St Paul tells us to wait, St Mark tells us to watch. But for what exactly? Even Isaiah gets it wrong: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from […]
First Sunday of Advent Read More »
It’s the last day of the year – the Church’s year that is. Next week we start Advent, the build up to Christmas, a new cycle of birth, growth, death, and rebirth. The fact the Church calendar is so out of sync with the rest of our life / world always causes a bit of
The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe Read More »
So this week we have the parable of the talents, familiar territory, and one of those cringeworthy passages about the perfect wife, dripping in patriarchal condescension. So maybe best to just move on quickly and hope for better pickings next week? You probably won’t be surprised to hear me say – well maybe, but maybe
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Read More »
The early church expected that Jesus would return pretty soon, if not next week then next month or certainly next year. The sense of excitement and urgency in the period immediately following Jesus’ death and resurrection is hardly surprising, but we see even during Paul’s lifetime a major shift in these expectations. At the time
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Read More »
This week we celebrate the feast of All Saints. This is a special feast in two ways. First, it is sufficiently important that it outranks Sunday. Most feast-days if they fall on a Sunday get pushed aside. The general principle is that Sunday celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus and only the most important
Solemnity of All Saints Read More »