Jesus lived most of his life in a predominantly rural setting. At that time the vast majority of human beings lived in the country, in villages or small hamlets. It is no surprise then that he drew heavily on his observation and reflection of nature and farming as well as the cycle of life, to […]
Message of the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2012 Read More »
What is the source and summit of the Christian life? Is it feeding the poor and alleviating world poverty? Is it a holy life or the witness of a saint? Is it a life dedicated to self-sacrifice and service of others? The Christian life is many things and it is certainly all of these. However,
Message for Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi Read More »
Spare a thought today for your bishop, parish priest, or deacon especially if they are called upon to preach today’s homily. Truth be told, many of our preachers dread being called upon to preach on this central mystery of our faith. Why is this? Their defense is: ‘The Trinity is a mystery and so let’s
Message for the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity Read More »
It was not a mighty wind or tongues of fire in that house where Mary and the apostles were gathered. Luke says that it was like a wind and tongues of fire: the reality was the Holy Spirit. It was He who filled them and gave them utterance. On that day the Holy Spirit entered
Message for Pentecost Read More »
The forty days between the resurrection and the Ascension were filled with incident and rich symbolism. The feelings of that first community must have been very mixed. During this time Jesus was pointing towards the time when he would no longer be on earth. In these days before his ascension into heaven, while he was
Message for the Solemnity of the Ascension Read More »
Today’s Gospel passage shows Christ glorifying His Father several times. In doing so Jesus shows the source of love, the source of joy and the source of all that we receive. Jesus has revealed the Father’s love by keeping the Father’s commandments faithfully and submitting with perfect humility to service of the Father. This requires
Message for the Sixth Sunday of Easter Read More »
‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser….you are the branches.‘ Today’s reading from the Gospel of St John strongly implies mutual friendship between God and us. It is our friendship with him that causes us to produce good fruit and make good wine. We are bound together in mutual friendship and
Message for the Fifth Sunday of Easter Read More »
The image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is attractive and popular. To understand it fully we need to grasp its context. In the ancient Near Eastern world, few people would have been unfamiliar with the responsibilities and trials of a shepherd: many families had at least a few sheep of their own. From the
Message for Good Shepherd Sunday Read More »
After His resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples in order to convince them that He had indeed risen from the dead. This was not a straightforward task. The disciples had to struggle to come to faith by dealing with and overcoming their fears, doubts and unbelief. Jesus himself had to lead them from incredulity to
Message for the Third Sunday of Easter Read More »
Thomas made two contradictory statements, one after the other. One expressed unbelief: ‘Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe‘ (John 20:25). The other was a marvelous proclamation of faith in
Message for Low Sunday Read More »