Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Archbishop: Homilies: Thirteenth Sunday of the Year

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 1st July, 2001, at 11.00am

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus leaves Galilee and passes through Jerusalem where he is to be put to death. On the way he wants to seek lodging at a Samaritan town and they refuse him. The challenge Jesus gives us today is to walk every day in his way: in brief, to live in the presence of Christ. Then we can go and freely find life again because the Spirit he gives us raises us up.

In the Spirit then, let us call to mind our sins.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Jesus took the direct way from Galilee to Jerusalem, which led through Samaria. Most of the Jews avoided it because there was a centuries old quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans. In fact, the Samaritans did everything they could to hinder and even to injure any bands of pilgrims who attempted to pass through their territory. For Jesus to take that way to Jerusalem was unusual; and to attempt to find hospitality in a Samaritan village was still more unusual. When he did this he was extending a hand of friendship to a people who were enemies. In Jesus’ case not only was the hospitality refused, but the offer of friendship was spurned, and no doubt James and John believed they were doing the right thing when they offered to call down fire from heaven to blot out the village and yet Jesus would not let them.

The Gospel then moves on to three people. One who realized that following Jesus brings uncertainties. A second who wanted time off to bury his father first. A third who wanted to say goodbye to people at home.

All of them had normal, human reactions and yet seemingly they could not cope with the immediacy of what Jesus was asking them. Every one of us has a special service that we and no other person can perform. One of the great truths of the spiritual life is to discover our own value for God, coupled with our need of prayer. Whether we are a young person, someone who has their struggles in life, or an older person for whom life has been very straight, often our life can be summed up in this prayer of Cardinal Newman:

Many of us have had a great admiration for Mother Teresa and the work of her Sisters with the very poorest of the poor; binding their wounds, showing them a love which comes from their own love of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The Sisters spend a couple of hours’ prayer each day in a simple chapel and from it they acquire tremendous strength for their work.

Sometime ago, some of the Sisters went to Mother Teresa complaining of how much they had to do. Could they cut down the time of prayer from two hours to one hour? Mother said, "no you increase your time of prayer to three hours and then you will have all the time you need for the work that you do."

If we face up to the effort we need to have prayer in our life, then we will find peace and achieve more than we ever expect. Living with Christ and in Christ and through Christ means that everything in the plan of redemption is based on the life of the Eucharist as much as it is upon the Rock of Peter.

Thirty years ago when I was a priest on the staff of this Cathedral I remember visiting a young married couple, who subsequently were the parents of eight children. The mother was a nurse, someone of great love, of few words, and yet above her kitchen sink were little prayers, which gave her God’s strength to be a good mother. Every one of her children was loved and wanted and prepared for life in the best way possible.

When Jesus calls us to follow him, whether it is in the special work of the priesthood or religious life, his call is all embracing, but it brings a great happiness.

When asked as to why there were fewer priests and religious these days, Sister Briege McKenna, who is renowned for giving spiritual talks and encouragement to many people, said that it is not that God gives fewer vocations, but it is that fewer people say yes.

The Lord is asking every one of us here in this Cathedral; John or Mary, do you love me? Come, follow me. Each of us cannot escape the immediacy of that challenge, whether we are parent, or young person, or someone called to a special vocation. Mary’s words in the Magnificat, "The Lord has done great things for me and holy is his name", are a reminder of the great things that could happen if each of us were to give ourselves completely and to let the Lord guide our life. This is the challenge today’s Gospel gives us; not to be afraid to say yes to the Lord and then to go forward courageously.

At the end of this Mass we will pray, "Lord, may this sacrifice and Communion give us a share in your life and help us bring your love to the world."

Here in the Eucharistic celebration, here in the tabernacle in our church, our God waits for us, wants us to bring his love to others. If we remember the words of the first of those three people in today’s Gospel, "Lord, I will follow you wherever you go", then we will have no doubt that we will find all that we need.