December 11 2012 - Association Of Catholic Priests

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11 December, 2012. Second Week of Advent – Tuesday

Mt 18:12ff. The shepherd rejoices to find the lost sheep.

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3 comments
Séamus Ahearne: EX CATHEDRA
May 27 2023
Paddy Ferry
"....you’ll be happy on the sidelines, letting the scribblers get on with their scribble or scrabble." Eddie, the recent, major problem on this site has been that there are so few scribblers, in comparison to days gone by, wishing to get on with their scribble. PS I presume it should have been "outwith".
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3 comments
Séamus Ahearne: EX CATHEDRA
May 27 2023
Eddie Finnegan
Ah Paddy, even a dentist's chair is a kathédra - even if not the most comfortable. Séamus's reflections from Algarve, whether from chair or sandy walk, are a treat as always. But Paddy, welcome to the retirement ranks - at times, like Ned, you'll be happy on the sidelines, letting the scribblers get on with their scribble or scrabble. Btw, your mention of "many interests out with my professional life" reminds me that you're really a Scot. Is "out with" for 'outside of' found elsewhere in these islands out with Scotland? Nova Scotia maybe? As for retirement, isn't Jorge Bergoglio thriving on it at 86, with half a lung, a flat foot, sciatica, a semi-colon but no signs of a full stop? That's what I keep telling myself as I lie horizontal under yet another CT or MRI scan. Why didn't they send us all to Rome or even the Algarve for retirement?
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3 comments
Séamus Ahearne: EX CATHEDRA
May 27 2023
Paddy Ferry
Séamus, what a beautiful piece! I, too, am uneducated as far as birds are concerned which is shameful for a country boy. I remember, of course, hearing the corncrake at home in Donegal and, I think I am right in saying, West Donegal is one of the few places you will now hear the corncrake. I also fondly remember hearing the cuckoo which was always a great sign that summer had arrived. I expect you will hear the cuckoo all over Ireland but I have never heard it in Scotland. Séamus, thank you for continuing to provide all these wonderful articles for us on our ACP site. I haven't contributed much recently and I don't know why. I have things I want to say and I should have the time now. I am slowly getting used to retirement. It hasn't been easy. I have always loved being a dentist. I have also always had many interests out with my professional life but I have missed the social interaction in the surgery with my patients every day, many of whom had become great friends over the years, decades even. And you miss your colleagues who become your closest friends. I should have responded to Ned, for example, who had been a frequent contributor on this site. I would have said to Ned we must not despair because we have the miracle of Francis. God bless and support 'this' pope. And, Ned, if you are reading this, your Oblate brother, Tony Quinlan, continues to inspire us all over here in Edinburgh. Séamus, you know I was genuinely excited for a few seconds when I saw the title EX CATHEDRA. I thought you were about to embark on something controversial -- honest -- about papal infallibility. I think I am right in saying that only Joe and I had the courage to utter an opinion on this topic on the few occasions it was raised --probably by me -- on this site. Even at secondary school when I knew very little doctrine and scripture I had quickly developed an opinion on infallibility. And that was long before I came across the writings of the Great Hans. My first real experience of being educated in the affairs of our church was reading Fr. Joe Dunn's wonderful books based on his Radharc experiences. In one of those books he described how the late, great Franz Cardinal Koenig so easily debunked the whole idea of biblical inerrancy at the 3rd session of Vatican II. Fr. Joe then goes on to say that if it was so easy to bury that particular teaching it should be even easier to bury papal infallibility. The more I read the more puzzled I have become as to how biblical inerrancy was ever considered tenable. So, today is Pentecost Sunday. We were told at Mass this morning that it was the official founding of the church. How do we reach that conclusion? I wonder what Garry Wills and John Dominic Crossan would have to say about that. I am sure they already have. Séamus, keep up the good work. You're a great man. Beannachtaí, Paddy.
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2 comments
28 May 2023 – Pentecost Sunday
May 28 2023
Thara Benedicta
Key Message: Ask and Receive the Holy Spirit!! Homily: After the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ, what would have been the mind of the disciples? Their Lord had asked them to go and preach the Good News to the ends of the world. But He had also asked them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the person of the Holy Spirit. So they wanted to achieve a big mission assigned by our Lord, but they understood that unless they received the Holy Spirit, who had been promised by our Lord, they could not begin the mission. Whether we realise it or not, we are also in a similar state. We need the infilling of the Holy Spirit especially, to preach the Gospel. Our Lord Jesus too did not begin His preaching mission till He was baptized with the Holy Spirit. Acts 10:38 says, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him." If our Lord Jesus Christ needed to how much more of the Holy Spirit will we mere human beings need? Our Mamma Mary also received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit during the Pentecost. She was also one among the first selected blessed Apostles to receive the Holy Spirit. Our Mamma Mary was one among the first Apostles to speak in tongues. In Luke 12:49 our Lord wished, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" Our Lord Jesus wished we were already kindled with the burning fire of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 12:29 says, "Our God is a consuming fire". Moses saw Almighty God as fire in a bush. John the Baptist said, "I am baptizing you with water, but another person is coming who will baptize you with fire." On Pentecost day, Mamma Mary and the Apostles were baptized with the Holy Spirit with tongues of fire. The Lord Jesus is bringing the great consuming fire - our Heavenly Father into all our lives (Mathew 3:11). Our God is a consuming fire, but for you and me, He will fill us. Malachi 3:2 says the Lord will be like a refiner's fire. The refiner's fire in our Lord Jesus affected Zacchaeus when He entered his house. It convicted Zacchaeus and purified him. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the Holiness in us will convict others of their sinful life, even without saying anything about their sins to them. Our Lord Jesus did not point out the sins of Zacchaeus to him. But still he felt convicted and said, "I will give half of my property to the poor. If I had taken more money from anyone, I will repay them four times". The Lord Jesus Christ is God's consuming fire. He is God's refining fire. And He is the one who will set us on fire. When this consuming fire comes, we will become like Jesus. "In this world we are like Jesus." (1 John 4:17) A related testimony, "When I attended a prayer meeting, after the adoration I went to meet the preacher. The preacher told me that he was able to feel the presence of the sin of unforgiveness in me. He was able to see two big and deep wounds in me and I was not able to forgive those who have caused it. It was the truth. I was deeply wounded and I was not able to forgive those who made me suffer so deeply". When we proclaim the Good News we need to completely depend on the Holy Spirit. In Proverbs 1:23, God says, "Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings." See how big this blessing will be. Our Almighty God who created the Heavens and the earth is promising to pour out His thoughts to us and He wants to teach us directly. God will teach us what He wants us to preach. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the preaching notes. But to interpret we will require the Holy Spirit. Let us pray for the gift of interpretation of the Holy Spirit. We will also need the gift of discernment of the Holy Spirit. There are three different kinds of spirits - God's Holy Spirit, man's spirit, evil spirit. When we say prophesy to someone we should be able to discern what kind of spirit is within us. If we do not have the spirit of discernment we will consider our own imaginations or ideas as God's ideas. Even the evil spirits will know that we are blessed with the gift of discernment. Like how the evil spirits trembled on seeing our Lord Jesus, they will tremble on seeing us. People are undergoing lots of suffering nowadays. Mainly, they are not able to make correct decisions. One of the important tasks for us is to give the suffering a proper word. Before beginning to pray we should first ask the Holy Spirit to fill us and then His gifts will start to operate. After that we will be able to receive answers to our prayers within seconds. The Holy Spirit showers on us the Gift of wisdom and Gift of knowledge. Colossians 2:3 says, "Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." In Exodus 31:1-5, God says something interesting. "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts." God gave the gift of wisdom and understanding to Bezalel to build the "Tent for the meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent". It is not only to preach the Gospel the gifts of the Holy Spirit are provided. It is for any task in God's will. Today God is eagerly waiting to bless us with the same gifts so that with the same gifts we can fulfil God's will. In Isaiah 55:7-9, our Lord says, "“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”. When we have these two gifts, we can hear God speaking to us very clearly. Also we need to pray for people to be endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Colossians 1:9, the Apostle Paul says, "We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way". It is very important to understand what the will of God is and live accordingly. All of us have to pray for the people in our care to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. God uses these gifts to take us to Heaven. Revelation 4:1,2 says, "After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.' At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it." God called up the Apostle John. "John, come here. John went there in Spirit and in Spirit He saw the throne of Almighty God". John saw Almighty God face to face. Then Almighty God showed His plan and talked with John. We need to long to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If we can experience the promptings of the Holy Spirit, then we need to move on to the next level. We need to be sensitive to the initial promptings of the Spirit. If the Holy Spirit says, "Don't say that", don't say that. If the spirit of God warns, "Go this way", go that way. He is an active person so always have a listening ear. Our Lord Jesus said, "The world will not know Him, but you will know Him since He speaks to you". So we will know Him. The Spirit of God will speak to our spirit. We will hear the Holy Spirit's silent whispers in our heart. This first level will be like the first thirty years of our Lord Jesus before He got baptized with the Holy Spirit on the banks of the River Jordan. The second level of the Holy Spirit is to be completely infilled with the fire of the Holy Spirit. He will be like a burning fire in us. This is the life which our Lord Jesus wanted His anointed to have. It is simple, not complicated. Our Lord Jesus also says how it is possible in Luke 11:13. "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” We have to ask our loving Father for the Holy Spirit with real zeal to work for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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