Isaiah 25:6-10a/ Ps 23(22)/ Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20/ Matthew 22:1-14 I often suggest the first reading and the psalm today for funerals. In our darkest hours these words speak of a future beyond death. The prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse of heaven. On the mountain, the Lord of hosts prepares a feast of rich food and fine wine for all peoples, he will remove the mourning veil, overcome death and wipe away tears from every face. The psalm, so familiar to us as the hymn The

Isaiah 5:1-7/ Ps 80(79)/ Philippians 4:6-9/ Matthew 21:33-43 Just days before Germany invaded Poland in 1939 initiating the second world war, Pope Pius XII made one last desperate appeal. It was a plea from a man who could see what was coming, his words, ‘Nothing is lost with peace, everything may be lost with war’ were not heeded. The rest is history, with devastation, death, and injury across Europe. Pope Pius XII could be considered a prophet because it was exactly what Is

Ezekiel 18:25-28/ Ps 25(24)/ Philippians 2:1-5/ Matthew 21:28-32 Let us return to the night before Jesus died, to Peter, the one Jesus chose to lead his Church on earth. This was the man who promised that even if he had to die he would never deny Jesus. This was a resounding yes to Jesus but then just a few hours later he denied knowing Jesus, not once, but three times. The yes had so quickly turned to no. But Peter did not leave it there, he wept bitterly when he realised wh

Isaiah 55:6-9/ Ps 145(144)/ Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a/ Matthew 20:1-16 Remember one of the criminals crucified with Jesus. He was at the end of his life, crucified for the crimes he had committed, when he said to Jesus those wonderful words, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus responded to him saying, 'today you will be with me in paradise.' On the face of it this crucified criminal had done nothing to earn a place in heaven, no lifetime of good works,

Sirach 27:30-28:7/ Ps 103(102)/ Romans 14:7-9/ Matthew 18:21-35 We have all seen news stories of unspeakable things being done to others. What we see less of are those occasions when horrific things have happened but victims or the loved ones of victims choose to forgive the perpetrators. The driver for this forgiveness is often their Christian faith, their belief in God and the message Jesus gives us to forgive others as God forgives us. In a world that is quick to condemn,

Ezekiel 33:7-9/ Ps 95(94)/ Romans 13:8-10/ Matthew 18:15-20 You may have heard the old story about the man who visited the doctor complaining that it hurt when he pressed his shoulder, his knee, his ribs, in fact it hurt wherever he pressed. The doctor found that the man had a broken finger so it hurt wherever he pressed it. We might laugh at a story like this but the wisdom of it shows us that the source of the pain might not always be where we are pointing, sometimes it is

Jeremiah 20:7-9/ Ps 63(62)/ Romans 12:1-2/ Matthew 16:21-27 We live in a time of instant gratification. If we want something we want it now. Online retailers promise same day delivery of almost anything. We want everything without the wait, without the work, without the cost. We want to arrive without making the journey. Peter in the gospel passage today was a bit like this. We know Peter loved Jesus, he confirmed it three times, but he also wanted the happy ending without th

Isaiah 22:15, 19-23/ Ps 138(137/ Romans 11:33-36/ Matthew 16:13-20 In the gospel today Jesus asked His disciples who they say that he is. There are suggestions that people think he is John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the prophets. It is Simon, inspired by God, who speaks up and says, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' In reaction to this Jesus does not simply congratulate Simon for his answer, He gives him a new name, Peter, which means rock. It is on this

Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10/ Ps 45(44)/1 Corinthians 15:20-27/ Luke 1:39-56 In the 1940s, Pope Pius XII authorized excavations deep beneath the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Archaeologists dug through an ancient Roman cemetery, and in 1950 the Pope announced that the tomb of Saint Peter had been found, where Christian memory had always said it was. The early Christians marked the martyr’s tombs with reverence. They gathered at graves, celebrated the Eucharist o

1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a/ Ps 85(84)/ Romans 9:1-5/ Matthew 14:22-33 Consider the parent in the swimming pool, arms outstretched towards the little child standing hesitantly on the edge. The parent calls out for the child to jump in assuring them they will catch them. The child is keen but looking down at the deep water cannot step off the edge. The parent again, more softly, more reassuringly, calls for the child to look at them in the eye and jump in knowing they will be caught

Isaiah 55:1-3/ Ps 145(144)/ Romans 8:35, 37-39/ Matthew 14:13-21 In the Gospel today we find the disciples responding to Jesus that they do not have enough to comply with his request to feed the large crowd. They point out that they cannot possibly feed so many people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. The message for them and for us is that God never asks us for what we do not have, He asks for what we do have, however small and insignificant we think that might be

1 Kings 3:5-6a, 7-12/ Ps 119(118)/ Romans 8:28-30/ Matthew 13:44-52 Today we live in a time of instant answers. If we want to know something, anything at all, we simply take out our phones and ask. When I was young, things were different. We had an encyclopaedia on the bookshelf at home, along with a dictionary or two and the Bible. If those did not have the answer, we could go to the library and research the query. Today we have the whole of human knowledge in the palm of ou

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19/ Ps 86(85)/ Romans 8:26-27/ Matthew 13:24-43 Many of us may have tried to cultivate a vegetable patch in our gardens or allotments. Some of us may have become quite successful, providing fruit and vegetables for ourselves and others from our perseverance and patience. It can be a frustrating undertaking as we contend with the relentless progress of weeds that always seem to grow bigger and better without any help from us. We might have done everything righ

Isaiah 55:10-11/ Ps 65(64)/ Romans 8:18-23/ Matthew 13:1-23 Consider two people attending the same Mass on a Sunday. They hear the same readings, music, and homily. When they leave church something different has happened inside each of them. One of them is already thinking about lunch, what to do that afternoon, the emails piling up at work. By the time they reach home there is no memory of a single word of the Gospel yet alone the homily. The other person heard one line that

Zechariah 9:9-10/ Ps 145(144)/ Romans 8:9, 11-13/ Matthew 11:25-30 Think back to Palm Sunday and the image of Jesus entering Jerusalem. He did not enter the city with a flourish of kingship and splendour. He rode on a borrowed donkey. The crowds greeted their Messiah, ready to crown a great leader, only to see him approaching on a donkey, his feet almost dragging on the ground. This is what the prophet Zechariah foretold, a king, a triumphant saviour, who would come not with

Acts 12:1-11/ Ps 34(33)/2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18/ Matthew 16:13-19 Consider a parish council meeting where two members just cannot see eye to eye. One is practical, plain-spoken and has been around the parish for many years, knows everyone, but is not one for theology. The other is a sharp, university-educated newcomer who can quote scripture and church documents chapter and verse. They clash, disagree, sometimes openly, in front of everyone. You might expect one of them to sto

Jeremiah 20:10-13/ Ps 69(68)/ Romans 5:12-15/ Matthew 10:26-33 We are here today, I would suggest, because our faith means something to us. It is important that we follow Jesus and the guidance he gave us. This can come at a cost sometimes. We might want to be somewhere else, doing something different. We can find ourselves in awkward situations because of what we believe and how we know we should live. We might be out with friends, on a break at work, when the talk turns to

Exodus 19:2-6a/ Ps 100(99)/ Romans 5:6-11/ Matthew 9:36-10:8 In the 1850s, in the slums of London, there was a young man who could not help feeling compassion for the poor that he saw all around him, the people rejected by society, outcasts because of the way they lived. He felt compelled to do something to help, not waiting for them to come to church but going out to find them. Together with his wife Catherine, William Booth started what we know today as The Salvation Army.

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a/ Ps 147/ 1 Corinthians 10:16-17/ John 6:51-58 When we think about our families, we sometimes see that they may have become scattered far from home. Children grow up, move away, form their own relationships and families. There can be family splits and disagreements, deep hurts that are hard to heal. Relatives who have not spoken in ages. Every so often there comes an opportunity for a family to gather, it might be at Christmas, a family wedding, fune

Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9/ Dan 3:52. 53. 54. 55. 56/2 Corinthians 13:11-14/ John 3:16-18 Imagine trying to explain the colour blue to someone who has been blind from birth. You could describe the wavelength of light, compare it to the feeling of cool water, read them every poem ever written about the sky and the sea. In the end they still would not really know what blue is. This is a little like trying to describe the Most Holy Trinity, trying to understand a reality that is far be