14th September 2008
My grandmother was a very devout woman and her house was full of religious images testifying to her faith. In her bed room she had a large locker on which rested a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. In the middle of those two statues was a rather old bottle and in the bottle a miniature cross with a small relic which apparently was a splinter from the true cross of Christ. That bottle still holds special place in our family, and it is not important whether that relic is real or not. What is of importance is that we and so many other millions throughout the world see in the cross of Jesus a definite sign of the love of God.
To too many people today Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular are seen as purely following rules and regulations. God is for many people, believers and not, a rather remote and distant figure just waiting for us to put a foot wrong and ready then to put our name in his big black book. But remember what St John says to us in today's gospel, 'God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved'. Where does the salvation of the world lie? It does not lie in violent power, or in the minds of those who wish to eclipse God. It lies in the figure of the Son who hung upon the Cross out of obedience to his Father and out of love for you and me. In 312 AD the Emperor Constantine is reported to have seen a vision of the Cross in the sky with the words 'In hoc signo vinces', in this sign you will conquer, written around it. From that moment he allowed Christianity to be practiced freely throughout the Roman Empire.
Many people have commented since this parish church was built that there is no identifiable feature which marks it out. We hope soon to rectify this by placing a symbol on the gable wall outside on Rossmore Road. The Symbol we will place there will be the Cross. From then on people will readily know what this building is all about. It is a building that holds a community who come together to celebrate the love that God has for them, his care for them in difficult times, and their belief and faith that in the Cross is Salvation. We adore you O Christ and we bless you because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world. Amen.
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Homilies Archive
2009 HOMILIES
25th December 2008
Christmas
21st December 2008
14th December 2008
8th December 2008
Immaculate Conception
7th December 2008
2nd Sunday of Advent
30th November 2008
1st Sunday of Advent
23rd November 2008
Christ the King
16th November 2008
2nd November 2008
All Souls
1st November 2008
All Saints
26th October 2008
12th October 2008
5th October 2008
28th September 2008
21st September 2008
14th September 2008
7th September 2008
31st August 2008
24th August 2008
17th August 2008
15th August 2008
Assumption
10th August 2008
3rd August 2008
20th July 2008
13th July 2008
29th June 2008
22nd June 2008
1st June 2008
23rd March 2008
Easter Sunday
22nd March 2008
Easter Vigil
2nd March 2008
24th February 2008
17th February 2008
10th February 2008
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