Sunday Reflections
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
The reading from Isaiah refers to Shebna, who was the steward of Hezekiah, King of Judah. This man was described as a “disgrace to his master’s house”: apparently, in an act of self-aggrandisement…
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
There seems to be a stark contrast between the reading from Kings and Matthew’s gospel. Elijah found God, not in the violence of natural phenomena, but in the gentle breeze. The disciples,…
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Richard Dawkins, and many atheists like him, demand physical evidence for anything to be accepted as fact. Spiritual experiences however, by their very nature, go beyond the empirical to something…
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The Kingdom of Heaven” is a phrase used only by Matthew; the other evangelists use the expression “Kingdom of Heaven.” It seems to mean the presence or rule of God, and Matthew uses many parables…
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Darnel is a noxious weed which closely resembles wheat. Its seeds are poisonous, and eating them can be fatal. The fact that wheat and darnel grow together is symbolic of our own individual make-…
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The parable of the sower is timeless in that every generation can understand its imagery. People from the west of Ireland can particularly understand rocky ground! When St Paul preached to the…
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Paul made the cross the central part of his teaching. When he had preached to the Athenians, he found that they were more interested in hearing something novel rather than exploring the mystery…
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Often the words of Jesus seem puzzling. He himself lived in a family for thirty years, which was his main education in life and where he loved and was loved. Is he telling us to abandon our…
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the main themes of today’s readings is God’s love for us. Jesus used the image of a sparrow to describe this love. A sparrow is a very unremarkable bird with its drab brown colouring. The…
Corpus Christi
"If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you will have no life in you."
In chapter 6, St John gives an extensive teaching on the Eucharist which many of Jesus’…