John 14:27-31 ‘Peace I bequeath to you,my own peace I give you,a peace the world cannot give,this is my gift to you. ‘Oh, sister, it’s so peaceful here in the monastery.’ We hear this very often and, of course, there is a good deal of truth in this. We are a low stimulus environment, with …
Monthly Archives: April 2024
St Catherine of Siena
Matthew 11:25-30 Today we celebrate the feast of St Catherine of Siena. You’ll see her depicted wearing the habit of a nun, but she was in fact a Third Order Dominican. She’s of particular note for her fearless resolve and ability to speak truth to power, and especially to Popes. The Church has recognized her …
Fifth Sunday of Easter
John 15:1-8 Every branch in me that bears no fruithe cuts away,and every branch that does bear fruithe prunes to make it bear even more.You are pruned already,by means of the word that I have spoken to you. It took me a while as a novice to learn the difference between cutting away and pruning. …
Saturday, Fourth Week of Easter
John 14:7-14 Philip said, ‘Lord, let us see the Father and then we shall be satisfied.’Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? We can perhaps quite easily put ourselves in Philip’s position and hear these words addressed to ourselves. If I think …
Friday, Fourth Week of Easter
John 14:1-6 Our experience of the pandemic brought the reality of death very close to us. We remember the heartbreaking stories of people dying alone and of families not being able to be at the hospital bedside of a loved one. The idea of someone dying alone is something which haunts and troubles us. It’s …
St Mark
1 Peter 5:5-14Mark 16:15-20 When we celebrate the feast of St Mark the Evangelist we celebrate the gifts of a storyteller. What we read on the printed page had its origins in an oral culture. The early Church preserved in writing the memories and stories which shaped their identity. Mark’s Gospel is the first to …
Wednesday, Fourth Week of Easter
John 12:44-50 I, the light, have come into the world,so that whoever believes in meneed not stay in the dark any more. During my time in the monastery many people have asked me to pray for them. Sometimes they are seeking a way forward and might have the choice between two good things. I have …
St George
Romans 5:1-5John 15:18-21 ‘These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.‘ We are now in our fourth week of celebrating Easter and St George …
Monday, Fourth Week of Easter
John 10: 1-10 I am the gate.Anyone who enters through me will be safe:he will go freely in and out and be sure of finding pasture. For the hearers of John’s Gospel the image of a shepherd will have invoked a whole world of meaning. Being in charge of a flock of animals and making …
Fourth Sunday of Easter (B)
JOHN 10:11-18 I am the Good Shepherd: the good shepherd is one who lays down his life for his sheep. Biblical scholars tell us that the shepherds of Jesus’ day took the safety of the sheep so seriously that they would lie themselves across the entrance to the sheepfold at night. This would stop both …