It’s always interesting when a feast day comes along that outranks the Sunday and takes its place, and although the calendar date for the feast day of S. Peter and S. Paul was actually this last Saturday, the 29th, it has been moved by the bishops to the Sunday. This must be to save usContinue reading “Feast day of the Apostles S. Peter and S. Paul”
Category Archives: Liturgy
Trusting divine Providence (Sunday XII of Ordered time)
Our readings this weekend speak of our trust in the providence of God, Who (we might say) always has the bigger picture, and knows therefore what is best at all times. He says so much to the patriarch Job in our first reading today. In the story of Job, this venerable old man had lostContinue reading “Trusting divine Providence (Sunday XII of Ordered time)”
The King of hearts (Sunday XI of Ordered time)
This last weekend’s readings allow us to reflect on what the Church is. Especially in this month of June, a whole month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of our Lord, I like to say that He is the King of hearts. This was something the Temple priests and the scribes of His day – theContinue reading “The King of hearts (Sunday XI of Ordered time)”
Making all things new again (Sunday X of Ordinary time)
We have slipped back into ‘ordinary’ time, after the great festivals of our holy religion. The word ‘ordinary’ used here is something of a misuse of the Latin in the books; a better word is ‘ordered,’ to more accurately describe the sequenced Sundays that begin at Sunday X today and end just before Advent withContinue reading “Making all things new again (Sunday X of Ordinary time)”
The Sacrament of Love (Corpus Christi Sunday)
It was not too long ago that this last Thursday was everywhere the feast day of the body of Christ (in Latin, Corpus Christi) and the first day of July was the feast day of the blood of Christ. But these days, the two have been lumped together into one feast day on the Thursday,Continue reading “The Sacrament of Love (Corpus Christi Sunday)”
Love is three, and Love is one (Trinity Sunday)
I shouldn’t try to explain in ten minutes the greatest mystery that is present to us in our religious tradition. Ever since the Holy One revealed Himself to us as somehow three while being one, those who hate the Church have ridiculed our embrace of this mystery of the Trinity. Of old, great masters ofContinue reading “Love is three, and Love is one (Trinity Sunday)”
Engraved upon our hearts (Pentecost Sunday)
We suitably terminate our seven weeks of Easter with today’s festival of Pentecost. This is not necessarily a Christian system; it is a Jewish one. Long before our Lord walked this earth as a man, the Hebrew nation celebrated their liberation from slavery in Egypt with the festivals of Passover and of unleavened bread. ImmediatelyContinue reading “Engraved upon our hearts (Pentecost Sunday)”
Elected out of this world (Sunday after the Ascension)
Following Thursday’s feast of the Ascension (forty days after Easter Sunday), we are now on the approach towards Pentecost Sunday (fifty days after Passover/Easter). That’s what Pentecost means : fifty days in weeks. And our readings now relate to the promise of the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Who will animate the Church while ChristContinue reading “Elected out of this world (Sunday after the Ascension)”
The unifying love that is friendship (Sunday VI of Easter)
Cornelius, a leading character of our first reading this weekend, was a Roman, and so not Jewish, although not necessarily a pagan, for he was sufficiently devoted to the God of Israel to received the angelic vision that led him to call for the Apostle S. Peter. The Romans looked down upon the Jews asContinue reading “The unifying love that is friendship (Sunday VI of Easter)”
One in Christ, Jew and Gentile (Sunday V of Easter)
One of the books I have been reading this week was written by a Jewish rabbi from Rochester in the US, who a few decades ago came to a understanding of Our Lord Jesus Christ that his fellowmen mostly abhor. He realised that Christ was the Hebrew Messiah long awaited by the Jews. This man’sContinue reading “One in Christ, Jew and Gentile (Sunday V of Easter)”
The Shepherd-king as Father (Sunday IV of Easter)
We must always marvel at the benevolent love of the Holy One for the men and women that He calls His own. And we know that He calls the Church His own, because He actually calls it the sheepfold of which He is the Good Shepherd. And this is the theme of the readings today,Continue reading “The Shepherd-king as Father (Sunday IV of Easter)”
The Old Testament and the New (Sunday III of Easter)
Let’s try to find a common thread for all of our readings at Mass this weekend. There is first of all the sermon of Saint Peter on the occasion of a miracle of healing performed upon a cripple in Christ’s Name. “Peter, when he saw it, addressed himself to the people; ‘Men of Israel,’ heContinue reading “The Old Testament and the New (Sunday III of Easter)”
The Church in effect (Sunday II of Easter)
This Sunday is the octave day of Easter Sunday, and just as a musical octave at its end pitches the same note higher, the Resurrection of our Lord raises in pitch on the eighth day in a way, to the flourishing of the Church. For the grand theme of all our readings this weekend isContinue reading “The Church in effect (Sunday II of Easter)”
Faithfulness rewarded (Easter Sunday)
The readings of the Easter vigil in particular take us on a run through the Old Testament, and tell us progressively of the sin of our first parents, which created the seemingly irreparable rift with the Will of the Holy One, and then of the first mending of the rift through Father Abraham’s willingness toContinue reading “Faithfulness rewarded (Easter Sunday)”
Humility rewarded (Palm Sunday)
The point of our palm-waving festival this weekend is to honour the King, Who entered His own capital of Jerusalem as the Successor of David, to claim not political power but His eternal priesthood. Indeed He went not to the palace of the tetrarch Herod on that day, nor even the residence of the RomanContinue reading “Humility rewarded (Palm Sunday)”
Glorified in suffering (Sunday V of Lent)
This Sunday is called Passion Sunday. Not Palm Sunday – that comes next weekend. The reason we begin already to speak of the Passion this Sunday is because the liturgy features today the moment when our Lord set His face towards Jerusalem and to His great ordeal. As He says in the gospel reading today,Continue reading “Glorified in suffering (Sunday V of Lent)”
Commandments of love (Sunday III of Lent)
I would like to look at the readings this weekend very broadly. I shall give the usual introduction I give at our scripture-study hours. The problem mankind has had, from its very beginning, is its determination to ignore the direction or guidance of the God Who made it – the Shepherd King of hearts –Continue reading “Commandments of love (Sunday III of Lent)”
Up the mountain (Sunday II of Lent)
As we persevere in our Lenten observance, a week in now, we hope to carry through until the sixth week, and this weekend we have in our readings two episodes that take place on high mountains. Ascending towards a sanctuary was very significant in both the old and the new testaments. A sanctuary has nothingContinue reading “Up the mountain (Sunday II of Lent)”
Funeral Mass for Dom Adrian Convery OSB
Father Adrian, whom many of us know so well, was buried this afternoon. These were the arrangements, and fortunately for those of us who couldn’t find our way up to Ampleforth Abbey, the Mass was live-streamed and is available on Youtube…
Forty days and forty nights (Sunday I of Lent)
And so we begin the forty days, or so, of Lent. As the gospel story indicates, our forty days is a shadow of His forty days, the period in which He prepared for his three-year mission of preaching and teaching and for His great Sacrifice with the retreat into the wilderness. “At this time, JesusContinue reading “Forty days and forty nights (Sunday I of Lent)”
The leprosy of sin (Sunday VI of Ordinary time)
“A man may lose the hair on his crown, and still be clean; may lose the hair on his forehead, and still be clean, despite his baldness. But if in the bald patch on crown or forehead a white or reddish tinge is shewing, the priest who finds it there will hold him unclean beyondContinue reading “The leprosy of sin (Sunday VI of Ordinary time)”
Duty bound as Apostles (Sunday V of Ordinary time)
If I were to pull out a message from our readings this weekend, it would be about hard work and dedication in the midst of great difficulty and terror. And I do not mean hard work at labour, or a profession of this world. The greatest work at this moment in history for men andContinue reading “Duty bound as Apostles (Sunday V of Ordinary time)”
The Teacher above teachers (Sunday IV of Ordinary time)
We have recently heard in the Sunday readings about how, when S. John the Baptist very daringly established a ritual baptism of repentance for sin, he was accosted by priests and zealots from the Jerusalem Temple. It was at the Temple where God forgave sin through the sacramental system of the animal sacrifices. How dareContinue reading “The Teacher above teachers (Sunday IV of Ordinary time)”
Disciples of Christ (Sunday II of Ordinary time)
We could talk about vocation and mission this weekend, with the help of the Sunday readings. These days, there is a lot of talk about mission, especially in these formerly Christian lands, because we can see the Faith withering before our eyes, and too often among our own family and our circles of friends. So,Continue reading “Disciples of Christ (Sunday II of Ordinary time)”
Manifested to the world (the Epiphany of the Lord)
Today, Saturday, is the calendar day for the Epiphany of Our Lord to the three kings who came from the East; however, the liturgical festival has been transferred by the bishops to the Sunday for your ease, possibly so that you wouldn’t have to come to Church on two consecutive days. An epiphany is aContinue reading “Manifested to the world (the Epiphany of the Lord)”
The Holy Family of JM&J (Sunday within the octave of Christmas)
Our festival this weekend centres on the Holy Family in Bethlehem, and then in Nazareth, and then in exile in Egypt to escape the wicked king Herod, and then in the later flourishing in Nazareth. In the circle of the Immaculate Virgin, her silent but certain protector S. Joseph and the God-man Christ passing graduallyContinue reading “The Holy Family of JM&J (Sunday within the octave of Christmas)”
‘Integrity His cloak…’ (Sunday III of Advent)
Our readings this weekend invite us to compare our Lord the Messiah with His forerunner or herald, S. John the Baptist. For the first reading gives us a rather vivid picture of the Messiah the Jewish people were expecting and the gospel message gives us a picture of the rather fiery character that John was/is.Continue reading “‘Integrity His cloak…’ (Sunday III of Advent)”
The herald of the King (Sunday II of Advent)
As Advent proceeds we see new images of the Shepherd King in the prophecies of Isaiah. If we remember that Isaiah lived some seven hundred years before Christ, this is the voice of the God Who saves, Who has plotted His moment in time when He should arrive as the Shepherd of the people. HeContinue reading “The herald of the King (Sunday II of Advent)”
Sleepers, Awake! (Sunday I of Advent)
The famous cantata of the German composer Bach above has the theme of the end of year and Advent: keep watch, keep vigilant, watch for the Lord, Whose coming is imminent. Our Advent readings add to that theme an increasing amount of hope that the Holy One, God our Lord, would begin a new eruptionContinue reading “Sleepers, Awake! (Sunday I of Advent)”
The King of Hearts (the last Sunday of OT)
“…just as all have died with Adam, so with Christ all will be brought to life. But each must rise in his own rank; Christ is the first-fruits, and after Him follow those who belong to Him, those who have put their trust in His return. Full completion comes after that, when He places HisContinue reading “The King of Hearts (the last Sunday of OT)”
Spiritual return-on-investment (the 33rd Sunday of OT)
Our readings this weekend focus more and more on the end of all things as we drift towards the end of the liturgical year, which takes place on the day before the first Sunday of Advent. And, just as we attempt to settle our affairs and package everything as we come to the end ofContinue reading “Spiritual return-on-investment (the 33rd Sunday of OT)”
Wisdom on the march (the 32nd Sunday of OT)
“O God, Thou art my God; how eager my quest for Thee, body athirst and soul longing for Thee, like some parched wilderness, where stream is none! So in the holy place, I contemplate Thee, ready for the revelation of Thy greatness, Thy glory.” Psalm 62 [link] I wonder sometimes if we as a peopleContinue reading “Wisdom on the march (the 32nd Sunday of OT)”
‘And now, priests, a warning for you…’ (the 31st Sunday of OT)
We all know what damage bad and corrupted leaders can cause generally – how they can ruin not just a community but also the work of that community. But today we can talk about corruption among leaders of a religious community, because the readings of the Sunday give us the opportunity. And this is notContinue reading “‘And now, priests, a warning for you…’ (the 31st Sunday of OT)”
Charity to God and man (the 30th Sunday of OT)
“Listen then, Israel; there is no Lord but the Lord our God, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with the love of thy whole heart, and thy whole soul, and thy whole strength.” Deuteronomy, 6: 4-5 [link] Above is the call of the Hebrew and the Jew, and the Catholic, from the bookContinue reading “Charity to God and man (the 30th Sunday of OT)”
The evil inclination
This is an interesting inheritance that Christians have from Jewish theology: the יֵצֶר הַרַע. The evil inclination. It is given by S. Paul in our reading at Mass this morning, from his letter to the Romans: “My own actions bewilder me; what I do is not what I wish to do, but something which IContinue reading “The evil inclination”
Ss. Chad and Cedd, early English bishops
This morning, we had the ordinary weekday readings, with a strong message from S. Paul on the observance of ritual purity, which is to remain within the Christian Church as it did within the Temple Judaism of Paul’s day. “I am speaking in the language of common life, because nature is still strong in you.Continue reading “Ss. Chad and Cedd, early English bishops”
Jews and Gentiles together (the 20th Sunday of OT)
“…the time had come for the promises made by God to the Hebrews to be applied to non-Jews. It took a long time for the Apostles themselves to realise this…”
The Transfiguration of the Lord
This weekend by a coincidence, the feast day of the Transfiguration falls on the Sunday and, being a feast, ranks with the Sunday and is able to ride over the Sunday, filling our churches with white, a colour that is vividly described in the gospels by the men who heard first-hand descriptions (from the ApostlesContinue reading “The Transfiguration of the Lord”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 