Dear sisters and brothers, In this Sunday’s readings we are presented with three mountain top experiences. The sacrifice of Isaac on Mount Moriah; Jesus’ Transfiguration on Mount Tabor; and Paul’s reflection on Jesus’ crucifixion on Calvary, a part of the same mountain range as Mount Moriah. On Mount Moriah, Abraham reveals how deep his faith in God has gone. Isaac
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Dear sisters and brothers, Rather than a homily from me this week, there’s a Lenten message from Bishop David. He writes: “At the chapel in Bishop’s House the beautiful pictures of the saints are covered up because we are trying to make the chapel a desert place. Why the desert? Because the desert makes sense of this season of Lent.
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Dear sisters and brothers, This time last year we didn’t know how our lives would change so dramatically. Ash Wednesday was ten days later than this year, but still it was around the same time. We planned, as we always do for Lent. We were going to sacrifice certain things; we were going to commit to new, positive, faith filled
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Dear sisters and brothers, As I read this weekend’s Gospel I was reminded of a scene from ‘The Chosen’. You may remember me having mentioned this series in the past. It is about the life of Christ but reflecting on the experiences of those whom he chooses, his disciples, helping us to remember that he chooses each of us to
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Dear sisters and brothers, The word that jumped out at me this weekend, unusually for me in the first reading, is the word prophet. God, through Moses, promises Israel that they will have the prophet that they asked for, but they are beholden to listen to him, because he will be speaking on behalf of God. Basically: you’ve asked for
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Dear sisters and brothers, I shared at Mass during the week that I’d watched a documentary about Greta Thunberg, and how there were similarities between her sense of mission, and the reception she’d received, and Jesus’ mission and reception by the authorities 2,000 years ago. As I read today’s first reading from the Book of Jonah that documentary came to
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Dear sisters and brothers, As we celebrate today’s feast, the Baptism of the Lord, two events come to mind. Both were many years ago. The first was when I attended Church with an Anglican friend of mine and there happened to be a Baptism that day. To mu surprise the Vicar came into the Church barefoot and in a t-shirt
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Dear sisters and brothers, We have entered a new year, and I know that many of us are praying that it is better than the last one, and that we will know universal healing from the dread ‘C’ word. I presume that for most of us it was a quiet new year celebration. I had a lovely evening with my
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My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, In today’s Gospel scene, we hear how the Holy Family journey to Jerusalem, the hearts of Mary and Joseph filled with the joy which comes from fulfilment of the Lord’s will. The poverty of their sacrifice, ‘a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’ is matched by the wealth of their faith and
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Dear sisters and brothers, Have you ever had great plans that, for some reason, ended up coming to nothing? Poor King David! In this Sunday’s first reading, that’s exactly what happens to him. He’s finally established on the throne of Israel after many years of conflict, he’s conquered Jerusalem to make it his capital and he’s living in a lovely
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