​A few months ago at an early learning centre run by religious sisters children were asked to draw anything they wanted to. A daughter of my friends drew the gate to heaven. Very cute, isn’t it? A few days later she died in a car accident. Now, this picture is not just cute, it is much more than that, isn’t it? Imagine the nun who was in charge of the class when after the funeral she was going through the pile of drawings the children left on her desk and came across the gate of heaven drawn by the little girl.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! There are circumstances that change the way we perceive the same thing or the same event, like in the case of that drawing showing the gate to heaven.
The man from the Gospel reading, whose name was Bartimaeus, had a number of circumstances which changed his perception too. The first one was when he heard what other people were saying about Jesus. He didn’t see Jesus but he must have pondered and treasured what he had heard about the Good Teacher. It had sunk deeply into his soul. It had sunk so deeply that from the depth of his misery the seed of faith was growing. When he was shouting: ‘Son of David, Jesus, have pity on me’ the bystanders heard only complains of a miserable man. What Jesus heard was a profession of faith. That’s why Jesus said to the blind beggar: ‘Your faith has saved you.’
            This Sunday, as we are holding World Mission Sunday, Bartimaeus appears before us as a missionary because in front of everyone he did bear a witness to Jesus. Each one of us can also tell others that we trust Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. People may scold us, they may try to silence us, like some people scolded and tried to silence Bartimaeus. However the blind beggar didn’t argue with them. He just kept repeating that he believed that Jesus could have pity on him.
            St Mark concluded today’s Gospel reading by telling us that Bartimaeus after being healed followed Jesus along the road. Just imagine the man who used to be blind walking and seeing the people, the scenery along the way and seeing Jesus. It must have been wonderful for him indeed. However a few days after having his eyes opened to the beauty of the world Bartimaeus saw an event which no one would like to see, to see a loved one dying a brutal death. Bartimaeus got his sight only to see his healer dying on the cross a few days later. Maybe on that first Good Friday he wished he were still blind so that he didn’t have to see his Rubbuni stretched between heaven and earth on the cross. However he was not spared the scenery of Calvary so that with his very eyes he could see how much his life was valued by God who gave his Son not only to heal him of his blindness but to open the gate of heaven to him too. The Son of God who died on the cross has been the gate to heaven for Bartimaeus and for each one of us. That’s why the exhortation of the Prophet Jeremiah from our First Reading applies to us too, to us also the Lord is saying today: ‘Shout with joy! Proclaim! Parise! Shout: The Lord has saved his people!’
Most of us, apart from an occasional visit to an eye doctor to get new glasses, didn’t need such a profound healing like the blind Bartimaeus. However we have been given divine treatment by the death and Resurrection of Jesus so that we can see what happens to us in a different light. The death of the little girl gave a new meaning to the drawing she made. The Death and Resurrection of Jesus have given a new and eternal meaning to what happens to us and to what happens to our world. There is much more to see in it all than the sharpest eyes can see. Faith allows us to see in all life circumstances our Divine Brother, Jesus Christ our gate to heaven. Faith also allows us to get a glimpse of our Heavenly Father awaiting us at the horizon with his welcoming arms stretched out as wide as they arms of his Son Jesus, were stretched out on the cross. Therefore as Catholics ‘We cannot but speak about what we have seen and heard’ so that other could also see and hear what he have seen and heard with eyes of faith.

​            On Friday we honoured St Teresa of Avila who lived in the seventeenth century, in Spain. Most of her life she spent in an enclosed monastery where she served God and the Church in solitude by praying and doing penance. She didn’t plan big projects but used her wisdom and experience of spiritual matters to direct her fellow nuns. She was asked to write down her insights and advice. It must have been the Holy Spirit inspiring those people to oblige Teresa to write spiritual books which revealed a great deal of her knowledge of God and how to approach God. That’s why she was given a rare title of a Doctor of the Church. There are a number of her books but there is only one contemporary portrait of St Teresa which was made when she was 61. When St Teresa saw it she said to the artist: ‘Brother John, may God forgive you for having painted me ugly and bleary-eyed.’ Even if the poor Brother John didn’t do justice to her countenance he did do justice to the lifestyle of the Saint. He painted her in conversation with the Holy Spirit appearing as a dove.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! Our usual Sunday routine has been interrupted this weekend. The readings are from Pentecost Sunday and prayers are in adoration of the Holy Spirit. We have this interruption, or better to say this intervention, of the Holy Spirit because the Catholic Church has begun the preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023. Pope Francis spoke about the preparation in this way: ‘This is not about gathering opinions, no. This is not an inquiry; but it is about listening to the Holy Spirit.’
If we had our ‘normal’ readings for this Sunday, 29th Sunday in Ordinary time B, we would hear about the Apostles John and James asking Jesus to do them a favour. They wanted to sit at his right and left hand in his kingdom. Upon hearing this the other disciples felt indignant with John and James. John and James thought about their own importance. The others thought about being left out. It is a perfect recipe for a divided community, isn’t it? During the two thousand years the Christians have faced similar situations. Some of them were remedied but some have left bitter divisions still existing among the disciples of Jesus. These divisions are the result of people listening to their own feelings and opinions rather than to the Holy Spirit. Pope Francis, at this time when there are so many conflicting views, even among us Catholics, has called us all to listen together to the Holy Spirit. The readings from the Bible for this Sunday invite us to be united in two things we have in common.
The first one is our need to be forgiven and to forgive. The Gospel showed the Lord Jesus on Easter Sunday. The Apostles were united because they realised that all of them failed Jesus, that they abandoned him. When he Jesus was on the cross they didn’t argue about being on his right and left had. They run away. The two criminals were there instead. But the Lord forgives the Apostles by giving them his peace and sending them to forgive others in his name. As we listen to this account of the Resurrection the Spirit asks us today: ‘When did you celebrate reconciliation last time? When did you have your Sacrament of Reconciliation?’ Because during this Sacrament the Holy Spirit descends upon us, like the Spirit descended on the Apostles when the Risen Lord breathed upon them.
The second thing we have in common is our mission to bring the Good News of Jesus death and resurrection to other people. First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles showed the Descend of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The Apostles appear united as they proclaim the Gospel to the people in Jerusalem. When we gather to celebrate the Eucharist the Holy Spirt is called to descend and to sanctify bread and wine so that they may become the Body and Blood of Jesus. Then we receive these gifts so that as we return home we could take the Lord Jesus Christ with us so that the people who didn’t come to church could still meet the Lord through us.
St Teresa wasn’t pleased with what she looked like in that painting. We may not be pleased with what, we as Church, look like at the moment. However the Holy Spirit is with us. Let us celebrate his descend upon us today. Let us also listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Church, to us, at this time.

​            Have you ever come across this statement: ‘I don’t need to go to church. I can be a good person without going to church.’? Remembering the Gospel passage for this Sunday we could say in such a situation: ‘Why do you think that you a good person?’ When Jesus was praised as a good master he didn’t say: ‘Thank you. That’s nice. I appreciate it. You know I did my best to be good.’ What the Lord did was directing the course of the conversation to his heavenly Father: No one is good but God alone. Did Jesus just kill that conversation? No he didn’t. He opened it up to a great horizon, to God.
The list of the commandments which Jesus presented to the man who wanted to inherit eternal life could serve as a check list of a good person: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother. The man from the Gospel did it all from his youth. Don’t you think that he was a good person? Why did he go away sad, then? Was it because he was rich? His wealth was not a problem. His attachment to his wealth was. That’s why Jesus didn’t stop at the check list. He went further and deeper in their conversation. St Thomas of Aquinas once said that there are the four typical substitutes for God: wealth, power, pleasure and honour. When Jesus asked the man to give the wealth away he helped that man to realise that after all the wealth was his god, not the heavenly Father.
When I prayed this Gospel passage, I paused at the moment when the man was going away sad. Then I remembered another passage from the Holy Scriptures: Adam and Eve leaving the paradise after they sinned. They too wanted to be good, as good as God is. But they wanted to achieve it without God. The man from today’s Gospel also wanted to be good but without God, or better to say with a god which was his wealth.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers.
            We can try to build our image of a good person but without God it will eventually collapse like a house built on sand. Jesus said that No one is good but God alone.
Going to church will not turn anyone automatically into a good person. However going to church keeps us in check. We discover that without God we cannot be good, that sooner or later we end up disappointed and depressed because of our failures. We end up like the man from the Gospel: sad.
Going to church will not turn anyone automatically into a good person. However going to church reminds us of what the man from the Gospel must have missed. St Mark wrote that Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him. When the Lord shows us areas for growth and improvement, when the Lord challenges the myths we have created to please ourselves he looks steadily at you and me and he loves us. Jesus doesn’t simply looks with love at us because we have done something good. Jesus looks with love at us so that we can do good things.
When the next time someone says to you: ‘You are a good person’ I hope and pray that instead of saying: ‘Thanks. I appreciate that.’ you will say with conviction and gratitude: ‘It is because God has looked with love at me.’

I hope you have heard about family quality time. I would like you now to take a few moments to think how you could explain what family quality time is about…
I’ve got more thinking exercise for you. Keeping in mind what you thought about family quality time apply it now to the Church. Think how you could do what you thought about family quality time in your parish community.  Think how it could be done in the wider Church community...
My Dear Sisters and Brothers!
These little mental exercises I’ve asked you to do were not to protect you from dementia by stimulating you do some unusual thinking. By the way, recently I have heard an interview with a psychologist who said that learning new skills, reflecting on new things can protect us from Alzheimer. In the situation of applying family quality time to the life of our Church protection from Alzheimer is a side effect, though a good one. The primary effect is enhancing our being as Church.
If you use a daily Missal you may have been surprised that the readings for this Sunday weren’t taken from the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It wasn’t done to throw off your normal routine. The Readings have reminded us that our Catholic Church in Australia is doing some family quality time now. It’s got a professional name of the Plenary Council. However for those who have no idea what it means we can explain that our Church family is doing family quality time.
Our Blessed Lord during the Last Supper promised his disciples that if they kept his word he and his Father would love them and would come to them and make their home with them. He also promised the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, to teach them everything and to remind them of what he said to them. It is awesome. God who has got a perfect home in heaven comes to us to turn our Church into a home. We are not an organisation. We are not an institution. We are not a corporation. We are not a club. We are home. After the consecration of bread and wine the priest will address God saying: Listen graciously to the prayers of this family, whom you have summoned before you. We are family because God has called to the Catholic Church. We are family because God is in our midst: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The Plenary Council which commences this Sunday, this family quality time, involves all of us. We shouldn’t think that it is for few unlucky people who will have to sit through long meetings. Quite contrary, this is our family quality time to grow closer to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is our family quality time to grow closer to each other. This is our family quality time to grow in our mission to draw others to this family, to this Church, where the Father comes with his Son, where the Holy Spirt is sent too.
My Dear Sisters and Brothers. When the Church held a Universal Council in Ephesus in 431, which was discerning whether Mary could be called Mother of God, it was recorded in the chronicles that the sellers at the local market were having hot disputes about it too. Next time you pray to our Lady as the Mother of God you may think about all the carrots, onions and chicken thighs being thrown by the people who held different views at the time of the Council of Ephesus. However thinking about all that meat and vegetables remember that it was their family quality time. Such time is not boring. Such time is filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit working through our human highs and lows. Such time is the time we are entering this Sunday.
Let me finish with the words of St Paul from the Letter to his beloved Christian community in Philippi: ‘If our life in Christ means anything to you, if love can persuade at all, or the Spirit that we have in common, or any tenderness and sympathy, then be united in your convictions and united in your love, with common purpose and a common mind.’ What a Church we will become when these words become reality. Amen to that.

​            When Jesus had the Last Supper with his disciples he prayed for them to his Father in heaven: ‘make them holy by your truth.’ The prayer of Jesus has become a prayer of the Church. In the Gospel Acclamation we all prayed: ‘your word, O Lord is truth: make us holy in the truth.’ However in our modern society the immediate question will be that of Pilate who looking at Jesus asked: ‘What is truth?’
            Pilate was very close to find truth. Truth was standing in front of him, it was Jesus Christ. Pilate was not a believer but deep down he knew that Jesus was innocent. Pilate didn’t sing Glory to God in the highest or recite the Creed but he exhibited sensitivity to truth. Pilate was like those two people from our First Reading from the Book of Numbers. They spoke God’s message though they were away from the rest of the community. Pilate spoke up for the falsely accused Jesus. Pilate was like the person from today’s Gospel. The person who drove out devils though he was not among the Apostles. That person did what God wanted to be done. Pilate also took some actions to do the right thing, to free Jesus. However it all fell through when he faced possibility of losing his position, his income, his future etc. Was it because truth changed? No, it was because Pilate adjusted his standing.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! The Pilate’s question: ‘What is truth?’ can end up in endless discussions and arguments. However, as Christians, we don’t contribute to these discussions some extra theories and ideas. What we contribute to our society’s discussion on truth is our contemplation of Jesus Christ whose another name is truth. That’s what he said to Thomas: ‘I am the truth.’ For us truth is Jesus Christ.
            If anyone of us were called to testify at court we would be called to say first: ‘I do solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm that the evidence I shall give to the court in this case shall be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth.’
            These words apply to civil court but we should take them to heart, and even if we are not called to testify at court, we should testify to the people we meet that Jesus is the truth. We should testify that those who adhere to Jesus are given by him the grace to remain faithful to the truth. In the long tradition of our Church we have developed appreciation for what is called ‘the archives of truth written in letters of blood.’ What are these archives about? They are stories of our martyrs who died for Jesus. They didn’t die because they were stubborn or disappointed at life. They died because unlike Pilate they didn’t want to compromise the truth. St Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred in the second century wrote: ‘Neither the pleasures of the world nor the kingdoms of this age be of any use to me. It is better for me to die in order to unite myself to Christ Jesus that to reign over the ends of the earth. I seek him who died for us; I desire him who rose for us. My birth is approaching.’
            In our modern society, more than ever, we need to treasure ‘the archives of truth written in letters of blood.’ We need to treasure the stories of our great martyrs so that we don’t manipulate truth and don’t allow others to manipulate us.

​            The image of Jesus embracing a little child is touching. The image of Jesus embracing a little child can provide a lot to reflect upon. The image of Jesus embracing a little child is still, as it was in the house of Peter in Capernaum, a lesson, a message, a homily for us who have gathered in this house of God, in our church.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers.
            The image of Jesus embracing a little child is very much contemporary. In the recent history of the Catholic Church we have witnessed some Divine interventions which have marked and impacted Catholicism. I would like to focus on two Divine interventions. They are Lourdes and Fatima. Both places have common elements. The first is that the message of God was delivered by our Blessed Mother. The second is that the people who received the message were children. Bernadette Soubirous who saw Our Lady in Lourdes was 14 at that time. In Fatima the children were even younger. Lucia was 9. Francisco was 7. Jacinta was 6. Like in the Gospel Jesus chose little children from poor families. Why didn’t he choose some influential and powerful Catholics instead? Surely they could do much more to promote and spread the message than impoverished little children. Still Jesus chose to send his Mother to the little ones because, we, the grown-ups in the Church, are still like the Apostles in the Gospel. We still argue who is the greatest or who should be in charge. We even have introduced new arguments, like left wing Catholics and right wing Catholics. We have introduced terms like conservatives and liberal Catholics. An Oblate, Fr Francis George, who served as Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago in US once said that we had introduced into the Church a secular mentality of conservatives and progressives and now we are surprised that we are as divided as the politics are.
            The image of Jesus embracing a little child is very much contemporary and life-giving, like it was for the Apostles who gathered in the house of St Peter. They were following Jesus but they began forming a bubble where Jesus’ words meant nothing. That’s why they said nothing when Jesus questioned them about their arguing. However Jesus wanted his disciples to live in his world of God rather than having the Apostles living in a bubble, in a parallel world defined by worldly mentality. When we read the New Testament we discover that eventually Jesus burst that bubble the Apostles were creating. The worldly mentality the Apostles tried to accommodate to their discipleship was replaced by the mentality of serving and laying down their lives for Jesus. The Apostles who were arguing about their importance eventually accepted death for the sake of Jesus.
            Left wing and right wing will not advance the Church. Childlike trust and openness to Jesus will. As we are approaching the Plenary Council let me bring up a few verses from the song which has been composed for our Diocese to inspire us during this Plenary Council Journey:
‘Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come, that we may listen humbly, that we share with passion. Holy Spirit come, Holy Spirit come, that we may listen humbly, that we share with passion …. without fear.
Come Holy Spirit; open our hearts to the needs of the Church in our time.’
            My Dear fellow Catholics. Lourdes and Fatima were places where the little children were given prominence. However they haven’t been turned into a playground or a skate park. The places, and even more importantly the Divine messages from these places, have been drawing people together.
            What happened in the house of St Peter in Capernaum, what happened in Lourdes and Fatima, has been a lesson, a message, a homily for us. May the Holy Spirit help us to take it in.

​            After the Cross on which Jesus died was retrieved from the Persian army in the seventh century big festivities were organised to bring it back to Jerusalem. The Emperor Heraclius was to carry the cross himself in a procession. The Emperor put on the most magnificent robes and then approached the cross. However to the consternation of all he couldn’t even move the cross. After a few failed attempts he turned to the Bishop of Jerusalem for advice. The Bishop pointed out that Jesus Christ carried the cross as a pauper. Then the Emperor removed his royal robes, took off his shoes and put on penitent clothing. When he approached the cross dressed like that he didn’t have any problem to pick up the True Cross.
            My Dear sisters and Brothers! It is an ancient story but it touches an ever relevant call for us how to follow Jesus. Our Blessed Lord once said that disciples are not above their teacher. That’s why he said to his first disciples and to those who were to come after them: ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.’ When we celebrate Mass usually someone carries the crucifix at the beginning of the entrance procession. Some people feel honoured and important carrying the crucifix. However the cross which we find in our daily life is much less impressive and magnificent, our daily cross doesn’t make us feel honoured and important but quite contrary. I encourage you to name what is your own cross you need to bear every day. Even more I encourage you to talk to someone you trust about your cross, not to complain about it, but to acknowledge that it is your way of following Jesus, your own way of being a Christian. Carrying our cross day in, day out makes us humble like Christ because we fall. Carrying our cross day in, day out makes humble like Christ because we meet the gaze of our humbled Lord who fell three times while carrying the cross for our salvation. Carrying the cross day in, day our makes us humble because instead of songs of heavenly angels there is bitter dirt in our mouth. But let us remember that disciples are not above their teacher.
            To finish this homily I would like to acknowledge that these days being a Catholic is not easy. Despite all the good things that so many Catholic women and men have accomplished over the two millennia our following of Jesus in the twenty first century is marked by ridicule and hatred. It can be, and it is very daunting. However in this daunting situation let us hear again the words of the Prophet Isaiah who prophesised about Jesus, the suffering Messiah, as we could hear in our first reading and let us hear in these words our own circumstances: ‘For my part, I made no resistance, neither did I turn away. I offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who tore at my beard; I did not cover my face against insult and spittle.’
            Being a Christian today feels like carrying a cross, and not a light one, however more than every we also cling to Isaiah’s prophesy: ‘The Lord comes to my help’ so that we don’t become bitter and grumpy but we become more and more like Christ.
            The Emperor Heraclius had to take off his royal robes to carry the cross on which Jesus died. I believe that our God has allowed that as Christians we have lost most of the glory and appreciation of past ages. We may feel now poor and marginalised in our society but I do believe that we resemble Christ now more than ever.

​            Next Sunday the Church will beatify a Polish woman who died sixty years ago: Mary Rose Czacka. She came from a wealthy aristocratic family. She was well educated. She spoke five languages. However at the age of 22 she lost her eyesight. For a number of years she travelled across Europe to have her vision restored. During one of her medical appointments she heard from an eye specialist this advice: ‘Stop going from one medical expert to another. There is nothing that can be done for you. Instead take care of the blind as no one looks after them in Poland.’ The words of that eye doctor shattered her own plans but they opened a new path for her, next ten years she spent learning how to function as a blind person. Eventually she established the first Polish school for the blind girls and later for the blind boys too. However her project surprised many because at that time, a hundred years ago, Mary Rose wanted to help the blind to learn the skills to function in the society rather than spending their life in an isolated boarding house.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! A week ago I had an idea of linking the readings of this Sunday to the Father’s Day. It was even before I read the Scripture texts for this Sunday. However after I had read the First Reading and the Gospel I couldn’t push away the thought that the life of Mary Rose is a profound example of what the Holy Scriptures presented. The Prophet Isaiah spoke about the time when: ‘The eyes of the blind shall be opened, they ears of the deaf unsealed, then the lame shall leap like a dear and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy.’ When Our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ travelled across the Holy Land he was leaving the trial of miracles prophesised by Isaiah. The Gospel which we have just heard was one of those instances. Jesus restored the hearing and speech to a sick man. However as the Church is preparing for the beatification of Mary Rose we are given a sign that the trail of those great miracles prophesised by Isaiah is still happening. Mary Rose is a contemporary example of a person healed by Jesus. You may say that she wasn’t really healed. She never regained her vision. It is true. She remained blind but Jesus who by pronouncing the word ‘Ephphatha’ healed the deaf man opened her ears to hear the needs of the blind. Mary Rose was not just a social worker or a brilliant organiser. Her determination to help the blind led her to become a nun and the foundress of a religious congregation. She gave her sisters a twofold mission: caring for the blind and praying for healing of the spiritual blindness of the world. Her school for the blind was like a shrine where people kept coming to recharge their batteries from spending time with Mary Rose who was now known as Mother Elizabeth of the Crucified Jesus.
            My Dear Fellow believers! When we open the Bible we enter the world filled with God’s mighty miracles, however it is not escapism from our seemingly God-less world. As we learn about the great things God performed there and then Jesus whispers into our own ears that powerful word ‘Ephphatha’ so that in the midst of things happening to us we could hear that God is at work in our time too. It may not be exactly how we could envisage it but it is the way God envisages it.
            So was Mary Rose healed after all? If you doubt it go to that school she established and looked after with her fellow sisters. After sixty years since her death she is still remembered there as mother. She was blind but she was given sharp hearing. It enabled her to hear God and to hear the needs of the blind, and spiritually blind too. It was Amazing Grace indeed as we sang in our opening hymn. It was the same Amazing Grace which opened the ears and mouth of the man from the Gospel. Mary Rose, Mother Elizabeth of the Crucified Jesus, is part of that miracle trail left by Jesus. It didn’t end in the Bible. It is happening in our midst.

​            When I think about the time when I was learning how to pray I remember that among the first prayers I was introduced to, was the Ten Commandments. Someone could think that praying the Ten Commandments is like saying every day: You shall not go beyond 5 kilometres from your home. You shall go shopping only once a day. You shall wear a face mask indoor and outdoor. You shall not visit your neighbour. You shall check in using the Government QR code ever time. Maybe some of us after having been bombarded by these Government rules and regulation all the time unintentionally repeat them like a mantra now but it is not a prayer.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers!
            The Ten Commandments is not a set of some random rules and regulations but it is advice for a happy life, for a fulfilled life. Why am I certain about that? Because this advice has been given by our God who wants us to be free from all forms of slavery we may find ourselves subjected to. That’s why those who taught me how to pray included a brief sentence taken from the Scriptures: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.’ Then I was told to recite the Ten Commandments as a part of my daily prayer. Look the homily given by Moses in our first reading was about it too. Moses was not introducing some code of law. Moses was revealing to his people God’s advice for life that is truly happy and fulfilling, not for a few weeks or a few years but for eternity. What the people gathered around Moses heard is addressed to us too: ‘Keep the commandments of the Lord your God… Keep them, observe them and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding.’ Wisdom and understanding are the fruits of keeping and observing the commandments.
            We, like those listeners of Moses, are called to keep the commandments of the Lord. For the people of God the most sacred physical object on Earth contained the Ten Commandments, something similar to our Tabernacle. It was also an invitation for every believer to place the Commandments of the Lord in their centre of their own soul. As Christians, who have inherited the tradition of the Old Testament, we have preserved the way of believing which is about paying attention to God’s word, to his advice about a happy and fulfilled life. That’s why when we gather to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries of our Faith, to celebrate Mass; we first listen to God’s word. We do so before we make any petitions to God. The Tablets with the Ten Commandments have been lost for millennia but the Ten Commandments have been engraved into our conscience and memory, into our soul, deeply. I encourage you to reclaim the Ten Commandments as your daily prayer because when we pray the Ten Commandments with love and faith we receive God’s grace to observe them.
            My Dear fellow believers! The way of life proposed by God is not smooth and easy. Jesus never promised that. But in our society, where noting is solid and lasting, we are given an opportunity to support our decisions, our plans, our failures and successes on God ‘with whom there is no such thing as alteration, no shadow of a change.’ Like St Augustin, whom we venerated yesterday we say: ‘Our heart is restless until it rests in you’ because God is the only firm foundation for us. St Augustin for a long time was running away from God because he thought that he would lose his chance for happiness if he were a Christian. What he eventually discovered he expressed in these words: ‘Late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new: late have I loved you.’ May his regret for wasting so much time inspire us to live every moment in such a way that we can say: ‘Today I love you, O Beauty so ancient and so new: today I love you my Lord and my God.’

​            We are now familiar with the dramatic footages from Afghanistan after the capital, Kabul, was captured by the Taliban. Some commentators said that after 20 years of war, after spending billions of dollars and mourning the death of thousands of the soldiers the US and their allies have achieved nothing. The resent political and military development in Afghanistan fits well into another name which has been given to the country: ‘The Graveyard of Empires.’ Beginning with the Persian Empire 2500 years ago and followed by many other ancient and modern empires Afghanistan has been conquered as many times as it has seen the collapse of those powers. Even without going into a theological explanation one may wonder how come that those empires with superior military, political and economic resources failed to control this arid country marked by high illiteracy, short life expectancy etc. I will leave this speculating open. But the Graveyard of Empires reminds us that the ones who were obvious to win did not.
            My Dear Sisters and Brothers! Today we conclude listening to the Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. Next Sunday we will resume reading the Gospel of Mark. The chapter 6 of John’s is fascinating. As you go through its 69 verses you see the popularity of Jesus growing rapidly, particularly after the Lord fed thousands of hungry people with five barley loaves and two fish. How impressed Peter and other Apostles must have felt. As they saw the thousands of excited people who followed Jesus wherever he went they must have thought that they themselves were at the right time in the right place. They must have thought that the world was at their feet. However the final verses of the chapter 6 bring what looks as a failure. When Jesus speaks about his Body as the Bread to be broken and shared for salvation of the world the crowds are getting thinner and thinner and finally only the Twelve are left with Jesus. What should the Apostles have done then? Should they have run after the departing crowds to explain that after all Jesus didn’t mean what he said, that it didn’t need to be taken literally? Or maybe they should have had a serious chat with Jesus to stop him saying these things about his Body broken and given for consummation. However as we hear today about Jesus losing more than 99% of his fun club we also hear about a miracle which happened in the ‘leftovers’ of Jesus’ fun club, in Peter and other Apostles. St Peter seeing the collapse of that popularity of Jesus didn’t pull hair out. St Peter said the words which indicated that the Holy Spirit had been changing their perspective: ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe, we know that you are the Holy One of God.’
            This sixth Chapter of John’s which we conclude reading this Sunday is a summary of the Church’s history. There have been times when the numbers of Christians were impressive but there have been the times when the crowds were getting thin. Our time is not the first time of crowds getting thin. It has happened before. However in our time, when we mourn closing our churches, like Sacred Heart in Erica and St Brigid’s in Yallourn North Jesus asks you and me the same question he asked his Apostles in today’s Gospel: ‘What about you, do you want to go away to?’ Probably literally and metaphorically our heads are moving like those of the Apostles from Jesus to the departing crowds and back to Jesus and back to the crowds going away and back to Jesus. However this time when we may want to mourn our religious loses we fix our gaze on this Lord of ours who is not going away. He will keep offering his Body and Blood for us and for our salvation, like he will do it again at the end of this Mass, and therefore let us join St Peter at saying: ‘Lord, who shall we go to? You have the message of eternal life, and we believe, we know that you are the Holy One of God.’  Let us cling to this confession. Let us treasure and love this confession. From our clinging, treasuring and loving it new life will emerge; a new generation of Catholics will spring up.