Homilies

Father Roberts (OP, SJ) Homily for Wednesday of the 6th week of Eastertide

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Wednesday of the 6th week of Eastertide – Feast of Saint Paul VI, Pope

Daily Readings

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Entrance Antiphon – Psalm 17: 50; 21: 23

I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will tell of your name to my kin, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, as we celebrate in mystery the solemnities of your Son’s Resurrection, so, too, we may be worthy to rejoice at his coming with all the Saints. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading – Acts 17:15,22-18:1

Paul’s escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

So Paul stood before the whole Council of the Areopagus and made this speech:

‘Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. Well, the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it.

‘Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territory should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said:

“We are all his children.”

‘Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved and designed by a man.

‘God overlooked that sort of thing when men were ignorant, but now he is telling everyone everywhere that they must repent, because he has fixed a day when the whole world will be judged, and judged in righteousness, and he has appointed a man to be the judge. And God has publicly proved this by raising this man from the dead.’

At this mention of rising from the dead, some of them burst out laughing; others said, ‘We would like to hear you talk about this again.’ After that Paul left them, but there were some who attached themselves to him and became believers, among them Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman called Damaris, and others besides.

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 148:1-2,11-14

Heaven and earth are filled with your glory.

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host.

All earth’s kings and peoples, earth’s princes and rulers, young men and maidens, old men together with children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord for he alone is exalted. The splendour of his name reaches beyond heaven and earth.

He exalts the strength of his people. He is the praise of all his saints, of the sons of Israel, of the people to whom he comes close.

Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation – John 14:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Father will send you the Holy Spirit, says the Lord, to be with you for ever.

Alleluia!

Gospel – John 16:12-15

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He will glorify me, since all he tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: All he tells you will be taken from what is mine.’

Prayer over the Offerings

O God, who by the wonderful exchange effected in this sacrifice have made us partakers of the one supreme Godhead, grant, we pray, that, as we have come to know your truth, we may make it ours by a worthy way of life. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon – John 15: 16, 19

I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, and have appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will last, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Graciously be present to your people, we pray, O Lord, and lead those you have imbued with heavenly mysteries to pass from former ways to newness of life. Through Christ our Lord.

Homily

We have in our first reading today a classic example of evangelism, interfaith dialogue, ecumenism and inculturation. See how Paul even praises the idols, temples and monuments of the Greeks to whom he speaks! Many Christians would find such behaviour shocking. See how he does this, immediately before he goes on to describe the one true God, who is formless, and who therefore cannot be captured by any image.

Paul points to the Gospel, as it is found in the local paganism of the Greeks when he points out the following: “as indeed some of your own writers have said: ‘We are all his children.'”

Note that Paul does not quote the bible at his audience. He does not try to convert these people to some other culture or religion. Instead he endeavours to show them how their local religion actually points to something bigger. Paul is not attempting to convert them away from their local faith and culture, instead, he is giving them a wonderful gift: the gift of God’s grace. And that Grace will refine, and perfect the culture that it encounters. As Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians, he “became all things to all people”. I have in fact adopted this phrase as my personal motto: “Fi omnia omnibus”. Paul is not trying to rob the Athenians of their culture, instead he is trying to show how their primitive religion contains within itself the truth of the Gospel.

“We are all God’s children” is a very very important aspect of that Gospel. Salvation is inclusive. Salvation does not fall upon tribal lines. It is not as if the Catholics are saved while the Muslims are damned, or the believers are saved while the unbelievers are damned, or those who do good works are saved while those who do evil are damned. No, instead, we are all God’s children! No one will be abandoned by God, just as no good and loving father would ever abandon his children. And God is the most good and loving father possible, so how much more will we all be saved by him. Jew and Gentile; Catholic and Orthodox; Sunni and Shia; Hindu and Buddhist; Believer and Unbeliever; Righteous and Wicked; there is no distinction. All without exception and distinction are lavished with God’s inflamed and jealous love, for we are all God’s children, and so he loves all of us and will not abandon a single one of us to the hellfire.

Witness the confidence with which Paul proclaims that his listeners are children of God. He does not seek to determine which of the people in the crowd are elect and which are reprobate. He does not withhold the glorious Gospel promise out of fear that they will respond in outrage rather than faith. No, he proclaims the promise from the mountain top indiscriminately to the entire congregation. Today’s preachers could learn an important lesson from this. In the history of Christianity the promise has been forgotten. The homily should be a sacramental event where salvation is bestowed upon the congregation ex opere operato. Just like Paul, we should be fearless and stand before our flocks and confidently proclaim: “You are saved; You are loved by God; You will eventually arrive in heaven. I promise you this, and I stake my own salvation on that promise.”

There is no need for agnosticism about who will and won’t be saved. For the Gospel message is that all men without exception are reprobate in Christ, and all men without exception are elect in Christ, for as Paul says in today’s readings: “In him we live and move and have our being”. In reality there is only a single man – the resurrected Christ – and we are all made in his image. But we are mere shadowy images, whereas he is the fullness and perfection of a dyophysis encompassing both humanity and divinity, united in a divine simplicity and miaphysis. That one man, Christ, was reprobate; he descended into Hell and suffered the fullness of it’s infinite torments. And we are members of his mystical body, so we too descend into Hell and suffer the tortures that lie in wait there. But that one man also ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father, and all of us ascended with him. Christ was reprobate and Christ was elect, therefore all of us are also reprobate and elect on account of our spiritually dwelling within him.

But something too much of this theology. The key point is that it is utterly crucial to the Gospel promise that all men without exception are children of God . Salvation is meant for everyone without exception, and it will infallibly occur for all.

Notice that Paul also proclaims the final judgement to his listeners. This is to ensure that no one be deceived: just because Heaven is guaranteed for all does not mean that there is no Hell and no consequences for sin. But it is important to note that Heaven and Hell and the final judgement are present realities. They are not some place “over there” or something that happens to us “some time after we die”. They are here, with us, right now. Experienced as intense pain, guilt, depression, self-hatred, striving and failing. We are already being judged by Christ, but I will tell you a secret that is not often proclaimed: some people are already on the other side of the judgement and resting in paradise at this very moment.

As Paul says, one man has been appointed as the judge. The twist that I now reveal to you is that this one man is you. To say that we will be judged by the resurrected Christ is to say that we will be judged by our innermost self, for Christ lies within us, as the core identity of our souls. When we encounter ourselves in Christ, we cannot fail to love and adore. But that love is itself the judgement, and we are doomed to fail this judgement, because we see all the ways that we have failed to love; failed to live up to our own true standard; the standard of perfection; the standard of Christ. As we behold all of our failings and compare them to the glorious perfection of the Christ, the judgement occurs. The verdict? Guilty.

But there is good news. God promises you that he accepts you. He promises you that when he looks at you, he sees Christ. He promises you that you are not guilty. I exhort you this day: trust that promise! Now, regardless of whether you trust it or not, it is completely true and will infallibly come to pass, but o how wonderful life is when you trust the promise. Because you are encountering the final judgement right now and by faith alone you pass the test! But he who has no faith remains in the darkness of Hell, and God’s condemnation rests on him.

When you become all things to all people, you manifest Christ to those who you encounter. And that manifestation is itself the judgement; as they see themselves in you, they realise their own failures and guilt. It is at that exact moment that you may proclaim the Gospel, and it is at that exact moment that God’s love will finally conquer their heart and drive them to blind, desperate, heroic faith and repentance. To Love is to judge, just as in God love is judgement.

But back to Paul. Luke reports that the harvest of souls that day was slight. Even though Paul proclaimed the Gospel promise to the entire council, only a few of the Athenians believed, and only a few of these believing souls are identified by name in today’s scripture. Most curious is the mention of Dionysius the Aeropagite: this biblical figure was the namesake of an anonymous theologian in later centuries. Just as Paul did not reap massive success, we who believe in the Gospel should expect the same. But as the scripture says, when even a single soul comes to faith, all the angels in heaven sing and rejoice.

Speaking of singing and rejoicing, today’s Psalm fits the season particularly well. Easter is a time of joy and victory, a time to praise, thank and worship the good God on high for all that he has given us and all that he promises to give us. The imperative voice is employed, as the psalmist commands all of us; kings, queens, princes, rulers, children, adults, maidens, men, elders – even the angels – to Praise the lord.

The psalmist elaborates on Saint Paul’s discourse concerning the uniqueness of the one true God: God alone is exalted. This is not to say that other things cannot also be exalted, but it is to emphasise the primacy and supreme reality of God. If God is exalted; then we are not. If we are exalted; then God is not. The utterly unbridgeable difference between us and God is infinite. His transcendence is so supreme that it does not even make sense to speak of a difference. The glory of God is, as the psalmist sings, beyond heaven and earth.

Today’s Psalm finishes on a note of both synergism and monergism. God gives us strength, and all the saints praise him and love him. Those to whom he draws close, infallibly move towards him, not away from him.

The Gospel reading continues the discourse from yesterday and Monday. The resurrected Christ tells us about the Holy Spirit that resides within us all. Jesus calls the spirit, “The spirit of truth”. The spirit is also the spirit of unity, for truth and unity go hand in hand: wherever there is disagreement and dissent, the truth is not fully manifest. In this way, every anathema is a schism, every condemnation a split in the body of Christ. But the spirit is not like this; the spirit is the spirit of ecumenism and respect, the spirit of listening before speaking, the spirit of affirmation. Satan is the spirit of dissent, denial, and disagreement. But the spirit of God is the loving force that drives all people, all theologies and all religions to the zenith of Divine truth and simplicity. All men have this spirit, and all religions are guided by this spirit. Our differences are something to celebrate, and as we meet each other and learn to speak each other’s language, the spirit of love will gather us all together into a single flock: a single human family where love reigns supreme.

Finally, witness the communion antiphon. To whom does the Lord speak this beautiful promise? I tell you solemnly and with utter conviction, assurance, and certainty; he has chosen you. And when you fully appreciate this fact, and make the ineffable leap of faith from the devastation of hell into the peace and joy of heaven; only then will you go out into the world and bear fruit for Christ, just as he has promised.

Have faith, repent, and take hold of the salvation that is freely offered to you. I promise you that you are saved. But it is not I who make this promise; it is the very same spirit of truth that the resurrected Christ claimed he would send us speaking through me. So do you trust me? Do you trust God? Do you trust the Spirit? He is promising you salvation, and there is nothing you need do to grasp it. But do you grasp it? Examine yourself. Discern God within your soul. Let us love with the divine love, and ascend to the eschaton, the perfect rest that God prepared for us all from the beginning of time.

Father Alex Roberts (OP, SJ)

Father Roberts (OP, SJ) Homily for Tuesday of the 6th week of Eastertide

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Tuesday of the 6th week of Eastertide

Daily Readings

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Entrance Antiphon – Revelation 19: 7, 6

Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to God, for the Lord our God the Almighty reigns, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, almighty and merciful God, that we may in truth receive a share in the Resurrection of Christ your Son. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading – Acts 16:22-34

The crowd joined in and showed their hostility to Paul and Silas, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged. They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them. So, following his instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

Late that night Paul and Silas were praying and singing God’s praises, while the other prisoners listened. Suddenly there was an earthquake that shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and the chains fell from all the prisoners. When the gaoler woke and saw the doors wide open he drew his sword and was about to commit suicide, presuming that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted at the top of his voice, ‘Don’t do yourself any harm; we are all here.’ The gaoler called for lights, then rushed in, threw himself trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas, and escorted them out, saying, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They told him, ‘Become a believer in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, and your household too.’ Then they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all his family. Late as it was, he took them to wash their wounds, and was baptised then and there with all his household. Afterwards he took them home and gave them a meal, and the whole family celebrated their conversion to belief in God.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 137(138):1-3,7-8

Your right hand has saved me, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart: you have heard the words of my mouth. In the presence of the angels I will bless you. I will adore before your holy temple.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love, which excel all we ever knew of you. On the day I called, you answered; you increased the strength of my soul.

You stretch out your hand and save me, your hand will do all things for me. Your love, O Lord, is eternal, discard not the work of your hands.

Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation – John 16:7,13

Alleluia, alleluia!

I will send you the Spirit of truth, says the Lord; he will lead you to the whole truth.

Alleluia!

Gospel – John 16:5-11

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Now I am going to the one who sent me. Not one of you has asked, “Where are you going?” Yet you are sad at heart because I have told you this. Still, I must tell you the truth: it is for your own good that I am going because unless I go, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I do go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will show the world how wrong it was, about sin, and about who was in the right, and about judgement: about sin: proved by their refusal to believe in me; about who was in the right: proved by my going to the Father and your seeing me no more; about judgement: proved by the prince of this world being already condemned.’

Prayer over the Offerings

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that we may always find delight in these paschal mysteries, so that the renewal constantly at work within us may be the cause of our unending joy. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon – Luke 24: 46, 26

The Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Hear, O Lord, our prayers, that this most holy exchange, by which you have redeemed us, may bring your help in this present life and ensure for us eternal gladness. Through Christ our Lord.

Homily

We see in today’s reading from the book of Acts the pain and torture that were suffered by the Apostle Paul during his missionary travels. I tell you now, all who trust the Gospel should expect the same persecution. Whether it comes in the form of flogging and physical torture or psychological torment is besides the point: at the end of the day we who believe the promise of the salvation of the cosmos and all who wander within it must expect to suffer intense pain for our faith.

But just as Christ on the cross experienced brutal torments without suffering, so too we will experience pain while laughing for joy. For witness what the biblical author reports Paul and his companion Silas doing immediately after they suffered such unspeakable tortures and were tossed into prison: They prayed and sung Gods praises! See how no torture could rob these men of their joy? Why is it not the same with you? When pain and persecutions come your way do you doubt God, or do you revel in the chance to be a martyr for Christ? When someone slanders you for your faith do you fall silent and stare at your feet? Or do you stand tall and confidently proclaim the certain victory of the eschaton? When someone asks you “Are you saved?”, do you retreat into agnosticism and stammer out some half baked excuse about free will and uncertainty, or do you joyfully sing “Amen”?

Behold the divine madness and holy insanity that Paul displays in this tale: A miraculous earthquake frees him and the other prisoners from their cells and shackles, but Paul is so full of the divine love that he refuses to seize the opportunity to escape, and instead remains in the cell for the sake of the gaoler, who would most certainly be tortured and executed for allowing his prisoners to abscond. This action flowed from a holy insanity, but it was such a bold demonstration that even the gaoler could not fight being overcome with faith in the promise of salvation. Presumably he had heard all the songs that Paul, Silas and the other prisoners were all singing. Presumably all the other prisoners came to believe in the Gospel promise too.

Perhaps Paul and Silas were singing today’s Psalm? It seems like a particularly joyous and exuberant song. Paul thanks the Lord with all his heart: for God heard the words of his mouth. In the presence of the angels Paul will blesses him. Paul thanks God for his faithfulness and love. God increases the strength of Paul’s soul.

Today’s Gospel continues the theme of yesterday’s Gospel: The coming of the Spirit. As mentioned yesterday, the Spirit gives us the power to proclaim the resurrection in such a way that it efficaciously converts all who hear the promise. Those who are unable to convert crowds by their preaching are devoid of the charisms of the Spirit. Today the Resurrected Christ speaks to us, letting us know that the Spirit will guide us into all truth.

How do we know that we have the spirit? Because of our baptism and confirmation! But how do we know if the spirit is active in our lives? This is harder to determine. You must examine yourself for the fruits of the spirit. If you believe that you are right and others are wrong, your heart is hard and the spirit does not dwell in you. If you believe that other Christians are heretics who are destined for the eternal hellfire, then you have not understood the Gospel promise. If you think that Muslims are deceived and are worshipping some other God, you are still walking in the darkness. If you think that it is your faith that saves you, or your baptism, or your confession; you have missed the point of the message.

If you confidently affirm the universal salvation of all souls and the entire cosmos, you have done well. Christ will call you a good and faithful servant on the last day. If you affirm the fundamental truth, goodness and equality before God of all religions, traditions, philosophies and theologies; you will be rewarded highly on the last day.

Anyone who denies the salvation of all people already stands condemned, and the spirit has not penetrated their heart. If that is you, then read the scriptures closely and pray like your life depends on it, for to die without believing the promise is the worst possible fate – worse than anything any of us could imagine.

God’s word achieves what it sets out to achieve, and God’s promise secures the salvation that it promises. So none of us need fear for either ourselves or our neighbour: All will infallibly be saved. Whatever needs to be done, God will see to it that it be done. Nothing can stand between us and the love of Christ. Do not attempt to exclude people from his love, for this is the height of foolishness.

But God’s love will hunt you down and save you, I guarantee it. God guarantees it. Who are you, O man, to run away from God? He is the sovereign lord of the universe, and he desires to save you: are you really so presumptuous that you believe you have the power and “freedom” to escape his romantic overtures? God is the perfect gentleman: he will not force himself on us, but it is guaranteed that we will eventually fall for him and his overwhelming beauty. No one will fail to achieve salvation. This is what Christ represents. Christ is salvation incarnate. Find yourself in his face, and you will pass beyond the final judgement, even while you remain here on earth.

Praise God for his glorious grace, and the joys of the eschaton to come.

Father Alex Roberts (OP, SJ)

Father Roberts (OP, SJ) Homily for Monday of the 6th week of Eastertide

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Monday of the 6th week of Eastertide – Feast of Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop

Daily Readings

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Entrance Antiphon Romans 6: 9

Christ, having risen from the dead, dies now no more; death will no longer have dominion over him, alleluia.

Collect

Grant, O merciful God, that we may experience at all times the fruit produced by the paschal observances.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

First reading – Acts 16:11-15

Sailing from Troas we made a straight run for Samothrace; the next day for Neapolis, and from there for Philippi, a Roman colony and the principal city of that particular district of Macedonia. After a few days in this city we went along the river outside the gates as it was the sabbath and this was a customary place for prayer. We sat down and preached to the women who had come to the meeting. One of these women was called Lydia, a devout woman from the town of Thyatira who was in the purple-dye trade. She listened to us, and the Lord opened her heart to accept what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptised she sent us an invitation: ‘If you really think me a true believer in the Lord,’ she said ‘come and stay with us’; and she would take no refusal.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 149:1-6,9

The Lord takes delight in his people.

Sing a new song to the Lord,  his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel rejoice in its Maker, let Zion’s sons exult in their king.

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people.  He crowns the poor with salvation.

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory,  shout for joy and take their rest. Let the praise of God be on their lips: this honour is for all his faithful.

Alleluia.

Gospel Acclamation – John 15:26,27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of truth will bear witness to me, says the Lord, and you also will be my witnesses.

Alleluia.

Gospel – John 15:26-16:4

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who issues from the Father, he will be my witness. And you too will be witnesses, because you have been with me from the outset. ‘I have told you all this that your faith may not be shaken. They will expel you from the synagogues, and indeed the hour is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is doing a holy duty for God. They will do these things because they have never known either the Father or myself. But I have told you all this, so that when the time for it comes you may remember that I told you.’

Prayer over the Offerings

Receive, O Lord, we pray, these offerings of your exultant Church, and, as you have given her cause for such great gladness, grant also that the gifts we bring may bear fruit in perpetual happiness. Through Christ our Lord.

Communion Antiphon – John 20: 19

Jesus stood in the midst of his disciples and said to them: Peace be with you, alleluia.

Prayer after Communion

Look with kindness upon your people, O Lord, and grant, we pray, that those you were pleased to renew by eternal mysteries may attain in their flesh the incorruptible glory of the resurrection. Through Christ our Lord.

Homily

ResurrectionWe see today in the reading from the book of Acts, the drastic lengths that the Apostle Paul was willing to go to in order to spread the Gospel: He travelled all around the known world, whether by boat, horse, or on foot. Such was his zeal to spread the good news of the Gospel. For what a wonderful message it is: in the thick of depression, darkness, war, sickness, famine, defeat and death a surprising promise of victory is spoken. A promise of salvation. And while this promise was spoken by Paul to Lydia and her household, it was not meant only for her. For the same promise that was spoken to Lydia by Paul is today spoken by me to you. You are in Heaven, if only you would open your eyes to see it!

And furthermore, this is a promise that is intended towards the entire world and everyone in it. This is why Paul travelled as far and wide as he did; this is why he went to great pains to spread the message to the ends of the earth. And the content of this promise is why he was so completely fearless in his evangelistic endeavour: “Christ has risen!”

But what is the significance of the fact that this man, Jesus of Nazareth has risen from the dead? What does it mean for me? What does it mean for you? Why exactly is it good news?

It is good news because it was not only Jesus who resurrected on that glorious morning of Easter Sunday. No, it was you. It was me. It was all of us. It was everyone you love, everyone you care about. The entire human race was resurrected on Easter Sunday. The Entire Human race defeated death on Easter Sunday. The entire cosmos stepped out of the tomb, in the form of the divine λογος made flesh: the resurrected Christ.

That is why this is good news, and that was the message that Paul proclaimed. It was not merely “Jesus has defeated death”, it was far more personal and powerful than that: “YOU have defeated death: you need never fear damnation again, for this day is the day of your salvation.” Let the demons tremble at the victory of the son of God, for there is not one left under the power of Satan; all have been freed and liberated, and all that remains is the love that drives the cosmos to it’s destiny.

And so as we see in the Psalm today, now is the time to sing a new song to the lord, for he has redeemed us, saved us, glorified us. He has held his breath and dived head first into the dark depths of this Hell on earth that we have made for ourselves, grabbing us by our hair with his grace and dragging us up to the surface and the light of the sun. Let us praise the name of God with dancing and make music with all of our many and various instruments . For the Lord takes delight in us, the people he has won for himself.  We are poor, lowly sinners, but he is the immensely good and infinitely gracious God who delights in crowning poor sinners with salvation. We are the faithful and we rejoice in our glory,  we shout for joy and enter into our rest. Let the praise of God be on all our lips: for this honour is for all you.

But this is not a promise that can be spoken by just anyone. Only those who have allowed the Holy Spirit to penetrate deep into their soul are able to proclaim it. For the Holy Spirit is always knocking at the door of our hearts, but most of us only let him halfway in. We must instead allow him to flood our minds with his omniscience and foresight, allowing us to penetrate into the mists of the distant future and confidently proclaim the glorious destiny that lies in store for us all. This is what we affirm in our Gospel Acclamation today: Whoever proclaims the risen Christ does so by the spirit.

But the proclamation of the risen Christ is more than just words spoken and heard. The full, drastic, offensive, beautiful implications of the promise incarnate must be understood. Firstly: No one will ultimately fail to achieve salvation! Secondly: There is nothing whatsoever you can do to earn this salvation. Neither belief, nor works; not even being a Christian will make a difference. It is only by the indwelling spirit that we are able to confidently proclaim, “Christ is risen and your future is secure. You are already in heaven. You are finally free to repent, believe and love”

Jesus himself prophesies in today’s Gospel that we will suffer persecution for the sake of the promise. We will be cast out of churches, driven out of mosques, chased out of temples and synagogues. But do not fear: for the promise is effective, regardless of the response of the listener. All people will be saved, no matter how hard people deny it and no matter what reasoning they invoke to escape it.

And so let us finish by pondering the final prayer of today’s mass, where we ask God to look with kindness upon the people of the world, and sovereignly grant that all people be renewed by the eternal mysteries of the faith, and attain in their flesh the incorruptible glory of the resurrection.

There is no better hope than this: that death has no hold over us, for we have already encountered our resurrected selves, and there is absolutely nothing remaining which could possibly prevent us from arriving safely in the glories and salvation of the Eschaton.

Let us praise God for his glorious grace and immeasurable goodness.

Father Alex Roberts (OP, SJ)

Sermon and Homily: We should not desire to pass through Hell on our way to Heaven. Strive to Enter Through the Narrow Gate

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gateway-to-hell-982x750[1].jpgWe might be predestined to victory in the war but we are not predestined to victory in the battle. We may fall, fail and surrender, and as long as we keep failing and falling the war will continue, leading to much loss, tragedy and destruction. We must fight every fight as if our souls depend on it, and indeed they do: we hang suspended in the midst of two eternal flames, one that brings unspeakable terror, complete darkness and utter destruction, the other burning love, blinding light and perfect ecstasy. We float between these two flames on a cloud, a cloud which is in every way constructed to carry us higher and higher into heaven and the warm embrace of God, and yet is ultimately steered by our consent. Do we say yes to the devils, demons, temptations and vices that constantly claw at us, trying to drag us down further into the terrifying void below; the pit of torturous wrath which churns away and threatens to tear us asunder? Or do we kick away these things of darkness, throw ourselves upon the cloud and pray “Fiat! Thy will be done”?

Alas, the vast majority of us do not heed the call to battle. We allow ourselves to be pulled down into Hell. We ruin our lives in the pursuit of illusions and fantasies. We search for temporary pleasures rather than eternal satisfaction. Most of humanity confusedly yet willingly descends into this damnation, surrendering to the dark powers in exchange for a lie. The tortures and torments which are heaped upon us grow and grow, the fire burns hotter and hotter, the pain continually increases, our minds give way to confusion, insanity and psychosis. The darkness and depression of non-existence envelops us. Demons taunt us and we taunt each other. There is no love, no hope, only despair and hardened hearts.

But that cloud comes with us into the inferno. The further we fall the more it resists the descent. At any point we could repent and let it carry us out of this flaming prison. There are battles still to be won and lost, but no matter how far we fall, that cloud will always follow. In this way the outcome of the war is assured: There can only be victory in the end. For no one can irreparably harm themselves in rebellion against God forever.

As we fling ourselves upon the cloud and begin the long ascent towards the light, the situation begins to become clearer: the unspeakable tortures we experienced were in fact educative, serving to bring us to an acceptance of the truth and inspire true repentance. We look back and see that there were not two flames, but only one. This flame is love, justice and God himself. As we ascend higher into the flame we grow brighter and brighter as it penetrates and purifies us. Looking around we see that every single thing that has ever been created is assembled and glowing with divine energy, singing praises and doxologies. We see that the demons and devils have rejoined the angels in their divine dance of love around the throne of God.

We fall down in joyful worship as waves of truth and life wash over us and we finally come face to face with our ultimate reward and gift – God himself.

 

But that day has not yet arrived. The war for our souls rages on. We should not desire to pass through Hell on our way to Heaven, so take up your arms against the adversary in the here and now! Fight for faith, love, justice, truth and ultimate freedom. Finally, remember never to lose hope: for that cloud of grace will always be with you and no matter how long you resist it, eventually it will carry you to God.

Beautiful Heresy 101 – Jesus Was a Heretic

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Remember, Jesus himself was considered a Heretic by the religious authorities of the day.

Heretics are the ones we should listen to most closely, for they are prophets that have seen God in ways that explode our dogmatic categories.

Do you really expect that saying “Agree with me or go to Hell!” will convert your opponents heart? No! This is why every anathema is always just another schism.

If the church ever says “anathema sit“, you know that it is Satan speaking, not God. In God everything is affirmation, and nothing is denial. When the church condemns, it is always just Satan trying to crush the prophets of the age by ecclesiastical fiat.

So listen closely to the Origens, Ariuses, Pelagiuses, Nestoriuses, Luthers, Calvins and Robertses of the day: They have discovered something important and profound, and it is only by listening to them that we will avoid further schism and maintain the unity of the church.

Hermeneutics 101: You must interpret Hell in light of the Gospel, rather than interpreting the Gospel in light of Hell.

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hell_vs_heaven_by_i_r_s[1].jpgYou must interpret Hell in light of the Gospel, rather than interpreting the Gospel in light of Hell.

Yes, Hell is eternal, but not even an eternal Hell can prevent God from saving us. Yes, We are truly free, but not even our freedom can thwart God’s sovereign salvific plans.

This stubborn Catholic insistence that we are “Free” and Hell is inescapable only serves to keep all these poor Catholics chained in the black prison of the outer darkness, and crushed in the lake of fire under the towering flames of their own guilt. This attitude that God cannot, or will not save those in Hell comes from none other than the great deceiver; the Devil. It basically amounts to saying that God is not good, loving, sovereign and powerful. These are the most satanic blasphemies possible, and they are uttered by faithful Catholics. They think that in doing so they are defending the truth; how tragic that in reality they are it’s mortal enemies.

And this is the truth God loves everyone who is in Hell, and he promises us that he will not rest until he has rescued every single soul who is stuck there. But don’t be presumptuous: at no point will he force himself on anyone. He will continuously attract us with his beauty, seduce us with his love and eventually win us over. He will not stop until we freely crumble and confess “I love you” back to him. He will pursue us for as long as it takes, and never give up on us.

If God chooses you (And I promise you: he has), It is predestined that you will eventually choose him, so stop resisting. You don’t have to do anything. This promise will come true regardless of how you respond to it. You don’t have to become a Christian, you don’t have to get baptised, you don’t have to “believe in Jesus”, technically you don’t even have to believe in God (but that’s a discussion for another time). However if you DO trust that the promise is true, heaven will explode into your life right now. You, your friends, and your family are all guaranteed to be saved. Believe that promise and rejoice!

Attention Random Internet Reader: I Promise To Rescue You, Should You Find Yourself Damned

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hell[1]Attention random internet reader: If there IS a Hell, and you end up stuck in it, I promise that I’ll come down there and rescue you, free of charge <3 Trust this promise and chill the fuck out.

I’ve already assembled a crack squad of saints to back me up in the mission. Believe me when I tell you that these glorified men and women also unconditionally promise to storm the gates of Hell and bust you out of the prison, should you find yourself there. “The gates of Hell will not prevail against the assault of the church” after all!

You’ll have to forgive most of these saints for not being Christian. More than half of them are Mahayana Buddhists, a significant number are Mormons, and many of them are gasp Sufi Muslims. But don’t worry, St Thomas Aquinas and St Augustine are big dogs in the crew too 🙂

I assure you we won’t stop trying so long as there is a single lost soul wandering in the outer darkness. Hitler, Judas and Satan are proving quite difficult to rescue, but we have full confidence that this A-Team of holy men and women will eventually be able to evangelise them back into heaven where they belong.

Also, Holy Saturday is coming up soon too, so the big man himself says he’s gonna come down there and help everyone out. Fuck yeah amirite?

With Love,

-Alex Roberts

Beautiful Heresy 101 – Adoptionism: “Jesus was not born God, he ‘became’ God”

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20091210_thisissue_600-kindle-cover_w[1]The Muslims are right: Jesus was just a man. He wasn’t God. He was just a dude. He had a single nature and that nature was human. In fact, Jesus was peccable, which is to say he was able to sin. Adds a whole new dimension to the temptation in the wilderness story doesn’t it? Our saviour really could have failed, he really could have given in to the temptations!

However, at no point did he actually sin. If we conceive of sins as the bricks in a wall that stands between us and God and separate us from him, then consider what it means for Jesus to not have to contend with such a barrier. At all times, Jesus the man had full and direct access to God. There was no sin that stood in his way. In other words, from the moment of his conception all the way through his life and ministry, and even up to his death; Jesus experienced a profound unity with God and a full theosis.

Now, Jesus was fully man, which means that he inherited a fallen, imperfect human nature just like the rest of us. And this was why he needed to be baptised! Baptism removes the curse of original sin, which Jesus suffered from just like all of us, even if he never commit any actual moral fault.

But Jesus experienced full theosis, which is to say that even though he was merely a man by nature, it would be accurate to call him “fully God” by participation. And this would hold true for the duration of his entire life. So there is a sort of dyophysis at play: Jesus is fully man by nature, and fully God by participation, and there is a strict separation between the two natures. If at any time he had slipped up and sinned, he would have lost his full participation in divinity, as the bricks in the wall between him and God would have begun to stack up.

But no, Jesus was fully united to the divine λογος for his entire life. Never did he slip up. There have been many saints, Christian and otherwise who have also achieved a full unity with the λογος, for example Muhammad and Buddha, but what separates these saints and mystics from Jesus is that they begun their journey behind the wall of sin, and had to dismantle it brick by brick, whereas Jesus experienced theosis for the entire duration of his life.

Now, Jesus died. For the purposes of this discussion the details are not relevant, whether it was by murder or by old age does not matter. The crucial point is that this innocent man died; the only man who had ever lived his entire life without sinning once. But the wages of sin is death, so how could a man who had never sinned be subject to the penalty of death? And so the Justice of God becomes manifest as God raises Jesus from death to new life; a new life from which he will never die again.

But something funny happened as Jesus passed from death to new life. His nature changed. He took on an eschatalogical existence. No longer was he a dyophysis of created nature and divine participation. Instead he takes on the divine simplicity of a miaphysis; he becomes God! My thesis is therefore that the full incarnation did not occur at Christmas, but at Easter. Jesus was not born as God, he became God. Yes there was a sense in which he was fully God for his entire life and ministry, but this was merely by “participation”, not by “nature”. However the game changed after the resurrection. Jesus truly could be referred to as fully God in every respect. In fact, all of the imperfections and limitations of his human nature were swallowed up in the divine nature, like a drop in the ocean. Nevertheless he retained his created attributes.

This is why it is now appropriate to worship Jesus as the one true God. He has attained the divine perfections and exists already at the end of history, in the eschaton. This is why he says “no one comes to the father except through me”. God is eternally hidden, unmanifest, and there is valid no way to worship him, despite his being the only valid object of worship. But Jesus changes all that. He has broken the curtain that separates us from God in half and taken on a tangible form. Now we direct our worship towards this man Jesus, in the Eucharist, in the flesh. He became God, but by being God, he always was God. And so it will be with us. All of us will achieve theosis, and then all of us will achieve resurrection, and finally all of us will become the λογος incarnate. But while we are pilgrims here, on this side of the eschaton, waiting for that glorious resurrection, only Jesus is God, and only him do we worship.

Beautiful Heresy 101 – The Great Apostasy: “Bride of Christ and Whore of Babylon. Infallible Church and Harlot of Adultery”

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220px-Burgkmair_whore_babylon_color[1].jpgI don’t think Jesus ever said the church will never fail. (In fact he said just the opposite in a couple of parts of the bible). What he did say is that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.

So the church is the army of God, and the image is not one of defence, it is one of offence. Christ’s army is attacking the prison/stronghold/gates of hell. The prophecy of God is good news! Hell will be (has been) conquered. There is a victory to both rejoice at right now and also work towards in the future. But there’s nothing to ultimately worry about. There might be a hell, but not in any way or sense which contradicts Gods sovereignty, power, love or goodness. Hell is a prison, and Jesus has just orchestrated the ultimate jailbreak. Not one soul remains left in the grave. All things, all people, become saved and glorified. O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?

That message sounds so much better and so much more “gospel” and so much more “good news” than anything anyone in the catholic church ever told me. Then again no one from any church told me that, I had to work it out myself through prayer and direct mystical insight. The messages of the churches are constantly mixed with this great lie that God isn’t good enough, or god isn’t powerful enough, or even if he IS good and powerful enough we simply don’t know whether he will act on his power and goodness, and therefore some/many/most people would burn in hell forever and ever and the ending of the story would be complete tragedy. No church ever explicitly says any of this, because if they were to do that they would be instantly recognised for the satanic hoax that they are. However pay attention to what they’re telling you and you should be able to discern this fundamental nihilism that permeates it.

Surely we all know on some level that can’t be right. But out of fear and obligation to “the church”(aka the priests, bishops, and other Pharisaical figures), we find ourselves defending this narrative again and again against those who are in the worst and most dire circumstances. Which do you reckon will energise them to fight the most? The idea that they, their friends and family will all probably be damned forever? The idea that God gives them the “opportunity” to be saved and now it’s up to them and their freedom to do the rest (hah! Good luck!)? Or the revolutionary “gospel” idea that because of the cross and resurrection, their eternal future is secure and there is ultimately nothing to be afraid of.

Maybe all of these “churches” are actually the whore of Babylon. The catholic church, the Mormon church, whatever. They are flirting with Satan and misleading people to hell. They keep mixing the “good news” of the gospel with this toxic pessimism and then wrongly invoking the authority of God over the false teaching in order to keep the people in fear and subservient to the prince of darkness himself. People end up blindly defending and serving the very thing that they thought they were fighting against.

Perhaps the solution is to be always listening. Look out for an individual who has a new, energising perspective. A prophet with fresh revelation. For example a Muhammad, or a Joseph Smith. God speaks to individuals well before he speaks to institutions. Listen out for the voice of the living prophets in our age: they may very well be prophesying your own doom and warning you to repent.

Can anything these prophets say actually contradict the truth? Of course not. The “mystical” church is the holy and infallible bride of Christ. But the “institutional” church is the harlot, drunk with the wine of adultery. Regardless of whether your church is called Mormon, Catholic, Anglican, Muslim, Reformed, Adventist or whatever; your church has fundamentally betrayed you. And to go on insisting otherwise is to simply be an agent of evil and to do the devils work for him.

The solution is throw off institutional shackles and human authorities: to pray harder and to seek guidance from God directly into your soul. I’m sure that if you pray about it, God will verify the essence of his Gospel: he sent his son in love, we murdered him in rejection, his son descended to the worst possible depths of hell and damnation, in order to rise again to resurrection and new life, and that this grand gospel narrative is a reassurance of the promise that our final future (heaven) is secure and there’s nothing we need to worry about. If only we would just trust that promise, the joys of heaven would be ours right at this very moment.

The surrounding details are optional: we can come to an agreement on whether the pope is the head of the church or Joseph Smith was a prophet later. What is essential for us to agree on right now is that the gospel really is “good news”: Jesus really has conquered evil, death, hell, sin and the powers of darkness. And until someone hears that message and believes it, they are just yet another soul thrashing about in hell while being under the illusion that they are devoutly serving God.

Praise God that the gates of hell wont prevail against the assault of his church. Praise God that eventually everyone will hear the message and respond to it with faith and true repentance. Praise God that in the eschaton, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, and neither principalities nor powers, hell; freedom or rebellion can prevent God from fulfilling his loving plans for us all.

Beautiful Heresy 101 – Reverse Pelagianism: “No, you are not free to choose Hell”

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foxtrot-free-will1[1].jpgJust as it is a heresy to believe that you can freely save yourself, so too is it a heresy to claim that you can damn yourself. By claiming that man is “free” to choose whether or not to accept God’s love, the catholic ministers of the gospel of perdition elevate themselves above God and deny his sovereignty; their condemnation will be swift and just. Do not be so foolish as to think you can climb the ladder to heaven apart from grace, and do not be so presumptuous as to think that you have the “freedom” to hide from God in Hell forever. God loves you and intends your salvation; do you really think you can defeat his sovereign will by a stubborn refusal to submit and a childish denial of worship?