Thoughts and Reflections

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17/ Ps 66(65) 1 Peter 3:15-18/ John 14:15-21 Imagine being in the work staff room having a break, when a colleague says, "I noticed you go to Mass. Can I ask you something? Why do you believe all that?" This comes out of the blue, no warning, no time to prepare. What would we say? We might mumble something about it being a family tradition, try to change the subject, wish for a moment that the ground would swallow us up. Without judging I would suggest this wou

Acts 6:1-7/ Ps 33(32)/1 Peter 2:4-9/ John 14:1-12 Today the corner or foundation stone is often just a plaque on the wall. In ancient times the cornerstone was critical to the construction of a building. All subsequent stones were aligned on that first stone. If the laying of that first stone was faulty, the entire building could eventually crack, divide, and collapse. That is the context in which we should hear Saint Peter's words in the second reading today. He challenges u

Acts 2:14a, 36-41/ Ps 23(22)/ 1 Peter 2:20b-25/ John 10:1-10 Imagine the terror that set in on Holy Thursday when Jesus had been arrested. His closest friends, the ones who had spent three years with Him, eating with Him, and watching Him perform miracles, fled to the locked upper room. Peter, the man who had just sworn he would die for Jesus, was so terrified that he denied even knowing Him. He was a sheep who had lost his shepherd, paralysed by the wolves closing in around

Acts 2:14, 22-33/ Ps 16(15):1-2a, 5. 7-8. 9-10. 11/1 Peter 1:17-21/ Luke 24:13-35 In the Gospel passage today, two disciples are walking down the road to Emmaus when an extraordinary encounter changes their lives for ever. They are joined by none other than the Creator of the Universe, the Saviour of the world, but because He looks like any other traveller on an ordinary road, they do not recognise Him. We might ask ourselves: How often does God join us in the ordinary moment

Acts 2:42-47/ Ps 118(117)/ 1 Peter 1:3-9/ John 20:19-31 Imagine being in that locked upper room with the disciples on the evening of the Resurrection. Struck with fear, confusion, and uncertainty. then, suddenly, Jesus is standing right there in the room, large as life. He breathes on them and says, "Peace be with you." That same breath of the Holy Spirit is blowing over us today, God is inviting us into an adventure of faith, healing, and absolute trust. Today is the Second