Back in 2012 the film For Greater Glory hit the screens. It was set in 1920s
Mexico concerning the government’s attempt to wipe out the Catholic Church.
The film is at least a fifteen, so some of the scenes are not suitable for younger
audiences. At one point, the American diplomat to Mexico is on the train
together with two other men representing the Catholic Church, discussing the
situation, when suddenly they notice something outside the window. I won’t
describe to you what he sees, but he is rather shocked and horrified, and it
emphasises the need to get the situation resolved sooner rather than later. He
later on goes to meet the Mexican president, Calles, but rather than having an
angry rant with him and calling him downright evil, he puts things in a very
diplomatic way, also pointing out that the government has lost the lives of
many men, and these losses are unsustainable. The sooner we get the situation
resolved, the better.
St Paul says today that we are ambassadors for Christ. According to the Oxford
Quick Reference Dictionary, an ambassador is “a diplomat sent abroad to
represent his or her country’s interests”. So part of our role is to promote God’s
interests in the world, and also good relations between the Church and wider
society. Back in the days of the early Church, it is claimed that the non-
believers said “The Christians – see how they love each other”. But sadly, in
later years, the same saying was quoted in irony.
We have great potential as Catholics. The grace of God is available to us, to
lead us to the heights of holiness, in a way that is not about drawing attention to
ourselves, but just quietly getting on with the job. Sadly, we all encounter
times when we fail to live up to our high calling. It’s not easy playing football
with two left feet, and from conception we start off at a disadvantage because
of Original Sin. Even though baptism washes it away, we are still left with
something called concupiscence [a good scrabble word], which means we are
still at times inclined towards the things we know we shouldn’t do. We may
think of babies as innocent, but they are not perfect. There is so much learning
we have to do throughout life. It’s a bit like a saying I came across a while
back: “Please be patient. God isn’t finished with me yet.”
So today, we come, both as individuals and collectively, to acknowledge our
faults, and to ask God for renewal in our lives. We come forward individually
to receive ashes, but do so as collective group. The first verse of the psalm
today said: “Have mercy on me, O God”, but the response was “Have mercy
on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
How can we move things forward this Lent?
In the Gospel, Our Lord covers three ways: almsgiving, prayer and fasting, and
these are three of the traditional foci (as in the plural of focus) of Lent.
Our almsgiving must be in secret, not done to win admiration. But it must still
happen. It is an act of mercy to our neighbour, giving to those in need of our
time, money or talents.
Prayer: it’s not always easy to find time to pray. If you’ve got young children
who need constant attention, you struggle sometimes to find time to eat as
well. But both have to be fitted in somehow, and if we are very busy we might
have to use times such as when we are brushing our teeth or combing our hair.
But we might be able to find other times as well, including getting the chance
to read the Bible or pray the Rosary. And if we get to Mass during the week
then we can at least leave behind some of the other distractions for a while.
Fasting: fasting means that eating, preparation and tidying up afterwards, is
faster. It can mean eating less, and also eating more simply. I’m not quite sure
fast food counts. There are four days a year when we are obliged to fast
strictly: Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Cafod Fast Days. On Fridays in
general, we are supposed to abstain from meat, although it you are a vegetarian
or vegan then it makes sense to find something else to go without. Obviously
Holydays of Obligation don’t count, so when Christmas falls on a Friday, meat
is still allowed.
All these things are of benefit because they help us grow in self-control, which
is useful elsewhere in life, and also because they are something we can offer up
to God, for our own sanctification and that of our neighbour.
In that way, we can become better ambassadors for Christ, and truly live for the
greater glory of God.
Curious about exploring things further? If you would like to ask further questions about the topics raised in these homilies (or maybe think it wasn’t explained too well!), please feel free to e-mail Fr Michael at stjoseph.thame@rcaob.org.uk