Parish of Our Lady & Saint David, Cwmbran

“A huge number, impossible to count” – that is the picture this Solemnity creates. In every age there have been men and women who have followed the Lord faithfully, and who now rejoice in the Liturgy of Heaven, as they stand before the throne of the Lamb. These are the “anonymous” saints, whose names we don’t remember ‑ but even though their names are not on our lips, their memory, inspiration, example and prayers are set before us today, so that we too can be encouraged in our own “journey of perfection”. What does it take to be a saint? Surely the Gospel that is appointed for today (the Beati­tudes) shows us that it is in the small things that we triumph: gentleness, mercy, making peace, faithful mourning, purity of heart, poverty in spirit ‑ these are not grand, public ways to sanctity. They are domestic, and homely, to be practised and perfected with those closest to us. We sometimes exalt the “named” saints to the degree that we can feel they are distant from us. Today’s feast, as well as celebrating the memory of the many whose name we do not know, also prompts us to see holiness as within our grasp.

First Reading: Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14

Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

Psalm (All)

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,

the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on seas: on the waters he made it firm. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. He shall receive blessings from the lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob.

You must love the Lord your God, and your neighbour as yourself
When you look at something like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and see its 691 pages, or look at the 2,000 pages of the big Jerusalem Bible, you can be forgiven for thinking that Christianity is a complicated affair. But Jesus reminds us today that it is essentially very simple: everything can be summed up in two basic rules: love God, love your neighbour. Exodus backs this up, by talking about the simple love that we must show to each other. Not that this is easy – love is always costly, and involves some degree of sacrifice. We will have to change, to become perfect in love; but it is possible, and when we do, like the people of Thessalonica, we become a great example to people everywhere.

First Reading: Exodus 22:20-26

Second Reading: Thessalonians 1:5-10

Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

Psalm (All)

I love you Lord, my strength,
my rock, my fortress, my saviour.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
The Lord is worthy of all praise: when I call I am saved from my foes.
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
Praised be the God who saves me.
He has given great victories to his king
and shown his love for his anointed.

The Church’s year is drawing to a close: in a few weeks we will be thinking very clearly about the end of time – but here we have a preview. The parable of the banquet is a link between the Gospels of recent weeks (which have as their theme: ‘Just who is going to be saved?’) and the looking forward to the end times which will follow. The big danger is complacency: we are baptised, we go to Church, we’ve got our invites to the wedding. But when the big day comes, will we be ready for it? Or will our thoughts be on the other things of life? Jesus speaks of himself as the Bridegroom, and today points out to the chosen people that they are in danger of missing the celebration. Our faith is that the Bridegroom will come again; let us be careful that the same parable is not addressed to us.

First Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10.

Res: In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell for ever and   ever

Second Reading: Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

Gospel: Matthew 22: 1-14

“He will lease the vineyard to other tenants.”

Today we focus on the vineyard: frequently we see the vineyard as an image or parable of the Kingdom of God. A vineyard takes a great deal of work, throughout the year; it must be tended, watered, pruned, cared for if there is to be any fruit – there are no quick results with vines. So the financial and labour investments made would create high expectations for a good crop. How heartbreaking when the fruit is as sour as vinegar! So it was with God and his people: he invested immense care and love on them, tending then and giving them what they needed – but the fruit was rotten and sour. What can God do? Hand the vineyard over to some tenants who will bring in a harvest. That is us, the new people of Israel: but what sort of harvest will we produce?

First Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7.

Res: The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel

Second Reading: Philippians 4:6-9.

Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43

Once a sinner, always a sinner.” That seems to be the attitude of the self-righteous in the first reading and the Gospel; they object that God is unjust, because he gives sinners another chance. But God tells them quite clearly that such attitudes are the real injustice – to allow prejudice and hardness of heart to come between repentance and forgiveness. The words of Christ in the Gospel must have struck a chill into the hard hearts of the so-called righteous chief priests – even today they can make us stop and think: “Prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you.” All our outward show matters little, if it does not correspond with what is deep in our hearts; all our words are meaningless, if they do not correspond with the way we live our lives.

First Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28.

Res: Remember your mercy, Lord

Second Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

Gospel: Matthew 21:28.32

We can never hope fully to understand God: especially God’s generosity. We are very good at working out who is deserving of good fortune and who is not – unfortunately for us, God’s gifts go to those God chooses, not those we choose. An example is forgiveness: those who have done the most wrong are those who receive the greatest forgiveness when they turn to God – perhaps at times we begrudge this gift. Today’s lesson is simply this: God’s ways are not our ways, God’s thought are not our thoughts.

First Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9

Res: The Lord is close to all who call him

Second Reading: Philippians 1:20-24,27

Gospel: Matthew 20:-16

We will sometimes interrupt our usual cycle of Sundays for this Feast, which therefore also interrupts the usual pattern of readings. Today all the readings harmonise with the central theme, which is, of course, the cross. There are many ways of looking at the cross: as an instrument of torture and shame, as an emblem of death and defeat. But in the Church there has always been a way of looking at the cross which the world cannot under­stand: it is to see it as a sign of victory, of triumph, as a banner or standard of the forces of good and light as Jesus defeats the prince of this world by his death. The early Church depicted the cross as a richly jewelled emblem of victory; when the faithful looked at this jewelled cross, they knew that it was the sign of God’s love and the Victory over sin and death that had been won for them.

First Reading: Numbers 21: 4-9

Res: Never forget the deeds of the Lord

Second Reading: Philippians 2: 6-11

Gospel: John 3: 13-17

If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

No man is an island…” How true this is for those who follow Christ: each of us has responsibilities towards each other, based on our ‘debt of mutual love’. When we see wickedness and wrongdoing, then because of our privileged position of following the Lord Jesus, we have a duty to speak out. This will not always be easy – remember the prophet Jeremiah last week – but this was the mission of the Lord Jesus himself, and as his followers, it is our mission too. As with everything, love is ‘the answer to every one of the commandments.’

First Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9

Res: O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts

Second Reading: Romans 13:8-10

Gospel: Matthew 18: 15-20

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself.

A quick glance at last week’s Gospel reveals the interesting development of the story: last week, we heard Peter proclaiming that Jesus was the Messiah, and being given authority as a result. This week, Peter gets it wrong: he is rebuked by the Lord because he does not understand who the Messiah is. The Messiah is the one who will give everything for his people – even his own life. To be a follower of Jesus demands an understanding and acceptance of this fact, and a willingness to take up the cross as Jesus did. Our introduction to this is the prophet Jeremiah – also persecuted for doing and saying what was right. Have a look at the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, where this twinning of Jeremiah and prophecy of persecution also appears.

First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-9

Res: For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God

Second Reading: Romans 12:1-2

Gospel: Matthew 16:21-27