The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Moses died on the far side of the Jordan but God remains with his people for the whole of their journey. Similarly Jesus is always with his followers, even if only two or three are gathered in his name…

1st Reading: Deuteronomy 31:1-8 Moses promises that God will lead his people into the promised land When Moses had finished speaking all these words to the Israelites, he told them: “I am now one hundred twenty years old. I am no longer able to get about, and the Lord has told me, ‘You shall not…

How can Yahweh care for Israel above all other peoples? Yet, paradox though it be, they deeply felt it as a living truth. The all-powerful God chooses the smallest for his special care, for such is his gracious love…

St Lawrence (225-258) deacon of the church in Rome, was martyred under the Emperor Valerian on the August 10th 258, four days after Pope Sixtus II and some others. While little is known of Lawrence’s life, he was noted for his generosity and was highly popular with the Christians of Rome. ..

Edith Stein and her sister Rosa, also a convert and an religious sister, were sent for their safety to a Carmelite monastery in Echt, the Netherlands. They were arrested by the Nazis on 2 August 1942 and sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they died in the gas chamber one week later…

In the Book of Numbers a rock in the mountains becomes a water source that was vital for survival. In Matthew, a “human rock” becomes the foundation of the church…

The Israelites gave up too quickly, in face of giants and a heavily walled city guarded by a fierce and strong people. But the Canaanite woman who met Jesus would not take no for an answer…

When the darkness came over them they’d remember the light. The memory of the transfigured Lord and the voice of the Fatherl would help them to hold their nerve…

At the sight of a large hungry crowd, Jesus responds in a very different way to his followers. They wanted him to send the crowd away. He wanted them to try to feed the crowd. Even though they protested that…

John’s martyrdom foreshadows that of Jesus. As Jesus hung from the cross he too had no power. As Paul says, “he was crucified in weakness.” Yet at that moment he had great authority, the authority of a life of integrity…

They recognized him as the son of the carpenter, whose mother, Mary, and whose brothers and sisters were known to them. He is one of their own, a working man just like themselves. Yet, in ways he is not like them…

Today we have the end of Exodus, as important in the Old Testament as are the gospels in the New. We conclude a major section in Matthew’s gospel, on the mystery of the kingdom of God. Both readings speak of being drawn under God’s gracious influence…

The prospect of leaving all behind to embrace something radically new…

As Moses entered this tent, the column of cloud came down to its entrance, and there…

There is a fine appraisal of Martha and Mary by Saint Augustine, in today’s Liturgy of the Hours…