Dear Friends in christ
This week we are back in what is rather blandly termed Ordinary Time! That is, the period between Christmastide and the start of Lent (6th March). The Gospel of this Sunday relates that most famous of parties: the Wedding at Cana. Actually, I always think that this wedding feast is a good analogy and symbol for what the Church is. God often tells us - especially in the Old Testament - that His Kingdom is one which is like a banquet of rich food and fine wines. If you think about the Catholic Faith, it is a religion that touches all of our senses; which is another reason why it must be the True Faith: because it is incarnational. God has created us as human beings, not angels, and therefore we LOVE anything that stimulates us: sight, touch, taste, sound and smell. All of these senses are, if you think about them, celebrated in the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church. Each of the seven Sacraments use matter to convey the grace and life of God. In the liturgy or divine worship, we use those elements that touch our senses and at the same time bring us into contact with the Deity. We see beauty in Church architecture, art, the sacred vessels, the liturgical vestments and in so many other ways. Think of all those elements we touch during Mass and which feel good to us. The Body and Blood of Jesus received under the appearance of bread and wine, as well as the food of daily life, are a delight to the sense of taste. We worship with the strains and sound of music, especially when it is truly sacred and beautiful, because it elevates our minds and hearts to God. We experience pleasant smell in the church too with the flowers, wax and the lingering fragrance of incense; a church after High Mass is a true celebration for the nose!
The Incarnation is the very marriage of Heaven and earth. In Jesus Christ, heaven and earth, divinity and humanity have met and have married. The result of it is a joyful banquet. This is how we say that the Mass itself, and especially Holy Communion, is a Nuptial thing: in Communion our bodies are intimately united with Jesus Christ in a way far more profound than in any human union. So, there is much to celebrate and rejoice in when it comes to our Faith, and even Ordinary Time can be, and is, a period of rejoicing in what God has done for us in Christ! God bless you!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
Homily available at LourdesLeigh.org