Thine Own Service

Thine Own Service

Monthly Archives: December 2014

Homily for Saint Thomas Becket

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Homily

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canon law, homily, law, virtue

Saint Thomas Becket by Sir Ninian Comper in Saint Mary, Wellingborough

Saint Thomas Becket by Sir Ninian Comper in Saint Mary, Wellingborough

As we continue through the Octave of the Nativity of the Lord, today the Church commemorates Saint Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury and martyr for the faith in 1170. Chief amongst the reasons for the holy bishop’s brutal murder, in his own Cathedral Church, was his resistance to King Henry II’s encroachment of civil power over the life of the Church, and particularly her clergy. For this reason Becket is today the patron of the diocesan clergy of England, and for this reason his cult – which was remarkably strong and widespread in England, as in Norway, and even parts of France and Spain – was particularly targeted during the dark days of the Protestant Reformation, which itself placed the English sovereign as the head of an established or state church.

In today’s gospel we find a paradigm for Saint Thomas Becket’s faith and resolve. Christ, who during the season of Advent the Church names ‘lawgiver’ (cf. O Emmanuel), is himself the fulfilment of the law and, thus, above the law. By his precepts we Christians are called to live, just as by his judgement we are saved. In the confessional it is Christ who judges us through the person of the priest, always handing down a sentence of mercy. And yet, in this scene of his presentation in the temple, Christ submits himself to the law of Moses in order to honour the law, to honour his heavenly Father, and to fulfil the law in letter and spirit. His obedience, an obedience which we will see lead him to the cross, is made manifest in this act of submission, so that by following the law which he comes to fulfil, we too might be made partakers in his heavenly glory.

The law is not, then, an encumbrance to our life in Christ, but an essential element to its success. Christ comes into our earthly realm to restore the order which results from the chaos of our sin; of the fault of Adam and Eve in Eden’s garden paradise. So also he comes to order our lives by applying regulation – regula, religion, rule – in order to keep us on the narrow path which is the way of the Lord. We see this in divine and natural law, as also in those things which allow us to navigate the Christian life and which, by their observance, help us to submit ourselves to the law as did Christ, and so grow in stature and wisdom. May Saint Thomas Becket aid us in this endeavour by his prayers, that we may have the docility and humility of Christ which he embodied. And may we be given the courage and resolve to imitate such virtue in our own lives, whatever the cost, that in following Christ in this life – living in obedience to his law – we may be judged worthy to remain with him in the next.

Homily for the Holy Family 2014

28 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Homily

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baptism, christmas, eucharist, holy family, holy trinity, homily

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, with the Christ child, in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption, Baltimore, MD

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, with Christ, in the Basilica of the Assumption, Baltimore, MD

For many over the last few days the celebration of Christmas has been an opportunity for families to come together, often after some significant time apart, and, in each other’s company, to rejoice at the divine relationship of God and Man by recognizing the importance of the relationships that we enjoy with each other, whether by blood, or by the supernatural bond which is formed in us by virtue of our baptism into the life of Christ and the Church.

The feast of the Holy Family is a particular reminder of this, continuing this emphasis by presenting us with the example of the Lord’s earthly family, that we might imitate more closely his heavenly family. The Holy Family of Nazareth is given to us in the light of Lord’s nativity as a model of living for us to imitate, and a type of the fullness of life itself, which is the life of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity; the relationship of God the Father with God the Son, in and through God the Holy Spirit. That relationship, which is of the essence of our life in Christ and our hope of eternal life in him, is one begun in us by our sacramental washing in the waters of the sacred font, in baptism, and seen most particularly in the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice, the Holy Mass. In baptism we are grafted to Christ, incorporated into his mystical body, the Church, and so necessarily caught up in his divine life and in the eternal offering of his perfect sacrifice of praise to his Eternal Father. By virtue of our death to self, and our subsequent regeneration into new life in Christ, we too are intimately one with him: one with him in this life, we will be one with him in the next if we resist the poison and sickness of sin, which seeks to kill the mutual relationship he has established.

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Homily for Midnight Mass 2014

25 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Homily

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Window of the Nativity in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY

Window of the Nativity in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington, KY

As the whole earth lies in the biting darkness of this winter’s night, Christians come from the comfort of their homes and the warmth of their beds to pay homage to a baby, whom we believe has come to save us from sin and death. The harsh air and piercing black sky await us beyond the walls of this church; yet here we are, as a family huddled beside the fireplace for warmth and for light, together and one in our conviction that Almighty God has ‘enlightened this most sacred night by the brightness of him who is the true light’, and fulfilled in this holy child the promises of prophecies spoken to man since first we could hear and receive them.

Truly this night is ‘a return to our origins’. Here we are reminded of the very essence of our human nature; the inalienable dignity of every human person which the Church professes, from the moment of conception to natural death, is a result of the event we celebrate in the incarnation, the taking-on of our human nature by Christ, the second person of the Most Blessed Trinity. At every Mass we are reminded of this as the wine and water are mixed together in a single chalice: ‘O God, who didst wondrously create, and yet more wondrously renew the dignity of man’s nature: grant that by the mystery of this water and wine we may be made partakers of his divinity, as he vouchsafed to become partaker of our humanity’. By this sacred action we ponder anew the magnificence of God’s condescension: ‘Though he was in the form of God, [he] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men’ (Phil. 2: 6-7).

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Made For Glory

12 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Evangelisation

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advent, new evangelisation, social media

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Over the past few weeks a UK based discipleship project called Made For Glory has been producing daily reflections on the gospel at Mass. These short films have sought to be a guide through the season of Advent, bringing the message of this holy season to others through social media. Each day a new film has been uploaded to YouTube, and then put out through Facebook and Twitter for the Catholic social media world to share – and with great effect. The group describes themselves as, ‘Young people helping their peers grow in their faith, going deeper in their personal relationship with Jesus Christ’.

With the added advantage of a five hour time difference to watch the films the night before, my preaching at the Mass each day has been greatly helped by this project and resources. I’m used to preaching almost daily here, but often the reflections on the gospel which come to me before 7am, or which are influenced by the text of the Office that day, are not as concise or clear as they need to be for a short ferverino before people head to work. These short clips have the advantage that they communicate the message of the day’s readings, making the richness of the gospel palatable for a short homily whilst at the same time not reducing the challenges the readings present.

I am far from an advocate for reductionist preaching, or for seeking to make every aspect of the Christian faith relevant through contemporary analogy; rather I want to share the joy and challenge of living the life to which we are called by our baptism to those around me, and to offer them a chance of entering into the mystery of the life of the Church. These clips help with that, and particularly in their intended context: not just the daily Mass (where we find people already committed to Christ), but in our social networks, filled as they are with those whose faith is weak, or shaken, or unawakened by knowing the joy of life in Jesus Christ and his Church.

The intention of Made For Glory is also important. This is a ‘discipleship project’. It is classic and effective peer-to-peer evangelization. It is young people seeking to bring young people into a deeper ‘personal relationship with Jesus Christ’. This description is  strongly evangelical and biblical language, for sure, but it is also the language of the Church, in her mission to proclaim Christ unswervingly in and to the culture of today. Pope Benedict XVI alluded to this urgent need in Hyde Park, London, in 2010:

Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognise what is false and, precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth, veritatis splendor.

So I recommend these to films to you. Watch them, share them, and get them out beyond the bounds of the usual Catholic social media crowd and into a world that – especially at this time of year – may be open and receptive to the great gift of life in Christ. He desires nothing more than to make his home with us, let us prepare to receive him and help others to do the same.

Homily for the Immaculate Conception

08 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Homily

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homily, immaculate conception, mary, our lady

Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, Philadelphia, PA

Shrine of the Miraculous Medal, Philadelphia, PA

The feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady is well-placed in the course of the Church’s liturgical year. As we continue through the season of Advent, today our eyes are fixed on heaven as we rejoice in the unique participation of the Mother of God in the redemption of mankind, in and through the saving actions of her beloved Son. The collect for this feast begins thus, ‘O God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for thy Son’. Today, then, we rejoice in the ‘worthy dwelling-place’ which is the Virgin Mother of God, whom scripture tells us Almighty God possessed ‘before he made anything from the beginning’ (Wis. 8).

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Homily for Advent II

08 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Homily

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advent, baptism, homily, saint john the baptist

Mission Church of San Luis Rey de Francia, CA

Mission Church of San Luis Rey de Francia, CA

It is not unusual for parallels to be drawn between the season of Advent and that of Lent. Both are times in the Church’s liturgical year characterized by a certain restraint: the Gloria in excelsis is not sung on Sundays; fasting and penance are increased as we prepare for the coming feast; the texts at Mass draw heavily on the prophets to emphasize in image and shadow what will only be fully revealed in the light of Christ—be it the new day of his nativity, or the ‘morning star that never sets’ of his paschal triumph. Advent, we might say, represents the Church breathing in before she bursts into the song of exultation at the coming of her Lord; or of the tide drawing back, leaving the sand bare and stark before covering it once more with water; the water of regeneration and of life which is the mark of Christ among us.

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Advent Notes: Expectant Joy

04 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by Fr James Bradley in Liturgy

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advent, alleluia, lent, liturgy

Our Blessed Lady in the Cathedral Church of Mary our Queen, Baltimore, MD

Our Blessed Lady in the Cathedral Church of Mary our Queen, Baltimore, MD

The second reading for the Office of Readings on the Saturday before Advent may seem a little out of place. From a sermon of Saint Augustine of Hippo, it contains these words: “Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we still live in anxiety, so that we may sing it one day in heaven in full security”.

The season of Advent is often seen in parallel with that of Lent. Certainly, both are marked by a sombre and somewhat penitential tone. They are both times of preparation; both periods of self-denial; both marked by a certain restraint in the liturgical life of the Church, in her outward vesture and sacred texts. Both Advent and Lent draw heavily on the prophecy of Isaiah, seeing in that Old Testament book a foretaste of what is to come at the coming feast, be it Christmas or Easter. In this sense they are times of shadows and images, which are only dispelled and fully realized by the light of the Christ whose Radiant Dawn we see in the ‘dayspring from on high’ (Lk. 1:78) of his Nativity and the ‘morning star that never sets’ of his Paschal triumph (cf. Exsultet).

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