Saturday of the Second Week of Lent - The Creative Act which is Forgiveness.

Readings: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20; Psalm 103:1-12 (not 5-7 or 8b); Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

The Parable of the Prodigal Son, or more properly, in view of its real hero, the Parable of the Forgiving Father, has a good claim to be the most popular story that Jesus told. It retains a certain freshness and power despite our familiarity with it. At its heart is the father’s forgiveness and the impact it has on both sons. It is an expression of divine forgiveness. The prodigal son is brought back to life, given a fresh start, re-instated, restored to his original standing and this is warmly celebrated.

It is a dramatic and very big change of situation, a transformation that amounts to an act of creation or second creation. The Old Testament restricts the word ‘bara’ which means ‘create’ to God’s activity, such as in Gen 1:1. Other words are used when humans make things. As such it flags up what is proper to God and what God alone can do. It is also true that only God can achieve the work of recreation in us. As St Paul put it, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not holding anyone’s faults against them’ (2 Cor 5:19). This work of reconciliation begins with forgiveness and is founded on God’s great mercy but it also requires us to grow and be changed and so become more and more like God, whilst always drawing on the merciful grace of God. God loves us so much that he accepts us as we are, but too much to leave us in that state.

Both St Thomas Aquinas and St Catherine of Siena, among other saints, saw this re-creation of us in God’s image as more remarkable than the first making of us in God’s image. Though God does ‘more’, God also asks more of us. God made us in the divine image WITHOUT our co-operation but God will only remake us in that image WITH our co-operation. The younger son is forgiven after he realises his errors and begins his journey home. The elder son risks falling from grace because he forgets the importance of mercy.

Aware of just how much we need God’s mercy, even if we experience it in the fact that God generally keeps us from serious personal sin, we are to be channels of God’s mercy and forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is a divine gift but one that God wants us to extend to others. Doing so will often transform us as well, allowing hurts and grudges to be left behind. In this way we aid our own re-creation. If we see forgiveness as God sees it, as Jesus teaches about it, then we will greatly rejoice when people are forgiven and recreated in God, as much as when a new baby is born! And we will experience joy in our own relationship with God, as we make divine forgiveness and mercy the foundation of our own daily lives.

Godzdogz Goes Green

The dominican spirit is not only about studying and analysing, but also using creativity in order to adapt the knowledge into practical contemporary situations. Sometimes this becomes most concrete, for example when the recycling container hasn't been emptied for a week. We then have to call upon radical solutions...

Featuring Oxford's Bin-Friar, fr Haavar Simon Nilsen OP
Movie director, Camera man and Copy rights: Our eminent chef Alisdair Ferguson

Stations of the Cross 2012: Jesus Meets Veronica

Br Gustave Ineza offers a reflection on the Sixth Station of the Cross, which will be delivered in the priory church this evening and which has been specially pre-recorded for Godzdogz:

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent - The long road to freedom

Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10;Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6;Luke 16:19-31

Life as a Dominican friar is really pretty comfortable. We get to wear great clothes and eat good food. OK, so it might be a bit of an exaggeration to say we feast sumptuously every day, but we do get to feast a few times in the year. So in the light of today's Gospel about the rich man Dives and the poor man Lazarus, should I be concerned? The answer is probably yes.

The problem with Dives is not so much that he dresses and eats well, but it's to do with his relationship with Lazarus. Lazarus is his closest neighbour, yet he is totally ignored. If charity begins at home, then Dives is a depressing example of someone who lacks charity.

Being charitable is not about acting for the good of others to the detriment of ourselves. It's more to do with recognising that our good is intimately bound up with the good of others. Charity is about forming bonds of friendship. Unfortunately this is something we can easily forget.

Last year Jean Vanier gave a very moving talk at Blackfriars about his experience of living with severely disabled people in his L'Arche community. What he said seems particularly relevant to today’s Gospel. There is a tyranny of normality in which people have to worry about climbing social ladders and impressing people, perhaps the sort of world Dives lived in. Then there are the people who society would rather forget, the people like Lazarus who suffer from years of poverty and humiliation. And there is a huge chasm which keeps these two groups apart, the chasm which is created by fear.

But what Jean Vanier says is full of hope. He speaks of the joy of discovering that we are part of an incredible human family, of seeing the beauty of people, and of how he has been deeply healed by living in L'Arche. His talk is called 'the Long Road to Freedom'. I certainly recognise I've got a long way to go on this road. I'm conscious of the fear which prevents me from sharing God's love with others. So yes, I am concerned about today's parable, but I trust that if I daily turn to Christ crucified, then He will break down the barriers that separate me from His love.

Wednesday of the Second Week of Lent -The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve

Readings: Jeremiah 18:18-20; Psalm 31: 5-6, 14, 15-16; Matthew 20:17-28

True friends love us enough to tell us when we are wrong. When our lives go off the rails they do not stand by and simply allow us to slide into moral, physical, or spiritual decline. They do not embrace a policy of lazy neglect that ignores problems and pretends that everything is fine. They are not afraid to tell us what we do not want to hear because they care about us and want what is best for us. This is what makes it so difficult to be God's prophet. God loves us with a perfect love: in Him there is no self-preserving fear of confrontation, in Him there is no selfish need to be liked and praised. He commissions his prophets to confront His people with their sin, because by this sin we wound ourselves; yet we, the people of God, do not respond well to such criticism.

In our first reading from Jeremiah and also our psalm we hear the prayers of frightened prophets who have been faithful mouthpieces of God and are consequently in danger of being put to death. Jermiah pleads: 'Must good be repaid with evil, that they should dig a pit to take my life?' (Jeremiah 18: 20). The Psalmist prays: 'I hear the whispers of the crowd, that frighten me from every side, as they consult together against me, plotting to take my life' (Psalm 31(30): 13). When confronted with the love of God, we tend to respond fearfully by attacking the messenger. The perfect revelation of God's love is of course the Incarnate Word Himself, Jesus Christ. In today's gospel he warns his disciples that he too will be rejected and killed.

James and John fail to grasp the significance of Jesus' warning. Christ's passion, His death, and His resurrection: all these have consequences for us. We are to be conformed to Christ, we must share his death to share his life. Greatness in the Kingdom of heaven, then, is measured by our likeness to Christ, it is measured by love. In today's gospel, Jesus spells out the implications: 'whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave' (Matthew 20: 26-27).

From this we can draw two related conclusions: First, the one who loves like Christ will put the needs of others before their own. They will be like the Christ who came 'not to be served but to serve' (Matthew 20: 28). Second, the one who loves like Christ will be marginalised by friend and foe alike, rejected as the prophets were rejected and as Christ himself was rejected. Jesus warns us in Luke's gospel that his disciples will be given up even by 'parents and brothers and kinsmen and friends' (Luke 21: 16), and that 'the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is doing service to God' (John 16:2). The gospel is not always politically correct and it is not always popular; yet if we stay silent in the face of evil and injustice we betray our society. We fail in charity if we do not speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) . 'Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God' (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3) . Our job as Christians is to proclaim that Word (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; John 20:21). We do not love our neighbour if we remain silent.

Match Report - Blackfriars take on Ripon at Cuddesdon

This weekend Blackfriars Hall met Ripon College, Cuddesdon (a Church of England theological college) for a friendly match hosted at Cuddesdon. As the Blackfriars' team were running a little short on players, Ripon generously let some of theirs play on Blackfriars' team. After some warming up and strategic briefing, the teams were ready for kick-off. This is how it went...

Both keepers did an excellent job...

And the winning team?

But no hard feelings, shake hands...

The two teams!

After a beautiful day up at Cuddesdon, the teams said farewell, and the brothers returned to their daily rhythm. It might be that both body and mind fell into a particular deep meditation before vespers that evening...

Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent - Do as God Says, Not as They Do

Readings: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20; Psalm 50; Matthew 23:1-12

Moral authority should be no more relative than morality itself. For example, Dominicans freely profess our vow of obedience and accept that we have given our superiors the responsibility of guiding us in the moral life. Their moral authority extends to our community life and governs our dealings with others. It is not always easy submitting to that authority. And many times it is easier to criticize a superior for his own shortcomings than to observe his instructions.

In various contexts, all Christians are called to the same humble obedience to moral authority by virtue of Baptism. In our incorporation into the Body of Christ, we have embraced a way of life with certain responsibilities that enable us to live morally healthy lives. God gives us bishops, parish priests, and catechists to help each of us develop the tools needed for a sound conscience and the wisdom to make moral decisions that reflect God’s will and respect our human dignity.

In some cases, but certainly not in every case, we find a shepherd has failed in the moral life. Does that negate everything he taught us? Does it mean we can ignore the truth of God’s Word he preached to us? We may be urged to forget the former priest’s homilies when we discover his immoral behavior. We could ignore a bishop’s advisement in moral matters because, after all, he was irresponsible in handling the former priest’s case. What business does he have telling me how to live my life?

Given secular media’s biased portrayal, the Church seems to be in such disrepair that I do not know whom I can trust… But, where does this line of reasoning end? In St. Matthew’s Gospel account, Christ warned his disciples of leaders like the Pharisees who assume a teaching office and fail to live up to their own teachings. Yet, if we look closely at what Jesus says, we see that the Pharisees do not teach their truth. They teach God’s truth. When they fail to live up to the words they preach, they actually ignore God’s ways.

No less can be said of teachers in the Church today. If we know that a teaching is true, no matter how uncomfortable it is, then we cannot blame the behavior of a religious leader for our refusal to adhere to that teaching. Another man’s hypocrisy is not my free pass to abandon the moral life. No matter how significant his role or how much authority is vested in him, no one else’s actions can justify my sins. I will have to face my failings before God just as surely as he who failed in his decisions will have to face his.

Jesus’ teaching should not cause despair or disenchantment. We should see this Gospel passage as a sign of God’s ceaseless commitment to our own growth in virtue. It is not the case that God sends us bad spiritual leaders. And He actually has sent us countless holy and good leaders!

Rather, when a spiritual leader fails in his personal moral life, we should give thanks that God still can get through to our hearts and teach us His ways. God does not abandon us, even when it seems like He has turned a blind eye. We should not abandon Him or the many good brothers and sisters in the faith who can learn from our moral example.