Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 57-66) in which Elizabeth gives birth to a son, whom Zechariah named ‘John’. Fr Paul says the birth-stories of John the Baptist and of Jesus are told in such a way as to bring out the parallels between the two figures, and the [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 46-56) in which Mary gives praise to God saying, “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior”. Fr Paul says Mary’s Magnificat, as it is known, sums up the themes of the gospel. On the one hand it [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 26-38) in which Mary, visited by an angel, accepts God’s will for her and agrees to be the mother of Jesus. Fr Paul asks ‘What was the young girl Mary doing when the message came? Kneeling piously? Feeding the sheep? Fetching water? Sweeping [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Luke (1: 5-25) in which Zechariah is told by an angel, when on duty in the temple, that his wife Elizabeth would have a child even though they were both getting on in years. Fr Paul says with this reading from Luke we begin a [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (1: 18-24) in which Joseph follows through on his pledge to marry Mary and accepts Jesus as a son. Fr Paul says Matthew begins his gospel about the birth of Jesus with a long and elaborately formal genealogy of Joseph. But we need to [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (1:1-17) in which details the genealogy of Jesus, son of David, son of Abraham. Fr Paul says Matthew begins his gospel about the birth of Jesus with a long and detailed formal genealogy of Joseph. But as we hear right at the end, Jesus [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (21: 28-32) in which Jesus tells the parable of two sons and their father’s request to each of the to go and work in the vineyard. Fr Paul says in this passage, Jesus tells a parable to challenge the chief priests and elders who [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (21: 23-27) in which Jesus is asked by the chief priests “What authority have you for acting like this? And who gave you this authority?”. Fr Paul says this Gospel reading comes from the beginning of the final confrontation between Jesus and the Temple [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (25: 1-13) in which Jesus shares the parable of the sensible and foolish bridesmaids waiting for the bridegroom to come. Afterwards Fr Paul shares a little about St Lucy whose memorial we celebrate today. Fr Paul says Lucy was martyred in Syracuse, probably during the [...]
Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (11: 16-19) in which Jesus compares his generation with children shouting to each other as they sit in the marketplace. Fr Paul says this Gospel reading is often called the parable of the playing children, and it is one of those stark contrasts that [...]