Sunday Reflections
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
27 February 2022
We are nearing the end of what is sometimes known as the “sermon on the plain,” where Luke pictures Jesus coming down from the mountain to sit among his people and to teach them. He uses this…
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
20 February 2022
In the first reading, David spared Saul’s life in spite of the fact that Saul intended to kill him. The theme of this story is continued in the teachings of Jesus, who placed great emphasis on the…
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
13 February 2022
In St Matthew's account of the beatitudes, Jesus preaches from a mountain, which in the bible signifies the nearness of God. In Luke’s account, Jesus descends from the mountain to a level place.…
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
6 February 2022
Today’s theme is the different ways in which God calls people to his service. Isaiah lived in the eighth century BC. The first reading gives the context of his vision. King Uziah had just died. He…
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
30 January 2022
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God and the Lord has chosen you to be a people of his own possession, out of all the nations that are on the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 14:2)…
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
23 January 2022
One of the themes of today’s gospel and Old Testament reading is “return”. In about 536 BC Cyrus the Great, King of Persia, allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. Nehemiah, a Jew who had been an…
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
16 January 2022
It is refreshing to hear a story about Mary told in scripture. Only Luke and John bring Mary to life as a person and allow her to speak. Devotion to Mary can sometimes build up a picture of…
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
9 January 2022
John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He was preparing people for the coming of the Messiah, using the symbol of water to indicate a resolution to turn away from sin. Jesus was sinless so he…
Second Sunday of Christmas
2 January 2022
Mark begins his gospel with the adult Jesus. Matthew and Luke recount his birth but John, whose gospel was the last to be written, focusses on the identity of Jesus as the Divine Word, existing…
The Feast of the Holy Family
27 December 2021
The four gospels each have their own way of describing Jesus' origins. Mark, the first to be written, begins his story at the baptism of Jesus, with the voice from heaven proclaiming him and the…