Gospel & Reflection 1st September 2024

Gospel & Refection for 22nd Sunday in Ordinary time: ‘Listen to me, all of you, and understand

Gospel & Reflection 18th August 2024

Gospel & Reflection for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time; ‘John 6:51-58 I am the living bread which has come down from heaven.

Gospel & Reflection 11th August 2024

Gospel & Reflection for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. John 6:41‐51 The Jews were complaining to each other about Jesus, because he had said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ ‘Surely this is Jesus son of Joseph’ they said. ‘We know his father and mother. How can he now say, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus said in reply, ‘Stop complaining to each other. ‘No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets: They will all be taught by God, and to hear the teaching of the Father, and learn from it, is to come to me. Not that anybody has seen the Father, except the one who comes from God: he has seen the Father. I tell you most solemnly, everybody who believes has eternal life. ‘I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the desert and they are dead; but this is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that a man may eat it and not die. I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.’ Reflection Friends, the Paris Olympic Games draw to a close this weekend. It has been the most successful Olympic campaign ever from an Irish perspective. Ireland has won seven medals – four gold and three bronze. Our athletes have done us proud, and Team Ireland have made their mark on history. Well done to them all. Sport, as we know, is a huge part of our and every culture. Every nation on earth has a national game and every country enjoys a wide variety of sporting interests. Sport is such a huge part of our human identity that many sporting slogans and images have made their way into other parts of life and living. In our everyday language, we say things such as: “The ball is in their court” – when responsibility for action or decision lie with another. When that responsibility or duty is being handed on, we say that we have “Passed the baton.” If we accept blame or punishment for something so others do not have to, we talk of “Taking one for the team.” In a situation where something is actually normal or expected, we see it as being ‘Par for the course.’ When we experience help and support, we then know who is ‘in our corner.’ But, if we make a mistake or miss an opportunity, we say that we have “dropped the ball.” The opinionated person who offers unsolicited and often unwanted advice at the worst possible time, we talk about them as the ‘hurler on the ditch’. We appreciate the grit and determination of the person who never gives up ‘until the final whistle blows.’ In that context, even the Bible reminds us of ‘running the race to the finish.’ The religious themes continue when having nothing left to lose, or having no other way out, sometimes in life there is nothing for it but a ‘Hail Mary,’ that last minute, desperate attempt at something, even with little hope of success. But another slogan also easily recognised by us all is the image of ‘hitting the wall.’ That moment in an athlete’s or any person’s endeavour, where they have nothing more to give. They are totally spent. They have given every effort, every bit... READ MORE

Gospel & Reflection 4th Aug 2024

Gospel & Reflection for the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time. ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry; he who believes in me will never thirst.’

Gospel & Reflection 14th July 2024

Gospel & Reflection for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: ‘What is my ability to respond to the fractured world in which I live?’