Reflections

The Real Presence is the Real Thing The Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is a celebration of the presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist.  It is an astounding belief.  We would not dare to hold this belief except that it is based on the very words of Jesus himself.  “I…

A God of Relationships About sixty 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…

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….

The Ascension of the Lord  Saint Luke tells us that the Ascension of the Lord happened forty days after the Resurrection.  In the bible, forty usually refers to a time of preparation.  The Risen Lord appeared in various ways to the disciples to help them in the transition from knowing him in human flesh to…

God with us and in us Sunday by Sunday we are moving on from the Resurrection of Jesus towards Pentecost.    The forty days from Resurrection to Ascension Thursday formed a time of transition for the Apostles.  They had to advance from knowing Jesus in the flesh to knowing the unseen God in faith.  As the…

The Way, the Truth and the Life If I am conscious in my last hours on earth, my wish is that somebody will be at my bedside reading today’s Gospel, John 14:1-12.  “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still and trust in me.” After the Last Supper, Jesus is explaining to…

Vocation of all Christians The Fourth Sunday of Easter each year is known as Vocations Sunday.  The Gospel is about Jesus, the Good Shepherd who called his flock to follow him.  We are encouraged to pray for vocations this Sunday.   For years we prayed for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.  Nowadays we recognise…

Our Companion on the Road Can we learn anything from Sunday’s gospel story of the Risen Jesus joining with two people on the road to Emmaus? It was the third day after the death of Jesus on Calvary.   Two of his former disciples were devastated.  They had lost hope.  They had lost direction.  In Luke’s…

Christ is Risen I like the story about an ageing flower-lady with an outdoor stall.  Her clothes were old and shabby, her face weather-beaten and wrinkled. A regular customer asked how she was always in good form.  “It’s my friend Jesus,” she replied. “Good Friday was the worst of days.  Three days later, Easter Sunday,…