Once more, as we come to the end of the liturgical year, in these last Sundays before Advent, our readings become apocalyptic and speak of the end of all things. This sort of thing can be frightening to the people of this world – those who have set their hearts upon the things of thisContinue reading “‘Lo, He comes with clouds descending…’ (Sunday XXXIII of Ordered time)”
Tag Archives: gospel of st mark
True sacrifice (Sunday XXXI of Ordered time)
We have something of an identity statement of the Hebrew religion in our first reading today, which you can still hear Jewish people using today, several times weekly, if not daily. They call it the Sh’ma (pictured above in the Hebrew Bible), which is the Hebrew word for ‘hear,’ the first word of the statementContinue reading “True sacrifice (Sunday XXXI of Ordered time)”
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)”
To reign from a Cross (Sunday XXIX of Ordered time)
“But the souls of the just are in God’s hands, and no torment, in death itself, has power to reach them. Dead? Fools think so; think their end loss, their leaving us, annihilation; but all is well with them. The world sees nothing but the pains they endure; they themselves have eyes only for whatContinue reading “To reign from a Cross (Sunday XXIX of Ordered time)”
The true measure of holiness (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)
There’s something I mention reasonably often: integrity and sincerity. Let us define religion as rite and ritual: the ceremonies that walk us from soon after we are born, through the period of adolescence and early adulthood, that sanctify our ordinary life throughout and that then finally carry us into the tomb. Why do people whoContinue reading “The true measure of holiness (Sunday XXVIII of Ordered time)”
Treasuring divine Wisdom (Sunday XXVI of Ordered time)
Our readings this weekend begin with the delegation of apostolic authority for ministry within the Church. Remember that the Greek word ‘apostle’ simply refers to somebody who is sent, but in the Christian context that refers to a very particular missionary with extraordinary delegated power and responsibility to govern and sanctify. We’re talking here aboutContinue reading “Treasuring divine Wisdom (Sunday XXVI of Ordered time)”
Christian leadership (Sunday XXV of Ordered time)
As with last weekend, we meditate upon the suffering of our Lord in the course of His great Sacrifice, so let’s again try to unite all three of our Mass readings together to establish a common message. Remember that September is traditionally the month of our Lady of Sorrows, when we stand with our blessedContinue reading “Christian leadership (Sunday XXV of Ordered time)”
Treasures in heaven (Sunday XXIV of Ordered time)
In our Gospel reading today we have the great confession of the Apostle S. Peter, at Caesarea Philippi, far, far north of Judah and Jerusalem, near what they call today the Golan Heights. Far beyond Galilee even, and the tranquility of the fishing villages. And so, far away from all things, Christ asks His menContinue reading “Treasures in heaven (Sunday XXIV of Ordered time)”
A divine vengeance (Sunday XXIII of Ordered time)
I often take things back to the garden of Eden. That is so very significant, that fall of mankind, and everything else that takes place throughout the rest of the Bible is related straight back to that, as is also the great ending of the book of Revelation, when the tree of life – onceContinue reading “A divine vengeance (Sunday XXIII of Ordered time)”
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)”
‘Whether or not they listen…’ (Sunday XIV of Ordered time)
I have switched the word ‘ordinary’ permanently to ‘ordered’ on the website, when referring to the green Sundays of this part of the year. That’s the real intimation of the word, as I see it: the Sundays counting down to the end of the year and the season of Advent. This weekend, we have veryContinue reading “‘Whether or not they listen…’ (Sunday XIV of Ordered time)”
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)”
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)”
Reading through the Gospel of S. Mark
Here’s the short Gospel, Saint Mark’s own effort, perhaps written in Rome, where Mark was a disciple of the Apostle Saint Peter, before Peter dispatched him as presbyter to Alexandria in Egypt, to found the Coptic Church. It’s interesting how the Coptic Church began as a dependency of Rome, before achieving its autonomy and becomingContinue reading “Reading through the Gospel of S. Mark”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 