Matthew 16:13-19 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 …
Monthly Archives: June 2022
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Luke 9:51-62 It is almost impossible for me to hear this Gospel without also hearing in my head ‘Follow Me’ by Michael Cockett and Sr Madeleine, FCJ. ( I even remember that it was pg 73 in Songs of the Spirit!) My twelve year old self was carried along by the catchy tune and the …
Sacred Heart
Ezekiel 34:11-16Romans 5:5-11Luke 15:3-7 Recently I have been revisiting Greg Boyle sj’s book, Tattoos on the Heart. Fr Greg works with gangs in Los Angeles and his book tells the most moving story of how God’s love triumphs through every form of adversity. Fr Greg tells the story of a plane journey he took with …
St John the Baptist
Luke 1:57-66,80 What will this child turn out to be? I have always loved this line from Luke’s account of the Birth of John the Baptist. The reader knows just who he will turn out to be. And yet, I am always caught up in a feeling of expectancy and possibilities. An earlier line in …
Saints John Fisher and Thomas More
Matthew 24:4-13 In the Collect for today’s feast we hear these words; ‘graciously grant that, strengthened through the intercession of Saints John Fisher and Thomas More, we may confirm by the witness of our life the faith we profess with our lips.’ This encapsulates the basic truth that the faith into which we were baptised …
Corpus Christi
Genesis 14:18-201 Corinthians 11:23-26Luke 9:11-17 As I looked at the readings for today I noticed that there was one word which appeared in all three texts: bread (loaf). In the first reading from Genesis we meet the enigmatic figure of Melchizedek. He is a ‘walk on’ biblical character, disappearing as quickly as he comes. Of …
The Onward Journey
I’ll be taking a break from posting for the next couple of weeks. I hope to start posting again on Sundays, Feasts and Solemnities. Daily postings will return in Advent. Thanks for your companionship on the journey this Lent/Eastertide. If you have enjoyed exploring John’s Gospel in Eastertide you might find these talks by Malcolm …
Pentecost
John 20:19-23 From the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday to the celebration of Pentecost the Church has marked out a path for us to follow. We have walked in the wilderness with Israelites, fasted in the desert with Jesus, followed him as he taught and worked miracles, we have sat at the table in …
Saturday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 21:20-25 This disciple is the one who vouches for these things and has written them down, and we know that his testimony is true. There were many other things that Jesus did; if all were written down, the world itself, I suppose, would not hold all the books that would have to be written. For …
Friday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 21:15-19 Our Gospel texts during Eastertide have laid before us many themes. They weave in an out of each other and form a kind of fabric. Amongst the many themes, these stand out for me: Love, Glory, Life, Believe in Jesus and Truth. Today it is Love that is to be our focus as …