Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (6: 34-44) in which Jesus, full of compassion, teaches a large crowd and gives them something to eat. Today’s Gospel, Fr Paul says, can be read at a number of levels. It can be a foretaste of the Eucharist with the disciples gathered around Jesus. [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (4: 12-17, 23-25) in which Jesus, hearing that John had been imprisoned, began to proclaim the good news of the kingdom throughout Galilee. Fr Paul says, in today’s gospel we hear of the beginning of Jesus’s ministry. Matthew quotes the scriptures to show that they [...]
Fr Paul greets us this morning with best wishes for a happy and blessed New Year. Today, as we celebrate the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, he reads from the Gospel of Luke (2: 16-21) which tells of the shepherds’ visit to the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Fr Paul [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (1: 1-18) which begins ‘In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God’. Fr Paul says today’s Gospel is what is called the 'Prologue of St John' and it has a special place in Christian theology and, for [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (2: 36-40) in which the prophetess, Anna, who came across Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in the temple and began to praise God. She spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.Fr Paul says, in today’s Gospel we are introduced to [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (2: 22-35) in which Mary and Joseph present Jesus at the Temple where they encounter Simeon who had been awaiting the arrival of the Messiah.Fr Paul says, this Gospel is dominated by the figure of Simeon who welcomes Jesus by taking him in his arms [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (2: 13-18) which tells of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt to avoid Herod’s efforts to find and do away with the baby Jesus. Fr Paul reminds us that today’s Feast of the Holy Innocents, is for all the children who were killed by the [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 26-38) in which Mary tells the angel Gabriel, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord let what you have said be done to me’.Fr Paul thinks we need to keep in mind that Mary was a young girl preparing to be married so, no [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (1: 18-24) which tells of how Jesus came to be born. Fr Paul says Matthew begins his Gospel with the birth of Jesus, with the Genealogy of Joseph that we heard yesterday. Joseph is hesitant about adopting Jesus. Joseph thinks he is unworthy to acknowledge [...]
Fr Paul says the Church changes the readings as we begin the countdown to Christmas and these readings are used from 17 to 24 December. So, today, he reads from the Gospel of Matthew (1: 1-17) on the Genealogy of Jesus (There are a lot of names in this Gospel that are difficult [...]