY BY DAY

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Crowded out

We are called to share God’s kingdom in a world crowded by so many voices and messages. Here’s today’s reflection from the Daily Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Thursday of Second Week of Ordinary Time here (Universalis Website)

Anyone who has been part of—or witnessed—a gathering crowd, will know the sense of excitement and also danger, particularly if the crowd is a protest gathering.

Passion can easily turn into anger. An uncontrolled crowd can become uncontrollable. A peaceful protest can easily be sabotaged and become something it was never intended to be.

The diversity of the crowd attracted to Jesus is significant. He has drawn people together from all over the region and beyond. People from different counties and cultures come to him. Those who are sick reach out to him for healing. But he doesn’t take advantage of his fame. At times, he hides from them, and silences the unclean spirits who submit to him, instructing them not to make him known. The crowd was so large and passionate that he feared being crushed— we can imagine a sense of chaos, even hysteria, and certainly danger as Jesus prepares his getaway in a boat.

Jesus, it seems, refuses to be either a crowd pleaser or a crowd Marshall. The signs and wonders he performs are not about gaining popularity for himself but declaring that the Kingdom of God is very near. In a jostling, growing, pressing crowd, the message can be lost. We too are called to share God’s kingdom in a world crowded by so many voices and messages. We don’t need to shout. We simply need to continue being faithful witnesses, quietly serving God in our daily lives, often away from the crowd.

Mass today is at St Dyfrig and St Samson’s Church at 10am

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.

 

Don’t get the hump!

What’s the design for our life? God’s designs for our life are filled with love for us “to know him for clearly, love him more dearly, follow him more nearly, day by day.” Here’s today’s reflection from the Daily Mass.

BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Tuesday of Second Week of Ordinary Time here (Universalis Website)

“A camel is a horse designed by a committee.” The saying is attributed to the person who designed the Mini car as he lamented team-based design. Any of us who have had to sit on certain committees will be able to share his frustration at times, when there is no unifying vision but many opinions. The outcome can be interesting.

In the gospel reading, the Pharisees have by design created the sabbath to be something that it is not. Rather than welcoming the sabbath to serve them, enrich their lives and bring them closer to God, they have become a slave to it—and they’ve got the hump! (Excuse the pun!) As they criticise Jesus for picking ears of corn, he gives them an example from the life of David when he was hungry and in need, whilst also confirming his own lordship over the Sabbath.

We can so often over confuse our faith. There is so much that is important, but all the obligations we feel are placed upon us, are simply opportunities to grow closer to God. They are intended to liberate not shackle us, change us not chain us. God’s designs for our life are filled with love and, to quote the prayer of St Richard of Chichester, “to know him for clearly, love him more dearly, follow him more nearly, day by day.”

 

Mass today is at St Mary’s Church at 630pm

DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.