Holy Trinity Sunday – Year C

“… When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth …”

Gospel: John 16: 12-15

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Gospel Summary

While the term “Trinity” is more the result of early Christian communities than it is scripture, today’s Gospel helps us see the interconnectedness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This Gospel reveals Jesus’ words at the Last Supper. The disciples could not understand the meaning of Jesus’ words because they had not yet witnessed the resurrection. But Jesus explained that everything he had taught them and the witness he bore was from the Father. He assured them that He and the Spirit were one and that the Spirit spoke only what had been told by the Father through Jesus. The Spirit would remain with the community until Jesus returned in glory.

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

The Holy Trinity is the supreme model for marriage and family. When couples begin to look upon themselves and their relationship in Trinitarian light, upon their bond of love which is sealed in the sacrament of matrimony, the depth and meaning of the lifetime commitment they have made to one another takes on a profound significance. This is so because marriage is to be modelled after the three divine Persons of the Trinity whose gift of themselves is one of totality, unity, and fidelity.

The Most Holy Trinity: Origin of Family Life

As we reflect on the Holy Trinity one of the first things we notice is the inseparable relationship between the three distinct Persons who are the one God. The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son. This profound bond of unity among the three divine Persons makes them inseparable in what they are, and inseparable in what they do. This inseparable unity also occurs in matrimony: that Christian marital bond between man and wife which is established and sealed by God himself.

Let us too reflect on the life-giving aspect of the Holy Trinity. In the Nicene Creed Catholics affirm that the Holy Spirit “proceeds from the Father and the Son.” The Holy Spirit is often understood as the Spirit of Love who proceeds from the infinite ocean of love between Father and Son. We might therefore say that the Holy Spirit proceeds not only from the love of Father and Son but as a result of that love as well. The infinite love of Father and Son is of such intensity that the Third Person of the Holy Trinity flows forth, if you will.

This aspect of Love giving life to yet more Love is clearly what occurs in marriage when children are conceived. The man and wife, in an act of complete self-giving, produce, as a result of their own love for one another, a new life: a child whose eyes reflect the Most Holy Trinity, and whose love for the parents is so completely bound up in his or her life as to be inseparable from it. At birth, this child will look into his father’s and mother’s eyes; yet he is not meeting his parents for the first time; for he has already known and loved them. The family began existing at the moment of the child’s conception, bound together in unity and love.

• The Holy Trinity is the supreme model for marriage and family.
• In a Christian marriage there are 3 persons – Man, Woman and God.
• We are made in the image and likeness of God.

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.

The evidence that blows apart Mr Cameron’s claim that gay marriage will strengthen families.

This is such a great article  – please take a look…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2329294/The-evidence-blows-apart-Mr-Camerons-claim-gay-marriage-strengthen-families.html?fb_action_ids=10151378106401198&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151378106401198%22%3A315009368630424%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151378106401198%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

 

 

Wedding Cake Prosecutions…

For anyone who thought my last post might have been in the realms of fantasy – think again!

I did a little fishing around on the internet and found this sort of “Your Christian beliefs are not tolerated here…” issue has already raised its ugly head in the USA:

 

Baker who refused to make wedding cake for lesbian couple faces state  investigation…

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2272429/Aaron-Klein-complaint-Baker-refuses-make-wedding-cake-lesbian-couple-calls-abominations-unto-Lord.html#axzz2Jm9roLLL

And Another…                                   

Washington state suing florist who refused to supply gay wedding…

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/10/washington-state-suing-florist-who-refused-to-supply-gay-wedding/

And another…

Wedding Cake Wars…

http://www.bilerico.com/2013/05/wedding_cake_wars_oregon_edition.php

And another…

Same-sex couple denied wedding cake by bakery…

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57482042/same-sex-couple-denied-wedding-cake-by-bakery/

 

Well, there you have it! Your comments please…

 

Happy 1st Birthday Faith in our Families!

Why Equal marriage law will destroy my Wedding Cake Business (and Free Speech!).

For those of you who know me well, you will know that I have had my own small business working from home for the past 9 years. I make Wedding and Party cakes. I trained hard for 2 years to gain the skills and qualifications to go into this industry and even converted my home to be able to run a business from there. It has been wonderful as I have been able to work on and off these past 9 years around having children. Thankfully at the moment I am currently not working as we are expecting our third child, but I’m afraid that with recent political developments regarding same-sex marriage I will be unable to carry on with the business in the future.

The problem lies here – I am a Catholic. I believe that marriage can only exist between a woman and a man. I believe that children have the right to a mother and a father. I believe that taking part in homosexual acts is sinful – (it causes one to turn away from God and so harms the persons involved) and therefor it is something that can not be celebrated. I certainly could not profit financially from making a wedding cake for a gay couple.

When Civil Partnerships became legal in 2004 I had to make the choice of what to do if I was asked to make a cake for a gay couple. I decided at the time that the best way to handle it was to apologise saying that I was already booked up on that date. This of course was a lie and I felt very uncomfortable doing it. The other alternative would have been to try to explain that I was unable to make their cake because I disagreed with gay weddings for religious reasons. As my website had my address and all other contact details I decided that this could put me and my family in a position of danger.

I carried on in this way on and off for the next 9 years (in between having my children) and it seemed to work fairly well except for the awful guilty feeling I had because I was being forced to lie about being too busy to make their cakes.

So why not carry on the same way after my third child is born?

I feel the political atmosphere in the UK has changed dramatically over the past 12 months since David Cameron announced out of the blue that he wanted to re-define marriage. It has become nasty – militant even. You now hear slogans such as “Fair is more important than Faith” and “Equality overrides free speech” and the word “Bigot” is being thrown around like it was going out of fashion.

David Burrows MP told the Daily Telegraph last week that “In the last few days we have heard of a street preacher in Cambridge: Whilst he was speaking to the public about marriage a member of the crowd called the  police because, “Anyone who believes in man/woman only marriage should be sent to jail. Equality overrides free speech and your views are homophobic, intolerant and very very offensive. Nobody should be allowed to believe that marriage is only between a man and a woman in the 21st Century, we’re calling the police and we’re calling them now.” The street preacher was filmed on  mobile phones, as the small crowd declared they had all of the ‘evidence to put him in jail.’

Thankfully, common sense prevailed and the police retreated and went away. However it was a close call, and this even before the law has been changed. The problem is that the Same-sex marriage Bill risks fermenting such attacks on freedom of speech. The Bill creates a state orthodoxy which gives succour to the intolerant baying crowd or the politically correct council in discriminating against supporters of traditional marriage.”

If we take a look at Canada who re-defined marriage in 2005 we can see that approx. 300 Christians have now been prosecuted because of their beliefs in traditional marriage. In March of this year Canada’s supreme court ruled that even claiming that homosexual behaviour is immoral is now classified as ‘Hate Speech’. The court also explained that truth was no defence since “Truthful statements can be presented in a manner that would meet the definition of hate speech, and not all truthful statements must be free from restriction.” http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/03/06/canadian-supreme-court-ruling-has-implications-for-christian-witness/

I now regularly receive abusive comments on my blog and via Facebook, the most recent being a few moments ago from an atheist gentleman (I use that term sparingly) who likes to troll the Christian Concern Facebook page:

 https://www.facebook.com/events/464089323672839/464980736917031/?notif_t=event_mall_reply

Regarding the same-sex marriage bill he tells me: “Ah Clare, I have to call stupid when I see it, nothing is going to change except that a few bigots are going to find it hard to survive in the real world without having to rightly hold their tongue  whilst doing their jobs. I will Gloat and laugh, you come from one of the most intolerant groups this land has to offer and every time you try and hold on to a bit of your self proclaimed superiority the country tells you to stuff it. Your only complaint is that you are going to be prevented from discriminating as much as you used to, Marriage belongs to all the people of the country,  Suck it up and try not to be to paranoid, its a long life to spend being as bitter as you and many of your fellow travellers sound. You lost AGAIN”.

What really gets me about all of this is that these people are shouting under the banners of equality, freedom and fairness. Do they seriously think it is fair that in the UK in 2013 I feel so threatened by possible prosecution, persecution and even violence towards me and my family because the law is about to discriminate against us because we are Catholic (we could be Protestant, Muslim, Sikh, Orthodox Jews or just plain non-religious defenders of traditional marriage) that I feel unable to carry on with my Wedding Cake business?

I am being asked, sorry – TOLD to put my beliefs to one side because they are no longer welcome in this country. I put it to them that THAT is not fair, or equal, or acceptable. In a progressive, tolerant society I would not have to hide my beliefs for fear of prosecution or persecution. People who believe in equality must accept that not everyone is going to hold the same views as them. I am happy to live peacefully alongside people who hold different beliefs to me – why can the liberal community not do the same?

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices.
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
– Psalm 37.

Pentecost – Year C

“… Receive the Holy Spirit…”

Gospel: John 20: 19-23

19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Gospel Summary

The disciples were once again gathered together, and they were afraid. They had locked the doors. The risen Jesus comes in among them. He shows them the wounds on His hands and His side. They are filled with Joy. Jesus tells them “Receive the Holy Spirit…” and breathes the Spirit onto them.

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

How do we allow the Holy Spirit to interact with us every day in our family relationships? Outside of prayer time, are we aware of his loving, gentle presence? We forget that he is with us every day of our ordinary day-to-day lives – even in the most mundane of activities. The sacred, vocational life-giving love of spouses and parents is a sacramental sign of God’s presence and creative action. When two or more are gathered together in Jesus’ name, he is in their midst. Is this not true when spouses, parents and children are gathered together in Jesus’ name?

The Family that Prays together, Stays together!

Think of the normal daily event of meal time. Where is God in this ordinary family activity?  Every family meal has creative, loving, caring, comforting, joyful, patient, kind, generous, emotional and financial supportive elements to it.

Take a few moments before eating this evening to say Grace, and simply thank God for each other: “Dear God, Thank you for Mum and Dad, and… (Name each family member). Please bless our family, Amen”.

• I recognize the Holy Spirit in our family life when…
• Our family needs the grace/help of the Holy Spirit because…
• The Holy Spirit is always present – even in the most mundane of activities!

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. 

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.

And You shall renew the face of the earth.

The Ascension – Year C

“… He withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven….”

Gospel: Luke 24: 46-53

46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” 50 Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them. 51 While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; 53 and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

Gospel Summary

Reminding the disciples of previous prophetic predictions, Jesus quotes the scriptures saying that the Christ will suffer and then rise from the dead. Letting them know that he is about to leave them, Jesus instructs the Apostles to continue the ministry which he began. They are to remain in Jerusalem until they are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. After delivering these instructions, Jesus raises his hands as in victory and ascends to Heaven. The disciples are filled with joy as they return from Bethany to Jerusalem.

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

Jesus was finally leaving the disciples for the last time. And so dawns the final era of mankind – the era of the Church. Christ is of course the head and we (the Church) are His body. The present time is a time of the Spirit and of witness. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to witness to the redemptive death and glorious resurrection of Christ to those around us, until He comes again in Glory.

It is strange to think that we are living in the final era of Mankind. The era of the Church has been put in place by Christ Himself. He is with us at all times through the Holy Spirit and of course He is with us physically through the Eucharist. He wants to work in us and through us to reach others. To think that Christ wants to use me is a humbling thought. It is easy to think that we are too small to be of any importance whatsoever – but this is not true. Most of us are not asked to change the whole world like Blessed Pope John-Paul II or Francis of Assisi, but instead we are to concentrate on those closest to us and carry out the Lords final commandment – “Love one another as I have loved you.” He does not expect us to do this alone or even on our own merits. No, He has given us a helper – the Holy Spirit. And He has given us a community – the Church. It is through the Church that we are able to draw the strength and wisdom to proclaim the Good News until the end of this era when Christ will return for the last time.

• We are living in the final era of mankind – the era of the Church.
• The present time is a time of the Spirit and of witness.
• At the end of this era, Christ will return for the last time.

Dear Jesus,

Help me to understand the importance of your Church here on earth. Help me to cherish and pray for the Priests who represent you. May I always call on the Holy Spirit to strengthen and guide me.

Thank You Jesus, I Love You, Amen.

Sixth Sunday of Easter – Year C

“…But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, will teach you everything...”

Gospel: John 14:23-29

23 Jesus answered him, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. 25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe.

Gospel Summary

In this Gospel, Jesus prepared his disciples for his return to God. Jesus promised them that the Holy Spirit would live within them and provide strength and courage. The Spirit would always be available to help them as a counsellor and advocate. Through the Spirit, they would recall the words and teachings of Jesus and even come to understand these things in a way that they could not before. In addition the disciples would receive peace from the Spirit. The peace of the Spirit would be a kind of peace which provided a special inner serenity.

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

The Holy Spirit is often the most overlooked person of the Holy Trinity. This is perhaps because it is hard to describe what the Holy Spirit actually is. I have heard it described as ‘God’s power’ and even explained in similar terms as ‘The force’ in Star-wars!

Perhaps the best way to describe the Holy Spirit is ‘God at work in our hearts’. The Holy Spirit enlightens us – not only to the deeper meanings of scripture, but to the simplest parts of our day to day lives. In the light of the Holy Spirit, we can recognise Gods presence in the most mundane of tasks – doing the washing up, taking the dog for a walk, even the school run!

One of the most recognisable fruits of the Holy Spirit is peace. This is something that many people lack today. For us to begin to find this peace in our busy and stressful lives we must first acknowledge that modern life does not lend itself to peacefulness. Pope Francis has recently asked us to reflect on whether we are “slaves to our work…”  This is a very profound question. I suppose we could also ask ourselves whether we are slaves to the TV in the evenings, or the computer? Do we ever give ourselves a moment during the day to sit quietly and recognise where God is working in our lives? When I first began to do this I found it extremely difficult. I was not used to the stillness and the silence and quite often found myself dropping off to sleep! But as I got used to it, it began to dawn on me that this stillness and silence was something that I needed just like food and water. The Holy Spirit doesn’t shout – it whispers to us, and we need to make the time and the space in our lives to stop for a moment and listen.

• Can I find a moment today to sit quietly with God?
• Where is God working in my life at the moment?
• The Holy Spirit doesn’t shout, it whispers.

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me,

Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me.

Fifth Sunday of Easter – Year C

“…Love one another, just as I have loved you…..”

Gospel: John 13:31-35

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32 If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33 Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, “Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

Gospel Summary

While Jesus was with his disciples at the Last Supper, he pointed toward his future glory following his death and resurrection where he would be reunited with his Father in heaven. He also gave the disciples a command: to love one another. But the disciples didn’t have to figure out how to do this on their own. Jesus told them to love one another in the same way he had loved them.

 

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

How did Jesus love us? He was kind, helpful, truthful, self-sacrificing, patient, hopeful, forgiving – the list goes on. Is it really possible that I can be all these things to the people around me? The answer of course is yes – but it is not easy. Sometimes it is difficult to love our neighbour if we don’t particularly like them. They may have hurt us. They may hate us. They may hold very different beliefs and values to us. But the commandment is still there – “Love one another just as I have loved you…”

Perhaps the best place to start when we are faced with loving someone we don’t like is to understand what it means to love and to be loved. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16.

Do I love anyone enough to give up my child for them? Um… No! But God did that for us. And more to the point – If I was the only person God ever created, He still would have sent His son to die just for me and save me, rather than risk spending eternity without me. That is how much God loves and values each one of us.

If we can spend a few moments contemplating that every time we open our eyes in the morning, we will soon begin to grasp the infinite importance of each human being – even the ones we don’t like! Perhaps then we can understand that to ‘love one another’ begins with seeing that person’s infinite value – not by our standards – but through the eyes of God.

• How much does God love me?
• How much does God love my neighbour?
• “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” – Mother Theresa

Dear Jesus,

Help me to see the value of every person through your eyes. You died for everyone without exception. Help me to learn to forgive as You do and to love as You do.

Thank You Jesus, I love You, Amen.

Fouth Sunday of Easter – Year C

“… My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me....”

Gospel: John 10:27-30

27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

Gospel Summary

Jesus speaks with absolute certainty of His complete authority alongside His Father, and of assured eternal life for his followers. He explains that nothing can ever change this and that by saying that He and His Father are one, He once again reveals Himself as the messiah.

Relating the Gospel to our lives today.

This week’s very short Gospel is all about certainty. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Glory Be prayer:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.

This prayer, like this week’s Gospel, speaks to us of Gods ultimate authority. He is the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end. He is in charge at all times and nothing happens unless He permits it.

This is no easy concept to grasp when faced with the reality of injustice and suffering. Take the recent Boston bombings for example – God in His ultimate authority allowed that to happen – but why? Isn’t He supposed to be a loving God?

Isn’t it funny how we never ask God “Why?” when he sends us blessings – we reserve “why?” only for when he sends us suffering. My own children are exactly the same. I never hear a peep out of them when it is time for ice-cream or treats, but when faced with the injustice and suffering of having to tidy their room or do their homework the wailing and gnashing of teeth never cease!

This week’s Gospel also speaks to us of hope and the assurance of eternal life. Is it possible that, like little children, when faced with the question of injustice and suffering we are incredibly short focused?

This life is only temporary. Our suffering is only temporary. And the injustice we have to face is only temporary.

We can understand all three of these situations as we look at Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Through His death and resurrection Jesus teaches us that death is not the end. There is a life after this one that is happy, free from suffering and injustice, and is everlasting.

But through His death, He also assures us that in this life there certainly will be suffering and injustice. Even the son of God was not spared suffering and injustice.

Jesus did not come to take away our suffering. He came to show us that suffering has meaning and purpose. Whether we like it or not, our suffering in this life is part of Gods ultimate plan.

• This life is only temporary.
• Jesus has given us eternal life.
• Ultimately, God is always in control.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen.