I came across an interesting motto below a coat of arms and it read ‘Unity is strength’. In a way, this summarises the main thought on our minds as we come together today to give God thanks for the two great apostles, Peter and Paul. In their lifetime Peter and Paul did not work so closely together. Tradition has it…
TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A) Jeremiah 20: 10-13 Psalm 68 Romans 5:12-15 Matthew 10:26-33 REFLECTION Recently I was asked to join a parish committee set up to work on a plan to re-open our church. At the beginning of the meeting each of us was asked to share, with the rest of the group, how we had coped…
These days we are all encouraged to eat healthily. However, for some though, this good advice seems to fall on deaf ears, and I would be the first to admit that in the past, I have often made poor choices when it comes to food. However, with a lot of hard work, self-sacrifice and determination, I am pleased to say…
‘I have much more to say to you, more than you can bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from…
Today is the 50th day of Easter with our celebration of Pentecost, the beginning of our Church. Today’s Scripture readings remind us that Pentecost is an event of both the past and the present. The same Spirit that inflamed the Apostles, is also at work today in us. The Spirit is that Paraclete (a Greek word that is translated as…
THE SEVENTH SUNDAY OF EASTER The Acts of the Apostles 1: 12-14 John 17: 1-11 I am tempted to call this Sunday, ‘In Between Sunday.’ This is because if we look back to Thursday we celebrated The Ascension of Jesus and if we look forward to next Sunday we will be celebrating Pentecost, so here we are in between. Today…
We continue our reading from the Farewell Discourse as recorded in the Gospel of John which we began last week. Today we hear some very reassuring words from Jesus. He tells us that he will ask the Father to send us an Advocate to remain with us. When we use the word Advocate, inevitably we think of lawyers, one who…
EASTER ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled’ JOHN 14: 1-12 As we journey deeper and deeper into the real meaning of Easter a thought struck me that I would like to share with you. I have often found myself reflecting on how wonderful it would have been to be present with Jesus when he spoke with his disciples. There…
LUKE 24: 13-55 Very often when I am trying to prepare something whether that be a homily, talk, lecture or a lesson I ask myself one fundamental question, ‘how can I make this as simple as possible for people to understand?’ Jesus, somehow, always managed to do this, whilst at the same time allowing people to access the infinite love…
St Thomas the Apostle has long been regarded as the patron saint of doubters. This is fitting for someone who refused to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead until he had actually seen Christ himself standing in front of him showing the wounds of his Crucifixion. We can all identify with Thomas. It is hard for any of…