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23 August 2026 – 21st Sunday, (A)
August 23 2026
Adolf Kawooya
Thank you my Lord Jesus for being the center of my life. May my love for you always hasten the growth of our relationship. Amen.
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23 August 2026 – 21st Sunday, (A)
August 23 2026
Thara Benedicta
Key Message: Jesus is asking, "Who am I to you?"Homily: In 1973, the President of a non-christian country reached out to Saint Mother Teresa to request that she send her Missionaries of Charity Sisters to set up homes in his country to care for the sick, poor and disabled. At the time, the country had laws prohibiting public Christian places of worship or the residence of Catholic priests. When the government welcomed the sisters but refused to grant permission for a Catholic priest to accompany them, Saint Mother Teresa firmly declined the invitation. She explained her rule: "I wanted to give them sisters, but the trouble was that, without a priest, without Jesus going with them, our sisters couldn't go anywhere." For Saint Mother Teresa, "Jesus was everything". In today's Gospel reading, our loving Lord Jesus asks, "Who am I to you? Am I simply the loving Jesus you meet on Sunday and forget on Monday? or have I become your friend?” We see multivarious responses for the question. The Apostle Peter said that people say our Lord is "John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." They have seen our loving Lord Jesus as a person, witnessed His powerful miracles and heard His enlightening sermons. So they mapped our Lord to the powerful prophets, who have been doing all these activities. They failed to recognise our Lord Jesus as the Son of God Himself.Sometimes, without realizing it, the same thing can happen in our relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We may have been Christians from childhood. We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that He performed miracles, that He died on the cross and rose on the third day. We know the Our Father, Hail Mary, Creed and Rosary. We attend Sunday Mass and receive Holy Communion. All these are wonderful and necessary gifts that lead us toward Christ. But today's Gospel challenges us to go one step deeper. Do I merely know many things about Jesus, or do I know Jesus as a Person?When two people are very close, they do not communicate only when there is a problem. They share their happiness, disappointments, fears and ordinary experiences. If something wonderful happens, we immediately want to tell the person whom we love. If something painful happens, we want that person beside us. This is the kind of relationship Jesus desires with us. He does not want to remain only the God whom we visit for an hour on Sunday. He wants to become the Person with whom we walk throughout the entire week.Let us consider Peter walking on the water, we read it a couple of weeks ago. When the disciples saw Jesus walking toward them on the sea, Peter said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Our Jesus simply answered, “Come.” Peter stepped out of the boat. Human intelligence would have told him that people cannot walk on water. His experience as a fisherman would have told him that getting out of the boat in a storm was dangerous. Yet Peter trusted the Person who called him.This is what happens when our relationship with our Jesus becomes strong. We may not understand everything God is doing, but we know the One whom we are following. When Peter started looking at the wind instead of our Lord, he began sinking. But even there we see the beauty of relationship. Peter did not give a long prayer. He simply cried, “Lord, save me!” Our Lord immediately stretched out His hand.Sometimes our prayers can also be very simple. When we are confused, we can say, “Jesus, guide me.” When we are angry, “Jesus, control my words.” When we are afraid, “Jesus, stay with me.” When we make a mistake, “Jesus, forgive me and help me begin again.” These small conversations throughout the day gradually create a deep relationship with our Lord. There is another beautiful point in today's Gospel. Peter tells our Jesus who Lord Jesus is: “You are the Messiah.” Immediately our Lord tells Peter who Peter is: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church.” When Peter discovered the identity of our Lord, our Lord revealed Peter's identity and mission.This is also true in our lives. When we become close to Jesus, we begin discovering who we really are and what God wants us to do. “What is my purpose?” We sometimes look for the answer only in our career, salary, talents or achievements. But our deepest purpose is discovered in our relationship with the One who created us. The manufacturer knows the purpose of the product better than anybody else. In the same way, our Creator understands the purpose of our life better than we do.Our Lord Jesus chose Peter even though He knew all of Peter's weaknesses. This is one of the most encouraging parts of today's Gospel. Jesus tells Peter that He will build His Church upon this rock and gives him the keys of the Kingdom. Yet Jesus already knew Peter completely. Jesus knew that Peter would sometimes speak without understanding. Jesus knew that Peter would become afraid while walking on water. Jesus knew that Peter would later deny Him three times. Still, Jesus chose Peter for an extraordinary mission.Quick tips to practically develop a close relationship with Jesus..1. Include Jesus in our ordinary conversations We do not speak to our closest family members only once a week. We communicate throughout the day. Similarly, our prayer life should not be limited to formal prayer alone. When we wake up, we can say, “Good morning, Jesus, thank You for giving me another day.” Before an important meeting, “Jesus, give me wisdom.” When we are travelling, “Jesus, protect everyone travelling today.” When somebody irritates us, instead of immediately reacting, “Jesus, help me handle this person with love.” At night, “Jesus, thank You for staying with me today.”These may appear to be very small prayers, but relationships are often built through small conversations repeated every day.2. Give Jesus some exclusive time every day If we tell somebody, “You are the most important person in my life,” but never have time for that person, our words will eventually sound empty. The same principle applies to our relationship with Jesus. Can we give Jesus ten or fifteen minutes every day when He has our complete attention? Keep the phone away. Read a small Gospel passage. Talk honestly with Jesus. Then remain silent for a few minutes.We are often very good at talking during prayer but not very good at listening. We tell Jesus twenty things we need, say “Amen,” and leave. A close relationship requires both speaking and listening.3. One simple exercise for this week Every morning this week, imagine Jesus standing before you and asking the question from today's Gospel: “Who do you say that I am?” Let us not give Him a memorized answer alone. Let us answer from our life.Peter spent years walking with Jesus, making mistakes, learning, falling and getting up again. He did not get transformed overnight. We too do not need to become perfect before becoming close to our Lord Jesus. In fact, we become transformed precisely by staying close to Him.Let us not wait until we become old, until our problems are solved, or until we have more time.Talk to Him when you wake up. Consult Him when you make decisions. Run to Him when you fail. Thank Him when you succeed. Sit with Him when you are lonely. Receive Him lovingly in the Eucharist. And allow Him to become part of every ordinary moment of your life.Then, when our Lord Jesus asks us, “Who do you say that I am?”, our answer will not merely come from our lips.Our entire life will answer: “My Jesus, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. You are my Saviour, my closest Friend and the centre of my life".
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Priests Against Genocide Network Zoom with Cardinal A Ramazzini, Prof Omer Bartof and Fr David Neuhaus SJ
August 8 2026
Anne O'Brien
Excellent comments particularly by Soline and Joe. More of this conversation is needed at Diocesan and Parish level. The leadership is very quiet on this issue.
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ICN: Catholic Priests write to PM urging his government to take decisive action on Palestine
August 20 2026
Robert McDonnell
Isn't it that one should be against all genocide without being selective? This is what US commentator Bill Maher alluded to when interviewed about genocidal attacks on Christians in Nigeria, asking why no college students are protesting about it (51 secs). https://x.com/realMaalouf/status/2090277733515317280A report on genocidal atrocities against Christians in Nigeria was aired by UK's Channel 4 in April: “Is Nigeria Facing a Christian Genocide?” / “Village of widows” (Short clip - 1min 50sec, full report - 15 mins).https://x.com/Sean_ADFIntl/status/2046691693190172981https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p2I9hyEGYdM&pp=0gcJCXACo7VqN5tDFor some reason, there has been little or no mention of this in Ireland.
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23 August 2026 – 21st Sunday, (A)

23 August 2026 – 21st Sunday, (A)

Priests Against Genocide Network Zoom with Cardinal A Ramazzini, Prof Omer Bartof and Fr David Neuhaus SJ

ICN: Catholic Priests write to PM urging his government to take decisive action on Palestine