28th Sunday in Ordinary time, 09/10/2022, Lk 17, 11-19 An endearing feature of Jesus was his ability to find teaching elements in everyday life. In curing the lepers, he noticed that a Samaritan came back to thank him. Jesus not only taught us how to be dignified and holy but he lived it. He also shows us that it is not necessary to be good to receive his blessing or his healing, even an enemy or someone who has turned against him, will still be helped if they have faith and

27th Sunday in Ordinary time, 2/10/2022, Lk 17, 5-10 Through Timothy Paul tells us that God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. Believing this and living this, however, can be very, very different. Like the apostles and disciples, we ask God to strengthen our faith so that we may live it more deeply, more fully. As always, the evils of war, especially in Ukraine, has had a disturbing effect on our lives. We could spend muc

26th Sunday in Ordinary time, 25/9/2022, Lk 16, 19-31 Building a Future together Pope Francis: We must encourage initiatives that foster fraternity among all local cultural, ethnic and religious groups [...] Situations of conflict and humanitarian crises, aggravated by climate change, are increasing the numbers of displaced persons and affecting people already living in dire poverty. Many countries experiencing these situations lack adequate structures to meet the needs of th

25th Sunday in Ordinary time, 18/9/2022 Lk 16, 1-13 Much has happened since the 8th September, the birthday of Our Blessed Lady, the day on which the Lord called Queen Elizabeth to her heavenly home. Despite the impact and the changes that have happened since then, there has also been great continuity. There was the ceremony, at the Accession Council, that brought together the elements that underpin our institutional stability: the Crown, Parliamentary democracy and the milit

24th Sunday in Ordinary time, 11/9/2022 Lk 15, 1-32 It is no coincidence that Queen Elizabeth II died on the birthday of another Queen and Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Reflections on those who have died often teach us how much God has been present in them and how much they reflected the goodness, love and mercy of Jesus Christ. This is so true as we reflect on the life of Queen Elizabeth. She, among all the holy women who have died, also gives us a special and unique insi

23rd Sunday in Ordinary time, 4/9/2022 Lk 14, 25-33 September invites us to focus on creation and be challenged as to how we are helping it heal itself. One of the ironies of the recent huge rise in prices and in particular the cost of utilities rising over 300% is that we will all be forced to cut down on our usage of utilities and be more careful how we use them. Is God once again bringing good out of the effects of the evil that comes from the war in Ukraine? Yet, we still

22nd Sunday in Ordinary time 28/8/2022 Lk 14,1 ; 7-14 John O’Donohue writes: When you take the time to draw on your listening-imagination, you will begin to hear this gentle voice at the heart of your life. It is deeper and surer than all the other voices of disappointment, unease, self-criticism and bleakness. All holiness is about learning to hear the voice of your own soul. It is always there and the more deeply you learn to listen, the greater will be the surprises and d

21st Sunday in Ordinary time 21/8/2022 Lk 13, 22-30 Being grateful for everything received and having the ability to reach out and use out gifts for others avoids questions of being worthy or unworthy, who gets in or who’s left out etc. We all aspire to holiness or to be the best we can be for God and for others. There’s a Jewish story about a young man who aspired to great holiness. After working at this for some time, he went to his Rabbi. “Rabbi,” he announced, “I think I