Daniel 7:9-10,13-14Psalm 137John 1:47-51 When I was in the third form in secondary school, we had an innovative head of year. She was a very zany dresser, combining full length fake mink coats with yellow wellies. Just seeing her outfits always gave me a lift. Her assemblies were memorable too. She used to play music …
Category Archives: Monastic
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 16:19-31 Week after week the Gospel texts have presented us with a range of challenges. This week’s text is no exception. In the present climate of the cost-of-living crisis and growing concern over fuel prices can the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus provide some light for our path? At first sight the …
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)
Luke 16:1-13 When we listen to the parables of Jesus it can be easy to forget the urgency in his preaching. A new age is dawning and Jesus himself is the embodiment of the Kingdom he preaches. This Kingdom offers both promise and challenge. These past weeks we have listened to Luke outlining his theology …
Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 15:1-32 We’ve become accustomed to hearing the three parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Lost Son together. Luke’s narrative skill invites us into each scene, and we almost have no choice but to respond. With each parable the invitation goes deeper. We know these stories so well. If you are …
Twenty Third Sunday of the Ordinary Time
Luke 14:25-33 ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.‘ As Jesus journeys further towards Jerusalem his teaching on the demands of discipleship becomes more …
Twenty Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 14:1,7-14 ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you would …
Feast of St Bartholomew
John 1:45-51 That we know almost nothing about St Bartholomew (Nathanael) is perhaps a little liberating. There is space for our imaginations to read between the lines in the very short text from John. There are four things that I glean from this text: Nathanael is not afraid to make his point, he responds to …
Twenty First Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 13:22-30 Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” These words from Luke often put me in mind of a fairly standard motif in …
St Bernard Tolomei
Genesis 12:1-4John 15:9-17 Here at Turvey we are celebrating the feast of St Bernard Tolomei, founder of the Olivetan Congregation. We know relatively little about him. Born in Siena in 1272, the son of a noble man, he was educated and trained to be a lawyer. In 1313, Bernard and two companions moved out to …
The Assumption
Revelation 11:19,12:1-6,10 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 Luke 1:39-56 The older I get the more time I seem to need to spend on paying attention to my body and making sensible choices. This is anything but self indulgent. When you live in community your own well-being is linked to the whole. There’s something of an implicit understanding that what …