Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Luke (11: 47-54) in which Jesus says to the Pharisees, ‘Alas for you lawyers who have taken away the key to knowledge. You have not gone in yourselves and have prevented others going in who wanted to’.

Today, Fr Paul says, Jesus is saying that the prophets were often mocked and, sometimes, persecuted and killed. There are many examples in the scriptures and in the history our world of this happening.  Jesus, himself, is also an example of this.  He experiences what it is to be prophetic and he knows it is a risky business. It means to speak, and to do, as God would wish us to do.

Mindful of this, Fr Paul says, for us to consider in our reflection today, ‘Am I willing to stand up for my faith, for what is true and right, risking the approval of others, or not?’