Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 3 November 2021, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Welcome to today’s reflection. I hope that all those who were eligible to vote in the local elections were able to do so. As we begin the month of November, we remember the faithful departed and pray for them that the Lord, in his mercy, will grant them eternal life. We begin this reflection with the Adsumus prayer, praying for the Synod of 2023:

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name. 

With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts; 

Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it. 

We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. 

Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right. 

All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen. 

The Scripture reading is from the Gospel of today’s Mass (Luke 14:25-33):

“And indeed, which of you here, intending to build a tower, would not first sit down and work out the cost to see if he had enough to complete it?”

There is a cost to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is not simply calling ourselves Christians that makes us Christians. If we are really intent on following Jesus, there are consequences to that decision. We have to think carefully and question whether we have the resources to persevere in the path to which we have been called and chosen – just as a person who has decided to build a tower needs to think about whether he will be able to complete building it, and to assess what will be needed to accomplish the task. If not, he will land up with a half-built tower and will have wasted everything, including his self-esteem.

In our own reckoning of our ability to follow the Lord, we have to look at both our inner resources and outer resources. In the inward journey – and St Augustine has taught us, based on his own experience, that we find God within ourselves – we have first and foremost to look at our faith. Faith is a gift given by God, but it is also a gift that must be nurtured. Ultimately, true faith comes through an encounter with God, an awareness of his presence within us and in the world. It is about trust in God’s providence and care for us. We could perhaps sum it up with the question, is God real for me. We know that God is both transcendent (that is, God is above and beyond the normal and physical level), and he is also immanent (that is, indwelling and manifested in the material world). It is only when we have experienced, in a personal way, the mystery of God both as far beyond us and yet closely with us, that we are drawn in a hungry fascination and wonder to grow closer and closer to him. In allowing ourselves to be drawn by God, expressed by the Prophet Jeremiah in these words: you seduced me and I let myself be seduced by you (Jer 20:7), we have to question whether we have the ability to persevere and be faithful. The way to God is the road to peace, contentment and growth, but it is also a road that demands the endurance of suffering. As Jesus warns in the Gospel passage of today’s Mass,anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. In short, it involves a total self-giving, of offering oneself to God. Thus Jesus also says, none of you can be my disciple unless he give up all his possessions. Ultimately, it is not a matter of only giving up material possessions but of given up one’s self and will so that his will may be done.

We have also to consider our ability to love. We cannot love God while ignoring our neighbour – as St John says, If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen (1Jn 4:20). It is through our neighbour that we love God, for our neighbour is created in the image of God and, in some way, God dwells in his/her heart. Relationships can be fraught with friction, personality differences, hurt and sin. Part of carrying our cross must also be to carry each other’s burdens (Gal 6:2) and short-comings. It is through our neighbour that we learn to forgive, to tolerate, to accept and to reconcile. It is our neighbour who “mellows” us and helps us change into better people and better Christians. Difficult people can make us better people and more Christ-like. In all of our relationships, we are conscious of the great ideal of Christ’s teaching – to forgive. God is not only just but also merciful, and we must be the same. Peace is the fruit of love, because love goes beyond what justice can provide.¹ Our aim must always be to reconcile and to restore relationships, and so we have to let go of a lot of “possessions” – the possessions of pride, hurt, self-righteousness, self-aggrievement and the desire to get satisfaction for wrongs we have endured. 

In assessing the outer resources necessary to be disciples, we look particularly at our relationship with the Church founded by Christ who gathered together those who wished to follow him. We consider and assess our participation and unity with the Christian community. It is in that oneness of belonging to the believing community, in coming together as community in prayer and worship, in receiving the Sacraments and the grace mediated through the Church, and playing our part through participation in building up the Christian community, that we receive the strength and courage from the very fountain of life and grace, Jesus Christ. We cannot meet the “cost of discipleship” unless we have the support that flows from belonging to the Body of Christ, the Christian family. But this is not a “one-way street”. We too must play our part in learning more and more to love the Church and to give ourselves in service to God through the Church.

Let us now close with a prayer:

Loving Father, we commend to you all the souls of the faithful departed, especially our loved ones and the forgotten ones. Be merciful to them Lord, and allow them a share in your glory. Through Christ, our Lord, amen. 

The Lord be with you: And with your spirit.

May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

1Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on the Church in the Modern World N78

Auxiliary Bishop Sylvester David offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Friday 29 October 2021, during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

We honour this time of the Synod by praying the Adsumus prayer:

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name. 

With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts; 

Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it. 

We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.

Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. 

Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right. 

All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time, in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen. 

Is it against the law to cure a man on the sabbath? Lk 14:1-6

“Now on a sabbath day Jesus had gone for a meal to the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely. There in front of him was a man with dropsy, and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees. ‘Is it against the law’ he asked ‘to cure a man on the sabbath, or not?’ But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away. Then he said to them, ‘Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on a sabbath day without hesitation?’ And to this they could find no answer” (Lk 14:1-6).

First an explanation of the attitude of the Pharisees. We are told that they “watched” Jesus closely. The word used indicates extreme hostility. They looked at Jesus with disdain and wanted to trap him, and in so doing, opposed the works of God.

Reflection

When conducting an Ignatian retreat, retreat masters often ask retreatants to enter into the scene. Miracle stories can be fruitfully encountered in this fashion and can tell us a lot about ourselves. The idea is to identify oneself with any of the characters in the text, or even to see that many of the characters show us aspects of ourselves e.g. in the Mary and Martha story (Lk 10:38-42) one can identify with either of the sisters, or one can see the attitudes of both in oneself. In the story for today one can identify with the man who was in need, with the Pharisees, or with Jesus. Let’s take them one at a time. 

The man in need had a painful condition which caused his body to retain water. This was often a sign of a heart problem. In identifying with this man, I need to see my need. What is it that makes me disabled and helpless? Water retention (dropsy) might not be my particular issue but what is it that prevents me from having a fuller life? It could be an aspect of my social or family relationships. It could be a dependence on alcohol, or it could be a need for forgiveness. Illness comes in many forms and the most dangerous ones are the invisible ones such as being trapped in a cycle of anxiety and depression, or enduring an abusive relationship.

It is possible that this man was planted “in front of” (Lk 14:2) Jesus quite deliberately in order to see what he would do on the sabbath. There are numerous disputes that they had with Jesus regarding the sabbath (cf. Lk 4:38; 6:6; 13:13). Planting a needy man “in front of” Jesus is not as far fetched as it might sound because of the hostility shown to Jesus by their subversive monitoring of him as shown in the first verse of the passage. Do I allow myself to be used for purposes which are destructive? This can happen when I participate in negative conversations about others, or when I take delight in their misfortune.

The second possibility for character identification is the group called “lawyers and Pharisees” (Lk 14:3) in this passage. These people were hostile to Jesus. They were so hell bent on keeping the letter of the law that they forgot about the spirit of the law. They knew the catechism of their day but failed to recognise the Messiah who was lord of the sabbath (Lk 6:5). Above all, they made a mockery of their religion by failing to show mercy. Am I like that, with full knowledge of the rubrics but without mercy? The prophets raged about the practice of religion which did not incorporate mercy. Is 58:1-12 is a case in point. Amos 4:1-3 and 5:21-27 are other examples. These people liked to find fault but instead of looking into the mirror at themselves, they looked at others through their microscopes.

The third position is that of Jesus who acted with compassion. The result was that the suffering man was restored. Recently Covid has shown us many such people. These are medical workers, people who ensure that the poor are fed and many other persons of goodwill who routinely bring life to others. Am I counted among them? It is not difficult to make people feel better about themselves. Even a kind word of thanks to those who serve and work at supermarket checkout points can help bring a human face to the space occupied by human beings. 

Let us pray: Father, our current struggle presents us with the raw materials from which our Christian responses are fashioned. Help us to imitate your Son more closely in all we do and say so that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 27 October 2021, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Welcome to today’s reflection. In these last few days before the local elections, let us pray that they will be conducted peacefully and without incident. We also remember to pray for peace in eSwatini:

O God of justice and love, bless us, the people of Southern Africa,
and help us to live in your peace.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury; let me sow pardon;
Where there is discord, let me sow harmony.

Divine Master, grant that I may not so much
Seek to be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love;
To receive sympathy, as to give it;

For it is in giving that we shall receive,
In pardoning that we shall be pardoned,
In forgetting ourselves that we shall find
Unending peace with others. We ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

The Scripture verses comes for the First Reading of today’s Mass (Romans 8:26-30)

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

At the moment, apart from the book I am using in my morning meditation, I am reading a historical novel on the emperor Constantine and his times. It gives a historical account and yet also enlightens life in the present. There are two things which have struck me particularly (not for the first time, but they have brought home to me these realities again).

Firstly, I am reminded that we are not only products of history, but we are part of history. In the words of Isaac Newton, If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. The saying, in one form or another, probably goes back to the 12^th Century, but it captures the idea that we are who we are because of those who went before us, and that what we achieve is simply building on what others have achieved – in short there is progress in the world in terms of ideas and understanding – it can be referred to as gradualism. Of course, this does not rule out that there can also be regression rather than progress! The point is that we are all links in this historical chain, uniting us right back to the very beginnings creation and with the future culminating in the final eschaton, the accomplishment of the Kingdom of God. This is an awesome and humbling reality, as well as an awesome responsibility because we shape not only the present but also the future. Knowing that we have a role both of building positively on the past and of responsibly paving the way for the future, should change how we understand life and its purpose.

The second reminder I’ve had is that much of “real history” gets lost in the recitation of major historical events to the neglect of the many minor events over many years which led up to those momentous moments and helped form them. For example, we all know something of the history of Constantine and how he changed the course of our Christian faith by ending the persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire and establishing Christianity as the official religion. A historical novel tries to fill in the gaps of the history of events describing, even albeit in a speculative way, what has formed and caused people to act in the way they did, the influences they experienced in their lives going back even to childhood. While these may not be historically accurate, what is for sure is that decisions and actions do not just happen out of the blue. In our Christian understanding we see all these formative events, many of them small, as the movement and working of God’s Holy Spirit. Both great and small events unfold the history of salvation. We can see it also in terms of how Christians – saints, theologians, martyrs – have influenced not only Christian life and teaching but also on culture and world events. For example, how their teaching and witness has built on and made concrete the Scriptures in terms of the dignity of the human person, on human rights, on the meaning and purpose of life . Their impact has extended far beyond the audiences they were writing for, and far beyond the Christian faith itself. We too should know that every small deed of goodness and kindness has its influence.

The point I’m trying to make takes us back to the Scripture verses I read at the beginning which refer to the Holy Spirit whose “sighs are too deep for words” and who “searches the hearts of men”. The real history of the ages, of the present and of the future, is in God’s Holy Spirit working through nature, through ordinary everyday events, through touching and transforming the hearts of individuals, through creating the desire, the thirst, for human completeness and fulfilment. We know the events of history, the speeches, the actions that have brought about changes in the direction of the world. What we do not often see or recognize is the silent, ever-present action of God’s Spirit that has always been, and continues to guide, to lead and to create. As is written in Psalm 19(3), There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth. Even in the most chaotic times, God’s Spirit is present and moving, as the world is guided to its final destination. How glorious this is, and how privileged we are, to be part of this global and universal , unseen and unheard, movement of the Spirit which we recognise and know through Christ’s promise to us “I will be with you until the end of time” (Matthew 28:20).

Before we make our “X” on the ballot paper when we vote next week (and it is our duty to vote), let us pray that the Holy Spirit will give us the “mind of God” to make the best choice possible that will serve the growth of God’s Kingdom. Let us now pray for God’s blessing:

The Lord be with you R/ And with your Spirit

Bow down for the blessing:

Father, look kindly on your people that they may always have the mind of God. May they always be encouraged by the knowledge of your Holy Spirit working in the world, and open their hearts to always co-operate with your Spirit. Through Christ, our Lord, amen. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin offers his prayer and reflection for the people of the Archdiocese of Cape Town for today, Wednesday 20 October 2021, during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It is also available on the Archdiocese of Cape Town’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Please also see below the text of his reflection, primarily for the deaf.

Welcome to today’s reflection. On Sunday, we launched the preparation phase for the 2023 Synod on Synodality. In the coming months we will reflect on various matters of importance to the life of the Church in these times, bearing in mind the main themes of communion, participation and mission. We will be praying the synod prayer in every parish. However, we should not forget also to pray for peace in Southern Africa, especially in this period before the local elections. And so I will be alternating the prayers in the coming weeks. Let us pray the Adsumus Prayer of the Synod :

We stand before You, Holy Spirit,
as we gather together in Your name. 

With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home in our hearts; 

Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it. 

We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions. 

Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth
and what is right. 

All this we ask of You,
who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever. Amen. 

The Scripture reading is an excerpt from the First Reading of today’s Mass, from St Paul’s letter to the Romans (Rom 6:12-18):

You were once slaves of sin, but thank God you submitted without reservation to the creed you were taught. You may have been freed from the slavery of sin, but only to become ‘slaves’ of righteousness.

Over the past weeks I have been speaking of sin, the necessity for repentance leading to conversion, and the “putting on the new man” (cf. Ephesians 4:22-24). This teaching is central to the Scriptures – both Old and New Testaments. Nonetheless, we should not forget that Christianity is not so much about not doing something, and is more about what we do. And so, in the Reading we have just heard, St Paul says that we have become slaves to righteousness. He also says, we live by grace and not by law, and we should make every part of our body a weapon for fighting on the side of God. As Christians we desire to live righteous lives. Of course, we should distinguish between self-righteousness, which has the negative connotation of making oneself the final moral arbitrator, and righteousness which acknowledges God as the arbitrator of what is right and wrong. Righteousness always embraces compassion.

We are called to do what is right. That’s an easy statement to make, but its implications are not always that easy. Some things are clear, both in terms of our faith but also common to all humanity – you shouldn’t murder people, for example. Others are clear in terms of our faith but not necessarily common to humanity – keep the Sabbath holy, is an example. Most of life, though, has many gray areas when we are not always sure of what the right thing to do is. How many parents, for instance, have spent sleepless nights and anxious times, worrying as to whether they are correctly handling situations involving their children? We face situations where there are competing values. Do you show your unhappiness of some of the choices your child has made through rejection, or do you swallow your pride and say it is more important to keep the family together and “my child will always be my child”?

Most of life is trying to find the right path in the light of our faith. We are certain in our commitment of wanting to do what is right in the eyes of God, and so be righteous. It is not always possible to have absolute certainty in how we do that when we encounter complicated issues that invariably come our way. We are blessed to have received the gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism and confirmation, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives us the guidance, wisdom and strength to face such situations with faith. There is always some risk that we will make the wrong decision, but we have the faith that God will guide us. If we make mistakes (and we do), the same Spirit will give us the courage not to despair and to pick ourselves up. For our part, we must, unfailingly, do two things: remain constant in prayer pleading with God to help us to know and do the right thing and, secondly, to remain rooted and grounded in the basics of our faith, the Ten Commandments and, above all, the commandment to love God completely and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

We are all products of our society and the prevailing norms and culture of the community in which we live. Not all those norms, even if civilly legal, are “righteous” in terms of our belief in God. In such matters we need the courage to “stand firm” and to adhere to living the Gospel – just because something is legal it does not mean it is morally right. An obvious example is abortion, which in certain cases is civilly legal, but is contrary to our belief in the Creator God who has given us life and attached to it the commandment that we are never to take life. Other aspects of the prevailing culture may not be legal but are nonetheless endemic – such as corruption. In certain circumstances it becomes more and more difficult for some in the business world, for example, not to be “sucked into” such evils. It’s easy to slip into them and sometimes it seems that they are the norms we have to adopt in order to succeed. Again, in such instances, we have to remain firm in our faith and do the right thing, even though there may be negative consequences for ourselves.

In short, remaining “righteous” takes enormous courage, vigilance, commitment, prayer and perseverance. Thank God for his Holy Spirit, for the Sacraments that strengthen us, for the support of the community, that is the Church, and for the communion we have with God in prayer.

Let us now pray for God’s blessing:

The Lord be with you R/ And with your Spirit

Bow down for the blessing:

Compassionate Lord, we ask you always to enlighten us as we are faced with difficult decisions. Give us the courage to do what is right. Through Christ, our Lord, amen. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen.