Weekly News 10/12/23
Second Sunday of Advent -Year B Throughout the first three weeks of Advent our focus is very clearly on the Second Coming of the Lord – not so much on the run up to Christmas (until the last week). If we view Advent as a preparation for Christmas these readings will make little sense – […]
Weekly News 03/12/23
First Sunday of Advent -Year B Advent opens with a great cry, and a great promise: “Oh that you would tear the heavens open and come down!” is the cry, of a people who need God. “…The master is coming” is the promise, not to breed fear, but to answer our cry. Advent begins, not […]
Weekly News 26/11/23
CHRIST THE KING -Year A “Shepherd-King o’er mountain steep, homeward guide thy wand’ring sheep.” This hymn which we will probably sing today captures the readings perfectly: our King is not a cruel tyrant or despot, but a shepherd who loves his flock, who would (and did) give his life for them. Love for the flock […]
Weekly News 19/11/23
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A We must be very careful that the real point of today’s first reading is not washed away in genuine concerns over what one can and cannot say about the responsibilities of wives. This is not, in fact, a recipe for ‘the perfect wife’, but an illustration, from one […]
Weekly News 12/11/23
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A “Watch early for wisdom”: wise words, and ones that the foolish bridesmaids of the Gospel should have taken to heart. This is the ultimate in ‘putting off till tomorrow…’, since the reading is about the end of time, when the Son of Man will come again. Then there […]
Weekly News 05/11/23
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A An awkward set of readings to sit through as a priest today! The more responsibility we have for the flock of God, the more is demanded of us. But for all God’s people, there is the need for constant vigilance, to be on guard against hypocrisy and complacency, […]
Weekly News 29/10/2023
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A When you look at something like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and see its 691 pages, or look at the 2,000 pages of the big Jerusalem Bible, you can be forgiven for thinking that Christianity is a complicated affair. But Jesus reminds us today that it is […]
Weekly News 22/10/2023
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A Everyone on this earth belongs to God. All are made in his image. Therefore it is right that all men and women, ‘from the rising to the setting of the sun’, should know the God to whom they belong. The only desire of our God is that all […]
Weekly News 15/10/2023
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A The Church’s year is drawing to a close: in a few weeks we will be thinking very clearly about the end of time – but here we have a preview. The parable of the banquet is a link between the Gospels of recent weeks (which have as their […]
Weekly News 08/10/2023
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time -Year A Today we focus on the vineyard: frequently we see the vineyard as an image or parable of the Kingdom of God. A vineyard takes a great deal of work, throughout the year; it must be tended, watered, pruned, cared for if there is to be any fruit – […]