The Blood that Cleanses
Passion Sunday In today’s Gospel, Our sweet Saviour admonishes the Pharisees: He who is of God hears the words of God; therefore you hear them not because you are not of God. St Gregory in his commentary on this passage admonishes us all to examine our conscience to see if we hear the words of […]
The Double Fiat
Annunciation It has been often remarked that it is no coincidence that the day of Christ’s entrance into the world and the day of His leaving it are the same: 25 March. Indeed, it was on this day that the Incarnate Word was conceived in the womb, and it was also on this day that […]
It’s because I’m for you that I’m against you
St Benedict In the heat of the Arian crisis, when nearly the whole world, including the bishops, had fallen into heresy, faced with accusations that he was pitting himself against the whole world, St Athanasius proclaimed: “If the world is against the truth, then I am against the world”. We might very well put those […]
Man of Silence and Sleep
St Joseph If true joy, as we pointed out yesterday, consists in being united with the sufferings of Jesus, then St Joseph certainly was a joyful man. Indeed, all the mysteries of the hidden life of Our Lord involved a great deal of suffering, and St Joseph was a major actor in it all. From […]
Perfect Joy
Fourth Sunday in Lent On this 4th Sunday in Lent, only three weeks before Easter, we are invited to rejoice, more precisely to give ourselves over to an exuberant, triumphant joy. One might wonder what could possibly be reason for jumping with joy in a world that has so many causes for inconsolable lamentation. Were […]
The Democracy Of The Dead
Third Sunday in Lent In today’s Gospel we hear Our Blessed Lord pronounce one of those pithy statements which are well known, but little understood because of the challenge they present. After healing a man by casting out the devil which was the cause of this man’s infirmity, Our Lord finds Himself under fire from […]
Not Me But Only Jesus
Second Sunday in Lent From as far back as we know, the Catholic Church in the west has reserved this second Sunday of Lent for contemplation of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. Just as the actual event was to strengthen the hearts of the three chosen apostles before the passion and death of the Saviour, […]
The Christian Paradox
First Sunday in Lent As we enter upon our quadragesimal purification, Holy Mother Church invites us to turn our attention to the holy angels. Indeed, in Psalm 90 which is the great Lenten psalm, the angelic creatures play a predominant role. Twice a day we will be reminded that the Lord has commanded His angels […]
Nothing To Be Proud Of
Quinquagesima Sunday On this Sunday which is the last before the holy season of Lent, Holy Mother Church seeks to fill our minds and hearts with thoughts that will carry us through the penitential season that is about to open before us. From the very start of the Mass the introit reminded us that God […]
