Sunday Reflections
Reflection: Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The extract from the Second Book of Maccabees was written at some point between 150 and 120 BC, by an Egyptian Je living in Hellenistic Egypt - probably in Alexandria. It is independent of the…
Reflection: Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week we read the story of the pharisee and the tax collector who begged for mercy but who had not yet changed his behaviour. This week we meet Zacchaeus, who through the love of Jesus was…
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Pharisees were severely criticised by Jesus in the gospels. They meticulously kept the law but in doing flaunted their righteousness - like the one in today’s parable - and despised those they…
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus spoke many times about prayer and the disciples often saw him withdraw to pray in a quiet place. He wanted to give them a new picture of his Father, so that they might be able to relate to…
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Naaman the Syrian had a journey to travel before he was finally cured of his leprosy. God had already begun the process of helping him, through the little Israelite slave girl, but Naaman - being…
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus had probably shocked his disciples by the severe warnings about leading others astray and by his insistence that there was no limit to forgiveness (Luke 17:1-4). The disciples reacted by…
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lazarus is the only character with a name in Jesus’ parables. Lazarus is the Greek version of the Hebrew "Eleazar", which means “God will help”. The rich man is sometime referred to as Dives. This…
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s parable is very strange, because the steward is praised for his shrewdness in acting dishonestly. How could Jesus praise sinfulness? His audience would have consisted of pharisees as well…
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The story of the prodigal son must be one of the best-loved that Jesus told. We know it so well and yet, as our lives unfold, we can gain new insights. In the first reading, the God of the Old…
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The images Jesus chose for his teaching were very powerful. A tower is a very striking feature in a landscape. The picture above shows a church in Hamburg, which was left as it was after being…