Amen. This little Hebrew word is a word which always seems to come at the end, whether it’s a prayer, or a psalm or a hymn. It’s a word that comes after, not before. It suggests a sense of completion, everything that needs to be said has been said. It’s a word that brings closure, …
As we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, Gaudete Sunday, the Church turns for a moment to joy in what is traditionally a penitential season. Despite the challenges and loss of this year, we feel joy because the saviour is drawing near. The words of Isaiah resonate with nostalgia, connecting us to advents past; to …
Feria, Ember Day (Peace) Matthew 11.28-end Often when today’s Gospel passage is read, I get grumpy with Jesus. I don’t quite call him a liar in my prayers, but close. ‘Really, Jesus? It doesn’t feel easy or light to follow you, lots of the time. It doesn’t feel peaceful.’ I get quite whingey, and I …
Come to me, all you that are weary [bible / reflection] Read More »
Mary of Nazareth, is the beating human heart, and the culmination of our focus in the Advent Season. She is remembered on the fourth Sunday of Advent as we, with her, are called by Gabriel to be open to the Spirit and bear Christ into the world in our own lives (Luke 1.26-38). In our …
Mary Comforter of the Afflicted [biblical/traditional/art] Read More »
BC:AD This was the moment when BeforeTurned into After, and the future’sUninvented timekeepers presented arms. This was the moment when nothingHappened. Only dull peaceSprawled boringly over the earth. This was the moment when even energetic RomansCould find nothing better to doThan counting heads in remote provinces. And this was the momentWhen a few farm workers …
2020 sadly saw the loss of two giants of British Cinema. Firstly, Diana Rigg, star of the Avengers television show, where she played the cat-suited agent Emma Peel, and then Sean Connery, famous for his portrayal of James Bond. Both personified the suave 1960s spy image, with daring stories of espionage, and today I want …
First Sunday of Advent: Mark 13.24-27 In The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis, once the apocalypse is underway, the stars are called home. The visiting earth-children watch it happen: the sky grows dark, streaks of light criss-cross the sky, but then instead of fiery orbs, glowing humanoid figures assemble. There’s a sense of relief …
Today’s scripture. Luke 5:17-26 Some thoughts on today’s scripture Jesus is the newly arrived kingdom, personified in his very self. Not only does he have the power to cure the paralysed man, he also lays claim to forgive the man’s sins – and this requires nothing less than God’s own power. “We have seen strange …
‘We have seen strange things today’ [bible/reflection] Read More »
