Reflect

 In Luke’s gospel, the Pharisees are generally depicted as hostile to Jesus. This almost certainly reflects the situation at the time the gospels are being written rather than the time more»

 The longer form of today’s gospel brings together a number of loosely connected sayings of Jesus about trust and vigilance. Jesus addresses his disciples affectionately as a ‘little more»

The present ecological crisis calls us to new ways of being neighbour. We used to speak in terms of thinking globally and acting locally. If we are to be neighbour in our times, we need to think more»

Crisis is often the catalyst for restoring right order and relationship and for the development of new initiatives. Almost half a century ago, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the church more»

Sadly, we are all too familiar with friends or family members who are troubled in spirit. We may have had personal experience of deep anxiety or mental health issues. What was often named demon more»

A foot massage is a very intimate experience. It sometimes has sexual connotations, though not always. In some cultures, such as Timorese and some Middle Eastern cultures, children massage the feet more»

In her reflection for the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Sr Veronica Lawson refers to a particular incident in Australian history about which many New Zealanders may not know, the 1854 Eureka more»

There is only so much information and so much emotional burden we can cope with at any one time. Jesus understands that. He has been telling his disciples and friends that he will not be with them more»

 Pentecost Sunday is often called the birthday of the church. For the ancient Israelites, Pentecost (meaning ‘fiftieth’) was a harvest festival celebrated 50 days after the more»

 Loss is part of the human condition, and death is the most painful manifestation of loss. Today’s Feast of the Ascension invites us to face that experience of loss in a transformative more»

           Some of you would remember when we spoke of the Sundays ‘after’ Easter. The terminology has changed and we now speak of the more»

It doesn’t pay to discount someone’s story just because it sounds a bit fantastic. In Luke’s resurrection account, that’s what the ‘eleven and all the rest’ do more»

 Jesus of Nazareth is executed in Jerusalem when the city is filled with pilgrims who are there to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover. A year after his execution, when his friends and more»

Across the Mediterranean world of the first century, every woman knew what it meant to be the possession of a man, initially of her father, and then of her husband or successive husbands. Slaves, more»

Parent-child conflict is part of life and every parent’s dream is to be able to deal effectively and lovingly with children behaving badly, including adult or adolescent children. Unfailing more»

The wilderness was the geographical and symbolic setting for last week’s gospel. This week, the setting is a mountain and eventually a cloud-covered mountain. Both wilderness and mountain more»

Not too many of us consider ourselves blessed or happy when we cannot pay our bills or put food on the table. We are very slow to count our blessings, much less dance for joy, when we find ourselves more»

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the gospel reading invites us into the strange imagery of Jewish apocalyptic. As always, it is important to read the text within its literary context, more»

 The liturgical year always ends with the celebration of the Feast of Christ the King. The gospel reading for Year B is from John’s gospel where the notion of God’s kingdom or reign more»

Whether the longer or shorter gospel reading is selected for today’s liturgy, the context deserves attention. Jesus is teaching the crowds in the Temple. He knows the vulnerability of many of more»