Michæl McFarland Campbell

This is great, I love this new form of the Rosary.

The Memento Mori Rosary

Prayer matters most

At the beginning of today’s Gospel, St Matthew tells us that Jesus went up into the hills by himself to pray. He had just finished a very long day teaching the crowds, healing the sick, and peforming the miracle of the multiplication of the laves. At the beginning of that day he had heard the news about the death of his cousin, St John the Baptist. At the time, he had wanted to go off alone to reflect, to pray, and to mourn the loss of that great prophet, his cousin. But the crowds didn’t let him. Now we see that although he delayed his time of prayer out of compassion for the crowds, he didn’t skip it, even though he must have been exhausted. Now, as the sun sets, he climbs up the mountain to pray. And he doesn’t appear again until about three o’clock in the morning – six hours later.

We know from other Gospel passages that our Lord Jesus Christ frequently went off alone to pray.

Is that not kind of strange? After all, Jesus was God, true God from true God, as we profess in the Creed. Why would he have to dedicate large chunks of His time to pray? Because He was also true man, the Word made flesh, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus had two natures: divine and human. Because He was human, he needed to pray. As humans we are not meant to go it alone. The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us,

Man was created to live in communion with God, in whom he finds happiness.

CCC 45

No one can have communion with God without a life of prayer.

Today, our Lord is teaching us to keep first things first. If He who is the Son of God needed time alone in prayer, only an arrogant fool would claim not to need some as well.

Following the example of Elijah

The same lesson is reflected in today’s First Reading. This is one of th emost memorable and beautiful passages from the Old Testament.

The Prophet Elijah has just had a run-in with the pagan prophets that have allied themselves with the evil Queen Jezebel. Elijab came out victorious in that encounter, and it made Jezebel furious. She threatened his life, so he escaped to the mountains of the desert to pray.

He did so for two reasons.

Firstly, he needed to renew his strength. He has been worn out byhis efforts to protect the faith against the evil Queen, hwo has all the power and wealth of the nation at her beck and call. He is tired. He feels discouraged. He wants to give up. What does he do when these feelings come upon him? He goes of to a sacred place to pray.

Secondly, he needed to find light. He doesn’t know what to do next. His options seem to have disappeared. He doesn’t know where to turn, how to proceed, he is unclear about what God is asking of him. What does he do when these feelings come upon him? He goes off to a sacred place to pray, he goes to Mount Horeb.

Mount Horeb was where Moses had received the Ten Commandments, establishing the Old Covenant of the Law.

It was a sacred place—just as every one of our churches is a sacred place, because the Mass is celebrated there—the holy sacrifice of the new, everlasting covenant.

Like Elijah, when we need to renew our strength and find light, we need to pray.

When we climb the monutain of prayer with living faith, we find new strength and light. The storms of life fade away, and the ‘tiny whispering sound’ of God’s eternal wisdom reverebrates in our heart.

The Eucharist: our secret weapon for a healthy prayer life

Most of us do not live in monasteries, so what can we do to make sure our prayer life keeps growing, to make sure that we pray better at age of 40 and 50 than we did at the age of 10?

Our Lord has himself given us a secret weapon for growth in prayer: the Eucharist. Prayer is spending time with God, speaking to Him about what matters to us, and listening to what matters to Him. The Eucharist is the real presence of Christ, body, blood, soul, and divinity.

In the hustle and bustle of our busy, twenty-first century lives, we need a time and a place where we can be sure to find Christ, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week—something that is objective, not dependent upon our feelings or our moods.

That is the Eucharist: the rock-solid foundation for a healthy life of prayer. When we receive Holy Communion, physically or spiritually, when we gaze upon the Host at Mass, when we come and kneel before the Tabernacle containing the Blessed Sacrament, or when we pray in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament solemnly exposed, we are doing whtat Peter did as he stepped out of that fishing boat. We are fixing our gaze on the Lord. We are cultivating our personal relationship with him. We are praying to the one whose love and grace gives meaning, direction, and strength to our lives. This miracle of Jesus walking on the water takes place right after the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves. Both miracles have to do with bread and with Christ’s body—just like the Eucharist.

Today, as Christ recommits Himself to us in the Mass, let us recommit ourselves to a healthy life of prayer.

Let us promise Him that we will never let a day go by without coming to visit Him, to speak with Him, heart-to-heart in the Eucharist, even if only for a minute, so that we can keep deepening our soul’s communion with God, in whom alone we will find happiness.

Readings for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

• First Kings 19:9, 11-13
• Psalm 85:9-14
• Romans 9:1-5
• Matthew 14:22-33

Every single day, it is important as Christians to stop and have a conversation with God. Real conversations are not one way. Real conversations, between friends, are very much two-way communication. Taking the time to listen to what he says as well as to bombard God with our petitions and thanksgivings is vital to a healthy spiritual life.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is told by a man on the road,

I will follow you wherever you go.

Luke 9:57-62

The Lord responds that

Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Another responds to the Lord’s “Follow me”, with “Let me go and bury my father first”. The Lord responds

Let the dead bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.

Another asked the Lord if he could go and say goodbye to his family at home, but the Lord replied:

Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

The phrase that stood out in this passage for me when reading it earlier today was “no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Looking forward is where we need to be. Looking forward is how we move forward towards God.

We may want to follow the Lord wherever he goes, but if we do not keep our eyes on Him, we will not see the obstacles in our path.

Some great thoughts about the future of the Church of England. How much can this be applied to the Church in Ireland as well?

For the love of God, don’t sacrifice the poor.

[The Eucharist] is not adiaphora. It is not something extra. It is our identity. We are the people who eat together with God. Lest we somehow miss the carnality of this feast, Jesus said, “This is my body.” It is tangible and visceral; hands touch and tongues taste. It happens in human bodies. The value of touch is not a product of our theology, but the foundation of it. We encounter God in the flesh. We meet one another in the flesh so that, even when our minds are at odds, we learn from our bodies. We state, with word and deed, that we are concretely and physically one body. And, although we abstain from physical meeting right now, we must not forget that physical meeting is our identity – just as God incarnate is our inspiration.

https://dacalu.wordpress.com/2020/07/20/just-say-no-to-virtual-eucharist/?fbclid=IwAR1BO3ggHl9oeB7l2dJqHJ-71SR3auTJeI3WeMJQoJBF8BXW5VL1m3-xDHA

The rest of the article can be read at the link above. I must admit that I have heard all sorts of ideas about how we as a church ought to be celebrating the Eucharist. I’ve even heard reports of ‘Bring Your Own Bread’ being suggested in some places. This is not how Christians do as the Lord commanded.

Different religions really are different

All religions are not the same. To common sense, this is obvious. But common sense is not always so common. In many places, it is popular to teach the contrary truth: that all religions, underneath the apparent differences, are indeed just the same. Teaching that is dangerous, because, like all false doctrines, this one has destructive consequences. 

Today’s First Reading tells us: 

For neither is there any god besides you, whose care is for all people,

Wisdom 12:13 NRSV-CE

There is only one God, the God of Jesus Christ. As St Peter said on Pentecost:

There is salvation in no one else [but Jesus Christ], for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

Acts 4:12

He didn’t say, 

Of all the names in the world given to men, it really doesn’t matter which one you close to worship and pray to, because basically they are all the same.

Our Lord Jesus himself said, 

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

He did not say: 

By the way, I am just one of history’s really great philosophers, so you can either follow me or another one, if you like, since we are all basically teaching the same thing.

St Paul also made this abundantly clear: he explained that God raised Jesus from the dead to show that he truly is the only Lord,

so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:10-11

He did not say,

In the end, some people will worship Jesus, but others won’t, because Jesus is only one of god’s many faces.

All religions are not the same. This is a truth of common sense, and a doctrine of the Church. 

The easy way out

So why do we find so many people saying that they are the same, even teachers in our schools and colleges? 

The first parable we read in today’s Gospel gives us the answer. 

In the parable, our Lord Jesus Christ assures us that there is a real difference between the weeds and the wheat. The word used for weeds is, literally, darnel. This is a poisonous weed that, in its early stages of growth, looks almost exactly like wheat. But darnel, even though it looks like wheat at first, in the end it will sicken or kill you if you eat it, whereas if you eat the wheat it will strengthen you. Darnel is definitely not good for us. When people eat its seeds, they get dizzy, off-balance and nauseous, its official name Lolium temulentum comes from a Latin word for “drunk”. 

The weeds, or the darnel, Jesus explains, stand for unrepentant sinners, people whose first priority is themselves, people who use others for their own advancement or pleasure, instead of serving them. 

Jesus clearly states that these unrepentant sinners will end up in hell,

the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:42

The wheat stand for the righteous, those who resisted the seductions of evil, repented from their sins, and battled against selfishness in order to follow Jesus Christ. 

Jesus says that these will enter into the joy of eternal life, shining

like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Matthew 13:43

All of this makes us very uncomfortable. We live in a fallen world. It is hard for us to resist the tugs of selfishness and sin. We prefer to give in to them, at least a little bit — it’s easier! Now, if all religions are the same, then I am free to pick and choose what I like from any of them, putting together my own personal religion according to my own personal tastes, it’s like putting together a collage of photos from different magazines. That way, I can include compassion, but not include hell, sin, repentance, and judgment. In other words, believing that all religions are the same gives me the perfect excuse for doing whatever I please in life: it turns me into my own god. 

That’s the Devil’s oldest trick — just ask Adam and Eve. 

Keeping our faith strong

In the Gospeal according to St John we read that:

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life.

John 3:16

Believing in Jesus, our faith, is our connection to salvation. But it is possible for that connection to become weak, like a mobile-phone connection when you’re travelling through rural Ireland. When our faith weakens, we become more vulnerable to temptations of laziness, selfishness, lust, greed, and all the sins that damage or destroy our friendship with Christ. 

How can we keep the faith-connection strong? By doing two things. 

First, we can exercise our faith. The more we use it, the stronger it gets. The less we use it, the weaker it gets. If you know a foreign language but never use it, it gets rusty, and then when you really need it, you suffer. We can use our faith every day simply by taking the time to pray, to read Web-sites, articles, or books that give the Christian perspective on current events, and by informing and obeying our conscience — the voice of God guiding our behaviour. 

Second, we can keep our faith strong by sharing it with others. Many people do not know Jesus Christ, or they have forgotten about him, or they have the wrong idea about him. And so they are looking for happiness in the wrong places. It is up to us to reach out to them, by our words and actions, bearing witness to the truth and the goodness of Christianity. 

This week, let us live with a deep sense of gratitude for the gift of faith which connects us to the one, true God, and let’s promise the Lord that we will do our part to keep that faith strong, and to share it with others. 

This time of lockdown has given many people opportunities for some extra study. I am pleased to say that I am one of them. I have just completed a five hour course in Liturgical Theology from The Liturgical Institute of the University of St Mary of the Lake, Illinois, USA. The course had five classes:

• Defining Liturgy
• Liturgical Theology
• Liturgical Sacraments
• Liturgical Asceticism
• Liturgical Mysticism

Instructor: Dr David Fagerberg

Dr David Fagerberg holds a B.A. from Augsburg College (1972), M.Div. from Luther Northwestern Seminary (1977), M.A. from St. John’s University, Collegeville (1982), S.T.M. from Yale Divinity School (1983), and M.A., M.Phil., and PhD. from Yale University (1991). He taught in the Religion Department of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, from 1988-2001; the Liturgical Institute at Mundelein Seminary 2002-03; he has been at Notre Dame since 2003. His area of study is liturgical theology – its definition and methodology – and how the Church’s lex orandi (law of prayer) is the foundation for her lex credendi (law of belief). He also has interests in sacramental theology, Eastern Orthodoxy, linguistic philosophy, scholasticism, G. K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis.

https://liturgy.teachable.com/courses/1032988/author_bio

There are other courses in the series and I am thinking of looking at completing more of them. Although the courses are well and truly from a Roman Catholic point of view, it is useful for me generally within the other Christian communities in which I play the organ or with whom I worship.

All religions are not the same

It is common in today’s world to run into people who believe that all religions are basically the same. In fact, it is even becoming common to run into Anglicans or Catholics who have adopted this viewpoint. It is considered the tolerant, open-minded point of view. But in reality, it is just the opposite: it is the most close-minded and intolerant viewpoint someone could have in regards to religion. 

Human nature is the same wherever we find human beings. Human nature always has the same basic needs and problems—biological, emotional, and spiritual. Every religion tries to address those basic needs—for happiness and meaning, for example. Every religion tries to solve those basic problems—sin and forgiveness, and life after death, for example. In other words, all religions have to deal with the same basic human condition. This is why some people try to claim that all religions are the same. 

The interesting thing is that different religions actually deal with those basic problems and needs in different ways. Atheistic religions say there is no god at all. Pantheistic religions say that everything in the universe is part of god and identical to god. Polytheistic religions say that the divine realms is full of numerous, competing gods. Monotheistic religions, like Christianity, believe in one, all-powerful, eternal God. 

The differences don’t stop there. Inside each of those groups are different variations. Each variation presents its own view about the nature of God, the nature of salvation and happiness, and how salvation can be found. This is why it is a sign of close-mindedness or laziness to simply say that all religions are the same: it is a refusal to show any respect at all to what religious people really believe.

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Christianity comes to ancient England

In the history of Christian missionary activity, there are many great examples of what true open-mindedness really is. When St Francis of Assisi set out to evangelise the Muslims, he did not use violence and accusations, or threats and tricks. He listened sincerely and explained patiently. His dream of converting them all did not come true, but one of the Muslim leaders he befriended became a Christian on his deathbed. 

When Christian missionaries first came to the pagan kingdoms of ancient England, Edwin, the King of the Angles, met with his royal counsellors to discuss how the missionaries should be received. One of the King’s wise advisors gave the following speech:

“The present life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift of a sparrow through the [banquet] room wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad. The sparrow, I say, flying in, at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry storm. But after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant. If therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed.”

St Bede the Venerable, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, (Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), Penguin Classics 1990, first published 731. 

All religions are not the same. If they were, our Lord Jesus Christ would never have come to earth to teach us the truth. But He did come, and His answers to life’s biggest questions are the greatest treasure we possess. 

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Christianity defends religious freedom

It is because we, as Christians, recognise that all religions do not offer the same explanations and solutions to the human condition that we, as Christians, are so firmly committed to religious freedom. 

The Church teaches that religious freedom, the freedom to believe, worship, and live in accordance with one’s religious beliefs, is a basic human right. This is because a relations with God is one of the most basic human needs and duties—it is as basic for the human mind and soul as food and water are for the human body. Christians defend this right not because we think all religions are equally true, but because we recognise that every human heart must be free to search for God without being forced. 

If all religions were the same, then religious freedom would have no meaning. Religion itself, in fact, would have no meaning. It would be nothing more than a personal hobby, with no real truth or relevance for society. This is exactly what many lawmakers (and even some Scouters) say at the moment. They want to take religion out of social life (or out of Scouting) and keep it behind closed doors. But that policy backfires: it turns atheism into the required public religion—violating the human right to religious liberty. 

Of course, freedom of religion is not limitless. It is not the only human right. No one has a right to use religion as an excuse for injustice. 

As Benedict XVI said in a meeting with leaders from different religions:

“In the face of a world torn apart by conflicts, where violence in God’s Name is at times justified, it is important to reaffirm that religions can never become vehicles of hatred; it is never possible, invoking God’s Name, to succeed in justifying evil and violence.”

Greeting of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Meeting of the Heads of the Delegations taking part in the International Encounter for Peace, 21 October 2007, Archdiocesan Seminary at Capodimonte, Naples. http://www.vatican.va/ [accessed 2020-06-06]

All religions are not the same. They give different answers to life’s biggest questions. Today, as we profess our faith in the one, true God, the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity, let us thank God for showing us the true answer to all those questions: Our Lord Jesus Christ. And let us renew our commitment to live as true Christians, so that those around us who are still looking for answers, will find Jesus Christ in us. 

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Having grown up with the police service in Northern Ireland known almost universally by its abbreviation of RUC, for Royal Ulster Constabulary, it was probably inevitable that its successor the Police Service of Northern Ireland would become known by its four intial letters, the PSNI. I am pleased that the Chief Constable has said that he wants the service to be rebranded as “Police Service NI”. It puts their role back to the forefront of their brand. I think that is very important.

Agreed in 2001, the badge of the Police Service of Northern Ireland,

features a Saint Patrick’s Cross surrounded by six symbols – a harp, crown, shamrock, laurel leaf, torch and scales of justice.

BBC News, “Board Agrees on NI police badge”, http://news.bbc.co.uk/ [accessed 2020-06-06]

Whilst the rebranding of the Royal Ulster Constabulary to the Police Service of Northern Ireland was painful for many in Northern Ireland, this rebrand should be painless.

Chief Constable Simon Byrnes said:

Policing is so much more than an acronym – which is why our brand review is focussing on using ‘Police Service NI’ as opposed to ‘PSNI’. Our current brand is simply the crest and we aim to enhance this to better reflect the breadth and depth of what we do and to improve our connection to our communities.

“We are keen to bring consistency and a fresher look to the Police Service NI brand and imagery across our digital platforms, publications, building signage, livery and our website. Alongside this, we are reviewing our uniform and our vehicle fleet signage. It is important to highlight that we are not changing the crest or the name of the Service as both are representative of the service we deliver and are set in law.

“We have already briefed the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the Justice Minister and the Police Federation on our plans and will be starting a consultation process over the summer months that will continue into the Autumn to get your views before returning to the Policing Board with an update on the final proposals.

Police Service NI, Chief Constable introduces draft visuals for new Police Service NI branding, https://www.psni.police.uk/news/ [accessed 2020-06-06]

I notice that in the reversed version of the proposed new brand, the name of the organisation has been removed from the circle around the badge. I presume this is because the name is alongside the badge. The symbols that are so important to the badge are now clearer in the white version of the badge so I hope that this rebrand will get the support and go ahead following consultation.

Rebrands often seem to cost huge amounts of money, I am glad to hear that all work done thus far has been done by the inhouse designer so thus far it is cost neutral. Obviously, organisations rebranding have to invest in new signage and in new livery for vehicles, but as we all know signage and livery has to be redone regularly to look the best, so I am sure that it will be done at the approriate time.

Well done for the proposed brand refresh.

The Holy Spirit works quietly

We all like spectacular fireworks. They are exciting, impressive, exhilarating. The Church’s first Pentecost had some spectacular fireworks. The Apostles and other Christians were gathered “all together in one place”. Where that was precisely, we do not know.  It was probably somewhere inside or near the Temple in Jerusalem as right after the fireworks, crowds started to gather. It may have been the same large room where our Lord and the Apostles had eaten the last Supper. Nothing is certain. 

So, they were all in one place, then a thunderous noise like a strong wind, like a tornado, came from the sky. And then flames appeared. Flames of fire just appeared out of nowhere—spontaneously—hovering in the air. These flames divided up and started floating through the air until they came to rest on each of the people gathered there. 

The fireworks didn’t stop there. All of a sudden, the Christians present started speaking in languages that they did not know. A crowd had gathered by now, an international crowd, with visitors from all over the world who were in Jerusalem for the festival. Each one heard the Christians explaining the Gospel in their own language. 

This was a dramatic, spectacular display. 

We would be wrong to conclude from this spectacular display that this is the Holy Spirit’s normal way of acting in our life. In fact, it is just the opposite. God’s action in our life most often is gentle, hardly perceptible at first. How does our Lord send the Spirit to the Apostles after his Resurrection? He breathes on them—quietly and subtly. How does St Paul describe the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church? Like the soul of a body—powerful, essential, but invisible, subtle. 

The Holy Spirit works quietly. 

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The example of Mary

Consider the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Bible tells us that the Blessed Virgin Mary was right there in the Upper Room, waiting with the Apostles for the coming of the Holy Spirit. She was the mother who had given birth to the head of the Church, our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, in Bethlehem. And now she is the mother who is helping to give birth to the rest of the body of the Church at Pentecost. 

What was she doing? Praying with them certainly. But she was probably also serving them, being a mother tom them in the midst of their confusion and nervousness. They probably asking her about her son, Jesus, and listening—maybe for the very first time—to the story of His birth and childhood. Maybe this was when they first heard about the Annunciation, the day that the Archangel Gabriel came to her and explained that “The Holy Spirit will overshadow you and you will conceive”. She probably told them about the many conversations she had in her heart with the Holy Spirit after that day, the ones St Luke referred to in in his Gospel when he wrote: “And Mary kept all these things, contemplating them in her heart.”

This is the key. To contemplate is to go over an idea in the silence of your mind and converse about it with God. That is what Our Blessed Lady Mary was always doing. Becoming the spouse of the Holy Spirit did not bring fireworks and fancy balls into her life, it brought meaning, mission, wisdom, and courage—and just as seeds take root and grow in the unseen darkness of the soil, these virtues take root and grow in the quiet centre of the soul. 

Quiet, gentle, unseen, yet powerful, transforming, and everlasting—that’s the work of the Holy Spirit. 

St Teresa of Calcutta put it beautifully when she said: 

“God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers, grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

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Obeying the quiet voice

There is only one condition attached to the gift of the Holy Spirit. To experience God’s transforming presence in our lives, we have to obey His will out of love. “If anyone loves me, he will carefully keep my word,” as Our Lord Jesus says in the Gospel. 

All of us here today want to obey God’s will in our lives—some want to do so passionately, others with reluctance, but we all want to—otherwise we would not be here. But how do we know what God’s will is? 

The Holy Spirit quietly reveals God’s will to us in two ways. 

First, He inspires and guides the teaching of the Church. 

We have the commandments of the Bible; the instructions of the Catechism; the examples of the saints; the regular updates from the writings of our spiritual leaders. The Holy Spirit wants us to know how a Christian ought to live, He gives us the Church to keep us posted. In this way the Church is like the conductor of a symphony: we have to keep our eyes on its leader if we want to play our part well. 

But the Church can only give commandments and guidelines that apply to everyone. That tells God’s will 85% of the time. 15% of the time we are faced with opportunities and challenges unique to the circumstances of our life. That is when the Holy Spirit guides us more personally, through inspirations, through His seven Gifts; the Gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord. 

In both ways, He is hard at work, quietly but surely, building up our happiness and the happiness of all around us. 

Today, let us renew our commitment to follow and obey—not to experience spiritual fireworks, but in order to feed the fire of God’s love in our hearts, the fire whose light and heat we all need so much. 

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