All times correct at time of publishing, please check locally in case of changes.

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Cathedral of the Assumption, Carlow

Mass @ 7.30pm

Introduction:

The Chrism Mass is our evening of the Oils – the blessing of Oil of Catechumen, the blessing of the Oil of the Sick, and the consecration of the Oil of Chrism. It is the evening when Priestly Promises are renewed and priests, collaborating with their lay brothers and sisters, are encouraged, supported, and affirmed in their ministry.

From wherever you have travelled from this night to our Cathedral, know that you are very welcome. As the front cover of your booklet reads: ‘Fifty-Six Parishes, Three Deaneries and Eleven Pastoral Areas: Gathered as One Family in Faith’ …

… and so, as that family of faith in this Holy of Weeks, on this sacred night let us acknowledge our sins, and so, prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries …

Homily:

There is a familiarity around Luke’s gospel text for this Mass of Chrism. We have heard it before. This is not our first Chrism Mass. And yet every time we hear the text from St. Luke there is freshness and an urgency that is a stimulus to action: “the spirt of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight …”[1]. All of us here this Chrism night have been anointed, we are called in our many different callings to live out that anointing.  

The oils that are blessed and consecrated this night are the oils poured on us at baptism. Baptism is the most important sacrament, everything else – the openness to mercy and healing in Reconciliation, the commitment to be nourished at His table in Eucharist, the promise to live out our the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, the commitment to another person in Sacramental Marriage, the promise to be an alter Christus at Ordination and the soothing balm of Anointing at times of Sickness – all are inextricably linked to baptism.

Baptism is the most important sacrament of Christian leadership. Preparation for baptism is very necessary; we should never rush it. I encourage the many baptism preparation teams at work in several parishes. It is great to know that there are adults being welcomed fully into our Church later in the week at Easter Vigils.

We have entered an exciting time in our diocese with the formal training of twenty-five candidates who will work as lay pastoral workers. I welcome many of them who are in our congregation this night. Indeed, the offertory gifts will be presented by some of those very candidates in a short while. Lay Pastoral Ministry formation is the fruit of decades of effort on the part of many to promote and encourage the full and active participation of the laity in the mission of the Church.  We have been blessed in Kildare & Leighlin with a number of full-time lay people whose work and example in our diocese continues to be a valuable resource and blessing for us.

I am reminded of the comment that a Church of only ordained members would be a peculiar place indeed. But it is also true that a Church without the ordained would be a much-impoverished witness to the values of the Gospel.

As we continue the vital work of encouraging the active participation of the laity in the mission of the Church I would ask this Chrism Night that we give equal emphasis and ardour to encouraging vocations to the priesthood so that the Good News of Christ will be preached to the new generations of Kildare & Leighlin folk.

I am very conscious this night, of priests who are unwell or facing a challenging diagnosis, you are in all our prayers. As always, I congratulate those celebrating significant jubilees of ordination this year: Matt Kelly (70 years); Jim O’Connell (60 years); Tom Little & John McEvoy (50 years); Ger Ahern, Ger Breen & Andy Leahy (40 years); Willie Byrne, Liam Morgan & John Heinhold (30 years) and Paddy Byrne (25 years). Mick Noonan, our eldest priest will be 72 years ordained this June. I thank the nineteen priests from overseas who work among us; their contribution is appreciated. I thank our Permanent Deacons and welcome all of them here, especially the most recently ordained: Jody Callan, John Delaney, Sebastian Kopijka, Michal Mizgala and Declan Prendergast. I thank all my brother priests and deacons for their great ministry and all of you who collaborate with them.

The Mass of Chrism reminds us of our calling, a calling that is rooted in our baptism. All of us are, as this year’s Confirmation theme runs, ‘Loved, Chosen, Necessary’. Baptism allows us all to belong, and the synod Synthesis reminds us ‘belonging’ is critical to our faith journey. Every one of you in the Cathedral this night is needed in our Church. Lay Pastoral Ministers do not replace the clergy. Lay Pastoral Ministers do not replace the lay faithful already immersed in the life of their parish. The clergy do not replace the call of every baptised person. The Church of Kildare & Leighlin needs everyone.

Each of us has a role in fostering and encouraging all vocations. On this Chrism night let us be especially mindful of our priests who are needed to ensure that we continue as eucharistic communities, as they preach the word of God and celebrate the Mass, giving us the nourishment of Christ whose name we all bear through our baptism.

As we gather in such numbers, I am very conscious of the small Christian communities in the Holy Land, who are unable to celebrate Chrism and the other ceremonies of Holy Week because of the ongoing conflict. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa asks his people and all of us to pray the rosary for peace. I suggest we also light our Taybeh Peace oil lamp, the Diocesan Reach Out gift back in 2008; let us light it in all our churches during the ceremonies this Holy Week. Taybeh is the last fully Christian town on the West Bank currently under renewed Israeli settler incursions. In a small way, we will be walking with those unable to mark these hugely significant moments in our Christian calendar. I now light the Cathedral Taybeh lamp.

[1] Lk.4:18

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Cill Mhuire Church, Newbridge

Mass @ 10.30am

Homily:

More than at any other time of the year, Palm Sunday opens up for us an experience that will last a week, an experience of liturgy as sacred theatre, liturgy as drama. There will be moments in the week that disturb, that upset, that leave us cold. In this week of theatre we are invited not just to be spectators, but to become active participants.

Today congregations across the world in their own way, will reenact Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. But Christians in Jerusalem will be unable to participate in such a celebration on the Mount of Olives. The situation is not new, the local community has been unable to follow the usual Lenten journey celebrations because of the conflict that has beset their region. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa encourages us to pray the rosary for peace. I suggest we also light our candle for peace in all our parishes as our own Holy Week sacred theatre unfolds.

The joy of Palm Sunday passes too quickly. The ‘short gospel’[1] as it’s known from Matthew, ends too quickly. The joy seems very surface and momentary. Sometimes I questioned about the inclusion of the much longer Passion Narrative just proclaimed. We will hear a version of it again, later on Good Friday, so I wondered then, why the repetition? It’s there to allow us to anticipate, like in all drama’s ’to whet our appetite’. When we go to a play we know how it will end, but it doesn’t stop us going; we allow the plot lines, the actors, the stage settings to invite us into all the other aspects of the production.

Palm Sunday opens up for us all Holy Week, the drama of Jesus’ living and dying for us. We participated moments ago too willingly in the crowd scenes shouting to release Barabbas[2] and to crucify Jesus[3]. Let’s go deeper. Allow ourselves to become Simon of Cyrene, of whom Matthew barely mentions[4]. Wherever there is pain or poverty or loneliness, Jesus waits for our helping hand. As we reach out to help, it’s the hand of Jesus this week we hold.

[1] Mt.21:1-11

[2] Mt.27:21

[3] Mt.27:22; Mt.27:23

[4] Mt.27:32

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Ardeaglais, Ceatharlach: Aifreann: 10.30am

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh go léir! A very happy & blessed St. Patrick’s Day to all of you. A special welcome to our many guests who join us for our Mass this Lá Fheile Pádraig; Her Excellency Florence Ensch, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to Ireland, Mayor Francy Weyrich, Mayor of Vianden with his wife Denise, and Josy Bassing, a Medieval Historian. Last June our Willibrord Pilgrimage led by Fr. Thomas, visited and were warmly received in Vianden, the home town of Ambassador Ensch. To all of you and the other dignitaries, visitors and parishioners, I say: Tá failte roimh go léir go dtí an tAifreann ar Lá Fheile Phadraig.

Matthews text begins: “Ansin chuir Íosa parabal eile os a gcomhair”[1] (then Jesus put another parable before them). St. Patrick would have been very familiar with Matthew’s text. Saint Patrick’s world of the fourth and fifth century was an adventurous time to live, coming between the Roman Empire and the birth of the Middle Ages. Persecution ended; the opportunity for mission began.

As the old order of the Empire passed on, a new Europe was born, a Europe rich for evangelisation, for the sowing of the good seed (“an síol maith”[2]).

Patrick sowed an síol maith, Columbanus, Willibrord and many more sowed it. It is said that the success of Patrick was his ability to translate the gospel into the local culture, we call that today ‘inculturation’. Many Irish women and men: priests, religious and lay have responded to that missionary call and have been drawn to other continents to follow the example of Patrick. Every one of them in their day were masters at inculturation. And today Ireland has become mission land for many international priests and religious who populate our parishes, presbyteries and religious houses, continuing to spread among us the fruit of those early Irish missionaries to their home countries, we might call it ‘a reverse missionary journey’.

Patrick, unlike many of our saints, has left behind us two important testimonies: his Confession and his Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus. The Confession reveals a man of deep prayer, who trusts completely in God, who has a great commitment to mission and an intense love for the Irish. If we don’t love those we are missioning to, we are not imitating Christ. His Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus, we meet a man completely opposed to the horrors of  violence. On reading it, I shudder to think of his excoriating message to today’s world leaders, as we look on at Iran, the Middle East, Ukraine and of course Gaza.

Both writings of Patrick begin with an acknowledgement that he is a sinner. His Confession begins: “I am Patrick, a sinner, the most rustic and least of all the faithful, the most contemptible in the eyes of a great many people”[3]. He begins the ‘Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus’ in a similar vein: “I, Patrick, a sinner and untaught, established in Ireland, declare myself to be a bishop. I believe most firmly that what I am I have received from God …”[4] with that paragraph ending “… if I am worthy, I live only for God, to teach the heathens, even though some despise me”[5]. Patrick was deeply aware of his own worthiness, scarred by a sin he had committed in his youth, a sin that would remain with him in later years. Indeed church authorities of the day used it to undermine his mission.

Maybe we sometimes find it hard to comprehend that our faith was brought to us by a sinner who became a saint. It’s not easy to accept that the messenger can be flawed. Pope Francis reminded us “the saints were not supermen, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, like each of us …”[6].

On this day as we celebrate St. Patrick, his mission to us, and his putting flesh on Christ, we pray that his faith may inspire ours. That the light of Christ may open our eyes and those of our world leaders to the darkness that is war, to the anger of vitriolic language, the actions that follow and the loss of countless innocent lives.

We need to look beyond the snakes and the shamrocks. We need to look for substance beneath the shallow glitter that is too readily associated with this day. Patrick was a man of substance. Yet a man who like us often felt “briste agus bruite” broken and crushed, whose faith sustained him. May our faith sustain us in the knowledge that it is centred on Christ: “Críost linn, Críost romhainn, Críost in ár ndiaidh, Críost istigh ionainn”, “Christ with me, Christ before me,  Christ behind me, Christ in me”.

[1] Mt.13:24

[2] Mt.13:24; Mt.13:27

[3] Duffy, Joseph, ‘Patrick in his own words’, Veritas, 2019, pg. 15 ‘Confession’, ¶1

[4] Duffy, Joseph, ‘Patrick in his own words’, Veritas, 2019, pg. 33 ‘Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus’, ¶1

[5] ibid.

[6] Pope Francis, Angelus Address, St. Peter’s Square, 1^st November 2013

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Mass @ 9.30am – Mount St. Anne’s Conference & Retreat Centre

Catholic Education Partnership (CEP) reception of Croí Project – Vision Document

‘A Vision for Catholic Schools In Ireland’

Introduction:

We gather in Mount St. Anne’s in this, the 250^th anniversary, since Venerable Nano Nagle lit her lantern and began her mission of compassion, courage and conviction. Nano was just one woman walking those dark alleys and lanes of Cork 250 years ago; today her Presentation Congregation is a global network who continue to nurture her flame.

This morning we come from many sectors and represent various stakeholders, under the umbrella of CEP (Catholic Education Partnership) to launch the Vision Document ‘A Vision for Catholic Schools in Ireland’ and much more importantly to prepare for the reception of this vision document into all our Catholic Schools and Colleges and among the various bodies that support Catholic education. The Vision Document is the first fruit of the Croí project, a project that has been cradled here in Mount St. Anne’s.

Azariah’s powerful yet tender prayer in our first reading from the Book of Daniel is a cry from a broken heart. He feels all is lost and perhaps we who are passionate about Catholic Education might at times empathise with Azariah’s plight and prayer. Matthew’s gospel brings us upfront with mercy, and the inter-human dimension that is mercy.

And so we pray …    

•  Is tusa Tobar na Trócaire – you are the wellspring of mercy: A Thiarna, déan trócaire 

• Is tusa Slí na Fírinne – you are the way of Truth:  A Chríost, déan trócaire

• Bí linn i gcónaí, ós ár gcomhair amach – be with us always, showing us the way. A Thiarna, déan Trócaire

Homily:

“I only teach him religion” the teacher apologised to the parent as she ushered the mother off to the queue for one of the core curricular subjects. We must have the passion and belief that what happens in religion class at Primary and Post Primary and what happens in our Teaching Training Colleges is core to the education of that young man and every young man and woman.

The teacher, the chaplain, the staffroom, the classroom, the student, the pupil all must grow to realise that religion is core to the development and well-being of every young person, made in God’s image and likeness. Our schools begin with an invitation into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, into a friendship with God who is love, and into a local community where young people are accompanied in their search for purpose and meaning in life. And they are accompanied in so many wonderful ways by our schools who are welcoming and inclusive of all faiths and none.

The last time we had a launch of a vision for Catholic Education was in May 2008 with the launch of ‘Vision 08’. That’s eighteen years ago. Todays Leaving Certs were born in the same year as Vision 08! It envisaged then “a fruitful dialogue about the best way of ensuring that our Catholic schools can develop in the coming decades”[1]. Like all visions, they are aspirational, we realise quickly a decade is a long time and eighteen years is very much another world, the world of Gen Z.

Two years before ‘Vision 08’ the then Minister for Education & Science, Mary Hanafin T.D. speaking at one of the Easter week teachers’ conferences, commended the commitment of the Catholic Church to education in Ireland. She said “there are people and places in Ireland who would not have been educated or who would not have a school provided only for you (the Church)”[2]. We can too easily forget all that has been achieved, opportunities that have been afforded, offering young people a deeper appreciation of their faith and their place in the unfolding story of creation. And yet we allow the secular voices to cauterise these messages in mainstream media, as if to suggest Catholic Education is equivalent to indoctrination!

That’s why today is so important. Because we are passionate about Catholic education, we find ourselves challenged by the 2022 Genesis Report and the later findings of the Grace Research; we are equally conscious of a recent Iona Institute paper asking ‘Will Modern Ireland tolerate Catholic Schools?’[3], and despite the very significant challenges facing the Catholic education sector, people still seem to vote with their feet for a kind of ‘cultural’ or ‘light touch’ Catholicism. For some our schools are too Catholic and for more they are not Catholic enough!

As we await the findings of the more recent Department survey on school patronage, I will be very surprised if in the broad scheme of things there will be any great demand for change. I meet parents and families at Confirmation these days, they unashamedly tell me of their memory of the last confirmation of an older son or daughter. Have they engaged with Church much since? Perhaps the Children’s Mass on Christmas Eve! Yet they are ‘on side’ and would wish to retain their Catholic School, why wouldn’t they. Perhaps we need less schools, but we need schools that are intentionally Catholic.

My prayer and hope is that this vision document for Catholic Schools in Ireland will by using the seven strands build up these intentionally Catholic Schools. The only way this will happen is through proper resources to support each of these strands, offering training around ethos and identity. Research findings tell us ongoing training/CPD is critical for all school personnel.

Learning to be merciful, learning to forgive is central to any school setting. It starts at an early age: “I didn’t let so and so play in my games”. Mercy is at the heart of education, sometimes mercy like in our gospel is hard learned. This year’s Confirmation theme is ‘Loved, Necessary, Chosen’, very much focusing on wellbeing. I invite all the confirmandi to write to me before Confirmation, I read all their letters. Often the teacher doesn’t want to let her school down and you can easily sense a template or dare I say a ‘straightjacket formula’ unfold! I had one recently where the local priests surname was misspelt in every letter!

A letter from a recent confirmandi that underpins the need for our un-apologetic belief in the value of Catholic education as a core subject in all our schools speaks volumes of our vision and mission today.

[1] Pastoral Letter from the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, ‘Vision 08’, May 2008, pg.8.

[2] Address of Mary Hanafin TD, Minister of Education & Science at the CPSMA AGM, 25 March 2006

[3] Murray, John: ‘Will Modern Ireland tolerate Catholic Schools?’, Iona Institute, September 2022

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Introduction:

On one Sunday every year we mark ‘Safeguarding Sunday’, this is that Sunday. This year it purposefully comes so close to the Holy Hour I led here in the Cathedral last Friday evening, for all victims and survivors of the horror that is child sexual abuse. A weekend in many ways to reflect on the wrong done, so often by members of the Church to deal with the pain and stigma abuse leaves. For someone who suffers abuse, for someone who is a victim of abuse, the abuse never ends, it may recede but its always there. We now light ‘the candle of atonement’.

The First Sunday of Lent brings us upfront with temptation in its many guises.  We are just beginning the forty day journey; Jesus is at the end of His and it’s then these temptations take place. It’s important to contextualise His temptations and ours.

It’s never black or white, it’s the grey ‘in-between’ world, the dusk between daylight and nighthours where we are at our weakest! Temptation isn’t always will I or won’t I, but more “will I be caught?”, “sure what difference will it make?”, “isn’t everyone doing it?”…

… when we’re weak, we’re low, we’re rattled – temptation is of its nature very present and very real. Lets just pause a moment as we enter the first Sunday of this Penitential Season and seek forgiveness for past failings …

• Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father:                                                           Lord, have mercy …

• Lord Jesus, you heal the wounds of sin and division:                                                                                           Christ, have mercy ..

• Lord Jesus, you intercede for us with your Father:                                                                                                 Lord, have mercy …

Homily:

Pope Leo in speaking at the consistory earlier last month reminded us that “abuse itself causes a deep wound, which may last a lifetime”[1]. In my work as Bishop I meet victims of abuse who carry their pain with them for a lifetime. It never leaves them.

I mentioned last Friday’s Holy Hour. I’m always conscious of those joining us online then for that time of prayer. For some, even to enter a church building, a Cathedral, can in itself be a daunting task. Too many memories, too much hurt, too unsettling, with the result that joining online is their only viable option.

The temptations referred to in todays scripture, both in the Book of Genesis and in Matthew’s gospel can in the opinion of Fr. Billy Swan best be defined by the four D’s – deception, division, diversion and discouragement. Let’s unpack each one of them, firstly in the context of this evenings scripture and secondly in relation to the story of safeguarding on this island.

Deception – the devil sows doubt into the minds of Adam and Eve about what God said or didn’t say. Sure what harm could eating the apple from that tree do to you … deception.

Division – a wedge is driven between us and God, it happened in the garden of Eden and it was attempted in the desert. To get you to turn away from God … division.

Diversion – it’s so easy to get sucked in by the lure of pleasure, popularity and power. All the knowledge you’ll ever need, by eating that apple; all the kingdoms you can see are yours, if you fall on yoir knees and worship me … diversion. 

Discouragement – the greatest of all temptations to succumb to is that we are not good enough, that’s why this years Confirmation theme is so apt: ‘Loved, Necessary, Chosen’. Discouragement suggests that there is no point in trying, the game is already over … discouragement.

Deception when it comes to abuse of children or vulnerable adults is having a most unhealthy and immature notion of control, deception is being told not to tell. Deception is to get inside someone’s head and never leave them. Safeguarding is the exact opposite. It’s telling, it’s reporting, it’s informing and it’s respecting … deception. 

Division when it comes to the culture of abuse is not believing a victim, not hearing their story. Pope Leo at that consistory said “the scandal in the Church is that the door was closed and victims were not welcomed or accompanied with the closeness of authentic pastors”[2]. Division for perpetrators of abuse is playing one friend off another, one colleague off another, one family member off another … division.

Diversion is the temptation to think “that was in the past” and we sit back now and rest on our laurels! The very opposite, we must always remain vigilant. Safeguarding is always being on the look out for someone who needs support. While church structures and supports are robust, we still read court accounts of cases in families and in homes; research tells us of the rise in peer abuse, the abuse of children and young people by other children and young people. We are frightened by the slowness of social media platforms to take responsibility for applications that are misogynistic, toxic or debase particularly women and children … diversion.   

Discouragement is giving up, it’s too much bother to have altar servers or youth readers; it’s too much hassle visiting that vulnerable old lady. Quite the opposite. We embed a culture of safeguarding when we do things well, with all policies and procedures in place. A parish with activities for younger children and youth, a parish with an outreach to the vulnerable, is a parish that is fully alive … discouragement. 

As Church we can never say sorry enough, and sometimes saying it alone doesn’t ease the pain, but it is a start. As Bishop I once again apologise for the hurts of the past.

Safeguarding is not just a response to a crisis or a scandal, it is rooted in gospel values, the values Matthew’s Jesus speaks of on this First Sunday of Lent, as He held his ground in the face of evil.

[1] Extraordinary Consistory of Cardinals: January 7-8, 2026

[2] ibid

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Today Bishop Denis Nulty, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin and President of Accord clg, blessed the engagement ring of an engaged couple at the Shrine of Saint Valentine in the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street, Dublin, followed by the celebration of Mass.  The couple, Lauren Stewart and David Higgins, got engaged in early 2025 and are getting married in April in the Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Abbeyleix, Co Laois.
 
About the couple
Lauren is a renewable energy consultant originally from Carlow, now living in Dublin, and David is an economist and writer from Knocklyon parish, Dublin.  The couple commented, “We were impressed by the Accord Marriage Preparation Programme as it brought us closer together and deepened our understanding of each other.  The course is practical and is delivered over a twenty-four hour period.  It moves fast and it prompts you to consider aspects of your relationship you may have overlooked.”
 
Bishop Nulty congratulated Lauren and David on their engagement and extended his warm good wishes for a long happy life together.  He also welcomed the increase in the number of couples attending Accord’s Marriage Preparation Programmes in 2025 and expressed his gratitude to all the Accord volunteer facilitators in each of the dioceses in Ireland who made this possible.  He also noted the positive findings of the research carried out by Amárach in the percentage of young people identifying as Catholic and their future intentions to marry in Church.  “The Church” he said “is at the service of its community at all times.  It is encouraging to see the strength of faith present in today’s society and I encourage all couples to consider the various ways they can celebrate their lifelong commitment to each other by choosing to celebrate the sacrament of marriage in a Church.” 

Bishop Nulty continued, “Like all sacraments, the sacrament of marriage is a sign of God’s grace being active in people’s lives.  The sacrament of matrimony was initiated by Christ himself at Cana when he turned water into an abundance of fine wine.
 
“A mature faith is an understanding of God’s presence in our daily lived experience.  Christ said, ‘I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.’  Living out the life long sacrament of marriage and raising a family together is a worthy vocation and a practical living out of Christ’s commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.”

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Mass @ 10.30am – Cathedral

Introduction:

We are on the cusp of Lent and find ourselves confronted with a further tract from the Sermon on the Mount. It doesn’t rest easily on the ears. If we take the long version, which I imagine most churches won’t opt for this morning, we find ourselves confronted with pretty brutal messages around allowing eyes, hands, thoughts cause us to sin; we find ourselves at the altar when we realise we first must be at peace with our brother; we find ourselves unravelling what it means to swear an oath.

We will, like most congregations go with the shorter version of Matthews text, conscious that it still challenges our perceptions and disturbs our comforts. But then again isn’t that what Lent is supposed to do, to disturb us a little, so that as Pope Leo reminds us in his message for Lent 2026, we might “heed the voice of the Lord”. In a fast moving society where the demand of deadlines looms large, Lent invites us to allow ourselves to step back from being consumed by the anxieties and distractions of daily life and give God time, and in doing so, be gentle with ourselves in the process and so we pray …

As we go about our lives, the press of our duties and activities often leads us to forget your presence and your love – we sin and fail to live out the responsibilities that you have entrusted to those who were baptised into the life of your Son.

Grant to us, O Lord, a heart renewed … re-create in us your own spirit, Lord.

As we approach the season of Lent, Lord help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners; even more help us to remember your loving mercy.

Grant to us, O Lord, a heart renewed … re-create in us your own spirit, Lord.

Renew us in your life O Lord. May our worship and prayer and penitence on this Temperance Sunday be sustained throughout the whole Season. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection at Easter.

Grant to us, O Lord, a heart renewed … re-create in us your own spirit, Lord

Homily:

A word on Matthew’s gospel, the concentration is on the law, the fulfilment of the law, the Torah. Our culture looks on the law as something that restricts or contains us; in biblical terms, the law was quite the opposite. For the people of God, the word Torah meant instruction, wise guidance for living. There would be reverence for God and for His creation.

We are the ones who have complicated the law. The law in biblical days was good news for the people; for us its heavy, burdensome and at times wearisome!

What could be wrong with loving our enemies? What could be wrong with respecting life? What could be wrong with keeping sacred our marriage vows?

Of course we fail, at times fail miserably, but that’s why we have the Season of Lent. Forty days and forty nights in a desert not of sand, but of space to unpack what has gone awry in our lives. Back to Pope Leo’s message the opportunity to “heed the voice of the Lord” offering us three prisms to do just that – listening; fasting and being together.

Are we good listeners? Do we hear only what we want to hear? Pope Leo says “in the midst of the many voices present in our personal lives and in society, Sacred Scripture helps us to recognise and respond to the cry of those who are anguished and suffering”.

On fasting, we are not ever going to be the bread and water type, we are not ascetics, even the idea of fish on Friday as something penitential, I find these days fish can be more sumptuous than red meat! Perhaps we need to fast from the words that offend and hurt our neighbour. Pope Leo invites us to disarm our language, “avoiding harsh words and judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves”. Let’s measure our words this Lent!

On the communal aspect of listening and fasting, maybe looking again at the place of Sunday in our lives, re-reading the recent Bishop’s Pastoral ‘Why Sunday Matters?’ maybe reflecting as parish groups on its contents? I’m amazed at those I know, some very close to me, who no longer see Sunday Mass as a linchpin in their week. Make the six Sundays of Lent a particular focus for the Season!  

The Sermon on the Mount challenges us to go beyond ourselves. As a priest said to me the other evening, the sermon on the Mount is a depiction of Christ himself. See these precepts, these commandments as positive, ask how they might refocus your life. On that sermon Jesus brings his disciples and two thousand years later brings us all, to the heart of the Torah, to the heart of God’s will for us. If anything the gospel shows us how free we are, to say yes or no, but what will we do with this freedom. Have the no’s, the negativity in our lives, made us any happier? Have the no’s, the negativity, fulfilled us? Have the no’s, the negativity, made us better people?

This year the diocese is offering ‘Baptised and Sent’ a five session gospel reflection series during Lent. The content is linked to the conclusions of the Baptised and Sent preparatory document for last October’s pre-synodal assembly. Keep an eye on parish newsletters for more details. The Cathedral Parish here are offering an excellent scripture study group after the Friday 10am Mass during Lent in the Parish Centre. Consider joining it.

Traditionally today is a day of prayer and reflection on Temperance. A visit out the road to Sr. Consilio and her team at Cuan Mhuire shows the freedom and joy recovery from addiction brings. Taking a short-term Pioneer pledge is a gesture of solidarity with those living “one day at a time” according to the 12 step AA programme. Another consideration as Lent looms. May you all have a blessed lent!  

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