Monday, 20 October 2025
Rich in What Matters – Monday Week 29 in Ordinary Time
‘So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.’ (Luke 12:21)
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that life’s true richness isn’t found in what we accumulate, but in how we give. When a man asks him to settle a family dispute over inheritance, Jesus declines and in his usual manner, tells a parable instead of a wealthy farmer who builds…
Sunday, 19 October 2025
Pray Persistently – 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
‘Pray always and not to lose heart.’ (Luke 18:1)
Today’s parable is a powerful reminder of the importance of perseverance in prayer and trust in God’s justice. Jesus tells this story to encourage His followers ‘pray always and not to lose heart.’ In the parable, a widow – one of the most vulnerable members of society – continually pleads…
Saturday, 18 October 2025
Sharing the Gospel of Peace – Feast St Luke, evangelist
Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ (Luke 10:5)
We are certainly living in turbulent times, and although it can feel like we have a uniquely challenging world to navigate, the time of Christ was also a time of immense political tension. This is the context in which the disciples were sent out in Luke’s Gospel – a time…
Friday, 17 October 2025
Not One Forgotten – Memorial St Ignatius of Antioch, bishop, martyr
‘Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Luke 12:6-7)
Jesus’ words to his disciples in today’s Gospel are profoundly tender. He begins by calling them friends. In that naming lies a radical intimacy, a promise that in the midst of fears or the noise of public opinion, each of us is known and cherished. Jesus reassures them: ‘Even the…
Thursday, 16 October 2025
Be True to Yourself, God and Others – Thursday Week 28 in Ordinary Time
‘Woe to you!’ (Luke 11:47)
There is not much that irritates me more than hypocritical people, especially people in the public eye who wield great power and influence – media moguls, billionaire businesspeople and politicians. How often have they been caught out saying one thing publicly and yet doing the opposite in private. The hypocrites…
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Being an Authentic Witness of the Gospel – Memorial St Teresa of Jesus, virgin, doctor
‘Woe also to you lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear,’ (Luke 11:46)
This is a powerful Gospel. Jesus calls out the hypocrisy of those who interpret God’s word, not as a call to authentic freedom but rather as a burden to be borne by the faithful, while they themselves do not live according to those same rules. Saint Teresa of Avila, whose…
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Interior freedom – Tuesday Week 28 in Ordinary Time
‘Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?’ (Luke 11:40)
In today’s Gospel, a meal becomes a contested space, and cups and dishes are metaphors for cleanliness of heart. Jesus’ refusal of preparatory washing is about rejecting rituals empty of meaning. The remedy offered is almsgiving, a generosity that extends beyond the setting of the room and the table. Today’s…
Monday, 13 October 2025
The Sign of Jonah – Monday Week 28 in Ordinary Time
‘The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here!’ (Luke 11:32)
With seemingly endless chaos across the globe, I sometimes feel that we are living in an ‘evil generation.’ Yet, unlike the crowd from today’s Gospel, we have received a sign far beyond that of Jonah or Solomon, being witnesses to Jesus, crucified and risen. Like Jonah’s reluctant mission to Nin’eveh,…
Sunday, 12 October 2025
Set Someone Free – 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time
‘Get up and go on your way.’ (Luke 17:19)
I have a feeling that the diagnostic tools in the time of Jesus were not too sophisticated. God forbid you were prone to eczema, because I have a feeling that you would end up being banished to a life in a leper colony. A life of being ostracised and demonised…
Saturday, 11 October 2025
Obedience to God’s Word – Saturday Week 27 in Ordinary Time
‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.’ (Luke 11:28)
In this brief yet powerful exchange, Jesus reminds us that true blessedness is not found in status, admiration, or by association, but rather in obedience to God’s Word. The woman in the crowd recognised the greatness of Jesus and praised His mother—a common Jewish act of admiration. Yet Jesus gently…