Jesus is rejected in Nazareth Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Luke (4: 16-30) in which Jesus said no prophet is ever accepted in his own country. As we begin this week, we need to note that we have stopped reading from the Gospel of Matthew and are now reading from the [...]
The beheading of St John the Baptist Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (6: 17-29) about the death of John the Baptist. As Fr Paul mentioned in a previous reflection, John the Baptist has two feasts in our Church. In June we celebrate his birth and in August his death. Fr [...]
Feast of St Augustine of Hippo Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Matthew (25: 1-13) about the sensible and foolish bridesmaids with their lamps waiting for the bridegroom’s arrival. Today we celebrate the life of St Augustine, son of Monica. Fr Pauls says that like Monica, who we celebrated yesterday, Augustine was [...]
Feast of St Monica Today Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Matthew (24: 42-51) in which Jesus tells the disciples to ‘stay awake because you do not know the day when your master is coming’. Afterwards he shares a little about St Monica, whose life we remember and celebrate today. Monica was [...]
Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites Fr Paul says today’s Gospel Matthew (23: 27-32) contains the last two of seven ‘Alas for you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites’, otherwise known as the seven woes. Fr Paul explains that in this Gospel Jesus is saying he looks through the outward appearances to [...]
Jesus challenges us to be genuinely open to God In today’s Gospel from Matthew (23: 23-26) Jesus challenges the scribes and Pharisees about the priorities they place on different aspects of their faith. Fr Paul says it is obvious that Jesus is criticising the scribes and Pharisees about their different practices, in [...]
Feast of St Bartholomew Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of John (1: 45-51) which tells of Philip taking Nathanael to meet Jesus. Today we remember and celebrate the life of St Bartholomew – you may question why the Gospel used today talks about Philip and Nathanael rather than Bartholomew? Fr Paul [...]
Feast of Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Fr Paul reads today’s Gospel from Matthew (23: 1-12) in which Jesus says the greatest among you must be your servant. Today we remember and celebrate the Queenship of Mary, which is, by tradition, celebrated on 22 August. Pope Pius XII established the feast [...]
Feast of St Pius X Fr Paul reads today’s Gospel from Matthew (22: 34-40) where Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees about which is the greatest commandment. Fr Paul says that today we celebrate the life of St Pius X, who was born in the village of Riese near Venice in Italy. [...]
Feast of St Bernard of Clairvaux Fr Paul reads today’s Gospel from Matthew (22: 1-14) about the king who sends his servants to call the invited guests to his son’s wedding feast and, afterwards, he shares a little about the life of St Bernard of Clairvaux, whose life and memory we celebrate [...]