Demonic temptations do not usually look demonic, but are usually a subtle undermining of our sense of who we are that cause us to grasp for quick fixes.
Demonic temptations do not usually look demonic, but are usually a subtle undermining of our sense of who we are that cause us to grasp for quick fixes.
In a moment of transfiguration we glimpse the weightiness of Jesus and his mission, and we are ourselves transfigured, becoming people of greater substance.
God speaks prophetically through the Church and through some individuals, and the prophetic task is inseparable from humility, constructiveness, graciousness, love, patience and generosity.
The reading of scripture is one of the most important places where God has promised to become present and known to us.
God comes to us, in seemingly insignificant places and borne by easily overlooked people.
If the message of Christmas is real, then our preparations for it need to be radically life-changing.
Faith in the risen Christ is always a physical thing, experienced and expressed in physical ways.
Christ is so present we loose the ability to see him. We need to worship to recover our sight.
Living the beatitudes is far to lightly dismissed as being “only for saints”, but Christ calls us all to live as saints.
We are bringing upon ourselves a global catastrophe, but the prophet Joel assures us that ultimately God will save his people.
One of the most controversial aspects of Jesus’ message was that it moved all the fences. Jesus redrew the boundaries of the Kingdom of God to include very definitely those who previously had been excluded. He blew away the social and geographical limitations imposed by the pious Pharisees & other religious leaders. According to Jesus, God’s kingdom knew nothing of the political, social or religious boundaries placed on it by these groups.
The love of Christ draws us into a radically deeper set of love relationships, but don’t expect them to be understood by those outside the faith.
When Jesus invites us to join the feast, and to invite others as well, some people need reassuring to get them in the room, while others need challenging to make space, but the invitation is there for all of us and it’s genuine.
The sacred is all around us and within us, but don’t make the mistake of trying to regulate it.
We are faced with a choice, a crisis, each time we hear the Word, which slices through our souls, our families, our values, and demands our commitment without reservation.
Christ calls us to continue to grow in the measure of our love, prayer and good works.
God’s grace is lavished on all who will receive it, but some of those who have every right to it refuse to receive it unless they are singled out.
The Catechumenate, and the annual Lenten journey, are about writing the Word of God into our hearts so that it can protect us from evil and bear fruits of righteousness.
The glory that has been seen in Jesus can shine forth in us, but there will be obstructions to be purged and commitments to be made first.
There is a fundamental culture clash between those who put their trust in God and those who pursue wealth, comfort and celebrity.