On this third Sunday of Advent, we water down the purple of the Advent vigil to a more joyous rose pink, as we rejoice in the Lord. Because of that first word of the Mass this weekend – rejoice – this liturgical Sunday is called Rejoice Sunday, or in the Latin Gaudete Sunday. So, asContinue reading “Waiting patiently (Sunday III of Advent)”
Tag Archives: gospel of st matthew
Fear of the Lord (Sunday II of Advent)
“If God can raise children of Abraham – our father in the faith – out of the stones in the desert, it doesn’t matter at all that we may be Jews, or indeed that we are of any race, that our families have been Christian and Catholic for x number of centuries, or decades or years…”
Keeping vigil (Sunday I of Advent)
We could say to ourselves: last weekend was the last Sunday of the liturgical year, and so this Sunday must be the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. And we would be right. And we could suggest that, since the readings of the last two Sundays had apocalyptic, end-of-the-world-type themes, this Sunday should haveContinue reading “Keeping vigil (Sunday I of Advent)”
Blessed are they (Solemnity of All Saints)
“And I saw a second angel coming up from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he cried out with a loud voice to the four angels who were empowered to lay waste land and sea; ‘Do not lay waste land or sea or wood, until we have put a seal onContinue reading “Blessed are they (Solemnity of All Saints)”
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)”
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…”
‘I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith…’ (feast day of S. Peter and S. Paul)
“Christ immediately after that appointment of Peter as steward/vicar starts to talk about His own passion and death, His resurrection and His departure. Peter would have a very real job in His absence.”
And the drama begins again… (Palm Sunday)
I shall say today what I wanted to last week, when we had a letter from the cardinal archbishop. After several weeks of talking about the Catholic Mass, I have wanted to introduce another significant element of the devout lives of Catholics: the devotion to Our Lady. If we peer into the chronicles of theContinue reading “And the drama begins again… (Palm Sunday)”
Christmas Day! At last…
“The shepherds had more to rejoice about than simply proving the words of the angels on the hills. As religious Jews, they may have remembered the lines of Isaiah, given us by the first reading at the dawn Mass, which were coming to fruition before their eyes.”
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)”
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)”
‘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)”
God or the king? or both? (the 29th Sunday of OT)
“A message from the Lord to the king He has anointed, to Cyrus. I have caught him by his right hand, ready to subdue nations at his coming, put kings to flight, open every gateway before him, so that no door can keep him out. And now (says the Lord) I will still lead theeContinue reading “God or the king? or both? (the 29th Sunday of OT)”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 