Today, Fr Paul does not give his usual Gospel Reflection, but instead shares a little about the history and ceremony of Holy Thursday and invites us all to join in the unique and beautiful services we celebrate at Easter. Explanation & History The Holy Thursday ceremony is the [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (26: 14-25) in which Judas Iscariot is offered thirty pieces of silver by the chief priests to betray Jesus. Fr Paul says this Gospel commemorates the first part of the Last Supper – the preparation and the betrayal. Fr Paul notes, the strange pre-planned sequence of [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (12: 1-11) in which Jesus is at Bethany where Lazarus, Martha and Mary live, and Mary anoints His feet with a jar of expensive perfume. Fr Paul says this the story of the anointing of Jesus’ feet with costly ointment at Bethany. In Mark and Matthew [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (11: 45-56) in which the Chief Priests and Pharisees meet to decide what to do about Jesus. Fr Paul says the Gospel reading takes us to the aftermath of the raising of Lazarus. It is typical of John’s contrasts that the gift of life given to [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (10: 31-42) in which the Jewish opponents of Jesus pick up stones to stone him saying “We are not stoning you for any good work but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”Fr Paul says this scene of confrontation between Jesus [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (8: 51-59) in which Jesus says to the Jews ‘If I were to seek my own glory that would be no glory at all. My glory is conferred by the Father, by the one of whom you say He is our God’. Fr Paul this Gospel [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (8: 31-42) in which Jesus says to those who believed in him, “If you make my word your home, you will indeed be my disciples. You will learn the truth, and the truth will make you free.”Fr Paul says this Gospel passage continues the confrontation [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (8: 21-30) in which Jesus tells the people about the Father but they fail to understand what he is telling them. Fr Paul says scene in the Temple we’ve heard today is full of questions: ‘Where is your Father?’, ‘Is he going to kill himself?’, ‘Who [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (8: 1-11) in which Jesus says to the accusers of the woman caught in the act of adultery, ‘If there is one of you who has not sinned let him to be first to throw a stone at her’. Fr Paul says this story does not [...]
Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 26-38) in which the Angel Gabriel visits Mary, telling her that God’s favour rests on her, and foretelling the birth of Jesus. Fr Paul says the Annunciation, which is also called Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the announcement [...]