De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Welcome to this, the seventh of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. I am going to be away for a couple of days this week and so have worked hard to try and prepare something before I depart. This has meant I have not been able to pray and reflect as much as usual over the readings (which is a shame), but at least I have something up nice and early for you. As a suggestion, it might be useful to read Mark 7:1-23 through, as this week's Gospel does miss out some interesting bits, notably the evangelist's editorial comment in 7:19 that all foods are clean. For a bit more on this and the conflict between ritualism and the law, you might like to read this earlier post of mine . Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you and 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-fa

Welcome to this, the sixth of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I sincerely hope that this reflection will inspire you and help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is, how layered and multi-faceted, and what a carefully considered part of the Mass. 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: Our Union with the Body of Christ The readings are: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18 Psalm: 33:2-3, 16-23; Response: v. 9 Second Reading: Ephesians 5:21-32 Gospel: John 6: 60-69 First, a little preliminary survey of each of the books. I will post the same, or similar prelims week on week, for each book as we encounter them. This week I have added a bit of detail on the First Reading from the book of Joshua as I thought it brought up some very interesting issues about how we see violence

I watched this film on Saturday night with some trepidation, as I knew it was about a little girl who is killed. Some things like that I just cannot watch, they are simply too painful, but sometimes, especially if they are well done, they can be cathartic, the medium can allow you to investigate feelings that you might be scared to think too much about, or it may express feelings that you would rather avoid, because exploration of those feelings may lead you to shut down, spiral into a depressive state and cease functioning productively. When my daughter died, there was a lot that I locked away in a box. I have to say I really enjoyed The Lovely Bones and I felt like watching it did me some good. It also got me thinking about a few things in my own situation which I thought I might share with you here. The title comes from a quote from the main character, a 14 year old girl called Susie Salmon, at the end of the film: These were the lovely bones that had grown around my absen

This is a lovely little prayer my mum shared with me, and I am sharing with you. If you have read my post on reconciliation , you may find this prayer pertinent. Healing Prayer at Bedtime Jesus, through the power of the Holy Spirit, go back into my memory as I sleep. Every hurt that has ever been done to me...heal that hurt. Every hurt that I have ever caused to another person...heal that hurt. All the relationships that have been damaged in my whole life that I am not aware of...heal those relationships. But Lord, if there is anything that I need to do...If I need to go to a person because he or she is still suffering from my hand, bring to my awareness that person. I choose to forgive, and I ask to be forgiven. Remove whatever bitterness may be in my heart, Lord, and fill the empty spaces with your Love. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

The Church was born of the Paschal mystery and thus the Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Paschal mystery, stands at the centre of the Church’s life. ( Ecclesia De Eucharistia , n. 3) For St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274),   The source and summit of the whole Christian life is Christ. So this Sacrament [the Eucharist] perfects the others by joining us to Christ. ( In Sent   IV d.8 q.1 art.1.) The Second Vatican Council reiterates what St. Thomas says: that the Eucharist constitutes “the source and summit of the Christian life”. ( LG 11, c.f . Ecclesia De Eucharistia , n. 1. ) The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, explained four ways in which we encounter Christ in His Church; through the actions of the priest, “His minister”, through the proclamation of His Word and when the Church prays and sings ( c.f. Matt 18:20), but special emphasis is placed on the fact that Christ is present “especially under the Eucharistic species.” ( SC 7, CCC 1373 ). This po

Welcome to this, the fifth of my posts talking about the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I sincerely hope that reading my reflection on the Scripture readings this Sunday will inspire you and help you to see how fantastic Sacred Scripture is and what a carefully considered part of the Mass. 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 could best be summed up as: The Gift of True Nourishment: The Eucharist The readings are: First Reading: Proverbs 9: 1-6 Psalm: 33:2-3, 10-15; Response: v. 9 Second Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20 Gospel: John 6: 51-58 First, a little preliminary survey of each of the books. I will post the same, or similar prelims week on week, for each book as we encounter them. This week I have added a bit of detail on the Proverbs reading as I thought it was very relevant. The Book of Proverbs  is