“…out with our beads, our arms are heavy… with laziness or reticence, or with the cares of life, which exhaust us and distract us, and there is no time for any prayer, certainly not the toil of the Rosary…”
Tag Archives: faith and trust
Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)
“Of what should befall that night, our fathers had good warning; confidence in Thy sworn protection should keep them unafraid. A welcome gift it was to Thy people, rescue for the just, and doom for their persecutors; at one stroke Thou didst punish our enemies, and make us proud men by singling us out forContinue reading “Wait for the Lord (Sunday XIX of Ordered time)”
Trust in God alone (Sunday VI of Ordered time)
“…as the prophet suggests, and as our Lord Himself once said when He was talking about building upon solid rock rather than on sand, if we were to rely on the Holy One, God our Lord, being sure of His protection, we would have fewer worries…”
The light of Faith (Sunday XXX of Ordered time)
Let’s attempt to establish a timeframe for our readings this weekend. Jerusalem and the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed calamitously twice, once in 587 BC by the Chaldeans and the second time in AD 70 by the Romans. So, the first time was a little less than 600 years before our Lord, and the second timeContinue reading “The light of Faith (Sunday XXX of Ordered time)”
Hand to the plough, but looking back… (Sunday XVIII of Ordered time)
Let’s identify in our readings this weekend not only the miraculous provision of food for the elect people of God, but also the preparation that was required for them to receive it. This was not an easy story at all, miracle or not, and it still isn’t an easy lesson to learn. Let me makeContinue reading “Hand to the plough, but looking back… (Sunday XVIII of Ordered time)”
Reading through the letter (of S. Paul) to the Hebrews
Almost twenty years ago, the Holy Father Benedict XVI named 2009-2010 as a Year of Priests, which was crucial for its time, because it created a great enthusiasm among young gentlemen, and for a time the seminaries began to fill up, and the priesthood received a renewed focus especially on social media. After the ongoingContinue reading “Reading through the letter (of S. Paul) to the Hebrews”
Where prophets come from (Sunday XV of Ordered time)
We had a sentiment of prophecy in our readings last weekend, when it seemed evident that prophets are always sent, whether or not people listen to them. The directions of the Creator for right human living arrive in every time, whether or not the worlds receives them well. In our readings this weekend, we discoverContinue reading “Where prophets come from (Sunday XV of Ordered time)”
Reading through Ecclesiasticus (aka. ben Sirach)
Today’s summary is on the book of Ecclesiasticus, an important bridge between the Old and the New Testaments that was excluded from by the rabbis from the Hebrew Bible in the centuries after the Resurrection, perhaps because it was considered too Christian. Sadly, protestant rebels did the same in the sixteenth century, probably trying toContinue reading “Reading through Ecclesiasticus (aka. ben Sirach)”
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)”
Reading through the letter of S. James
The first bishop of Jerusalem, Saint James the Just, was greatly honoured during his lifetime, by Christian and Jew alike. The tradition of the Church speaks through S. Jerome who quotes an older description of him thus: “After the apostles, James the brother of the Lord surnamed the Just was made head of the ChurchContinue reading “Reading through the letter of S. James”
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)”
Reading through the prophecy of Jeremiah
The longest prophecies of the Old Testament belong to Isaias, Jeremias and Ezechiel, and each comes from a different era after the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, and surrounding the time of the catastrophic destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC. Isaias is the prophet of the time of King Ezechias of Juda (715-687Continue reading “Reading through the prophecy of Jeremiah”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 