Reflections & Homilies

Solemnity of St Peter and St Paul Peter and Paul, friends of Jesus and ourselves Forgive me a personal start to my reflection this week! Many of you who read my weekly reflection will know that I transferred from the Latin rite as a monk-priest, to help an Eastern Catholic community the UK, a desire partly underpinned by Erga Migrantes Caritas Christi, and instruction of 2004 on pastoral care o... Read More

In a meditation for the Jubilee of Bishops on Wednesday, 25 June, Pope Leo XIV said Bishops must be witnesses of hope through the example of "a life firmly grounded in God and completely devoted to the service of the Church." Bishops, before being shepherds, are sheep and members of the Lord's flock, Pope Leo told the prelates who had passed through the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica for thei... Read More

Pope Leo XIV welcomed more than 4000 seminarians and formators to St Peter's Basilica for their Jubilee on Tuesday morning, and gave them a meditation on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the priestly life. The Holy Father told seminarians they are called to bear witness "to Christ's gratitude and gratuitousness, to the exultation and joy, the tenderness and mercy of His Heart, to practice a style of ... Read More

The feeding of the five thousand. It makes me think of the images I've seen lately of people in Gaza waiting to be fed, of aid trucks queuing at the border while vast crowds make their way to a handful of secure compounds to be given food at gunpoint by security contractors - and that's the lucky ones. This isn't feeding people, this isn't taking care of them - it's using food as means of control,... Read More

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Lectionary: 169 Introduction Given the deep rootedness of Corpus Christi in the western Catholic tradition, its powerful festive hold on many of our communities, we can enjoy its rather homely, lay, devotional context as a time for first communions, processions and festal celebrations around adoration and benediction of the Sacrament, as well... Read More

Perhaps this is a naïve and rhetorical question, but why do we have a designated feast of the Trinity? It seems to me, particularly as one who serves in the Eastern Catholic Tradition, that the Trinity permeates all aspects of our life and worship, but that the mystery of the Triune One is just that, a mystery which we can partly grasp but never define. Somehow a feast like this tries to define, ... Read More

During his General Audience with pilgrims in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo reflected on the Gospel account of the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus, who cried out to Jesus as He passed through the city of Jericho on the way to Jerusalem. Their meeting place, the Pope said, was significant, as Jesus was beginning His journey below sea level and ascending to the Holy City. Jesus' journey prefigures... Read More

On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV criticized the "exclusionary mindset" in "political nationalisms." He asked God to "open borders, break down walls, dispel hatred" During his homily at Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost, which also marked the Mass for the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations and New Communities, on Sunday morning in St Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV recalled how the Holy Spirit acco... Read More

It is always good to remind ourselves that Christianity inherits much from Judaism and the wider cultural history of the Near and Middle East, mainly because it stops any of us in other cultures from claiming privileged access to what we understand as our Scriptures and the origins of Christian faith and worship. Pentecost was a Jewish celebration observed 50 days after the first day of Passover, ... Read More

Pope Leo XIV invites us to deepen our personal relationship with Jesus and to learn from his Heart how to have compassion on the world. Let us listen to his words in The Pope Video produced by the his Worldwide Prayer Network. And let us ask Christ to transform us and to teach us how to love. June is traditionally dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Let us reflect on how to look on humanity wi... Read More

Pope Leo XIV ordained several men priests on Saturday at a special Mass in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday. During his homily reflecting on their mission and identity he encouraged the new priests to welcome God's grace so they might remain close to the people they serve as credible witnesses. The Pope highlighted the relationship between the people of God and their priestly identity, which h... Read More

Seventh Sunday after Easter 1. To see Christ? How do you visualise Jesus? Christian art has consolidated around one particular type of image, we recognise it instantly, the bearded long haired image, particularly striking in the Icons of the Eastern church, this style goes back a long way and there is a tradition that Jesus himself sent an impression of his face to Edessa, from where comes the tra... Read More

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem reflects on Pope Francis' Message for the 59th World Day of Social Communications: In a time when war, division, and suffering are sweeping across the Holy Land, Pope Francis' message for the 59th World Day of Social Communications - celebrated on June 1st, the Sunday before Pentecost - comes as an urgent call: "Share with gentleness ... Read More

Sixth Sunday of Easter In every life a great change often starts with a simple almost unnoticed happening, a decision to go left instead of right, a word of welcome to a stranger, there are so many small, gentle ways in which we find ourselves on a different route, at the entrance of an open door, the start of something new. There may of course be momentous happenings for us, but we find those rar... Read More