Ordinary Time

The imagery of darkness, falling celestial bodies and the heavens shaking is disturbing to the modern mind – as it doubtless was in Jesus’ time, even if the language was more familiar then. Such events, we are told, will precede the glorious appearance of the Son of Man who will come, with his angelic cohort […]

Jesus had great sensitivity towards widows. He looked beyond the hardships of the poor widow’s situation, beyond what the human eye could see, and saw into her heart: ‘out of her poverty {she] has put in everything she had, her whole living.‘ He saw her faith-filled generosity, giving to the treasury not from her abundance

Desperate people do desperate things. Pride, self-consciousness and ego are less important when we are in need! Bartimaeus was in such need. Unperturbed and undaunted by those who try to silence him, he shouts even louder. He is full of determination. Despite his blindness, he recognizes clearly who Jesus is: ‘Jesus, Son of David, have

Jews in Jesus’ day believed that divorce was lawful — the only debated issue was the proper grounds for it. Jesus explained that Moses permitted divorce because of the hardness of human hearts: in other words it was a concession to the human condition and contrary to God’s plan for us. This accommodation to divorce

Possessiveness is not an attractive characteristic. It’s uncharitable, inward-looking and ultimately selfish. It prevents us from seeing the good in others. Eventually it can corrupt and destroy. Yet unfortunately this kind of attribute is something we’re all too familiar with. In the encounter in today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals the dangers of exclusivity even among his

As He leads his disciples to Jerusalem for the final Passover, Jesus teaches them about the true meaning of discipleship. Today we hear the second of His three predictions of His passion in Mark’s Gospel. Mark presents the disciples as being in such a state of confusion that they can’t grasp what Jesus’ teaching means.

At a crucial point in Mark’s Gospel Jesus asked a pivotal question of his disciples: ‘But who do you say that I am?‘ Up to this moment, through his miracles and healings, Jesus had been revealing himself to them as the Son of God and, through the revelation given him by the Holy Spirit, Peter

In his teaching Jesus highlights a problem, if you like, with the practice of faith. Those who are diligent, externally faithful, dutiful and adhere to the rules can appear as holy and righteous. The Pharisees were like this — they had strict rules on personal hygiene, which they adhered to scrupulously. Jesus’ disciples, it appears,

It was crunch time for some of the disciples. Many had been swept along and had followed Jesus for a variety of reasons — the miracles, the power, the crowds, the prospect of adventure and excitement. However, when he began to teach about the Eucharist many found his words hard to stomach (literally). Jesus’ teaching