He Shall Bring Joy
The angel had told Zachariah that the birth of John would bring great joy to many. Isn’t it moving that today, over 2,000 years later, the birth of that little boy continues to bring great joy to souls? What is the source of that joy? It is this: the birth of the Baptist announces the coming […]
Launching Out Into The Deep
Today’s Gospel of the first miraculous catch of fish in Luke chapter 4 was the obvious choice: after the octaves of Corpus Christi and the Sacred Heart, the memory of the Church, which is the Holy Spirit Himself, brings back to our minds what happened on Pentecost, and which was already prefigured at the beginning […]
The Terrible God Of The Eucharist
There is a somewhat surprising adjective used to refer to God in Psalm 75 (76). It is used thrice in the psalm, and it is “terrible”. “Thou art terrible, and who shall resist thee?… Vow ye, and pay to the Lord your God: all you that are round about him bring presents. To him that is […]
Being There
In her not well-known enough prayer to the Trinity, St Elisabeth of the Trinity, after having asked for the grace that her soul might be God’s “Heaven, His cherished dwelling, His home of rest”, adds: “May I never leave Thee there alone, but be wholly present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring and wholly surrendered […]
Exhortation Given At The Clothing Ceremony For Brother Maximilian Mary (Dominic Swan)
My Dear Son, Nothing happens by accident; everything happens exactly when it is determined by Divine Providence. One year ago tomorrow we were consecrating the community to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the very same day she was receiving the hommage of all of Tasmania through our dear Archbishop. Nine months ago, on the vigil […]
As Yet You Have Not Asked
“Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive” (Jn 16:24). These words of Our Lord in today’s Gospel are a gentle reprimand: you have not received because you have not asked. St James will add for his part: you do not receive because you ask in a wrong […]
It Is Expedient
In today’s Gospel we hear Our Beloved Saviour tell His apostles that His imminent departure is “expedient” for them. The expression means that it is in their interest, for their good, that He is going to disappear from their physical vision. His words to St Mary Magdalene on Easter Sunday morning relay the same message: […]
The Paradigm Of Child-Birth
In today’s Gospel, the Lord compares the sadness of His disciples to the birth-pangs of a new mother. Although I have never assisted at the birth of a child (except my own, but of that I have no precise memory!), I am told that there sometimes comes a moment when the mother thinks she will […]
The Shepherd Must Die
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. Astounding words those. No wonder some of the Jews thought He had lost His mind. What shepherd in his right mind would die to save his sheep? Is not the life of any human worth more than all the sheep in the world? And yet […]