Gospel Reflection for Sunday September 15th 2024, 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Mark 8:27-35 How could Peter, the apostles, and Jesus’ other close companions have got his mission so totally wrong? We see it in this week’s Gospel, but the truth is that from the very beginning and right up to his death, the apostles...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday September 8th 2024, 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time | Mark 7:31-37 I have always been fascinated by how frequently the people of the Old Testament and even the Acts of the Apostles speak almost casually about God speaking to them. How frequently do we hear someone say, “It is the Lord who...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday September 1st 2024, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:60-69 In last week’s Gospel we met Jesus at a very difficult moment in his ministry. Many of his followers were deserting him and he even feared that his twelve apostles, his closest companions and friends, would also leave him. Thankfully that...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday August 25th 2024, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:60-69 Could you imagine Donald Trump’s PR team, or Kamala Harris’ team for that matter, issuing a statement saying that many voters were so put off by what he/she was saying that they were now leaving and going elsewhere? Of course...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday August 18th 2024, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:51-58 In the wonderful poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”, T.S. Eliot invites us to join him on a strange and mysterious journey “through certain half-deserted streets” of a dreary city. It is a journey, he tells us, which...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday August 11th 2024, 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:41-51 When Jesus proclaimed after his baptism in the Jordan that “…the Kingdom of God is near at hand…” he set out on a dangerous journey which would lead to his horrific death on the cross and from there to the...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday August 4th 2024, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:24–35 A danger I have become aware of when writing these reflections is the danger of giving trite or clichéd answers to questions and issues which are complex and nuanced. Another danger is imagining that the Gospels have the answer to...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 28th 2024, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time | John 6:1-15 Without a doubt the miracle of the ‘Feeding of the Five Thousand’ is one of the most iconic moments in the Gospels. All four Gospels tell the story. In fact, apart from the Resurrection it is the only miracle story...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 21tst2024, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Mark 6:30-34 Ask a teenager when he or she gets home from their first day in High School, “Well, how did your first day go?” and most parents would count themselves lucky to get a grunted “OK”. However, ask the same question to...

Gospel Reflection for Sunday July 14th 2024, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time | Mark 6:7–13 If a person wants to be noticed and taken seriously, for instance during an election campaign or festival of some kind, they will produce colourful signs and brochures, a large stage with an eye-attracting backdrop, make sure lighting and sound...