Reflections

Enkindle within us the fire of your love May I begin by wishing us all a joyful birthday.  It is the birthday of the Church, the day when the coming of the Holy Spirit utterly transformed the apostles from being fearful and directionless into a community empowered to carry on the mission of Jesus.  Jesus…

In the opening prayer of today’s Mass we ask God to help us celebrate our joy in the resurrection of the Lord.  The Gospel reading today (John 14: 23-29) sparkles with reasons for Christian joy.  It is set in the uplifting conversation of Jesus with his disciples after the last supper.  The disciples were confused…

God makes all things new Where is the risen Lord to be met?  The liturgy each Sunday in this Easter season directs our thoughts to the various situations where the Lord is present and active in our midst.  Over the weeks we have reflected on his presence in the mission of forgiveness, in the faith…

Jesus the Wounded Healer On Passion Sunday each year we have what people refer to as the long gospel, properly called The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  This year we have Saint Luke’s version.  The four evangelists basically write about the same event but each one has his own particular interests as well as…

The Grace of Confession Lent is a season of preparation for Easter when we will renew our baptismal promises to reject the wiles of Satan and to commit ourselves afresh to being a follower of Jesus Christ.   Today’s Gospel (Luke 13: 1-9) is an encouragement to improve our lives with the help of God’s grace. …

Listen to Him Last Sunday we were with Jesus on the Mount of Temptation.   Today we see him on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36).  It’s such a contrast of experiences, from temptation to the vision of divine glory.  He took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray. Climbing…

Lent prepares us for Easter When I take a passage of scripture for reflection, I begin with my pencil to underline words that strike me.  For the First Sunday of Lent, we have Luke’s account of the temptations of Jesus (Luke 4:1-13).  First, I underlined Holy Spirit.  Luke is the evangelist of the Holy Spirit…

Your words flow out of what fills your heart On this Sunday we have the third extract from the great sermon on the plain where Jesus sets out the ideals of Christian life.  Last Sunday we reflected on the ideal of being forgiving and compassionate like our Father in heaven.  The ideal is beyond human…

Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate This Sunday our Gospel (Luke 6:27-38) picks up from last Sunday when we were introduced to the Sermon on the Mount which is the charter of Christian living.  This charter is inspired by a new revelation of God’s relationship with us.  God is revealed as our Father in…