“…prophets told them that David would return, a son of David, another man ‘after God’s own heart,’ who would resolve the question not only for them but for every tribe of mankind: who is your Lord?”
Tag Archives: gospel of st luke
Remembrance Sunday
Image by annaklein from Pixabay The thirty-second Sunday of Ordered (or Ordinary) time was suppressed again, as last weekend (with the Solemnity of All Saints), this time because of the feast day of the dedication of the Holy Father’s own cathedral in Rome, the arch-basilica of the Most Holy Saviour, called after its location inContinue reading “Remembrance Sunday”
Hypocrisy is easy (Sunday XXX of Ordered time)
“We can never be religiously smug, like the bad pharisee of the gospel story, ticking away the sins we have not committed, in order to tell the Holy One that we are best of men and women…”
The Rosary and persistence in prayer (Sunday XXIX of Ordered time)
“…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…”
Jews and Gentiles again (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)
“Then He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went into the synagogue there, as His custom was, on the sabbath day, and stood up to read; the book given to Him was the book of the prophet Isaias; so He opened it, and found the place where the words ran,Continue reading “Jews and Gentiles again (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)”
‘How long, o Lord?’ (Sunday XXVII of Ordered time)
“Lord, must I ever cry out to Thee, and gain hearing never? Plead against tyranny, and no deliverance be granted me? Must I nothing see but wrong and affliction; turn where I will, nothing but robbery and oppression; pleading at law everywhere, everywhere contention raising its head? What marvel if the old teachings are tornContinue reading “‘How long, o Lord?’ (Sunday XXVII of Ordered time)”
Blinded by comfort (Sunday XXVI of Ordered time)
“‘There was a rich man once, that was clothed in purple and lawn, and feasted sumptuously every day. And there was a beggar, called Lazarus, who lay at his gate, covered with sores, wishing that he could be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table, but none was ready to giveContinue reading “Blinded by comfort (Sunday XXVI of Ordered time)”
Using money (Sunday XXV of Ordered time)
“Christ tells us anyway that money and wealth cannot be an end in itself, that it must be a means to something greater. So, how shall we use our money?”
Martyrdom! (Sunday XXIII of Ordered time)
“Following after Christ then obviously involves a mortification that results in our denying not only sinfulness, but other human goods that people take for granted, even family. And this is what Christ calls a cross.”
He has raised up the lowly (Sunday XXII of Ordered time)
“As per the parable, in trying to take up seats nearer the host of the wedding feast, they were over-reaching. For glory is not taken for oneself; it is given from above.”
The narrow gate (Sunday XXI of Ordered time)
“Christianity, contrary to what we may sometimes be told, is not a religion ‘of the book,’ but rather a religion of the heart… Christianity and Catholicism will always be a love story.”
The heart of the prophet (Sunday XX of Ordered time)
“…when our Lord says in the gospel story that He brings fire, so that allegiance to Him will divide families, we see the immense price that is paid by those who attach themselves to Him…”
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)”
Vanity of vanities (Sunday XVIII of Ordered time)
“What, should one man go on toiling, his the craft, his the skill, his the anxious care, leaving all to another, and an idler? That were frustration surely, and great mischief done. Tell me, how is a man the richer for all that toil of his, all that lost labour of his, here under theContinue reading “Vanity of vanities (Sunday XVIII of Ordered time)”
Intercessory prayer (Sunday XVII of Ordered time)
I have been talking for some Sundays now about human dignity, which comes from human beings being made in the image and likeness of God. This image is not a physical image, obviously, because God is spirit, and has no form. In Christ, God takes to Himself a human form and becomes visible, but manContinue reading “Intercessory prayer (Sunday XVII of Ordered time)”
Choosing the better part (Sunday XVI of Ordered time)
“…we must find our priorities and choose the better part for ourselves. For while we focus on charity to our family, friends and others (as Martha), let us not forget prayer and devotion (as Mary).”
‘Who is my neighbour?’ (Sunday XV of Ordered time)
“The image of God in man is manifested in community life. And the first building block of our communities is the family.”
Christus imperat, Christ commands (Sunday XIV of Ordered time)
“…the Church defends the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception in the womb of the mother, and until the moment of natural death…”
Taste and see (Sunday IV of Lent)
I shall end today with my descriptions of the Mass, and next weekend, I shall begin with the Rosary. The Mass, as the second Vatican Council said, is the source and summit of our lives. It is our nearest encounter with the Holy One, the moment when heaven touches earth, and we stand among angels andContinue reading “Taste and see (Sunday IV of Lent)”
Burning bushes (Sunday III of Lent)
“More important than the way we die is how we live our lives, in repentance and building virtue.”
When God tabernacles with men (Sunday II of Lent)
“As the glory of the Holy One flashes forth on the mountain, the law-giver and judge Moses appears and the prophet and moralist Elijah appear alongside. They were talking about the point where Law and prophecy come together, where justice and righteousness are fulfilled, where heaven touches earth and angels walk among men.”
Priestly offerings (Sunday I of Lent)
“…the Mass is a Temple liturgy which echoes the worship of the heavenly Temple, and this presence of Christ upon our altars forms the greatest part of the offertory of the Church…”
Quiet, and blessed silence (Sunday VIII of Ordered time)
“…wisdom is gained in silence and listening, rather than in speech, and as the Lord says in our gospel reading today, a foolish man will lead everybody who follows him into the pit he has dug for himself.”
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…”
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…”
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…”
‘Behold, My Servant, in Whom I am pleased…’ (Sunday I of Ordered time)
“Baptism is like the penitential rite at the beginning of Mass, which recognises sin and wipes the slate clean, allowing the offering of the rest of our lives to God to be more beautiful, more pure, more single-minded. Baptism is the preliminary to a daily consecration of our lives to God.”
Hail to the Lord’s anointed (Epiphany day)
“…when they had appeared in Jerusalem to find the Child, Jewish heads would have looked up at the mention of a new light shining out in the heavens, because of such prophecies as we have from Isaiah…”
And you, Bethlehem-Ephratha (Sunday IV of Advent)
“Bethlehem-Ephrata! Least do they reckon thee among all the clans of Juda? Nay, it is from thee I look to find a Prince that shall rule over Israel. Whence comes He? From the first beginning, from ages untold! Marvel not, then, if the Lord abandons His people for a time, until she who is in travailContinue reading “And you, Bethlehem-Ephratha (Sunday IV of Advent)”
John the Priest (Sunday III of Advent)
Let’s talk about John the Baptist. We don’t tend to see him as much more than the herald of Christ, and some of us may remember that he baptised our Lord in the Jordan river. We know that he had a particular ministry to the people, and his own baptismal rite for a spiritual washingContinue reading “John the Priest (Sunday III of Advent)”
Humanity renewed (Sunday II of Advent)
“The link of our gospel story to Baruch’s prophecy is clearly in the levelling of mountains and filling in of valleys, in order to allow Jerusalem and Judah to be more quickly restored, as per Baruch. But S. John the Baptist has a greater vision: it isn’t only the Hebrew nation returning to God in the Messiah, but all nations of the earth – all mankind.”
Awaiting the King (Sunday I of Advent)
“…we are to watch ourselves, take up self-control to avoid possible drunkenness and debauchery, we are to stay awake, praying for the strength to survive every threat to our perseverance and faithfulness to God, and to stand confidently in all purity before the Son of Man.”
Reading through the Gospel of S. Luke
The Gospel of Saint Luke, third and longest of the lot, is particularly interesting for the way it is arranged, with much of the material in the Gospels of Saint Matthew and Saint Mark, but reordered to form a different narrative. At the same time, Luke added new material the other two Gospels don’t contain,Continue reading “Reading through the Gospel of S. Luke”
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)”
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”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 