Monday of the 2nd WK of the Year: Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 2:18-22       In a country like ours, with no compelling sense of restraint or self-mortification, fasting for no good reason could wake us up to our habit of self-appeasement. The attempt could actually generate a solid motivation for the practice.       Fasting is never […]

Second Sunday, Year A, 15 January, 2023: Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; John 1:29-34

Thursday of the 1st WK of the Year: Hebrews 3:7-14; Mark 1:40-45 There have been many theories about why in Mark’s Gospel Jesus imposes silence on those he cures. Perhaps the best explanation is that identifying Jesus as a miracle worker, who fixes problems, is a misunderstanding. That expectation puts me in the wrong relationship […]

Saturday, 7 January: 1 John 5:14-21; John 2:1-11      I scrapped the reflection I’d already typed when I reread the Gospel out loud last night: I was touched by this miracle Jesus wasn’t planning. I was touched that he didn’t hesitate to overcome his reluctance, that he caught the appropriateness of his mother’s concern—and her […]

The eternal existence of God, which is one that preceded all of creation (if one may speak thus), does make Mary’s unbelievably exalted title of “Mother of God” seem rather ridiculous. After all, according to our human thinking a mother always exists prior to the child she bears. Clearly, Mary as one among many of […]

Christmas Day Mass: Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-18      The Russian author, Paul Evdokimov, wrote that the life of Christ begins, heightened by wonders: his conception announced by an angel, conceived of the Virgin, lauded by a choir of angels, marked in the heavens by a star, worshipped by Magi from the East…But then […]

Malachi 3:1-4, 23-24; Luke 1:57-66       The name John means The Lord is gracious. Elizabeth’s insistence on the name confesses her recognition that her child is a gift from God, not a given. John is a sign that God is not our speculation, a probability posited by our questions, but is here before our questions […]

For those wishing to join us at the Christmas Masses: “Midnight Mass” (preceded by Vigils) will be celebrated at 8.30 p.m. this Saturday evening, December 24. The Christmas Day Mass will be celebrated at 10.00 a.m. on Sunday, December 25.

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Year A, 18 December, 2022: Isaiah 7:10-14; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-24       Is Advent the commemoration of events past, an exercise in nostalgia? Does Advent celebrate God’s salvific engagement in the messiness of being human or is it merely a distraction from our current problems, fears, doubts and questions? Or could […]

Second Sunday of Advent, Year A, 4 December, 2022: Isaiah 11:1-10; Romans 15:4-9; Matthew 3:1-12      Certainly, Jesus is never afraid to confront bigotry and hypocrisy, nor does he avoid talking about judgment or the consequences of sin. But there is a palpable contrast between the teaching of Jesus and the fiery harangues of John […]