Christmas was not always celebrated in the Church with the same importance with which it is celebrated today.

There was a story of a man who was deeply devoted to St Joseph and when he died he was at the gates of heaven and being interviewed by St Peter.

The tone of today’s celebration is that of great joy. The entrance antiphon for today’s Mass says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.

An ancient Chinese proverb advises,’ it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness’!

The Year of Mercy ended on the 20th of November 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. It started on the 8th of December last year, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The season of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the year pre-dates the establishment of the date for the birth of Jesus on December 25th.

Imagine this scene in a movie we may have seen in the not so distant past. A condemned criminal sitting on an electric chair in the last minutes of his life, an executioner just waiting for the signal to pull the lever to activate the electric chair, a police officer looking at the clock waiting nervously until the clock strikes 3pm, the time of the execution, another police officer waiting for the phone to ring.

As we are drawing closer to the end of the Liturgical Year (Just one more week to go!), we are invited, dear friends, to reflect upon the end times.

As we are drawing closer to the end of the Liturgical Year (Just one more week to go!), we are invited, dear friends, to reflect upon the end times.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings. But I in justice shall behold your face; on waking I shall be content in your presence.”

The story of Zaccheus climbing a tree to see Jesus on his way through Jericho is a lovely story. Some commentators have made Zaccheus somewhat of a comical figure.

Thirtieth Sunday of the Year
23 September 2016
I wonder if many Catholics hearing Jesus’ parable today about the prayer of the Pharisee and of the Publican would not be surprised at the conclusion: “This man (the publican) … went home at rights with God.”

For those who watch the Olympics, one of the so-called “blue ribbon” or glamour events is the 100-metre dash.

We have an inspiring story today of Jesus healing the ten lepers on the border of Samaria and Galilee. The story unfolds when the ten lepers approach Jesus from a distance.

One of the more difficult sayings of Jesus is in today’s gospel. “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to the mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted’ and it would obey you.”