Sunday Homily Resources
The gist of each reading is suggested in a single line; then the full text of the readings (NRSV for inclusive language); finally some homiletic reflections on the day’s readings. On many weekdays we offer two approaches to a homily. One is usually based on the first Reading, with sometimes a link to the main idea in the Gospel. The second approach will be drawn from that day’s Gospel. These are loosely based on notes made available by Fr. Martin Hogan p.p.
Fr Pat Rogers cp, Mount, Dublin.
24 Nov 2024 – Christ the King – 34th Sunday (Year B)
24 Nov 2024 – Christ the King – 34th Sunday (Year B) (1) Daniel (7:13-14 Glorious vision of the Son of Man As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and…
17 Nov 2024 – 33rd Sunday (Year B)
17 Nov 2024 – 33rd Sunday (Year B) (1) Daniel (12:1-13 Daniel’s vision about the end of time, including the resurrection of the dead At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred…
10 Nov 2024 – 32nd Sunday (Year B)
10 Nov 2024 – 32nd Sunday (Year B) (1) 1 Kings 17:10-16 The widow of Zarephath shares the last of her food with Elijah Elijah set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her…
03 Nov 2024 – 31st Sunday (Year B)
03 Nov 2024 – 31st Sunday (Year B) (1) Deuteronomy 6:2-6 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart Moses said to the people: “You and your children and your children’s children, should fear the Lord your God all the days of your life, and keep all…
27 Oct 2024 – 30th Sunday (Year B)
27 Oct 2024 – 30th Sunday (Year B) (1) Jeremiah 31:7-9 God promises to lead back the remnant of Israel Thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the…
20 Oct 2024 – 29th Sunday (Year B) – Mission Sunday
20 Oct 2024 – 29th Sunday (Year B) – Mission Sunday (1) Isaiah 53:10-11 God’s faithful Servant bears the world’s sins and sorrow; but he will prosper in the end It was the will of the Lord to crush his servant with pain. When he make his life an offering…
13 Oct 2024 – 28th Sunday (Year B) – Prisoners Sunday
13 Oct 2024 – 28th Sunday (Year B) – Prisoners Sunday (1) Wisdom 7:7-11 Solomon praises Wisdom as more precious than gold, silver, health, or beauty Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to…
06 Oct 2024 – 27th Sunday (Year B)
06 Oct 2024 – 27th Sunday (Year B) (1) Genesis 2:18-24 God intends man and woman to become one flesh Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord…
29 Sept 2024 – 26th Sunday (Year B)
29 Sept 2024 – 26th Sunday (Year B) Sunday 29th September 2024 – World Day of Migrants and Refugees https://www.catholicbishops.ie/2020/09/10/world-day-of-migrants-and-refugees/ (1) Numbers 11:25-29 Moses shares his leadership of God’s People with others who have gifts of prophecy Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses, and…
22 Sept 2024 – 25th Sunday (Year B)
22 Sept 2024 – 25th Sunday (Year B) (1) Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 The cruelty of the wicked against the just The godless say to themselves, “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against…
15 Sept 2024 – 24th Sunday (Year B)
15 Sept 2024 – 24th Sunday (Year B) (1) Isaiah 50:5-9 The suffering servant did not rebel or turn aside The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who…
08 Sept 2024 – 23rd Sunday (Year B)
08 Sept 2024 – 23rd Sunday (Year B) (1) Isaiah 35:4-7 Take courage, for God will save his people Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save…
01 Sept 2024 – 22nd Sunday (Year B)
01 Sept 2024 – 22nd Sunday (Year B) (1) Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Listening to God’s word brings life and wisdom Moses said to the people: “So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and…
25 Aug 2024 – 21st Sunday (Year B)
25 Aug 2024 – 21st Sunday (Year B) (1) Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 When they reach the Promised Land, will they serve the true God? Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves…
18 Aug 2024 – 20th Sunday (Year B)
18 Aug 2024 – 20th Sunday (Year B) (1) Proverbs (9:1-6 Wisdom has built her house with seven pillars Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn herself seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out…
11 Aug 2024 – 19th Sunday (Year B)
11 Aug 2024 – 19th Sunday (Year B) (1) 1 Kings 19:4-8 Revived by miraculous food and drink, Elijah reaches the mountain of God Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is…
04 Aug 2024 – 18th Sunday (Year B)
04 Aug 2024 – 18th Sunday (Year B) (1) Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 God feeds the hungry Israelites with manna and quails The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the…
28 July 2024 – 17th Sunday (Year B)
28 July 2024 – 17th Sunday (Year B) World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly (see prayer at bottom of page) (1) 2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha provides food for a hundred men A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves…
21 July 2024 – 16th Sunday (Year B)
21 July 2024 – 16th Sunday (Year B) (1) Jeremiah 23:1-6 God will raise up worthy shepherds for his people The Lord says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the…
14 July 2024 – 15th Sunday (Year B)
14 July 2024 – 15th Sunday (Year B) (1) Amos 7:12-15 Amos the herdsman is called by God to be a prophet Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again…
07 July 2024 – 14th Sunday (Year B)
07 July 2024 – 14th Sunday (Year B) (1) Ezekiel 2:2-5 God sends Ezekiel to call the people to repentance The spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said: “Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel,…
30 June 2024 – 13th Sunday
30 June 2024 – 13th Sunday (Year B) (1) Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24 All that God does is wholesome, and he intends us to enjoy a blessed immortality God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things so that…
23 June 2024 – 12th Sunday
23 June 2024 – 12th Sunday (Year B) (1) Job 38:1, 8-11 Job’s pride is curbed by awe The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: “Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick…
16 June 2024 – 11th Sunday
16 June 2024 – 11th Sunday (Year B) (1) Ezekiel 17:22-24 It is the Lord who plants and grows; who raises and humbles Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off…
9 June 2024 – 10th Sunday
9 June 2024 – 10th Sunday (Year B) Evil is too well documented to be dismissed as just a religious concept. It thrives precisely because many choose to ignore it. Like the psalmist, we recognise our complicity and seek forgiveness. (1) Genesis 3:9-15 Adam and Eve were tempted and sinned….
2 June 2024 – Corpus Christi
2 June 2024 – Corpus Christi, Year B 1st Reading: Exodus 24:3-8 Ratification by Moses and the people of their covenant with God on Mount Sinai Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice,…
26 May 2024 – The Most Holy Trinity
26 May 2024 – The Most Holy Trinity, Year B 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-34, 39-40 The Lord himself is God in heaven above and on earth below: there is no other Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from…
19 May 2024 – Pentecost Sunday
19 May 2024 – Pentecost Sunday 1st Reading: Acts 2:1-11 The Spirit of God gives energy to the apostles and sends them out on their mission When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the…
12 May 2024 – The Ascension of the Lord, (A, B, C.)
12 May 2024 – The Ascension of the Lord, (A, B, C.) 1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11 Ascension concludes Jesus’ ministry on earth and prepares for the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until…
05 May 2024 – 6th Sunday of Easter (B)
05 May 2024 – 6th Sunday of Easter (B) 1st Reading: Acts of the Apostles 10:25-26, 33-35, 44-48 Peter baptises the household of Cornelius On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshipped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a…
28 April 2024 – 5th Sunday of Easter (B)
28 April 2024 – 5th Sunday of Easter (B) 1st Reading: Acts 9:26-31 Barnabas introduces Paul the convert to the church in Jerusalem When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was…
21 April 2024 – 4th Sunday of Easter (B)
21 April 2024 – 4th Sunday of Easter (B) 1st Reading: Acts 4:8-12 By the power of the risen Jesus we can be saved Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed…
14 April 2024 – 3rd Sunday of Easter (B)
14 April 2024 – 3rd Sunday of Easter (B) 1st Reading: Acts 3:13-15 Peter blames his Jewish listeners for the death of Jesus, then calls them to repentance The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant…
07 April 2024 – 2nd Sunday of Easter (B)
07 April 2024 – 2nd Sunday of Easter (B) Divine Mercy Sunday 1st Reading: Acts 4:32-35 Total sharing, among the first Christians Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was…
31 Mar 2024 – Easter Sunday Years A, B, C
31 Mar 2024 – Easter Sunday Years A, B, C 1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurrection Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the…
31 Mar 2024 – Easter Sunday (Years A, B, C)
31 Mar 2024 – Easter Sunday (Years A, B, C) 1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurection Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the…
24 Mar 2024 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C
24 Mar 2024 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C Procession of Palms: Mark 11:1-10 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately…
17 March 2024 – St Patrick’s Day – 5th Sunday in Lent (B)
17 Mar 2024 – Lent, 5th Sunday, Year B St Patrick, Patron of Ireland 2 Kgs 4: 18-21, 32-37; Ps 16:1, 6-8, 15, R/ v15. Jn 11:1-45 (Lect 1:316) may be used instead of the Lenten readings any day this week. (Reflections on St Patrick at the bottom of this…
10 Mar 2024 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B
10 Mar 2024 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B (1) 2 Chronicles 36:14-23 For their sins the people were exiled to Babylon. But God’s mercy will bring them back All the leading priests and the people also were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abomination of the nations; and they…
03 Mar 2024 – Lent, 3rd Sunday, Year B
03 Mar 2024 – Lent, 3rd Sunday, Year B (1) Exodus 20:1-17 The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall…
25 Feb 2024 – Lent, 2nd Sunday, Year B
25 Feb 2024 – Lent, 2nd Sunday, Year B (1) Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 The “Binding of Isaac” shows Abraham’s complete obedience to God After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac,…
18 Feb 2024 – Lent, 1st Sunday, Year B
18 Feb 2024 – Lent, 1st Sunday, Year B (1) Genesis 9:8-15 The rainbow as the sign of God’s covenant with mankind Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with…
11 Feb 2024 – 6th Sunday (Year B)
11 Feb 2024 – 6th Sunday (Year B) (1) Leviticus (13:1-2, 44-46 Lepers had to live apart. Only if a priest pronounced a leper cured could he or she come back into normal life The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: “When a person has on the skin of…
04 Feb 24 – 5th Sunday (Year B)
04 Feb 24 – 5th Sunday (Year B) (1) Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Job wrestles with the problem of innocent suffering Job said: “Do not human beings have a hard service on earth, and are not their days like the days of a labourer? Like a slave who longs for the…
28 Jan 24 – 4th Sunday (Year B)
28 Jan 24 – 4th Sunday (Year B) (1) Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Moses predicts the coming of a future prophet greater than himself Moses said to the people: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet lie me from among your own people; you shall heed such a…
21 Jan 24 – 3rd Sunday (Year B)
21 Jan 24 – 3rd Sunday (Year B) (1) Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Jonah’s preaching finds an unexpected response from the pagan Ninevites The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I…
14 Jan 24 – 2nd Sunday (Year B)
14 Jan 24 – 2nd Sunday (Year B) (1) 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 The call of young Samuel, one of the great vocation stories Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here…
7 Jan 2024 – The Baptism of the Lord
7 Jan 2024 – The Baptism of the Lord First Reading. Isaiah 55:1-11 Come to the waters, come buy and eat Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why…
31 Dec 2023 – Sunday after Christmas. The Holy Family
31 Dec 2023 – Sunday after Christmas. The Holy Family Today we celebrate the domestic life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, an an inspiration for all families everywhere. 1st Reading: Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3 Abraham and Sarah are given a child as a reward for their faith After these things the…
24 Dec 2023 – Christmas Midnight Mass
24 Dec 2023 – Christmas Midnight Mass 1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7 God brings them from darkness and bring them to peace and security The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on them light has shined. You have…
24 Dec 2023 – 4th Sunday of Advent
24 Dec 2023 – 4th Sunday of Advent 1st Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12, 14, 16 David is promised a “house” or dynasty Now when the king was settled in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, the king said to the…
17 Dec 2023 – 3rd Sunday in Advent, B
17 Dec 2023 – 3rd Sunday in Advent, B 1st Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 The Messiah, guided by God’s Spirit. This text describes Jesus’ ministry The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the…
10 Dec 2023 – 2nd Sunday in Advent, B
10 Dec 2023 – 2nd Sunday in Advent, B John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ by raising expectations. Once Jesus had arrived, there only remained for John to quietly disappear from the scene. 1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 God is coming to save his people and to open…
03 Dec 2023 – 1st Sunday in Advent, B
03 Dec 2023 – 1st Sunday in Advent, B 1st Reading: Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1-8 The prophet admits his people’s sinfulness but recalls God’s mercy too For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O Lord, are our father; our Redeemer…
26 Nov 2023 – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
26 Nov 2023 – Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe – 34th Sunday, (A) On this, the last Sunday in the liturgical year, we honour Christ the King. It is a feast on which to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour, shown in the way that we…
19 Nov 2023 – 33rd Sunday, (A)
19 Nov 2023 – 33rd Sunday, (A) Today’s gospel focuses on the kind of behaviour that will be tested in Final Judgment. We are here and now writing the book of evidence for that judgement on the value of lives. A key element is the use of the talents and…
12 Nov 2023 – 32nd Sunday, (A)
12 Nov 2023 – 32nd Sunday, (A) Underlying optimism: Everyone suffers sometime from bereavement, and some losses are especially difficult to bear. But if we hope in the resurrection we should not grieve like others who have no hope. The underlying optimism shining through today’s text from the book of…
05 Nov 2023 – 31st Sunday, (A)
05 Nov 2023 – 31st Sunday, (A) Today’s Scripture calls us to examine our conscience about the sincerity of our words and of our lives. We should rid ourselves of all hypocrisy and respect the truth about ourselves, in God’s sight. Bishops and others in a leadership role, have special…
29 Oct 2023 – 30th Sunday, (A)
29 Oct 2023 – 30th Sunday, (A) Our Gospel celebrates the great commandment of love. To love our neighbour as God does, prejudices based on race, religion or colour have to go. The revelation at Mount Sinai prompted a sense of fairness towards others, deeper than specific commandments. Jesus demonstrates…
22 Oct 2023 – 29th Sunday, (A)
22 Oct 2023 – 29th Sunday, (A) Today’s Christians are called to live in a very pluralist world, that presents us with huge challenges. Only the grace of God and the depth of our convictions will enable our faith to survive and to thrive in a secular society. But then,…
15 Oct 2023 – 28th Sunday, (A)
15 Oct 2023 – 28th Sunday, (A) By baptism we have been called to salvation, and to take our place in the future kingdom of God. Somehow, we must get a wedding garment, so as to take our place at the wedding feast. Our eucharist recalls that invitation and prompts…
08 Oct 2023 – 27th Sunday, (A)
08 Oct 2023 – 27th Sunday, (A) The church is the choice vineyard of the Lord, planted for a noble and productive purpose. Here we can grow to maturity in the sunshine of God’s grace. But the vineyard can fall into disuse, or fail to produce the expected fruits of…
01 Oct 2023 – 26th Sunday, (A)
01 Oct 2023 – 26th Sunday, (A) Jesus warns that prostitutes and tax-collectors may be closer to God than their supposed betters. Social or religious standing means little in the sight of God. The parable of the two sons, neither of whom does what he says he will do, highlights…
24 Sept 2023 – 25th Sunday, (A)
24 Sept 2023 – 25th Sunday, (A) This Sunday is the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Link to resources: https://migrants-refugees.va/resource-center/world-day-of-migrants-refugees-2023/ “Seek the Lord while he may be found.” But on the other hand, God’s mercy is beyond measure, so that even those who come late to his vineyard will…
17 Sept 2023 – 24th Sunday, (A)
17 Sept 2023 – 24th Sunday, (A) It is inconsistent to celebrate our God as the Lord of compassion and love, unless we show mercy to those who have wronged us. Today’s Gospel calls us to forgive as Christ forgives us. Some of the finer minds among the Old Testament…
10 Sept 2023 – 23rd Sunday, (A)
10 Sept 2023 – 23rd Sunday, (A) We have a moral obligation to correct blatant wrongdoing, whether in the family, the workplace or society. But it is incumbent on those who have others in their care to offer correction with love and respect. The old dictum, “hate the sin but…
3 Sept 2023 – 22nd Sunday, (A)
3 Sept 2023 – 22nd Sunday, (A) Paul’s call to “present yourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” is meant to realise our full potential. Jeremiah and Jesus cling to God’s will before all else. This is a hopeful message to all whose life is a struggle,…
Presider’s Page for 3 September (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Creationtide)
Presider’s Page for 3 September (22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Creationtide) We gather to praise God and to ask for help and grace. We know the difficulties that can come when we try to live the right way. Often the road of life is like the way of the cross….
27 Aug 2023 – 21st Sunday, (A)
27 Aug 2023 – 21st Sunday, (A) (1) Isaiah 22:19-23 Isaiah warns Shebna that the key, the symbol of his authority, will be taken from him Thus says the Lord to Shebna, the master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down…
20 Aug 2023 – 20th Sunday, (A)
20 Aug 2023 – 20th Sunday, (A) (1) : Isaiah 56:1. 6-7 The Lord will bring foreigners to worship in Jerusalem Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest. Foreigners who have attached themselves to…
13 Aug 2023 – 19th Sunday, (A)
13 Aug 2023 – 19th Sunday, (A) (1) 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 God’s voice was like the gentle whisper of a breeze At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What are you doing here,…
6th August 2023 – The Transfiguration of the Lord
6th August 2023 – The Transfiguration of the Lord Theme: Three apostles were privileged to witness the inner life of Christ, revealed to them in splendour oh4>the holy mountain. We pray for a deeper experience of God in our own lives, and to share in his divine life 1st…
30 July 2023 – 17th Sunday, (A)
30 July 2023 – 17th Sunday, (A) Pray for the gift of discernment, something that we all need as our guide in making decisions. All things have their own intrinsic value, but if we over-value any of our favourite “things”, we devalue God. Deep down, I need to loosen my…
23 July 2023 – 16th Sunday, (A)
23 July 2023 – 16th Sunday, (A) World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly (1) Wisdom 12:13ff Because God is all-powerful he governs the world with patience, allowing time for repentance For who will say, “What have you done?” or who will resist your judgment? Who will accuse you for…
16 July 2023 – 15th Sunday, (A)
16 July 2023 – 15th Sunday, (A) (1) Isaiah 55:10-11 God’s word is like rain which fertilises the earth For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to…
9 July 2023 – 14th Sunday, (A)
9 July 2023 – 14th Sunday, (A) (1) Zechariah 9:9-10 Their king-Messiah will come humbly, riding on a donkey Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the…
2 July 2023 – 13th Sunday, (A)
2 July 2023 – 13th Sunday, (A) In the Eucharist we welcome Christ and are also welcomed by him, strengthened for our journey. With his grace, we try to extend the same welcome to others whose lives touch our own. (1) 2 Kings 4:8ff A woman welcomed Elisha, recognising him…
25 June 2023 – 12th Sunday, (A)
25 June 2023 – 12th Sunday, (A) (1) Jeremiah 20:10-13 Jeremiah is under stress from enemies, yet holds to his confidence in God For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he…
18 June 2023 – 11th Sunday, (A)
18 June 2023 – 11th Sunday, (A) Failures and scandals sometimes put the Church into deep crisis. Pray that God will provide worthy ministers for his church. (1) Exodus 19:2-6 God bore the people up on eagles’ wings, crossing the Sinai desert The people had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the…
11 June 2023 – Sunday – Corpus Christi, Year A
11 June 2023 – Sunday – Corpus Christi, Year A 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16 He gave you food which you and your ancestors did not know Moses said to the people: ‘Remember how the Lord your God led you for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to…
4 June 2023 – Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity
4 June 2023 – Sunday of the Most Holy Trinity 1st Reading: Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9 The Lord God, ruler of all, merciful and loving With the two tablets of stone in his hands, Moses went up the mountain of Sinai in the early morning as the Lord had commanded him….
28 May 2023 – Pentecost Sunday
28 May 2023 – Pentecost Sunday 1st Reading: Acts 2:1-11 The Spirit of God gives energy to the apostles and sends them out on their mission When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the…
21 May 2023 – The Ascension of the Lord, (A)
21 May 2023 – The Ascension of the Lord, (A) 1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11 Ascension concludes Jesus’ ministry on earth and prepares for the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day…
14 May 2023 – 6th Sunday of Easter, (A)
14 May 2023 – 6th Sunday of Easter, (A) 1st Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Philip’s mission in Samaria shows the joy of the original Gospel faith Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was…
7 May 2023 – 5th Sunday of Easter, (A)
7 May 2023 – 5th Sunday of Easter, (A) 1st Reading: Acts 6:1-7 Under pressure, a solution is found to deal with new needs of the community Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected…
30 April 2023 – 4th Sunday of Easter, (A)
30 April 2023 – 4th Sunday of Easter, (A) 1st Reading: Acts 2:14, 36-41 Paul and Barnabas preach the Gospel first to the Jews, then to pagans, who receive it with joy Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live…
23 April 2023 – 3rd Sunday of Easter, (A)
23 April 2023 – 3rd Sunday of Easter, (A) 1st Reading: Acts 2:14, 32-33 Jesus’ greatest moment was when God raised him to glory. His resurrection shows the Father’s plan for all of us Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all…
16 April 2023 – 2nd Sunday of Easter (A) – Divine Mercy Sunday
16 April 2023 – 2nd Sunday of Easter (A) – Divine Mercy Sunday 1st Reading: Acts 2:42-47 As a sign of their faith the early Christians shared their possessions They devoted themselves to the apostles” teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone,…
09 April 2023 – Easter Sunday Years A, B, C
09 April 2023 – Easter Sunday Years A, B, C 1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurrection Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the…
2 April 2023 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C
2 April 2023 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C (1) Isaiah 50:4-7 Words of the Suffering Servant: “I shall not be put to shame!” The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word….
26 Mar 2023 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year A
26 Mar 2023 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year A (1) Ezekiel 37:12-14 During the exile, God’s people were like a pile of dried bones Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves,…
19 Mar 2023 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A
19 Mar 2023 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A (1) 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 Samuel selects and anoints young David as future king of Israel The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your…
12 Mar 2023 – 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A
12 Mar 2023 – 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A (1) Exodus 17:3-7 God provides refreshes his people in the wilderness But the people thirsted there for water; and the people complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children…
5 Mar 2023 – 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A
5 Mar 2023 – 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year A (1) Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham shows complete obedience to God, prepared even to sacrifice Isaac Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I…
26 Feb 2023 – 1st Sunday of Lent (A)
26 Feb 2023 – 1st Sunday of Lent (A) During Lent we may reflect on our Baptism as a sharing in the life of Jesus. Our growing in the image of God has an aspect of dying to self and another aspect of rising to God’s new life of love….
19 Feb 2023 – 7th Sunday, (A)
19 Feb 2023 – 7th Sunday, (A) We naturally resent those who do us wrong. But nurtured hatred can come between us and God, who wants us to be forgiving. (1) Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 God calls each believer to love his neighbour as her/himself The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:…
12 Feb 2023 – 6th Sunday, (A)
12 Feb 2023 – 6th Sunday, (A) Using freedom well. It is not our misdeeds which accuse us before God, but our hearts, fractured and divided as they are. Jesus insists that we go deeper than our external deeds. The vital question is what is going on in our hearts,…
5 Feb 2023 – 5th Sunday, (A)
5 Feb 2023 – 5th Sunday, (A) Theme: Salt and Light Tyranny and oppression still flourish in many places abroad; and in less spectacular fashion closer to home. Unfairness and structural abuse often stare us in the face, such as long-term poverty, unemployment and homelessness. Christ invites us to solidarity…
29 Jan 2023 – 4th Sunday, (A)
29 Jan 2023 – 4th Sunday, (A) Theme: The beatitudes are the basic Christian ideals, not a moral code or a set of rules to avoid God’s punishment. They aim to raise our perspective above the constraints of self-interest and gain. (1) Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 For I will leave among…
22 Jan 2023 – 3rd Sunday, (A)
22 Jan 2023 – 3rd Sunday, (A) Sunday of the Word of God Catholic Schools week starts today (1) Isaiah 9:1-3 Isaiah foretells a Saviour for the people who walked in darkness In the former time God brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but…
15 Jan 2023 – 2nd Sunday, (A)
15 Jan 2023 – 2nd Sunday, (A) (1) Isaiah 49:3, 5-6 God is preparing his people Israel to become a light for all nations The Lord said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” And now the Lord says, who formed me in the…
Sunday – 08 January 2023. The Baptism of the Lord
Sunday – 08 January 2023. The Baptism of the Lord Theme: Jesus brings justice and divine life to the nations. As his baptised family, we seek the kingdom of God through justice and peace. 1st Reading: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 A courageous servant of God will help others to keep the…
1 Jan 2023 – Mary, The Holy Mother Of God
1 Jan 2023 – Mary, The Holy Mother Of God 1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27 A new-year prayer for God to bless and protect his people The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, The…
Christmas Day – Midnight Mass and Christmas Day Mass
25 Dec 2022 – Christmas Midnight Mass (Christmas Day Mass Readings follow below) 1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-7 God brings them from darkness and bring them to peace and security The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness on…
18 Dec 2022 – 4th Sunday in Advent, A
18 Dec 2022 – 4th Sunday in Advent, A 1st Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14 The prophecy about “Emmanuel — God with us” invites king Ahaz to trust Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as…
11 Dec 2022 – 3rd Sunday in Advent, A
11 Dec 2022 – 3rd Sunday in Advent, A Theme: Society finds it so hard to tolerate dissent that those who step out of line are often harshly treated. John the Baptist dared to castigate King Herod for his immoral example, and paid for it with his life. 1st Reading:…
4 Dec 2022 – 2nd Sunday in Advent, A
4 Dec 2022 – 2nd Sunday in Advent, A Theme: John the Baptist’s life work was preparing the way for our Messiah. Once Christ came, it only remained for John to disappear gracefully. Like John, we should make way for Christ in the lives of others. 1st Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10…
27 Nov 2022 – 1st Sunday in Advent, A
27 Nov 2022 – 1st Sunday in Advent, A 1st Reading: Isaiah 2:1-5 A happy future for all who seek the truth and work for peace The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be…
20 Nov 2022 – 34th Sunday (C) – Christ the King
20 Nov 2022 – 34th Sunday (C) – Christ the King (1) 2 Samuel 5:1-3 David becomes king of a united people All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us,…
13 Nov 2022 – 33rd Sunday (C)
13 Nov 2022 – 33rd Sunday (C) World Day of the Poor Towards the end of the church’s year, we remember the ‘last things’ and in particular, the Lord’s return. We should live our lives in the light of eternity (1) Malachi 3:19-20 The Day of the Lord will bring…
6 Nov 2022 – 32nd Sunday (C)
6 Nov 2022 – 32nd Sunday (C) All the Saints of Ireland is not celebrated this year. (1) 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Martyrdom of the brothers and their mother: faith in the resurrection Seven brothers and their mother were arrested and were being compelled by the king, under torture with…
30 October 2022 – 31st Sunday (C)
30 October 2022 – 31st Sunday (C) (1) Wisdom 11:22-12:2 Wisdom makes us humble in God’s presence In your sight, Lord, the whole world is like a grain of dust that tips the scales, like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all,…
23 October 2022 – 30th Sunday (C)
23 October 2022 – 30th Sunday (C) (1) Sirach/ Ecclesiasticus 35:15-22 The prayer of the humble will reach to the clouds The Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one…
16 October 2022 – 29th Sunday (C)
16 October 2022 – 29th Sunday (C) (1) Book of Exodus 17:8-13 When Moses prays with arms outstretched, God gives victory to his people Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow…
9 October 2022 – 28th Sunday (C)
9 October 2022 – 28th Sunday (C) (1) 2 Kings 5:14-17 When Naaman heeds Elisha and washes in the Jordan he is cured Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like…
2 Oct 2022 – 27th Sunday (C)
2 Oct 2022 – 27th Sunday (C) (1) Habbakuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 When the prophet mourns injustice, God promises a day of justice O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make…
25 Sept 2022 – 26th Sunday (C)
25 Sept 2022 – 26th Sunday (C) (1) Amos 6:1, 4-7 Amos laments the wealthy who care nothing for the poor Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge…
18 Sept 2022 – 25th Sunday (C) (1) Amos 8:4-7 God is concerned for justice and fair play Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and…
11 Sept 2022 – 24th Sunday (C)
11 Sept 2022 – 24th Sunday (C) (1) Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14 When the people worshipped idols, Moses won God’s pardon for them The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they have been quick…
4 Sept 2022 – 23rd Sunday (C)
4 Sept 2022 – 23rd Sunday (C) Theme: To share the vision of Jesus we need detachment from our possessions. Without the spirit of detachment we cannot be full disciples. (1) Wisdom 9:13-18 God gives us all the knowledge we need to be saved For who can learn the counsel…
28 Aug 2022 – 22nd Sunday, Cycle C
28 Aug 2022 – 22nd Sunday, Cycle C (1) Sirach/ Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20, 28-29 A person attentive to God will never reject wisdom My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so…
21 Aug 2022 – 21st Sunday (C)
21 Aug 2022 – 21st Sunday (C) The value of a disciplined life is little mentioned in a permissive society. But the theme of the “narrow door” is there to make us think. (1) Isaiah 66:18-21 The returning Jews bring non-Jews to join in the worship of God The Lord…
14 Aug 202 – 20th Sunday (C)
14 Aug 202 – 20th Sunday (C) (1) Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Jeremiah is dropped into a well to die, but is saved by a foreigner The officials said to the king, “This Jeremiah ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this…
7 Aug 2022 – 19th Sunday (C)
7 Aug 2022 – 19th Sunday (C) (1) Wisdom 18:6-9 Learn from the Exodus: God will save us from all dangers That night was made known beforehand to our ancestors, so that they might rejoice in sure knowledge of the oaths in which they trusted. The deliverance of the righteous…
31 July 2022 – 18th Sunday (C)
31 July 2022 – 18th Sunday (C) The Rich Fool stands as a warning against clinging to our comforts while knowing that others starve. The heartless economic model proposed by globalised capitalism and our accumulative society adds to the world’s inequalities and tensions. (1) Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 “Vanity of vanities!”…
24 July 2022 – 17th Sunday (C)
24 July 2022 – 17th Sunday (C) (1) Genesis 18:20-32 Abraham intercedes and haggles with God to spare the city of Sodom The Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done…
17 July 2022 – 16th Sunday (C)
17 July 2022 – 16th Sunday (C) (1) Genesis 18:1-10 Welcoming the strangers, Abraham was really in the presence of God The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and…
10 July 2022 – 15th Sunday (C)
10 July 2022 – 15th Sunday (C) (1) Deuteronomy 30:10-14 To God’s chosen people the commandments are not a burden but a privelege Moses said to the people: “When you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law,…
3 July 2022 – 14th Sunday (C)
3 July 2022 – 14th Sunday (C) (1) Isaiah 66:10-14 After the Exile, Jerusalem is like a mother nursing her child at the breast Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her, that you…
26 June 2022 – 13th Sunday (C)
26 June 2022 – 13th Sunday (C) (1) 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 Elisha immediately answers his call; leaving all he follows Elijah The Lord said to Elijah, “You shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet…
19 June 2022 – Corpus Christi – The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Corpus Christi, Year C 1st Reading: Genesis 14:18-20 Melchizedek brought bread and wine and pronounced a blessing Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. He pronounced this blessing: ‘Blessed be Abraham by God Most High, creator of heaven and earth, and…
12 June 2022 – The Most Holy Trinity
Holy Trinity, Year C 1st Reading: Proverbs (8:22-31 Wisdom is the first-born of creation The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were…
5 June 2022 – Pentecost Sunday
Pentecost Sunday (Note choice for Second Reading and Gospel) 1st Reading: Acts 2:1-11 The Spirit of God gives energy to the apostles and sends them out on their mission When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a…
29 May 2022 – The Ascension of the Lord
The Ascension of the Lord 1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11 Ascension concludes Jesus’ ministry on earth and prepares for the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up…
22 May 2022 – 6th Sunday of Easter, Year C
At this Council, the leaders made decisions with the consent of the congregation
15 May 2022 – 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C
15 May 2022 – 5th Sunday of Easter, Year C 1st Reading: Acts 14:21-27 Paul situates Jesus as the goal of the history of God’s people Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for…
8 May 2022 – 4th Sunday of Easter, Year C
8 May 2022 – 4th Sunday of Easter, Year C We celebrate Christ our Good Shepherd. Hearing his voice in the proclamation of the gospel, we follow him by living the gospel. 1st Reading: Acts 13:14, 43-52 Paul and Barnabas preach first to the Jews, then to the pagans They…
Presider’s Page for the 4th Sunday of Easter
Presider’s Page for the 4th Sunday of Easter Opening Comment The fourth Sunday of Easter is often called Good Shepherd Sunday, because the readings are about the care we receive from Christ, our true shepherd. Today is also the day of prayer for vocations. Alternative Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal)…
01 May 2022 – 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C
01 May 2022 – 3rd Sunday of Easter, Year C 1st Reading: Acts 5:27-32, 40-41 The apostles were put on trial for preaching the Gospel When they had brought them, they had them stand before the council. The high priest questioned them, saying, “We gave you strict orders not to…
24th April 2022 – 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year C
24th April 2022 – 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year C 1st Reading: Acts 5:12-16 High morale and healing influence of the early Christians Many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join…
17th April 2022 – Easter Sunday (same for Years A, B, C)
17th April 2022 – Easter Sunday (same for Years A, B, C) 1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurrection Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee…
10th April 2022 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C
10th April 2022 – Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday) Years A, B, C (1) Isaiah 50:4-7 The Suffering Servant will not be put to shame The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning…
3rd April 2022 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year C
3rd April 2022 – 5th Sunday of Lent, Year C (1) Isaiah 43:16-21 The prophet promises the exiles a new Exodus Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down,…
27 March 2022 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year C
27 March 2022 – 4th Sunday of Lent, Year C (1) Joshua 5:9-12 The Israelites, free at last from slavery and humiliation in Egypt, enter the land of promise The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.” And so that place is…
20 March 2022 – 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C
20 March 2022 – 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year C (1) Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 God pities his people in Egypt and will free them, through Moses Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb,…
13 March 2022 – 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year C
13 March 2022 – 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year C (1) Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The covenant with Abraham, basis of Israel’s religion of trust He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So…
6 March 2022- First Sunday of Lent (C)
6 March 2022- First Sunday of Lent (C) (1) Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Offering the firsts fruits of harvest, they give thanks to God When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response before the…
27 February 2022 – 8th Sunday (C)
27 February 2022 – 8th Sunday (C) Our Lord invites us to take the plank out of our own eyes before we try to take the splinter out of others’ eyes. It is good to take a hard look at ourselves and our own shortcomings (1) Sirach 27: 4-7 Three…
20 February 2022 – 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
20 February 2022 – 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) Today we celebrate Jesus as the Lord of compassion and love. We cannot honestly approach his altar if we are still bearing grudges against others. We ask him to rid us of our petty vengefulness 1st Reading:1 Samuel 26:2,…
13 February 2022. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
13 February 2022. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) Jeremiah tells us whom we can really trust. Even leaders can lead us astray. Our primary trust is in the Lord, who guides our lives. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-8 Trust in human resources is like a withering shrub in the arid…
6th February. Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
6th February. Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Theme: When Jesus told Peter to put out into the deep he was encouraging him to have trust. Trust in God is a virtue not only for fishermen but for all Christians. We need it more than ever, today. 1st Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8…
30 January 2022. Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
30 January 2022. Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) What happened in the Nazareth synagogue can happen today in the church. We may carry prejudices with us into our places of worship, and if we do, we block the message God wants to give us. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19…
23 January 2022. Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
23 January 2022. Third Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C). Sunday of the Word of God (see below) Neh 8:2-6, 8-10. Ezra the Scribe set out to re-establish the Jewish Laws, to bring his people back to the religion of Moses. 1 Cor 12:12-30. As the body is one though made…
16 January 2022. Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
16 January 2022. Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Theme: Like Mary and Jesus, we should help without being asked and without fuss or demand. 1st Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5 God has prepared joyful feast for his people For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will…
09 January 2022. The Baptism of the Lord
09 January 2022. The Baptism of the Lord Theme: Jesus brings justice and divine life to the nations. As his baptised family, we seek the kingdom of God through justice and peace. [Two sets of readings are options to choose from. These below are from Year C.] First Reading: Isaiah…
2 January 2022 – Second Sunday of Christmas
2 January 2022 – Second Sunday of Christmas Prayer (ICEL 1998) God most high, your only Son embraced the weakness of our flesh to give us the power to become your children; your eternal Word chose to dwell among us, that we might live in your presence. Grant us a…
Sunday 26 December 2021 – The Feast of the Holy Family
Sunday 26 December 2021 – The Feast of the Holy Family (St Stephen, first martyr, is not celebrated this year.) 1st Reading: 1 Samuel 1:20-22 Hannah dedicates her son, Samuel, to God In due time Hannah conceived and bore a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, “I have…
Sunday December 19 2021. Fourth Sunday in Advent
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Sunday December 12, 2021. Third Sunday in Advent
As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John , whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to…
Sunday, November 28 2021. First Sunday of Advent
“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.”
Sunday, November 21 2021, Thirty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Pilate asked him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
Sunday, November 14 2021 Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the…
May 30 2021 The Most Holy Trinity
Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’
May 23 2021 Pentecost Sunday
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
May 16 2021 The Ascension of the Lord – World Communications Day
So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied…
May 9 2021 Sixth Sunday of Easter
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. “If…
May 2 2021 Fifth Sunday of Easter
All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.
April 25 2021 Fourth Sunday of Easter
I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.
April 18, 2021. Third Sunday of Easter
Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread. While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified, and thought…
April 11, 2021. Second Sunday of Easter. Divine Mercy Sunday
A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and…
April 4, 2021. Easter Day of the Lord’s Resurrection
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus” head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first,…
March 28, 2021. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail,…
Sunday March 21, 2021. Fifth Sunday of Lent
“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say ” ‘ Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this our. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it…
March 14, 2021. Fourth Sunday of Lent
And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. But those…
March 7, 2021. Third Sunday of Lent
The Jews then said to him, “What sign can you show us for doing this?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six Years, and will you raise it up in…
February 28, 2021 – Second Sunday of Lent
Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud there came a voice, “This is my Son, the Beloved; listen to him!” Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more, but only Jesus. As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell…
February 21, 2021 – First Sunday of Lent
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”
February 14, 2021 – Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
A leper came to Jesus begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was…
February 7, 2021 – Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him, they said to him, “Everyone is searching for you.” He answered, “Let us go on…
January 31, 2021 Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching-with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
January 24, 2021 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time – Sunday of the Word of God
Peter, Andrew, James and John were called to leave their natural family to embrace a much larger family, the future family of Jesus’ disciples. The Lord’s call to us to follow him today will always involve some element of that call to open ourselves up to a wider family, the…
January 17, 2021 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 17, 2021 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (1) 1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19 The call of young Samuel, one of the great vocation stories Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here…
3 January – 2nd Sunday after Christmas
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…
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
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…
4th Sunday of Advent
We like to be the givers, the organizers, the achievers. To let others give to us is to acknowledge our need, our dependence, our limitations, and that does not always come easy…
3rd Sunday in Advent
The Baptist was a voice crying in the wilderness, a voice to invite people into relationship with God. We too are asked to use our voice to make Christ known…
2nd Sunday of Advent
Like a shepherd feeding his flock, gathering lambs in his arms, holding them to his breast, and gently leading the mother-ewes who are due to give birth…
29 November, 2020. First Sunday of Advent
“Keep awake-for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.”
22 November, 2020. Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
22 November, 2020. Jesus Christ, King of the Universe On this, the last Sunday in the liturgical year, we honour Christ the King. It is a feast on which to renew our loyalty to Jesus our Saviour, shown in the way that we love our neighbour. The shepherd-theme is prominent,…
15 November, 2020. 33rd Sunday, Year A
15 November, 2020. 33rd Sunday, Year A Today’s gospel focuses on the kind of behaviour that will be tested in Final Judgment. We are here and now writing the book of evidence for that judgement on the value of lives. A key element is the use of the talents and…
08 November, 2020. 32nd Sunday, Year A
08 November, 2020. 32nd Sunday, Year A If we hope in the resurrection, despite our grieving we have hope. The hopefulness of Wisdom is given sharper focus by St Paul, who says that all we have lost will be restored when Jesus returns in glory. 1st Reading: Wisdom 6:12-16 In…
01 November, 2020. All Saints Day
01 November, 2020. All Saints Day 1st Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Vast numbers were sealed with the sign of the Living God I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four…
25 October, 2020. 30th Sunday, Year A
25 October, 2020. 30th Sunday, Year A Our Gospel celebrates the great commandment of love. To love our neighbour as God does, prejudices based on race, religion or colour have to go. The revelation at Mount Sinai prompted a sense of fairness towards others, deeper than specific commandments. Jesus demonstrates…
18 October, 2020. 29th Sunday, Year A
18 October, 2020. 29th Sunday, Year A 1st Reading: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6 Providence appointed king Cyrus to liberate Israel from the exile in Babylon Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their robes,…
11 October, 2020. 28th Sunday, Year A
11 October, 2020. 28th Sunday, Year A By baptism we are called to the weding feast in the kingdom of God. But somehow, we need get a wedding garment, to take our place at the feast. While the Gospel invites us to reflect on how we are doing, it is…
04 October, 2020. 27th Sunday, Year A
04 October, 2020. 27th Sunday, Year A The church is the choice vineyard of the Lord, planted for a noble and productive purpose. Here we can grow to maturity in the sunshine of God’s grace. But the vineyard can fall into disuse, or fail to produce the expected fruits of…
26th Sunday, Year A
St Paul practiced what he preached. Writing from his prison cell he still finds joy and hope and longs for final union with Christ …
20 September, 2020. 25th Sunday, Year A
Of this joyful relationship with God Paul was a shining example. While threatened with persecution he is filled with the joy of Christ. His life is already united with Christ’s life, and he longs for the fulfilment of final union.
13 September, 2020. 24th Sunday, Year A
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. Whatever we do influences each other, either for good or ill. And if we are hurt, we cannot fully forgive without remembering our own forgiveness from God.
30 August, 2020. 22nd Sunday, Year A
We might overly focus on the “renunciation” in today’s Gospel so as to miss its positive aspect. All growth, all lasting achievement demands effort and sacrifice. Yet the sacrifice can be a satisfying part of experience, when orientated towards a high and valued goal. (Examples: athletic training; mountain-climbing; studying a…
23 August, 2020. 21st Sunday, Year A
What of today’s Church, spread in all continents, united under the leadership of Pope Francis? How can this work of teaching, encouraging and uniting so many millions of baptised believers be carried on? Jesus remains at the centre, as the Christ, Son of the Living God, and He continues to…
21 June, 2020. 12th Sunday, Year A
21 June, 2020. 12th Sunday, Year A 1st Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13 Jeremiah is under stress from enemies, yet holds to his confidence in God For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps…
31 May, 2020. Pentecost Sunday, Year A
On Pentecost day humanity appears at its best, Spirit-inspired, united and sharing in wisdom…
24 May, 2020. The Ascension of the Lord
If we treasure it, we can experience fully that "Joy of the Gospel" so warmly described for us by our good Pope Francis….
17 May, 2020. 6th Sunday of Easter
Reverence for God, respect and courtesy for others are parts of the same virtue…
10 May, 2020. 5th Sunday of Easter
This welcoming God is the one that our church worships, and we renew our trust in Him…
03 May, 2020. 4th Sunday of Easter
The parish is a priestly people. How will the priesthood of the baptised be exercised in the coming decades?…
26 April, 2020. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Today we repeat our personal YES of trust and commitment. What the Lord invites is our YES to his presence with us, here and now…
19 April, 2020. 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
As we join in our Sunday Mass we are here to meet the risen Christ in person, just as St Thomas did…
12 April, 2020. Easter Sunday
Through the power of the resurrection, we can all have hope and joy, and go out to share them by our way of living…
05 April, 2020. Palm Sunday, [Passion Sunday]
Christ was no stranger to hardship, privation and suffering. Being in the form of God, from the moment he came on earth, Jesus emptied himself…
05 April, 2020. Palm Sunday, (Passion Sunday)
Christ was no stranger to hardship, privation and suffering. Being in the form of God, from the moment he came on earth, Jesus emptied himself,..
29 March, 2020. 5th Sunday of Lent
Like all others, we are humbled by the inevitability of death. But we trust in the goodness of God, demonstrated in the life and words of Jesus….
22 March, 2020. 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A
He is in our midst, he walks among us as the supreme healer, his hand ever ready to touch us, to take away our blindness…
15 March, 2020. 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A
The vision of eternal life brought them hope and joy that made all their efforts and sacrifices worthwhile…
08 March, 2020. 2nd Sunday of Lent
Hearing God’s word and acting on it, made Abraham the great pilgrim of faith. His journey is the classic model of meaningful living….
01 March, 2020. 1st Sunday of Lent (A)
Why does the number of suicides keep rising, in spite of our prosperity? Why do we need to barricade ourselves…?
23 February, 2020. 07th Sunday, Year A
Mercy is the outstanding gift of God even of the “Old Testament God” whom many imagine as predominantly harsh and punitive …
16 February, 2020. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus promoted an atmosphere of openness and trust. What he offers as a supplement to the Law of Moses is a morality of values held from the heart…
09 February, 2020. 5th Sunday, Year A
How to reconcile “letting our light shine” with the fact that Jesus spent most of his own life quietly in Nazareth? …
02 February, 2020. The Presentation of the Lord (Sunday)
We share our joy with others because the Lord who entered his temple has entered our lives too. Today we learn from Simeon and Anna how to welcome his gracious coming…
26 January, 2020. 3rd Sunday, Year A
He had taken to drink and lost his way, and was now homeless. It was a shock to Leonardo, and a prod to conversion for the man who modeled as Judas…
19 January, 2020. 2nd Sunday (Year A)
An honest stock-taking of ourselves may unveil the selfish motives that often direct our actions…
12 January, 2020. The Baptism of the Lord
Peter summarised the pattern of Christ’s life as, “He went about doing good and healing …for God was with him.”
05 January, 2020. Second Sunday of Christmas
Prayer (ICEL 1998) God most high, your only Son embraced the weakness of our flesh to give us the power to become your children; your eternal Word chose to dwell among us, that we might live in your presence. Grant us a spirit of wisdom to know how rich is…
29 December. The Holy Family (Sunday)
Whenever families are happy, it is where love and respect are highly prized among them. We pray for an outpouring of those qualities in our families today…
25 December 2019. Christmas (Midnight & Midday)
In some sense we too can bring Christ to birth, by fully embracing God’s will, as we perceive it in our own lives…
22 December. 4th Sunday of Advent
In our encounters with people who reflect Christ and his gospel we can find signs of God to confirm our faith…
15 December. 3rd Sunday of Advent
John’s faith in Jesus was made strong, enabling him to stick to his guns and accept a martyr’s death.
08 December, 2019. 2nd Sunday of Advent (A)
Of course, Christmas, our preparations for it, have great aspects also. But it’s too easy to lose all sense of what we are actually celebrating and recalling.
01 December, 2019. First Sunday in Advent
The coming of the Christ was and is the best of good news, a gift beyond imagining…
24 November, 2019. Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
People with imperial power were at a loss in face of the moral power of Christ. Their reaction was to strike out blindly, to violently crush his threat to their power…
17 November, 2019. 33rd Sunday (C)
As the church’s year is ending, we remember the ‘last things’ and in particular, the promise of Our Lord’s return. This invites us to live our lives in the light of eternity…
10 November, 2019. 32nd Sunday (C)
With eyes of faith, we see life as a journey towards the destiny God has in store for us; for “In my Father’s house… and I am going to prepare a place for you.”
03 November, 2019. 31st Sunday (C)
The meeting with Zacchaeus higlights the mindset of Jesus towards ministry. He cames “to seek out and save what was lost.” If we recognise our “lostness.” ..
27 October, 2019. 30th Sunday (C)
Opposites can attract: In marriage and other human relationships we often notice how unlike personalities complement each other. But opposites can also be far apart, like the tax collector (far off), and the Pharisee, (confident and up-front)…
20 October, 2019. 29th Sunday (C)
There was something the widow badly wanted, and, despite has heartlessness, the judge had to give in to her eventually, as she showed no sign of giving up…
13 October, 2019. 28th Sunday (C)
One of the lepers, who knew that he was healed, showed great appreciation. He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan…
06 October, 2019. 27th Sunday (C)
Early in the morning Jesus often went up the hillside, his favourite place for quiet prayer. When visiting Jerusalem, he spent nights at prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane…
29 September, 2019. 26th Sunday (C)
“Please send him to my father’s house to warn my five brothers, to keep them from coming into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’
22 September, 2019. 25th Sunday (C)
We may worry about devaluation and shrinking purchasing power as we recall what money could buy when we were young. But what really devalues money is if we make it an idol, or use it purely selfishly…
Presider’s Page for 15 September (Ordinary Time 24)
Our God seeks out sinners to forgive them. At this Sunday’s gathering, we worship our loving and compassionate God.
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Presider’s Page for 15 September (Ordinary Time 24)
Our God seeks out sinners to forgive them. At this Sunday’s gathering, we worship our loving and compassionate God.
15 September, 2019. 24th Sunday (C)
As in Moses’ day, the passions of hatred, anger and revenge are alive and well in our world today. Proxy civil wars are stirred up and prolonged by outside powers, with masses of guns and weapons of mass destruction piled up…
08 September, 2019. 23rd Sunday (C)
Jesus warns that we cannot share his vision unless we hold our possessions loosely. Without detachment we cannot be full disciples of the Christ who emptied himself….
01 September, 2019. 22nd Sunday (C)
The parable suggests, “Respect others; be open to them. Don’t put up barriers against others, like the Pharisees.” Another possible interpretation is that we ourselves are the poor, the lame and the blind…
25 August, 2019. 21st Sunday (C)
Today’s Scriptures speak of an orderly, self-disciplined life, a topic often ignored in a permissive society. We could reflect on this theme as part of the overall scheme of divine justice in history…
18 August, 2019. 20th Sunday (C)
The moral courage to speak out against abuse seems in short supply. It always feels safer to keep our heads down and just go with the herd; but this is not the way to which Christ calls us….
17 August, 2019. Saturday of Week 19
There was tension between those who wanted Jesus to bless their children and those who felt that children were a noisy distraction, who should be seen and not heard. When they blocked the parents from bringing their children to him, Jesus was not a merely impartial spectator. ..
11 August, 2019. 19th Sunday (C)
Faith is a special form of knowing, as when we come to know and appreciate a friend. Faith is an awareness, that God is guiding and helping us. We see it in Abraham, in Jesus and other great figures in the Bible…
04 August. 18th Sunday (C)
On not making fortunes while ignoring the poverty of others. Our globalised capitalism and selfishness add to the world’s inequalities…
28 July. 17th Sunday (C)
The power of intercession for others, as an expression of love. The Gospel seems to commend both praying alone as well as in praying with others.
21 July. 16th Sunday (C)
This story shows Jesus in an everyday setting among people that he loved and who loved him,,,
07 July. 14th Sunday (C)
Our discipleship can be summed up in two phrases: “Come and see” and “Go and tell”…
30 June 2019. 13th Sunday (C)
Persevering in following him; keeping our hands firmly on the plough, and looking forward, not back.
23 June 2019. The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Jesus took two basics of life, Bread and Wine, and promised that whenever they gathered to share them with a prayer, he would be with them. ..
16 June 2019. 11th Sunday (C)
The Holy Trinity, the inner self-communication of God, is a profound mystery: how God can be one divinity, shared between three persons….
09 June 2019. Pentecost Sunday
The Spirit was breathing where he would and the prayer “Jesus is Lord” would be their motto. They stayed drunk for life, in this sense…
02 June 2019. The Ascension of the Lord
“You will be clothed with power from on high” — this is how St Luke interprets the Lord’s Last Will and Testament…
26 May, 2019. 6th Sunday of Easter
God will always keep his pledge. It is up to us to keep ours. When we come to the end of life’s pilgrimage and make our last goodbye, it will be literally Adieu, “going to God.”
19 May, 2019. 5th Sunday of Easter
The apostles did not dwell on suffering in any morbid way. Their purpose was to put fresh heart into the disciples, to encourage them to persevere in the faith, just as Paul urged..
Presider’s Page for 19 May (Fifth Sunday of Easter)
We gather to praise God who raised his son Jesus from the dead. We celebrate this victory over sin and death, and pray for enthusiasm as we try to pass on the Good News.
Presider’s Page for 19 May (Fifth Sunday of Easter)
We gather to praise God who raised his son Jesus from the dead. We celebrate this victory over sin and death, and pray for enthusiasm as we try to pass on the Good News.
12 May, 2019. 4th Sunday of Easter
Church leaders need to think soberly about the structures that can help foster genuine vocations to ministry in the future. It may well be that celibacy..
05 May, 2019. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Today’s story reflects the miracle of salvation as an offer. Through his church, Christ has thrown over us his net of salvation, a net of grace…
28 April 2019. 2nd Sunday of Easter
Sharing in the Eucharist is a statement of loyalty, both of personal and shared faith…
21 April 2019. Easter Sunday.
On Easter morning, the stone was rolled back from the mouth of the tomb. Is my heart be ike a tomb awaiting resurrection? Can I identify any “gravestone” that is holding me back
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Our liturgy this week invites us to follow Jesus every step of the way, beginning with his triumphant entry into Jerusalem…
The 5th Sunday of Lent
What did Jesus write with his finger on the ground? The Gospel gives us a possible clue..
31 March: 4th Sunday of Lent
Luke 15 may be the best short story that was ever written. Some of its phrases are so powerful that they have become proverbial… 1st Reading: Joshua 5:9-12 The Israelites, free at last from slavery and humiliation in Egypt, enter the land of promise The Lord said to Joshua, “Today…
24 March: 3rd Sunday of Lent
(n.b. Any parish seeking a priest to help in July-Aug. 2019, click here.) Jesus rejects the popular myth that all misfortunes are divine punishments.. We are not to imagine a stern, punitive God… 1st Reading: Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 God pities his people in Egypt and will free them, through Moses…
8th Sunday (Year C)
*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…
24 February. 7th Sunday (C)
Honouring Jesus as Lord of compassion and love, we cannot approach his altar, bearing grudges against others…. 1st Reading:1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23 Saul, jealous of the young David, wants to kill him
17 February. 6th Sunday (C)
Jeremiah tells us whom we can really trust. Even leaders can lead us astray. Our primary trust is in the Lord, who guides our lives. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-8 Trust in human resources is like a withering shrub in the arid desert Thus says the Lord: “Cursed are those who…
20 January. 2nd Sunday (C)
1st Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5 God has prepared joyful feast for his people For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and…
16 December. 3rd Sunday of Advent
1st Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18 Salvation is near and God will protect his people Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel,…
09 December. 2nd Sunday of Advent
1st Reading: Baruch 5:1-9 God will level out a highway for the exiles to return The Lord says this: Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes…
02 December 2018. 1st Sunday of Advent
Advent invites us to think some new thoughts, imagine new projects, and focus our basic options at the start of a the Church’s year of worship. We renew our welcome to Jesus as the anchor of our lives, and prepare for his return at the end of time. Advent is…
25 November. Christ the King of the Universe
1st Reading: Daniel (7:13-14) A vision of the glorious Son of Man As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven. And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him. To him was given dominion and…
04 November. 31st Sunday
1st Reading: Deuteronomy (6:1-6) Israel’s fundamental act of faith: the Shema [Moses said to the people] “This is the commandment that the Lord your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children…
21 October. 29th Sunday
1st Reading: Isaiah (53:10-11) God’s faithful Servant bears our sins and sorrow; but he will prevail It was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the…
14 October. 28th Sunday
1st Reading: Wisdom (7:7-11) Solomon praises Wisdom as more precious than gold, silver, health, or beauty I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to sceptres and thrones, and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison…
07 October. 27th Sunday
1st Reading: Genesis (2:18-24) God intends man and woman to join as one flesh Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of…
30 September. 26th Sunday
1st Reading: Numbers (11:25-29) Moses shares the leadership with others who share in his prophetic gift Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested…
23 September. 25th Sunday
1st Reading: Wisdom (2:12, 17-20) The cruelty of the wicked against good people [The wicked say to each other], “Let us lie in wait or the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of…
16 September. 24th Sunday
1st Reading: Isaiah (50:5-9) The redemptive suffering servant was not rebellious. did not turn away from sacrifice The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled…
9th September. 23rd Sunday
1st Reading: Isaiah (35:4-7) Those who fear the future may take heart, for God will save his people Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.”…
26 August. 21st Sunday
1st Reading: Joshua (24:1-2, 15-18) When the people cross over to the Promised Land, will they continue to serve the true God? Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God….
19 August. 20th Sunday
1st Reading: Proverbs (9:1-6) Wisdom has built her house, with seven pillars Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn herself seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her servant girls, she calls from the…
12 August. 19th Sunday
1st Reading: 1 Kings (19:4-8) Elijah is a dispirited; but revived by food and drink, he reaches the mountain of God Elijah went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O…
05 August. 18th Sunday
1st Reading: Exodus (16:2-4, 12-15) God feeds the Israelites in the desert by sending them manna and quails The whole congregation of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land…
29 July. 17th Sunday
1st Reading: 2 Kings (4:42-44) Elisha miraculously provides food for a hundred men A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let…
22 July. 16th Sunday
1st Reading: Jeremiah (23:1-6) I will raise up for David a righteous Branch The Lord says, “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: “It is you who have…
15 July. 15th Sunday
1st Reading: Amos (7:12-15) Amos is called by God to be a prophet Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a…
08 July. 14th Sunday
1st Reading: Ezekiel (2:2-5) God sends Ezekiel to tell people of their sins and call them to repentance When he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, “Mortal, I am sending you…
01 July. 13th Sunday
1st Reading: Wisdom (1:13-15, 2:23-24) Whatever God makes is wholesome. We are meant for immortality God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and…
24 June, 2018. Birthday of St. John the Baptist
1st Reading: Isaiah (49:1-6) The Lord called me before I was born; in my mother’s womb he named me Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. He…
17 June, 2018. 11th Sunday
1st Reading: Ezekiel (17:22-24) It is God who plants and makes fruitful, who raises up and humbles Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost…
10 June, 2018. 10th Sunday
Moral evil is too widely provable to dismiss it as merely a religious notion. It can thrive because so many choose to ignore its existence. Like the Psalmist, we recognise it in ourselves and seek forgiveness. 1st Reading: Book of Genesis 3:9-15, 20) Enmity between the serpent and the woman;…
03 June, 2018. Corpus Christi (The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ)
1st Reading: Exodus (24:3-8) Moses and the people accept their covenant with God on Mount Sinai Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, “All the words that the Lord has spoken…
27 May, 2018. The Most Holy Trinity
(Saint Augustine of Canterbury is not celebrated this year) 1st Reading: Deuteronomy (4:32-34, 39-40) The great God of heaven and earth guides us by his word For ask now about former ages, long before your own, ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth; ask from…
20 May, 2018. Pentecost Sunday
1st Reading: Acts (2:1-11) The Spirit of God gives energy to the apostles and sends them out on their mission When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and…
13 May, 2018. The Ascension of the Lord
1st Reading: Acts (1:1-11) Ascension: Jesus promises the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the…
06 May, 2018. Sixth Sunday of Easter
1st Reading: Acts (10:25-26, 33-35, 44-48) Peter baptises the household of the centurion, Cornelius On Peter’s arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him. But Peter made him get up, saying, “Stand up; I am only a mortal.” Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have…
29 April. 5th Sunday of Easter
Acts 9:26-31 + Psalm 22 + 1 John 3:18-24 + John 15:1-8 1st Reading: Acts (9:26-31) Barnabas introduces Paul the convert to the church in Jerusalem When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe…
22 April. 4th Sun. of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday)
Acts 4:8-12 ** Psalm 118 ** 1 John 3:1-2 ** John 10:11-18 1st Reading: Acts (4:8-12) Only by the power of the risen Jesus can we be saved Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to the Jewish leaders, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today…
15 April. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:13-15 + Psalm Ps 4 + 1 John 2:1-5 + Luke 24:35-48 1st Reading: Acts (3:13-15) Peter blames the people for the death of Jesus, and calls them to repentance Peter said to the people: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the…
15 April. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Acts 3:13-15 + Psalm Ps 4 + 1 John 2:1-5 + Luke 24:35-48 1st Reading: Acts (3:13-15) Peter blames his Jewish listeners for the death of Jesus, and calls them to repentance Peter said to the people: “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,…
25 March. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Isaiah 50:4-7 + Psalm 22 + Philippians 2:5-11 + Mark 14:1–15:47 Procession of Palms: Mark 11:1-10 When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as…
18 March. Fifth Sunday of Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34 + Psalm 51 + Hebrews 5:7-10 + John 12:20-30 1st Reading: Jeremiah (31:31-34) The new covenant, written on the human heart “The days are surely coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It…
11 March. Fourth Sunday of Lent
2 Chron 36:14ff + Psalm 137 + Ephesians 2:4ff + John 3:14-21 For a fine choral version of “God so loved the world” (Jn 3:15) click here. 1st Reading: 2 Chronicles (36:14-16, 19-23) The sinful people are exiled to Babylon; but God’s mercy will bring them back All the leading…
04 March. Third Sunday of Lent
Exod 20:1-17 + Ps 19 + 1 Cor 1:22-25 + Jn 2:13-25 1st Reading: Exodus (20:1-17) The Ten Commandments, given to Moses on Mount Sinai Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house…
25 February. Second Sunday of Lent
NB: Saints in the Liturgical Year 1st Reading: Genesis 22:1-2, 9-13, 15-18 The Binding of Isaac shows Abraham’s complete obedience to God After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love,…
11 February. Sixth Sunday (Ord. Time)
1st Reading: Leviticus 13:1ff Lepers must live apart from the community. Only a priest can pronounce a leper cured The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a…
04 February. Fifth Sunday (Ord. Time)
1st Reading: Job 7:1-4, 6-7 Job wrestles with the problem of innocent suffering Do not human beings have a hard service on earth, and are not their days like the days of a laborer? Like a slave who longs for the shadow, and like laborers who look for their wages,…
28 January. 4th Sunday
(Saint Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church. Not celebrated this year.) 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Moses predicts the coming of a future prophet greater than himself The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet lie me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet….
21 January. 3rd Sunday
1st Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Jonah’s preaching helps to convert the pagans of Nineveh The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah set out and went…
07 January. The Baptism of the Lord (1st Sunday, Ordinary Time)
1st Reading: Isaiah 55:1-11 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you…
06 January. The Epiphany of the Lord
1st Reading: Isaiah 60:1-6 The Messiah will reveal his glory to all the nations Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and…
31 Dec. 2017. (Sunday.) The Holy Family
See our Readings app (NRSV; android) @ Google Playstore. 1st Reading: Genesis 15:1-6; 21:1-3 Abraham and Sarah are given a child as a reward for their faith After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield;…
25 December 2017. (A). Midnight Mass of the Nativity of Our Lord
25 December 2017. (A). Midnight Mass of the Nativity of Our Lord
17 December 2017. 3rd Sunday of Advent
Gaudete Sunday has this joyful Advent message: “Rejoice always .. give thanks .. hold fast to what is good.” See our Readings app (NRSV; android) @ Google Playstore. Also the Readings in the Jerusalem Bible version 1st Reading: Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11 Our guidance comes from God’s Spirit The spirit of…
10 December 2017. 2nd Sunday of Advent
John the Baptist prepares the way. When Jesus arrives, John disappears gracefully from the scene. See our Readings app (NRSV; android) @ Google Playstore. Also: Kieran O’Mahony’s exegetical comments on the Readings 1st Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 God is coming to save his people and to open up our way…
03 December 2017. 1st Sunday of Advent
See our Readings app (NRSV; android) @ Google Playstore. Also: Sunday Readings in the Jerusalem Bible version 1st Reading: Isaiah 63:16-17, 64:1-8 The prophet laments his people’s sins but trusts in God’s mercy For you are our father, though Abraham does not know us and Israel does not acknowledge us;…
12 November 2017. 32nd Sunday in Ord Time
Saint Josaphat Christian Optimism: Everyone suffers sometime from bereavement, and some losses are especially hard to bear. But if we hope in the resurrection we need not grieve like others who have no hope. The quiet optimism shining through the book of Wisdom gets a personal focus in Paul: everything…
29 October. 30th Sunday in OT
Saint Colman, bishop To love our neighbour as God does, prejudices of race, religion and colour have to go. The Torah urges fairness towards others as a principle deeper than specific laws. Jesus shows a life of utterly unselfish loving, inviting us to that quality of life. For Saint Paul,…
22 October. 29th Sunday in OT
Saint John Paul II, Pope We live in a very challenging pluralist world. Only the grace of God and the depth of our convictions can help faith to thrive in our society. But throughout history faith has survived in some dire circumstances. It was never totally easy to serve God….
15 October. 28th Sunday in OT
St Teresa of Avila, virgin and doctor of the Church By baptism we are called to salvation, to take our place in the kingdom of God. Somehow, we must wear a wedding garment, so as to take our assigned seat at the wedding feast. Our eucharist recalls our invitation and…
08 October. 27th Sunday in OT
The church is like a Vineyard, planted to produce fruit. We can grow to our full potential in the sunshine of God’s grace. But the vineyard can fall into disuse, or fail to produce fruits of loving mercy. We pray that our lives may not be soured by bitterness or…
01 October. 26th Sunday in OT
(Saint Therese of Lisieux, virgin and doctor of the church) See Readings in the JB version, Also Sunday Readings in Irish. We are warned that people who seem like outsiders may be closer to God than others who look down on them. Rank or title means nothing in God’s sight….
24 Sept. 25th Sunday in OT
“Seek the Lord while he may be found.” But on the other hand, God’s mercy is beyond measure, so that even those who come late to his vineyard will be welcomed by his infinite love. We all can identify with those workers of the eleventh hour, whom the master of…
10 Sept. 23rd Sunday in OT
Saint Peter Claver, priest 1st Reading: Ezekiel 33:7-9 As a preacher, Ezekiel has the responsibility to warn sinners to repent The word of the Lord was addressed to me as follows, “You, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my…
03 Sept. 22nd Sunday in OT
Saint Gregory the Great Our invitation to present ourselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, is an ideal to realise the full potential of our lives. Jeremiah and Jesus fulfil God’s will in spite of opposition. This is a hopeful message to all whose life is a…
27 August. 21st Sunday in O. T.
Saint Monica, widow 1st Reading: Isaiah 22:19-23 Isaiah warns that the symbol of authority will be given to another Thus says the Lord to Shebna, the master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your post. On that day I…
20 August. 20th Sunday in O. T.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux 1st Reading: : Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 The Lord will bring foreigners to worship in Jerusalem Thus says the Lord: Have a care for justice, act with integrity, for soon my salvation will come and my integrity be manifest. Foreigners who have attached themselves to Yahweh to…
13 August. 19th Sunday in O. T.
Ss Pontian, Pope, and Hippolytus, priest, martyrs; St Fachtna, bishop 1st Reading: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-13 God’s voice was like the gentle whisper of a breeze At that place Elijah came to a cave, and spent the night there. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “What…
06 August. The Transfiguration
We pray for a deeper experience of God in our hearts, and to share in the divine life 1st Reading: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Daniel sees the Almighty One conferring power upon the Son of Man As I watched, thrones were set in place, and an Ancient One took his throne,…
30 July. 17th Sunday in O. T.
Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor of the Church Pray for the gift of discernment, as our guide in all decisions. Many things intrinsic value, but to over-value our ownership of goods is to devalue God. I need to relax my grip on passing things, and hold firm to what…
July 16. 15th Sunday in O. T.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel 1st Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11 God’s word is like rain which fertilises the earth For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the…
02 July. 13th Sunday in O. T.
In the Eucharist we welcome Jesus Christ into our lives, and are also welcomed by him, strengthened for our journey. With his grace, we try to extend the same welcome to others whose lives touch our own. 1st Reading: 2 Kings 4:8ff A woman welcomed Elisha, recognising him for a…
30 April, 2017. 3rd Sunday of Easter
(Saint Pius V, pope) See Presider’s Page, for Opening Comment, Alternative Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal) Prayers of the Faithful, etc. 1st Reading: Acts 2:14, 32-33 At Pentecost, Peter announces the resurrection of Jesus Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowds, “Men of Judea…
23 April, 2017. 2nd Sunday of Easter
Divine Mercy Sunday; Saint George; Saint Adalbert of Prague 1st Reading: Acts 2:42-47 The early Christians shared what they owned and broke bread together The whole community devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders…
21 May, 2017. 6th Sunday of Easter
See Presider’s Page, for Opening Comment, Alternative Opening Prayer (from 1998 ICEL Missal) Prayers of the Faithful, etc. 1st Reading: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Philip’s mission in Samaria shows the joy of the early Christian faith Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The…
16 April, 2017. Easter Sunday
1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurrection Then Peter said to the [household of Cornelius]: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of…
April 9, 2017. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 The Suffering Servant shall not be put to shame The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens wakens my ear to listen as those who are…
02 April, 2017. 5th Sunday of Lent
Saint Francis of Paula, hermit First Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14 During the exile, God’s people were like a pile of dried bones Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and…
26 March, 2017. 4th Sunday of Lent
First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1, 6-7, 10-13 Samuel selects and anoints young David as future king of Israel The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send…
19 March, 2017. 3rd Sunday of Lent
1st Reading: Exodus 17:3-7 (God provides water for his people on their way through the wilderness. Help is never far from us). The people thirsted for water; and they complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock…
12 March, 2017. 2nd Sunday of Lent
First Reading: Genesis 12:1-4 Abraham’s total obedience to God, prepared even to sacrifice Isaac Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will…
5 March, 2017. 1st Sunday of Lent
Lent offers us time to reflect on our life as sharing in the life of Jesus and growing in the image of God. This includes an aspect of dying to self and of rising to God’s new life of grace and rebirth. First Reading: Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7 The Lord God…
26 Feb, 2017. 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Isaiah 49:14-16 God loves us just as a woman loves the child of her womb Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me.” Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget,…
19 Feb, 2017. 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: We naturally resent those who do us wrong. But hatred, if nurtured, can come between us and God, whose ideal of perfection is mercy. 1st Reading: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 God calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation…
12 Feb, 2017. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: Using our freedom well. It is not so much individual acts that can separate us from God, but our disorientated hearts, drawn to self-assertion and selfishness. Jesus insists that our conscience must go deeper than external deeds. The vital question is what is going on within our hearts, our…
05 Feb, 2017. 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint Agatha, virgin and martyr Salt and Light Tyranny and oppression still flourish in many places abroad; and in less spectacular fashion closer to home. Unfairness and structural abuse often stare us in the face, such as long-term poverty, unemployment and homelessness. Christ invites us to solidarity with people in…
29 Jan., 2017. 4th Sunday, Year A
Theme: The beatitudes are the basic Christian ideals for living, not a set of rules to avoid God’s punishment. They aim to raise our vision above the limits of self-interest and gain. 1st Reading: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13 I will leave among you a people humble and lowly Seek the Lord,…
22 January, 2017. 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint Vincent, deacon and martyr 1st Reading: Isaiah 9:1-3 Isaiah foretells a Saviour for the people who walked in darkness In the former time God brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of the…
15 January. 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Saint Ita, Virgin 1st Reading: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6 God is preparing his people Israel to become a light for all nations The Lord said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be…
08 January, 2017. The Baptism of the Lord
1st Reading: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 A courageous servant of God will help others to keep the Covenant Thus says the Lord: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations….
01 January. Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
A very Happy New Year, 2017! 1st Reading: Numbers 6:22-27 A new-year prayer for God to bless and protect his people The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them, The Lord bless you and…
25 December, 2016. The Nativity of Our Lord
[Help our Homily Resources] Happy Christmas all! Please let us know who you are, and where you’re writing from… Midnight Mass >>Mass during the Day 1st Reading. Isaiah 9:2-7 God promises a saviour to rescue his people from darkness and bring them to peace and security The people who walked…
18 December, 4th Sunday of Advent
50 years ago I was ordained a priest, by archbishop John Charles McQuaid. The half century since 1966 has seen many changes, and challenges too, both in society and in our church, but also many blessings for which to be thankful. I admire the tireless work of the diocesan clergy,…
11 December, 3rd Sunday of Advent
How hard it is for those in authority to tolerate dissent… and people (or “whistle-blowers”) who dare to criticise the powers-that-be can expect to be harshly treated. At great risk to his life, John the Baptist castigated the authorities of his day. Only by doing so could he prepare his…
04 December, 2nd Sunday of Advent
Help with the Homily Notes? Homily Notes for all this month are now online. Access @ Calendar (right >>). Homilists can read ahead … & send me now stories, insights etc. Welcome! Fr. Pat Rogers (rogers @ mountargus.ie) Saint John Damascene John the Baptist’s life work was preparing the way…
27 November. First Sunday of Advent
A call for homily resources from our readers The Homily Notes proposed for all of December 2016 are now online. Please see them as draft material to be amended & improved with your help. The Notes can be accessed via the December Calendar, on the right of the screen. Active homilists…
Preparing to Preach
Preparing to Preach I’d like to share an excerpt (below) from a sprightly piece called Perpetual Preparation by Kenton Anderson, online at http://www.preaching.org. There are lots of other fine insights on his webpage, suggesting approaches to the homily. By the way, the proposed Homily Resources for the month of December…
20 November. Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
1st Reading: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 David of Bethlehem becomes king of a united country Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, “Look, we are your bone and flesh. For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel…
13 November. 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: In this final portion of the church’s year, the liturgy reminds us of the ‘last things’ and today, in particular, the end of the world. We should live our lives in the light of eternity. 1st Reading: Malachi 3:19-20 The Day of the Lord will bring condemnation or salvation…
06 November. 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: In this month of the dead, we celebrate the God of the living, in whom all are alive. We are members of the Communion of Saints, linked with those who have gone before us. 1st Reading: 2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14 Martyrdom of a mother and her seven sons; faith…
31st Sunday (Year C)
1st Reading: Wisdom 11:22-12:2 Wisdom makes us humble in God’s presence In your sight, Lord, the whole world is like a grain of dust that tips the scales, like a drop of morning dew falling on the ground. Yet you are merciful to all, because you can do all things…
23 October. Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Sirach 35:15-22 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds The Lord is the judge, and with him there is no partiality. He will not show partiality to the poor; but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged. He will not ignore the supplication…
16 October. Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Book of Exodus 17:8-13 When Moses prays with arms outstretched, God gives victory to his people Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men for us and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top…
09 October. Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17 When Naaman the Syrian washes in the Jordan he is cured Naaman the leper went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and…
02 October. Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr Martin Hogan’s book, To Know the Love of Christ, with homily reflections for 2017 will be very welcome to all our readers. Fr Martin has generously supplied weekday homily notes for this column, over the past two years. For more about his new book, click on the title Know…
25 September. Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Amos 6:1, 4-7 Amos laments the wealthy who care nothing for the poor Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! Alas for…
18 September. Twenty-Fifth Sunday In Ordinary Time
You might like the mobile-friendly version of biblical.ie 1st Reading: Amos 8:4-7 A warning that God is concerned for justice and fair play Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, “When will the new moon be over so that…
11 September. Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
You may like the new, mobile-friendly version of biblical.ie 1st Reading: Exodus 32:7ff When the people turned to idols, Moses begs God’s pardon for them The Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once! Your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have acted perversely; they…
04 September. Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus warns that we cannot share his vision unless we hold our possessions loosely. Without detachment we cannot be full disciples of Christ. 1st Reading: Wisdom 9:13-18 God gives us all the knowledge we need to be saved For who can learn the counsel of God? Or who can discern…
28 August. 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Sirach 3:17-20, 28-29 A person attentive to God will never reject wisdom My child, perform your tasks with humility; then you will be loved by those whom God accepts. The greater you are, the more you must humble yourself; so you will find favor in the sight of…
21 August. 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Scriptures speak of an orderly, self-disciplined life, a topic often ignored in a permissive society. We could reflect on this theme as part of the overall scheme of divine justice in history 1st Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21 The returning Jews bring non-Jews to join in the worship of God The…
14 August. 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: Moral courage is in short supply. Safer to keep our heads down and go with the herd; but this is not the way to follow Christ. 1st Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Jeremiah is dropped into a well to die, but is saved by a foreigner Then the officials said…
07 August. Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we admire our ancestors in the faith, we hope to share their faith in God’s direction of our own lives. 1st Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9 A lesson from the Exodus: whoever trusts in the Lord will not be disappointed That night was made known beforehand to our ancestors, so that…
31 July. Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Rich Fool is a sombre warning to anyone who complacently enjoys being rich and comfortable, while others starve. The economic model imposed by our capitalist, accumulative society plays a large part in world inequalities and tensions. 1st Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 “Vanity of vanities!” You can’t take it with…
24 July. Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Genesis 18:20-32 Abraham intercedes and haggles with God to spare the city of Sodom Then the Lord said, “How great is the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah and how very grave their sin! I must go down and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry…
17 July. Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Lord wants us not to be too caught up in mundane things, like Martha. Like Mary we try to set aside our everyday worries and anxieties and sit quietly with Our Lord, to listen to him. 1st Reading: Genesis 18:1-10 In welcoming the strangers, Abraham was really in the…
10 July. 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: The parable of the Good Samaritan answers the question “Who is my neighbour?” It should inspire us to go and do the same ourselves. 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14 The commandments are a privilege to God’s chosen people Moses said to the people: “When you obey the Lord your God…
03 July. 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Isaiah 66:10-14 After the Exile, Jerusalem again nurses her children with joy Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy, all you who mourn over her- that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that…
26 June. 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 Elisha immediately answers his call; leaving all he follows Elijah The Lord said to Elijah, “You shall anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.” So he set…
19 June. Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus predicts his impending passion and death. Only by taking up the cross can disciples follow him. We must learn to accept the crosses that come our way. 1st Reading: Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1 Guided by a new spirit, people will revere the One they have killed The Lord says this,…
12 June. 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Scriptures offer two major examples of repentance. Even if the notion of sin is dim in Western society at this time, we are invited to accept personal responsibility for our wrong-doing and seek God’s forgiveness. 1st Reading: 2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13 When challenged about his sin, King David has…
05 June. Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 1 Kings 17:17-24 Elijah restores the widow’s son to life After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. She then said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O…
29 May. The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Sunday)
Today we honour the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), the food which sustains us on our journey through life. 1st Reading: Genesis 14:18-20 The bread and wine offered by Melchizedek foreshadow the Eucharist And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest…
22 May. The Most Holy Trinity. Solemnity
1st Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31 Wisdom is the first-born of creation The Lord created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was…
15 May. Pentecost Sunday
A little offer, at Pentecost As a download resource for regular readers of this webpage, an edited version of the Readings and Homily notes for Sundays, Weekdays, Feasts and Memorials, which have appeared here over the past three years is now online in one folder, at www.biblical.ie. To view or…
08 May. The Ascension of the Lord
1st Reading: Acts 1:1-11 Ascension concludes Jesus’ ministry and prepares for the Spirit at Pentecost In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to…
01 May. Sixth Sunday of Easter
1st Reading: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 At this Council, the leaders made decisions with the consent of the congregation Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had…
24 /04, 2016. Fifth Sunday of Easter
1st Reading: Acts 14:21-27 Paul and Barnabas complete their mission and report back to the Antioch community After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch. There they strengthened the souls of…
17 /04, 2016. Fourth Sunday of Easter
Theme: We celebrate Christ our Good Shepherd. Hearing his voice in the proclamation of the gospel, we follow him by living the gospel. 1st Reading: Acts 13:14, 43-52 Paul and Barnabas preach first to the Jews, then to the pagans They went on from Perga and came to Antioch in…
10 /04, 2016. Third Sunday of Easter
Note to our regular visitors: After editing this section (Mass Readings and Homily Resources) for more than the three-Year Cycle, I have collected much of that material into one place on the website: biblical.ie. This should allow our visitors to download relevant material to their hard-drives, for easily access in…
03/04. 2nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday)
1st Reading: Acts 5:12-16 High morale and healing influence of the early Christians Many signs and wonders were done among the people through the apostles. And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico. None of the rest dared to join them, but the people held them in high esteem. Yet…
27/03, 2016. Easter Sunday
1st Reading: Acts 10:34, 37-43 Peter and the other apostles are witnesses to the resurrection Then Peter began to speak to them: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth…
20/03, 2016. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
1st Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 The Suffering Servant will not be put to shame The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who…
13/March 2016. Fifth Sunday of Lent
1st Reading: Isaiah 43:16-21 The prophet promises the exiles a new Exodus Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings out chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a…
06/March 2016. Fourth Sunday of Lent
Theme: We too have sinned against heaven and against our God, and reach out for his forgiveness. 1st Reading: Book of Joshua 5:9-12 The Israelites, free at last from slavery and humiliation in Egypt, enter the land of promise The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away from…
28 Feb. Third Sunday of Lent
1st Reading: Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15 God sees the misery of his people in Egypt and will free them, through Moses Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the…
21 Feb. Second Sunday of Lent
Theme: in celebrating Christ’s transfiguration, we reflect on how we too encounter Christ and how our lives can be transfigured. 1st Reading: Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 The covenant with Abraham, basis of Israel’s religion of trust He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you…
14 Feb. First Sunday of Lent
Fasting, prayer and alms are three traditional forms for expressing our conversion to Christ’s way. Lent is our penitential season, prompted by the gospel account of his forty days in the desert. 1st Reading: Deuteronomy 26:4-10 Offering the firsts fruits of harvest, they give thanks to God When the priest…
7th Feb. Fifth Sunday of the Year
Trust in God is a virtue not only for fishermen but for all Christians. We need it more than ever, today. 1st Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8 Isaiah responds to God’s call with enthusiasm In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty;…
31/01. 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19 Jeremiah is commissioned by God, as a prophet Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” But…
24/01. 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Theme: We celebrate as Christ’s Body in which we all, laity and clergy, belong. We use our God-given talents to enhance the lives of others. 1st Reading: Nehemiah 8:2-6, 8-10 Ezra the Scribe set out to re-instate the Jewish Laws The priest Ezra brought the law before the assembly, both…
17/01. Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme: Like Mary and Jesus, we should help without being asked and without fuss or demand. 1st Reading: Isaiah 62:1-5 God has prepared joyful feast for his people For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like…
10/01. The Baptism of the Lord
Theme: Jesus brings justice and divine life to the nations. As his baptised family, we seek the kingdom of God through justice and peace. [Two sets of readings are options to choose from. These below are from Year C.] First Reading: Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11 He will feed his flock like…
03/01. Second Sunday of Christmas
1st Reading: Sirach 24:1-2, 8-12 Lyrical praise of the wisdom God has revealed to us Wisdom praises herself and tells of her glory in the midst of her people. In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, and in the presence of his hosts she tells of…
27/12. The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
1st Reading: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Honour your parents when they are old The Lord honors a father above his children, and he confirms a mother’s right over her children. Those who honor their father atone for sins, and those who respect their mother are like those who lay up treasure….
20/12. 4th Sunday of Advent
Would you send us homily-notes? See below. 1st Reading: Micah 5:2-5 Salvation would come from insignificant Bethlehem — to unite the nation under God The Lord says this: But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me…
13/12. 3rd Sunday of Advent
Like to post some homily-notes? See below. 1st Reading: Zephaniah 3:14-18 Jerusalem rejoices because salvation is near and God himself will protect his people Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away the judgments against…
6/12. 2nd Sunday of Advent
1st Reading: Baruch 5:1-9 God will level out a highway for the exiles to return The Lord says this: Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on forever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes…
29th November. First Sunday of Advent
On sending us homilies, please see below. Theme: Advent is a time for new thoughts, new beginnings, new projects, as we start a new year of Christian prayer and worship. The Gospel calls us to be ready to welcome Jesus as the anchor of our lives, our true Saviour, and…
22nd November. Christ the King of the Universe
On sending us homily-outlines, see below A Kingdom of Justice, Love and Peace Christ is portrayed at the end of time handing over the kingdom to God the Father. Our Preface repeats this, describing this kingdom as one of truth and life, holiness and grace, justice, love and peace….. 1st…
15th November. 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
For next Sunday’s homily resource, click Next Entry (above); or see the month’s Calendar (below, right) 1st Reading: Daniel 12:1-13 Daniel’s vision about the end of time, including the resurrection of the dead “At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be…
8th November. 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
For next Sunday’s homily resource, click Next Entry (above); or see the month’s Calendar (below, right) 1st Reading: First Book of Kings 17:10-16 The widow of Zarephath shares the last of her food with Elijah So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of…
1st November. Feast of All Saints
1st Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 Vast numbers were sealed with the sign of the Living God I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power…
25th October. 30th Sunday, Ordinary Time.
1st Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9 God promises to lead back the remnant of Israel For thus says the Lord: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, “Save, O Lord, your people, the remnant of Israel.” See, I am…
18th October. 29th Sunday, Mission Sunday
(The feast of Saint Luke, Evangelist, is not celebrated this year) 1st Reading: Isaiah 53:10-11 God’s faithful Servant bears the world’s sins and sorrow; but he will prosper in the end. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain. When you make his life an…
11th October. 28th Sunday, Ordinary Time
Saint Canice, not celebrated this year. (See below) 1st Reading: Wisdom 7:7-11 Solomon praises Wisdom as more precious than gold, silver, health, or beauty. Therefore I prayed, and understanding was given me; I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to sceptres and…
4th October. 27th Sunday, Ordinary Time
(on St Francis of Assisi, see below) 1st Reading: Genesis 2:18-24 God intends man and woman to become one flesh. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the…
27th September. 26th Sunday, Ordinary Time
St Vincent de Paul is not celebrated this year. (See below) 1st Reading: Numbers 11:25-29 Moses wants to shared leadership of God’s People with others who have gifts of prophecy Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was…
20th September. 25th Sunday, Ordinary Time
Saint Andrew Kim and co. are not celebrated this year. 1st Reading: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20 The cruelty of the wicked against the just “Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law,…
13th September. 24th Sunday, Ordinary Time
John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor, is not celebrated this year. (see below) 1st Reading: Isaiah 50:5-9 The suffering servant did not rebel or turn aside The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. I gave my back to those who struck…
6th September. 23rd Sunday, Ordinary Time.
1st Reading: Isaiah 35:4-7 Take courage, for God will save his people Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” Then the eyes of the blind…
30th August. 22nd Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6-8 Listening to God’s word brings life and wisdom So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is…
23rd August. 21st Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Joshua 24:1-2 When they reach the Promised Land, will they serve the true God? Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all…
16th August. 20th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6 Wisdom has built her house with seven pillars. Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn herself seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her servant girls, she calls from the…
9th August. 19th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: First Book of Kings 19:4-8 Revived by food and drink Elijah reaches the mountain of God But he himself went a day’s journey into the desert, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord,…
2nd August. 18th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Exodus 16:2-4, 12-15 God feeds the hungry Israelites with manna and quails The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when…
26th July. 17th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 Kings 4:42-44 Elisha provides food for a hundred men. A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them…
19th July. 16th Sunday
1st Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6 God will raise up shepherds for his people “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says the Lord. Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: “It is you who have scattered…
12th July. 15th Sunday.
1st Reading: Amos 7:12-15 Amos is called by God to be a prophet Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a…
5th July. 14th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ezekiel 2:2-5 God sends Ezekiel to call the people to repentance And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of…
28th June. 13th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24 All that God does is wholesome, and he intends us to enjoy a blessed immortality. God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things so that they might exist; the generative forces of…
21st June. 12th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st First Reading: Job 38:1, 8-11 Job’s pride is curbed by awe The Lord addressed Job out of the storm and said: Who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I…
14th June. 11th Sunday, Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Ezekiel 17:22-24 It is the Lord who plants and grows; who raises and humbles. Thus says the Lord God: I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of a cedar; I will set it out. I will break off a tender one from the topmost of…
7th June (Sun.) The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
God provided his people in the desert with food and drink. He continues to feed us with food and drink in the body and blood of his Son, which we celebrate in the feast of Corpus Christi. 1st Reading: Exodus 24:3-8 The ratification by Moses and the people of their…
31st May. Feast of the Most Holy Trinity
Three is company >They say “Two is company, three is a crowd” but today’s feast would have it otherwise. There, the figure three symbolises completeness and perfect symmetry, and re-appears at all the key moments of the Christ story, for the life of Jesus constantly reflected the Trinity of God.
24th May. Pentecost Sunday
Source of the Higher Impulses The Holy Spirit used to be the forgotten person of the Trinity. Perhaps he suffered from being a spirit, since for many of us, only concrete things are real. The Father and Son make an impact because one took flesh and the other was given…
17th May. Sunday. The Ascension of the Lord
Last Will and Testament The final paragraph of St Matthew’s gospel does not describe the ascension, but reports some of our Lord’s final instructions to his disciples before leaving them. Some of us may know families that became completely divided because someone hadn’t decided to clearly make their will. In…
10th May. Sixth Sunday of Easter
God loved us first It is said that St. John lived to a great age, and as an old man was carried each Sunday to where the Christians at Ephesus were celebrating the Eucharist. Invariably he was asked to address the little congregation, and always he spoke about the love…
3rd May. Fifth Sunday of Easter
More than just a code to guide us Religion too can degenerate into code and cult, into a matter of laws to be kept, and ceremonies or rites to be carried out, and in time become dry and musty, like the mummies of Egypt. Some people seem to want religion…
26th April. Fourth Sunday of Easter
The pastor who cares for people Jesus speaks of shepherds and sheep, seeing himself as the Good Shepherd foretold by the prophets. It’s about the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. Though the imagery is old, the message is topical. It is relevant to us here and now. By…
24th May. Pentecost Sunday
Source of the Higher Impulses The Holy Spirit used to be the forgotten person of the Trinity. Perhaps he suffered from being a spirit, since for many of us, only concrete things are real. The Father and Son make an impact because one took flesh and the other was given…
19th April. 3rd Sunday of Easter
Invited to believe Just imagine: Jesus pleading with them to believe him. He invites them to touch him, to give him something to eat, to examine his hands and his feet. Human nature is so fragile, and so fickle. I’m not blaming anyone here. Obviously, this is the first time…
12th April. 2nd Sunday of Easter
Unlocking our doors Most houses are well alarmed nowadays; the computerised alarm has become as basic an item as table and chairs. We also need to have good strong locks; long gone, at least in the cities and towns, are the days when you could just leave the key in…
5th April. Easter Sunday
On Easter morning, the stone was rolled away from the mouth of the tomb. Could I think of my heart as a tomb awaiting a resurrection? Can I identify anything akin to a stone that is holding me back from enjoying the fullness of life? It could be an addiction,…
29th March. Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Today the church invites us to identify with those who saw Jesus with the eyes of faith and love, who recognized the light of God in the darkness of Jesus’ passion and death. When we look upon the passion and death of Jesus with such eyes, we see a divine…
22nd March. 5th Sunday of Lent
Into the Valley of Death One focus during Lent is to to reflect on our own death and to see our way through it. Whoever enters the valley of death does not walk alone. Jesus is with us because he’s been there before and knows what it is like. Moreover…
15th March. 4th Sunday of Lent
God sent his only Son, not to condemn but to save us. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave…
8th March. 3rd Sunday of Lent
Moving House: One of the benefits derived from this unwelcome exercise is getting rid of all the junk accumulated since our last move. It could perhaps be argued that people’s dread of moving is directly proportionate to the amount of stuff they have gathered…
1st March. Second Sunday of Lent
What must be cast aside? The story of Abraham and Isaac is full of high drama. The demand that Isaac be sacrificed seemed to utterly contradict God’s promise that the boy would pass on Abraham’s line into the distant future. It was a radical trial of faith, and no greater…
22nd February. First Sunday of Lent
Shun not the Struggle. One way of looking at life is to see it as a struggle between sin and grace, selfishness and holiness. Our time on earth will be successful in the measure that we put aside sin and try to live by the grace of God. Today’s Scriptures…
15th February. 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Leprosy of the soul. When approached by the leper, he could have turned away, as most people would have done. Instead, Jesus stood his ground and engaged with the leper, reached out to him not only by word but by action…
8th February. 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Signs of God’s Healing There is a debate about whether the people whom Jesus healed were really possessed by the devil or were just mentally disturbed. That debate is utterly besides the point. These individuals were deeply troubled and Jesus healed them. His intent was to heal people both in…
1st February. 4th Sunday of the Year
Forces of good and of evil In the days of Jesus on earth, people called different evil forces ‘demons’. Jesus himself recognised one super-force behind them all. He named it ‘the EVIL ONE’ – also known in his day as ‘the Devil’, ‘Lucifer’, and ‘Beelzebub’…
25th January. 3rd Sunday in Year B
Open to Change We can all become rather set in our ways. We get into certain ways of doing things and it can be easy to stay with those ways and rather difficult to change from them. We develop routines and those routines keep us going. It often takes someone…
18th January. 2nd Sunday of Year B
Called By Name :: Samuel stands for all the forgotten people. Just a boy, with no high illusions about himself, a servant and apprentice to the old man Eli; he slept at night in a little room like an altar-boys’ sacristy, at the religious shrine of Israel. Suddenly, in the…
Sunday 11th January. The Baptism of the Lord
The baptism of Jesus is a moment of special grace. Not only did he join us in our sinful state, but the Father and the Spirit are seen and heard to be there with him. The gospel uses the simple phrase, “the heavens were opened”..
6th January. The Epiphany of the Lord
Follow your guiding star :: Western tradition has chosen three as the number of the Wise Men and even found exotic names for them, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We may imagine that they travelled with enquiring minds and adventuresome spirit …
28th December. (Sunday) The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
A family tested and tried: While the family life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is put before us as a model to imitate, this does not mean that they were exempt from the problems and difficulties that every family must face . . .
25th December. The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
The Word of Life: Words are important at this Christmas time of the year, both the spoken and the written word. This is especially clear in our efforts to speak to those close to us…
21st December. Fourth Sunday of Advent
Receiving the Grace of God …We are only four days from Christmas. We have lit our fourth Advent candle. On Christmas day, we will light the final candle on the Advent wreath, the white candle…
14th December. Third Sunday of Advent
In a spirit of joyful service . . . Today’s readings are brimful of joy and hope. Israel radiates as a joyful bride coming to her bridegroom adorned for a lavish, oriental wedding. Paul’s words to the Thessalonians continue the theme of hope and joy in a community that lives…
7th December. 2nd Sunday of Advent
A preacher’s vocation . . . John the Baptist could be the central figure in today’s homily. He prepared the minds of people in his circle to welcome the bringer of salvation. That is how God seems to work: sending the message of salvation and meaningful living . . .
30th November. First Sunday of Advent
Do you ever watch people at airports, waiting for loved ones to arrive from a flight? They often seem excited, eager for the first appearance of the familiar face, ready with the broad smile of greeting to embrace the returning traveller. We too wait for the Lord’s coming with eagerness,…
30 November. 1st Sunday of Advent
Like people at airports . . . Do you ever watch people at airports, waiting for loved ones to arrive from a flight? They often seem excited, eager for the first appearance of the familiar face, ready with the smile of greeting to embrace the returning traveller. We too wait…
23rd November. Christ the King of the Universe
The disciple of Christ the King cannot afford the luxury of living in a gated community, resolutely secure in a fortress, comfortably “keeping myself to myself” with the lame claim that “I do nobody any harm.” To recognise Jesus Christ as our Shepherd-king involves being carers or shepherds in some…
16th November. 33rd Sunday.
Don’t bury those talents: Today’s parable points forward to the Last Day, with a focus on the behaviour that will stand up to scrutiny in the Final Judgment. We are right now writing the book of evidence for that judgement on the value of lives . . .
9th November (Sunday). The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
A House of Prayer: The Lateran was Rome’s cathedral long before Saint Peter’s was built. It is where the papacy was housed for centuries before moving across the Tiber to where Vatican City now stands…
2nd November. Commemoration of All The Faithful Departed
The Halloween combinatrion of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, reminds us of the reality of death and life after death. These days are a sad reminder that our bodies will one day give out. Somewhere, sometime, sooner or later, we will experience the startling reality of death. Then…
26th October. Thirtieth Sunday
First Reading: Exodus 22:10-16 Part of the Sinai commandments is the fairness they should show each other in practical matters When someone delivers to another a donkey, ox, sheep, or any other animal for safekeeping, and it dies or is injured or is carried off, without anyone seeing it, an…
29th June. Saints Peter and Paul
In these two apostles, we see how the faith can spread through the life of generous, faithful hearts. We get a glimpse of each of them in turn, in prison for the faith, prepared for martyrdom for the Gospel of Christ; followed by the famous declaration of faith, for which…
Diversions for Advent Sunday 4A!
Some minor points to let your mind wander on in the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A. Pádraig McCarthy.
Church should accept gay people as they are
Brian Fahy shares the lesson of accepting people as they are, which he learned from his late wife Margaret. He wishes the church would learn to accept all its gay members as they are — drawing on the story of the Prodigal Son to illustrate his message.
Is the Budget a topic for a homily on the Good News?
Pádraig McCarthy believes the Budget should figure in priests’ homilies and queries the silence of official church voices
13th May. 6th Sunday of Easter
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48. Cornelius, a Roman Centurion, became the first pagan to receive the grace of Christian Baptism. God’s grace of salvation is offered to all. 1 Jn 4:7-10. Love is from God… or going even further, Saint John says that God is love. Only by loving do we…
Reflection on Mothering Sunday 2012
Mary O’Vallely sent in this beautiful reflection for Mother’s Day
Reflection on Mothering Sunday 2012
Mary O’Vallely sent in this beautiful reflection for Mother’s Day
18 Dec. 4th Sunday of Advent
Theme: What God does for us is greater than what we do for God. And yet he is pleased by our desire to serve him through good works.
11 Dec. 3rd Sunday of Advent
Theme: Paul urges his christians to be happy always. The world is full of experts on happiness, but also of unhappy people. Paul’s own blueprint: prayer, gratitude and a generous response to the Holy Spirit.
4 Dec. 2nd Sunday of Advent
Theme: John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ by raising expectations. Once Jesus had arrived, there only remained for John to disappear gracefully from the scene
27 Nov. 1st Sunday of Advent
Theme: Making a new start. We could begin our new liturgical year by placing our lives in this perspective: Making a new start, with the help of God.
Gospel Reading, Sunday 13 November: A second look at the talents
The most common understanding of the parable in Matthew 25:14-30 is that we must use our talents or suffer the consequences. We could look at it in a different context.
30 Oct, Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel calls us to examine our conscience about the sincerity of our words and of our lives.
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..
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.
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…
18 Sept, Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme “Seek the Lord while he may be found” is one side of today’s readings. The other facet of the coin is that God’s mercy is beyond measure, so that even those who come late to his vineyard will be welcomed by his infinite love. We all have some reason…
11 Sept, Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme It is false to celebrate our God as the Lord of compassion and love, unless we show mercy to those who have wronged us. Today’s Gospel calls us to forgive others as Christ forgives us. Some of the finer minds among the Old Testament writers already perceived this connection:
04 Sept, Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme We may have a moral obligation to correct blatant wrongdoing, whether in the family, the workplace or the wider society. But it is incumbent on parents, and all who have others in their care, to administer such correction with love and respect. The old dictum, that one should “hate…
28 Aug, Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme St Paul’s ringing challenge to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,” is indeed a high ideal, a worthy target for all who wish to aim at realising the full value and potential of their lives. In Jeremiah and Jesus we have two inspiring…
21 Aug, Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme We celebrate Christ’s choice of Peter, in spite of his shortcomings, to be the rock on which his church is founded. At the same time, we recall how Simon Peter could also be called a “stumbling-block” because he could occasionally be headstrong, weak, or plain wrong on some vital…
15 Aug, Monday, The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Theme: Just as Jesus was raised to the glory of heaven, after his death on the cross, so too, his mother, the first among Christians, was raised body and soul into eternal life.
14 Aug, Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme The gospel shows a woman of great faith and determination. Like her, we can come to the Lord with our needs, trusting him even if at first he seems not to care about our predicament. With Jesus, there are no “outsiders” who are excluded from his grace just because…
Walking on Water Sunday
It would have been good to read this before giving the homily on Matthew 14:22 about walking on water: http://sarcasticlutheran.typepad.com/sarcastic_lutheran/2011/08/jesus-walking-on-the-water-a-sermon-sarcastic-and-serious.html
7 Aug, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme We could try to have a deep and trusting faith in divine providence, like Elijah and Peter, in today’s Scripture. Neither of those two saints found it always easy to believe that God would take care of them. And the great apostle Paul, too, had his problems in holding…
06 Aug, Saturday. The Transfiguration of the Lord
Theme: The apostles were priveleged to witness the inner life of Christ, when his splendour was revealed to them on the holy mountain. We pray for a deeper experience of God in our own lives, and to share in his divine life.
24 July, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme Solomon prayed for the gift of discernment, something that we all need as our guide in making decisions. All things have their own intrinsic value, but if we over-value any of our favourite “things”, we devalue God. Deep down, I need to loosen my grip on what is transient,…
17 July, Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme The Spirit of Jesus helps us in our weakness; and God has sown the good seed in our hearts. We have all that we need to make our lives successful, with the help of the divine mercy. The power to pray, to be in conversation with our God, is…
10 July, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme We celebrate Christ the gardener, who came to sow the seed of God’s word in our world. The fate of that seed depends on the type of soil where it is sown. The growth of his grace in our lives all depends on how we receive it. Adding a…
3 July, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme Jesus invites us to come to him and find rest from our burdens. Only those who become humble like a child can put themselves and their problems fully into God’s hands. Our Lord’s loving, gentle spirit is perfectly prophecied in Zechariah’s image of the royal figure right there among…
01 July, Friday – Feast of the Sacred Heart
Deuteronomy 7:6-11. God’s fidelity to his chosen people, who are dear to his heart. 1 John 4: 7-16. Our loving God has poured his love into us, through his Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 11:25-30. To know Jesus is our sure way to know and love our gracious Father.
29 June, Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Theme In the biblical stories about the two main apostles, we see what deep faith can achieve in the life of generous persons. Today we pray for our present Church, that all may play our part in the life of faith. We get a glimpse of each of them in…
26 June Feast of The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
Theme God’s people in the desert were fed by miraculous provision of food and drink. Our heavenly Father continues to feed us with the body and blood of his Son, as celebrated in this feast of Corpus Christi. He continues to nourish us spiritually by this wonderful gift of the…
19 June Sunday Feast of The Most Holy Trinity
Theme We were created in the image of a profoundly personal God, who is by inmost nature trinitarian, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We reflect God’s image at our best, when we are at our most creative, compassionate and charismatic. Today’s Scriptures present the gracious holiness of…
12 June Pentecost Sunday
Theme As the Holy Spirit inspired courage and energy in the apostles, at the beginning, so the Spirit brings about inspiration and fruitfulness in our lives today, through love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control.
05 June The Ascension of the Lord
Theme We celebrate today Christ’s ascension to his eternal glory in heaven and express our hope that where he has gone before us, we will one day follow, to the kingdom of our Father. A homily theme: we are separated from Jesus our Lord, only in body but not in…
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Theme: Spirit Of Joyful Hope Philip’s spirit of joyful hope in today’s scene from the early church suggests one possible line for today’s homily. He was bursting with a message that he wants to share with the African traveller he met on the road. Many in our world have largely…
Fifth Sunday of Easter
Theme: New Horizons Life is a pilgrimage, where new horizons constantly appear, and new challenges must be met. As on any journey, it is important to keep our eyes fixed on our destination which is eternal life. With Christ as our guide our church will not go astray, even if…
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Theme: new ways of ministry The saving message of Jesus needs to be announced vigorously, in the language of today. For this many volunteers are needed, with various outlooks and personalities, to share the Good Shepherd’s work. In the current crisis in vocations to administer Word and Sacrament and promote…
Third Sunday of Easter
Theme: God our life-giver Recognising God’s living presence with us and among us is a great gift, which is the heart of the faith. Above all, recognising God as our personal life-giver, the one who raised Jesus and who will also raise up each of us. Peter and the first…
Second Sunday of Easter
Theme Sharing, at various levels, emerges as a linking theme in today’s Scriptures. The earliest generation of christians were a sort of consecrated commune, with total sharing of all that they had. Their Eucharist was just the high-point of an already deep union, like an extended family, where each individual…
Easter Sunday
Theme When Christ broke the death-barrier on the first Easter morning, he did so as our Saviour, for all of us. He opens up the gateway and prepares for us a highway to the loving presence of God. So we often proclaim, “Dying, he destroyed our death; by rising he…
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Theme Today we recall with reverence how totally Jesus shared in the depths of human suffering. But by enduring his passion in a spirit of loving trust in God the Father, he paid the price for all human sinfulness, and won for us the gift of salvation. In his Servant…
5th Sunday of Lent
Theme Jesus’ coming late to Lazarus’ funeral was at the risk of his own death, but he promises resurrection and eternal life to all who trust in him. The death and new life theme also runs through today’s readings; in the first reading, the whole nation of Israel during their…
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Theme Are we, in some ways, “walking in darkness,” unaware of our true spritual state, blind to the gravest of our faults and to the needs of others. The Gospel remedy is to let the Spirit of Jesus shine into our hearts this very day, to take away our blindness…
3rd Sunday of Lent
Theme Christ quenches our spiritual thirst with the living water of grace: the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This living water is like a spring inside us, welling up to eternal life. The Samaritan Woman’s desire for spiritual growth and renewal draws Jesus…
2nd Sunday of Lent
Theme Today’s main readings have two transforming moments, which impact on the outlook of whole religions: Abraham’s call by God is basic to faith of Jews, Muslims and Christians, while Our Lord’s transfiguration is a key moment in the forming of Christian faith. Peter, James and John saw Christ transfigured…
1st Sunday of Lent
Theme Today recalls Christ’s victory over temptation in the desert. The beginning of Lent is a good time for us to confront the temptations in our lives. We should pray for the gift of discernment between good and evil. Readings Gen 2:7-9; 3:1-7. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and…
9th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme It is not enough to worship God just by going to Mass on Sunday. We must sincerely try to do the will of the eternal Father. The divine will is for us to show care and concern for others. As the biblical author reminds us, we are to put…
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme Some people find their lives darkened and blighted by constant worry. Today’s Scriptures encourage us not to worry about tomorrow but to trust in God’s providence. Our God is full of loving compassion, and He knows each one by name. What a difference it would make if we let…
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme Our instinct of self-preservation makes us naturally resent and resist those who do us wrong. But unresolved hatred can come between us and our loving God, who wants us to be more forgiving, like him. St Paul’s great collective image of the church as a living temple, into which…
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Theme Perhaps our greatest human quality is our freedom to choose, to freely opt for quality in our lives and our relationships. The Bible sets great store on our responsibility to serve God freely, and to show loving respect towards our neighbour. This does deeper than the commandments, though they…
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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…
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
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…
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Is 9:1-3. Isaiah foretells the coming of a Saviour to Galilee of the nations, to the people who walked in darkness. This is perfect background for Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. 1 Cor 1:10-13,13. Even in the early Church there was disunity and the dangers of rivalry and schism. Paul appeals…
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Is 49:3, 5-6. During the Exile, the prophet prepares his oppressed neighbours for the coming of a liberator whom God would send to save them, and to be a light for all nations. 1 Cor 1:1-3. Paul’s opening greeting to his Christian converts in Corinth. They are sanctified in Christ…
The Baptism of the Lord
First Sunday in Ordinary Time Is 42:1-4, 6-7. A servant of God, a chosen one, will courageously serve God and help others to salvation – like Jesus, this servant “fulfils all righteousness.” Acts 10:34-38. The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan was an “anointing with the Holy Spirit” after which…
Second Sunday after Christmas
Sir 24:1-2,8-12. Lyrical praise of the wisdom which God has revealed to men. This was most fully revealed in Christ, Wisdom incarnate, or the Word made flesh, as today’s Gospel tells. Eph 1:3-6,15-18. We are God’s adopted children, belonging to him as the adoption through his only Son, Jesus. We…
Sunday within the Christmas Octave. Feast of the Holy Family
Theme: Family life is experiencing a crisis of stability, partly caused by economic hardship, but often by other factors like lack of generosity, or too much insistence on getting one’s own way. Today’s feast invites us to meditate on our own contribution to family life. In the homespun maxims of…
Christmas Day
Theme Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ in our world, though he was with God the Father before all ages. His birth opens up for us a glorious new identity, as children of God. On this major feast, the Scriptures promote a spirit of joy, of our giftedness…
4th Sunday in Advent
Theme: What God does for us is greater than what we do for God; and yet he is pleased by our desire to serve him through good works. Like King David, or our Blessed Lady, we each can have a place in God’s plan to build his Temple, to establish…
3rd Sunday in Advent
Theme: Society finds it so hard to tolerate dissent that those who step out of line are often harshly treated and even risk their lives. At great risk, John the Baptist spoke out for justice, against the corrupt authorities of his day. Only by doing so could he prepare his…
2nd Sunday in Advent
Theme: John the Baptist’s life work was preparing the way for Christ. Once Christ came, it only remained for John to disappear gracefully. Like John, we should make way for Christ in our own life, and then perhaps we can have a more helpful influence on the lives of others….
2nd Advent Sunday
Theme: John the Baptist’s life work was preparing the way for Christ. Once Christ came, it only remained for John to disappear gracefully. Like John, we should make way for Christ in our own life, and then perhaps we can have a more helpful influence on the lives of others….
1st Sunday in Advent
Theme: “Many shall stream to God’s house” says the advent prophecy of Isaiah. Advent is a time of new beginnings, the start of a new year of Christian prayer and worship. The Lord calls every believer to let his or her heart be inspired once more by the message and…