De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

This powerful Easter reflection was written by a friend of mine and is posted here with her permission: On Easter Vigil I had the privilege to witness 8 adult catechumens being initiated in the Catholic Church. They received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. It was a joyous experience to witness and it made me reflect on my own Baptism and all the rights AND duties it brought with it. How faithful am I to my calling? These nine people made a conscious decision to join the Catholic Church, to follow Jesus Christ and all his hard sayings. It was a joyful experience for me to see them go up one by one first to be baptised, then to receive to be confirmed and lastly to receive Holy Communion. Their joy was plain to see on their faces, on the faces of the godparents and their relatives. And it made me think: how joyful am I in my life of faith? How grafted I am to Christ and his Church? What witness am I giving to these “younger” brothers and sisters in fai...

Welcome to my reflection on this week's Sunday readings at Mass, where I look at the Scripture we will hear at Mass on Sunday in its historical, social and theological context to see what wisdom can be gleaned. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you, answer some questions you may have, help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps begin to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series here . This Sunday the theme for the readings might be summed up as: Jesus Our Saviour, Our Life The readings are: Isaiah 53:10-11 Psalm: 32:4-5, 18-20, 22; Response: v. 22. Second Reading: Hebrews 4: 14-16. Gospel: Mark 10: 35-45 First, a little preliminary survey of each of the books....

Welcome to this, the thirty-sixth of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you. You might find that it answers a few questions you may have, but most of all I hope that it will show you how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and perhaps enable you to share some of my love and passion for the Bible as you begin to comprehend how layered and multi-faceted it is, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass the readings are. If you want to know how these posts came about, please read my first post in this series  here . I would like to think this regular blog would be a great help to anyone who reads at Mass, to enable them to foster a deeper understanding of the message they are trying to impart to the congregation. There are several different ways to read this post. I would suggest the first thing to do is to look at the relevant ...

Matthias Grunewald , Isenheim Altarpiece, 1512-1516 I have been questioned (a lot) on Twitter by a tweep called @theTRUTHSPIRIT about Easter. The suggestion is that it is a Pagan festival and that Jesus didn't rise on Sunday. This is a question about Mass really. Catholics go to Mass on Sunday, but the Sabbath (or Shabbat) is celebrated Friday to Saturday. To be precise, according to halakha , Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.  Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles and reciting a blessing. Traditionally, three festive meals are eaten; on Friday night, Saturday morning, and late Saturday afternoon. Friday night dinner begins with kiddush and a blessing recited over two loaves of challah . Shabbat is a festive day when Jews are freed from the regular labours of everyday life. It offers an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and spend time with famil...