Year II. In strong terms, Amos scolds the people, saying that their rituals and liturgies are worthless unless they honour God by practising justice. Gospel. Jesus takes pity on people considered possessed by the devil, outcasts of little value to their pagan fellow citizens, who are more concerned about the loss of their pigs than […]
Year II. Amos questions the people of God, asking them to give an account of how they have responded to God’s love. Gospel. We have to recognise the Lord’s presence and keep trusting in him when storms rage within us and in our world as they threaten to engulf us and make us ask: “Lord,
Greeting (See Second Reading) May the Lord stand by you and give you power. May he rescue you from all evil and bring you safely to his kingdom. May he always be with you. R/ And also with you. Introduction by the Celebrant Today, we celebrate with joy the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.
Greeting (See Second Reading) Consider yourselves dead to sin but alive in Christ Jesus. May Jesus, the Lord of life, be always with you. R/ And also with you. Introduction by the Celebrant It Is Me You Welcome Are we aware that when we receive strangers, we receive the Lord himself? We have Jesus’ own
Year II. “Cry aloud to the Lord! Lift your hands to him.” The message is one of hope: when punishment comes for sin, we should not blame God or abandon hope, but turn to God. Gospel. At a mere word of Jesus, the health of the centurion’s servant is restored in response to the marvellous
Year II. Punishment comes to the Jewish people for their persistent infidelity. Jerusalem was destroyed with its temple, and the people were sent into exile. Gospel. Immediately after the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew gives us a series of miracles of Jesus, the first of which is narrated in today’s gospel, the cure of the
Year II. The last kings of Judah did not seek God’s kingdom and lost their earthly kingdom. Gospel. “Not those who say, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom, but one who does the will of my Father.” We are familiar with Jesus’ words, but do we follow them? Do we build on rock, that is,
Mass during the Day Greeting (See the First Reading of the Vigil) Do not be afraid to speak, says the Lord, for I am with you to protect you. I am putting my words into your mouth. Say whatever I command you. May the Lord speak through us and always be with you. R/
Year II. Hezekiah and Jeremiah chose to trust in God despite all odds. Gospel. The moralising theme of the two ways, familiar to Jewish thought and also to Christian thinking from the early Church to the present – for example, Ignatian spirituality – underlies the readings today. Jesus says there is an easy, spacious road
Year II. The Northern kingdom of Israel is punished for deserting God through the destruction of the country and the exile of its people. Gospel. For people who walk side-by-side with the Lord, there is no room for superiority complexes that look down on the people around us to condemn them. We have all the
