Entries by Abbot David

1st Sunday of Lent (C) – 2025

10 March 2025in /by

1st of Lent (C)

How much do people really notice about what is going on around them. Indeed it might be said that all of us can be quite indifferent and sometimes wilfully ignorant of the activity around us. The careful observer will naturally see more in the ordinary, everyday environment than others might. Someone who is enthusiastic about nature, or a frequent visitor to the countryside, could probably point out the amazing diversity of life more easily than a casual rambler. Of course being guided and with careful observation there is so much to discover – so much to notice. Everything is there as it was before; it just took someone who knew how – to help others be aware of what surrounds them. Just because something is there does not mean we will see it and understand it.

Today, St. Paul says to us, “The Word is near you, …it is on your lips and in your heart.” Paul is talking about the presence of God in Christ, and how we come to know that presence by faith. Christ is near, is part of our world; yet we usually need to train ourselves to recognize him. The place to begin looking is where we find ourselves now. Instead of keeping our eyes open and trying, with measured persistence, to recognise what we seek in our own surroundings, human beings have a tendency to be restless – grasping at things that may feel good but do not do us any good. We would like to think there is a place where the search for spiritual contentment is not so difficult to find or understand.

But scripture says: The Word is near you, in your heart and in your lips. The original passage St. Paul is quoting, [from the book of Deuteronomy (Dt. 30:12)], adds, “It is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to wonder: ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us to get it and proclaim it to us so we may hear it and keep it?'” No, the Word is near us: Christ is all around: Jesus is the Word.

On Ash Wednesday we were invited to observe Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, self-denial, and consideration of others; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. This is not an invitation to do something unusual or extreme. It is an invitation to train ourselves, so that our eyes can learn to see what is already here.

The Lenten disciplines which our Ash Wednesday invitation recommended are some of the ways of noticing God in the ordinary circumstances of our lives. They are not the only ways, but they are among the most reliable. That is why they are recommended each Lent. So during this Lent – listen to the Lord in Sacred Scripture, talk to Him in prayer, improve the discipline and order of your life and consider your relations with others. Always remember that the Word is near, in your heart, where you live, in the people around you.

Presentation – 2025

3 February 2025in /by

2nd February 2025 – After Jesus’ birth, Mary fulfils the Jewish rite of purification after childbirth. This rite, points to the fact that children are gifts from God.  Like all godly parents, Mary and Joseph raised their son in the knowledge of God.  He, in turn, was obedient to them and grew in wisdom and grace. The Lord’s favour is with those who listen to his word and act upon it. 
 
Simeon’s encounter with the baby Jesus and his mother in the temple reveals that he was a just and devout man who was in tune with the Holy Spirit. He believed that the Lord would return to his temple in Jerusalem and renew his chosen people. The Holy Spirit also revealed to him that the Messiah would bring salvation to the all nations.  The Holy Spirit reveals the presence of the Lord to those who are receptive and sincerely wish to receive him. 
 
We know that Jesus is the new temple (John 1:14; 2:19-22). In the Old Testament God manifested his presence in the “pillar of cloud” by day and the “pillar of fire” by night as he led the Hebrews through the wilderness following their freedom from slavery In Egypt. When the first temple was built in Jerusalem God’s glory came to rest there among His people (1 Kings 8).  After the first temple was destroyed, the prophet Ezekiel saw God’s glory leave it (Ezekiel 10).  But God promised one day to fill it with even greater glory (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 8-9).  That promise is fulfilled when the “King of Glory” himself comes to his temple (Psalm 24:7-10; Malachi 3:1). Through Jesus’ coming in the flesh and through his saving death, resurrection, and ascension we are made living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16-17) because by the gift of grace we become what Christ is by nature. The Divine presence is now spread throughout the whole world.
 
Simeon blessed Mary and Joseph and he prophesied to Mary about the destiny of this child and the suffering she would undergo for His sake.  There is a certain paradox for those blessed by the Lord.  Mary was given the blessedness of being the mother of the Son of God.  That blessedness also would become a sword which pierced her heart as her Son died upon the cross.  She received both a crown of joy and a cross of sorrow.  But her joy was not diminished by her sorrow because her joy was upheld by her faith and hope in God and his promises.  Jesus promised his disciples that “no one will take your joy from you” (John 16:22).  The Lord gives us a joy which enables us to bear our sorrow or pain and which neither life nor death can take way. 
 
Simeon was not alone in recognizing the Lord’s presence in the temple.  Anna, too, was filled with the Holy Spirit.  Anna was pre-eminently a woman of great hope and expectation that God would fulfil all his promises. She is a model of godliness to all believers as we advance in age.  Advancing age and the trials of life can easily make us yearn for the past if we do not place our hope in God and his promises. Anna never ceased to worship God in faith and to pray with hope.  This hope is the desire for the Kingdom of Heaven and blessings of eternal life. With Christ as our light let us be a beacon of hope for all who search for the justice and truth of God.