Isaiah 35:1-10 Today Isaiah offers us another poetic vision of all that God promises for the people of Judah: everybody and everything will be restored in a land governed by God. Judah has experienced a period of barrenness and dryness in her relationship with God. All of this God will turn into fertile land where …
Category Archives: Monastic
Sunday, Advent 2C
Baruch 5:1-9Luke 3:1-6 I originally started this reflection by focusing on the very familiar Gospel for today of John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness. As I looked at the readings again the imagery from Baruch in our first reading struck me very forcibly. In powerful poetry Baruch prophesies the glorious reversal of Judah’s fortunes: …
Saturday
Advent, Week One Isaiah 30:19-21.23-26 I’ve often been asked how I knew I wanted to be a nun. I think people know when they ask me that me that I didn’t have a Damascus road experience. I usually answer by talking about my growing conviction that I wanted to follow Christ and put my whole …
Friday
Advent, Week One Isaiah 29:17-24 In today’s text from Isaiah we have several images of reversal. ‘In a short time, a very short time,shall not Lebanon become a fertile landand fertile land turn into a forest?’ A radical new society is promised where creation is transformed and societal structures reformed. Together these reversals will make …
Thursday
Advent, Week One Isaiah 26:1-6 Today’s text from Isaiah is a song of hope where Jerusalem is imagined as a strong and fortified city, defended by God. That day, this song will be sung in the land of Judah:We have a strong city;to guard us he has setwall and rampart about us.Open the gates!Let the …
Wednesday
Advent, Week One Is 25:6-10 When I made my Solemn Profession in 2000 our artist, Sr Regina, made me a card with the text; ‘On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines.’ …
Tuesday
Advent, Week One Just as Advent begins, we step off the Advent path to celebrate the Feast of St Andrew the apostle. We have to make a quick liturgical gear change. Matthew’s account of the call of Andrew is short and offers us the minimum of details: ‘And they left their nets at once and …
Monday
Advent, Week One Isaiah 2:1-5 When I was 17 I had my first chance to study the Book of Isaiah as a whole. I was doing A Level Scripture and we were covering the Prophets. I remember being completely bowled over by the poetry of this passage. ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain …
Advent Sunday 1(C)
Luke 21:25-28.34-36 Over the years I have become used to the fact that our first Sunday of Advent opens not with words of comfort, but with an apocalyptic vision. These words have a poignancy in 2025 when we look back and think of the events which have ravaged our world. So many things have required …
Synodality and Vulnerability
I have followed the work of Brene Brown for at least 10 years. A social worker by profession, she has spent the last 20 years studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. To date, her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability, has had 16 million views on YouTube. On her website she describes herself like this: …