Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9Matthew 5:17-19 Moses said to the people; Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord God of your Fathers is giving you. Scripture scholar, Walter Brueggemann, sees …
Category Archives: Monastic
The Annunciation
Isaiah 7:10-14,8:10Luke 1:26-38 ‘Mary, do not be afraid; you have won God’s favour. Listen! You are to conceive and bear a son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High.’ Do you ever stop and wonder how different our faith might be if Jesus …
Monday in the Third Week of Lent
2 Kings 5:1-15 Luke 4:24-30 Jesus starts his preaching ministry in his home town of Nazareth. He doesn’t start gently with an engaging story, but boldly he unrolls the Isaiah scroll and announces that these prophecies are being fulfilled. A huge leap of faith is required on the part of the people in the synagogue. The …
Third Sunday in Lent (C)
Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15Luke 13:1-9 This week the Church lays before us a parable that can challenge and comfort us in equal measure. The parable of the Fig tree is particular to Luke and its message comes at a stage in Lent when my initial fervour is usually starting to wane a little. A man had …
Saturday in the Second Week of Lent
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 My son, you are with me always, and all I have is yours. But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is found. These are some of my favourite verses from the Parable of …
Friday in the Second Week of Lent
Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28aMatthew 21:33-43, 45-46 In just one verse the writers of Genesis paint for us a scene that so easily strikes a chord. We can imagine the first time Joseph appears in his special coat. We can imagine the looks and the mutterings. We just know things aren’t going to turn out too …
Thursday in the Second Week of Lent
Jeremiah 17:5-10Luke 16:19-31 Today’s Gospel of the Rich Man and Lazarus is part of a sequence of Luke’s exposition of Kingdom values. We meet the familiar theme of a reversal of the world’s ways. Grace and favour come to those whom the world forgets. The Rich Man is desperate for his own suffering to be …
St Joseph
2 Sam 7:4-5, 12-14,16Matthew 1:16, 18-21,24 We step off the Lenten path to celebrate the Feast of St Joseph. Unlike other saints in our calendar, we have no dates of his birth or death, whether from history or folklore. But what we do have is his silent belief in God’s promise. The first reading from …
Tuesday in the Second Week of Lent
Isaiah 1:10. 16-20Matthew 23:1-12 Wash, make yourselves clean.Take your wrong-doing out of my sight.Cease to do evil.Learn to do good,search for justice,help the oppressed,be just to the orphan,plead for the widow. This is one of my favourite pieces of Hebrew poetry. It has a rhythm which makes it easy to memorise. It’s an uncompromising message …
Monday in the Second Week of Lent
Daniel 9:4-10Luke 6:36-38 Today in the first reading from Daniel the prophet looks back over Israel’s covenant relationship. He fully acknowledges that Israel has strayed far from God and to them ‘the look of shame belongs.’ Israel is now completely dependent on God’s mercy. In the Gospel today Jesus invites his disciples to ‘be compassionate …