Reflections

In our gospel today (Luke 17:1-6), we have three teachings that are also found, in slightly different settings, in Matthew’s gospel.    The first is on the inevitability of scandals. Scandals are those actions or words that literally cause people to trip and fall. Here they refer to words or actions which become obstacles, preventing […]

The Book of Kings, from which our First Reading is taken (1 Kings 17:10‑16), tells of the adventures of the prophet Elijah. Earlier in the chapter,   Elijah foretells the coming of a drought that will descend upon his agricultural nation. We hear that he is sent by God into a foreign nation where God

The Culture of Death suffered a sound defeat in the United States elections held this week.  Praise be to God! Praise also to the American people for seeing through the immoral and unjust policies thrust upon them by immoral and unjust politicians and rejecting those policies at the polls. In the run-up to this year’s

Today we conclude our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.  Paul continues to warn the Philippians about not being led astray in the living of their Christian faith, and he urges them to follow Paul’s own example (Philippians 3:17‑4:1). This might sound arrogant, but Paul, who had been himself such a devout and observant

In our previous readings from Paul’s letters, he has already mentioned divisions and arguing among the various Christian communities. Today (Philippians 3:3‑8) he indicates that one source of the problem was the agitation of the Judaizers, those who believed that Levitical Law should be binding on Christians as well. We saw this issue before when reading

In our previous readings from Paul’s letters, he has already mentioned divisions and arguing among the various Christian communities. Today (Philippians 3:3‑8) he indicates that one source of the problem was the agitation of the Judaizers, those who believed that Levitical Law should be binding on Christians as well. We saw this issue before when reading

Today’s First Reading (Philippians 2:12‑18) follows immediately on yesterday’s hymn about the “mind of Christ”, depicted in his ‘self-emptying’ as his way to glory. Paul now exhorts the Philippians to follow the teaching he has given them, which is none other than the teaching of Jesus and the Gospel. They did follow his teaching when he

Yesterday we saw Paul urging the Philippians to greater unity and he gave them some motivating reasons to help bring it about.   Today (Philippians 2:5-11) he gives what is the strongest motivation of all: the example shown to us by Jesus.  Paul begins by asking the Philippians to assimilate into the very core of

In today’s First Reading (Philippians 2:1-4), Paul makes an eloquent appeal for unity among the Christians of the church at Philippi. As he writes from prison, the encouragement and comfort he wishes most from them is that they, “…be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord …”.  As will become

We are approaching the end of the Church year. In the Gospels of these Sundays, we are looking at the final phase of Jesus’ life before his suffering, death and resurrection. Last week we saw Jesus leaving Jericho on the last stage of his journey to Jerusalem. He healed the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, who, once