Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (8: 1-10) in which Jesus feeds a crowd of four thousand with just seven loaves.Fr Paul says both the Gospels of Mark and Matthew have two stories of how Jesus wonderfully feeds the crowds and they are possibly two accounts of the same event. There [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (7: 31-37) in which Jesus heals a man who is deaf and mute.Fr Paul says the activity of Jesus as he goes around doing all things well, as the Gospel describes, is the coming of God in our world. Jesus is the sacrament of God. [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (7: 14-30) in which a woman begged Jesus to drive an unclean spirit out of her daughter. Fr Paul also shares in his reflection a little bit about the life of St Scholastica, who we celebrate today. Fr Paul says there is not a lot we know about St [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (7: 14-23) where Jesus shares a parable to the crowd which speaks of how a person becomes unclean. 'Nothing outside a person can make them unclean by going into them…rather it is what comes out of a person that makes them unclean’. Fr Paul explains that in [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (7: 1-13) where the Pharisees observe and question why some of Jesus’ disciples were eating with unwashed hands, rather than keeping with the traditions of a ceremonial washing before eating. Fr Paul explains that the issue which is at play in this Gospel, is the relative importance [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (6: 53-56) in which people carried their sick to Jesus, as he travelled around their region, and begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.Fr Paul says the reading we hear today sums up [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (6: 30-34) in which Jesus encourages the disciples, after returning from their ministry, to go to a quiet place and rest. Afterwards, Fr Paul shares a little about the life of St Agatha, whose memorial we celebrate today.Fr Paul notes that Agatha was beautiful woman [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (6: 14-29) where John the Baptist was beheaded. Fr Paul notes that the story of John the Baptist is told by Mark with more attention and sympathy than the other Gospel writers. Mark focuses on the royal birthday party which changes basically into a courtroom drama. Mark uses two biblical models [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mark (6: 7-13) where Jesus made a tour around the villages and sent the Twelve around in pairs to share the faith. In today’s Gospel we hear the instruction for those going out on the mission. Fr Paul says, effectively they are to travel light and speed is essential to [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (2: 22-40) where Joseph and Mary travel to Jerusalem and present Jesus to the Lord. Fr Paul says, today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus. On this day we celebrate the fact that the Virgin Mary, in obedience to Jewish law, went [...]