17 – 18 September 2022 Seeking first the King and His Kingdom Thrifting is on the rise: rather than participating in commercial novelty, many people would rather try their luck at a second-hand store, leafing through the “previously loved” things of others. Not only is it a source of bargains, but we might find something …
Sunday 11 September 2022 We are presented in today’s Gospel with an overwhelming picture of God. It is a picture that we could never have guessed at ourselves and, in spite of Jesus’ words, it is a picture than many of us still find difficult to accept in its fullness. We might feel more comfortable …
28 August 2022 The readings today undoubtedly invite us to reflect on the virtue of humility. The first reading explicitly exhorts us to this virtue, while in the Gospel, Jesus challenges us to the practice of it, giving a parable in which he instructs us on a practical way we can learn this virtue. In …
21 August How does heaven celebrate feast days? Happy feast day; every loves a feast. And in celebrating the Assumption, we also celebrate our national feast. (Mary Assumed into Heaven is the patroness of South Africa.) We can pack away the green vestments for a moment, forget about the humdrum of our day and lean …
Homily for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Read More »
Sometimes when one sits at the airport waiting for a plane one begins to notice what is happening around. We become aware of so many people of different nationalities passing by. Their features, the colour of their skin, their national or traditional attire that almost tells us or gives us a clue to their country …
What does it mean to be faithful? What is the difference between this and professing the faith? And what is faith anyway? These are among the many questions that emerge from the readings this weekend, all of which refer to elements of faith. “Faith”, says the author to the Hebrews in our second reading, “is …
This weekend’s readings certainly invite us to reflect on our relationship with earthly things such as money, possession, and superficial or temporal goods. The first reading from Ecclesiastes has the famous refrain “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” that St Philip Neri and his disciples used to sing in the streets of Rome. It reminds …
I would venture to say that most human beings, when encountering people who have harmed others, who live evil, ungodly lives, would instinctively believe that such people should be punished. Furthermore, most people would say that leaders and governments have the duty to protect the innocent and the law-abiding populace by removing those who wound …
The readings this week invite us to reflect on the question of service. In the first reading, from the book of Genesis, Abraham is described as sparing no effort to serve his mysterious divine guests. And in the Gospel, notwithstanding her complaints about her sister, Martha is seen to be serving Our Lord. Most parish …
You may think that a priest breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the Sunday reading is something so well known as the Good Samaritan. In fact, this is not always the case, as such readings that have so penetrated our minds and even language, are so deep and rich that one always feel …
