Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (8: 1-3) which tells of the group of women who, along with the disciples, were with Jesus during his ministry.

In the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and John due to the culture of the time and the world in which they lived there is little room for women to be involved except in relation to domestic roles. However, even though Luke is much the same, we do see the thoughts and feelings of women being brought into prominence.

Fr Paul says, we should never think of the women mentioned in the Scriptures as a simple support party on the journey.  Through Luke we see very much the generosity of these women and, most importantly, we see their part and role in the apostolate and mission of Jesus and we recognise that role is of equal importance.