Luke 1:39-56 ‘Mary set out and went as quickly as she could to a town in the hill country’. When Mary sets out to visit Elizabeth there’s a sense of urgency and excitement. By all accounts Mary’s journey to Elizabeth won’t have been easy. Whatever we imagine the terrain to be like, the journey was …
Monthly Archives: May 2023
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 …
Augustine of Canterbury
Luke 10:1-9 ‘Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road.’ These words always pull me up short. I rarely travel light as I like to be able to cover every eventuality when I am on a journey. We can quickly spiritualise this text and tell ourselves that Jesus wants us …
Friday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 21:15-19 Our Gospel texts during Eastertide have laid before us many themes. They weave in and 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 …
Thursday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 17:20-26 Father, I want those you have given meto be with me where I am,so that they may always see the glory you have given mebecause you loved me before the foundation of the world. Often in liturgy we find ourselves holding several time frames at once. We have celebrated the Ascension and now …
Wednesday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 17:11-19 ‘Consecrate them in the truth;your word is truth.As you sent me into the world,I have sent them into the world,and for their sake I consecrate myselfso that they too may be consecrated in truth.’ In recent weeks as the various scandals have unfolded in our country I have thought a good deal about …
Tuesday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 17:1-11 I have made your name knownto those you took from the world to give me. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Today we hear again the opening verses of Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel. Each couple of sentences presents us with an idea which …
Monday, Seventh Week of Easter
John 16:29-33 I am not alone,because the Father is with me.I have told you all thisso that you may find peace in me. How often have you prayed for someone that they may find peace? Perhaps someone might have to make a difficult decision or comes to terms with a difficult some difficult circumstances: we …
Seventh Sunday of Easter (A)
John 17:1-11 I pray for them; I am not praying for the worldbut for those you have given me, because they belong to you:all I have is yours and all you have is mine, and in them I am glorified. As we have journeyed through Eastertide our Biblical imaginations have been fed by the rich …
Saturday, Sixth Week of Easter
John 16:23-28 I tell you most solemnly,anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name.Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete. In the Penny Catechism the treatment of prayer looks very straight forward: What is prayer?Prayer …