Today as we celebrate the lives of St Michael, Gabriel, Raphael – the Archangels, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (1: 47-51) in which Jesus tells Nathanael that he will see ‘heaven laid open, and above the Son of Man the angels of God ascending and descending’. In relation to St [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (9: 7-9) in which Herod, who had beheaded John the Baptist, is perplexed about who Jesus is. Fr Paul notes that Luke’s Gospel does not tell us about the murder of John the Baptist by Herod but he uses the occasion for Herod to ask [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (9: 1-6) in which Jesus sends out the twelve to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal, telling them ‘Take nothing for the journey’. Fr Paul says in this Gospel we hear that the disciples are not to take anything extra with them when [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (8: 19-21) in which Jesus says, 'My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice'. Fr Paul says we see that the crowd in this Gospel form a barrier between Jesus and his mother and brothers, who are waiting [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (8: 16-18) in which Jesus says, ‘For there is nothing hidden that will not be made clear, nothing secret that will not be known or brought to light’. Fr Paul says, after explaining the parable of the Sower, Luke (like Mark), gives three little sayings [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (8: 4-15) in which Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower and explains its meaning to the disciples. Afterwards Fr Paul shares a little about the life of St Padre Pio whose memorial we celebrate today. Fr Paul says Pius, as he was called, was [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (8: 1-3) which tells of the women who were among the disciples of Jesus. Fr Paul says the largely Semitic world of Mark, Matthew and John has little room for women in other than domestic roles. All this changes when Luke and Paul come into [...]
Today as we celebrate the feast of St Matthew, Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Mathew (9: 9-13) in which Jesus calls Matthew to follow him. Fr Paul says Matthew, whose life we celebrate today, was born in Capernaum, and was working as a tax-collector when Jesus called him. He is thought, [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (7: 31-35) in which Jesus when asked to compare the people of his generation says, ‘wisdom is proved right by all her children’. Afterwards, Fr Paul shares a little about the Korean Martyrs and Sts Andrew Kim Taegon and Paul Chong Ha, whose memorial we [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (7: 11-17) in which Jesus raises to life the widow’s son and gives him back to his mother. Fr Paul says the story of the widow’s son is told with typical Lukan delicacy. He stresses that this was her only son, so her only hope [...]