23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

National Pilgrimage in honour of St. Margaret, Carfin Grotto Shrine 10^th September 2006

1. When the Lord restored the hearing of the dumb man and gave him back his speech, today’s Gospel passage tells us that Jesus gave the command Ephphatha, which means be opened. At that moment, the man heard again, and found himself able to speak without impediment. No wonder that happy man could not stop talking about what had happened to him! We encounter this Ephphatha in the Sacrament of Baptism. The ears and lips of the adult candidate for baptism and of the newly-baptised child are blessed with the word Ephphatha, be opened, so that their ears will open to hear the word of God and so that their mouths will profess their faith in the Holy Trinity. Every baptised person is invited to hear God’s word and to profess their faith to the glory to God. Baptism is the beginning of our life in Christ; it sets us firmly on the way to holiness and on our journey towards eternal life, a journey we make with all our brothers and sisters in the Church.

2. As we gather in Carfin today in national pilgrimage to honour St. Margaret, this is surely an opportunity to hear again that word spoken by the Lord to each one of us personally – Ephphatha, be opened- and resolve anew to allow our lives to be shaped by the Word of God. The Lord’s gentle word to us, Ephphatha, be opened,  should be for us an invitation to allow our faith to be renewed and strengthened so that we can more fully respond to our baptismal vocation to follow Jesus and give joyful witness to his message of love.

3. St. Margaret is called a saint because her life was recognised to be holy. Holiness takes different forms in different people. But what all saints and holy people have in common is a very lively sense of the nearness of Christ who invites them to follow him on the path of holiness. Margaret was first of all a woman of profound religious faith who lived her life in the presence of God. This was the foundation of her holiness. This is what made her able to do fine things for God, for her family, and for her country and for her Church. Our baptism is a call to holiness. Ephphatha. Be open to God, be open to Christ, be open to holiness. If there is one thing above all that the Church needs from its members today it is holiness of life, that living sense of Christ’s presence as a real person which will give us the inspiration and the desire to live an authentic Christian life and to do what needs to be done in the light of the Gospel for our family, for our parish and for our local communities.

4. St. Margaret is probably best loved and remembered for being the Queen of Scotland who used her lofty position to care for the poor. She used her royal authority to improve the social conditions of her poorest subjects. So her holiness took the form also of practical love in favour of the poor and of the needy. In this regard, she is in very good company of other saints noted for their charitable activity, like Francis of Assisi, Elizabeth of Hungary, John of God, Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marrillac, John Bosco, and Teresa of Calcutta. With Margaret, they stand out for us as lasting models of social charity. With the poor very much in mind, James the Apostle exhorts us today: “Do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ our glorified Lord with the making of distinctions between classes of people.” In my experience, Scottish Catholics sense an instinctive bond with the poor and respond with no little generosity to social charity, as those who are responsible for SCIAF and the SVDP and other charities would surely confirm. It is important that we continue in that tradition and learn to channel it in new directions as we seek to fulfil the Lord’s new commandment of love in the present and in the future: “love one another as I have loved you.” Ephphatha: be open, be open to the poor at home and abroad, to the immigrants and ethnic minorities who come to our communities, and to all who need our help. This too is the way of holiness.

5. St. Margaret was also a wife and mother. Her holiness was very much to do with family life and responsibilities. She knew the joys and sorrows of family life. She did her best to pass on her faith and deep Catholic spirituality to her children. Indeed two of her sons, Edgar and David carried on their mother’s reputation for holiness, not least in their service to the poor. Sadly, her husband, King Malcolm III, and her eldest son, Edward, were killed in battle. It is said that the news of this tragedy hastened her death. And Margaret passed in the year 1093 into eternity as Scotland’s Queen and Saint. The Church and Scottish society needs families which are united in faith and in love. Even in a very diverse society, it still needs to be said and needs to said more than ever, that, according to God’s design, the family is composed of father and mother, a man and a woman, married to each other, and their children. (This is said, of course, without any prejudice to parents who are single because of unfortunate circumstances and who would wish it to be otherwise if it was possible, and who try with great credit to do their very best for their children.) Ephphatha: be open, be open to loving married life, be open to the family, be open to children. Marriage and family life is also the way of holiness.

6. St. Margaret and every other saint would tell us how important the Word of God and the Sacraments were in their lives. They would tell us that the presence of the risen Christ in their lives, which is the source of holiness, is nourished more than anything else by the Word of God, the Mass and the Sacraments. They would tell you therefore that the ministry of priests, who are authorised to preach the word and to celebrate the sacraments, has been essential to their spiritual lives. And we can all think of the priests we have known who have brought us closer to God. I think I speak for all your bishops when I say that what the Catholic Church in Scotland needs as much as anything these days – perhaps more than anything – is more priests, so that our parish communities can be nourished by the Word of God, the Eucharist and the Sacraments, and be gathered in by the one who stands among them sacramentally in the person of Christ the Head and Shepherd of his Church. Yes,we can put in place measures to manage a situation where a priest can no longer be present as before. Some of these measures may even be quite creative and resourceful.. But we know in our hearts that this is second-best and it grieves us. What we really want to do is send you a priest. As we begin today Vocations Awareness Week, I say to you with great seriousness that we cannot, we just cannot, substitute for the priest. Ephphatha: be open, be open to the call of Christ, be open to the priesthood, pray for your deacons, priests and bishops, for this too is a way to holiness.

7. I have spoken to you this afternoon of our baptismal vocation to holiness which is made concrete in the commandment of love, which is lived out in family life, and nourished by the Word of God and by the Sacraments made possible in the design of Christ by the ministry of priests. It is no accident, my dear brothers and sisters, that these mysteries are woven together inseparably in the tapestry of Catholic life.  St Margaret of Scotland, pray for us.