Month: July 2024

Two Kinds of Time

(2Kgs.4:42-44; Eph.4:1-6; Jn.6:1-15)

Are you often short of time?

It might help to know that the ancient Greeks recognised two different kinds of time: Kronos and Kairos.

Kronos is ordinary clock time. It’s measured in seconds, minutes and hours, it regulates our daily lives and it’s typically in short supply. Kronos is from where we get our word chronology, and it’s mentioned 54 times in the New Testament.

Kairos, however, is God’s time. It’s spiritual time that exists outside clock time because God doesn’t live by our rules.

And there’s plenty available.

Kairos is a powerful moment when God reaches out to touch us. In that instant, ordinary time seems to stand still, something deeply significant happens to us and our lives are changed in some way.

The New Testament mentions Kairos 86 times, and it offers many examples, including when Jesus invites Himself to Zacchaeus’ house (Lk.19:1-10) and when He heals blind Bartimaeus (Mk.10:46-52). In both cases, clock time is irrelevant because the lives of these people are utterly transformed and they begin to see the world in new ways.

Indeed, our baptism was a Kairos moment, as are all the sacraments. At these special times, God reveals how close He is to us, but such moments are easily missed if we’re not alert to them.

How then might we recognise a Kairos moment? By checking for three things: firstly, that the Holy Spirit is involved. Secondly, that through it God is telling us something or nudging us to do something. And finally, we respond to it with heart-felt faith and obedience.

In his book Balaam’s Donkey, Michael Casey writes: ‘God’s time, Kairos, is not just a tick of the clock. It’s a moment of energy. This movement does not observe events inertly; it’s an active player in human history. The moment in which God’s self-projection intervenes in earthly affairs changes the course of events. Nothing is ever the same afterward. This is a time which we may not anticipate or try to forestall, but for which we must wait in patience.

‘… God’s time is an open doorway to eternity,’ he writes. ‘What is done in God’s time is inevitably easier, more powerful, more lasting and more life-giving. Living in God’s time is an introduction to the Time beyond time, when our lives will be fully overlaid with the glory of the risen Christ and all will be well.’ [i]

There is a kairos moment in today’s Gospel, when Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish supplied by a young boy. Surprisingly, there is plenty of food left over.

Normally, when you share something, like bread, you end up with less of it. But here Jesus shares a small amount of food and so much more is left over. This miracle is so remarkable that all four Gospels report it.

But bread isn’t the only thing Jesus multiplies when He shares it. He also multiplies love, which grows and spreads like a good virus. And He does the same with wisdom and truth, which spread like light when people are open to them.

‘All spiritual goods are like that,’ Peter Kreeft says in his book, Food for the Soul. Kindness, peace, love and wisdom all multiply when they are shared.

The tick-tock time of Kronos cannot be multiplied, however, because it’s limited by the laws of physics. (That’s why we’re so often short of it.) However, the spiritual time of Kairos can be multiplied. It doesn’t diminish when it’s shared; it’s actually multiplied.

‘The more of it you give to God,’ Kreeft says, ‘the more you get back from Him.’

And how do you give it to God? Through prayer.

Kreeft says that if you have a very busy day ahead, then you must pray more than usual, not less.

Like that boy in today’s Gospel, when you give Jesus your little loaves and fishes of time by making time to pray, a miracle will occur. At the end of the day, you’ll wonder how you managed to accomplish so much.

The answer is that Jesus has multiplied your time.

If you don’t pray like that, Kreeft says, you’ll probably wonder at the end of your day why you felt so hassled by the lack of time. [ii]

St Teresa of Calcutta understood this dynamic well. She said she was far too busy not to pray, and the busier she was, the more she needed to pray.  

Clocks do control our Kronos world, however we don’t have to chain our hearts and minds to them. There is another way, and it’s called Kairos.

Kairos is about moments, not minutes. It’s about those special times when God reaches out to inspire, energise and change us.

And the more we invest ourselves in Kairos time, the more we’ll find that it multiplies, giving us the time we need to actually get things done.

And how do we start? Simply by praying.

By asking God to help you.

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[i] Michael Casey, Balaam’s Donkey, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN, 2018:244-245.

[ii] Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul – Cycle B, Word on Fire, Elk Grove Village, IL. 2023:606-609.

Sheep Without a Shepherd

(Jer.23:1-6; Ps.23; Eph.2:13-18; Mk.6:30-34)

Some years ago, the BBC reported that hundreds of sheep had fallen off a cliff in Eastern Turkey.

After one sheep fell off the cliff, the whole flock followed. More than 400 sheep died, but their bodies cushioned the fall of the other 1,100 that survived. [i]

The report didn’t mention the shepherds, but clearly they weren’t doing their job.

That’s what the prophet Jeremiah is complaining about in our first reading today. In ancient Israel, kings were seen as ‘shepherds’ caring for their flocks. That’s because great leaders like Abraham, Moses and David actually had been shepherds (Ex.3:11; Gen.12:16; Sam.17:34-35).

Like all rulers, Israel’s kings were expected to govern wisely, but many proved to be selfish and greedy manipulators. Jeremiah is scathing of them and calls them false shepherds. But then he offers hope because God has promised the people a ‘true king’ who will be ‘wise, practising honesty and integrity in the land’.

Who is this true king? It’s Jesus Christ, of course. He’s the ‘Good Shepherd’, a direct descendent of King David himself (Jn.10:11; Mt.1:1). And today’s psalm, The Lord is My Shepherd, tells us about Him. The twenty-third psalm is one of the best-loved passages in all Scripture.

Indeed, after the Vietnam War, many American prisoners of war were asked about the fear and darkness they had suffered, and what had kept them going. What had most sustained them, they said, was praying this psalm. [ii] 

This sacred song begins with a rich image of sheep resting by still waters in a grassy meadow. Its verses then follow a winding pathway down into a valley, and then rise up to a metaphorical mountaintop where heaven (‘the Lord’s house’) is located and we are offered hope.

Now, a shepherd has to work hard to get his sheep to lie down beside any waters. Sheep are usually anxious creatures, and they won’t rest if they’re thirsty or hungry, or worried about anything.

And so it is with us. We tend to be anxious creatures, too. Before we can truly and deeply rest, we must drink the living water (Jn.4:14; 7:37) and eat the bread of life (Jn.6:35) that Jesus freely offers us. We must accept His profound peace, for it’s a peace that the world simply cannot provide (Jn.14:27).

But here’s an important point: Jesus never forces Himself on us. He only leads by showing us the way (1Pet.2:21), and letting us choose.

When left to themselves, sheep without a shepherd will perish. They cannot look after themselves. They cannot find water, they’ll overgraze in the one spot, they cannot recognise danger and, ultimately, they’ll die. That’s what happened to those Turkish sheep.

Inside the cave in Northern Thailand

That’s also what very nearly happened to another flock in 2018, when 12 boys and the coach of the Wild Boars Soccer team in Northern Thailand were trapped in a cave 4km deep. For two weeks they were stuck in darkness and flooding rain, with no food and not enough oxygen. They simply couldn’t rescue themselves. It was only because of the remarkable goodness of a few brave shepherds that they were saved.

To remain happy, safe and healthy, all sheep – including ourselves – need a good shepherd. 

In Mark’s Gospel today, Jesus tries to take his disciples to somewhere quiet for rest, reflection and prayer.  But when He gets there, a crowd is waiting for Him. They look like ‘sheep without a shepherd,’ Jesus says.  But He doesn’t turn them away. Rather, He greets them with compassion and care, for Jesus is always welcoming.

The Bible uses the phrase ‘sheep without a shepherd’ eight times, and each time it’s always linked to aimless wandering.

When people wander, they often allow themselves to be distracted and carried along by other people and things. But this is risky for there are many unhealthy influences out there. Once trapped, it can be very hard to escape.

In 2017, when Pope Francis celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fatima, he said that we can all learn from ‘the immense ocean of God’s light’ that shone on those three young children. And he warned us of the dangers of wandering aimlessly through life. 

‘Our Lady,’ he said, ‘warned us about a way of life that is godless and profanes God in his creatures. Such a life,’ he said, ‘risks leading to hell’.[iii]

So, in the end we’re left with a choice: do we wander aimlessly through life, and risk perishing like lost sheep?

Or do we ask the Good Shepherd to guide us safely home?

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[i] BBC News, 8 July 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4665511.stm

[ii] Mark Link, The Psalms for Today. Tabor Publishing, Valencia Ca. 1989:29.

[iii] https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2017/documents/papa-francesco_20170513_omelia-pellegrinaggio-fatima.html

Called to be Missionary

(Am.7:12-15; Eph.1:3-14; Mk.6:7-13)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples out into the world, in pairs, to heal the sick, to drive out evil spirits and to tell the world about God’s love.

But first He gives them some instructions.

‘Take nothing for the journey,’ He says, ‘except a staff.’  He wants them to travel light. This staff (a walking stick) isn’t a symbol of authority; it’s a reminder that Jesus wants them to keep going, spreading His good news.

‘Take no bread, no bag and no money,’ He says. They mustn’t rely on their own resources. They must trust in God; He will supply what they need. Carrying little or nothing is a powerful demonstration of your trust in God.

Then Jesus says, ‘Wear sandals, but don’t take a spare tunic.’ In those days, rich people wore shoes; poorer people wore sandals. Jesus wants His disciples to dress simply, so that they can connect with the poor. 

And then, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there until you leave the district.’  This means don’t be fussy about where you stay. Show you’re happy to accept whatever is offered to you, and spend some time with the locals. It takes time to know them.

Then Jesus warns them that not everyone will accept his Gospel message.  Some people simply won’t listen. If that happens, Jesus says just leave. Shake the dust off your feet (in other words: simply let go) and move on.

It’s interesting to note how similar these directions are to the instructions God gave the twelve tribes of Israel before their exodus from Egypt. God sent them to the Promised Land with no bread, only one set of clothes, wearing sandals and carrying a staff (Ex.12:11; Dt.8:2-4). Like the twelve disciples, the twelve tribes were all expected to rely on God’s providence and grace.

Now, we are Jesus’ disciples today, so these instructions are meant for us. Jesus wants us to live simply. He wants us to rely less on ourselves, and to trust more in Him. He wants us to open our hearts and to lead those who are lost on a new exodus towards Him, for He’s waiting for us with open arms.

We don’t have to be anyone special to do this. We only need faith. That’s the message from Amos in our first reading today. Amos was an ordinary shepherd who was asked by God to go and tell the Israelites that he loves them and that they must change their ways. They didn’t listen, but that doesn’t matter. As Jesus says, just shake the dust off your feet and move on.

St Teresa of Calcutta used to say that in doing God’s work, we don’t have to be successful. We just have to be faithful.

In our Second Reading, St Paul says that before the world was made, God chose us to be holy and spotless, to live through love in His presence and to be His adopted sons and daughters.

In other words, God loves us totally; He wants us close to Him. That’s the message Jesus wants us to spread.

In his book ‘The Joy of the Gospel’, Pope Francis reminds us that in our Christian faith we’re all called to be missionary. This call is reflected all through the Gospels, and it’s certainly reflected in every Mass.

When we leave Mass today, nourished and transformed by the Holy Eucharist, Jesus will be sending us out, just like the original Twelve, to take His Gospel message into the world. And He’s inviting us to do this in pairs.

Let’s close with a story.

One winter’s day a man came upon a small boy sitting and begging on a wind-swept city bridge. The boy was shivering from the cold and obviously in need of a good meal.

On seeing him, the man got very angry and said to God, ‘Lord, why don’t you do something about this boy?’

God replied, ‘I’ve already done something about him.’

This surprised the man, so he said, ‘I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but whatever you did, it doesn’t seem to be working.’

‘I agree with you,’ God replied.

‘By the way, what did you do?’ the man asked.

‘I made you,’ came the reply. [i]

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[i] Flor McCarthy, New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies, Year B. Dominican Publications, Dublin, 2017:259-260.

When I am Weak, I am Strong

(Ezek.2:2-5; 2Cor.12:7-10; Mk.6:1-6)

What is strength?

In our popular culture, strength tends to be measured by things like power, money, influence and prestige, and many people like to boast about having it.

St Paul sees strength very differently. In today’s second reading, he says ‘It’s when I am weak that I am strong.’ What does that mean?

Paul is writing to the members of the Corinthian church, who were known to boast of their worldly successes. Without giving any details, he tells them that a thorn has been torturing his flesh, and three times he begged God to remove it. But God simply replied to him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.’

Thinking about these surprising words, Paul realised that the painful irritant that so troubled him was actually a good thing because it stopped him from feeling too proud and self-sufficient. It made him humble; it opened him up to the graces of the Holy Spirit, and it constantly reminded him of his dependence on Jesus.

In other words, God was using that unnamed thorn to make Paul a better man. That’s why he says, ‘it’s when I am weak that I’m strong.’

A good example of this is Eileen O’Connor, who was born in Melbourne in 1892. She was the oldest of four children of Irish-born parents. At the age of three, she fell out of her pram and suffered a broken spine. Thereafter, she lived a life of constant pain from what was later diagnosed as tuberculous osteomyelitis.

Several painful operations did nothing to help her, and her crooked spine made walking very difficult. She only grew to 115 cm (3 ft 7 inches) tall, and spent most of her life in a wheelchair. Because of her condition, she had very little schooling.

When Eileen was 10, her family moved to Sydney, where her father subsequently died, leaving them in dire poverty. Fr Edward McGrath, the local parish priest, helped them find accommodation. He also got to know Eileen well and was very impressed by her faith and courage.

One day Eileen told Fr McGrath of an apparition she’d had of Our Lady when she was a teenager. Mary, she said, offered her three options: to die quickly and go to heaven; to be miraculously healed and live comfortably on earth; or to offer all her torments and energies to Our Lady’s work of building up God’s kingdom.

Remarkably, Eileen chose the last option.

Fr McGrath then shared with her his own dream of establishing a congregation of nurses to provide free care to the poor, the sick and the dying in their own homes.

Having deep empathy for those who suffer, Eileen loved this idea.

Together, she and Fr McGrath established a small community of nuns known as Our Lady’s Nurses of the Poor. In 1913, she moved into a rented house in Coogee which became their first convent. They called it ‘Our Lady’s Home.’ The sisters elected Eileen as their first superior, and although she was only in her twenties, they called her their ‘Little Mother.’

Eileen supervised the sisters’ work, she led them in prayer and gave them spiritual direction. She also had to manage those who tried to obstruct their work.

Sadly, Eileen’s life was cut short. She died in 1921, aged only 28.[i] [ii]

Outwardly, Eileen O’Connor was tiny, weak and frail, and easily overlooked. Yet her character was magnetic and her spirit was very strong. She proved to be a remarkable teacher and organiser who inspired many generations of nurses, and brought happiness and light to the lives of so many people. [iii]

Today she is revered as a holy woman in Australia and the Pacific, and even in the United States. 

The cause for her canonisation was opened in 2020, and now she is on her way to becoming Australia’s next saint. [iv]

When we feel strong and self-reliant, when we are boastful of our successes, we tend to shut ourselves off from people and from God. We think we don’t need them. But this is a mistake, because we are limiting ourselves. We are shutting ourselves off from extraordinary power and opportunity.

However, when we are consciously weak, broken and vulnerable, that’s when we start looking beyond ourselves and hopefully, we turn to God.

Like St Paul and Eileen O’Connor, when we open ourselves up to the strength and power of God’s Holy Spirit, that’s when He begins to work through us. And remarkable things happen.

This is what happens in the life of every saint.

So, the next time you’re feeling strong and confident, remember Jesus’ words: ‘Apart from me, you can do nothing’ (Jn.15:5).

Whatever weakness you have can turn out to be a source of very great strength.

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[i] https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/oconnor-eily-rosaline-eileen-7875

[ii] https://www.ourladysnurses.org.au/eileen-oconnor/

[iii] https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/next-step-towards-sainthood/

[iv] https://www.sydneycatholic.org/homilies/2021/homily-for-solemn-mass-of-the-29th-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b/