Redemptorist News
SOUL-FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY ADULT: JANUARY 13, 2013, FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD.
SOUL-FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY ADULT: JANUARY 13, 2013, FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD.
(Readings from Year C. Readings for this Sunday are from the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Year C; Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11. St. Paul’s Letter to Titus, 2:11-14, and 3:4-7. Gospel, St. Luke 3:15-16, 21-22. )
The Christmas tree has been taken down, the decorations are all put away, children are back at school again, and life returns to a wonderful normal again.
Or maybe, it’s not such a wonderful ‘normal’ at all: the civil war in Syria that has killed over 60,000 people by now: the gang-rape and death of that young Indian woman in Delhi. The tragic death of climber Ian McKeever on Kilimanjaro, with the lightening strike. Deaths at our own door steps, from murder, or from house fires. Violent protests in the North of Ireland, over the Union flag. Life goes on.
And where does this feast, this celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, fit in to all of our
lives today? Is there some hope, there? And what about Isaiah, and the Lord’s words ‘Console my people, console them’ says the Lord. (First Reading, today). There’s joy, there’s deliverance coming for them,-shout out without fear ‘Here is your God!’, from the mountain-tops. He will come and be like a shepherd, gathering lambs in his arms, leading the mother ewes to their rest. It’s a great passage at the start of the Second Book of Isaiah (Chapter 40, of Isaiah), when the people were almost without hope. The Jewish people were captives in Bablyon (Iraq today) from about 582- 538 BC. The prophet tells them that their exile is nearly over, they will be going home and the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. These events were hugely significant for the Jewish people, and they did return home and the temple was rebuilt. ‘Console my people, console them!’ A wonderful reading to steep ourselves in, from the start of Chapter 40 of Isaiah. It’s uplifting.
And Paul speaks, in the Second Reading (Titus 2:11-14, and 3:4-7) about what the Lord has done for the whole human race,- bringing us home again ‘when the kindness and love of God our saviour for mankind were revealed’,- all because the Lord wanted to do so, and not because of any good behaviours by us. A free gift to the Beloved!
And then, the Baptism of Jesus,- a moment of revelation when Jesus is revealed, and he experiences in all his humanity that he is indeed ‘My Son, the Beloved, on whom my favour rests’. He is filled with the Holy Spirit to brimming point, he is ‘steeped’ in the heart of God, in the love of God for all humankind. He has that great moment of awareness that he is loved, and that he has a mission to accomplish in the world, for the whole world.
This Jesus of Nazareth- he is God’s Son, God’s Beloved. He is the Anointed One, 
or ‘The Christ’ of God.
And John said that ‘He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire’; Jesus will, if we welcome him and recognise him as the One Sent by God. Our hearts will become filled with the Holy Spirit, and there will be fire in our bellies,- with love for life and people and creation and the Creator. With the Holy Spirit, there will be fire-works of a different kind.
So, to bring all of this into the present, into the ‘Life goes on as normal’ scene. How families and society would be changed if people did have this Spirit of God in them that Jesus will baptize them in, if they follow him! A people on fire, a people caring, thoughtful, resourceful, enthusiastic for the world around us. That’s why Jesus wants to baptize us, to steep us, to ‘marinate’ us, in the very same Spirit that was in himself.
The late Fr. Jack McArdle told of an elderly nun who came up to him once after a talk on the Holy Spirit, and said to him: ‘You know what you were just talking about, in there? Well, I want it ALL, and I want it NOW!’
Just be in prayer, quietly, in your day to day life, with a hunger for the Promise of God, and the moment will come, in God’s time, when you will experience this ‘baptism’ in your life. It’s a promise that John made, for our generation too. It’s what Jesus does.
Fr. Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
Soul Food for Young Adults: Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2013.
Soul Food for Young Adults: Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 2013.
Letter to Sinead and Mark,- two young adults:
Jesus is Light for all the nations! The Star shines over every human on the planet. Today is an AHA! Day for the whole planet.
Dear Sinead and Mark,
How’s the New Year for you? Hope it’s been good, and that you have had a chance to enjoy the people around you, especially your family.
Can I get over a big word, first? ‘Epiphany’ comes from a Greek word, and it means a moment of revelation, when something suddenly becomes clear, and is seen for what it is. It’s usually an AHA! Moment. I’m sure you have had some of them in your lives, when you stand with your mouth open in amazement and joy.
And in the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, some time after his birth, along come some wise men from way in the East. They had travelled a long while, moved by something deep within, seeking someone: ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’, they asked. ‘We saw his star at it rose, and have come to do him homage.’
And wise men and women are still journeying, still seeking something or Someone beyond their vision.
I had a dream a couple of years ago, in which three scientists were coming to meet with some people of faith. When asked what they were looking for, these were the words I heard, and I turned over and scribbled them down: ‘We wanted to know their God of welcome, doubt and pain’.
Wise people still look for Him, the God of welcome, doubt and pain,- and joy for world.
Joy to the World! So, this feast of The Epiphany of Our Lord is when we celebrate in the Christian Community the occasion when the Infant Jesus was revealed to a wider world,- to people far beyond the boundaries of Palestine, and to the ends of the earth. So, whether you are in Galway, Sydney, Dubai, Canada, Maine, or wherever- He is revealed today for you. He was revealed to the Magi and to those who sought him. He is still being revealed, in this as in every generation. He is our Star ! O Come, all ye faithful,…O Come, let us adore him! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdMeDrLQJ9M
The Star of Bethlehem shines over these two children of God, also.
The Star shines over every land and nation, over every human on the planet. For a very personal account of two young people’s recent meeting with great poverty and suffering, with HIV-Aids in South Africa this past Summer, take a few moments to read Declan Murphy’s diary and Lindsay Cleary’s account of their experiences with SERVE, in SERVE lindsay@serve.ie It will be an e-opener for you!
Best wishes and prayers for the week ahead. Follow your Star! Then Be a Star!
Seamus.
Soul Food for the Hungry Adult: Feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord, Jan.6, 2013
Soul Food for the Hungry Adult:
FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD: JAN 6, 2012
Do you know that there is a STAR shining over YOU? You are the place now where Christ is dwelling. And the person beside you? The star is shining over him or her, right now. And today is our AHA! Day! Why? Because the Light has come into the whole world, has shone on the whole world and every person on the planet, past, present and future. That’s what Epiphany means.
The Day of the Epiphany is the day when we remember the wise people who came looking for Jesus, and followed the star which shone over him. It’s the day when Jesus was revealed to the wider world,- to the whole world. He has come for each and for all, for the human race.
‘Epiphany’ means the Showing, the Revealing, the moment when our eyes are opened and we see something or someone clearly for who he or she is. And this Epiphany, celebrated today, is the revealing of Jesus of Nazareth to the whole world. The Son of God, the ‘Infant King of the Jews’. Later, at the very end, ‘The King of the Jews’ will be written over his head in three languages.
So, today, we in our generation are invited to ‘follow the star’ and seek out the infant king of the Jews so that we too may ‘come to do him homage’.
The Star of God is shining on each, on all !
And as we look at Syria, or Sub-Saharan Africa, or at any other country presently struggling with war or hunger, we remember that, yes, there is a star over every one of those places, and there is where we will find Christ, among the poor and the hungry and those suffering from HIV-Aids.
For a very personal account of two young people’s recent meeting with such poverty and suffering, take a few moments to read Declan Murphy’s diary and Lindsay Cleary’s account of their experiences this past Summer in South Africa. SERVE lindsay@serve.ie
It will be an eye-opener for you. And that, after all, is what ‘epiphanies’ are all about.
Happy Little Christmas! Nollaig Shona na mBan!
Fr. Seamus.
P.S. Google ‘The Journey of the Magi’ by T.S. Eliot.
Soul Food for Young Adults: Letter to Sinead and Mark: January 1, 2013
Soul Food for Young Adults: Letter to Sinead and Mark: January 1, 2013.
Feast of Mary, the Mother of God…. and our Mother, our LADY.
The Mother of Perpetual Help
Sinead and Mark are two young adults.
Dear Sinead and Mark,
For this New Year’s Day 2013, and on the Feast of Mary, Mother of God, I leave you with a short poem I wrote while sitting in my car in County Galway, on the second day of this Millenium. The Millenium was not just a calendar event, but a festive event, celebrating 2000 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. I was moved to pull in the car into a lay-by, and put this on paper. I share it with you.
“NO ANGEL HE BUT SON OF GOD”
If God had sent an Angel, not a SON,-
where would we find a crib,
or touch a cross?
Where would the blood have been,
or piece of bread?
Would we have felt his hand
upon our head?
He sent a SON.
For me he died.
He lives with me,
my Risen Lord.
No Angel He
but Son of God.
Poem by Fr. Seamus Devitt, C.Ss.R., written on the second morning of this millenium,- January 2nd, 2000
Find under ‘Millenium’ in www.emptifulvessels.com/millenium
I wish you a very Happy New Year for 2013, and many many blessings! May Mary your Mother, and Mother of God, be always with you to help you, throughout the year. Seamus.
Soul Food for the Hungry Adult: New Year’s Day, January 1, 2013.
January 1st, 2013: Feast of Mary, Mother of God. 
(Readings: Numbers 6:22-27, Galatians 4:4-7, Luke 2:16-21.)
A BLESSING: How about this for a blessing, to start a new year? It’s a famous Jewish blessing,- (from the First Reading for this Feast)-
‘May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord let his face shine on you and be gracious to you. Mary the Lord uncover his face to you and bring you peace.’
And then from the Gospel for this feast of Mary (Luke 2:16-21): ‘As for Mary, she treasured all these thing and pondered them in her heart.‘ Early on in the history of the Church, from the 4th century, she was eventually proclaimed truly Mother of Jesus, the Redeemer and Son of God, and given the title ‘Theotokos’, meaning Mother of God. And today we celebrate her, Mother of Jesus and Mother of who are the Body of Christ. We call her OUR LADY!
———————
This poem-reflection was written in Co. Galway, by the road-side, on the second day of this Millenium. The celebration of the Millenium, for Christians, was about 2000 years since the birth of Jesus Christ. I was deeply moved with awe at this. (Originally, this was entitled ‘Millenium’)
“NO ANGEL HE BUT SON OF GOD”
If God had sent an Angel, not a SON,-
where would we find a crib,
or touch a cross?
Where would the blood have been,
or piece of bread?
Would we have felt his hand
upon our head?
He sent a SON.
For me he died.
He lives with me,
my Risen Lord.
No Angel He
but Son of God.
Poem by Fr. Seamus Devitt, C.Ss.R., written on the second morning of this millenium,- January 2nd, 2000
Find under ‘Millenium’ in www.emptifulvessels.com/millenium
Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!
Seamus. seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
Wholly Family!- The Holy Family. Sunday December 30, 2012.
SOUL FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY ADULT: Dec. 30th, 2012
I got this from a website called Skin Ministries: I was looking for the story about ‘a God with skin on him,- about the boy that was crying and him Mom tried to comfort him by telling him that he would be ok, because God was with him all the time. I found this:
1 John 4.12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
A little boy was scared and wanted to crawl into his parents bed. They told him not to be scared because God was in his room. The little boy said, “But mom, I need God with skin on him.”
When I talk to people about God, it isn’t what I say that they pay attention to, it is what I do. Do I talk about loving the unlovable, but only love the lovable? Do I talk about forgiveness, but hold grudges in my heart?
The way we live our lives makes a difference in how people understand those ideas and so much more. We make God real when we demonstrate love to the unlovable. When we forgive someone, they can start to believe that God can forgive them, too.
Skin Ministries is about helping people put ‘skin’ on their faith.
SO… on this Sunday, December 30th, 2012, when we celebrate the Feast of the Holy
A Palestinian Boy, with the same skin-colour as Jesus,- as God!
Family, and think of Jesus growing up in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, maybe we could look at them as ‘Wholly Family’! Not wooly, but wholly! In other words, they all got stuck in to being together, looking out for one another, caring, wiping tears, cleaning the house, preparing the food, doing the daily work, having plenty of laughs and of fun, going for walks, giving little Jesus the ‘UpsyDaisy’ treatment, as they swung him between them as they walked along. They were very ordinary, and very human. Jesus has skin on him, and so had Mary and Joseph. And Jesus of Nazareth was and is ‘God with skin on him’. That’s what the word Incarnation means,- ’in flesh’,- having skin and bones and blood and flesh and breath. They were wholly human, and, like every other human on the planet, immensely sacred and precious.
And being Wholly Family means being Wholly Neighbours as well. That’s what we all need in our country at this time,- to be wholly for people, like Jesus,- to let God have skin in us!
1 John 4.12 says, “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Fr. Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
SOUL FOOD FOR YOUNG ADULTS: ‘Dear Sinead and Mark’: Christmas Day 2012
SOUL FOOD FOR YOUNG ADULTS:
'So the shepherds hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger.'
A Christmas Letter to Sinead and Mark, two young adults:
Dear Sinead, Dear Mark,
Here’s wishing you a truly blessed Christmas, filled with wonder.
Today, I simply give you a story written by a man called John Shea, and it’s called
Sharon’s Prayer
She was five, sure of the facts, and recited them with slow solemnity convinced every word was revelation. She said they were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat and they went a long way from home without getting lost. The lady rode a donkey, the man walked, and the baby was inside the lady. They had to stay in a stable with an ox and an ass (hee-hee) but the Three Rich Men found them because a star lited the roof. Shepherds came and you could pet the sheep but not feed them. Then the baby was borned. And do you know who he was? Her quarter eyes inflated to silver dollars. The baby was God. And she jumped in the air whirled round, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation.
- John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected Allan, Texas: Argus Communications, c1977. 1st edition.
‘Incarnation‘- (from the Latin words in & carne, in & flesh) when ‘The Word was made flesh, and set up his tent among us‘ (John 1:14). God, our Creator, in our human flesh, one of us, and still God. His name? JESUS of Nazareth. ‘ The baby was God. And she jumped in the air whirled round, dove into the sofa and buried her head under the cushion which is the only proper response to the Good News of the Incarnation’.
God’s blessings be on you both and on your families and friends. Drink a toast to such wonder-full love, today!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
Soul Food for the Hungry Adult: December 25, 2012: ‘Christmas, Present!’
Soul Food for the Hungry Adult: ’CHRISTMAS, PRESENT’ !
“THE WORD BECAME FLESH; he lived among us, and we saw his glory.” (John 1:14) (from the Gospel for the Midday Mass on Christmas Day)
'So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in a manger'
From T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets:
‘We had the experience but missed the meaning.
‘Human kind cannot bear very much reality.
‘And all is always now. Words strain, crack and sometimes break, under the burden.
‘The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation.’
‘The Word became flesh’. ’Et Verbum caro factum est!’ ‘Et incarnatus est.’
Incarnation: How can we cope with this wonder, except in silence?
Have a Wonder-Filled Christ-Mass! Because ‘The Word became flesh’ !
————————-
From John Betjeman, Poet Laureate: CHRISTMAS:
‘And is it true? and is it true?
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?…
No love that in a family dwells,
No carolling in frosty air,
Nor all the steeple-shaking bells
Can with this single Truth compare -
That God was Man in Palestine
And lives to-day in Bread and Wine.
— John Betjeman (1906 – 1984)
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R. seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
Soul Food for Hungry Adults: 4th Sunday of Advent, Dec.23, 2012
Sunrise on December 21st, 2012, Winter Solstice, on Dominic's Hill, at Esker Monastery and Retreat Centre, Athenry, Co. Galway.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: SOUL FOOD FOR HUNGRY ADULTS: DEC.23, 2012. Gospel Reading: Luke 1:39-44. Micah 5:1-4, Hebrews 10:5-10
The food is in; the presents are nearly all bought; the decorations and the tree are all ready; the Christmas lights are in place. All is ready, – but still we are waiting, excited and full of expectation: He Who is to Come is nearly here.
We’re waiting for the dawn of a new day!
‘And the child in my womb leapt for joy!’ When Mary arrived at her door, when Elizabeth heard the greeting coming from outside in the yard, the six-month old baby in the womb ‘leapt for joy’ at the voice of Mary,- ‘Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ And our hearts are ready to jump with joy. We’re waiting, counting the hours almost. ‘Are we there yet, are we there yet?’
The house is ready. But are our hearts just as ready, lit up with joy because of the coming of the Master, Jesus, the Son of Mary, the Son of the Most High? He will come again, as if for the very first time. Remember your first kiss? Remember your first embrace? Remember the first time you welcomed Jesus with your whole heart and into your whole heart. It’s happening again in two days time,- as if for the very first time!
A few nuggats from the readings for this 4th and last Sunday of Advent: pick any one and let your heart digest it joyfully:
- ‘Let the earth bring forth a Saviour’
- ‘Let us pray as Advent closes that Christ will truly come into our hearts.’
- ‘He will stand and feed his flock with the majesty of the name of his God.’ (Micah).
- ‘Let your face shine on us and we will be saved.’
- ‘God, here I am! I am coming to obey your will.’
- ‘His will for us was to be made holy by the offering of his body one and for all by Jesus Christ.’ (Hebrews)
- ‘As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt
'The child in my womb leapt for joy!'
in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.’
- ‘Of all women you are the most blessed!
- ‘And blessed is the fruit of your womb ‘(Jesus).
- ‘Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?’
- ‘For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.’
- ‘Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
We’re nearly there!
Seamus Devitt C.Ss.R.
email: seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
Soul Food for Young Adults: 4th Sunday of Advent, Dec. 23, 2012. ‘Dear Sinead and Mark’
Sunrise from Dominic's Hill, December 21, 2012, the Winter Solstice, from Dominic's Hill, Esker Monastery & Retreat Centre, Athenry, Co. Galway.
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT, Dec. 23, 2012. (Gospel: Luke 1:39-44)
Letter to Sinead and Mark,- two young adults.
Dear Sinead and Mark,
As a child and young boy, I would sit out on the wall of the front garden of our house on the Navan Road in Dublin, waiting and waiting,- waiting for the arrival of Uncle Tadhg and Auntie Nell, and for our cousins. I would sit for ages, looking at every car that approached from the distance. I was excited and full of expectation.
The other morning, I stood on Dominic’s Hill,
Awaiting the dawn, Dec. 18th, 2012, on Dominic's Hill, near the Redemptorist Retreat Centre, Esker, Atnenry, Co. Galway
near our monastery here in Esker, to watch for the sunrise, around the shortest day of the year. The sky was lit up beautifully with colour for a good while before the moment of sunrise. I waited, watching, knowing that the moment would eventually arrive, but the waiting was wonderful,- wonder-full! There was this quiet excitement of expectation of something special. The waiting itself was really memorable for me, as the moment grew closer and closer.
And that’s how I feel, this weekend. We’re almost there. (‘Are we there yet?’) We are waiting for the One who is called ‘the Rising Sun’ (Luke, Chapter 1). The moment is almost upon us, when He who is to come will arrive again for us, as if for the first time. As we wait, even as adults we are as excited as children waiting for their presents.
In our generation, as in every generation before us, He is looking for a place in which to lay his head,- he is looking for hearts that are wide open in welcome to him.
Put a candle in the window of your heart and home, to invite him to come and stay. “Let us pray as Advent closes that Christ will truly come into our hearts.”
‘Are we there yet?’ Almost.
Fr. Seamus
P.S. here are some of the wonderful lines from the readings for this 4th Sunday of Advent: pick any one of them to ponder on, for these couple of days:
‘As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leapt in
'The child in my womb leapt for joy!'
her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.’
Of all women you are the most blessed!
And blessed is the fruit of your womb (Jesus).
Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?
For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy.’
Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’
email address: seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com
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