At first glance, today’s Gospel is clear and unambiguous. It is probably one of the stories or parables told by Jesus which is easiest understood. It is told as a simple black and white story with only one right answer. “Who is my neighbour?“ asks the lawyer, once again intent on drawing Jesus into an...

If Jesus had a Facebook page, would you join it as a ‘friend’? or if he tweeted regularly would you be a ‘follower’ of his? Asking questions like these may well sound trite and meaningless, and come across as more juvenile than anything else, and perhaps they are. However, read today’s Gospel a couple of...

To suggest that a person should forego their father’s funeral or leave home without saying a word to family and friends seems ludicrous. It is almost like the way the wicked son in the ‘Prodigal Son’ parable treated his father. To say that this is what Jesus might literally demand of his followers simply does...

From the very beginning of time we are told that God created us “…in his own image and likeness.” In the very beautiful Psalm 131 we read, “…As a child lies quietly in its mother’s arms, so my soul is quiet within me.” The Prophet Isaiah said, “Can a woman forget her own child, or...

Janis Ian, a singer songwriter of the seventies released the song “At Seventeen” in 1975, capturing the  loneliness and angst of being a teenager. In it she talked about the pain of feeling ‘left out’, being one of those who… “desperately remain at home, inventing lovers on the phone, who call to say, ‘come dance...

Pentecost is the celebration of all celebrations! Many years ago now, I celebrated a 50th Wedding Anniversary Mass for a couple who had returned to the Church in which they were married, to renew their vows and celebrate with their children, grandchildren, wider family, and friends. At the end of the Mass, with all the...

The best image I have of ‘unity’ is found in Rublev’s icon of the Trinity. While his painting was inspired by the three angels who visit Abraham in Genesis 18, there can be no doubt that Rublev is giving us a glimpse – a very wonderful glimpse – into the interior life of God. Sitting...

As the reality of the Resurrection sank into the minds and hearts of the first disciples of Jesus, they must have been faced with many questions. He was the same person, yet different! He wasn’t an angel or a spirit because he interacted with them – they could touch him; he ate and spoke to...

Why is it that so many people live in a kind of perpetual fear of God? They are, maybe, able to say that “God loves me”, but everything in their conversations and actions make clear that deep in their hearts they are still people without real joy or hope or happiness. This fear manifests itself...

The image of the youthful, long haired, well-manicured Jesus carrying a sheep across his shoulders and looking reflectively into the middle distance is probably one of the oldest and best remembered images we have of Jesus. It is found again and again in the catacombs, the underground tunnels where the early Christians hid from persecution...