It is often in those mature years that we can hear the call of Isaiah in today’s first reading, ‘O come to the water all you who are thirsty, Seek the Lord while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.’ The Lord keeps calling out to us from the moment of our baptism.
While Jesus stayed in close communion with God he also kept touch with people in their need. The same duality is also true of our own inner selves. In prayer, we are mindful of God’s presence, tuning in to God’s presence within us, but also prompts us to think about others, to feel their needs.
Many today would want to personally experience this miracle of sharing, when times are tough. Perhaps it can be achieved still, if the generous spirit of Jesus gets into our hearts, and into our governance, the sharing spirit that Pope Francis is calling for. The miracle of the loaves and fishes is a colourful background to the principle so well expressed in today’s epistle, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God.”
The person of Jesus and the message he proclaims are as powerful today as when he walked this earth. He is as much God’s gift to us today as he was two thousand years ago for the people who flocked to him. He is just as much a light in our darkness now as he was then. It is good to remind ourselves of this basic truth about our faith as we face into the year that lies ahead.
On this feast of the Epiphany we celebrate the revelation of who Christ is. The visit of the Magi from foreign lands reminds us that Jesus came as the Saviour of all nations, including ours. We worship God who wants all people to be saved.
The message for us is clear: if there is to be any epiphany in our lives we will need our heads as well as our hearts.
As a result of his meeting with Jesus the sceptic comes to confess Jesus as “the Son of God; the King of Israel.” Jesus makes Nathanael a wonderful promise, “You will see;” Angels were understood as mediators, connecting heaven and earth. Jesus promises Nathanael that he will come to appreciate Jesus as the meeting point of heaven and earth.
When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.
Opening Comment We gather to celebrate the first Sunday of 2021, moving with gratitude into a new year of God’s grace. We thank God for the vaccines developed to protect humanity and ask for God’s continuing care and protection until everyone is safe. Confident that God’s mercy has no end, we remember our sins: (pause)…
This Word became flesh to make the Eternal Father known to all of us. He came to let us know the Father. Indeed, he is God’s personal message to us. How can we know the Father? Through Jesus who is “the way, the truth and the life.” He is our surest way to the Father.
The question put to John the Baptist, “Who are you, then?” is one of the most challenging of all questions to answer. For people of Christian faith, the answer to this existential question will be influenced by our relationship with Jesus, because that relationship affects us at our very core. Saint Paul is the great example of this immersion in Christ. If asked, “Who are you, then?” he might answer in the words he wrote in Galatians, “it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” His identity had become a Christ-stamped identity.
Happy New Year! On this first day of the Year of Our Lord 2021, we acclaim Mary as Mother of God and ask her to mind us and those we love during this new year. We pray that the world may be freed from COVID-19 through a global programme of vaccination. And as this is also World Peace Day, we pray for peace.
Today, New Year’s day, is a day when many feel drawn to make good resolutions. What better new year’s resolution could we make today than that of adopting Mary’s stance before the grace of God? Today’s feast invites us to share in Mary’s sense of awe and wonder before God’s merciful love, made known to us in Christ, her son. As we look towards the new year, which begins today, we ask Mary to help us to treasure the gospel as she did, so that Christ might come to others through us as he came to us through Mary.
John’s small Christian community had been badly shaken by recent events. Their membership has dropped, and no doubt bitter words were exchanged about former members who had turned away and left. But..
What distinguishes Anna is her age, eighty four years old, and the fact that she never left the Temple, but remained there, serving God night and day with prayer and fasting…
Simeon, a devout elderly Jew, took the child in his arms and blessed God. If every child is fascinating, how much more was the child Jesus? Having held him and gazed at him, Simeon was ready to leave this world and go to God.
1st Reading: 1 John 1:5-2:2 Those who walk in darkness, and those who walk in the light Beloved: This is the message that we have heard from Jesus Christ and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we…
On this first Sunday after Christmas Day, we honour the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. We entrust our families to their patronage, and pray for all who have been part of our families, those still alive and those whom we hope have joined the great family of God in heaven.
Even though we honour them as the Holy Family, it does not mean they never had problems to face, as every family must. Just as every Christian has a share in the cross of Christ, the Holy Family also experienced life’s crosses…
Stephen died as Jesus died, “filled with the Holy Spirit.” We have received the same Holy Spirit, inspiring us to live like Jesus and die like Jesus…
