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19 Dec 2025

4th Sunday of Advent

This is the last weekend of Advent. In our churches we light the last purple candle leaving the white candle for the First Mass of Christmas. It’s only in these last few days before Christmas that we begin to hear about the “Christmas story” itself. For the past weeks we have been preparing ourselves to greet the Lord, when he comes. Now we prepare to remember how he first came, by listening to the prophecies of his coming, and by listening to the stories of scripture about the events before Jesus’s birth. 

In the first reading Ahaz sounds like the great model of faith. We are taught not to tempt God by asking for signs to prove our faith. If we got those signs, we wouldn’t have faith! God, speaking through Isaiah, invites Ahaz to ask for a sign any sign from God: “Let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!” Ahaz refuses saying, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the Lord.” Ahaz is showing great faith in God. He doesn’t want any proofs from God; he doesn’t want to test God or so it seems. He will not ask for the sign; he will not put his and the nation’s security in God’s hands. But God decides to give a sign anyway: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.” The promise found in Scripture will be fulfilled.  By referring his readers to the scriptures, Isaiah reminds us that believers do well to put confidence in the word of God to sustain our hope and strengthen our faith in discouraging times such as we are in these days with so many people suffering in war and so many other avoidable crises. In the second reading Paul, a servant of Jesus, greets the believers in Rome. He emphasizes Jesus’ divine and human natures and wishes them grace and peace.

We meet Mary in the Gospel who had been prepared for the coming of the Messiah. She has received the angel’s greeting, and his strange news, and accepted her role in God’s plan Matthew is well planted in his Jewish tradition. He shows that from the very beginning of his gospel. Joseph was betrothed to Mary; Mary’s pregnancy turns Joseph’s world and his plans upside down.  Instead of exposing her, he “decided to divorce her quietly.” He was a “righteous man”, and he will protect Mary from being publicly dishonoured. He is not vengeful and, though wronged, displays mercy. After his dream when the angel told him do not be afraid Joseph took his wife into his home. The world God chose to enter was one of poverty, hard labour and political and military oppression. God took a big chance being born among us especially in those circumstances. Surely there must have been neater options for God, to make the saviour’s path and work a bit smoother. But none of us has a “smooth path” through life.  It’s good to know that Jesus, Emmanuel, “God with us,” chose to be with his people who live in the real and messy world. We began Advent with the cry, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. We will end it with the joyful Christmas call, ‘God is with us!

Throughout our Advent journey we were told to stay awake for the coming of the Lord. As we go forward to the Christmas Celebration there is much to be thankful even in our messy world with all its problems. The message of Christmas is about God’s loving kindness, his compassion, his mercy, and his abiding, living love and presence with us in his Son Jesus the son of God Emmanuel who is God with us.

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13 Dec 2025

Third Sunday of Advent

The third Sunday of Advent is also known as Gaudete Sunday. The term Gaudete refers to the Entrance Antiphon, “Rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice for the lord is very near.” Rose vestments are worn in many churches to emphasize our joy that Christmas is near, and we also light the rose candle on the Advent wreath. In many places the Parishes celebrate Bambinelli Sunday when the Children are asked to bring the baby Jesus Crib Figure to get a special blessing and then they place the baby Jesus in the Crib on Christmas Morning.  As Christmas draws near, the Church emphasizes the joy which should be in our hearts over all that the birth of our Saviour means for us or all that it should mean for us, especially in our world where so many have little or nothing at all.

The readings for this Sunday are full of life. Isaiah tells us the desert will bloom. James encourages us to wait with patience. Jesus reminds us of the signs that God’s kingdom is near. These words give strength to those who are tired or uncertain and in our world these days there are many people who are tired of the present and uncertain about the future.  In the First Reading –Isaiah tells us that the desert will bloom and rejoice. God will strengthen the weak and bring justice. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, and the saved will enter Zion with joy. In the Second Reading – James tells us to be patient for the Lord’s coming, like a farmer waiting for crops. Strengthen your hearts, avoid complaining, and follow the example of patient prophets. All four Gospels testify to an important truth: that John the Baptist stands at the beginning of the Gospel. He is the one who marks the end of the time of waiting and the beginning of the new age in Jesus. He is the last of the great prophets, the one who came after a long period when no prophet spoke to the people.  John the Baptist has an unusual address as he lived in the wilderness. But that was the traditional place associated with the growth of Israel’s religion. It was in the desert that Israel first met God, and the story of the people’s wanderings through the wilderness became the story of their growth from crisis to settlement in the promised land.

In the desert the people were tested, and later, when they failed God, they were told that they would be taken back into the desert where God would speak again to their heart (Hosea 2:16).   In today’s gospel we meet John the Baptist in prison, sending his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” This is a poignant moment in the gospel. John was the fiery prophet who had proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. Jesus had come, but he doesn’t seem to be what John expected. John sounds like he is wrestling uncertainty; might even be wondering if he had gotten God’s message right. He lives in a state we know as well: between promise and fulfilment; between what has begun in Christ and what we still await and hope. John voices our own questions in Advent when we ask, “Lord, where are you? Are you really present at this time in our world with all that is going on within it?” The delay in God’s promises being fulfilled can cause us to wonder if God and the kingdom are near.  That is our Advent question and besides raising the question we are also invited to listen to Jesus’ gentle reply. Here is the answer Jesus gives to John’s disciples about himself. “The blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised hands the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.”

Jesus does not argue or explain. He points to what’s happening: healing mercy and transformation. Aren’t those signs of God’s kingdom? Advent faith invites us to look for those same signs. They may be small and hidden, or right before our eyes, hard to miss. These signs announce to us to God’s saving power is still at work among us. Do we not see? How can we participate in them? We note the beatitude in today’s gospel, “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.” This is an Advent challenge because God’s ways can surprise or unsettle us. We can’t stumble when Christ comes to us in a form we do not expect in the poor, and suffering, in the slow process of grace. Faith means trusting that even when we do not see everything clearly, God’s promises being fulfilled. John the Baptist is a reminder to us that even the prophet of fiery conviction struggles to understand how God is working. Like him, we too may wonder: where is God’s kingdom? Why does it seem delayed when the world needs it to come in its fullness? We wait with hope in our hearts for the culmination of all things in Christ and the prayer that is on our lips is ‘thy kingdom come!’ As we continue our Advent journeys let us prepare the way for the Lord in our own lives remembering that in the words of the psalm the lord keeps faith forever and he won’t let us down. Gaudete Sunday gives the strength for the present and hope for the future as we look forward to Christmas.

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06 Dec 2025

Second Sunday of Advent

This year as we light the second purple candle on the Advent Wreath the 2nd Sunday of Advent points us to something new. Isaiah speaks of a branch growing from Jesse’s stump. It is a sign of hope. God is doing something fresh. The old ways are ending. A peaceful king will come. Justice and harmony will grow again. In the First Reading (Is 11:1-10). The reign of David was the high point in the history of Israel. But his successors failed wretchedly. Still, the hope remained that a future king would succeed where his predecessors failed. Here Isaiah foretells that even though the family tree of Jesse (David’s father) has been reduced to a mere stump, nevertheless from that stump a new shoot will spring. He goes on to sketch a portrait of the true king’. In the Second reading (Rom 15:4-9). Paul sees Jesus as the one through whom God fulfilled his promises. He highlights the value of hope.

The scriptures show that those who hope refuse to give up. By urging us to treat others in the same friendly way Christ has treated us, the reading continues the theme of peace and harmony of the First Reading. The Gospel for this Sunday brings the powerful prophetic voice of John the Baptist to centre stage with his urgent summons to conversion. His programme for reform seriously rattled the complacency of the Pharisees and Sadducees who ventured out into the desert to hear him preach. The God he proclaimed is a God who refuses to be controlled or tamed, a God whose presence is one that both consoles and makes radical demands of those who follow him. We hear about John the Baptist the lords herald who said that there is one who is to come after me and I am not worthy to take the sandals of his feet.  John’s task was to go before the lord announcing the coming of Jesus and to point to him when he came. John was called to reawaken a sense of expectation among the people who had grown tired and distant from God.   John was called to bring renewal to institutional expressions of religion which, at the time, had become fossilized into external ritual without meaning.   John attracted thousands to come out into the desert to see him.  Tradition sees the desert as the place where God speaks to the heart of his people.

It is from this solitary place of spiritual combat, the desert bordering the Jordan, that John appears “with the spirit and the power of Elijah” (Luke 7:17).  By his word and his baptism with water, john called the children of the covenant back to the Lord their God as he calls us to come back to the Lord our God today. The figure of John serves as a warning, to all Christians, of our need to draw our strength from Christ alone, rather than identifying with the cultural patterns or the Fads and fashions of the time, which come and go.   The Church is here in the present as it has been in past times to proclaim and live out the message of Jesus in every generation in season and out of season whether people like it or not. The Church is not there in any way to be inward looking.  The people of God, you and I included are called to constant renewal, looking outwards to tear ourselves away from conventional expectations, attitudes and superficial things and centre ourselves completely on God. In every age the church must become like John the Baptist, it must be the uncomfortable reminder of how we must allow the truth of Jesus to break into our lives to enlighten the darkness that can enter our lives or the life of the Church. As the journey of Advent continues, as we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Christ, John the Baptist’s call to conversion sounds out in our communities.

It is a great and pressing invitation to open our hearts and souls to welcome the Son of God who comes among us to make the kingdom of God real to all of us. Johns call for repentance and renewal challenge us to move beyond mere words or fleeting emotions, urging us instead to seek genuine transformation in our lives. His example serves as an enduring reminder that true faith requires courage, humility, and the willingness to put God’s purpose above personal ambition. John’s life highlights the importance of integrity and moral conviction, even when such values come at a great personal cost.  His steadfastness in the face of adversity and his readiness to speak truth to power continue to inspire believers to stand firm in their faith and to act with justice and compassion. In a world often marked by power and self-interest, the witness of John the Baptist remains a beacon, calling each of us to prepare a way for the Lord in our own hearts and communities. Let listen with renewed faith and hope to John the Baptists  call this Advent.

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29 Nov 2025

1st Sunday of Advent

This weekend we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent. As we light the first purple candle on the advent wreath we recall the faith of the people who looked out for Jesus and prepared the way for him, and said he was coming to us. We look to the writings of the Old Testament to see what they say about the promise of God to visit his people and during these coming weeks we will read much from the prophet Isaiah; we also think about all those who prepared the way for his coming and we think about the work of John the Baptist who was the lords herald. As we reflect, we also think about Mary whose faith and acceptance of the invitation of God brought about the whole Christian era.

The readings for this Sunday speak about peace, joy, and staying awake. In the first reading Isaiah gives a picture of all nations coming to God’s mountain to learn his ways. In the future, the Lord’s mountain will be the highest. All nations will come to learn His ways, and there will be peace. In the Second Reading Paul tells us to wake up for our sleep as our salvation is near. We are called to live properly, putting aside darkness and putting on the light of Jesus Christ. This week’s Gospel we are told to “Stay awake”, to be vigilant and attentive to the signs of the times so that we do not miss the moment when God breaks into human history once again. The God who came among us is still among us. In Advent we try to see the reign of God more clearly so that we may be totally caught up in God’s action in the world as we wait for the final manifestation of God’s glory. We continually work for a peaceful and just world, so that Christ may have room in that world, our homes and our hearts. Moreover, we must change our conduct abandoning the works of darkness and put on the ‘armor of light’. (cf. Rm 13:12-14). Jesus, through the story in the parable this weekend outlines the Christian lifestyle that must not be distracted and indifferent but must be vigilant and recognize even the smallest sign of the Lord’s coming because we don’t know the hour in which He will arrive. (cf. Mt 24:39-44)  Saint John Henry Newman reminded us in a homily for the Advent Season: “Advent is a time of waiting; it is a time of joy because the coming of Christ is not only a gift of grace and salvation It is also a time of commitment because it motivates us to live in the present as a time of responsibility and vigilance.  This ‘vigilance’ means the urgency of an industrious, living ‘wait’ We need to take Advent seriously, for the coming of the Lord is not just about Christmas, but the actual day of judgment.

The real tragedy of this season of preparation is that we have been programmed to believe it’s all about buying things, about gift giving, and frenetic activity that leaves us exhausted and happy, it’s all over the time Christmas arrives. So then because of all the hustle and bustle we forget the 12 days of Christmas. So, what are we really waiting for this Advent? May we be vigilant, hopeful, and ready to welcome Christ our king at Christmas making room for Him not only in the celebrations, but in our hearts, our homes, and our world. In doing that, we embrace the true spirit of Advent the season of waiting, in joyful and hope filled anticipation as we live as people of the light.

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15 Nov 2025

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend we celebrate the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time and the readings remind us that God is always at work, even when times are hard and for many people these days they certainly are. The readings also speak of judgment, they give us a  warning about what we need to do  and also give us hope. They call us above everything else to stay faithful and trust that God will care for those who honor Him. In the First Reading  A fierce day will come in which a fire  will consume the arrogant and wicked, says the Lord. But those who honour him will see the healing sun of righteousness rise. The promise of the “sun of righteousness” reflects Malachi’s theme of God restoring His people. For those who honor Him, healing and renewal are certain. 

In the Second Reading  St Paul tells the Thessalonians we worked hard among you as an example to follow. We taught that one must work to eat and advised against idleness and meddling. Living in hope of Christ’s coming does not excuse laziness but calls for service and steady work. The vision of the future in the Gospel Reading for this Sunday doesn’t look very appealing. The bad news is delivered first of all. Jesus imagines a time of terror and trouble and persecution ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. Jesus says, “These things must happen.” Then there will be cosmic upheavals: “the sun will be darkened, the moon will lose its brightness, the stars will come falling from heaven”. After this catalogue of disaster there is the good news. Jesus looks beyond the time of distress to the final time, when the Son of Man will gather the nations the scattered people of God to himself.  Jesus sees beyond suffering and persecution to a future of peace with God and one another. God does not want us to be anxious, but he calls us to confidence in the message we hear in the gospel and asks us to live  it in our lives so  that we will remain in his light. Let us encourage one another to remain steadfast in faith, to live with vigilance, and to look forward to Christ’s coming with joy and trust.

The Lord calls us to stay awake amidst the many distractions of life, so that we will recognize him when he comes again. St. John of the Cross wrote, “When evening comes, you will be examined in love” (Sayings, 60).  We prepare for the day of Christ’s coming by recognizing him in the people around us our families and friends as well as  those in the communities where we live and by knowing him through  his word and the sacramental life of faith.  As we see in the world these days false securities and shallow guarantees will not sustain us in times of real strife and testing and we see this in many places in the world.   By rejecting the false securities that are offered to us and placing our trust in God, we find true confidence, strength and peace. In our trials God alone must be our hope our salvation and our shield for  God’s ways must be our ways, so that when our misplaced confidences fail us we can turn our eyes to the Fathers  saving light. We are called this weekend to be living signs of God’s promise a people prepared for the glory that awaits all who honour the Lord. Let us be vigilant and not anxious for that day when God calls us and looks at us with love and says Your endurance has won you your life.’

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08 Nov 2025

THE DEDICATION OF THE LATERAN BASILICA

Each year, on 9 November, the Catholic Church celebrates the Dedication of the Basilica of St John Lateran. This event commemorates the consecration of the cathedral church of  the Bishop of Rome. Known as “Mother and Head of all the Churches of the City and the World”, St John Lateran holds a unique place in the history and liturgy of the Church. Although the basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of the Holy Father as Bishop of Rome, today’s liturgy focuses not on the Petrine ministry but on the place of God’s house, the temple. In the First Reading – Ezekiel tells us From the temple, water flows eastward, bringing life and freshness to everything it touches, with fruit trees along its banks providing food and healing. In the Second Reading we are told that  we are God’s building, with Jesus as the foundation. Each must build carefully, for we are temples of the Holy Spirit, sacred and protected by God. 

The Gospel  from John tells us that Near Passover, Jesus visits the in Jerusalem, expelling merchants and overturning money-changers’ tables, condemning the commercialization of the sacred space. Challenged by the Jews for a sign to justify his actions, he mentions rebuilding the temple in three days, a reference to his resurrection understood later by his disciples. The feast of the Dedication of St John Lateran symbolises the unity of the universal Church and the spiritual leadership of the Pope. This celebration calls all of us to reflect on our own role as “living stones” in the spiritual temple of God. We no longer look upon stone edifices to see God’s presence on earth, but we look on the broken body of Jesus on the cross. He is both the high priest and the offering acceptable to God. Paul’s message continues this truth. We are living stones forming a building.  God’s presence according to Paul is through us. We are built on the foundation of Jesus’ message but we must be careful in the way we build. As we live out our lives we grow individually energized either by the Spirit of God or by the spirit of the world.  The Spirit of God unites, forms us into a single building. The spirit of the world destroys unity and forms warring factions where each side competes with the vother for power, wealth, influence and pleasure.  So we must be careful how we build our life. We are the presence of God to one another through the Spirit that dwells in us and energizes and directs us. So, why do we celebrate the dedication of a Church building in Rome?

St. John Lateran basilica becomes a sign and a symbol for us.  It is a sign of God’s presence in the world. It is high on a hill that is visible for all to see and for all to take hope from its strength.   It is a symbol of those who believe and work to grow in faith hope, love and concern for God’s creation, and all those who are within it. It rejects no one, opening its arms to embrace not only the privileged but also the ordinary people.  Even the ones ignored and forgotten are welcomed and find a place where they might be healed and find life. The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica inspires us to embrace the call to be a living temple of God. Just as the Basilica in Rome is a physical representation of the Church, we are called to be living stones, united in faith and working together to build up the Kingdom of God through his Church. Each person has a unique role to play in the Church and that their contributions, no matter how small, are essential to the overall mission of spreading the Gospel in the world today. May the feast we celebrate this weekend inspire us to cherish our heritage, embrace our mission, and strive to make the Church a true sign of God’s presence, hope, and unity for all the  people wherever we are in the world.

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01 Nov 2025

All Saints & All Souls

This weekend we celebrate two feasts All Saints on Saturday and All Souls on Sunday.  These feasts are rich in tradition and spiritual significance and they invite us to reflect on the universal call to holiness that we see in the lives of the Saints and the enduring bond between the living and the dead. It is important not to confuse All Saints’ Day with All Souls’ Day. While All Saints’ Day honours those who are Saints in heaven, All Souls is dedicated to praying for all the faithful departed. On November 1st the Church celebrates all saints the great multitude of those who are in heaven enjoying the beatific vision. During the early centuries the Saints venerated by the Church were all martyrs. Later November 1st   was set  as the day for commemorating all the Saints.

What must we to do in order to join the company of the saints in heaven? We “must follow Jesus footsteps as we seek  to do  the will of the Father in all things.  In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history” (Lumen Gentium)  The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope.  Among the saints in heaven are some  people who we have heard of such as Pope Saint John Paul, Padre Pio and more recently  Carlo Acutis .  But there are so many more ordinary people who show us how to be saints by the way they lead their lives and we try to follow their example. All Saints Day is a time to thank God for the saints. We pray to them for their help as we believe they are with God in heaven and will intercede for us. On the 2nd Novemberafter rejoicing  with the saints in heaven we  pray for all those souls in purgatory as they  await the day when they will join the company of saints. The Feast of All Souls serves as a poignant reminder of the connection  between life and death, love and loss. It invites us to reflect on the lives of those who have gone before us in faith, to pray for their eternal peace, and to cherish the memory as we remember their presence with us.  

In a special Part of  the eucharistic prayer the priest remembers all those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, imploring God to grant them a place of happiness, light and peace in the kingdom of the father. Through prayer, remembrance, and tradition, All Souls’ Day offers comfort and hope to the faithful, uniting the generations in spiritual communion with one another. In a special way during November we remember our families and friends who have died. We also remember all those faithful people who have passed on and we pray for them during the whole month which is known as the month of the Holy Souls. The two days work together. All Saints’ Day is a celebration of those already in Heaven, while All Souls’ Day is a day of prayer for those still waiting to get there. Both days help us remember the importance of eternal life and our connection to the whole Church, in Heaven and on earth. So this weekend we pray with the saints in heaven as we remember all  the holy souls who need our prayers  may they rest in the peace of the kingdom of God.

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25 Oct 2025

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

It is hard to believe that we are almost at the end of October with the schools having the midterm break for Halloween next week. It is also hard to believe that next Saturday we celebrate the feast of All Saints closely followed by all souls the next day. The readings in our Liturgy for this weekend are all about the HUMBLE person of faith. The readings for this Sunday also remind us that God sees the heart. He listens to those who are humble and cries out for justice. He does not turn away from the poor or the weak. Instead, He cares for those who trust Him. In the First Reading  God, who is no respecter of personages who is just and impartial, listens to the cries of the oppressed the poor and the humble, ensuring their prayers are answered and justice is swiftly delivered.

In the second reading Paul speaks about his struggles. He has stayed faithful to his mission even when others abandoned him. He knows that God is with him and will bring him safely into His kingdom. Paul’s words show that faith does not mean life will be easy. He faced many hardships, yet he never gave up. He trusted that God would give him strength. Even when people turned away from him, he knew he was not alone. The Gospel reading teaches that humility is necessary to be with God. Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee stands confidently, thanking God that he is better than others. He lists his good deeds, believing they make him righteous of course they don’t. The tax collector, however, stands at a distance, unwilling to lift his eyes. He simply prays for mercy. Jesus says it is the tax collector who goes home justified. What does the Gospel Reading about the tax collector and the Pharisee say to us today ? Also and more importantly what about the words of the Tax Collector who said in a simple humble way  God be merciful to me a sinner what do these humble words  say to us? I think that the Tax Collector despised by the people because of the job he does  is saying to us that we need to have the humility to be humble before God who knows that we are sinners even before we say it and we also have to be humble with other people dealing with them with real humility.

 Real humility is about facing  the truth  about the truth about ourselves we are and often times we don’t like to hear the truth about ourselves or any situations we might be in.  The person who is truly humble will always see pride in him or herself as a bad thing.  The person who is humble believes him/herself to have nothing, when in fact he has God, who is all and everything for him!   The person who knows  how to be dependent on God humbles himself so much,  putting himself in his proper place before his Creator, and  the Lord lifts him up to his own Glory in order to make him his adopted child.  In a word, he who humbles himself, God justifies! The more someone makes himself small in the eyes of god, the more the Lord is pleased to come and live in him and to make him shine with his divine light before other people.  In our modern world, Pride which was very strong in the words the Pharisee spoke dominates the world, and it is this pride which often leads many people the world over down a long lonely path.  The old saying rings true that pride comes before a fall and we see this  in so many places and situations we might find ourselves or perhaps we have seen other people in. Today, We shall approach the altar of the Lord with humble hearts and minds. This approach testifies at once to our humility and to our grandeur.  It testifies to our humility, for we humble in believing that what we see as bread is not bread but rather the Body of Christ. 

It testifies to our grandeur, for, in communion, we truly become the Body of Christ, adoptive sons and daughters in the only Son of God!  May this approach be our justification, for the salvation of the world! I finish with these words from Micah which really sum up the gospel reading for this Sunday and what does the Lord require of us? He requires us To do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God. So let us go into the world with true humility in our hearts and minds so we are able to serve those who need us most where we are.

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18 Oct 2025

29th SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME MISSION SUNDAY

This Weekend  we celebrate the international missionary effort of the Church throughout the world. Here in Ireland for many centuries there have been so many great Irishmen and women  who have gone to foreign lands to bring the faith of our fathers to those who might not have got the faith otherwise. Today as we celebrate Mission we ask ourselves what is our mission where we are today what are we doing to promote the kingdom of god?  Mission Sunday gives us the opportunity to thank god for the faith that we have as well as acknowledging and thanking god for all those faithful missionary men and women who left everything in order to bring the faith and the light of Christ to the far corners of the world.

The readings for this Sunday speak about prayer, faith, and trusting God’s help. They show that God listens to His people and gives them strength. Even when life is hard, God does not leave us alone to bear the burden. In the First Reading – Amalek attacked Israel. While Joshua fought, Moses stood on a hill with God’s staff. As long as Moses’ hands were raised, Israel prevailed. Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ hands, and Joshua defeated Amalek. In the Second Reading  we are told to Stay faithful to the Scriptures, which provide wisdom for salvation. All Scripture is inspired by God. We are called to proclaim the word persistently, with patience and encouragement. In our Gospel for this Sunday Jesus tells us about our need to pray and not to lose heart when we don’t get what we pray for straight away. Over a long period of time many people have prayed for various things for example family concerns for healing of body mind or spirit or whatever. Some people ask me why god is not answering their prayers straight away in the here and now of the present moment and I tell them that their prayers will be answered when God sees that they really need whatever they have been praying for. My own experience is that we often pray for things and don’t get them straight away but we get the things we prayed for when we really need them.

Remember that No great work can ever be achieved without long and patient effort and this is the same for us in our prayer lives. The work of patient persistent prayer will yield results as God helps us to get through all our problems big and small. Remember the saying that nothing is impossible for those who have faith and even if our faith is the size of mustard seed it can move mountains.  The prayer in today’s gospel is the prayer of petition. If our prayers are always prayers of petition, we run the risk of being selfish and self-centered; except, of course, when the prayers of petition are for others. Like one of the ten lepers in last weeks gospel, we ask, and then when our prayers are answered, we return to give thanks to God. When we meet the judge and the widow in this Sundays Gospel passage we meet them at a crisis point. We have no case history for the widow but we do for the judge. He is a hard man who isn’t influenced by religious principle or by public opinion. Both justice and compassion are absent from his dealings with the widow. She has no influential friends to bring pressure on the judge and she has no money to bribe him: all she has is the justice of her cause and her own persistence. Jesus encourages us to be persistent in our prayer and never lose heart.

We live In an age where we have become accustomed to instant results all the time and we are impatient with what appear to be endless delays in god’s response to us. The danger is that we give up too quickly, that we rest our case too easily and then move on to something else. We have to be persistent; we have to invest time in our faith and prayer will help us to do this. Through this parable, Jesus teaches us the need for perseverance in prayer. This perseverance develops our trust and confidence in God. It helps us to  to realize how weak we are when left to ourselves. It keeps us close to God, as we learn how dependent we are on His generous love. If we would realize that God is perhaps closer to us than we realise when we think He is forgetting us for he never forgets us! As we continue the Holy Year of Hope let us continue to be people of faith grounded in patient persistent prayer.

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11 Oct 2025

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we are reminded to remember God’s blessings as we give thanks for the great things he has done for us. The readings tell us about healing, mercy, and the gift of faith. They help us see that faith grows stronger when we trust God . In the First Reading from the second book of kings Naaman was healed of leprosy after obeying Elisha’s instruction to wash in the Jordan. He acknowledged the God of Israel and vowed to worship only Him and he said as the lord lives I will serve him. In the Second Reading – from St Pauls letter to Timothy we are told to remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead. Paul tells us that I suffer for the gospel, but God’s word is free. Endure for salvation in Christ. If we are unfaithful, he always remains faithful.

in our Gospel Reading we hear the story of the ten Lepers and their lack of gratitude for their healing. This is one of many such examples of ingratitude that occurred during Christ’s public ministry, most of those he cured forget to thank him. In today’s incident there was one who had the decency to return and thank his benefactor, and he was the one least expected to do so. This pleased our Lord and led Him to remark on the ingratitude of the others.  This Gospel story is not only about the Lepers it’s also about our lack of gratitude for the many good  things that we have in our lives given to us by God. When we were youngsters growing up we were taught to say, “Thank you” by our parents when they gave us a sweet or whatever, when we didn’t we would be dutifully reminded, “What do you say?” and of course we said the magic words ‘Thank You.’ All the lepers showed great faith and confidence in Jesus’ power to heal but only one of them said thanks. They had not heard Him preach nor had they seen any of His miracles. They lived in isolation camps because of the leprosy, yet they believed the reports they had heard.  The nine lepers were appreciative of what Jesus had done; we don’t know, why they didn’t bother to show their gratitude to Jesus. We can only look to ourselves to ask why we are often reluctant to say thank you for all the good things we have.

There seems to be great deal of awkwardness surrounding the attitude of gratitude and saying thank you. Personally I find that to be thanked means more to me than being given a gift for a task just done. Whatever the reason for our own ingratitude, we know that it diminishes us and those who help us.  All of us have reasons to give thanks for so many things yet very few turn to the Lord with words and hearts expressing our thanks for all the wonders he has done for us in our lives.  Do we have the attitude of gratitude which thanks god and those around and us for their goodness to us.When we gather each Sunday we come to join God in the midst of the assembly with gratitude in our hearts. We give praise and thanks to God and we thank him for all those who have given us their help. May all of us have the attitude of gratitude which means that we are thankful for all that we are and all that we have especially in these times when so many have little or nothing at all. Let us pray for hearts that notice blessings, voices that give thanks, and lives that reflect God’s mercy and generosity. May gratitude draw us ever closer to God and to one another especially during this Holy Year of hope.

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