If one single word is used to describe the foundation upon which the whole Christian life is based, it is HOPE. Hope is the main theme running throughout the heart of the Bible, from Genesis down to Revelation.

Last year I had finished a school Mass and after these Masses I always stand at the Church entrance and say goodbye to the pupils as they leave the Church, reflects Fr Clement Baffoe SVD. On this particular day, a prep student who was with his mother asked me an important question. The little boy looked at my face when leaving the Church and asked: “Are you Jesus?” I hastily replied: No! But Jesus is my friend. Both the mother and I had a laugh and they left.

The boy's question left me with many questions than answers. What has the little boy heard about Jesus? What did he see in me to then ask if I was Jesus? Is the boy searching for Jesus? And perhaps for the boy, who is this Jesus he’s been told about?

As we all embark on the season of Lent, we Divine Word Missionaries of the Australia Province are also about to undertake our Provincial Chapter.

The theme of the Chapter is ‘“Your Light Must Shine Before Others” (Mt.5: 16): Faithful and Creative Disciples in a Wounded World’ and it is a theme which gives us much to reflect on.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent, and  today’s Gospel is taken from the opening of  Matthew, chapter 4.  We hear the well known, dramatic story of Jesus’ temptations in the desert which takes place before he begins his public ministry.

During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was asked, “How can we get rid of our enemies?” He then asked his generals about their war strategies so that they could win battles. Then Abraham Lincoln said, “We can get rid of our enemies by making them our friends”.

Jesus, through the Gospel this 6^th Sunday of ordinary time, reminds us to live out our Christian life in the light of the moral values inspired and grounded on love, because God is love.

Here in Australia the idiom “turn something on its head” is used quite a lot, especially in sports. When a team is leading by a big score and then the opponent rallies and is now in the lead, you can hear commentators saying, “The game has been turned on its head”.

January, the beginning of a new year, can be a time of regret and reflection, mixed with optimism for the future, a time for new resolutions.

A few years ago I talked to my cousin from the United States over the phone and we chatted for quite a while, and, while I know that she knows me, somehow in her voice she seemed a little bit bewildered.

In this feast of the Magi, the Church celebrates the welcoming of the nations to the scene of that first holy night: Mary, Joseph, and the child Jesus.