Gen 3:9ff. The Lord sentences the serpent, and Adam and Eve, who are expelled from the garden. Mark 8:1ff. Jesus, out of compassion for hungry people, multiplies bread and fish for about four thousand people. Sentenced and Reprieved In Genesis we have heard how our first parents are condemned to return to the ground from…
(There is an optional memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes) Gen 3:1ff. Woman and man disobey God and attempt to hide from him in the garden; now their nakedness makes them ashamed. Mark 7:31ff. Jesus cures a man who was deaf and dumb, and the people are amazed as his power. Paradise Lost and Found…
Gen 2:18ff. God forms woman who alone of all earth’s creatures stands equal to man; they are to be joined as one body. Mark 4:24ff. By humble, persevering faith, a Syro-Phoenician woman induces Jesus to cure her daughter, despite his initial reluctance. Generosity between the Sexes Women hold the centre stage in today’s readings. In…
Gen 2:5ff. God creates Adam and sets him in the garden to cultivate it, forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Mark 7:14ff. What renders us impure is not what enters us from outside but rather the wickedness in the deep recesses of the heart. Wisdom from Above The…
Gen 1:20ff. After forming man and woman to the divine likeness,God rested and blessed the seventh day. Mark 7:1ff. Jesus brands it a crime to nullify the plain sense of God’s word by recourse to human traditions and practices. God’s Dwelling on Earth The Scriptures for today proclaim the sacredness of the created world. In…
Gen 1:1ff. God creates light, the sky, the earth and the sun, the moon and stars, on the first four days of creation. Mark 6:53ff. Wherever Jesus went, the sick were brought to him.Whoever touched him got well, due to the combination of his healing power and the sick person’s faith. Where is the Real…
Theme Tyranny and oppression still flourish in many parts of the world. Other facets of unfairness and structural abuses often stare us in the face, closer to home, such as long-term poverty, unemployment and homelessness. Christ’s message calls for our solidarity with people in dire need. How seriously do we take his call and challenge,…
Hebrews 13:15ff. God raised up the great Shepherd of the sheep from the dead.May he enable you to do his will. Mark 6:30ff. Jesus invites the apostles to come aside and rest, though he pities the people, as sheep without a shepherd. Consistency between Prayer and Life The theme of peace in today’s readings is…
Hebrews 13:1ff. Recommendations to good morals, hospitality, contentment, to be mindful of prisoners and the persecuted. Mark 6:14ff. Herod is curious about John the Baptist and about Jesus.Mark recounts the martyrdom of the Baptist. Entertaining Angels Unaware Today we commemorate great precursors of Jesus, people like John the Baptist in the gospel, and the long…
Hebrews 12:18ff. In Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the blood of Jesus, outpoured in sacrifice, establishes the new covenant. Mark 6:7ff. Jesus sends out the twelve, two by two, to preach, anoint the sick, and work many cures. Divided Loyalties “Remain faithful to me with whole heart and with whole soul.” Loyalty…
Also celebrated as World Day for Consecrated Life Mal 3:1-4. When the special messenger comes to the Temple, the sacrifices offered there will again be pleasing to the Lord. Lk 2:22-40: Luke’s account of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, and the welcome he receives from the faithful “anawim”, Simeon and Anna. Predicting…
Job 31:16-20; 24-25; 31-32. An account of Job’s lavish generosity towards the poor and needy; clearly reflected in St Brigid’s many works of charity. Luke 6:32-38. In Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” Jesus gives his ideal of unselfish generosity – giving of oneself, in imitation of the creative love of our heavenly Father. St Brigid…
Hebrews 11:32ff. After a litany of heroic men and women who overcame hardships of all kinds, we are called into their company. Mark 5:1ff. Jesus cures the demoniac and then commissions the man to proclaim the good news to the ten cities. Tested on Our Pilgrimage The Scriptures respect our human situation, yet they also…
Zeph 2:3, 3:12-13. The “remnant of Israel,” a people humble and lowly, who trust in the name of the Lord – will escape the severity of divine judgement at the end of time. 1 Cor 1:26-31. Paul reminds his community in Corinth that their first converts came from among the poorer, socially deprived classes. They…
Hebrews 11:1ff. Faith is our certainty that we await a better hereafter, with God in whose promises we trust. Mark 4:35ff. Jesus quells the storm at sea, showing his divine power in overcoming the forces of nature. Limitations and Ideals We are just human beings, neither angels nor gods; we live on our lovely, fragile…
(Today may be celebrated as the feast of Saint Thomas Aquinas; but what are given here are the readings from Ordinary Time. ) Hebrews 10:32ff. Do not abandon your patience and fidelity. If you do the will of God you will receive his promises. Mark 4:26ff. The seed sprouts and grows mysteriously. The mustard seed…
Hebrews 10:19ff. We are assured of entrance into the Holy of Holies by the new and living path Jesus has opened for us. Mark 4:21ff. To those who have more will be given; from the have-nots, the little they have will be taken away. Promise Surprisingly Fulfilled The new life-path which Jesus has opened up…
(Today may be celebrated as the feast of Saints Timothy and Titus; but what are given here are the readings from Ordinary Time.) Hebrews 10:11ff. Jesus offers one sacrifice for sin that forever perfects his people, inscribing the new covenant on their hearts. Mark 4:1ff. Parable of the sower and the mystery of Jesus’ words…
Acts 9:1-22. The change in young Saul, from fiery, zealous persecutor of Christians, to becoming a totally devoted follower and missionary of the crucified and risen Christ. Mark 16:15-18. The promises of Jesus Christ to be with his followers is at the heart of the Gospel’s life-giving truth power. Mark lists various “signs” that will…
(This can also be celebrated as the feast of St Francis de Sales, with a different set of readings) Hebrews 9:15ff. Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice once for all, and so puts an end to the many sacrifices in the temple. Mark 3:22-30. Jesus does not cast out devils by the power of satan….
