The two names assigned by the angel to Mary’s child are Immanuel and Jesus. They are both verbs, not nouns. Immanuel means “God-is-with-us” and Jesus means “God saves.” As Immanuel, God is with us in his divine compassion, which embraces and permeates us completely. As Jesus, God saves us,...
Education is not just about information. Nor even just about teaching people how to think for themselves. Nor just to gain skills or qualifications for good money and good job. All these are certainly important, but Catholic education, if it is authentic, is so much more. In the light of...
Think of the war in Ukraine! Think of the First and Second World Wars! Think of Nazism and Stalinism! Thinik of Pol Pot! Think of all the massacres and wars of all time! And if you are not already overcome by despair, think of what your cry to God must...
Holiness is not the leisurely pursuit of the chosen few. It is the final goal, the end-game, of the human adventure, of every human life. It is a universal, a Catholic, call and destiny. If the Beatific Vision is the destiny for which we strive; and if the content of...
There have been 10 million abortions in the UK since 1967 and 43 million abortions in the US from Roe-Wade (1973) to 2021. WHO says that around 73 million induced abortions take place worldwide each year. WHO calls abortion a “common health intervention.” It says that six out of ten...
The Pharisee in today’s parable is wrapped up in himself. Jesus even portrays him as saying his prayer to himself. He was so grand in his own eyes that God couldn’t get a look in. He had become his own god. It’s so easy to make religion, and even...
The Amalekites would have defeated Israel if Moses had not kept on praying and if those with him had not kept supporting him. Our real enemies are not flesh and blood, St. Paul tells us, but the spiritual forces of evil. We experience their power and onslaught every day. Jesus...
On Tuesday 4th October we reach the end of the Season of Creation, so this is the fifth and last Sunday in that season. Science tells us that the human body is made up of elements which all come from the stars. Every element in our DNA is to be...
Mary stands near the Cross, drawing the others with her. Her physical nearness expresses her spiritual nearness as well as the nearness of affection and concern any mother would have for her suffering child. Crucifixions were brutal and ugly to witness. The professional violence of the crucifiers was mingled with...
On twitter there has been going around a picture of the late Queen Elizabeth with a quotation from her which reads: “The teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life. I, like so many of you,...
