Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mass Celebrated by Archbishop Denis Hart
at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, Melbourne,
on Sunday, 25th September, 2005, at 11.00am

Introduction

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today we are confronted with the reality of Jesus as our God, who went to a cross; the one destined for glory who took to himself suffering, all too familiar for us in our imperfections.

As we remember who Jesus is, the only Son of the Father, whose state was divine, and as we remember the limitless mercy of the Father, let us commit ourselves readily to being strengthened by this meeting with him for service, bringing the joy to live and breathe the Church’s universality that others everywhere may come to recognise in Christ the true answer to their deepest aspirations.

As we call to mind our sins, let us ask the Lord for strength and power to witness to him.

Homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today, as we celebrate this Sunday Mass and see the challenge offered by those who have discovered Christ to lead others to him, we remember that a great joy cannot be kept to oneself, but has to be passed on.

Jesus entered into the blood and suffering of his cross, the horror and violence, but by giving us himself in the Eucharist he has transformed a brutal act through the fullness of his love into something that is powerful to make us instruments of love and of truth. That is why he said to us, “Do this in memory of me”. That is why you and I know that the Eucharist is the great gift, which will help us to be transformed and bring that news with joy to the world.

God is forever merciful as the Psalm says. Jesus is the only Son of the Father and it is in his going to the cross that we adore him. The Latin word, adore, is the technical word used for a kiss, a sign of perfect union and from that union and from that cross comes life.

What we also need to remember of course is that many people who have first said no, now are brought to yes by God; Peter, who failed the Lord, Thomas, who was racked with doubt. Yet their denial was transformed into love.

The Cistercian monk, Thomas Merton, said of his early life, “I was overwhelmed with a sudden and profound insight into the misery and corruption of my own soul. My soul desired escape with an urgency unlike anything I had known before.” The challenge for you and me is best described as Merton’s escape from self into God and into grace, which became a wellspring of grace for many others.

When Jesus first used the story of the Gospel today he was in dispute with the leaders and elders. They had assumed that their righteousness had earned them coming into God’s kingdom, while the tax collectors and sinners were outside. Yet, just as Jesus brought the elders to admit that the son who first said no and then went and did what the father had wanted, is a reminder that many people whom we imagine are outside salvation have that possibility offered.

God’s love is freely given to sinners, but we have to acknowledge our sin, confess our sin and make new our life. You and I are challenged to touch the grace that makes us say yes to God and to place our confidence in him rather than in ourselves.

Just as adoration means to be one with the Lord in the most perfect way, so by coming to the Lord we are challenged to be part of the work in which good triumphs over evil, love over hatred. In this world where there is a strange forgetfulness of God there is also a sense of dissatisfaction with making ourselves the centre. People say this cannot be what life is about.

Pope Benedict is inviting us to find the true star, the Church, which points us to Christ, even despite the imperfections of the people in it. Through the word of God, through our catechism, we learn about God. Our learning, however, needs to be transformed into love and faith. Jesus does expect his witnesses to build a better world and invites us to service in so many ways.

Today let us worship the Lord with our adoration, let us follow the star that guides us as believers and because of this encounter with the true God and the strength it provides, let us be sure that we have a hope which will make a difference in the world by what we believe and are and do.

+ Denis J. Hart,
Archbishop of Melbourne.