Ordinary Time Before Easter (56)

This morning the Lord places something simple before us. A choice.

Sirach speaks plainly. If you choose, you can keep the commandments. Before you are fire and water, life and death. God does not force our hand. He gives us freedom and takes us seriously.

That freedom is …

Every one of us builds something to feel safe. A plan. A structure. A circle we can manage. Today the Scriptures ask a simple question. When pressure comes, do we tighten our grip out of fear, or do we open our hands in trust? One path tries to control God and people. The …

This morning we hear how a kingdom can fall apart because a king will not listen; and how a man can be made whole because he learns to hear. Between a torn cloak and opened ears lies the choice before us today: to harden our hearts and live divided, or to let Christ open us …

Brothers and sisters,

If you ever walk on a hill and look down at a city, you can see everything at once. The roads, the houses, the churches, the markets. In Solomon’s time there was a hill facing Jerusalem. On one side stood the Temple, the place built for the living God. …

Brothers and sisters,

The Queen of Sheba arrives with questions and with caution. She wants to see for herself whether Solomon is as wise as people say. She watches closely. She listens. What convinces her is not only his answers, but the whole way things are done around …

Brothers and sisters,

Solomon stands in front of everyone and prays with empty hands. He has just finished building the Temple, the biggest and most important building in Israel. It would have been easy for him to feel proud, to feel powerful, to think that God now belonged …

In our readings this morning we hear how the priests have to stop because God’s presence fills the Temple, while in the Gospel people press forward just to touch the edge of Jesus’ clothing. Ignatius would invite us not to rush past these scenes, but to stand inside them, to …

Brothers and sisters,

Today, the Lord calls us to be salt and light through real acts of justice and care, as we see in the Scriptures and in the life of Saint Josephine Bakhita.

Sometimes the biggest problems facing the world do require big, shared solutions. World peace. …

We can recall that the disciples have just returned from the mission Jesus entrusted to them. He sent them out two by two, with little more than a staff and his authority. They have preached repentance, anointed the sick, and driven out unclean spirits. They have known the …

Before the party even begins, it helps to remember who Herod is. This is Herod Antipas, not a great king but a client ruler, dependent on Rome, anxious about his position, skilled at survival rather than leadership. He lives close to power but never fully secure in it. He …

David is near the end of his life, and he speaks out of experience rather than ambition. He tells Solomon what his own failures have taught him. Stay close to God. Walk in his ways. Be faithful from the inside, not just on the surface. David has learned that strength is not …

Dear sisters,

The people in Nazareth thought they knew Jesus. They knew his family. They knew his trade. They remembered him as the carpenter who grew up among them. So when he spoke with wisdom and authority in the synagogue, they did not open themselves to what God might …

In our first reading David is standing by the city gate, waiting for news. Everyone else already knows what they want to call this day. The rebellion is over. The danger has passed. It should be a success. David is not thinking about success. He asks one simple question: is …

Let us picture this moment in our imagination.

An old man stands in the Temple holding a baby. The child is warm and light. He has no idea who he is or what is being said about him. The old man’s hands shake a little, so he slows himself down. He holds the child carefully, …

Jesus goes up a hill and sits down. He does not tower over the crowd. He settles himself and waits, and they gather around him. Some of you may remember the scene from The Chosen. People arrive carrying different burdens. Some are curious. Some are tired. Some are already …

This morning David is told a story about injustice. A poor man owns one lamb. It eats from his plate, sleeps near him, and is part of the household. A rich man, with many animals, takes that lamb for himself. David reacts strongly. He speaks about justice and punishment. …

In the first reading we watch how unfaithfulness grows. David is unfaithful first in a quiet way. He stays behind when he should be with his men. He lets his guard down. Then desire takes root in his heart. He does not stop it. What begins inside soon becomes action. He …

David walks into the tent and sits on the ground. He is still king, but something has shifted. God has just spoken of a future that will last longer than David’s strength and longer than his life. David does not try to respond with big words. He does not make promises of his …

Most of us know the feeling of arriving before God with a plan already drawn. We come with measurements and materials in our heads. Fix this. Bless that. Help me build what I think should stand. The readings today slow that instinct. They invite us to listen before we build, …

David does not march into Jerusalem as a hero. He dances. His dancing is not for show. It is what happens when fear loosens its grip. For a long time, the Ark had stayed where it was, and David carried the memory of what went wrong. Now he sees that the road is open again. …

In this morning’s readings we meet a moment many of us recognise. You do something that loosens another person’s chains, something that gives back dignity or hope, and instead of thanks you meet suspicion. Motives are questioned. Labels are fixed. That is where today’s …

Jesus begins his public ministry at a dangerous moment. John has been arrested. A voice has been silenced. The preacher who spoke truth in the wilderness has been removed, and everyone knows what that means. When truth-tellers are taken away, fear spreads quickly. Others …

Yesterday the Scriptures showed us David hiding in the darkness of a cave, holding Saul’s life in his hands. He could have struck him down. He could have ended the long chase and settled everything with one clean blow. Instead, David stepped back. He spared Saul. He chose …

Some of the most important moments in life are quiet ones. No audience. No applause. Just a choice made in the dark. Those moments shape who we are becoming.

David is in such a moment today. He is hiding in a cave, tired and hunted. Saul, the king who has been trying to kill …

They came out singing and dancing, filling the streets with colour and relief. It was the sound a people make when fear has loosened its grip. Saul returned with David, and the women sang what poetry always sings. Saul has killed his thousands, David his ten thousands. …

At the end of most days, our hands tell the truth about us. They show where we have spent our time and what we have chosen to do. They have worked and waited, helped and held back, reached out or stayed closed. Sometimes they are ready for good. Sometimes they are tired. …

Dear brothers and sisters,
Samuel is grieving, and God names it plainly. “How long will you mourn Saul?”, Not because grief is wrong, but because it can quietly fix our eyes on what is finished. Samuel’s sorrow has become a way of standing still. God sends him …

Think of a wedding you have actually attended. Not the photographs, but the moment itself. People are talking, distracted, checking watches. Then the groom appears. No announcement is needed. Conversations fade. Faces turn. Something important has arrived. No one wonders …

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
today we are being asked to notice the Lamb who walks quietly among us, and to decide whether we will pay attention and follow.

There is a sound many of us know well, especially outside the cities. It is the small bell tied around the …

God meets us where we are and asks us to follow him in the middle of ordinary life.

Dear sisters, the readings today remind us of something simple and important. God does not wait for the right mood, the right time, or the right circumstances. He comes to people while they …

Sisters and dear friends, this morning the Word of God gives us one clear lesson: when we reach for control, God reaches for the heart.

Our first reading from the First Book of Samuel opens with a tired prophet and an anxious people. The elders of Israel come to Samuel with …

Dear sisters in Christ, we have all known dry moments. Today’s readings use the image of the desert as the place where false hopes fall away and true mercy is revealed.

Our first reading from the first book of Samuel takes us to a battlefield thick with fear. Israel has …

Dear sisters in Christ, today’s readings invite us to look more closely at how God enters ordinary life, heals what is deepest in us, and then sends us out to serve.

In the first reading from the First Book of Samuel we meet a young boy who hears his name called in the …

God works quietly, but when he acts, lives are changed.

Dear sisters in Christ, good morning. Today’s readings remind us of something very simple. God listens when people pray from the heart. God lifts those who feel low. And God speaks a word that sets people free.

Our …

The words we speak, the judgments we make, the way we see the world—these are not accidents of speech or perception, but the fruit of our hearts. And so, we must ask ourselves: what do they reveal? For words are not mere sounds that vanish in the wind; they are echoes of the …

There are moments in life when the Gospel does not merely challenge us; it confronts us. Today is one of those moments. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” These words are not a suggestion, not a …

The words of the prophet Jeremiah cut through the noise of our world like a clarion call: “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord.” And yet, blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in …

Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, on this 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we stand before Scripture that is anything but ordinary. The Word of God does not meander through the mundane; it seizes us, confronts us, and calls us forth to something …

The flickering flames of candlelight illuminate the temple, shadows dancing across the ancient stones, as Simeon takes the child into his arms. His eyes, aged by waiting, now glisten with the light of fulfillment. “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, for my …

…Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

The Word of God is not merely ink on a page, nor an echo from a distant past. It is living, active, and dynamic—able to pierce the heart, to stir the soul, to shape the world. And today, in this sacred place, …

This morning we celebrate the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, a profound moment of grace that transformed a zealous persecutor of Christians into one of the greatest apostles of Christ. This story, recounted in Acts 9:1–22, is not only about Paul’s conversion but also …

There is something undeniably beautiful about the moment when a wedding feast reaches its crescendo—the music swells, laughter fills the air, and the ordinary gives way to something almost transcendent. It is in just such a moment that Jesus performs his first sign, …

Today’s Gospel reveals the heart of Jesus’ mission: sitting at table with tax collectors and sinners, he demonstrates the boundless mercy of God. This scene invites deep reflection on how we live our own mission of reconciliation and hope, especially in this Jubilee of Hope …

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. The words of Isaiah ring out across the centuries like a clarion call, cutting through the noise of history with a singular purpose: to remind us that we are not abandoned, that the God who spoke light into being and summoned the …

Just before today’s first reading, at the start of this 18th chapter, we’re told that:

When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Sam 18:1)

Unlike Saul who herded donkeys and …

We gather today to celebrate the baptism of Ella Riley Cumings. As Christians, we belong to the Mystical Church of the Body of Christ, and as the first of the Sacraments of initiation, we are all gathered here to welcome young Ella into a relationship with Jesus Christ. In …

Our readings this morning all talk about an encounter with God that carried with it an invitation or a call to spread God’s word, to accept God’s grace, and to do God’s will.

I’m sure we all recognised these calls. They all broadly follow a similar pattern. There is usually …

We gather today to celebrate the baptism of Rebecca Catherine Grace Carswell. As Christians, we belong to the Mystical Church of the Body of Christ, and as the first of the Sacraments of initiation, we are all gathered here to welcome young Rebecca into a relationship with …

We gather today to celebrate the baptism of Michael Wallace van Zyl.

As Christians, we belong to the Mystical Church of the Body of Christ, and as the first of the Sacraments of initiation, we are all gathered here to welcome young Michael into a relationship with Jesus …

Well we’ve almost reached the end of Jesus’ sermon on the mount. Today’s installment, following on from the last few weeks – which began with ‘Blessed are the poor in Spirit’ – now talks about how we cannot serve two masters… we cannot serve God and mammon.

Mammon …

In today’s Gospel Jesus uses three images to capture the new justice he is proposing to his followers. It is a creative, healing, and restorative justice that focuses on relationships. The old justice found in the Bible was designed to prevent revenge running away …

You are all welcome to this Church of the Holy Trinity. We are all gathered here in this Church, from I think, places all over the globe, to share in this joyous occasion together and to celebrate the love that Megan and Peter both share for each other.

The …

In today’s first reading, Sirach tells us how we have been given a choice, to keep God’s commandments, if only we will to do so. We are told that we are to choose between fire and water, life and death, good and evil. Our great gift of free will requires the even …

Taken together today’s readings talk to us about three things: true Piety, true Preaching and true Presence.

True piety, the prophet Isaiah declares in today’s First Reading, does not consist in ritual acts of fasting, but in responding to the practical demands of …

In our first reading today the Prophet Zephaniah, writing some 600 years before Christ, writes of the people he calls the anawim, which means a remnant, the leftovers, a tiny band of God’s poor and forgotten. The characteristic feature of these humble and lowly …

We gather today to celebrate the baptism of Olivia Grace Allard. As Christians, we belong to the Mystical Church of the Body of Christ, and as the first of the Sacraments of initiation, we are all gathered here to welcome young Olivia into a relationship with Jesus Christ. …