Homilies – December 2024
HOMILY
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
ST CHRISTOPHER’S CATHEDRAL
1ST DECEMBER 2024
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)
AND MASS ONLINE
Readings: Jeremiah 33:14-16 1 Thes 3:12-4:2 Luke 21:25-28. 34-36
Today is the first day of summer 2024. It is also the first day of the Liturgical Year. So we bid farewell to Mark’s Gospel which we have accompanied in a synodal way over the last 12 months. From today we focus on the Gospel according to Luke for the next 12 months.
Were as Mark’s Gospel was largely offering consolation and encouragement to new Christians under persecution, the Gospel of Luke has a much wider panorama. It has a universal message. All peoples, not just certain groups, are able to open themselves up to the universality of salvation in Jesus Christ. In Luke’s Gospel the word “Visitation” is important. The visitations of God to His people are seen almost in the first versus of chapter one. Here in the Benedictus God is described in this way, “in the loving kindness of the heart of our God who visits us like the dawn from on high. He will give light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow of death, and guide us into the way of peace.” Luke’s Gospel is also a very Marian Gospel. The role of women and particularly the role of Mary are very significant.
So now let us consider prayerfully the Readings of today. It seems to me the key word for today is “LONGING.” It is a beautiful biblical word. The Religious response always is that we are longing for God. We are thirsty for God. Only in God do we find the fulfilment of our inner longings.
The apocalyptic tone of the last few weeks continues here on this First Sunday of Advent in Luke’s Gospel. Recall, the dark foreboding of disaster in the world only goes to point out the prominence of Christ the Light of the World.
Strangely, the focus in Luke’s Gospel this week is on His second coming rather than his first coming.
Recall that in the midst of all this worldly struggle there is always hope because the hope is filled with the coming of Christ.
We see this in the Gospel were it is indicated, “There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars; on earth nations in agony…for the powers of heaven will be shaken” and yet there is the hope.
The two important words in the Gospel are, “And then.” Disaster is not the end of the story. Luke proclaims, “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory…stand erect, hold your heads high, because our liberation is near at hand.” So much hope in these words.
Luke suggests that in the period when we wait for the Lord’s second coming, and here now when we wait for the Lord’s first coming at Christmas time, he offers us three ways to increase the longing for God’s fulfilment.
He calls us to “stay awake.” This means to listen attentively and to be alert to Christs coming in its many subtle ways. The he says, “Pray at all times.” Always place Jesus at the centre. Thirdly he says, “Stand with confidence before the Son of Man.” This standing with confidence is a beautiful Christian attitude. It was particularly seen in the writings of St Therese of Lisieux. She calls us always to be confident in God’s love. In recent times Pope Francis has written a lovely letter on this particular point from the child mystic.
Finally I would like to make a practical suggestion. In our Liturgical longing in Advent we are helped in many ways. One way is by the construction of the Christian Nativity Scene.
I would like to launch the “Archbishop’s Christmas Crib award 2024.”
It is a very simple way of utilising the construction of the Crib as a way of helping us to long even more for God’s blessings.
Historically, as we would know, the Crib has origins in St Francis of Assisi 1800 years ago. In the simplest of ways he constructed the first Crib of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
I believe we need to get back to these simple origins of constructing our Christmas Crib. It seems to be these days are getting crowded out by all sorts of other agendas. May I suggest that in the construction of our Christmas Crib this year, we should avoid three exaggerations.
The first exaggeration is to avoid an over commercialisation of Christmas. We know all about this! I do recall seeing last year a Christmas Crib that was nicely constructed. However, it was surrounded by so many gifts that one had to look carefully to see where the Christmas Crib was. We can crowd out the simplicity and the centrality of Jesus by going over the top with gift giving. Mind you, gift giving is very important but it is only to help us focus on the “Reason for the Season.” We get enough exaggeration in this by going to the shopping centres. Let’s not add to it in our own homes and gathering spaces in this way.
Secondly let’s avoid an over politicisation of the Christmas Nativity Scene.
Once again, I do recall seeing a Christmas Crib of a couple of years ago constructed in the midst of a crisis in the way we politically handle refugees. Those that constructed the Crib had Jesus, Mary and Joseph in separate cages to emphasise how Jesus was a refugee and how we should be more compassionate to refugees. The scene was surrounded by national flags that in themselves alone do engender political energies.
The point here was a solid point. However, again it was exaggerated to the point that the political message came through a lot more clearly than the simplicity of the child Jesus born in the humble stable in Bethlehem. It is almost as if Jesus was marginalised and objectified for a political message. This is always to be avoided.
A third exaggeration is stressing a sociological cosmic dimension of the Nativity.
I recall when I lived in Rome it was almost a competition between Roman parishes regarding who could build the biggest and most panoramic of Christmas Cribs. The panorama of the Nativity scene included, in miniature form, the entire village and also included all the stars, animals and natural life.
Again, the point here is a good one. Jesus came into our life and our cosmos. However, once again, the construction of the Crib was so good one would need to search for quite some time before you found the humble stable of Bethlehem was in the village panorama.
So with this brief understanding of the origins of the Nativity scene and avoiding the exaggerations, you may wish to gather in a synodal way with your family and friends in a small circle. Consider what I have narrated above and have some time of silence as we did in the Assembly at St Clare’s only a few weeks ago. Perhaps each person could share what they feel would be a good way of constructing a Nativity scene to bring out the provenance of Christ in your own setting. Let each person share without interruption as we have done in a synodal way. Have another time of quiet.
After completion perhaps you would like to send my office a photograph of your construction, please also send an electronic version of why you have constructed the Nativity scene in the way you have.
In a few weeks’ time I will get my “experts” to consider the Nativity scenes. Maybe, on Christmas Eve I will announce the winner and a little prise will be awarded.
If this is of interest to you, you may want to take it further. I am sure there will be further information available from my staff in the days following.
Let us now return to the Mass and focus on the “Gospill” for today.
I think Psalm 42 Verse 1 says it all. “My soul is longing for the Lord.”
Let us ask God to increase the longing for His coming at Christmas. As always Jesus is the fulfilment of all human longings.
HOMILY
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
ST CHRISTOPHER’S CATHEDRAL
8TH DECEMBER 2024
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)
AND MASS ONLINE
Readings: Baruch 5:1-9 Phil 1:3-6. 8-11 Luke 3:1-6
You will recall that last Sunday we spoke of a key Advent word that summarised so many of the Readings of that day…Longing! Longing of the human heart, our hungers, our desires for deep peace and hope, are only truly fulfilled in our encounter with Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.
The key word that summarises so much of the message of today’s Readings, according to my own prayerful reflections, is the word “Glory.”
Whereas longing represents the human desire for God, glory in a descriptive definition of God who comes to us in grace.
Perhaps it is from our mystical theological Tradition that we can best understand the word “Glory.” The Greek word is “Doxa” and the German word is “Herrlichkeit.” The glory of God is a very significant theological theme from our mystical Tradition. In more recent centuries, monumental theologians such as Hans Urs von Balthasar have written volumes on the “Glory” as reflected in the Trinity. Here glory is not something abstract or poetic. It is the attractive power of God who comes to us in brilliant light and is an encounter of warmth and stunning beauty. Even in our Religious pious Tradition we have above the Saints a Halo. This is representing the brilliant light of God’s glory that fills the hearts of all those who are open to receive God’s glory in the longing of their hearts. Our only response to God’s glory is for us to give praise to God and to open our hearts in repentance to receive all that God wants to give us.
The Readings today reflect our mystical Tradition.
In the First Reading we have a prophecy of Baruch, up to six times the word “Glory” is mentioned. Here the universal redemption and salvation of not only humans but the entire cosmos is mentioned. For example, we hear of “the beauty of the glory of God…the diadem of the glory of the Eternal…princes carried back in glory…walk in safety under the glory of God…the light of his glory with his mercy.” So it is not as if the word “Glory” is under represented in this particular Reading!
So, from this broad panorama of universal salvation we can now come to the Gospel.
In Luke’s Gospel he always stresses how the glory of God comes into a particular time and place in salvation history. It seems to be almost over done in today’s First Reading when the first three or four lines are historically anchoring where this glory in Jesus Christ is manifest. We hear of Tiberius Caesar’s reign, of Pontius Pilate, of Herotetric of Galilee and other historic personalities. To make it quite clear, according to St Luke, the Word of God is incarnate into our everyday life which includes the political and the historical.
Even more particular, in almost a descending inverted pyramid, the Word of God comes to the wild figure of St John the Baptist. Luke describes him this way, “A voice cries in the wilderness, Prepare a way for the Lord.”
Here this wilderness man announces repentance and calls all to a Baptism of repentance to prepare for God’s coming. John the Baptist draws no attention to himself but only to the coming Saviour.
There is a hint also in the Responsorial Psalm of today that the coming of the Lord will arrive in the empty womb of a virgin, Mary. We see in the Responsorial Psalm sentiments that are later retrieved into Mary’s Magnificat. We prayed, “The Lord has done great things for us, we are filled with joy.”
So perhaps the thought for us to ponder in this second week of Advent is that God’s glory is so often born in the wilderness and emptiness of human life. God’s glory, in today’s Readings, is proclaimed in the wilderness by John the Baptist and enters the empty womb of the Mother of God, Mary.
Let us allow our own emptiness and wilderness areas in the lives of our world so bent on warfare, to enable the stable to be prepared for God’s coming at Christmas time. Even the three wise men, came with all their riches but an emptiness in their hearts, to find were God is. Let us also find were God is in the emptiness of our lives. Seek out where there is this deep longing for God, the deep emptiness and wilderness in our own lives. Whether it be in our families or in the way we view what is happening in our world so filled with crisis. Let our hungry hearts find their fullness in Jesus, the Bread of Life.
Perhaps the Gospel most appropriate on this focus of glory is the well-known invocation of the Trinity. So our “Gospill” today is, “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen!”
HOMILY
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
ST CHRISTOPHER’S CATHEDRAL
15TH DECEMBER 2024
THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)
AND MASS ONLINE
Readings: Zeph 3:14-18 Phil 4:4-7 Luke 3:10-18
On this Rejoice Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, we quickly recap the last few weeks on our pilgrimage towards the mysteries of Christmas.
The word “Glory” featured a few weeks ago. This is the grace of God coming down upon us. Then we focused on “longing for the Lord.” Both the glory and the longing are fulfilled in the baby Jesus. This gives us great joy. As in the First Reading, with the prophet Zephaniah, we, on this Rejoice Sunday “Shout for joy daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud!”
On this third Sunday of Advent the word that comes to my mind in reflecting on the Scriptures, is the word “Wisdom” and wisdom of a practical nature.
Here we have the entrance of the pragmatic and blunt hinge prophet between the Old Testament and the New Testament – St John the Baptist. Who knows, he might be of Aussie descent given his pragmatic and blunt nature.
In the first instance his preaching could not be more blunt. The idea is to repent. The idea is to create space for Jesus by getting rid of all superficiality and ambiguity.
In calling for repentance he exhorts and announces. As the Gospel of Luke says, “There were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.”
Secondly, he is pragmatic about our repentance. He makes wise practical comments to three groups. It is a similar message to all three. He tells them all to stay in their occupations but to act with great integrity and justice.
One group he talks to are tax collectors. He doesn’t ask them to stop being tax collectors but he does tell them to be honest. They are not to put taxes for the Roman Empire in one pocket and money for themselves in another pocket!
Secondly he talks to soldiers. Again, they are not to leave their military role but there is to be no intimidation. They are not to frighten or threaten people. There is to be no extortion. They are not to obtain money through an ultimatum of force and threat.
The third group are people in general. He calls them to be generous. When they ask “What must we do?” He says, “If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.”
We can all learn from such practical wisdom as Christmas approaches. Let us recall from the Acts of the Apostles when St Paul, quoting Jesus says, “There is more joy in giving than receiving.” (Acts 20/35) In being generous and acting with integrity we give a great gift to other people which rebounds with great joy in our hearts. An important message this Rejoice Sunday of Advent.
These comments are all in answer to the question asked three times, “What must we do?” This is very typical of the Gospel of St Luke. He is very keen to stress the social aspects of our faith. Our faith isn’t something just for inner piety and individual devotion. It must have a ripple effect on other people, in our families and our neighbourhood and particularly for those who struggle at Christmas time.
We could ask ourselves the question, what must we do in the week before Christmas?
Let us enjoy the experience of giving. Last week I asked you to bring food stuffs to the Mass today so that St Vincent de Paul Society can make Christmas hampers for the many homeless in our fair city of Canberra. I thank you for your generosity. There are many baskets full of food stuffs but many of you perhaps haven’t had the opportunity of giving. Next Sunday is your last chance so please bring food and clothing for distribution amongst the people of Canberra.
I do offer a word of warning. Please don’t give food over the use-by-date. Please don’t give clothes that are not worthy of wearing.
I know you might laugh at this but as a seminarian I worked for some months in the St Vincent de Paul Society. About half of the material received from people needed to be thrown out. Giving soiled, torn clothing or food stuffs beyond their use by date is an insult to the poor. Those who do that deliberately will answer before God. Let us recall how Jesus said, “When I was hungry did you give me food (edible) and when I was naked did you give me clothes (wearable).”
Many other things will happen over the next week and beyond which will tug at our moral consciences, something that comes up quite suddenly.
For example, two weeks ago I was walking down the street nearby. There were two ladies sitting on the foot path with their backs to a shop window. When they saw me coming one of them yelled out, “Hey you come over here!” She repeated this several times. I could see what I was moving towards! As I passed nearby I greeted them and said, “Ladies I am going to get a coffee would you both like one?” Again the ladies said, “Hey you come over here.” I repeated my offer regarding the coffee and said, “Please let me know.” She quietened down considerably and then said, “Two cappuccinos with four sugars in each!”
When I returned with the coffee’s we had a little chat. Their robust shouting out had stopped and we spoke in a dignified manner. One of them asked, “Are you one of the priests from the Church up the road?” When I said I was we were able to have a lovely conversation before I left for the Cathedral.
All this happened in a few moments. Perhaps some of you would say that I should have done more. Perhaps some of you would say that I did too much! At least I did do something.
So, over the next few weeks there will be many opportunities when we can at least do something. A decision will have to be made immediately. Let us remember the key expression of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop when she said, “Never see a need without doing something about it.”
That is our “Gospill” for today. “Never see a need without doing something about it.”
HOMILY
ARCHBISHOP CHRISTOPHER PROWSE
CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP OF CANBERRA AND GOULBURN
ST CHRISTOPHER’S CATHEDRAL
22nd DECEMBER 2024
FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT (YEAR C)
AND MASS ONLINE
Readings: Micah 5:1-4 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45
In today’s Gospel we have the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. This is also the second Joyful Mystery of the Holy Rosary. At the same time, it emphasises one of the major themes of Luke’s Gospel, the hospitality of God.
Over the last few Sunday’s of Advent we have focused on longing, glory and practical wisdom, and now the key word of today is “Visitation.”
God visits His people and in the birth of Jesus, God visits His people permanently. In one of the canticles in the initial chapters of St Luke, the proclamation is that, “God visits us like the dawn from on high. He will give light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow of death, to guide us into the way of peace.”
Let us now reflect on Mary’s visit to Elizabeth.
It is not a short visit. It is like going from Goulburn to Canberra. It is a long journey. It is a dangerous journey. Mary is pregnant but she is very keen for this visit to take place.
It is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but I wonder what advice she was given when she mentioned to others that she was travelling down to Ein Karem, a suburb in Jerusalem.
I recall a few years ago when I was in Jerusalem, a few of us were keen to visit Bethlehem.
We were staying at a hospice for pilgrims run be the Sisters of Sion. At that time three Australian Sisters were in charge.
When a few of us indicated that we were hoping to visit Bethlehem, the advice was plentiful. Some said, “Don’t go – it’s too dangerous.” Others said, “Do go but go in a taxi and let the driver be a guide for you.
The next advice was the riskier one – “Go on the local bus and find your own way around.”
I was quite keen on the second option but I was out voted! The others all wanted to take the third and riskier option – The trip to Bethlehem on a bus. So off we went! Sure enough when we arrived nearby Bethlehem the bus stopped. Several in our group were very savvy with the iPhone GPS, they knew exactly where to go.
As we left the bus we were besieged by a number of very vigorous taxi drivers. We tried to ignore them but it was difficult. We all went off in the same direction and they shouted back to us saying it was the wrong way and they would take us safely to the correct place.
One of the younger ladies in our group was determined that we should follow her. She was like a Joan of Arc! She had her iPhone in her hand and she was very confident that the Basilica was only a 20 minute walk. Again reluctantly, I followed her because all the others wanted too. The taxi drivers continued to shout at us as we left their company. Sure enough we arrived safely at the Basilica about 20 minutes later due to this women’s determination and trust in her iPhone GPS!
I wonder if this women is like a Mary figure. I am sure Mary’s relatives would have been giving her all sorts of advice, either not to go or to go with others. She seemed to have chosen the most risky option!
Faith does involve a calculated risk. Faith does involve a hope that, with Jesus leading us even though the path is risky, the destination is secure.
Because of Mary’s visitation we have three marvellous initial features of our Christian faith.
Not only did Mary give birth to the Saviour but by her visitation in the first place she gave birth to Christian Mission. There was Mission before Mary, but this was the first Christian Missionary endeavour. Always recall, as we learnt in our Assembly, that Christianity is based on the tripartite aspects of Encounter, Discipleship and Mission.
Here the Christian Mission began because Mary had already encountered God through the Archangel Gabrielle in the Annunciation. At that point she was also given Discipleship regarding how this would take place. Now she understands that being sent out on Mission is not a luxury but a necessity.
So off she goes as the pilgrim woman of faith.
The second “Birth” is the birth of Christian charity.
Mary’s determination to visit Elizabeth seemed to be stressed in the Scriptures because Elizabeth was elderly. She had been fertile. She had passed the years of childbearing but now she was pregnant with John the Baptist.
So Mary set out to affirm and encourage her elderly relative in her pregnancy, a state she shared on a completely different level.
The third “Birth” is the birth of Christian devotion.
Mary’s pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem is the first Christian pilgrimage of hope. It is the first kind of Eucharistic procession. This time the monstrance was not made of silver or gold it was made of Mary’s physical body. The Eucharist in the monstrance of her body was the child Jesus in her womb. Her trip was a Eucharistic procession in the most primal way of considering Eucharist processions, which are making a comeback in the Christian world globally.
It is also the first example of shared prayer in the New Testament. There is a beautiful statue at Ein Karem, outside the Basilica of the Visitation, of two pregnant women embracing each other in a moment of prayerful union. Here is a great example of the prayer they prayed. It wasn’t simply of two people but of four people. It was Mary and Elizabeth and Elizabeth and Mary but it was also John the Baptist and Jesus and Jesus and John the Baptist. The Scriptures of today’s Gospel say that John the Baptist “leapt for joy in the womb.” It is a non-verbal shared prayer.
For our “Gospill” for today we can repeat a prayer which is the most popular Catholic prayer. When the Archangel Gabrielle visited Mary he said, “Hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you.” Then when Elizabeth greeted Mary in Jerusalem she said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.” So the first half of the Hail Mary came from the first and second Joyful Mysteries of our Holy Rosary. Let us now pray the first half of the Hail Mary together as our “Gospill”…