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RELIGION LITURGY AND LIFE

12 Sep 2025

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross that we celebrate this Sunday remembers the Cross of Jesus. It has been celebrated by the Church for centuries. The feast began in the 4th century, when the True Cross was found by St. Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine. Tradition says she found the Cross in Jerusalem, where Jesus was crucified. This discovery made a deep impression on Christians and led to honouring the Cross in a special way.

The liturgy for this feast draws from several scriptural readings that reveal the depth of the Cross’s meaning. In the first reading, the Israelites, weary and frustrated, complain against God and Moses during their journey. In response, God allows venomous serpents to afflict them. After the people repent, God instructs Moses to craft a bronze serpent; those who look upon it are haled. This act foreshadows the healing and salvation brought through Christ’s crucifixion.The second reading presents the humility of Jesus. Though he was in the form of God, Jesus did not cling to equality with God but emptied himself, embracing humanity and obedience—even to the point of death on a cross. For this, God exalted him and gave him a name above all others. In the Gospel, Jesus speaks to Nicodemus, explaining that the Son of Man must be “lifted up” in the same way Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness. Through this “lifting up” on the cross, Jesus brings eternal life, not condemnation, to the world. He is sent as a gift of salvation—a ransom for many. The cross as a sign of hope is a paradox. It is like the writing we can read on tombs in old graveyards: Ave crux, unica spes – Hail cross, our only hope. That is a good summary of the Christian faith: in the cross of Jesus, our hope has dawned. We say, “Where there’s life there’s hope.” As long as we live we’re able to hope and open ourselves to the future. Our hope gives direction to our lives; it gives us a reason to keep going. But we know that when we hope we become vulnerable. Hoping is always a risk because it looks to what is not here. To avoid the pain of disappointment some people give up hoping. Like the people of Israel in today’s first reading: they stop hoping in God because of the pain that goes with their new found freedom. They want freedom without wilderness; they want liberation without suffering. God sent the plague of serpents to bring the people to their senses. The God who sent the serpents later sends his beloved Son who died on the Cross for our salvation.

On the cross Jesus does what so many want to avoid: he suffers so that others might be free. To suffer and be rejected are the signs of the cross. In Jesus, God does not despise a broken humanity but takes it to himself. Jesus reveals God by making himself vulnerable. He takes on his back what we all want to avoid: responsibility for our sins. He is nailed to the cross. He does not die a natural death; he is put to death. In all this, he does not despise what is human. As Paul says, Jesus does not cling to his equality with God, he enters the deprivation of humanity becoming a servant  then God raised him high and gave him the name that is above all names . In the Cross and then in the resurrection, hope is born again. Hope is born out of realism; it is born out of love and it leads us to great joy in our lives on earth and in heaven. That is why Paul was right for in the cross there is new life and there is triumph. As we honour the Holy Cross, we recognise it as the sign  of hope especially in this Holy Year dedicated to the theme of Hope.

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06 Sep 2025

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week our local schools went back after the summer holidays and it doesn’t seem like 2 months since the schools closed for the summer at the end of June. Time is flying by and waiting for no one young or old. This week we also said goodbye to the Dominican Sisters who lived in the parish as their convent closed the sisters amalgamated with the other convent in the west of the city.  In this Sundays first reading the author of Wisdom reflects that it is hardly surprising that we have trouble figuring out the intentions of God. He warns: “It is hard enough for us to work out lies within our reach.” And even though God has revealed himself through his Holy Spirit, nobody can claim to fully understand the mystery that is God. We still have much to figure out in so many things especially the things that relate to God.’ In the second reading  we hear from Paul, imprisoned, for the faith who  sends Onesimus back to Philemon, not as a slave but as a beloved brother, urging Philemon to welcome him as he would welcome Paul himself. Paul challenges believers to see others with Christ’s eyes, not through human status. It is a message of reconciliation and shared dignity in the Lord.

In the Gospel there is plenty of figuring out to be done. Jesus gives people notice that they have to work out for themselves if they are equal to the demands of discipleship. That means they have to figure out the cost of discipleship, then consider whether they have the resources to meet that cost.  To drive the point home, Jesus uses twin parables Anyone intending to build a tower would “first sit down and work out the cost”. If he started without finishing, the sum of his achievement would be a monument to his own stupidity. Likewise, the king who discovers that his forces are outnumbered would “first sit down and consider”whether the opposing arithmetic is too heavy. In both instances the advice is clear: take the time; sit down; look at the demands; figure out whether you can honestly meet them.  Much of our lives involve figuring out what is within our reach and what we can realistically achieve. Jesus knows that his disciples must prefer following him to following in their fathers’ footsteps. He calls them away from family life  because discipleship means a new and all-consuming loyalty. Jesus is not telling us to literally hate our family or possessions. He is saying that nothing can come before Him—not our family, wealth, or comfort. If we love anything more than Him, we cannot fully follow His path. This is a hard teaching, but it is a call to be completely committed to God.  Discipleship is not about living life as usual. It is about making choices that put Jesus first, even when it costs us something. We are challenged to think about what we might be clinging to that keeps us from fully following Him.


This Gospel asks us to reflect deeply on our priorities. Are we truly committed to the path of Christ, or are we holding back? Jesus invites us to trust Him and to let go of anything that keeps us from walking fully in His way. When we come to make life changing decisions we need to stop and do what this gospel tells us and that is to take our time; look at the demands the decision to be made will make on us as individuals and communities; and figure out what we can realistically achieve as people who are committed to the path of Christ and that will help us to go forward in faith and hope rather than backwards in fear and mistrust.

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30 Aug 2025

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The   readings of the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time  bring us a strong message about humility. Jesus reminds us not to seek praise or high places. Instead, he shows us that real honour comes when we embrace the humble life. Those who exalt themselves up will be brought down, but those who stay low will be raised up by God. In the First Reading   we are told that we should be humble in all we do, and you will be loved. Seek wisdom, avoid what is beyond you, and give alms to atone for sins. No matter how great or good we might be all of us are called to behave humbly for the Lord accepts the homage of the humble. In the Second Reading we are told that You have come to the heavenly Jerusalem, where angels and the righteous gather, and Jesus mediates a new covenant with his powerful, redemption. This reading contrasts Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Sinai was the place where the Old Covenant was made. Zion stands for the New  Jerusalem that is the goal of the Christians pilgrimage also called the journey of our lives.

In this weekends Gospel Jesus teaches us about humility, advising guests to take the lowest place and hosts to invite those who cannot repay. He promised that those who humble themselves will be exalted and will be rewarded at the resurrection. Often there is more meaning to what Jesus is saying than just the first impression of the words He speaks. That is the way of today’s statement about the exalted being humbled and the humble being exalted. It is easy to repeat Jesus’ words and to even think we understand them and how we should apply them in our lives, but we must remember we have a tendency not to see ourselves and the reality of our lives as other people see them often slanting things for our advantage.  Jesus’s message in this gospel reading is the unconditional giving of oneself and one’s time and resources and it needs to be done willingly according to Jesus’s direction rather than to further one’s own motives seeking to get what you want for yourself as those who were seeking the best seats were doing.  Being humble is not something we do, instead It is something we are, something we learn through living fully with our successes and our failures, and never forgetting our dependence on God.   St. Augustine once said, “Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues; hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.” Without humility, our compassion is small; our love and  care, condescending.

Humility and a humble life means we have an acceptance of our real selves which is why it is so hard for us to achieve.   Jesus reminds us not to seek praise or high places instead he asks us to  be humble people who sit at the lowest place remembering that the lowly will be exalted because of their humble service for God and one another. As we continue our hope filled pilgrim  journey to the Fathers house let us pray that we will remain humble in all we do and say as we take to heart the words of Jesus in this gospel reading for this Sunday.

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23 Aug 2025

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday  Irish Catholics are asked to  pray for peace in Gaza. We turn to God praying for the relief of its suffering people. We also pray that those whose hearts have been hardened may turn away from violence and become people of peace. As we Pray for Gaza and the end of the conflict there we also remember the other conflicts that are ongoing at the moment as we rededicate ourselves to pray for peace.  On the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we hear how God gathers people from all corners of the earth. The message is clear. God’s love is not limited to one group. He wants all people to come to Him. We are reminded that following God is not always easy and we see just how hard following god can be when we look at what is going on in our world.

 In the first Reading  from Isaiah The Lord gathers people from all nations to see his glory and spread it among the people They will bring offerings and some will become priests and Levites. For Isaiah, a faithful band of witnesses will announce the news of God’s restoring love and invite all people to Jerusalem to see the manifestation of God’s power and fidelity. In the Second Reading  from Hebrews God disciplines those he loves, just as a father disciplines his children. We endure trials a they will later bring righteousness and healing. In this Sundays  Gospel Luke tells us about the door policy of the kingdom of God and how there is no such thing as automatic membership. While Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem, someone asks him about the number of those who will be saved. Rather than speculate about the arithmetic of salvation, Jesus gives practical advice about the present time:  “Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Those who wait until the door is shut try knocking, the householder will regard them as strangers. Thus, they are distressed because they are being excluded, the people in the story “prove” they are part of the group by saying “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.”  Jesus is not impressed with this type of superficial acquaintance: people who eat and drink in the same restaurants and bars, read the same papers, watch the same TV programmes, don’t always  share the same commitment to God.   Through Jesus we come to know the faithfulness of God. For us, Jesus is the “sign” of God’s faithfulness. The God who raised Jesus from the dead offers us that same new life through him.

Pope Saint Paul VI said in his famous encyclical, “Evangelii Nuntiandi” that people listen more to witnesses than to teachers. Pope Paul was also right  when he said that the most convincing messengers of our faith are those who speak from their experience of God they are viable witnesses. Perhaps, they were sick and God healed them, or gave them strength and endurance for the trials of life. Today we are called to be authentic witnesses to the Gospel message. Our lives must be changed by our faith in Jesus. We are given the gift of faith  and we are asked to nurture that gift and help it grow. So let us not be afraid to change the things in our lives that we need to change in the light of faith remembering to give thanks for  the gift of faith that gives us the hope  that we will be able to enter through the Narrow Door.

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19 Aug 2025

REFLECTION AS WE PRAY FOR PEACE IN GAZA

Throughout the Catholic Church in Ireland on Sunday 24th August we have  being asked to pray for peace in Gaza. There seems to be no real concrete way for the ordinary man in the street to contribute to the peace efforts but that is not true . Here in Northern Ireland we began the journey into our Peace Process then after a lot of hope filled prayer this process began to have results with ceasefires and then on the 22nd May 1998 the Good Friday agreement was signed. I am sure you are asking yourself wherever you are reading this what has this got to do with Gaza and peace there. It has a great deal to do with Gaza and peace because if you do not bring the waring factions and countries together to find some sort of common ground you will have little or nothing you will only continue the war with all its horrible consequences and there will be a day of reckoning for those who did and said nothing.

The reflections of older Germans who lived through the era of Hitler and the Holocaust serve as a sobering reminder. Many questioned their own actions or lack of action  during those dark years, asking themselves whether their ignorance was wilful or simply a matter of indifference. The burden of conscience is one they carried to their graves, knowing more could have been said and should have been done. We  must consider what our response will be and what future generations will say about our response to the violence that is currently taking place in Gaza. Considering what is going on there currently will we be able to say that we did all we could, that we prayed for peace, and that we rejected the violence and the injustice that is going on all sides? Or will we admit to sympathising with it, justifying it, or simply turning a blind eye saying it doesn’t concern me so why should I bother? As individuals, especially those who identify as Christians, we hold a profound responsibility to be men and women of peace doing all we can to promote and maintain peace.  The teachings of Christ emphasise the importance of bringing peace into every home and heart. If peace is not welcomed, it returns to us but it is our duty to continue offering it. The peace of Christ spreads only through our  personal willingness to accept and share it.  This is the vocation of every believer: to regard all people as brothers and sisters, reconciled through Christ who sacrificed himself for the world on the cross.

The real question for us a we pray for peace in Gaza is can we move out of our comfortable lives and say what needs to be said and do what we has to be done for the powerless masses of people in Gaza who face injustice and war everyday. In praying and working for peace we may have to suffer in some way  because we profess the name of Jesus.  It could simply be that we will be ignored by many people dismissed by those who consider themselves more worldly wise. But we take courage from those on the margins who, in the footsteps of Jesus have challenged the structures of intolerance and war.  Ultimately, our responsibility and our call  is clear: to be people of peace, to reject violence, and to live the values of the Gospel  in our lives. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent or indifferent to what is going on but instead, we should act as agents of peace and reconciliation wherever we are. In doing so, we contribute to the possibility of peace in our communities and across the world. Recently the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said  the pain and dismay at what is happening is great. Once again we find ourselves in the midst of a political and military crisis. We have suddenly been catapulted into a sea of unprecedented violence.  The hatred, which we have unfortunately already been experiencing for too long, will increase even more, and the ensuing spiral of violence will create more destruction. Everything seems to speak of death.  Yet, in this time of sorrow and dismay, we do not want to remain helpless. We cannot let death and its sting (1 Cor 15:55) be the only word we hear. That is why we feel the need to pray, to turn our hearts to God the Father. Only in this way we can draw the strength and serenity needed to endure these hard times, by turning to Him, in prayer and intercession, to implore and cry out to God amidst this anguish.

This Sunday we turn to God in prayer for Gaza for the relief of the suffering of its people that those hardened hearts may turn away from the violence and become people of peace. In Down and Connor diocese where I live in Ireland our Bishop issued a pastoral letter suggesting that we might do some of  the following during the day of prayer for peace in Gaza Light a candle in your family home or local parish church; attend Mass, spend time before the Blessed Sacrament; pray the Rosary; make some small personal penance or sacrifice, so that the light of hope will radiate out from the island of Ireland for peace, for Gaza and for the future of its people. As we Pray for Gaza and the end of the conflict there we remember all the other conflicts that are ongoing at the moment as we rededicate ourselves to pray for peace in Gaza and the world. We pray that the peace of Christ that passes all understanding will dwell in our hearts and souls so we may see the hope that his call holds for us.

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16 Aug 2025

20th Sunday in ordinary time

The Gospel Reading for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time  is not easy to hear. Jesus speaks clearly and the words of Jesus are there to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. He says He did not come to bring peace, but fire. He warns that even families will be divided because of Him. His words are bold and direct. In the first reading, he is thrown into a cistern for speaking the truth. People wanted him gone. But God sends someone to help him. Jeremiah did not stop trusting God, even in the mud. The second reading from Hebrews reminds us to keep going. We must stay strong. We should look to Jesus, who faced the cross. He did not give up. Neither should we despite the conflict and suffering that we see going on in the world. Today throughout the world many people are suffering as a result of conflict especially in Gaza and Ukraine as well as other places. We continue our prayer for peace this weekend.

In the gospel reading for this Sunday Jesus says, “I have come to set the world on fire and how I wish it were already blazing.” Jesus is ready and willing to face the hardships that lie ahead. Jesus’ words must have unsettled the people who heard them the first time. It doesn’t sound like Jesus meant that the practice of our faith should make us comfortable, guarantee harmony or tranquility. Indeed, as he predicted, belief in him would cause the most severe conflict, even in the close-knit-family world of his Mediterranean followers and this conflict continues today in many places throughout the world especially in the Holy Land. Jesus has a task to complete and will follow it through, despite the threats to his personal safety. Jesus refers to his fate as “a baptism with which I must be baptized.” He sees his passion as a baptism which he will accept and which will set a fire upon the earth here we are in 2025 talking about the fire that Jesus lit that could not be extinguished that is the fire of faith. When our lives get difficult, for any reason perhaps running low on the resources of spirit, mind and Soul at critical moments, we are tempted to think that the Holy One is asleep behind a closed door. When the truth is that Jesus is with us looking after us in our times of suffering and need.

The faith that Jesus calls his followers to is a faith that leads us to reflect a faith and hope filled life. It is much easier to follow from a safe distance and not be challenged and changed by faith in God. It is very easy to let the bitterness of others take us over but Jesus went to the Cross to overcome all the hatred and bitterness that we see around us even now in 2025. Today we are invited to lead lives less dominated by greed possessiveness and hatred. As I said at the beginning of this piece the words of Jesus are there to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted and they are a direct challenge to all of us. Faith was not easy at the beginning of the Church and isn’t easy now the martyrs of faith throughout history bear witness to this. If we stop and look around us even now there are people who are prepared to give everything they have including their lives in defense of the faith.  Deciding to follow Jesus is not easy and we have to work at it for anything that is worth doing or being part off will never be easy.  We are called to follow were God leads us and he will do the rest for nothing is impossible to God our father who journeys along with us throughout our lives in the good bad and sad  times and he gives us the faith based certainty that enables us to continue our journey in faith hope and love.

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08 Aug 2025

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday we continue our prayer for peace in the world. The pictures and the stories of starvation coming out of Gaza are a constant reminder of the need for peace of heart, mind and soul. With  the current state of the world we  pray  that  the politicians will come together to work for peace. The readings for 19th Sunday advise us to be prepared for we do not know when our time to move from this world to the next will come. Spiritual readiness is the theme for this Sunday and we should ask ourselves are we prepared for our lives in the world to come.    In the first Reading  from Wisdom the ancestors had foreknowledge of the Passover, giving them courage. The salvation of the just and destruction of foes were awaited. The Responsorial Psalm tells us that the righteous are urged to rejoice in the Lord. The people chosen by God are blessed, and the Lord’s gaze is upon those who respect Him. They await His mercy and protection.   In the  Second Reading   from Hebrews Abraham’s unwavering faith in God’s promise led him to a foreign land, where he and his descendants flourished.

This Gospel reading begins with some of the most beautiful of Jesus’ words: “There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. These particular words fear not little flock are so full of meaning especially these days when there is so much fear and distrust around in many different countries and spheres of life. The words of our Lord should make us all sit up and take notice. He has taken us into his household. He has made us his “little flock.” We are invited guests in his house rather than just being mere servants. Jesus also warns us that we must always be busy about our vocation and there are many vocations in life. We also remember the reason why he invited us into his home. We are Christians, we are members of his Church, God, through Christ’s Incarnation, has put us on the road to heaven. He is always there with us helping us along the way.  We don’t know in advance what God may do with us and our own oftentimes selfish plans a friend of mine always said that Man proposes and God disposes in other words the will of God will happen no matter what we might want or do.  To those who have faith, all things are possible there is an  old saying that faith moves mountains but we should keep on climbing  and it certainly is true.

Faith helps us to rely on the infinite power of God, not on our own limited power. We don’t know when personal circumstances will put us to the test. But we do know that our lives will be a success if we set our hearts and minds on values that go beyond all the goods and chattels of this world. Our faith, is leading us onward, always pointing to something still to come, and at the end of our pilgrimage on earth we will find where our true treasure is and that is in heaven with the Father in his house. The gospel words do not fear little flock are a call for us to place our trust in God and he will help us when we come to the trials and tribulations of life especially these days when the world seems to be  in turmoil.  The Holy Year of Hope encourages us to remain hopeful, even in the face of adversity. Again and again, the Gospel assures us: we need not fear the future. Instead, we are called to place our hope and trust in God our refuge, our strength, our help, and our shield. In doing so, we journey together, trusting that God’s love will see us through all of life’s trials and lead us to our eternal home.

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01 Aug 2025

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time are a warning for us not to become too attached to worldly goods and temporary pleasures. Detachment from the things of this world and enriching our spiritual lives is really what  need to be doing. In the first Reading – The preacher declares everything meaningless. Working hard only to leave the results to someone else is futile. Life is full of pain and worry, and this is also meaningless. Psalm 90  offers a prayerful response to the fleeting nature of life. The psalmist does not despair but turns to God, asking for wisdom, compassion, and blessing. In the Second Reading  Paul urges the Church to set their hearts on what is above. The letter to the Colossians emphasizes the full sufficiency of Christ. This reading reminds us that our life in Christ is a new reality.

Earthly attachments and sinful habits are part of the old self, which must be left behind. Paul calls the community to live out their baptismal identity in practical ways. This reading shifts the focus from earthly gain to spiritual renewal of oneself and the community. The gospel is the story of the rich man who foolishly stored up his wealth for a future that he thought would be in his own hands instead the future was in the hands  of God.  Luke  tells us the man is foolish for his planning and for believing that he was immune to life’s tragedies. The lesson of this Sundays parable is obvious and it is perhaps as difficult to put into practice.  To be in this world and not of it, to collect the necessary goods of this world by honest labor and yet remain detached from them, to possess but not be possessed by the worldly riches we may have, this is an ideal to which our weak human nature responds very reluctantly. However some Christians, do respond to the challenge. They earn and use the goods of this world for the good and wellbeing of everyone, while at the same time they keep God’s laws and earn spiritual wealth putting their riches into their spiritual bank. Some renounce the right to possess the things of this world, by entering religious life taking on the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Thus they free themselves to devote their whole time and energy to the service of God and neighbor trough living the spiritual life.

Many people own the world’s goods in order to provide for themselves and their families, but, while so doing they never let their temporal possessions come between them and their spiritual life. To do this is not easy, but God’s grace is always available to help the willing heart.  The message of the Jesus is one of hope, and compassion, it is not the achievement of great influence or wealth, it is not the power over others that prove our greatness in gods eyes.  What proves our greatness is the humble service freely given to those who need the help and friendship we offer them . The last sentence of the parable is stark and clear: Do not store up treasure for yourself, but seek to be rich in the sight of God. That means that we “Seek the Kingdom of God. As Christians we know that the values of this world do not last and that they cannot bring true fulfillment. A successful life in God’s eyes is not about storing up material treasure for ourselves  but about being a source of spiritual treasure for others. In this Holy Year of Hope, we are called to renew our trust in God’s wisdom and embrace the path of spiritual generosity. That means that we use our time, talents, and resources to benefit others, knowing that in doing so, we enrich our own lives with real meaning and joy. `

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25 Jul 2025

17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

As we continue our journey during the year of Hope we pray for peace in the war torn places in the world. our readings for this Sunday encourage us to pray and ask God for good things and he always answers but not in the ways we might want. In the First Reading God tells Abraham He will check on Sodom and Gomorrah’s sin. Abraham asks God to spare the city if innocent people are found and ten innocent people are found, and God dopes not destroy the city. In the second reading  we are told that In baptism, we were buried and raised with Christ. The reading goes on to say that God forgave our sins, cancelled our debt, and made us alive with Christ by nailing our sins to the Cross.

 In  this Sundays Gospel  one of the disciples, having seen Jesus at prayer, asks him to teach them how to pray. In response to this request Jesus teaches them how to pray in the words of the our Father. He also encourages them to be unwearied in their prayer because the Father who loves them will hear their pleas. My experience of praying to god for something is that we often get the thing that we pray for not when we think we need it but when god knows that we really need it.  The greatest example of prayer that has been passed down to us through the generations is the Mass. Each time we gather as a community of believers to take part in the Mass we reaffirm our belief that God is made incarnate in Jesus his Son. We also bring all our intentions with us and we leave them for god to answer in his own time. Persistence in prayer is a worthwhile exercise because the God we believe in is not some sulky, withdrawn figure who is unmoved by what he hears and sees remember that our God is with us who knows us and gives us what is good. The message of Jesus in the our Father is that our God is one who cares for us as well as concerned about us and those who are close to us.

The most important part of our human life is what we become through faith in the will of God the Father. When things don’t go the way they should, we benefit from our prayers. Think of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. He prayed what was coming his way would not happen. He also added he would abide by God’s will when he said Abba, Father let it be done as you not I would have it. If we continue to look for the will of God we will grow, despite the good and  bad things that come our way we will know that God is for us our  refuge and our strength in all things. As we reflect on the readings this Sunday we are invited to engage in prayer with boldness and trust. Like Abraham, we are encouraged to pray constantly for others, persistently asking God for what is good and just, even if we do not understand why things happen the way they do especially in our world today.  Like the disciples in the Gospel, we are taught to pray with confidence, knowing that our Father will give us what we need for us to live as faithful hope filled children of God.

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19 Jul 2025

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings for this Sunday have a focus on hospitality. What are some ways we can provide hospitality for others? Do we only care for their physical needs or do we also take the time to listen to them as St benedict says with the ear of our hearts?  In the First Reading  The Lord appeared to Abraham, who welcomed three visitors with hospitality. One of them promised that Sarah would have a son within a year. In Second Reading  Saint Paul tells the Colossians I suffer for you to share Christ’s afflictions and reveal the mystery of Christ in you, our hope of glory.In our Gospel reading this Sunday we hear all about Martha and Mary. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus led his entourage into the village to call at  the home of Martha. As the good host, she served them but, her sister, Mary, sat listening to Jesus.

Martha tried to shame Mary into helping with the work but Jesus would have none of it. Instead, he praised Mary’s choice when he said leave her alone for she has chosen the better part.  Martha loved Jesus as much as Mary did, and it is clear that he treasured them both. Her mistake was in not trying to find out how Jesus wanted to be entertained, while visiting her house. Her sister senses that when Jesus comes on a visit the last thing he wants is to have people fussing over how to feed him. So, while Martha makes the greater housekeeping effort, Mary understands better what is expected of her by him. Her contemplative intuition grasps instinctively the real reason for Jesus’ visit.  He is there not to receive but to give, not to be served but to serve. He has something he needs to say and the one thing necessary is to listen to his voice. There is a whole theology of contemplation in this gospel reading, on how to receive the Lord’s visit. It starts off from the basis that, no matter who our visitors may be, there is always something to be learned, something from them. When Jesus comes to us he wants to talk to us in the quiet of the evening or the freshness of the morning, in the quietness of  our hearts and he wants to share with us the Word that brings salvation. He comes to us in the quiet moments not because he needs us but because we need him.

We too can be “distracted with all the serving;” we also “worry and fret about so many things.” As a result of all the worry and wonder we may, like Martha, miss the better part, for all of us the one thing that is necessary, is to listen to the Word of God with the ear of our hearts in the quiet moments of life. let us not be afraid of being like Mary and be attentive to what Jesus is telling each of us today. Let us listen again to what god is saying to us in the quiet and still moments of our lives and we will be surprised by what we hear for we will know that we  have chosen the better part like Mary in the Gospel.

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