Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B, 5th May, 2024

‘As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Remain in my love.’

Today’s readings centre on the theme of love: the totally faithful, unconditional love of God for us.

The First Reading describes a turning point in the growth of the Early Church. Peter visits the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion and Gentile, announcing that ‘God does not have favourites’. God reaches out to those who listen to him through his Holy Spirit. He creates a community of love that embraces all humanity.

St John (Second Reading) reminds us that God loved us first. God’s nature is love. The great depth of that love is revealed in God sending Jesus, whose self-sacrifice redeems our sins and draws us into the life of God.

The Gospel shows us Jesus teaching his disciples about his loving relationship with his Father. Jesus chooses and invites us into that same intimate relationship. He tells us how to follow him: that we should love one another.

The Psalmist encourages us to sing praise joyfully to the Lord whose love offers salvation to all.

As we approach the end of the Easter season, we pray for the grace that we ourselves might reflect the gift of God’s love, through our actions to our brothers and sisters, and to all creation. We also give thanks for the love of our friends, and for the joy that they bring to our lives.

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Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday), Year B, 21st April 2024

‘They too will listen to my voice …’

We continue our journey through Eastertide, experiencing the joy of the Risen Lord. This fourth Sunday of Easter traditionally features Jesus as the Good Shepherd, and is also kept annually as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

In the First Reading, Peter explains that the miracle he has been able to perform came not from him, but from the name of Jesus Christ, the keystone rejected by the builders.

The Psalm, normally sung by pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, is a thanksgiving prayer from someone who has been rescued from an ordeal. It uses the same cornerstone image as the First Reading. Like Peter, the psalmist acknowledges the Lord as his Saviour.

The writer of the Second Reading stresses that we are God’s children. Although we might find the path difficult, and feel unsure of what the future holds, we will be transformed into God’s likeness when we meet him.

In the Gospel, Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd, who is prepared to lay down his life for us; he knows us intimately and wants to bring everyone into his fold.

On this Day of Prayer for Vocations, we might pray that everyone should be willing and able to fulfil their own vocation. We continue to pray for war-torn countries, that they will find a Good Shepherd to guide them out of conflict.

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Third Sunday of Easter, Year B, 14th April 2024

Lift up the light of your face on us, O Lord

In today’s readings, we celebrate the living Christ, our advocate who dwells with the Father. Through him we are given encouragement to overcome our fearfulness and weakness of faith.

Peter (First Reading) insists that even those responsible for Christ’s death are not without hope. They, too, are called to repent, and turn their face back to God.

In the Second Reading, John reminds the community of believers that the Christian life demands continuous attention to Christ’s teachings. By following this Way of love in our daily life, we will be invited into an ever deepening relationship with God.

Luke continues the Resurrection story as the risen Lord appears to his fearful friends. Jesus bolsters their faith by joining them for a meal. He invites them to touch his body, before finally breaking open the word of Scripture. We, like the disciples, need the risen Christ to comfort and embolden our lives of faith. (Gospel)

The Psalmist has been delivered from anguish and gives thanks to the one God who has listened and released him. It is a prayer of deep trust and confidence in the Lord of all.

In a world both ablaze with the wonders of science and technology and ravished by war and profound injustice, we pray that we may never forget that only you, dear Lord, can ever satisfy our restless, fearful hearts.

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The Ascension of the Lord, Year A, 21st May 2023 (USA)

‘Go, make disciples of all nations!’

Forty days after the Resurrection, Jesus ascends to heaven. He ascends triumphant to sit at the Father’s right hand. For the disciples, their time of formation with him is over. How is their relationship with him altered?

The First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of the Ascension. Jesus promises to send his Holy Spirit to be with his disciples, to fill them with his power, so that they can witness to him ‘to the ends of the earth.’

The Psalm emphasises Jesus’s triumph in his Ascension, and the whole Church sings in praise of the Lord who reigns over all.

The Second Reading also stresses Christ’s power. His Father has ‘put all things under his feet.’ That power is exercised for us, not only in the gifts of his grace, but also in the promise of eternal glories.

Matthew’s Gospel account of the Ascension focuses on Jesus’s authority and his sending forth of the disciples to witness, baptise and teach. He promises to be with them ‘to the end of time.’

I may want to pray today that those who are struggling to find peace, feel God’s presence in their heart.

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Second Sunday of Easter, Year A, 16th April 2023

‘As the Father sent me, so I am sending you’

Today, with Thomas, we hail Christ as our Lord and God. We, too, ask to be filled with the joy and peace of the disciples in seeing the risen Lord.

The First Reading tells how effectively the lives of the first Christians are encouraged and transformed by their Spirit-filled faith. Their devout, generous sense of community is an inspiration to all who meet them.

Today’s Psalm is considered ‘the’ Easter psalm above all others. All Christians are invited to gives thanks and praise to the Lord.

Peter, who was an eye-witness to the events of Easter (Second Reading), praises and encourages the faith of the new converts, even though they have never seen Jesus. Although they are persecuted and plagued by trials because of their new-found faith in Christ, they still love him deeply and are filled with a glorious joy.

The Gospel recounts the events of the first Sunday after Easter Day. Thomas is absent when the risen Lord appears to the other frightened disciples, offering them the resurrection gift of the Spirit of peace. But a week later, Jesus seeks out the doubting Thomas personally: an encounter that enables Thomas to proclaim Jesus as ‘My Lord and my God!’.

This week, we pray for a deepening personal relationship with the risen Lord that can change our lives … and for an openness that inspires us to take our active, living faith into our suffering world.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year C, 22nd May 2022

‘A peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.’

As we continue through Eastertide, the readings at Sunday Mass turn towards the Holy Spirit. In Jesus’s Farewell Discourse to his disciples (Gospel), he announces that he is to return to his Father, and tells them not to be afraid or troubled: he will still be with them through the Holy Spirit. Jesus also bestows on them the gift of his peace.

In the First Reading, we see how, despite the differences between members of the early Christian Church, the community was guided by the Holy Spirit in coming to decisions.

The Second Reading shows the transformation that has been brought about by the death and resurrection of Christ; the new Jerusalem is in perfect order and needs no temple, because God is already in union with God’s people, dwelling in them.

In a song of thanksgiving, the Psalmist asks God to bless everyone, and for God’s ways and saving help to be known to all.

This week, let us pray for peace for all nations, especially for the people of Ukraine, eastern Europe, Yemen, Syria and Palestine, as well as for ourselves. I may also ask that I share Christ’s word with those I encounter through my actions.

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Fifth Sunday of Easter, Year C, 15th May 2022

‘Love one another, just as I have loved you’

As Eastertide continues, we are invited to live as part of God’s glorious plan to bring about a new creation. Jesus’s new commandment to ‘love one another just as I have loved you’ is the key to transforming our world. (Gospel)

The First Reading continues the story of the mission of Paul and Barnabas. Just as they encouraged the new Christian disciples to persevere in faith, we too can be encouraged to see what can be achieved when we allow God to work within and among us.

The Psalm calls us to sing of God’s goodness with the whole of creation, proclaiming God’s compassion, love and glory to all.

The vision of the heavenly Jerusalem in the Second Reading promises a new heaven and a new earth – a new creation where God lives among God’s people, becoming God-with-us. 

This week I might pray to love others more and more as Jesus loves us, so that I can help play my own part in making all things new. I remember those parts of the world where hatred and destruction are evident, asking that love and mercy may prevail. In particular I continue to join with others in praying for peace for the people of Ukraine and eastern Europe.

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Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year C, 8th May 2022

‘I know them and they follow me.’

On this ‘Good Shepherd Sunday’, the Gospel verses are taken from the tenth chapter of St John. Here Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd, who brings life, love and protection to those within his flock.

In the First Reading we follow Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, where their message is rejected by the Jewish leaders. Undeterred, they turn their preaching to those termed pagans. To the joy of the disciples, these people readily hear and receive the message of eternal life offered by the Lord, fulfilling the commission given by Jesus himself.

The Psalm celebrates the joy, gladness and mercy that this eternal life promises to those who delight in being the Lord’s people, the sheep of his flock.

The Second Reading recounts John’s vision of heaven. Amid countless souls robed in the whitest of garments, we see Jesus as the Lamb, standing at the throne of God. We hear of the gifts of protection from hunger, thirst and sorrow which come to those who stand before God’s throne.

Jesus, the shepherd himself, speaks in the Gospel, reminding us of the blessings of care and protection his sheep are promised — both now, and in eternal life, with Jesus and the Father.

This week, perhaps we can pray especially for those who, for whatever reason, may feel lost and without the protection of the shepherd they once knew. We also remember those who are searching for a flock in which to make their home.

We continue to pray for peace across the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine and eastern Europe.

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Third Sunday of Easter, Year C, 1st May 2022

‘It is the Lord!’

In this Easter season, we see the strength of those who have witnessed the resurrection. Through them, we too witness the love of the risen Christ and power of his resurrection, even in times of terror and persecution.

In the First Reading we see the Apostles, despite the threat of persecution, bravely announcing that Jesus is risen.

The Second Reading transports us to a vision of heaven. The author of the Apocalypse shares a vision where the whole of heaven and all of creation bows before the ‘Lamb that was sacrificed’.

Our Gospel passage relates how the risen Christ shows himself to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and how he challenges Peter to affirm his love three times.

The Psalm is a song of praise and thanksgiving that Christ himself and all his disciples sang.

Perhaps this week we, too, can praise the Lord for all the signs of resurrection around us, as we see the mystery of his Passion and resurrection in our world.

We also continue to pray for peace across the world, and especially for the people of Ukraine and eastern Europe.

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Second Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy Sunday), Year C, 24th April 2022

‘Peace be with you!’

The outpouring of God’s love and mercy flows throughout this Sunday’s liturgy. The joy of resurrection that we celebrate in this Easter season rings out in the words of praise that we repeat with jubilation in today’s Psalm: ‘Give Thanks to the Lord for he is good, His love has no end’.  It reminds us that in the midst of dark and challenging times, the presence of the risen Christ is a comfort in our distress.

In the First Reading, we hear how the early Church, filled with the Holy Spirit, gather together to worship, bringing the risen Lord’s healing to all who seek it.

St John, writing from the place where he was imprisoned for his beliefs, describes a vision of God’s endless living love (Second Reading). The risen Christ is the Alpha and the Omega: the Eternal One stands with us, encouraging us to not be afraid.

Shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the disciples are hiding, fearful of what might happen to them (Gospel). Jesus appears among them in the midst of their fear, his presence bringing them peace. Thomas is not there, and cannot believe what he is told. Eight days later, Jesus stands among them again, and the reality of the resurrection is revealed to Thomas, too.

Today, Jesus stands alongside us, tenderly drawing us out from doubt and disbelief. He has breathed his Holy Spirit upon us. Just as he sent the disciples two thousand years ago, today he sends us out, to bring peace and healing to a fractured, hurting world. Let us pray for that peace that only Christ can bring, in our hearts, in our communities and in our world. At this time we especially remember the people of Ukraine and eastern Europe.

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