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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

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06 Jun 2026

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi is the feast that helps us remember the gift of the Eucharist. It is a day to focus on Jesus as the bread of life the source and the summit of everything we are. The readings remind us that God provides what we need, not only for our bodies but also for our souls. This celebration points us back to the desert, where God gave manna to His people. It shows us that we depend on Him for life itself. The Eucharist better known as the Blessed Sacrament is the new manna, given through Jesus, who offers Himself so that we may live forever with him. In the first reading Moses is addressing the Israelites at the end of their long sojourn in the wilderness: it was a time of testing, of humble and total reliance on God as they were kept alive by the manna from heaven.  In the second reading we are told that Paul was very fond of his little community in the cosmopolitan Greek city and very concerned about the dissensions that racked that mixed bag of people. He appeals to the focus of their Christian life: though they were many they were one in the bread that they shared.

In the Gospel John picks up the theme of manna from heaven and contrasts the bread the Jews ate in the desert with the new bread of life given by Jesus. Now the Word of God has become flesh, and the bread of heaven is Jesus himself. To eat this bread is to have a share in the life of God himself.  In celebrating the Eucharist, we celebrate the memory of Jesus passion, death and resurrection. We recall the radical values that put Jesus in opposition to so many of his own people: his talk about God and the kingdom; his insistence on forgiveness; his opposition to the religious sham of his day; his commitment to peace; his willingness to die to overcome sin. In receiving the body and blood of Christ we become his body Called to bring the values of Jesus into the world where we are. The real presence of Christ is also in the community when it gathers in his name to feast on the Word of Scripture, to recall what Jesus said and did at the Last Supper, when it shares the food of the Eucharist together, when it goes out and continues to break and pour out that food in acts of loving kindness, in soothing and nourishing words which brings others to life. The celebration of Corpus Christi reminds us that the great gift of the Eucharist is a both a gift and a mystery. Jesus is present with us in a way that is really beyond our understanding.  We take Him into ourselves when we receive communion. We are united to his sacrifice on the Cross for all of us when we pray the Mass in its fullness and eat the Bread of Life.

We come before His Presence whenever we are in Church where the Eucharist is in a tabernacle or exposed on the Altar. Jesus is present with the angels and saints in heaven now. He is present in the Blessed Sacrament, and he is with us in all the ups and downs that are part of our daily lives. The the Blessed Sacrament reminds us that Christ continues to feed, strengthen, forgive, and unite us as God’s people. We are called again to gratitude, reverence, and renewed commitment as we endeavor to live what we profess at the altar. So today we celebrate that our God has come to us and does not leave us, and in the words of a great eucharistic hymn Come, adore this wondrous presence, bow to Christ, the source of grace.

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30 May 2026

Trinity Sunday

This weekend we celebrate Trinity Sunday which is about the triune god Father, son and Holy Spirit the Father is equal to the Son, and the Son is equal to the Spirit three in one and one in three we hear this in the breastplate of St. Patrick. The feast of the Trinity goes back to 12th century England and St Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. Historians say the great Thomas celebrated a Liturgy in honor of the Trinity in his cathedral. So was born the observance. In the 14th century, the feast came to be observed by the universal Church.  The belief in the Trinity goes back to the New Testament. There it is mentioned about forty times.

in the First reading God appears to Moses and speaks about His character. He is kind, patient, full of love, and ready to forgive, but He also brings justice. Moses bows down and worships Him. In the Second reading Saint Paul encourages the people to live in peace and unity. He blesses them with the grace of Jesus, the love of God, and the friendship of the Holy Spirit.In the Gospel we hear about Nicodemus who was the disciple who came to Jesus secretly. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, possibly the Nicodemus ben Gurion mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy man reputed to have miraculous powers. Our reading today is only part of the discourse recounted by John, but it is worth looking at the whole passage 3:1–21 Nicodemus acknowledges Jesus as the one who has come from God and, in return, Jesus puts before him the whole purpose of God’s plan. Jesus’ existence in the world is proof of God’s love for his creation which extends to the whole world. Only the one who consciously rejects the name – the reality and truth – of God’s only Son is beyond redemption.

Trinity Sunday is the day when we stand back from the events that we’ve been celebrating for the previous six months Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. This is the day when we are asked to discover what the word ‘god’ might actually mean. How do we understand Trinity? The Christian belief that God is a trinity helps underscore how rich the mystery of God is. We profess that God could not be God without the “other” (the Son) and the eternal bond of their relationship (the Spirit). While some may think that the doctrine of the Trinity is negotiable, it is actually central to our faith. Moses’ personal God, “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, rich in kindness and fidelity,” emerges in St. Paul as the interpersonal Trinity that models true human relationship. Thus, Paul prays: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Spirit be with you all.” When the Church celebrates the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity, it is an attempt to summarize the whole mystery of our God into one day. This is not just a “theological feast” ` but a feast which should speak to us of this simple fact of faith: the Father loves us, has revealed that love in his Son, and has called into a relationship sustained by the Spirit.

It is our joy that, as baptized members of the Church, we can share in that divine life and love which is the Trinity becoming children of God. God has chosen us, and we are his people, just as he chose the people of Israel long ago. On Trinity Sunday, we only scratch the surface of this great mystery of our faith. In gratitude and faith, let us begin and end every prayer with renewed faith and reverence “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

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02 May 2026

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5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
5TH SUNDAY OF EASTER
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18 Apr 2026

3Rd Sunday of Easter

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Third Sunday of Easter
Third Sunday of Easter
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18 Apr 2026

Third Sunday of Easter

We gather this weekend after the solemn celebration of Easter and Divine Mercy Sundays, we also remember that the celebration of Easter continues until Pentecost Sunday and then Easter Time ends and the paschal candle is placed near the baptismal font.  In the first Reading we are told that Peter’s preaching on Pentecost centered on the firm belief that Jesus was the promised Messiah and had been raised from the dead by God the Father. In this reading, he proclaims these truths as the fulfillment of ancient prophecies. In the second reading from the 1st letter of st Peter the apostle reminds believers of the great price Jesus Christ paid for their redemption, helping us to remember and never forget the depth of the Lord’s love for all of us all the time.

This Sunday’s gospel recounts the Jesus appearance on the evening of Easter to two disciples who were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus, their life with Jesus had ended abruptly as all seemed to be lost after the events of Good Friday.  Jesus, their beloved Leader, friend and Teacher, had been arrested, tried, sentenced, tortured and killed. Now they are feeling that without his presence, his inspiration, his support and encouragement, they simply cannot go on.  They are so disappointed and disillusioned about what has happened that they have even decided to leave the Church, the community of his followers. Slowly but surely, they are walking away from it all. They are putting Jerusalem and the other disciples behind them. They are heading for the village of Emmaus, to start a new and different way of life. And there Jesus was walking along with them they were talking about what had happened in Jerusalem and how they had put Jesus to death. Jesus explained all the passages of scripture that were about himself, but it was only at the breaking of the bread that they recognized him. They then went back to tell the others that they had seen the Lord and told their story and how they recognized him at the breaking of the bread.

The Emmaus story is the story of you and me as the two disciples represent all of us who claim that we are Christians with all our doubts and disagreements our joys and sorrows. We come together in faith each Sunday in answer to a call, often a quiet murmur from the recesses of our hearts which calls out to us saying come to me you who are weary and overburdened and I will give you rest.  All of us are searching just as the companions on the road to Emmaus were and they were weary as a result of all that had happened to them. As we are often weary of the things that happen to us as well as the things we see going on in the world at the present time. The people of God come together for a great and good purpose and that is to seek God and what he wants us to do. All of us work together for God’s kingdom since the kingdom provides meaning and purpose. In the scripture readings we find explanations and understanding of events and relationships which have shaped the faith from the beginning. Our faith is lived out in the real world, the world of family, work, and recreation. We don’t live in two separate worlds, one spiritual and the other secular.  

Those who would have us believe that we can separate our lives into two compartments are mistaken as faith and life go together.  The fellowship we share helps us ask questions of faith.  It is the application of scriptures to the events of our own times that reveal that God is walking with us and maybe even working through us.  But it is in the breaking of bread that we recognize Jesus who is with us on our journey.  The journey on the road to Emmaus is the journey we make as gods people.  We are on this journey in fellowship with one another being led by Jesus who calls out to us to follow him from the Cross of Good Friday as well as from the empty tomb of Easter Sunday. As we grow in faith, we are led to understand those past events as we experience them in our time and place and they are as relevant today as they were when they first took place.   The Risen Lord uses so much gentleness with us! He doesn’t oblige us to ‘believe’ but He offers us the things that enable us to judge based on the measure of our own hearts. As St Augustine extraordinarily wrote in the opening of his Confessions ‘our heart is restless until it rests in you’ May our encounter with the Risen Jesus make us compassionate fellow travelers attentive to the struggles of others, ready to listen, and eager to share our faith in His Resurrection as we move forward in faith.

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11 Apr 2026

Second Sunday of Easter

2nd Sunday of Easter
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21 Mar 2026

5th Sunday of Lent

It seems no time since we began Lent with the ashes of Ash Wednesday and now, we have come to the 5th Sunday of lent. We look forward to Palm Sunday and Holy Week and all the opportunities that they give us to prepare for the Easter Feast. in the 1st Reading Ezekiel tells us that our God is the God of Life, able to bring life even to dry, scattered bones. He can do the same with our broken lives and shattered communities—this is the powerful promise He made to the people of Israel.in our 2nd Reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans we are told that 8:8-11 Living according to the flesh brings death, but life in the Spirit brings eternal life through Jesus’ resurrection, the firstborn of the dead. This is our calling, nurturing both body and soul.

In this weekend’s gospel reading we listen to the story of Lazarus, and we hear about the compassion that Jesus had towards him and his sisters Martha and Mary. This story is also the faith that Martha and Mary had in Jesus when they sent the message to him that Lazarus was sick; indeed, he had died and was in the tomb for four days when Jesus arrived and called him to come out from the tomb. When Lazarus was called from the tomb, it was the last sign worked by the Lord before his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem, everything seems to flow to that ‘new reality’ inaugurated by Jesus who is Emmanuel, God with us. Sharing our lives and our existence, Jesus loves us with a supreme passion right up to sacrificing Himself for us on the cross of Good Friday. He was moved by those who were linked to him by ties of the most profound friendship who understood that jesus could not be anything but God’s presence amongst them.  John’s message for us today is that Jesus raises us to new life even with all the wars that are going on in the world at the present time. This raising to new life does not mean that we no longer suffer. As a matter of fact, this new life leads through pain and suffering before it reaches fullness of resurrection. Jesus demonstrates this to us as it leads to his painful death on the Cross on Good Friday.

But the new life we live leads us to a new way of living. The proof of this is Christ who rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. After his resurrection he appears to those at the beginning of their new life in Christ. We ask the Lord for the courage to listen to the voice that is calling us. The story of Lazarus invites us to look at our own lives and ask what might need to be brought back to life. Lent for 2026 may be winding down as next Sunday is Palm Sunday, but there is still time for us to do a bit spiritual spring cleaning. As we prepare for Holy Week, let us embrace these remaining days of lent trusting that, with God’s grace, even the most hidden parts of our hearts can be made new. So that when we come to the Easter celebration, we will be able to accept the invitation of Jesus to be his people and walk in his light.

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14 Mar 2026

4Th Sunday of Lent

On the Fourth Sunday of Lent the Church celebrates Laetare Sunday, a moment of joy in the middle of the penitential season. With the Iran war continuing and the Middle East and other countries in turmoil there does not seem to be a lot to happy about this weekend however as people of faith we continue to pray for the Peace of the world. Peace should be at the heart of anything we do but sadly for some peace is not an option, and war is the easy way out of doing the right thing. As we continue our Lenten journey this week, we are at the midpoint of Lent as we celebrate laetare Sunday at the midpoint of Advent in the same way we celebrate Gaudete Sunday these are the 2 days in the annual penitential seasons when we rejoice because the Lord is near. Hopefully, the things that we have given up or taken up have not been as stressful as we thought. Lent is a time for giving things up that might not be as good as we think it is also a time for taking up other more meaningful spiritual things. Things that lead us out of the darkness into the light of Christ that we celebrate at Easter.

In the first reading we hear about Young David’s selection as Israel’s king, and it shows God’s plan unfolding and we are reminded that he values the heart over outward appearances. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds us that baptism makes us “light in the Lord,” calling us to live as “children of light” in a world shadowed by false values and mis-placed priorities we are called to be a light to the nations. Our gospel is the story of the blind man, in this story we have another example of God’s choice, one which confuses the religious leaders of the day. John’s beautifully crafted story tells how a blind man comes to see the light in Jesus, both physically and spiritually. When Jesus’ disciples first see the blind man, they presume that his affliction is a result of sin. But Jesus sees in the blind man something else: this roadside beggar who has always inhabited a world of darkness will be the one to display the work of God and point to who Jesus really is. If we are to really see clearly, we need to let Jesus heal us of our blindness and open our eyes as He did the man born blind in this weekend’s Gospel.  This is a challenging gospel story for all of us even today because so many people are spiritually blind. It is possible that the places and things we think we are seeing clearly are not as clear as they should be. Remember that the ones, who were 100% sure they knew what was going on, the Pharisees, were blind to God. They were religious experts, like other experts they missed the truth staring them in the face. The one who is turning their world upside down was the Son of God who was trying to open their eyes and send them along the right road. There may be things that raise questions and upset our routines these may be the very places God is trying to open our eyes and give us the vision to set things in the right light for our lives.

The story of the blind man getting his sight gives us the opportunity to pause and ask ourselves:  How well do I see? Do I see what is really going on in my life? Has the road I have taken made me lose my way? What is dulling our appreciation of life and gods place within it? As we remember the Blind spots in our own lives, we also remember that faith always remains a choice that we make that helps us to see with great clarity of vision. When we choose to trust in God and believe in what he reveals to us, we exercise our freedom to believe. Our hearts and minds freely cooperate with God’s grace. Faith in God and each other is a journey that we take during our Lent. The 6 weeks of Lent lead us to Jesus the light of the world at Easter. The question we should ask ourselves this weekend is this: will we continue to be blind, or will we let our faith in God heal the blindness of our lives and our world so that we will be a light to the nations.

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28 Feb 2026

Second Sunday of Lent

This weekend we continue our Lenten journey and hopefully the various aspects of penance, alms giving and fasting that we are undertaking are not too hard. The readings for the 2nd Sunday of Lent show us how God calls people to trust Him. In each reading, we see someone stepping forward with faith. Abram leaves his home. The disciples follow Jesus up the mountain. Paul tells Timothy to keep going even when life is hard. These readings help us see that Lent is a time to listen and follow God. We are not meant to stay in one place. Just like Abram and the disciples, we are called to move forward with hope.

 In the First Reading the Lord commands Abram to leave his homeland and go to a new land that God will show him. God promises to bless Abram and make him the father of a great nation, and Abram obeys, leaving his home as directed.  In the Second Reading Paul encourages Timothy to join in suffering for the gospel, reminding him that God has saved and called them to a holy life, not because of their own deeds, but because of God’s grace. In the Gospel, we get further advice for the journey when we hear the voice of the father saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”. On the mountain, Peter, James, and John catch a glimpse of the glory of God. As they approach the summit, the three suddenly notice a change in the garments Jesus is wearing. They become dazzlingly white. The disciples then recognize Moses the Lawgiver, and Elijah the Prophet. They are both discussing something with Jesus. Then their joy is turned to fear when suddenly a cloud comes between them and the sun, and the Voice of the father thunders out, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”

As the disciples fall to the ground, Jesus calms them and tells them not to be afraid. The glory fades and then they proceed down the mountain as they continue their spiritual journey. What does all this mean for us on our own spiritual journeys? If we’re really serious about Lent, we’ll take the Transfiguration experience as Jesus intended. As He taught a lesson in patience and hope to Peter, James, and John, so he teaches us to listen and wait, to listen intently to Jesus and His message and wait and see where God will lead us.  We have the advantage of knowing and believing in the Resurrection.  The Transfiguration reminds us that there is more to the story of Jesus on the mountain. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, we are called to a new life with Him as we continue the story of faith as Jesus leads us through the suffering of Holy Week to the resurrection of easter Sunday. Lent is a time to prepare our hearts for Easter, remembering that no matter what we face, God’s plan leads to new life as he tells us, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!”.

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21 Feb 2026

First Sunday of Lent 2026

With the ashes of Ash Wednesday and the call to repent and believe the gospel ringing in our ears we now come to the 1st Sunday of Lent.  In the same way that Jesus went out into the dessert God asks us to go out into the dessert during the 40 days of Lent to undertake a time of renewal. So why Lent? Lent is the time for seeing and correcting our faults and raising our minds and hearts to God. Lent is a time for personal and community conversion of heart and renewal! A time for coming face-to-face with God – our origin, our purpose and our destiny it is also the time to be changed for the better by that encounter!  The main thing for all of us to do during Lent is that we should try to get to know God better by works of faith and charity so that those lines separating good and evil will become more apparent to all of us.

In the First Reading we hear that God formed man and placed him in the Garden of Eden. The serpent deceived the woman into eating the forbidden fruit. She and her husband ate it and realized they were naked.  in the Second Reading: St Paul in this extract from his letter to the Romans tells us that one man’s sin brought death to all, but God’s grace through Jesus brings life and righteousness to many. Christ’s obedience will make many righteous the gospel for this weekend was first addressed to the Church as it coped with divisions, weakening of faith and scandals. The image of the wilderness evoked many memories for them. In the time of Moses God had led his people out if Egypt to begin a long and trying wilderness experience. Our own experience of Church today is, in ways, very similar. God is leading us. We continue to be humbled and tested. What is crucial is the hope that we have from dealing with events through eyes of faith. The Church teaches that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are significant ways to become closer to God.  The decision for each of us is to determine what form of those three things to make our own Lent. The temptations, to which our Lord submitted himself, are a source of encouragement and consolation for all of us. If our Lord and master underwent temptation, we cannot and must not expect to live a Christian life without experiencing temptations and trials.

The three temptations Satan put to our Lord were suggestions that he should forget his messianic mission of redemption. He was urged to get all the comforts of life, all the self-glory and all the possessions and power this world has to offer but that was not what it was about. In the same way all the comforts of life are put before us including the self-indulgence and glory which is the exact opposite of our calling as followers of Christ. During Lent we are called not to give in to the temptations of this life instead we are called to renewal of heart mind and Spirit so that we can live in God and God can live in us through faith so that others may see and believe. Jesus trusted the Spirit to take him into the desert to be tempted. Jesus knew the Father completely. As we begin Lent It is Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life that we seek. As we begin our six-week journey on the road to Holy Week and then the joy of the resurrection at Easter we pray that God may give us his grace to make a good Lent for 2026.

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