Reflections & Homilies

Recovering from flu-like symptoms, Pope Francis led the Angelus on Sunday from his residence at Casa Santa Marta instead of the usual window of the Apostolic Palace overlooking Saint Peter's Square on what was a chilly autumn day. Mgr Paolo Braida, Head of Office at the Secretariat of State, read the Pope's reflections before the Angelus and his additional message following the prayer. Pilgrims an... Read More

Feast of Christ the King Whilst we, as followers of Christ are all meant to be equal with each other, having no distinction between us in the Kingdom, the inescapable truth is that we can never be equal to the Holy One. Jesus the Christ as the person of Word made Flesh in the wonder of the Triune God, is certainly a friend and brother as that wonderful prayer of St Richard of Chichester puts it, y... Read More

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Tim Whatever we might think about the parable of the talents given to the servants, according to their ability in Matthew 25, several things need to be made clear. An immediate observation is that the Master will definitely be returning, that much is made clear, even if the exact time of return is not known! Does that matter? Indeed it does, if we mistakenly identif... Read More

The Archbishop of Dublin, Most Rev Dermot Farrell, gave the following Saint Mary's Pro-Cathedral, for the Feast of Saint Laurence O'Toole, patron saint of Dublin. In celebrating the feast of the patron of our diocese, we give thanks to God for the graces bestowed on Saint Laurence O'Toole in his life, and for the gift of his witness for us today. Beyond the understandable historical patina, the... Read More

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time We can be so very poor in the way we describe and perceive the All Holy One, usually we write or say 'God', or equivalent epithets, Almighty, Lord, Creator, and so on, but there is in Scripture a richness of poetry and image that allows us to enter the enveloping mystery of the All Holy in so many different ways. For there are far more attributions of the Unse... Read More

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time What a wonderful gift the Prophet Malachi gives to us in our first reading, even if the prophetic words need a bit of explanation in order for us to fully understand the context. They were uttered as part of an ongoing task of reinforcing the people's commitment to their God, here we find a section of the Deuteronomic Law that states no intermarriage should ta... Read More

On All Souls' Day yesterday Pope Francis celebrated Mass at Rome's Military Cemetery. In his homily - delivered off-the-cuff, without the aid of notes - the Pope remembered those who have gone before us, particularly those whose lives have been "cut short" by war. He said: "A celebration like today, brings with it two thoughts: memory and hope." All Souls' Day, he said, brings to mind "the people... Read More

Have you ever asked yourself how the Pope faces his daily challenges? In the Pope Video for November 2023, the Holy Father explains that "the fact that someone is Pope doesn't mean they lose their humanity." On the contrary, "being Pope is also a process" in which "the person becomes aware of what it means to be a pastor." For this reason, he invites us to ask the Lord to bless him. And to pray "t... Read More

Last Tuesday there was a rare breaking in of grace into the very bleak news we have been hearing from the Middle East. I am referring to the moment when an old lady who had been held captive by Hamas since the outbreak of hostilities turned to one of the fighters, who would appear to have been one of her captors, and greeted him with the word Shalom which in Hebrew means peace, wellness and wholen... Read More

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time "The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness Is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart. O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!" So wrote William Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice! As ever his words have proven true. All of us can cite Scripture to back up something we approve or disappr... Read More

At the Sixteenth General Congregation of the Synod, Sister Maria Grazia Angelini, OSB, offers a spiritual reflection on the theme of "'The least of all...' (Mk 4:30): Narrating parables rather than issuing proclamations." General Congregation 16 - 23 October 2023 Spiritual insights "The least of all..." (Mk 4:30) Narrating parables rather than issuing proclamations Sr Maria Grazia Angelini OSB 1.... Read More

The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem write: On the evening of Tuesday, October 17, a strike on Gaza's al-Ahli Arab Hospital, often called the Baptist Hospital, killed at least 500 people, most of them children and women. Images and videos revealed body parts scattered across the hospital grounds, doctors performing emergency surgeries without anaesthesia, and parents scre... Read More

October 22nd 2023 Twenty ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time I wish I knew more about the great King, Cyrus II (590-529 BC) who appears in our first reading from Isaiah. It's a brief mention here, but history tells us he was revered by his own people of Persia, and remembered for his political philosophy of tolerance and respect toward non-Persians and his demonstration of mercy towards his defeated foe... Read More

At the presentation of the Twelfth General Congregation of the Synod today, Father Timothy Radcliffe, OP, offered a spiritual reflection on 'The Council of Jerusalem.' So: 'Participation, government and authority: What processes, structures and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?' Luke, whose feast we celebrate today, tells us in Acts 15 about the so-called Council of Jerusalem... Read More