Oscar Wilde was a much-celebrated Anglo-Irish literary figure, very witty… and very worldly. He once wrote: “I can resist everything but temptation.” He lived in total self-indulgence, ridiculed Victorian moral norms, and died in Paris of meningitis in the year 1900. His view of life aptly ushered in the 20th...
Today we are entering a new Season, one of penance and sacrifices. Together, we have gathered here to celebrate “Ash Wednesday,” the first of forty days of the Lenten Season that precedes Easter. On this special occasion, we are called to be reconciled to God. Through the sacramental of ashes...
We are presented for consideration today one of the very hardest of Jesus’ commands: “Love your enemies”. This injunction comes in the very first sentence of today’s text and the rest of the extract could be regarded as simply a commentary on it. What we are talking about is ethics,...
Do you ever stop to think that, roughly speaking, eight out of ten Catholics no longer come to Mass? That’s a lot of people! It means that there should be another eight people sitting next to you. There are many reasons for their absence – the analysts of such things...
What powerful readings that we have just heard from the Holy Scriptures. What I mean by powerful is that the readings make us think twice of how we would behave if we suddenly found ourselves in the Divine Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. Many of us would like to...
Today we celebrate the third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Throughout this liturgical year, which is referred to as Year C, we will listen to the Gospel of Luke. The gospel text of today – specially edited for the occasion – begins with the prologue of the Gospel in which Luke...
The first reading today, from the Prophet Isaiah, speaks about what has happened to God’s Chosen People, Israel, His beloved. Israel has been more or less destroyed and its faith watered down and weakened over the centuries. Yet the Prophet Isaiah, looking into the future, states: Nations shall behold your...
Most people don’t think about Baptism very deeply. This is manifested clearly at parish Baptism preparation sessions. When asked why they have brought the child for Baptism parents are caught unaware; this is already very telling. They become suddenly uncomfortable. Mom looks at dad, dad looks at his feet. Well,...
One of the things I love about the Catholic Church is her courage when it comes to speaking of Mary. Protestantism is timid in speaking of her but Catholicism never hesitates to talk about Mary. The Church will confidently give to Mary all her titles and will speak of all...
The Gospel writers were not like modern journalists. Journalists today are pre-occupied with facts and photos and ‘spin’ and, ironically, they get things wrong a scary percentage of the time. The evangelists are interested in what happened only because it reveals the truth – the truth about Jesus. Indeed, Luke...