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)”
Tag Archives: priesthood
Confession, reconciliation and Divine Mercy (Sunday II of Easter)
“…let us meditate today on the power of Divine Mercy, Christ’s call to repentance, the agency of the Christian priesthood in this, and the endless love of the heart of God our Lord.”
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)”
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 morning offering
I had said that I would start a series of posts on prayer, after finishing up the short commentaries. Here’s a nice, old morning offering, to begin the day with: O Lord God Almighty, behold me prostrate before Thee in order to appease Thee, and to honour Thy Divine Majesty, in the name of allContinue reading “A morning offering”
Reading through the first letter of S. Peter
The first letter of the Apostle Saint Peter that is preserved in our New Testament was addressed to Christians of Asia Minor, what is now called ‘Turkey.’ As we can see from the map just below, in Greek times, Pontus and Bithynia were on the north, sitting on the Black Sea, Galatia was the greatContinue reading “Reading through the first letter of S. Peter”
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”
Reading through S. Paul’s letter to S. Titus
Saint Titus, who is often grouped together with Saint Timothy, the bishop of Ephesus, was Saint Paul’s representative on the island of Crete. Titus was a disciple and companion of Saint Paul, and became the first bishop of Crete, during which ministry he must have received this letter from his old teacher. We know fromContinue reading “Reading through S. Paul’s letter to S. Titus”
Commandments of love (Sunday III of Lent)
I would like to look at the readings this weekend very broadly. I shall give the usual introduction I give at our scripture-study hours. The problem mankind has had, from its very beginning, is its determination to ignore the direction or guidance of the God Who made it – the Shepherd King of hearts –Continue reading “Commandments of love (Sunday III of Lent)”
‘Integrity His cloak…’ (Sunday III of Advent)
Our readings this weekend invite us to compare our Lord the Messiah with His forerunner or herald, S. John the Baptist. For the first reading gives us a rather vivid picture of the Messiah the Jewish people were expecting and the gospel message gives us a picture of the rather fiery character that John was/is.Continue reading “‘Integrity His cloak…’ (Sunday III of Advent)”
‘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)”
Catholic Louth and Mablethorpe 