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10 Oct, Monday of Week 28
Last to First
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28th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Liturgy Preparation
One of the readings at Mass today gives a vision of the feast in heaven, when death is no more and tears are a thing of the past. Those who gather to worship God this Sunday get a fore-taste of that heavenly meal in the sweet Communion they share on earth…
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09 Oct, Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is not all our own work, as Paul reminds us. It is the grace of God that prompts us to a worthy life..
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08 Oct. Saturday of the 27th Week
The Sword of the Word
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07 Oct. Friday of the 27th Week
Finger of God
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06 Oct. Thursday of the 27th Week
Power of Perseverance
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05 Oct. Wednesday of the 27th Week
Who Can Be Saved?
If the Kingdom of God is to extend throughout the universe, the qualities of faith, patience, and trust in God must be stressed. But externals are also necessary, to manifest this inner life. Where there is no breath nor pulse, a
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04 Oct. Tuesday of the 27th Week
How Much Activity?
While good intentions can drive one to overactivity and even to misguided zeal, the Scriptures defend human activity and good works as essential to salvation. For interpreting today’s scripture readings we must keep in…
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03 Oct. Monday of the 27th Week
Divine Reversals
Today’s texts deal with divine reversals. Sometimes we may resemble Jonah who attempted to use the sea to flee away from the God of earth and sea. But God has wonderful ways of bringing us back to our senses,
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2 Oct, Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme
The church is the choice vineyard of the Lord, planted for a noble and productive purpose. We pray that our lives may never be soured by bitterness or disillusionment.
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27th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Liturgy preparation
There are reassuring words in God’s Word this Sunday, with Paul reminding believers that there is no need to worry (see Philippians 4:6-9). As they gather for worship, they hope that if there is anything they need, they can pray for it and God’s peace will be theirs.
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01 Oct, Saturday of Week 26
Rejoicing in the Spirit
The secret stirring of the heart comes marvellously to the surface in Jesus’ prayerful rejoicing in the Holy Spirit, “what you have hidden from the learned and the clever, you have revealed to the merest children.”
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30 Sept, Friday of Week 26
Memories and Hopes
Today’s text from Baruch dates to the Babylonian exile (587-539 B.C.), and the verse immediately preceding refers the autumnal feast of Tabernacles. A collection was being taken up, to be sent to Jerusalem for sacrifices and for helping the poor in the holy city
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Harvest Thanksgiving
A parish’s harvest thanksgiving can take the form of a special Eucharist or an ecumenical Service, or it can take place over the varied liturgies of a weekend. Relevant local people can be involved in in planning this event: in rural areas, members of organisations like the IFA or Macra might participate. Schoolchildren decorate the church for the celebration, reflecting all the beautiful elements of creation.
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29 Sept, Thursday, Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael
This excerpt from a homily on the Gospels (Hom. 32, 8-9: PL 76, 1250-1251) by St Gregory the Great is used in the Catholic Office of Readings for the Feast of the Archangels …
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28 Sept, Wednesday of Week 26
Neh 2:1ff. The Persian king, Artaxerxes I allows the Jewish nobleman, Nehemiah, to go to Jerusalem, on a mission to rebuild its walls and restore the ancestral graves.
Lk 9:57ff. Jesus responds to prospective followers by a series of stern statements.
Courage amid Uncertainty
In career terms, Nehemiah had it made
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27 Sept, Tuesday of Week 26
Making The Journey
Today we are invited to share in a journey to Jerusalem and the holy temple, there to worship God with many others. The spirit with which we travel forms the spirit with which we join in prayer at our gathering in church. This spirit, as we learn from the three readings, is not a generic
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26 Sept, Monday of Week 26
Children’s Merits
Children remain the key to reflection through today’s readings and give a glimpse of the new Jerusalem, Zechariah pictures the city with “boys and girls playing in the streets” and in the gospel Jesus turns to children to teach about the “greatest in the Kingdom of God.”
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25 Sept, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme
Jesus warns that prostitutes and tax-collectors may be closer to God than the religious leaders. Our social or religious standing gives us no exclusive rights to the mercy of God. The parable of the two sons, neither of whom does what he says he will do, highlights the dictum that “actions speak louder than words.”