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Homily on Matthew 25

People’s basic material needs have to be taken care of before any kind of higher life is possible. Jesus said that his followers would be judged on their response to those needs. Most people around us have those needs more or less taken care of. But the words of Jesus are still very relevant for the bible says that human beings do not live on bread alone, that is on material things alone. We have many other needs.

Mother Teresa was always saying: ‘The biggest disease in the world today is not leprosy or TB, but the feeling of being unwanted and uncared for.’ The greatest evil in the world is lack of love, the terrible indifference towards our neighbor. What the poor and not just the poor need even more than food, clothes and shelter is to be wanted. So the words of Jesus in Matthew's Gospel are as relevant as ever. This is what it will be like when we die and go to be with Jesus.

The King will turn to those on his right hand and say: ‘Come you whom my Father has blessed, take for your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry for a smile and you smiled at me. I was hungry for a word of encouragement and you praised me. I was hungry for a word of appreciation and you thanked me.

‘I was thirsty for a word of recognition and you took notice of me. I was thirsty for a sign of friendship and you wrote me a letter or phoned me or even sent a text. I was thirsty for a little companionship and you stopped to chat with me.

I was a stranger and you made me feel welcome. I was a young person from a bad area and you gave me a job. I felt socially inferior to you but by your acceptance you built me up.

‘I was naked for want of self worth and you covered me with esteem. I was stripped of self-confidence and you dressed me in the cloak of confidence. I was naked from the loss of my good name, through gossip that was untrue and you clothed me in the garment of truth.

‘I was sick with doubt and worry and with your cheerful attitude you lightened my burden. I was wounded by failure and disappointment and by your supportive attitude you healed me. I was in a pit of depression and by your patient attitude you gave me hope.

‘I was in a prison of nerves and through your attitude of calm you set me free. I was in a prison of loneliness and through friendship you released me. I was in a prison of guilt and through your forgiveness you broke the chains of my guilt.

‘I was homeless for want of tenderness and affection, and you hugged me. I was homeless for want of sympathy and understanding and you listened to me. I was homeless for want of care, of love, and acceptance and you opened your heart and took me in.

There are so many kind things we could do for one another if we were a little more aware and sensitive. It is not a question of doing great things but of doing little things with great love as Mother Teresa says. Nor in most cases is it a matter of giving things. Rather it is a question of giving of ourselves, of our time, of our energy, of our love. Those who love genuinely do so without show and without expecting any reward. We are serving Christ and helping to build his kingdom when we love others sincerely, in simple practical everyday ways.

Wouldn’t it be terrible to have to appear before Jesus never having loved. Today’s Gospel is so important and central that if we were to forget everything else and remember and practise only this, we would be ok. For a Christian there is only one failure, one sin and that is not to love.

In the evening of our life we shall be examined on love. (St John of the Cross)

John has appeared before Our Lord Jesus Christ, his judge but also his saviour. How will we fare when our day comes?

 

 

 

Father Terry - funeral arrangements

Vigil Mass : Thursday 17 September at 7pm in Our Lady and St John’s, Heswall                
Funeral Mass : Friday 18 September at 10.15am in St Joseph’s Birkenhead   

Father Terry Boylan

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Father Terry Boylan on Sunday 6th September at his home in Pensby.

Please pray for him, his family and the communities he served.

Details of funeral arrangements will be displayed here when they are known.

Asylum Link Volunteers Day: 5th September 2015

Christian Aid week 2015

Christian Aid Week 10th - 16th May 2015

Churches Together in Heswall

supporting Christian Aid Week 10th - 16th May 2015

A chance to work alongside other Christians

On Sunday 10th May there will be a service led by the Friends at Heswall Methodist Church at 6.30pm as the week begins. House to House collection should be completed by 16th May.

Afraid, alone, in pain

Be the answer to Loko’s prayer this Christian Aid Week.

This Christian Aid Week, you can help transform the lives of women like Loko.

From 10-16 May, churches the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland will come together to pray, campaign and raise money to improve the lives of people like Loko.

Every year, 100,000 volunteers demonstrate God’s love for the poor by taking part in house-to-house collections for Christian Aid.

This fantastic witness is a chance to take the mission of the church into your community.

Loko’s choice in life is simple: ‘If I can’t collect firewood, my children will die.’

Four times a week, in a remote corner of Ethiopia, Loko makes a back-breaking eight-hour trip to gather wood. It’s a task she dreads, but she steels herself to do it because if she doesn’t her children will starve.

She prays to God as she walks. ‘I ask him to change my life and lead us out of this,’ she says.

Just £5 could give Loko a loan to start her own business buying and selling tea and coffee, freeing her from her desperate task and allowing her to spend more time caring for her family.

Find out how you can play your part at www.caweek.org




UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525 Scot charity no. SC039150 NI charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154 ROI charity no. CHY 6998 Company no. 426928 . The Christian Aid name and logo are trademarks of Christian Aid. Christian Aid is a key member of ACT Alliance. © Christian Aid November 2014 15-J3099. Photo: Christian Aid/Andrew Testa/Panos