What is the Question? 

Gospel: Matthew 3:13-17:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.   John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?”  Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him.

After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him.  And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son,^* with whom I am well pleased.”

Today’s Question: Are you steeped in Jesus? 

Click here for Mass Readings for this Sunday. Gospel is Matthew 24:37-44. Find it in your own Bible.

(Greetings to the Leaving Cert Students from Tulla, in County Clare! Thanks for coming to Esker! It was a delight to have you here for these two days! Best wishes and every blessing!)

Dear Friends,

Have you ever noticed at traffic lights, that when the little red man pops up, it warns us that we as pedestrians must stop!!! Then, after waiting, waiting and some more waiting, finally his green counterpart awakens and we can then proceed safely with our journey. Everything we do in life involves a somewhat waiting process. And all for good reason, though at the time we feel delayed and held back. It’s true what they say ‘good things come to those who wait’.

As we enter the Season of Advent, we begin the wait for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The word Advent itself comes from the Latin  word adventus, which means arrival or coming. As St. Paul tells us in the second reading today “this is the time to awake, for our salvation is now nearer than when we first believed”. This is a solemn time when we prepare our hearts for His wonderful coming. Just as with the traffic lights, each week as we journey deeper and deeper into this mystery

The coming Light is Christ.

another light beckons us further and further on our way, moving closer to Jesus. Finally, the White candle is ignited, and all life is changed, and we are changed by its radiance. That radiance is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Light that beckons us forward, like the little green man at the lights, but just like that, we must wait with anticipation for Him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us to “Stay awake, then, for you do not know on what day your Lord will come”. This calls for alertness and readiness on our part. We must be ready for that moment when the Lord comes. The moment He entered this realm of flesh, He was a tiny infant. So small and fragile. But still, he came, after a long wait. Jesus points out that the coming of the Son of Man will be similar to the time of Noah “before the flood”.

When He comes, everything will be like new, just like after the flood. But when this time is due, no one knows, because “if the owner of the house knew that the thief would come by night around a certain hour, he would stay awake to prevent his house to be broken in to”. There is one song we sing at Mass during this time that I love, it’s called ‘Stay Awake, Be Ready’, which I learned a few years ago in a choir I once belonged to. We would clap our hands between Stay Awake, and Be Ready. To reflect now, the clapping reminds me of the ticking of a clock. At each clap, the hand moves closer and closer to the hour, the time, the moment when the Lord will come “the night is almost over and day is at hand”.

So, friends, stay awake, be ready and prepare your heart for His coming.

God bless,

Sarah.

Salvador Dali's ' Crucifixion'

Today, we celebrate the final Sunday of the Church’s Year, Feast of “Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe”.

The Gospel is from Luke 23: 36-43. Find it in your Bible, or click here for Mass Readings for this Sunday.

Greetings to the young men and women, Leaving Cert Students from St. Brendan’s Community School in Birr, Co. Offaly, who were with us on retreat during this past week! Thanks for being here, you were a real joy to be with.

Dear Friends,

Sometimes in life, we are caught by surprise when we find things turned upside down, or back-to-front,-  when we are, literally, caught by surprise. We don’t expect the unexpected! A very young person, a child maybe, turns out to be very wise. A shy person we know turns out to have a wonderful smile. And someone we thought didn’t deserve a second look, suddenly captivates you by who they really are, or by something wonderful they do. The way we thought about that person isn’t in fact the real person at all.

Jesus surprises people all the time.

How about the no-hoper on Calvary, who was hanging on one side of Jesus while his companion-in-crime was hanging on the other side? As his life was ebbing away, and he

I.N.R.I.

was in the last hour or so before death, he saw the man in the middle, and the sign that was nailed above his head, detailing his ‘crime’ for which he was being put to death. It was written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, for all passers-by to read.  It read, in Latin, ‘IESUS NAZARENUS, REX IUDEORUM’, or ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’.  (We see it on our crucifix with just the first letters I.N.R.I.) Then he saw the ‘crown’ on this king’s head,- thorns twisted together into a crown of mockery. And, for all his suffering, this ‘king’ was calm. We’re told by Luke that ‘the people stayed there, watching Jesus’.

One criminal began to mock Jesus, telling him to get them all down from their crosses. The other one, however, rebuked him, and then turned to this ‘king’ beside him and simply said ‘ Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.’ He was the only one in the whole place to call him by his first name, ‘Jesus’ (it means ‘saviour’).

The ‘king’ beside him, – and he really was and is ‘king’ of people’s hearts- turned and answered him: ‘this day, you will be with me in paradise’. The thief had stolen heaven by simply turning to Jesus, the saviour-king.

A famous French painter, George Rouault, often painted Jesus looking like a clown. This ‘king’ with a very strange ‘crown’ might look like a clown to many, but his whole life and love (‘greater love than this no-one has…’) tells us the deepest truth of all,- how immensely loved each one of us is by the One who has come to save us and set us free.

No hopers? Not any more! We sure have some ‘king’!

'Greater love than this no-one has...'

Fr. Seamus.   seamus.devittcssr@gmail.com

Click here to read ‘A CLOWN IS CROWNED’ in www.emptifulvessels.com.

Gospel:  LUKE 20:27-38  Click here for Sunday Readings for today, or find it in your own Bible or missal.

(Greetings this Sunday to the Leaving Certificate Students from Salerno School in Galway City, here in Esker for their Retreat! Thanks to you all! You were a delight. Every blessing on the year ahead.  Fr. S.)

Our reflection this week is written by Sarah Kelly.

Dear Friends,

Recently I watched a series on youtube called ‘What Would You Do?’. They are a sort of’ documentary. Now, if you’re like me at all, one episode isn’t enough. I became hooked.

The show is filmed by hidden cameras which are set up in various and different locations. In each scenario the camera, and directors, attempt to see how people will react to varying circumstances. In each setting, you see a different situation, and we see how people respond. In some, their actions are quite often heroic, but in others, you feel let down. But this is the idea. To monitor everyday normal people, and how they interact with very real and normal everyday encounters.

If we lived our lives as if no one was watching, I wonder how genuine we would be? Would our actions be motivated from a desire to help, purely because it is the right thing to do, or would we ignore the one in need because no one can see us. The lives we live in secret  are more visible than we might think. If we live our lives only pleasing people and God on a superficial level, but it doesn’t provoke a deeper response within us, then who are we really? God can see everything that we do, and the motivations behind them. St. Francis de Sales once noted that “we are sometimes so busy being good angels that we neglect to be good men and women”. What do you think of that? Does that make sense to you, and the way you are presently living? That far from doing something because you desire to help, you do it merely to look as if you are helping? One person who was filmed stated that ‘if I knew you were filming I would have helped’, and again ‘I should have said something’. But don’t feel bad, friends. Sometimes we try, and sometimes we can’t do anything. But next time, be more courageous and allow God to work through you.

We must constantly be alive to the present moment, and as Jesus teaches us in today’s Gospel “he is God of the living and not of the dead, and for him all are alive”. Each moment is a potential ‘Resurrection moment’, each moment has the capacity to create a new life, a new hope. That is the Paschal mystery  in which we hold firm our belief in Him who was raised from the dead, for our sake. Death has been conquered, so why do we rush around like we have no where to go? We are going somewhere… heaven. Today and every day, we must try and be a people of the now, living like Jesus, in the moment and ever ready to stand up for what is right regardless of what others may think.

So, my friends, take some time today to reflect on the words ‘what would I do’ in light of this Gospel. You are not living only for this world, but also “of the world to come”.

God bless,

Sarah.

P.S. ‘Paschal Mystery’ is our Christian shorthand for happened for us from Good Friday to Easter Sunday,- Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God, pouring out his life for the world/us, and through that total giving of himself for us,  becoming absolutely Alive -and we with him- in rising from Death. It’s awesome, -if we ponder it! We are Resurrection People, Easter People,- alive to our toe-nails! Read all about it, in the wonderful early Christian hymn that St. Paul quotes in Philippians 2: 5-11.   (Ed.)

 Click here to link to ‘Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities’ for this weekend.

Reflection written by John Doone, 3rd-level Student. (Ed.)

Tax collectors were not popular in Jesus day. People identified tax collectors with sinners. This career was associated with greed and left the poor struggling further financially. Tax collectors worked for the Roman Empire and were renowned for crippling people with these harsh taxes whilst taking a slice of the cake for themselves. We are told from scripture that Zacchaeus was a small man in stature. With his unpopular title as tax collector and being despised in society, I wonder if Zacchaeus felt very small inside too.

Jesus approaches Zacchaeus, remember; a despised member of the community. Seeing this contact being made between Jesus and a “sinner,” you can imagine the outbursts from the crowd: “But why Jesus are you spending time with such a nasty piece of work?” Well after all didn’t Jesus talk of Justice? “This man is a contributor to the poverty existent in the community, why won’t Jesus put Zacchaeus straight about his corruption!”

In the Gospel of John, speaking about Jesus we hear “he came to his own, but his own did not accept him.” Jesus is revolutionary, reaching out in love to those  that aren’t “popular” in society. That takes guts! Just like in today’s society, we too find it difficult to love the 21^st century Zacchaeus in the form of city bankers with their big bonuses every year. Instead of pointing the finger or condemning these bankers for their corruption, is it possible that we too can change the hardened of hearts by reaching out in friendship?

The message of “treat others as you would like to be treated yourself,” poses great difficulty to me especially. And maybe you too at times find it difficult to understand the relationship Jesus wants with us. Because God’s Love is unconditional we find ourselves struggling with it at times maybe saying – am I worthy of such Love? Or “but surely Jimmy down the road is a much better man than me; therefore deserving more of this special relationship Jesus offers!”

The key message in Luke’s Gospel shines out today as it surprisingly did to Zacchaeus too, in that there is no such thing as second class Christians in God’s kingdom! All are welcome.

Zach must have been very well off, with a career and income like his!  Yet with all this wealth and stature, he still climbed the tree to see Jesus. Why?

This would suggest Zacchaeus was in the search for something his life wasn’t providing.

'Change the name and the story is about you.'

Answers that would oppose the idea that only possessions brought happiness and contentment. Zach made a huge effort climbing the sycamore tree that day, and it did not go unnoticed by Jesus. You see it was his effort that impressed Jesus, not that he was a “perfect” man and had all the answers to all the questions life throws at us – his effort (good intentions)! Sometimes we as Christians trying to follow the path are led off track – this is of no interest to Jesus, he wants a friendship based on respect. And in order to gain this friendship all we need to do is ask. As in Matthew we hear Jesus reminding us “”Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Not only was it an effort for Zacchaeus to climb the tree, but metaphorically it must have been hard for him to jump down too! When Jesus asked him to come down from the tree and entertain him in his house, Zacchaeus must have been frightened at first – in jumping down from the tree he must acknowledge his ways and amend them. That’s a big jump! However what made it easy for Zacchaeus was the love Jesus witnessed to him. Jesus it

and he does the same for us.

seems, identified immediately with Zacchaeus, almost as though their friendship that had just been initiated at the tree lasted long before their first encounter with one another. It is this undeserved love and acceptance that makes Zacchaeus move to a new way of living – living a full and happy life for God and his neighbour. Our lesson from this story is an encounter with Christ leads to transformation.

John.

Can you share this with one or two friends. Who are all the people in the story? What is the tension? Who am I in the story? Am I different characters at the same time? What is it saying to us? Can we share this with others?  Your comments are welcome! 

For ‘Soul Food for Hungry Adult Communities’, on this same Gospel, click here.

Gospel Reading is Luke 18:1-8, about persisting in prayer. Find in your Bible, or your missal, or click here for Mass Readings. This week’s reflection is by a young person in her 20′s, Sarah Kelly.

(A word of great thanks first, to all the students, boys and girls, from these four schools, in the past two weeks: Holy Child, Killiney, Co.Dublin, Sacred Heart Mercy, Westport, Co. Mayo,   from St. Columba’s College, Stranorler in Co. Donegal (a 4 hour journey to here!), and Rice College, Ennis, Co. Clare. Thanks! you were a joy to be with. Thanks for gracing us with your presence. Pray for us!: Fr. Seamus)

Dear Friends,

As I was reflecting upon today’s Gospel, I decided to bring it to Jesus during adoration. I always find that prayer is the best place to start when beginning any venture. So, as I was sitting there, enveloped in his love, I pursued the question: ‘Lord, what do you want me to write?’, and nothing. So, I kept pressing him for his assistance… Nothing. I read today’s Gospel passage over and over again, and I pondered it in my heart like Mary. So I prayed again, and then He gave me a formula.

Think of it like this. Take the letters of the word PRAY or PRAYER. Ok, now.. we’ll take each letter individually.

P- for Persistence.                                                                                                                             R- for Reliance.                                                                                                                                     A- for Assurance.                                                                                                                               Y- for Yearning.

Each of the words above highlight exactly what Jesus is saying in today’s Gospel. Our prayer must be persistent. We must continually rely on God. Through our prayer we are assured of his help. We must always yearn to be with him and near Him. Prayer gives us that opportunity where we can hand everything over to God. Prayer is that beautiful moment when we respond to God’s call, daily to talk with Him. Above all, prayer is the building of a relationship and a friendship with God, just like you talk to a friend, you like to keep up to date with what’s going on in their lives, and you grow through these conversations. During the week, we celebrated the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila, a renowned Carmelite saint. In her writings she exclaims “what more do we want than to have at our side a friend so loyal that he will never desert us”. Just like that, God wants you to keep praying to Him always. Even if it seems that He is far away, this is when He is the most closest. I have learned that I can ask Him for anything, and He never lets me down. But sometimes He doesn’t give what I really asked for, however He gives me something better, He gives me Him.

Now, we had a second word, PRAYER.                                                                                         P- Personal                                                                                                                                         R- Reality                                                                                                                                          A- Always                                                                                                                                           Y- Your                                                                                                                                                   E- Eternal                                                                                                                                          - r- Remedy

So today, make it your mission to PRAY, and offer your PRAYER up to Him. See if you can find any other words that you feel match how you feel and where you are in your prayer.

God bless,

Sarah.

See Home Page for a reflection for Young Adult Friends on this ‘World Mission Sunday’, and what Pope Francis said to the young people in Rio, this summer, ‘I want a mess!’

This Sunday’s Gospel is Luke 18:1-8: The unjust judge and the persistent widow. Find it in your Bible or missal, or click here for Mass Readings.

{See separate reflection (“I want a mess!‘) for this World Mission Sunday, and what Pope Francis said to the young people in Rio, in July. Click here.}

The Virtue of Stick-at-it-ness in Prayer:

“Oh, she’s doin’ my head in! Give my head peace! I’ll give her whatever she wants, just to get her off my back. I wish she would just leave me alone! Here you are, dear, it’s all yours. Now go away!”

Just imagine someone heard-hearted acting like that. You look for justice, and you can’t get it. Nothing seems to work.  But along comes someone persistent, who will not take No for an answer, and just keeps on pestering, one way or another, until the hard-hearted man or woman gives in, not for the sake of any justice, but just to get this person off his or her back.

Well, if somone who doesnt’ care a fig about God or people, eventually gives in, can you imagine our heavenly Father who loves people, who cares passionately about every single human as if he or she was the Only One,- what would persistent asking not do, in this case? ‘Ask and you shall receive. Knock and the door will be opened.’

Does our heavenly Father 'reel us in' through persistent prayer?

Maybe in prayer, our asking and asking and asking has more to do with changing OUR hearts than God’s,- God draws us closer and closer to God’s own self by our continuous trusting prayer. God is reeling us in, like unwilling fish!  God knows our needs before we ask, our worries are God’s care. And maybe at the end of our persisting at prayer, God’s self will be the real answer to all our prayer!

‘Never give up, never ever give up’ was Churchill’s motto.

Develop the muscle of Stick-at-it-ness in prayer!

Fr.Seamus.

Gospel of Today:  Luke 17: 11-19  Find it in your Bible, or missal, or click here for Mass Readings.

Dear Friends,

Thanks! No Thanks! How’s your Thank You muscle doing, these times? Do you exercise it a lot, or is it flabby and weak? Do days pass you by when you have forgotten to say thanks to anyone, or only said it half-heartedly, out of routine, and without much heart? We could go for weeks like that! Some people go for most of their lives without saying Thank You in any profound way to the people around them, even family. Ingratitude makes the heart grow course.

When you jump out of bed in the morning, – or crawl, or fall out of bed- do you say ‘Good God, Morning!!!!!’, or do you say ‘Good Morning, God!’ ? Is it another chore, or is it another wonderful gift? You and I can develop our muscles day after day, for saying Thanks,- thanks for this day, thanks for the people I will meet this day, thanks for clouds and sunshine, for laughter and tears, for showers and toothpaste, for food and hunger. Thank you for the wonder of my very existence! Wow! That’s some Gift!

Now meet the ten gifted people in today’s Gospel event: gifted because the disease that had made them outcasts was suddenly and wonderfully taken away from them, by that man to whom they had called out from a distance ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on us!’- at the top of their voices. Suddenly healed, they ran away home to their families and friends,- wouldn’t you? But one man realized the gift he had just received, and came running back, praising God at the top of his voice from the bottom of his heart.  He flung himself at the feet of Jesus, so grateful and joyful was he.

And Jesus looked at him and asked ‘were not ten made clean? Where are the other nine?’  He was saddened by their ingratitude. They grabbed what they got and then they ran,- and forgot all about saying thanks. Gross!

Could they be us? Could any one of them be me?

When did I say Thanks, this day? Like we said, ‘How’s your Thank You muscle doing, these times?’

Thanks be to God! Thanks, Ma! Thanks, Da! Thank you, brother!/sister! Thanks a million! A thousand thanks! Thanks a lot!

Thanks for the day that lies ahead. Thanks for the day that was. AMEN! Yup, indeed!

Thanks, everyone!

Fr. Seamus              seamus.devitt@redemptorists.ie

Gospel:  Luke 14:1 and 7-14. Click here for Mass Readings for today.

Dear Friends,

‘DON’T FORGET THE POOR!’

Two young people decided that they wanted to meet God. So they started to climb this great mountain. Half way up, they passed a stranger heading down to the valley below. When they got to the top, the asked where they could find God. The answer they got was: did you not meet God going down the mountain to the valley below?

Pope Francis, a day or two after his election as Bishop of Rome (Successor of Peter), gave

Thumbs up! Francis, in Rio.

an interview to the media. He told them about the moments leading up to his election, when the votes were adding up and it looked like he would be chosen. A great friend of his, sitting next to him, a Brazilian Cardinal, leaned over to him and said ‘Don’t forget the poor!’ And then, tapping his head, Francis told the journalists that those words hit him there in his head.

But then again, Francis, or George Bergoglio as he was called, had never forgotten the poor. He took public transport to work from his little apartment where he lived as Archbishop in Buenos Aires. He lived in the heart of communities, and of the poor.

‘Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’, we hear in today’s story about the party Jesus was at. ‘Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’, he is saying to us around our table- be friends with, reach out to, walk alongside those who are addicted, those who have little money, who feel left out, who are isolated, who are lonely and afraid and questioning. ‘Don’t forget the poor!’

Francis at home with young people!

In our communities, in our gatherings for the breaking of bread, we are meant to break bread (be com-panions) with everyone in our community where we live, especially with those who need our presence and love.

Have we invited ‘the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind’ into the party of our young hearts? God is where they are. Are we?

Seamus.

P.S. I have the Pope.app for some weeks now. Find out what Francis did and said while at the World Youth Day Congress. Exciting witness and words to the young of the world. You can download ThePopeApp easily. If you find anything that captures you and your friends, let us know, in the Comment box below. Would love to hear from you. And if you were in Rio, even better! S

Gospel: Luke 12: 49-53.

Dear Friends,

The Olympic Torch in Edinburgh, June 13, 2013

On June 13th last year, I watched the Olympic Torch being carried through the centre of Edinburgh. Over 100,000 people lined the streets to welcome it, on its way to London. On July 27th, I watched the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics on TV, when the same Torch was carried into the Stadium. What happened then was a wonderful event. (You can click on Youtube link below to see the ceremony of the Olympic Flame.)

‘I have come to light a fire on the earth and how I long for it to be kindled!’  says Jesus to us today: and his saying reminds us of an earlier promise (on the lips of John the Baptiser about Jesus) ‘He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’

Olympics: All the lights become one great Light

That Opening Ceremony speaks better than any words of mine as an image of what Jesus wanted to happen,- that the fire in his heart would touch others, and would be kindled in the whole world, a fire of love and compassion and understanding and energy to warm the planet Earth. ‘I have come to light a fire on the earth, and how I long for it to be kindled!’– today!  His ‘fire’ has brought life to the

Olympics: kindling the fire.

world!

‘He will baptize YOU with the Holy Spirit and with Fire!’, and you will All catch his Fire!

Click here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei54TO1VBlM  YouTube, the Lighting of the Olympic Torch, London 2012. ‘Fire has brought life to the Games’.

If you can, watch it with a friend or friends, and see what it says to you all!

Fr. Seamus.

seamus.devitt@redemptorists.ie

Ready to take the plunge?

'He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire'.