Integrity and humility (Sunday IV of Ordered time)

“All of this implies that, in our spiritual lives, we become like little children, humble before our common Father, desirous to do His will, to become like Him.”

The devotion of S. Paul (Sunday III of Ordered time)

“It is quite clear from the history and tradition of the Church that this indefatigable man did more to spread the Church throughout the Roman world than did any other of the Apostles in their own missions.”

Faithfulness (Sunday II of Ordered time)

What is it to be Christian? Most people these days seem to be repelled by the idea of religion, to begin with. But after centuries of anti-Catholicism, and in the last two centuries anti-Christian rhetoric, there is a gloom that arises in the typical Western mind about the Church. But the oldest sentiment of theContinue reading “Faithfulness (Sunday II of Ordered time)”

Fiery serpents (Feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross)

“…what we preach is Christ crucified; to the Jews, a discouragement, to the Gentiles, mere folly; but to us who have been called, Jew and Gentile alike, Christ the power of God, Christ the wisdom of God…”

Lost all lost in wonder (Corpus Christi Sunday)

“This gift of bread and wine, His Body and Blood, which He gave for the first time at the Last Supper is linked directly to the Sacrifice on the cross the following day. This is perfect love: the pouring out of the life of a father – a parent – so that his (her) children may live.”

Love even your enemies (Sunday VII of Ordered time)

“What makes the Sacrifice of our Lord upon the Cross so perfect? In a single word, His humility, which… creates the locus for self-sacrificing love…”

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts (Sunday V of Ordered time)

“We might as well use S. Paul’s words in the second reading this weekend: I am the least of the people to be sent out by You, Lord, for I have been a great sinner, and I hardly deserve the name Apostle, but by your grace I shall be fruitful, I shall be an apostle.”

Reading and understanding (Sunday III of Ordered time)

“Historically, in the time of Ezra and from the time before the destruction of King Solomon’s Temple, the Jewish people had been scattered throughout the known world. Wherever they went, they already began to establish what we would recognise as synagogues…”

Reading through the first letter of S. Paul to the Corinthians

This is one of the most popular of the preserved letters of S. Paul, so let’s try and draw a quick summary. Like most big Greco-Roman towns of the first century, Corinth had a large Jewish community, living among almost any number of other religions and philosophy, for this small city was about as metropolitan asContinue reading “Reading through the first letter of S. Paul to the Corinthians”

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)”

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)”