2nd Sun Easter B  – WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? That memorable question of Jesus to Peter has come down to us for our personal reflection. Jesus was scarcely a week away from accepting death on the cross when he posed that question. He was young, maybe in his early thirties, as he led his little group to Jerusalem and his horrific death. How could he, still in the morning of his life, accept without resistance that which lay ahead? Here he is, an innocent man betrayed, humiliated, illicitly charged with political subversion and then tossed into the ..read more

                                                       FIFTH SUNDAY          Mark 1: 29-39 Some see a difference between being cured of an illness and being healed. It looks like Simon’s mother in law was not only physically cured of her fever but it looks like she was holistically healed – physically, emotionally and spiritually. This happened very early in Jesus’ ministry. He had four followers, the Zebedee br ..read more

                                                   FOURTH SUNDAY                  Mark 1:21 – 28 As I read this gospel story I’m thinking about the man who was healed of an unclean spirit. The people in the synagogue were focused on Jesus’ preaching when suddenly this man began to shout, proclaiming that Jesus was “the Holy One of God”. Jesus immediately drove the unclean spirit out ..read more

                                                           THIRD SUNDAY of the Year B The call to ‘repentance’ is at the heart of the whole Christian tradition. It echoes throughout the bible. Kieran O’Mahony suggests ‘conversion’ as a better word than ‘repentance’, which can carry a sense of guilt for many people. I grew up with a sense of sin as disobedience, not conforming, the breaking of this or that commandment, wrong actions or words, rath ..read more

                                                          SECOND SUNDAY – Year B At the beginning of another year it is good to stop and ask, ‘What am I looking for?’ We can answer it in one of two ways: ‘What do I think I should be looking for?’ or ‘What does the evidence of my choices and actions reveal about what I really want?’ The great St. Augustine said this: “You must be dissatisfied with the way you are now, if you ever want to get to where y ..read more

                                                     THE HOLY FAMILY It’s axiomatic and we know how true it is that the family that prays together stays together. Being devout Jews, Mary and Joseph and later Jesus himself would have stopped three times each day to recite together Israel’s creed, the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord your God is one God; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deuter ..read more

                                                             GOD BECAME HUMAN The people of Israel hoped for what seemed the impossible, to look on God’s face. Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved (Ps 80). But God said to Moses: You cannot see my face, for no none may see me and live (Exodus 33:20). The incalculable radiance of the one whose name was I AM would burn people to cinders. Imagine this utter desire for what would annih ..read more

                                                                   JOHN THE BAPTIST I used to wonder why John the Baptist played a major role in Advent. Over the time it dawned on me that his role in life as a prophet was to bear witness to Christ, to point Christ out, and to say where the meaning and truth of life is found. All of us who are baptised are called to a similar prophetic role, to point our lives toward Him and no ..read more

                                                               MUSING IN ADVENT The philosopher, scientist and artist within us combine to lead us on throughout life on a journey of exploration, understanding and celebration of the whole of reality. It is my profound conviction that creation is a single and continuing expression of God’s overwhelming goodness and love, even though there is much to bewilder and baffle, much left unexplai ..read more

                                          A THOUGHT FOR ADVENT To understand the Christian story, it is helpful to recognise the difference between what’s true about it and what’s real.  What’s true speaks to the mind; what’s real connects with everyday experience.  The Christmas story consists of the blending of material from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Matthew tells us about ..read more