Your reward will be great in heaven

Feast of All Saints Year B - 31st October 2021

Gospel Matthew 5: 1–12

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak.

This is what he taught them:

‘How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall inherit the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted.

Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied.

Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God.

Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called children of God. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’

Adoring Saints, from the San Pier Maggiore Altarpiece, National Gallery 

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

Coming to pray with this familiar text, I may want to take a few minutes to clear my mind and put aside any preconceptions. I ask the Lord for the grace to hear his words anew and receive them with an open heart and mind.

As I read, perhaps there are parts of the text where my attention seems to linger. I repeat the words a few times, noticing the feelings which arise within me.

As I ponder the words, perhaps I am drawn to look at aspects of my life in the light of one or more of the Bea tudes? Gently – and without judgement –

I may, for example, want to consider where I need a particular grace to help me respond to the invitation to be pure in heart.

Perhaps praying with this text for All Saints’ Sunday leads me to recall those Saints from among my own friends and family who have gone before, and whom I know are now rejoicing with God.

What do I recall about the way they lived their lives ...?

... about their example to me, about what I learned from them?

As I cherish the memories I hold, I spend some time thanking God for the gift of their lives.

When I feel ready, I bring my time of prayer to a close, thanking the Lord for his loving presence with the words of the Our Father. Click here to read or listen to a one-minute homily on this Sunday's readings!

What do you want me to do for you?

 Gospel Mark 10: 46–52

As Jesus left Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, Bartimaeus (that is, the son of Timaeus), a blind beggar, was sitting at the side of the road. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout and to say, ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me.’ And many of them scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he only shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him here.’ So they called the blind man. ‘Courage,’ they said ‘get up; he is calling you.’ So throwing off his cloak, he jumped up and went to Jesus. Then Jesus spoke, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Rabbuni,’ the blind man said to him ‘Master, let me see again.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your faith has saved you.’ And immediately his sight returned and he followed him along the road.

Lord, let me see again!

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

As always, I take my time to come into prayer.

Eventually, I turn to the Gospel text, and read slowly ...

Perhaps I imagine the scene ... hearing Bar maeus shouting out in desperation, even when told to be quiet ... and then how Jesus responds to his enthusiastic determina on ... how he calls him.

I take time to ponder ...

Do I notice the Lord passing by in moments of my life?

Have I ever felt the need for courage in going against the majority, as Bartimaeus does?

Perhaps I notice his movement as he sheds his cloak. Can I recall times in my life when I have thrown off  something in my desire to rush to the Lord?

Now I look to Jesus ... the Lord, who has ‘come to give sight to the blind’. He is full of respect and asks Bartimaeus what he wants ... what do I notice about Jesus who asks questions, and doesn’t ever presume?

I let Jesus ask me that same question. What do I want to say to him in reply? What is my deepest desire at this time?

Bartimaeus follows Jesus down the road (or in some other transltions, ‘along the way’ – an ancient name for being a Christian).

How would I like to respond to the Lord now, at the close of my prayer?

Not to be served but to serve

 Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 17th October 2021

Gospel Mark 10: 35–45

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus. ‘Master,’ they said to him, ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’, Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for the seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant: they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’

When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

The cup that I must drink

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I come to my place of prayer. I take the time to relax my body as I come into God’s presence. I remind myself that I am enveloped in his unconditional love.

In time, I read the Gospel slowly. I picture James and John – their youth, impetuousness, confidence and ambition. What are my attitudes as I come before the Lord with my requests?

I contemplate Jesus’s reaction. I consider his gentleness and patience, but also his direct teaching, his humility. Can I learn something from his example in my dealings with others? I speak to him about this.

Perhaps I can also learn from the indignation of the other disciples?

How do my reactions fit in with Jesus’s call to me to serve, and to be willing to suffer for the sake of others?

I spend time speaking to him about my feelings ... and maybe also about my reluctance. I ask him for the graces I need to follow him more closely.

I end my prayer with gratitude for his gift of himself.

Click here  to read or listen to a one-minute homily on this Sunday's readings!

Everything is possible for God

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 10th October 2021 

Gospel Mark 10: 17–30 (part)

Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them, ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’, they said to one another, ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men and women’, he said, ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’

How hard it is for those who have riches...

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

I open my heart and mind to the Lord’s loving presence with me as I settle down to pray.

As I read the words of the Gospel, it may help to imagine the scene.

How do I feel as I see the look of love that Jesus has for the young man?

How do I respond to his sadness as he realises that he isn’t able to give up his wealth? Do I share the astonishment of the disciples as they hear Jesus’s teaching, and seek to understand its meaning?

Maybe I can put myself in the young man’s place, and let Jesus look at me with that same love. What might he be asking of me?

Are there riches (not necessarily material) to which I cling, which prevent me from being free to follow him as he asks?

I spend some time pondering these ques ons with the Lord.

I end my prayer asking the Lord for the grace to know him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly, day by day.

 Click here to read or listen to a one-minute homily on this Sunday's readings!

To such as these the kingdom of God belongs

 Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B - 3rd October 2021

Gospel Mark 10: 2–16

Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the Law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us,’ they said, ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So what God has united, no one must divide.’ [...]

People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms around them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

"To such as these..."

Gospel Reflection from St Beuno's Outreach

Once I feel settled to pray, I slowly read the Gospel text. I recall the truth at the heart of this Sunday’s readings: that we were created in love, for love. Jesus came among us not to condemn, but to heal and transform our suffering.

I use my imagination to explore the contrast in the interactions between the adults and the children in this Gospel. I ponder how Jesus deals with each of them. What does this teach me?

Perhaps I picture myself as one of the children coming to Jesus.

What is it about him that makes me want to be with him? Would I feel the same way about approaching one of the Pharisees or elders?

As I imagine being held within the accepting and comforting arms of Jesus, I place before him all my needs, desires and questions.

I sit, I remain, I listen, and when I am ready I finish my prayer with my own words of thanks.

Click here to read or listen to a one-minute homily on this Sunday's readings!