Reflections

Loving Correction We have reached a section of Matthew’s Gospel which deals with practical moral issues that occur in our lives.   Today’s reading (Matt18:15-20) is about the delicate matter of how to correct somebody who is going off the rails.  Facing another person is one of the toughest parts of loving care.  Genuine love includes…

In Times of Darkness In today’s Gospel (Matt 15:21-28) a troubled mother pleads with Jesus to cure her tormented daughter.  We are surprised to read that he answered her not a word.  It’s so unlike Jesus.   But he knew what he was doing.  He was drawing out deeper depths of her faith.  A passage from…

Loneliness, Hunger of the Heart Today’s Gospel (Matt 14:13-21) throws light on loneliness which is another name for the hunger of the heart.  A popular film years ago was called “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”. One form of loneliness is the grief experienced after the death of a loved one.   On hearing of the…

Treasure in the Heart In today’s gospel (Matt. 13:44-52), 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…

Taskforce of the Kingdom The mission of Jesus was to establish the rule of God, the kingdom of God, on earth.  The taskforce for the continuation of his mission would be the community of believers known as the Church. Today, in Matthew 13:24-43, three parables show how this Church is a mixture of human frailty…

Seeds of Wisdom   “The reason that I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding”.   Jesus knew that people would listen to stories and remember them.  Parable sounds like parallel.  A parable is a story that runs parallel to life, like a mirror that…

I will give you Rest “I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children.”  It’s easy to return thanks when things are going well and we are aware of God’s favours but it takes great faith to give thanks when…

Be not Afraid Once upon a time … not too long ago … it took courage of a sort not to go to church in holy Ireland.  People who did not go to church were regarded as odd, or maybe worse.  They swam against the social tide which equated church attendance with respectability.  How things…

A God of Relationships A diseased bird was sold in the market place and months later every country in the world is suffering.  If ever we needed to be reminded that everything in this world is related to everything else, we’ve got the message.  Nine hundred years ago a mystical nun, Hildegard of Bingen, wrote…