Wednesday, 7 January 2026
Measuring the Miraculous – Wednesday after Epiphany
“..for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.” (Mark 6:52)
In today’s Gospel, Mark draws us into the wonder of Jesus walking upon the sea and calming the wind. Just moments earlier, the crowds had been fed with five loaves and two fish – a sign of God’s abundant generosity and of Jesus’ tender compassion. Yet Mark tells us that…
Tuesday, 6 January 2026
By Word and Eucharist – Tuesday after Epiphany
“You give them something to eat” (Mark 6:37)
One can only speculate what life would have been like for the early Christian Church in Rome when Mark was writing his gospel. Persecution would have been rife and the threat to the fledgling Christian community both ever-present and troubling. This world in which the early Christians found themselves was…
Monday, 5 January 2026
Being Light – Monday after Epiphany
“the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light” (Matthew 4:16)
Yesterday we celebrated the wise men from the East seeking the new ‘king of the Jews’ led by the light of ‘his star’. In today’s Gospel, Matthew sets the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee as the fulfilment of the ancient prophecy of Isaiah that ‘the people who sat in…
Sunday, 4 January 2026
Responding to the Light – Solemnity The Epiphany of the Lord
“They were overwhelmed with joy” (Matthew 2:10)
The Epiphany, the manifestation, of the Lord celebrates the coming of Christ to all of humanity—represented in the Gospel by the magi, the wise men. The star seen by the wise men was not just the sign that a king had been born: it revealed that the true Light of…
Saturday, 3 January 2026
Mercy, not Sacrifice – Saturday before the Epiphany
“Here is the Lamb of God” (John 1:29)
John says that Jesus ranks ahead of him because he was before him. Though John is older, he knows that Jesus precedes him in some way. He also calls him “the Lamb of God”. Curiously, in Revelation 13:8, Jesus is described as “the lamb slain since the foundation of the…
Friday, 2 January 2026
Know thyself? – Sts Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, bishops, doctors
“I baptise with water” (John 1:26)
John the Baptist had tremendous clarity of purpose and possessed excellent self-knowledge. As speculation begins to mount that he might be the Messiah, he quickly denies it. However, it’s interesting that he also denies being Elijah—the biblical prophet who was supposed to return prior to the Messiah’s coming. In this…
Thursday, 1 January 2026
Consolations – Solemnity Mary, Holy Mother of God
“Mary treasured all these words” (Luke 2:19)
Mary treasured the words of the shepherds and pondered them in her heart. What words? The message of the angel to the shepherds was that the Messiah, the Christ, was born this day in Bethlehem. These words, that amazed all who heard them, were treasured by Mary because they brought…
Wednesday, 31 December 2025
The Power of Love – Seventh Day in Octave of Christmas
“Who is close to the Father’s heart” (John 1:18)
“The Word became flesh and lived among us.” (John 1:14) This line, celebrating the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, is surely the most thrilling in all of scripture. The impossible paradox that the eternal one, the almighty God, should become a creature just like us is certainly astounding, perhaps confounding. Confounding…
Tuesday, 30 December 2025
Open to New Things – Sixth Day in Octave of Christmas
“She was of a great age” (Luke 2:36)
It’s interesting that Anna of Asher was “of a great age”, just as Simeon (whom we heard about in yesterday’s Gospel) seems to have been, since he was ready to “depart in peace” once he saw the Messiah. Both people, then, who recognised Jesus as the Christ, the redeemer of…
Monday, 29 December 2025
Great Expectations – Fifth day in Octave of Christmas
“My eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30)
Jesus’ presentation at the temple gives us a rare insight into his early life, and from it we learn that the Holy Family was poor: the offering that they make for Mary’s purification is two turtledoves. The prescribed offering in Leviticus 12 was a yearling lamb, unless the family “cannot…