Reflections
2022
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
This week more of the same? Amos denouncing the rich (Am 6:1a, 4-7); Paul encouraging Timothy (1 Tm 6:11-16); Jesus pointing out how the poor will end up in heaven, and the rich maybe not (Lk 16:19-31). But…
Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings are about wealth and how to use it, or at least not to abuse it. Amos thunders against those who gain wealth by exploiting the poor (Am 8:4-7). We hopefully are not amongst those, but there…
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today our Readings start with an account of Moses arguing with God (Ex 32:7-11, 13-14). There are a number of occasions like this in the Hebrew Scriptures which may seem a little odd to us (e.g. Abraham…
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Some things in life require total commitment. If you want to be an Olympic athlete, or climb Everest, or play at Carnegie Hall, you had better be totally dedicated and be certain you have your priorities fixed…
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
A theme of humility started to emerge in our readings last week. This week it comes front and center (Lk 14:1, 7-14). Jesus starts with a very clear illustration of why it’s a good idea to avoid overreaching,…
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
The need to separate ourselves from those we consider different and inferior must be a very strong human motivation. It seems to be present at the beginning of human history and it remains true today. The…
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It would be nice to imagine that the church was a happy family, always united in bringing the saving message of the Gospel to the world. Of course we know that this is far from the truth. For every individual…
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I sometimes think we’d be better off if somehow we could read our readings backwards! Inevitably we are left with the strongest impression from what comes at the end. If these were speeches or homilies that…
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Recently I received a message telling me that a friend I had known for 30 years had gone out for a bike ride, as he often did, had a heart attack and died. He was not old and was in good health. Such events…
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today in Luke's Gospel (Lk 11:1-13) we hear how Jesus taught his his disciples to pray - the prayer we use every week at mass, and on many other occasions, privately and publicly. This prayer is also given in…
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you feel like maybe Martha was rather badly treated? After all she was the one who welcomed Jesus. (Lk 10:38-42) When Abraham welcomed the Lord he got a son by way of recognition for his efforts. (Gn…
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Yup, it really is that simple! Love God and love your neighbor and, by the way, everyone is your neighbor. It's not complicated. It may not be easy, but it's not complicated... Moses himself pointed out (Dt…
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Last week we were focused on our individual, personal response to Jesus' call. This week our attention shifts to the external impact of this call - what does it mean for us and the people around us, the people…
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Our readings this week point out how following Jesus requires a certain strength of character. Yes his call is a gift, but it still takes an effort to respond (as it did also for Elisha - 1 Kgs 19:16b, 19-21),…
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
The disciples were getting worried. They were in a remote place, there were a lot more people come to see Jesus than they expected, and they were wondering how on earth they were all going to get something to…
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
There are many ways to speak of the Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of truth, the spirit of understanding. All these tend to position the Spirit alongside the Father and the Son. After all, that…
Pentecost Sunday
With the Feast of Pentecost we come to the end of our Easter season. As we noted last week, Luke is the only gospel writer who organizes his material to give us accounts of the Ascension and Pentecost in that…
The Ascension of the Lord
All the Gospels agree in broad terms about the death and resurrection of Jesus. However the picture after the resurrection is less clear. There are big variations between accounts in how long Jesus remained…
Sixth Sunday of Easter
As we move towards the end of our Easter season, our readings remain on the three parallel tracks they have followed from the beginning. We have Luke's account of day-to-day life in the early Church; the…
Fifth Sunday of Easter
The One who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” We are familiar with a "new day", a "new start", even a "new life". We use those expressions all the time. Sometimes they imply a big…