ALLOCUTIONSBY JOHN WINSON SACQUOTES FROM SCHOLARS ON ST PAUL We are witnessing the birth of a new humanism where people are defined above all by their responsibility to their sisters and brothers and at the court of history. G & S #55. Freedom – A question for to-day. “Part of the work of Christ was that He redeemed religion itself for the saving of men. It is this side of His work which so powerfully affected Paul that he remains the classic exponent of the idea of Freedom and universality in religion. While religion remains the problem, the peril, but also one hope of human progress, his work has a contemporary interest.” -C H Dodd The Meaning of Paul Today p.19 Apostle As for Acts, “In all there is the Lucan tendency to present Saul as the one who is continuing the work of Jesus, the Kyrios; in the person of Saul he is at work. Saul thus becomes a worthy successor of the Twelve.” Fitzmeyer in Jerome Bib. Comm. On Acts The Wrath of God “Sinners influenced one another. Children were conditioned by the attitude of their parents, and displayed behavior patterns modeled on those of their ancestors, which in turn were passed on to their descendents.” “If Sin is the inexorable pressure of a false value-system that permeates society, then it is not simply “in the world”, it is ‘the world’… The ‘wisdom of the world’ is the speculations of human kind , just as the ‘refuse of the world’ are those held in contempt by their fellows…” J.Murphy O’C in “Becoming Human Together” p 96,97 “This is a world of disunity. Man himself is a disunity, torn by his passions and desires. And this disunity separates a man from God (Eph 2 1-10) Further, men are separated from each other. There is the dividing wall which separates the Gentile from the Jew (@ 1-22) It is God’s aim to bring unity into this literally distracted world. This is the purpose of God.” Barclay. The Letters and the Revolution p.117. “The Wrath” that follows sin was actually being reveale3d; and it was part of Paul’s task to open the eyes of the pagan world to it, that they might be willing to seek the better way. But we cannot quote Jesus against Paul as giving an easy and cheerfully optimistic view of the actual state of human society. On the contrary, there is enough in His teaching to show that He too saw the society of His day ‘rushing down a steep place into the sea’, with no hope of its redemption save in the “sovereignty of God’. Therein Paul was His true interpreter to the wider world.” Dodd p 65. ut supra Old and New Adams “For Adam, the first man, was a type of him who was to come, Christ the Lord. Christ the new Adam in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals humanity to itself…” Gaudium et Spes # 22. Barclay translates Rom 5.14 thus: “Now, although that is so, from the time of Adam until the time of Moses, death exercised its sway over even those who had not actually sinned in the way in which Adam broke the command he had received.” Ibid. p.95 “Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the area of education- politics- social action- morals.” Catholic Catechism. Cf also JPII Centesimus annus # 25. Philo: “It seems to me that this first man born of earth, the leader of all our race, was engendered excellent in both body and soul, and that he greatly differed from those who came after by the super-eminent perfection of these two constituents of his being. He was in truth beautiful and good.” (De op. mundi n 136) The Role of Law “Thus in Paul’s eyes the “law of Christ” (Gal 6.2, 1Cor 9.21) excels the Mosaic Law, not as a loftier moral code excels a more primitive one, but as the living Spirit excels the “letter which kills” ( 2 Cor 3.6 Rom 7.6). Pauline realism however recognizes that this is the ideal, rarely attained. Because the majority of Christians are sinners (1 Tim 1.9) and because even the holiest of them are in constant danger of falling from grace (Gal 5.17), some external rules of Christian conduct are normally a practical necessity.” D. Stanley Freedom from the Law? “Paul turns yet a third topic related to Rom 5.12-20, freedom from the Law (7.1-6) Although he does not see the Law in any sense as evil, it “aroused” humanity’s “sinful passions” (7.5,5.19) and is therefore part of the old regime that ended with Christ’s death. Thus believers have also died to the Law through the body of Christ (7.4) and are “discharged” from it. (7.6) as also from sin.” Gorman p 310. Paul’s preaching was “under attack by a certain kind of Jewish Christian. There were Jews who genuinely believed that, since the Jews were the chosen people, and since Jesus was God’s greatest gift to men, a man must become a Jew before he could become a Christian, and that therefore he must first become circumcised, and then he must obey the Jewish law, with all its regulations about food, and about Sabbath observance, and about separation from the Gentiles.” (Gal 3 1-6) Barclay- The Letters and the Revelation. Collins 1969. “As (Paul) grew up he found that his food and clothes, the way he washed his hands, the way he had his hair cut, and all the simplest operations of a boy’s daily life were rigidly prescribed”. Cf Deut 14 3-21 etc..) C H Dodd The Meaning of Paul for Today “Possession of the law is a flawed basis for boasting, not because keeping the law is in itself wrong, nor because it bolsters nationalistic pride at the expense of accepting the Gentiles, but because human beings, unable to fulfill the law’s requirements, cannot find justification and salvation apart from God’s act in Christ.” B. Byrne Romans p 99. And Rom 7.14 et ff.) SIN “The Christian is required not only to ‘believe’ but to act. Here he recognizes gulf between his intention and his performance, and the failure of earnest and often passionate endeavour drives him to despair. This was Paul’s experience.” M. Avery in Mini Commentary p.11 (1968) The Cross “In his last act of ‘self giving’ on the cross, Jesus holds up for his disciples an act of incomparable self-abandonment that finally makes clear for them the meaning of all the requirements he gave them ‘of hatred of self, of denial of self, of the abandoning of all things, of the daily bearing of the cross, and of the losing of one’s soul in order to gain it.” Kevin Morgan & Herrlichkeit in GL 7. Von Balthasar.149-150 Church Community “The power of the Spirit which produces freedom is the creativity of love displayed by other members of the community. The authenticity of their being is the force which holds Sin at bay.” Unfortunately “the magnificent assertions of Paul have been reduced to the status of ‘promises’, because the vision of the true Christian community has been lost sight of.” J.M-O’Connor
SIN – (leading to Death and tyranny of Law) “Paul’s understanding of the condition of inauthentic humanity is dominated by the concept of Sin, Death and the Law. All three are closely related. Sin is the ‘world’ in the false orientation given humankind by the sin of Adam. This orientation is ratified and intensified by the attitudes of his descendents. Though theoretically free, all those born into a disorientated society have in reality no choice but to internalize its orientation. Their pattern of behavior necessarily reflects the false value-system that they have received. They, therefore, exist in the state of Death which means that their mode of being is not that intended by the Creator.” (JMOC “Becoming Human Together” p 137) “But thanks be to God, that you who once were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart ….and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.” (Rom 6 17-18.) “Sin for Paul represents a kind of deadly virus in human life, a fundamental revolt against the Creator that places self and the perceived needs of self in a position that should only be occupied by the sovereignty of God.” (BB p 175) And so SIN , especially for unbelievers, is described as a tyrant. This is a powerful force, and the word here does not specify any particular sin, except the inheritance of Adam. And as much as humans can see the desirability of keeping the Law (as in the writings of some Greek philosophers and orators, like Cicero), the ability to overcome temptation was not available. It has been said that “one recognizes a gulf between intention and the performance, and the failure of earnest and after passionate endeavour drives one to despair. This was Paul’s experience.” (M Avery) But it is not as though Christians don’t sin; they continue to “feel the buffet of these powers, but the grip has been radically broken”. (BB) The ‘powers’ here are sin and death. Hence redemption can also be called a restoration insofar as the life which Adam enjoyed before the Fall is restored in the person of Christ. In the Jewish understanding of Sin in general it is a “missing of the mark” like an arrow gone astray, and this applies most of all to one’s whole lifetime. For the unbeliever the purpose of his life has not been achieved, but rather failed. But sin as experienced “Wretched man that I am ! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The death that describes the end of a human life has its spiritual counterpart as the death of the soul, death of the spirit. Sin (continued). What then of individual sins? “Where Sin is understood as the massive disorientation of a whole society which expresses itself in a false-value system, its relationship to ‘sinning’ becomes clearer. “To sin” is to ratify that value-system by acting in conformity with it.” (JMOC ) Vat II: “the entire life of women and men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle, and a dramatic one, between good and evil, between light and darkness.” (G & S #13).
SAINT PAUL - IN A YEAR OF REMEMBRANCE 2007 This year on the feast of Ss Peter & Paul, 29th June Pope Benedict announced a special year of “remembrance” of the Apostle Paul, co-founder with Peter of the Church at Rome. This year 2007 was chosen and calculated for his birth day, being 2000 years ago. So just as the year 2000 was celebrated as glorious years of Christianity, so we may also celebrate the chosen Apostle. It has been said that Paul remains the “most influential Christian of all time”. Many are the books written about him and his basic ideas, a fact that makes it a real challenge for me to summarize in a few words. But I thought I would put before us just some themes and quotations from his writings which I hope will be a stimulus to our devotion. I include these under three headings which are: 1) His message of God’s holiness in contrast to common and fatal worldliness. 2) His message of acceptance of the Cross and consolation. 3) His message of wise and zealous action , inspired by the Spirit.
(1) The memory of his encounter with God on the road to Damascus remained with him for his own spiritual appreciation and for a penetrating insight and public articulation of it in order to “hand it on” to others. So he found himself precipitated headlong into the world of God and Christ which he tries to describe, but which ever remains a fascinating mystery (the mystery of Christ) and yet he could say besides this positive understanding “how inscrutable are his ways”.
All of this is the “gospel” he preaches. Of the NT writers he is the first to use the word “gospel”, a message for the world to hear. “I am not ashamed of this gospel; it is the power of God bringing salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” . How the present day world needs this message of Paul’s!
ALLOCUTIO FOR OCTOBER 2005 “The
Talmud tells how the disciples of Rabbi Simeon ben Johai (ca.150 A.D.)
asked him why the manna did not fall from heaven all at once instead of
every day. Like many rabbis, Simeon answered with a parable. An earthly
king had a son, and he gave him the food he needed once a year. This son
only came once a year to greet his father in gratitude. The father
decided to give him what he needed every day, and the son then greeted
his father every day. PRAYER When it comes
to a question of how to pray we can learn from the Apostles. They were taught
directly by Jesus himself. But first he made them curious by praying himself. He
was seen praying and we read that “He was praying in a certain place, and when
he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord teach us to pray, as John
taught his disciples’”. Well we don’t know what prayer technique John the Baptists taught his disciples, but surely this was not a new question within the religious practice of Israel at the time. After all they had the book of psalms, used for centuries. Jesus had a
ready answer for such a question, and no doubt he was ready for the opportunity
to share his experience of prayer. So he gave them the words of the “Our
Father” as Matthew tells us, but Luke merely begins the prayer with “Father”.
However Jesus certainly added a new dimension to the way those Jews were
praying. The word “Father” was a very sacred word for Jesus and it is recorded
in the original language in the New Testament and preserved for us as “Abba”. A
very close and tender word for Jesus felt a deep intimacy with the Father. So
here he shares his most intimate prayer-language. Also after the Resurrection we learn from St. John as he used the phrase “my Father and your Father”, words which reinforced the message and showed his willingness to share his heart’s treasure. And as the Father had sent him, so Jesus was sending the apostles. He said this since he had authority from above. But Jesus also gave further instruction about prayer. “When you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites…etc.” (Mt 6.5) Luke also has
a version of the Our Father similar to Matthew’s. But Luke includes words of
encouragement. He compares praying to the experience of children asking food of
their father. The father is glad to comply with the request. And Jesus not
only gives us the example of praying but he actually intercedes for us. We may
believe this in the structure of the Liturgy, but there is an instance in Luke’s
gospel where Jesus says to Peter, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not
fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren” (Lk 22.31) Should we not have bold confidence then, if Jesus is praying for us- especially in the celebration of Eucharist, wherein we proclaim: through him, with him, in him”? For it is most comforting to reflect that Jesus the teacher and master of prayer is actually praying on our behalf that we be delivered from evil, in spite of our own weak efforts in prayer. But Jesus’ concern for us is not so much that we be consoled, but that we do the Father’s will. Hence he includes the petition: may thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Thus to play our part in this prayer/conversation with Our Lord, we must be even anxious to do the Fathers will. The more we conform ourselves to that, the closer the kingdom comes to being present amongst us.
(1) The Sermon of the Mount. J.Lambrecht S.J. M.Glazier. Delaware 1985.
ALLOCUTION FOR JUNE 2005 EUCHARIST
You may recall in the rock
opera, ”Jesus Christ Superstar” Mary Magdalene sings with deep feeling
“I don’t know how to love Him”. I would reply to her as follows. I appreciate that you are in love with your Lord and Master, but you must ask yourself, how is this love to be sustained over the years to come? How to keep it alive and fresh? Do you know that The Lord Himself has provided for this question precisely when He said “Do this in memory of me”, referring to the Eucharist. This is the answer to how we are to love Him. So let me say a few words about the central prayer of the mass –the Eucharist Prayer. Eucharistic Prayer This is the prayer reserved for the priest celebrant who puts into words on behalf of all of us the sentiments of praise and thanks which are central to the whole Eucharistic mystery. When I recite the Eucharistic prayer I sometimes fear that the meaning of the words is lost on many in the congregation. I ask myself, "Do I and do they realize what is being said here?” Since we are dealing with mystery, of course, we cannot fully understand, but are we fully attentive to the ordinary meaning of the language used? And if we are not fully attentive how can we participate devotedly and worthily? For those in grace, there should be no doubt about our worthiness. Do we not thank God that we have been made worthy (by baptism, faith and contrition)?
ALLOCUTION FOR MARCH 2005 On May
13th. 1917 a Lady appeared to three Portuguese children in
the first of a series of visions at Fatima in Portugal. She gave them a
message both for themselves and for the whole world. They were to pray
for sinners. It may spark of memories of some here perhaps and the Catholic experience of the 1940’s or 50’s when I was attending school. We were told in almost all Catholic schools at that time the story of Fatima. In the time before Vat II it was a time characterized by Law.. We were told what God’s law was and we were expected to keep it. If we didn’t do that perfectly we at least knew about it. But this emphasis on Law was balanced somewhat by the story about prophecy. So to read in that gospel that Moses and Elijah were on the mountain of transfiguration give some biblical basis for our experience, for they represented the Law and the Prophets. So in 1917
the Blessed Virgin appeared to the three children, and she pleaded with them and
the church to pray and live penance. Now that Sr
Lucia was the witness of prophecy in our day what next? In the 19th. Century there was prophecy too. In the case of Lourdes (1854 in France), St. Bernadette became the spokesperson for Mary with a similar message: Prayer and penance. “The apparitions of Our Lady at Fatima”, said the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon on 13 May 1972, “are an eloquent expression for our times of the role the Virgin Mary fulfills in the mystery of the Word Incarnate and of the Mystical Body. She is the messenger from Heaven who points the way to Jesus Christ, the only way, the truth and the life. She is the motherly heart who offers refuge to her children, to lead them to God by prayer and by penance. She is the cry of supplication who begs of men not to offend God anymore, for He is already too greatly offended. The Virgin of Fatima is, after all, the Virgin of Nazareth, of Bethlehem, of Cana, of Galilee, of Calvary and of Pentecost, ever eager to give Christ to the world and the world to Christ.” (quoted from “Fatima:The Great Sign”, by Francis Johnston Tan Books, 1979.) We are in the middle of Lent, and it is the perfect time to think of these things.
ALLOCUTIO FOR FEBRUARY 2005.
A friend of mine has a vineyard, and some time ago he asked me to bless it. After about 40 years of priesthood this was something new to me. I had blessed numerous houses, people, vehicles, rosary beads and holy statues. But a vineyard! I eagerly took up the request and referred to the appropriate blessing in the book went to his place and tossed holy water in the direction of shiraz and chardonnay vines. Later in the season he rang me to tell the good news. The previous year had been characterized by mildew and drought-conditions. Now, after my blessing, the vines were looking good and flourishing and have done well ever since. Now I hope you don’t get cynical here and say “that was just good luck”! So what is the correct attitude to blessings and other sacramentals? In this matter the church warns us against both superstition and credulity. We need faith to be able to say “Thanks be to God”. So for your
benefit and mine I thought I would read up on the subject and revise my own
understanding of this matter.
But to read a
Blessing Book such as one published by a National Conference of Bishops is to
realize what a wide range of possible situations lend themselves to blessings.
Normally a priest does the blessings, but some can be done by a lay-person (e.g.
within the family). - Special occasions, anniversaries, church feasts - Sick persons, adults/children. - Pregnant mothers - Buildings, homes, schools, hospitals. - Vehicles. - With meals - Crops, animals, tools, technical equipment. - Holy pictures, statues, crosses, scapulars - Church ministers. In the Bible,
some prayers bless God. In this sense it is the same as praise; (we can’t
improve God !) But acknowledge His goodness. And some prayers call for a
blessing on human circumstances. In the beginning God created mankind and gave
them a potential for goodness. Thus He said “Be fruitful and multiply”.
(Gen.1,28) He blessed Abraham and his descendents likewise. In Christ the
blessing of God upon Abraham reached its complete fulfillment. Jesus Christ
blessed bread and wine so showing that these inanimate things be capable of
being elevated for God’s glory and our use. Thus they fulfill their purpose. But generally our church blessings are in the spirit of Ps 128.2 that is,“By the labour of your hands you shall eat. You will be happy and prosper.” etc. The Roman
Ritual tells us Taking up that final remark about “restraining the power of evil”: Now that fewer Catholics go to Mass on Sundays, where are they going to get some alternative shield of protection from evil if not from having recourse to blessings? Could not this area be an answer to the rampant evils that beset the younger generations who may have neglected their shield of protection found in the Eucharist? Let’s appreciate what a treasure the church has waiting for our use. And even perhaps our own understanding of blessings might help us understand why it was said of Mary that “blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. “ “Whether God blessed the people himself or through the ministry of those who acted in his name, his blessing was always a promise of divine help, a proclamation of his favor, a reassurance of his faithfulness to the covenant he had made with his people. When, in turn, others uttered blessings, they were offering praise to the one whose goodness and mercy they were proclaiming.” (Gen. Instr, #6).
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