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He did not mean to say that Jesus loved the others any less, but simply showed his gratitude for the special attention he was given as the youngest of the twelve. Jesus treated each person as they needed to be treated, with their age, situation, limitations and dispositions taken into account. For instance, one sees the tenderness of Christ towards children, his compassion towards the sick and disabled, his way of calling to a sense of responsibility those he had entrusted with a special calling, his firmness and forthrightness in correcting the erroneous attitudes of certain leaders who burdened others with their unreasonable or unjust demands. But at the bottom of these differing treatments there is his love for each and every person, and his desire for their eternal salvation. Even as he knew what Judas was doing in approaching him in the Garden, he allowed him to plant the betraying kiss, and still spoke to him as “friend.”  Who knows if that word did not help Judas to turn his remorse into sincere contrition in the last moments of his life.

The love of God is what is at the very foundation of our own existence.  We are a result of God’s love who wants us to be and finally share in his eternal life and happiness. Such was the reason for being of Jesus’ whole earthly life and work. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins”(1 John 4:10). Our greatest happiness comes with the growth of our response to God’s love, which in turn shows itself in the efforts we make to keep in touch with Him each day, in prayer and in how much we try to live out his commandments in our own lives. The commandments may mostly be expressed in terms of “do not”, but what they really do is point us in the right direction away from increasing evil and towards increasing good.  Each commandment urges us towards the on-going development of one or more virtues – piety, chastity, temperance, honesty, respect for others, moderation in our desire for material things, etc. All of these virtues contribute to a balanced personality, self-mastery, the forming of meaningful relationships of friendship, family and citizenship. The whole of society benefits. What is more, we move progressively towards the eventual joys of eternal life and communion with all those who live and love in God.

When, however, the commandments are ignored or rejected, the eventual result is sadness, disillusion and alienation from God. Those in this state harm both themselves and society. The bitter results are noticed in all periods of history, and in some ways more than ever now. A thoughtful person is able to compare the good fruits Christianity has produced in the world with the disorder, confusion and bitterness that godless philosophies and attitudes have given rise to in the past and increasingly give rise to in contemporary life.  Nevertheless, we should remember with supreme hopefulness that God is always active, ready to pardon, to heal, to restore.  For this we pray, as we turn in a special way to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and spiritual mother of all in this month of May.  Of particular importance is the intention the Church in Australia calls to mind this Sunday.  Let us pray that the sense of the sacredness of a human life, at any stage of a person’s existence, is regained by those who have lost it. May it be reflected in the recovery of just laws that unequivocally protect the unborn, the dying and the severely disabled.

These words of St John can serve to shake us out of a sense of pure routine in our life as Christians.  They make us realize that being a good follower of Our Lord does not just mean avoiding the worse sort of sins, or being sentimental about religious things or customs.  We cannot be satisfied with this sort of practice of the Catholic Christian faith.   Once St Josemaria,  as a young priest , was celebrating Mass in a convent of enclosed nuns in Madrid.  As he was giving communion to these devout and virtuous women, it occurred to him to say within himself, without voicing it out,  “Lord, I love you more than this one, and more than this one, etc.”  Then he heard this locution ring out within:  “Love is deeds and not sweet words!”   He never forgot that divine reproach.

How much do we try to put our beliefs into practice?   What efforts are we making to treat positively and thoughtfully the persons God has put near us?  Do we try to understand what they need from us or how we can make their lives a little more pleasant?  How do we respond to them when they ask something of us at home, at work?  What about the way we act on social occasions?  Is it all very self-centred, seeking mainly to have our own ‘good time?’  Often this is just a formula for disappointment or a feeling of boredom.

And loving God should not be confused with the ups and downs of feelings with regard to prayer.  Do we pray only according to our moods?  Should we not be faithful to some regular times of prayer?  When we pray, does it include forming some practical resolutions about how we might serve God better?  Do we frequently ask him to help us live by his commandments each day and always?  “Love is deeds and not sweet words.”

It was with deeds, and heroic, self-sacrificing ones at that, that Christ our Lord showed his love for his Father and his love for us.  Given our human weakness, we must come to the realization that without his example and without his help, we would never know how to love much other than self.  Even our love for others would sooner or later reveal itself as a veiled self-love.  He is the vine and we are only branches.  Keeping Christ present and dialoguing with him in regular times of prayer we learn to purify our intentions, be considerate of the freedom of others, make allowances for their limitations and forgive their offences.  Above all,  we are motivated and strengthened to persevere in fulfilling our responsibilities and occasions of doing good towards spouse, children, parents, friends, colleagues and, in general, whatever persons we meet through life.  In this manner, we bear fruit for God.

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These words recorded by St John under the light of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Revelation confirm that Jesus, who is the Lamb slain for our redemption is the one who is to lead each of us, as his faithful followers, to eternal happiness in heaven. Some time ago, Pope Benedict XVI gave an extemporaneous homily in which he said:

Journeying together with Jesus is always at the same time a travelling together in the “we” of those who want to follow him. It brings us into this community. Because this journey to true life, to being men and women conformed to the model of the Son of God Jesus Christ, is beyond our powers, this journeying is also always a state of being carried. We find ourselves, so to speak, in a “roped party” with Jesus Christ — together with him in the ascent to the heights of God. He pulls us and supports us. Letting oneself be part of a roped party is part of following Christ; we accept that we cannot do it on our own. The humble act of entering into the “we” of the Church is part of it — holding on to the roped party, the responsibility of communion, not letting go of the rope because of our bullheadedness and conceit.

In other words, we should never forget that there is a destination to which we are called which will provide us with real and permanent happiness and that Jesus is the one true and good Shepherd who is able to get us there. We need to be humble enough to know we cannot create our own perfect happiness in an isolated, subjective world.  Also, we cannot find our own perfect happiness without being taught and guided by Someone, or without reference to Another. This Someone is God our Creator and Father, who has sent us his Son who, in the humanity that He has taken up, becomes a clear point of reference, a teacher, model and guide. In turn, the Father and the Son have sent the Holy Spirit as the one who enlightens and enables us—on the inside— to follow the path marked out by Christ.  We do this within the bosom of the Church, forming a part of it, benefiting from its sacraments, instruments of the Holy Spirit, helped by others who act as shepherds in the name of the Good Shepherd.

Such is the role of priests, and even more so of bishops and of the Pope. Their commitment is to act “in the person of Christ” for the benefit of all the faithful.  Of course, they themselves are also numbered among the faithful and must acknowledge their need to be led. However, they do receive this challenging and sacred commission to be teachers and administrators of the sacraments within the body of the Church.  They are meant to do this not as an exercise of power and dominion but of service to all, always being aware of their own fragility and neediness of grace. They need the support and prayer of all the faithful on whose behalf they act so they will not lose their own way, but will follow Jesus closely, living with full dedication to Our Lord.

This Sunday is called Good Shepherd Sunday and is a traditional day of prayer for vocations of service to the Church, especially vocations to the priesthood. As we move towards the Year of Grace,  this circumstance should motivate us even more to pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire worthy men to embrace this calling. Usually these will be young persons working out their course in life. However, there are always those who are called later in life, after perhaps having applied themselves to other tasks or lived through quite varied situations and experiences. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire such decisions of generous service and may all priests be faithful through life to that sacred office!

A Catholic funeral is, above all, an entrusting of the person who has died to the love and mercy of God. Masses and or prayers are offered up for a happy transition from this life to the next, with the pardoning of any sins the person may have committed during their life’s journey. At the same time, the funeral liturgy provides the greatest hope in the face of death – belief in the immortality of a person’s soul and God’s promise of future resurrection through Jesus Christ our Saviour and Lord.

Any music chosen should be sacred: that is, proper church music.

Exceptions to this policy will be few and limited to the use of one classical piece or a song that is in keeping with the church environment at the completion of the Mass or liturgical ceremony.

Any music in the liturgy should be performed by musicians or singers or sung by the congregation. The use of CDs will be limited to the exception mentioned above.

The use of audio-visual media and screens is not allowed in the church.

Such presentations are more fitting to a vigil or wake at a funeral parlour the night before or in a reception after the person’s committal.

Eulogies should normally take place at a vigil the night before, at the cemetery (committal) or a reception afterwards.

However, a family member or friend may offer a brief reflection on the life of the person who has died at the end of the funeral liturgy or Mass and before the final commendation (prayers said before leaving the church for the place of committal). They are encouraged to focus on the positive values and admirable qualities of the deceased, especially any that reflected their life as a Christian.

A funeral in a Catholic church doesn’t attract a fee as such. No member of the faithful should ever be denied a Catholic funeral on the basis that they can’t afford it! Nonetheless, the church does accrue expenses in all its ministries, so we have drawn up recommended contributions for the use of the Church.