14th April. Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Easter

Guided by the light

We can notice a stretch in the evenings these days, now that it is bright beyond 7.00 pm. Most of us like the light. We are pleased to know that the daylight is lengthening every day at this time of the year. Our heart sinks a bit in Winter when we see how the days have begun to get shorter. Even though most of us like the light, the gospel notes how people seem to prefer darkness to light.

13th April. Monday of the 2nd Week of Easter

As the wind blows

When and where the Spirit comes, and with what effect on our lives, cannot be determined in advance. “The wind blows where it will… You do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” Hebrew RUACH and Greek PNEUMA mean both wind and spirit. Nor can a previous encounter with the Spirit determine how it will happen next time, for the Spirit comes unexpectedly. In fact, the sudden gift of the Spirit to the unbaptized household of the Roman officer who was non-Jewish and non-Christian, took even Peter by surprise…

12th April. 2nd Sunday of Easter

Unlocking our doors

Most houses are well alarmed nowadays; the computerised alarm has become as basic an item as table and chairs. We also need to have good strong locks; long gone, at least in the cities and towns, are the days when you could just leave the key in the door, and allow neighbours to casually ramble in for a chat and a cup of tea. We are more fearful about our security than we used to be, and this fear and anxiety has led us to take more precautions to protect ourselves. Fear of what others can do…

11th April. Easter Saturday

Overcoming obstacles to faith

The Sanhedrin, Judaism’s supreme ruling body, found it impossible to imagine that Jesus could be the Messiah, and that he had really risen from the dead. To believe in him would demand a major change in the whole furniture of their belief-system; nothing less than a total reinterpretation of their Scripture and cherished traditions. Yet these two Galilean fishermen, Peter and John, stood there, insisting that

9th April. Easter Thursday

Hard to take in

Luke’s account in today’s gospel shows the great difficulty the disciples had believing that it was the same Jesus they had come to know and love who was now standing before them. They thought they were seeing a ghost and their joy was so great that they could not believe it, and they stood dumbfounded. Clearly it took the disciples a while to take in the good news of Easter…

7th April. Easter Tuesday

Coming to recognise the Lord

A fascinating side of the Easter stories is how they convey a sense of gradual recognition of the risen Jesus, by his closest friends and followers. John’s vivid portrayal of Mary Magdalene challenging the gardener to hand back the body of Jesus conveys some sense of their stupor and confusion. At first, all they hoped for was to be able to show honour to his mortal remains. But when he calls Mary by her name

5th April. Easter Sunday

On Easter morning, the stone was rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. Could I think of my heart as a tomb awaiting a resurrection? Can I identify anything akin to a stone that is holding me back from enjoying the fullness of life? It could be an addiction, a compulsion or some hidden and dark secret that I have never shared with anyone. We can be as sick as our secrets. But as pope Francis declares, “We are called to be people of joyful hope, not doomsday prophets!”

4th April. Holy Saturday

Evocative signs

This is our Passover, the night of nights and the feast of feasts. Let us celebrate and rejoice, therefore! To help our feelings catch up with our convictions, on this holy night we use fire and darkness and water, readings and songs to mark and to evoke the great events of our salvation. We bring to the feast whatever is “dark” in our own lives, whatever is in need of light and healing…