Rejoice, be bold and listen

Today's gospel is THE gospel of COLW in so many ways. Today, Walsingham and the gospel converge, as the events of one Holy House in Palestine make us think of another Holy House a thousand years later built after Richeldis had her vision of the Mother of God in Norfolk. This scene and this moment are the scene and moment in which COLW lives its spiritual calling to say always yes and thank you to the Lord with Mary. 

We focus rightly on the invitation which Gabriel brings to Mary. We think of it as an invitation to underline the fact that Mary remained free in this moment, although neither she nor we could have avoided the consequences if she had said no! 

And yet the angel's words are full of noble commands also: "Rejoice," says the angel. "Do not be afraid," he says further on. "Listen!" 

While we recall Mary's beautiful response to Gabriel - "Let what you have said be done to me" - we should also remember her obedience to the angelic orders: rejoice, do not be afraid, listen. If we want to emulate Mary's yes, perhaps we can start be obeying these orders that come naturally from Gabriel and show how God's message was attuned to Mary's humanity. He knows we have need of so many things, not least to throw off discouragement, to be bold and to give our attention to Him. These tasks seem all the more gargantuan in a world where there are so many things to lament, so many events we cannot control, and so many distractions that drown out His insistent call to love, to enter the joy of Our Lord.

Please remember in your prayers Sister Catherine who today takes her first vows in religious life. May she rejoice this day and every day, be always courageous, and listen to the voice of her Divine Spouse. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Not one jot or tittle

 Today's gospel offers a challenge and a paradox, as so many of Jesus' words do. Behold, Jesus makes all things new, and yet... 

I have come not to abolish but to complete [the Law and the Prophets]. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.

In the Old Testament there were several kinds of laws; for not all laws are of the same nature. Some laws, such as the command not to eat certain kinds of meat, were what are called 'positive laws' that had a kind of arbitrary character to them (like, I suppose, driving on the left). The sense of the law lies not in the terms of the law but rather in the deeper reasons behind it. 

It is these deeper reasons which are the eternal laws, rooted in the nature of God who is truth, goodness and beauty. We find an echo of these laws in the call that God sends out into the world - the call to recognise the difference between good and evil, the call to hear the gospel, and indeed in our own particular calls or vocation. The law in this sense is not what the modern world thinks of it - an interfering constraint and shackle upon our freedom - but rather the condition of our flourishing; freedom is FOR something beyond ourselves. Moreover, it is God's love that underpins His eternal law since all law directs us towards the good, and the ultimate good is God Himself (which is why He, not we, are the ultimate givers of the law).

Yet why, then, does the law seem to trammel us? To some extent, it is due to our wayward human nature. In some measure, it is because of the laissez faire culture in which we live. Nobody else lives by God's compass points, so we - herd animals that we are - find ourselves struggling to swim against the tide (or run against the herd). Yet, as Georges Bernanos - a devotee of Carmel's spirituality and a great commentator of spiritual childhood - was wont to say: Dead dogs get carried with the current; only live dogs can swim against it.  

At the same time, the risk of being overly lax about the law can lead us into being overly zealous. From indulgence we can turn to excessive observance. Nevertheless, the thing that both laxity and rigidity hold in common is a lack of love - and, therefore, wisdom - about our duties. Both laxity and rigidity are complicated and calculating; love is understanding, but simple and resolute. And that love should teach us to be tough on principles but gentle with people; the very opposite of today's tendency to be lax on principles but tough on people. 

In the end, we can make no sense of Law and Prophets without seeking above all union with Him. It is not about finding the loopholes. It is about finding the purpose of the law of love and the love behind the law.