De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Today is the long waited for day. In Jesus, God's Son, we receive the most precious gift imaginable. Through His birth we are reborn, and we are enabled to live in the light of Him who is the radiant light of God's glory. Christ makes it possible for us to share in the life of God. The incredible hush & stillness of Christmas Day always reminds me anew and forcibly of the uniqueness of this day of mystery and joy. Famously in the past hostilities have ceased, enemies have fraternised. All over the world, people are seeking out their family and friends, and there is an attempt, however fleeting, to be kinder and more open and sympathetic. The opening words of the prophet distill all these precious qualities: good news, the heralding of peace, happiness, salvation and joy. All of this comes about through the arrival of a message, the proclamation of a Kingdom, a face-to-face meeting with a King, the most intimate of encounters. This is the birth of Jesus, the advent o...

I have spent the last week in beautiful hot weather on pilgrimage in Lourdes with the family. Mary reading through the in-flight safety Some people have asked me about the damage that was done by the recent floods . We were contacted by our hotel a week before departure as they couldn't honour our booking due to flood damage. Interestingly, we were able to get alternative accommodation without any problem. This made me wonder whether there were the usual number of pilgrims there for the time of year and indeed, the town was busy, but not as heaving, as I have seen it in the past. The damage is visible, the glass covering the spring in the Grotto has been damaged, the wall bordering le Gave is damaged, but the most visible sign is the bridge from the Domain to the Basilica Bernadette, which suffered a great deal of damage. Overall, the place looks surprisingly good and is 99% open for business. They've done a sterling job cleaning it up so well in such a short space o...

" Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. " Ps 119:105 Welcome to this, the forty-fourth of my reflections on the theology of the Sunday readings at Mass. I have undertaken this project, regularly posting background information on the readings at Sunday Mass as part of my own prayer life. I have found it helps me to do a little study before I go to Mass about the readings, what the theme of the week is, how it follows on from the previous week's readings and what is being said. In sharing this, I hope to help you too get more from the Bible and Sunday Scripture readings. Perhaps it might give you confidence in the value and legitimacy of the Bible, or perhaps it might inspire you to pray the Divine Office or investigate the weekly readings for yourself. I see this as very clearly part of what the Church teaches about the Bible: This heaven-sent treasure Holy Church considers as the most precious source of doctrine on faith and morals. No wond...

Kerygma (Greek: κήρυγμα , kérugma ) is the Greek word used in the New Testament for preaching (see Luke 4:18-19, Romans 10:14, Matthew 3:1). It is related to the Greek verb κηρύσσω ( kērússō ), to cry or proclaim as a herald, and means proclamation, announcement, or preaching. Preaching or proclaiming, is distinct from teaching or instruction ( didache ) in the Gospel of Christ. Before the Gospel was written, it was first preached (Romans 16:25), but beyond preaching it was also to be taught (Matthew 28:19) in order that, as far as possible, it might be understood (Matthew 13:19). The New Testament teaches that as Jesus launched his public ministry he entered the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. He identified himself as the one Isaiah predicted in Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:17-21). The text is a programmatic statement of Jesus' ministry to preach or proclaim ( Kerygma ), good news to the poor and the blind and the captive. If one carefully considers the ea...

Welcome to this, the thirty-ninth 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...

Dear friends This week we watched the third lesson in Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism Project THE INEFFABLE MYSTERY OF GOD : THAT THAN WHICH NOTHING GREATER CAN BE THOUGHT. (That felt strangely appropriate in capitals!). I think we all agreed it was a tough session. Most people I have spoken to agree that there is a lot to take in in every session of the Project, but this week's subject matter made it especially challenging. You may find this overview of the topics covered useful in aiding you to digest the abundant material presented in the programme. The Name of God Our journey begins with the story of Moses and the burning bush ( Exodus 3:1-14 ). YHWH is an incomprehensible Hebrew word, however we can trace its root back to the root hayah = to be. This is accompanied by the clarification of verse 15  that YHWH is the God of Israel's fathers. This constituted a radical break from the norm: in a world swarming with gods, locally defined and limited deities perce...