The Car T Cell Therapy trial I had in May 2023 seems to be a big success, TG. I have returned to my parish in Inver, Co Donegal, Ireland and will come back to NYC for clinics every 3 months. The latest clinic of 6th February 2024 continues to show that I’m in full remission.
I got this image recently via a WhatsApp message. It has a humorous side but a serious side too. What’s at stake is this: is a woman a biological female or could it include also a trans-gender man who identifies as a woman? For me it shows that we end up in ‘strange’ places (for the want of a better phrase) when we don’t respect nature and indeed God’s plan for our lives.
It just isn’t scientists who have trouble defining what is a woman. Ketanji Brown Jackson was recently confirmed by the US Senate as a new member of the Supreme Court. During her nomination hearings, Jackson said she was unable to answer the question “What is a woman?” because she is “not a biologist.”
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee has produced a recent document on the gender issue. It has been commended for its sensitivity, compassion & truthfulness and can be read here www.tiny.cc/GENDERCATHOLIC .
When we pray meditative prayers like the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, we place ourselves in the scenes of Our Lord’s life and thus engage with the mysteries of salvation. This is a powerful way to be present to Jesus and grow in familiarity with him. As we say at the end of the Rosary: “Grant that by mediating on these mysteries of the Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may imitate what they contain [imitate the life of Jesus] and attain to what they promise [eternal life / inclusion in the Resurrection] through the same Christ Our Lord, Amen.”
This picture of Jesus being comforted by the angel in the Garden of Gethsemanae is in our sacristy. Spend of few minutes meditating on being the angel and comforting Jesus in his agony. (The artist is Carl Bolch.)
Yesterday evening I had the privilege of giving a talk to the New York Medical Association. One of my points was about the great gift of faith. With faith St John Paul II was able to say with his last words: “I will go to my Father’s House.” Without faith, the renowned atheist and scientist Professor Stephen Hawkins professed his belief that humanity was nothing more that “chemical scum.”
Faith is the gift of right perception, seeing reality from God’s point of view. I showed the attendants this sign that many of you may have seen before. Without the right way of seeing it there is just meaningless black and white shapes; with the right way of looking, one can see JESUS.
Matthew Kelly is a well known Catholic speaker and I’ve signed up for his Lenten bulletins. Here is a short video (3:23) on the generosity of God.
This morning at Mass there was a bidding prayer (prayer of the faithful) for the cessation of civilian massacres in Ukraine. We can all say AMEN to that! At the end of the bidding prayers I introduce a period of silence where we offer up our own private intentions and I particularly mention the Mass intention itself. On this occasion I added: “Let us pray too for a cessation of the massacre of the unborn that is happening in our midst.” (In fact 63 million since the infamous Roe v Wade court decision of 1973.) I have resolved that at all future Masses I celebrate, I will offer a prayer for the protection of the unborn within this period of silence at the end of the bidding prayers. We need to continously remember the silence holocaust that is happending in our time, the great pink elephant in the room that I mentioned previously.
Recently I was listening to this hymn ‘He gave me a song’ after going to bed. I thought it was a good representation of the joy and relief of the woman caught in adultery when she was set free by Jesus. If the truth be told we can all apply it to ourselves.
HOW MUCH TIME HAVE YOU GOT? If the answer is ‘not a lot’, then read the daily reflection of Fr Marius which is first below. If you have about 10 minutes or so then read Mgr Charles Pope’s homily for yesterday’s gospel, entitled ‘Counting the cost of condemnation’. There is so much meaning in these passages that only a small portion can be examined in any one homily. At the end of Mgr Pope’s homily there is a video that dramatizes JOHN chapter 8 if you have further time.
—————— OPTION A ——————-
Dia dhuit,
I remember some years ago being alone in a dark room, in a building I wasn’t familiar with.
I fumbled around trying to find a light switch, but I couldn’t find one.
It was a big room in an old building and I began to become anxious.
Thoughts of what might be in the room began to enter my head, or what I might trip over if I tried to get to the other side in the dark.
I had a stroke of luck however…..as I was fumbling my way around I found a box of matches.
I lit one match and everything changed.
I now had a light to guide me through the room.
The anxiety left me because I could now see what was in the room.
Jesus tells us today that He is “the light of the world.”
He says that anyone who follows Him will not be walking in the dark.
How reassuring this is, dear friends.
If we have Jesus we have the light to navigate our way through this world which can indeed be very dark, confusing and cause us to be anxious at times.
If we don’t have the light in our lives it is a very different experience.
God bless you, Fr Marius
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Counting the Cost of Condemnation – A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Lent
This Sunday’s Mass features the well-known Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. In it, the Lord intimates to the men of His day that the severe punishment they want to mete out to this woman may be unwise given that they themselves must prepare for their own judgment.
Before we examine the details, let’s consider a few background texts that may help us to better understand what Jesus is teaching. After each verse, I provide a brief commentary.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Matt 5:7). Notice that it is the merciful who will obtain mercy. Those who have shown proper mercy will be granted mercy on the Day of Judgment. By implication, the severe and merciless will be judged severely by the Lord.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:37-38). The text clearly states that if we use a severe standard of judgment, that same strict standard will be used by the Lord when He judges us. On the other hand, if we are forgiving, merciful, and generous then we can expect a merciful, generous, and kind judgment from God.
Speak and act as those who are going to be judged under the law of freedom, for judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:12-13). James gives us three warnings. First, he reminds us that we are going to be judged by the Lord. Second, he intimates that because we are free, we are responsible for what we do. Third, because we are going to face this judgment, in which we will not be able to blame others for what we have freely done, we’d better realize that our judgment will be without mercy if we have not shown mercy. Conversely, if we have shown mercy then we stand a chance on our own judgment day, for mercy will triumph over strict judgment.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Mat 6:14-15). This warning seems clear enough: if we want to find forgiveness on the Day of Judgment, we had better seek the grace to forgive others.
All these texts teach the bold truth that we can influence the standard against which the Lord will measure us on the day of our judgment. The measure we use for others will be measured back to us. If we have been merciful then we will find mercy, but if we have been harsh, unbending, and unmerciful, the Lord will judge us far more strictly.
We need to be sober about this. We are storing up things for the Day of Judgment by the way we treat others. Because we are all going to need so much mercy and because we cannot endure strict standards of judgment, we should consider carefully the need to be merciful and forgiving to others. And now, on to today’s Gospel!
I. COLLABORATORS IN CONDEMNATION – The Pharisees and the teachers of the law bring forward a woman caught in the act of adultery. (There is something curious about this, though: If she was caught in the act, the man involved must also be known. Why has he not be brought forward? The Law of Moses indicates that the man should be stoned as well.)
The accusers want to “throw the book” at her. They want the strictest punishment meted out: stoning. They also hope to discredit Jesus by putting Him in what they think is a no-win situation.
In their accusatory stance, they have become collaborators with Satan. Scripture describes Satan in this way: the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God (Rev 12:10). Thus, these Pharisees, in seeking to hand her over, join Satan.
When we have been hurt in some way, many of us may wish to both accuse and demand punishment of the person before God; this is unnecessary and unwise.
It is unnecessary because Satan is already accusing them “day and night” before God. In addition, God sees and knows all things anyway!
It is unwise because by demanding harsh punishment for others we set ourselves up to judged by the same strict standard. It’s always a better policy to cry for grace and the conversion of sinners.
II. COUNTING THE COST – As God, Jesus knows the sins of all the men gathered. He must be amazed; surely, they cannot be serious in demanding such a harsh punishment for the woman knowing that the day of their own judgment awaits!
Jesus bends down and traces His finger on the ground, almost as if tracing along with the words of a book He is reading about their deeds. Some suggest that perhaps He is writing down their sins. Some liken it to the finger of God tracing the commandments on stone. Still others recall the mysterious hand in the Book of Daniel, which traces the words MENE, TEKEL, PERES on the wall, announcing doom to the Babylonian king.
Whatever the case, it isn’t good. You don’t ever want Jesus to be writing things down about you!
These Pharisees are slow to appreciate the significance of the gesture, so Jesus tries to reason with them, saying, “Let him among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” Then He bends down again and continues writing on the ground.
It is almost as though Jesus were saying,
Reason with me, men. If you demand strict justice, if you insist that I “throw the book” at her, you’d better first look and see what is written about you in “the book.” If she is to be judged strictly and without mercy, then you, too, will face the same standard.
Gentlemen, there are things in the book about you—serious things. Have you counted the cost of condemning this woman? Are you sure that you want to demand that I “throw the book” at her?
Think about it, men. Think very carefully.
One by one they go away. It begins with the older men, who are presumably less rash than the younger ones (and may well have committed more sins).
The message for us is clear: we will face judgment. We need to be sober about this. We must count the cost of being unmerciful, unforgiving, and vengeful. The measure that we measure out to others will be the measure that God uses for us.
What kind of judgment are you preparing for yourself? Condemnation comes at a high cost. Are you willing to risk storing up wrath and strict justice for the day of your own judgment?
On the other hand, gentleness, compassionate correction, and merciful love will also be given to us if we show it to others. Remember your upcoming judgment. Be like the wise man, who knows he will need grace and mercy on that day because he will not be able to withstand a strict adjudication of his crimes.
III. CORRECTING WITH COMPASSION – The departure of the accusers leaves Jesus alone with the woman. Though He speaks gently, Jesus is clear: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
This Gospel, therefore, does not make light of the woman’s sin. Jesus knows what she has done and so does she. He is clear that she must turn away from sin; she must not commit it anymore. What Jesus does set aside is the condemning “hang-’em-high” mentality that seeks the harshest measures for every situation.
Yes, we must sometimes correct sinners and mete out punishment. This is particularly true if we are a parent, a juror, or someone in a supervisory role.
Before rushing to extreme measures, however, we do well to show mercy and to attempt lesser measures first.
St. Paul has good advice:Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should gently set him right. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted (Gal 6:1).
Gentle and clear correction is the best course. More significant punishments should only be a later recourse. We must be careful not to be tempted to harshness, anger, mercilessness, and lovelessness.
OK, you get the point: count the cost. Be very careful to remember that the measure you measure out to others will be measured out to you. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.
I had a 5am early start yesterday morning to attend a pro-life witness in south Manhattan (5am starts are not my preferred beginning to any day!!!). Led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, it consisted of Mass at 8am at Old St Patrick’s Cathedral followed by a procession to the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic on Mott St to pray the 4 sets of Rosary mysteries.
Why bother with such an exercise? One small justification can be seen in the BLUE poster carried by this woman (centre left of the photo). In case you can’t read it, this is the text:
I HAD AN ABORTION.
LIFE DOES NOT GO BACK TO NORMAL.
SAVE YOUR BABY AND YOURSELF.
FOR HELP CALL 800 723 8331
The pro-life movement tries to have counsellors outside such clinics during their opening hours to offer pro-life alternatives to those going in. We have grounds to believe that 2 expectant mothers changed their minds yesterday. Praise God!
We did have opposition. A small pro-choice/abortion group were present banging on drums and chanting in an effort to drown out the Rosary. This is a sample 1 minute video of what went on.
On a similar note, the following is a Census2020 suggestion from the Pro-Life Campaign for those living in Ireland.
One suggestion that we thought was worth sharing was to use the new ‘Time Capsule’ feature to remind future Ireland about the babies missing from this census who have had their lives ended by abortion since the abortion law was introduced in 2019.
The Time Capsule is a dedicated space at the end of the census form for you to leave a message – if you wish – for your future generations and will remain confidential until 2122.
On the positive side we should express the hope that by the time the Time Capsule text is read in 100 years time, justice has been restored and Ireland’s mothers are supported and unborn babies are again welcomed in life and protected by law.
This was my homily for today’s 8:45am Mass.
In a week’s time Holy Week will commence and our commemoration of Jesus’ Passion and Death. Why exactly did Jesus have to undergo such a painful and torturous death?
Well Jesus wanted to save us from our sin, separation from God and to make eternal life accessible. Last Sunday we had the beautiful parable of the Prodigal Son. If we wanted to tear a page out of the Bible so sum up Gospel Good News, this would be a very good choice.
Today’s gospel is another beautiful story of reconciliation and forgiveness – the Woman caught in Adultery. It has the same basic message as last Sunday’s gospel.
If we were to look superficially at today’s gospel we might think that there is no longer any sin in the world. Jesus said to the woman: “Neither do I condemn you.”
So what’s up? Does sin still exist in our world or does it not? Is it a case of the modern expression: “I’m ok, you’re ok, we’re all ok!”
Of course sin still exists in our world. Just look at what’s going on in Ukraine or the events making up news on TV or the newspapers.
The fact of the matter is that the sinner in whatever wrong they do, condemn themselves. We saw this powerfully in last Sunday’s Prodigal Son.
There is the loss of personal dignity and integrity. We fall out of friendship with those who are nearest and dearest to us. We create a famine around ourselves, primarily of a spiritual type. What happened to the Prodigal Son is similar to those who get trapped in addictions. And of course adultery is likely to cause havoc in family life.
Jesus’ role in the world is not to further sanction the condemnation that we bring on ourselves through sin. His role is that of a SAVIOUR, to liberate us and undo the damage of our wrong choices.
He does this primarily through the sacrifice of atonement offered on the Cross on Good Friday.
But how does this reconciliation and healing enter our individual lives? It does so primarily through repentance and the wonderful Sacrament of Reconciliation. This should be a key part of our Lenten spiritual renewal.
In this sacrament we are restored to the original purity of our baptismal day which was symbolised by the white garment. When we received the white garment, the priest said this powerful prayer: “John/Mary; You have become a new creation and have clothed yourself in Christ. See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian DIGNITY… Bring that DIGNITY unstained into the everlasting life of heaven.”
If you can remember back to last week, the Prodigal Son received a new garment at his homecoming as a sign of being restored to the state he had before squandering his birthright.
It is wonderful good news that there are no limits to God’s mercy and desire to reconcile sinners to himself.
If Jesus was to encounter Vladimir Putin on the streets of Moscow and if Mr Putin was sincerely repentant, Jesus would also say to him: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Rudolf Hoss was the Nazi commander of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp responsible for the killing of some 2 million people. The day before his execution he availed of God’s mercy by having Confession and receiving Holy Communion. One of our professors in the seminary would often repeat the line: “Between the saddle and the ground, mercy sought and mercy found.”
So in summary: Jesus came into the world not to add to the self-condemnation brought about by our sins. Rather Jesus came as a Saviour to liberate us from sin and reconcile us to God.
“THE MORNING OFFERING – An Invitation to Intimacy” is a recent online article about this time-honoured Catholic tradition. Visit www.BIT.LY/MORNINGOFFERTORY. It suggests the following prayer: “O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for the salvation of souls, reparation of sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and in particular for those intentions recommended by our Holy Father for this month.”After the author rediscovered this practice: “my morning offering became much more than an invitation to give my spiritual and material goods to God. It became an irresistible invitation to intimacy with Him. My mornings quickly ceased to be just another routine to complete, but an integral part of my relationship with Jesus. It was no longer just a vocal prayer I was saying out of habit, but a “good-morning” to the One who loves me and cares about my day more than anyone else.My attention shifted from [listing] all the works I had to offer Him, to inviting Him to live each moment with me.”
This morning I celebrated the 9am Mass with the third graders from the nearby parish school. In my interactive homily I spoke about the first reading which said that Jesus ‘knew’ God. How can we know God? First answer I got was through prayer – full marks! I said the prayer helps us to know God like talking to anybody else helps us to know them. The second way of knowing God that came up was through reading to and listening to the Bible. I made the suggestion that when the next birthday arrives, ask for a children’s Bible as a present rather than a new baseball bat or football. Reading it will be a much better use of time than Harry Potter or any other such material. (One of the boys in the front smiled as if I had addressed something for him personally!)
It is interesting to reflect on the call of the apostle Matthew. What went on within him to change his whole way of life and follow a penniless itinerant preacher? What did he sense Jesus was offering him that was so much more attractive than his current lucrative position in society?
The following image is Caravaggio’s classic painting of the encounter between Matthew and Jesus. The caption is provided by the renown scripture scholar Scott Hahn. Reflect prayerfully for a minute or two on its message. Ask the Holy Spirit to communicate that same message to you. Below that is a better copy of the Caravaggio painting.
Today I return to the Resurrection Parish, Rye where I helped out prior to the bone marrow transplant of Nov / Dec. Needless to say I am grateful to God for the recovery to date as well as the care provided by my brother and sister-in-law and the Sloan Kettering clinic. The immunotherapy program will continue every 3 weeks.
This is today’s gospel preceded by the reflection from the Irish Bishops’ website.
GospelReflection Thursday Fourth Week of Lent John 5:31-47
We are all aware of the increase in daylight in recent weeks. We look forward to more light. In the gospel reading Jesus speaks of John the Baptist as a lamp alight and shining and of those who knew him as enjoying the light that he gave. Jesus is saying that something of God’s light shone through John the Baptist. Yet, in this Fourth Gospel, it is only Jesus who is declared to be the light of the world. Jesus does not only reflect the light of God; he is the light of God. The relationship of John the Baptist to Jesus is akin to the relationship between the moon and the sun. Jesus is the source of God’s light and John the Baptist reflects this light to others.
I was reading the Confession of Saint Patrick recently. Towards the end of that text, Patrick says, ‘This sun which we see rises daily at God’s command for our benefit, but will never reign, nor will its brilliance endure. Those who worship [as pagans] it will be severely punished. We, on the other hand, believe in and worship Christ the true sun who will never perish, not will anyone who does his will. They will remain for ever as Christ remains for ever.’ Patrick wrote those words in a setting where the sun was worshipped. In another of the gospels, Jesus speaks of God who ‘makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good’. God has given Jesus, his Son, to all people, without distinction or discrimination. Our calling is to open our lives to God’s light shining through God’s Son and, like John the Baptist, to reflect something of this light to others, especially to those who live in darkness and the shadow of death.
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The Gospel reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings 2021-2022: My Words Will Not Pass Away by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
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GOSPEL
The Lord be with you.And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 5:31-47 Glory to you, O Lord
Theme: You place your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be your accuser.
Jesus said to the Jews ‘Were I to testify on my own behalf, my testimony would not be valid; but there is another witness who can speak on my behalf, and I know that his testimony is valid. You sent messengers to John, and he gave his testimony to the truth: not that I depend on human testimony; no, it is for your salvation that I speak of this.
‘John was a lamp alight and shining and for a time you were content to enjoy the light that he gave. But my testimony is greater than John’s: the works my Father has given me to carry out, these same works of mine testify that the Father has sent me. Besides, the Father who sent me bears witness to me himself. You have never heard his voice,you have never seen his shape, and his word finds no home in you because you do not believe in the one he has sent.
‘You study the scriptures, believing that in them you have eternal life; now these same scriptures testify to me, and yet you refuse to come to me for life! As for human approval, this means nothing to me. Besides, I know you too well: you have no love of God in you. I have come in the name of my Father and you refuse to accept me; if someone else comes in his own name you will accept him.
‘How can you believe, since you look to one another for approval and are not concerned with the approval that comes from the one God? Do not imagine that I am going to accuse you before the Father: you place your hopes on Moses, and Moses will be your accuser. If you really believed him you would believe me too, since it was I that he was writing about; but if you refuse to believe what he wrote, how can you believe what I say?’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
I was amazed to find out this morning – in my breakfast reading – that Catholics should observe Fridays in Lent as days of abstinence from meat! If I didn’t know this it explains why most other people don’t know it either; it’s also a powerful example of the catechetical deficiencies in the modern Church.
I got this WhatsApp picture this morning. It should instil in us a gratitude for all the things we take for granted.
This is Fr Marius’ WhatsApp reflection for today.
Dia dhuit,
Sometimes in life we can really feel the weight of the cross.
It can be crushing!
It can knock us to the ground.
Sometimes we can’t sense the LORD’s presence, and we can be tempted to think He isn’t there, or that He has somehow forgotten us.
God speaks through the Prophet Isaiah at Holy Mass today and He reminds us that He is always with us.
We may not be able to feel Him, or sense His presence, but He is there.
We can rely on Him more than the deepest human relationships.
Perhaps today you can ponder on these beautiful words:
“Does a woman forget her baby at the breast, or fail to cherish the son of her womb? Yet even if these forget, I will never forget you.”
This morning at Mass there was a bidding prayer (prayer of the faithful) for the cessation of civilian massacres in Ukraine. We can all say AMEN to that! At the end of the bidding prayers I introduce a period of silence where we offer up our own private intentions and I particularly mention the Mass intention itself. On this occasion I added: “Let us pray too for a cessation of the massacre of the unborn that is happening in our midst.” (In fact 63 million since the infamous Roe v Wade court decision of 1973.) I have resolved that at all future Masses I celebrate, I will offer a prayer for the protection of the unborn within this period of silence at the end of the bidding prayers. We need to continously remember the silence holocaust that is happending in our time, the great pink elephant in the room that I mentioned previously.
This Sunday’s Mass features the well-known Gospel of the woman caught in adultery. In it, the Lord intimates to the men of His day that the severe punishment they want to mete out to this woman may be unwise given that they themselves must prepare for their own judgment.
This was my homily for today’s 8:45am Mass.
“THE MORNING OFFERING – An Invitation to Intimacy” is a recent online article about this time-honoured Catholic tradition. Visit 
Fr Morty O'Shea 