Reflections

Loneliness, Hunger of the Heart (Matt 14:13-21) When Jesus received the news of the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, he withdrew by boat with the apostles to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. Another name for loneliness is the hunger of the heart.  A popular film years ago was called…

Treasure in the Heart (Matt. 13:44-52) In today’s gospel Jesus continues the seven parables about the kingdom of heaven in our lives.  What is this kingdom?  In the gospels, the kingdom of heaven has several different shades of meaning.  In today’s parables it refers to the hidden treasure in the heart.  “The kingdom of God is…

“The reason that I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding” (Matt 13:13). Jesus knew that people would listen to stories and remember them.  A parable is a story that runs parallel to life, like a mirror that travels beside you in which you can see…

Jesus prepared his apostles to carry on his mission after his departure.  But it would be costly at times.  Sometimes great personal sacrifices would have to be made.  One might be called to leave family comforts.  He described it as taking up your cross to follow him.  He spoke of losing your life in order…

Today’s Gospel is taken from John Chapter 6 which tells us about three kinds of bread… bread for bodily hunger, bread to nourish faith, and the divine bread of the Eucharist.  With the first bread Jesus fed a multitude through the miraculous multiplication of five loaves and two fish. Next day, people came back to…

A God of Relationships About seventy years ago, the famous theologian, Karl Rahner, remarked that if the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity was removed, it would make virtually no difference to the majority of Christians.  However, things have changed somewhat since then.  The Charismatic Renewal awakened awareness of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The…

Pentecost Sunday (Acts 2:1-12) As we have already reflected on today’s Gospel on the First Sunday after Easter, today we will reflect on St. Luke’s description of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles. At the Ascension, Jesus instructed the disciples to gather in prayer in Jerusalem.  Mary, the Mother of the Lord, and other…

Emmaus and Eucharist (Luke 24:13-35)There are ten meals in Luke’s Gospel, each one with an important message. Today we shall ponder on the meal that the Risen Lord shared with two travellers on the road to Emmaus. It is very likely that Luke used this story to explain the four parts of the Mass: assembly…

Today’s Gospel gives us two encounters of the Risen Lord with his disciples. The setting for the first encounter doesn’t look too promising. The disciples were locked in behind closed doors, confused and afraid. Would there be more arrests? There is an old Irish saying that God’s help is nearer than the closed door, and…