Sunday Evangelium - Totus2us

Fr Marcus: "In his marvellous fictional book, The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis shows how a demon called Wormwood ingeniously seeks to destroy a particular soul. Although a humourous work, this story gives us great truths. The man, wittily called the client, sins and then repents, but keeps returning to the same sin, as if in a perpetual cycle. This is because he never thinks to address the reasons and causes for his falling into that sin. How many of us have found ourselves confessing the same sins over and over again. One of the reasons for our lack of progress is quite simply because we fail to tackle the real occasions for sin. To be tough on sin as Our Lord would have, we have to be tough on the causes of sin, and the occasions that bring about sin almost like clockwork are the first things we must address. Let's face it, and it's hard for our pride to do so, we're not as strong as we think we are; we're not as strong as we think to resist all sins in all situations. The occasions matter and it is to the

Fr Marcus: "Our Lord says today in the Gospel 'Let your light shine before men, so that seeing your good works they may give praise to your Father in heaven.' Are we letting the light shine that has come from the Catholic faith? A very important vehicle for evangelization is the presenting of the fruits of the faith; to show even from a non-faith perspective that the Church has been the soul of the world; that when you take her contribution to civilzation away there's not much left; and without her, without her influence, there's a danger of descending to a new kind of dark age." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Evangelium.co.uk for more about the Evangelium project and Totus2us.com for more great podcasts. Totus Tuus ('All Yours') was Pope John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Andrew: "Jesus does not simply promise this thief paradise, a paradise which could be the Elysian Fields, but he says, “This very day you will be with me in paradise.” That clause, ‘with me’ marks the difference between the pagan and the Christian ideals of eternal life. The Elysian Fields, for all their beauty, have an emptiness that ultimately fails to satisfy. By contrast, the kingdom of heaven is not just paradise, but the place where God is, as described by the words of the Lords Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” It is friendship with God and the sight of God that satisfies the human soul forever. May God help us to avoid being seduced into pursuing false or incomplete notions of happiness, to follow him along the way of the Beatitudes, and come one day safely to the true kingdom of heaven." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Evangelium.co.uk for more about the Evangelium project and Totus2us.com for more great podcasts. Totus Tuus ('All Yours') was Pope John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is als

Fr Andrew: "This warning not to empty the power of the Cross was the title of the third and final part of the most important document Pope John Paul II ever wrote on the moral life. That document was called 'Veritatis Splendor' - 'The Splendour of Truth', and Pope John Paul II witnessed to that truth by becoming a kind of icon of the Cross in the last days of his life. His body was crucified by suffering and disability, the lingering effects of an assasination attempt and Parkinson's disease. In the words of that chilling phrase, heard ever more frequently in today's society, the last days of the earthly life of the Holy Father might have been considered a 'life not worth living'. Yet the evidence for the supernatural power of his last days were shown especially in the signs that followed his death. In a great outpouring of grief over 5 million people came to Rome to pay their last respects in person, and his funeral was watched on television by over 2 billion people. Rather than being a life that was 'not wo

Fr Andrew: "Just as Jesus' own life was hidden for so many years, the real battle for holiness is largely conducted in the human heart and in secrecy. Blessed John Henry Newman refers to 'secret prayers, secret deeds, secret self-denials, secret struggles and secret victories.' As we begin this new year I would like to suggest we renew our commitment to at least the following 3 actions of the life of genuine holiness, actions that are invisible to others but visible to God. 1st, the practice of confession, by which God heals our hearts from sin. 2nd, the practice of secret, personal daily prayer, by which we come to know and love God intimately. 3rd, the practice of at least a little secret self-denial, by which the root of selfish love is gradually killed within us. May God grant we make use of the extraordinary opportunities for genuine holiness that He has given us, that we come to know and love Him more deeply, and be ready one day to enter His heavenly kingdom." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Evangelium.c

Fr Marcus: "John the Baptist's baptism was a baptism of repentance, of preparation. Jesus's baptism is one of power and spiritual effect. Jesus went to John to be baptised not because He in any way needed baptism; the sinless Son of God needed no forgiveness of sins nor new life. He goes to John to reveal Himself to the world and to John, and to show that He has fully entered into our world, He shows us also how we must follow. One of the duties that comes with baptism is the duty of mission: because we have been given so much, we're expected to help others to benefit too. This is what God desires and this is what we're called to: freely you have received, freely give." Music by the Poor Clare Sisters TMD. Visit Evangelium.co.uk for more about the Evangelium project and Totus2us.com for more great podcasts. Totus Tuus ('All Yours') was Pope John Paul II's motto to Mary. Our Lady is also everything to us - Totus 2us.

Fr Marcus: "What the Wise Men did as the first Gentiles did meeting the Lord, we too do every time we come into His real presence in the Eucharist in the Mass. It is as if that moment of the Epiphany, when the Wise Men bowed down and worshipped Him, is caught in time, or rather we join in with them as they are shown the Christ and adore Him. They are the first adorers and then millions and millions join in over the centuries. We are part of the great even of the Epiphany: Jesus is shown to us and we are called to the same spirit of adoration. Epiphany means 'to show forth' and in the Mass and in Eucharistic adoration Christ is still shown forth." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Marcus: "In this little child, God gives us the greatest gift in the world: the gift of Himself. It is the beginning of the solution and the mending of all things. Christmas tells us that God is with us and that He loves us. Few people perceive this and few people noticed this when He first came to this earth in the manger. Yet even from the stable He was changing the world from the inside. Christmas tells us that God is working and that He looks for you and for me. But we are often very hard to find and very hard to reach. Perhaps the saddest line in all of history is: "There was no room for Him in the inn." .. One of the most moving carols is In the Bleak Midwinter which asks "What shall I give Him, poor as I am?" Well, what does He need? He doesn't need anything, He created the entire universe. .. But there is one thing that He can't force, that he won't force, that He really does want - our love. What can I give Him? Give Him my heart. Make room in your hearts for the Son of God. He comes for each one

Fr Marcus: "It brings joy to the heart of God when we confess and the priest feels that joy. Don't put off that greatest feeling of being reconciled. Strike while the iron is hot, otherwise the usual cycle of self-deception will take hold of us. Perhaps the greatest feeling in the world is coming away from confession knowing that we are forgiven completely and are one in our relationship with God, that we are fit for heaven, that we are in a state of grace, that light and life have returned to our souls." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Marcus: "This joy that we speak about now is a joy that is filled with substance. It means that we're basically and irrevocably a hope-filled people, that Christ is our joy and that he comes to us. That is why we rejoice. We know that on this great stage of the world we are in a divine comedy, not a tragedy. We don't know the details of the script but we know the general outline. We know that it has all been guaranteed in its good endings, no matter how difficult things may get within the story. Life is full of light and shadow but it ends in complete and total light." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Marcus: "Christmas is not just a memory or an aspiration. It is a living experience because the babe who was born still lives and we receive him whom the angels adored. The very word Christmas means the Mass of Christ. We celebrate Christmas by getting in on the act, by gazing in wonder like the shepherds and adoring like the wise men. 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight his paths.' That is not just a historical call, it is a call to us today. The spirit of Advent present is also the spirit of John the Baptist. He is the last prophet but he is also the first Christian convert, sanctified in his mother's womb. Our faith must lead to conversion - he calls us to repent - it must also lead to action .. Advent is one of the 2 most important times of the year to go to confession .. The message of Advent present is that God can and will surprise us: be not afraid." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Andrew: "How then do we enter the ark and remain in the ark? Well, Jesus warns us that being in the ark, or out of the ark, is a spiritual state more than a physical location. On the day of judgement, he warns us that physical proximity will not determine our eternal destiny - two men will be out in the field, one will be taken and one will be left. We remain in spiritual communion with the Church in practical, every day ways. Our principal means are the Sacraments, especially Confession and Communion. It is also essential however that we develop and maintain a habit of daily prayer. If we put God first in our lives, then we lose nothing. All that we do will ultimately be well-ordered and fruitful. May God keep us safely in the ark of the Church, whatever the storms of this life, and bring us one day safely to the shore of His eternal kingdom." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Andrew: "How is it that the Cross of Christ does have such power? What is it about Christ on the Cross that even those who reject the kingship of Christ are frightened of its power? I do not think any one explanation could ever give a complete solution to this mystery, but it seems to me that Christ on the Cross is at the centre of all Christian mysteries, making the crucifix the supreme Christian symbol. First, the crucifix witnesses that God was made man, not an inhuman super-hero, not a man of steel, but a man of flesh and blood that bled and suffered as one of us. Second, it is the ultimate sign of our redemption, "for God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". The very contemplation of Christ crucified can enlarge and melt even the most hardened hearts of stone, a power that nothing else on earth can do." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more great podcasts and Evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium

Fr Marcus: "Pope Benedict surprised people on his recent visit to Britain by mentioning the war! The beatification of Cardinal Newman coincided with the 70th anniversary of the battle of Britain. He singled out our national contribution to defeating that evil ideology of Nazism. He gave great praise to our war dead - he honoured them. He reminded us that he lived through those dark days when many did not recognise the evil that had come. From his great wisdom and experience and inspiration he reminded us of new threats, new persecutions and distortions of truth we in our time have to be aware of." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more podcasts and www.evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.

Fr Marcus: "The Lord in His mercy has given us, those who die in friendship with him, the possibility of purification, of perfecting, after death. And this is good news. It is God's gift to save His imperfect friends… The souls of purgatory are aided by us as instruments, they are held by us in the providence of God. And it is comforting that we are not completely separated from our loved ones once they pass through the vale of death; we can still relate to them, we can still have a hand in their journey. God, in His providence, wants us to look after one another, not just in this world but forever. So the saints pray for us and help us, and we can help the holy souls. The Church extends of course from earth to heaven and includes purgatory. The most powerful thing we can do for the holy souls is to offer Mass for them. In the Mass, heaven and earth are united and the sacrifice which saves us is made really present." Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more podcasts and www.evangelium.co.uk for mor

Fr Marcus: "Today we celebrate our fellow human beings who have made it .. those who have reached the goal of goals, the only one worth reaching - heaven. We are talking about the entire population of heaven .. What are saints but human beings who have realised that they are not just beasts of burden, pleasure seeking machines, alone in the universe as accidents of creation or merely subjects of a distant creator or cause, but rather that they are children of God, given an eternal destiny. They have realised what John the Divine realised, as he wrote in the second reading today. They have realised that Love that created them, that saved them and which brings them home .. Saints produce other saints; sanctity, holiness, is attractive, it is contagious, because we see how we are supposed to be .. This is the Gospel, the Evangelium today - Dare to become a saint!" Music by Edwin Fawcett. Visit Totus2us.com for more podcasts and www.evangelium.co.uk for more info about the Evangelium project.