As the second week of Lent begins in other countries, we pause from our lenten penances to honour Patrick, the apostle of the Irish. In our celebration of this solemn feast, we worship God, creator, redeemer and sanctifier, who brought our ancestors into the Christian fold through the preaching of St Patrick.
St Patrick, Patron of Ireland
The ideals of Jesus include loving our enemy, and praying for those who make life difficult for us…
Esther’s story illustrates : “Ask and you shall receive.” God saved her people from mortal danger… 1st Reading: Esther 4:29-42 Queen Esther’s prayer wins God’s help in a time of crisis Queen Esther, seized with deadly anxiety, fled to the Lord. She prayed to the Lord God of Israel, and said: “O my Lord, you…
The Jonah story weaves various themes together, into a Gospel lesson in tolerance and compassion…
Lent is a time for hearing and pondering God’s word. Carefully listening to that WORD is a lifelong task…
To reach perfection, the whole moral landscape of our social and economic life needs shaking up..
The 40-day pilgrimage to Easter that began on Ash Wednesday is just a few days old. We pray that God, who sustained Jesus in his 40 days of temptations and suffering, will support us on our journey also.
1st Sunday of Lent
When we call, the Lord will answer; in our time of need he will say, ‘Here I am.’
Whoever fasts for religious purposes must not oppress employees or subjects
By walking in his ways, you shall live. Fidelity assures the future of God’s people…
*We begin Lent by receiving the ashes of repentance on our foreheads, and plan to prepare well for Easter…
*To touch a leper might render us ritually unclean, unfit to enter the temple. Yet in another way it links us to the Jesus who befriended lepers…
*The Lord can call us beyond where we are, to grow in our relationship with him, to be more generous in our response to his presence.
Words matter. What we say has an effect on others, for good or ill. God’s word to us is spoken in Jesus, the Word made flesh, in whose name we gather this and every Sunday.
*In Springtime, renewal of dedication should bring spiritual growth, when we aim to be mutually suportive. 1st Reading: Sirach 27:4-7 Three images about ways of speaking When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears; so do a person’s faults when he speaks. The kiln tests the potter’s vessels; so the test of a person is…
*God has formed our tongue and eyes and ears and blessed us with an understanding heart...
*When our link with God is right, we can build relationships that are faithful and generous… 1st Reading: Sirach 6:5-17 Let your friends be tried and trusted. A faithful friend is a tonic Pleasant speech multiplies friends, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies. Let those who are friendly with you be many, but let your…
