Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent Mic 7:14-15;18-20Lk 15:1-3;11-32 But it was only right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost, and is found. When I was a child I had thought the word 'prodigal' meant 'repentant', like how we are after... Continue Reading →
29 January, Monday – The Violent Darkness
Monday of Week 4 in Ordinary Time 2 Sam 15:13-14, 30;16;5-13Mk 5:1-20 With that, the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs, and the herd of about two thousand pigs charged down the cliff into the lake, and there they were drowned. I am a huge fan of the American TV series 'Supernatural'.... Continue Reading →
28 January, Sunday – Don’t Shoot The Messenger
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Deu 18:15-201 Cor 7:32-35Mk 1:21-28 I say this only to help you, not to put a halter around your neck, but simply to make sure that everything is as it should be, and that you give your undivided attention to the Lord. When I was in my teens and early... Continue Reading →
13 January, Saturday — Come Dine With Me
13 Jan – Memorial for St. Hilary, bishop and doctor of the Church St. Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) was known as Athanasius of the West. He was born to wealthy polytheistic, pagan nobility. His early life was uneventful as he married, had children (one of whom was St. Abra), and studied on his own. Through... Continue Reading →
30 December, Saturday – Set Apart
6th day within the Octave of Christmas 1 Jn 2:12-17Luke 2:36-40 You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world. The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world... As is my personal tradition, I will binge read the Narnia and Harry Potter books around... Continue Reading →
12 November, Sunday – Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Wis 6:12-161 Ths 4:13-18Mt 25:1-13 She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her and graciously shows herself to them as they go, in every thought of theirs coming to meet them. In the midst of frenetic end-of-year exam revision, I mulled over the readings for this... Continue Reading →
31 August, Thursday – People Get Ready
Thursday of Week 21 in Ordinary Time 1 Ths 3:7-13Mt 24:42-51 "Stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming." Today's gospel from Matthew compares two servants. The first one, a diligent and faithful servant that keeps everything in order while awaiting his master's return; and the second one, a cruel... Continue Reading →
30 August, Wednesday – What If I Stumble?
Wednesday of Week 21 in Ordinary Time 1 Ths 2:9-13Mt 23:27-32 "Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of corruption." Ah, the dreaded H word. It keeps getting thrown around. We probably have... Continue Reading →
21 July, Friday – Spirit of the Law
Jul 21 – Memorial for St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest, religious, doctor St. Lawrence (1559-1619) joined the Capuchin Friars in 1575. He studied theology, the Bible, French, German, Greek, Spanish, Syriac, and Hebrew. He was an effective and forceful preacher in any of his several languages, founded convents and wrote catechisms. As the chaplain of... Continue Reading →
20 July, Thursday – Lay your weary head to rest
Jul 20 – Memorial for St. Apollinaris, Bishop & Martyr According to tradition, Apollinaris was a native of Antioch in the Roman Province of Syria. He was made the first Bishop of Ravenna by St. Peter during the persecutions of Emperor Vespasian (or Nero, depending on the source), On his way out of the city... Continue Reading →