Matthew 20:20-28 ‘The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons to make a request of him, and bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other …
Category Archives: Monastic
Preferring Nothing to Christ: 6 Weeks with St Benedict
I’ll be posting Wednesdays and Saturdays for the next 6 weeks. I have chosen 6 themes from the Rule of St Benedict: Listen, Seek, Gospel, Christ, Love and Together. (I had hoped to launch this on July 11th, but things got delayed a bit.) Starts Wed 26th July
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 13:24-43 In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed, he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy: I will speak to you in parablesand expound things hidden since the foundation of the world. Today the Gospel offers us three parables, three stories that are …
St Mary Magdalene
John 20:1-2,11-18 I recently read an article about Pope Francis where the writer talked about the importance of understanding his style of leadership, way of speaking and particular vocabulary. What stands out for me when I think of Pope Francis is his stress on the culture of encounter. Pope Francis wants us to meet people …
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:10-11Matthew 13:1-23 I spent yesterday at our Diocesan Assembly for my diocese of Northampton. Over three hundred and fifty people gathered as Pilgrims of Hope. We shared our love for the Church and our hopes and dreams for the future. We faced the difficult topics with courage and a willingness to really listen to …
Better Together
I’m posting twice today for the Feast of St Benedict. I was reading this morning and was reminded of one of my favourite monastic stories. It’s too good not share. Sr Aquinata Bockmann is a missionary Benedictine Sister and an expert in the Rule of St Benedict. She has told the story below many times …
Feast of St Benedict
Proverbs 2:1-9Matthew 19:27-29 My son, if you take my words to heart, if you set store by my commandments,tuning your ear to wisdom, and applying your heart to truth:yes, if your plea is for clear perception, if you cry out for discernment,if you look for it as if it were silver, and search for it as for buried treasure,you …
St Thomas
John 20:24-29I have heard this quotation from writer, Anne Lammot, many times: ‘I have a lot of faith. But I am also afraid a lot, and have no real certainty about anything. I remembered something Father Tom had told me–that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty. Certainty is missing the point entirely. …
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Romans 6:3-4,8-11 Matthew 10:37-42Every so often we are presented with a text from the Gospels where no matter how we turn it around, we are left with an image or a concept that is just plain difficult. ‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or …
Saints Peter and Paul
John 21:15-19 That Peter and Paul share a feast day has always struck me as a testament to the fact that from the beginning the Christian community had to navigate different styles of leadership and different opinions. Peter had first hand knowledge of Jesus and Paul did not. It is almost inevitable that they wouldn’t …