Reflections, sermons and homilies.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Blessed are those who trust in the LORD;
the LORD will be their trust.
They are like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream. (Jer 17:7,8)
It's not often that a very negative statement from Scripture keeps my limited attention span for long, I prefer the glass half full approach,...
In his ongoing catechesis on the 'Our Father' today, Pope Francis told pilgrims gathered in the Paul VI hall for the General Audience that "true prayer is made in the intimate depths of a heart visible only to God.
"It is a silent dialogue", he said, with love at its core. "To look at God and to let oneself be looked at by God is to pray."
The Pope commented that in this way, the Ch...
During the Angelus on Sunday, addressing pilgrims in St Peter's Square, the Holy Father reflected on the day's Gospel account of the miraculous catch of fish, and the calling of St Peter. The prodigious catch of fish was a "a sign of the power of the word of Jesus." When we respond generously to God's call, he said, Jesus "accomplishes great things in us."
Jesus "surprised" Simon by climb...
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?" "Here I am," I said; "send me!"(Is 6:8)
I was discussing with a great friend just what we thought was essential in our vocation as priests and what we thought was perhaps the most important aspect of training, my answer was simply to say that as pries...
Let us pray for a generous welcome of the victims of human trafficking, of enforced prostitution, and of violence.
There are issues where you are morally obligated to take a side, such as human trafficking. You cannot be neutral. If you don't take a stand against it, if you don't do something to fight it, you're contributing to the continued existence of this tremendous injustice. Open yo...
Pope Francis celebrated Mass this morning in Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City this morning, attended by 180,000 people from more than 100 countries. He invited Christians in the region to live in peace and to remember that Jesus always walks at their side. The full homily text follows below:
Blessed: this is the word with which Jesus begins his preaching in Matthew's Gosp...
Religious men and women are called to a twofold obedience, Pope Francis said in his homily at Mass last night, marking the World Day of Consecrated Life. He said those two aspects are obedience to the law, "in the sense of what gives order to our lives", and to the Spirit, "who does new things in our lives". "The Spirit reveals the Lord, but to welcome him we need to persevere every day," he sa...
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully, as I am fully known ( I Cor 13:12)
Do you sometimes stop and wonder what God knows about you, or do you spend time to think about the things of heaven? As I write this on the Feast of Candlemas, one of my favourite paint...
For over twenty years, the Catholic Church has been celebrating the World Day for Consecrated Life on 2 February. It was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997 as a special day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. It highlights the gift and beauty of consecrated persons and their vocation in the Church.
For religious communities, parishes and the greater Church this day is ob...
Pope Francis asks this month, that we pray with him, "that all may welcome the victims of human trafficking, of enforced prostitution and of violence."
Our prayer, especially our daily Morning Offering, places us on a pathway, with Jesus, that mobilises us and increases our apostolic readiness according to our individual circumstances. The Morning Offering, that has been at the heart of t...
That we do not forget any who perished, ever!
The photograph is of a litle girl brought up in a concentration camp drawing a picture of her 'home' (1948)
Words written by an unknown Austrian woman at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp just before her execution to comfort the other women there:
"Whatever threads fate may weave/ we must keep our heads high and nerves taut/ as nothin...
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour".(Lk 4:18,19)<...
During morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Monday, 21 January, Pope Francis said that some people believe themselves to be good Catholics but don't act like good Christians as described by Jesus in the Beatitudes.
The Gospel, the Word of the Lord, is the "new wine" that has been given to us, he said. But to be good Christians we need a "new behaviour", a "new style" that is truly the "C...
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Brothers and sisters: There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
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