Some of you may remember, or at least know of, Princess Diana. She was a rather confused character. But one incident in her troubled life caught the attention of the world…
In our struggles to be faithful disciples, we frequently must endure periods when we feel abandoned by God…
Both the reading from the prophet Amos and the gospel narrative pointedly condemn the lifestyles of the rich. It is not wealth itself, but the complacency and the disregard for others that it too frequently generates…
We are creatures of this world. We are made of it and we are totally dependent upon it for our very existence. We require its air, its water, its food, its heat…
Today we concentrate on the power of the cross in our lives. It is the ultimate demonstration of the nature of God. Christ gave of himself even to death on the cross…
The wisdom tradition from which the first reading is taken is rooted in the fact that life is a series of choices…
The goodness of God is seen in the extravagant generosity with which God gives gifts…
The vision of a disciple must be the vision of God. Disciples must see with wide angled lenses that enable them to recognise that God offers the grace of salvation to all…
In our desire to affirm that the scriptures are inspired, it can be easy to forget that they come out of the lived experience of a community of faith…
In the middle of Ordinary Time we discover a theme normally associated with the end of the liturgical year and the season of Advent – vigilance in anticipation of the return…
Both the first reading and the psalm response speak about the transitoriness of life. Life is all we have and it is so fragile, so fleeting…
The readings invite us to reflect on prayer. Whether our prayer be praise, contrition, thanksgiving or petition, it always recognises our need for God…
Like so much of the Gospel of Luke, this week’s passage is, at its heart, all about hospitality. This theme has featured in the gospel readings for the last couple of weeks. It is a theme that the writer returns to over…
The late Pope Francis reflected on the Parable of the Good Samaritan as a “ray of light” for our contemporary world where people too often fail to respond to the needs of the poor and vulnerable. Francis presented the Samaritan – whom he called “a stranger on the road” – as a symbol of fraternity and social friendship creating “a culture of encounter” that builds bridges of love among all people [“Fratelli Tutti”, No. 2].…
Although the gospel is a report of ministerial commissioning, it contains elements of discipleship in general. Most obvious is the disciples’ dependence on Jesus…
Throughout most of its history, the Church has linked the two major figures of Peter and Paul, so it is fitting that they share this feast day. However, also throughout most of the Church’s history, Peter has been given…
TASTING THE FUTURE
The feeding of the five thousand in today’s Gospel is one of those anticipatory sharings in the heavenly banquet of the age to come.
We say this feeding is miraculous, and it was. A major part of the miracle is in the transformation of the Twelve. Our Lord did not personally feed the five thousand. He required his followers to get involved in alleviating hunger: ‘You give them something to eat,’ rather than leaving the crowd to fend for themselves, or resort to market economics. When they shared the food he had blessed, the miracle of the hospitality of God was multiplied throughout the crowd – extravagantly.
And so Our Lord gave his followers and the crowd a real taste of the future generosity of God in the heavenly banquet. But, it would not have happened had the inner groups of disciples not shared Jesus’ vision and got involved in what seemed to be an impossible task.
The Last Supper was the greatest anticipatory meal which Our Lord shared with his disciples. And, at Mass, we are eating and drinking the glorified humanity of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ: the life of the future.
We could pause for a moment to identify the myriad of hungers in this world and resolve to fulfil Our Lord's Command: ‘You give them something to eat’! so that Divine Generosity might transform human history.
© Fr Michael Tate; mtate@bigpond.com - https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2025Jun22/0/RefMiTa
We do not find an explicit statement of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Gospels; it took centuries of discussion before the Council of Nicea came up with the language we profess in our creed about…
We have been in the in-between time since the Ascension of the Lord. Today we celebrate the dramatic inbreaking of the time of fulfilment. We celebrate the fullness of the Spirit and the great gathering of nations. The feast also brings the Easter season to its conclusion. Today’s readings recapitulate many themes that appeared throughout the Easter season: Christology, Trinitarian theology, reign of God, repentance, salvation, mission, universality. All are brought together as we are brought together into the body of Christ.
The plan of salvation has been brought to its conclusion. Christ is exalted next to God and has sent his Spirit to fill the earth with God's power. The world is charged with divine energy; it needs but a spark to ignite it with life and with excitement. This vitality explodes into the extraordinary: tongues are loosed and speech overflows its linguistic constraints; charismatic gifts flood the valleys of human habitation; barred doors are burst open and frightened hearts are calmed. The Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world.
We gather together to discover that God has gathered us for another. Strangers assemble to fulfil personal obligations and they experience a phenomenon that bonds them together for life. Individual religious devotion is swept up into communal divine revelation. Through the Spirit of God, we are reconciled to each other and then together we spend ourselves for the common good. The world is renewed; the community is revitalised; we come to know the mysterious yet all pervasive peace of Christ.
© Fr Michael Tate; mtate@bigpond.com, https://www.liturgyhelp.com/calendar/date/2025Jun08/0/RefMiTa
The Feast of the Ascension is really a kind of liminal moment in the Easter season. It is a time between times; a moment when we have left one place but have not yet arrived at a second…