Van Gogh - The Sower Good morning, brothers and sisters. It is a beautiful morning today, which is fitting given today’s readings, which all align along the theme of nature -- God’s gift of creation. Let’s start with the second reading. St Paul writes to the Romans that [quote] “all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now…” The created world, the universe as we know it, is waiting for a re-birth. This is an important doctrine we sometimes forget about– that, at the end of time,...

Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem, H. Vernet Good morning, brothers and sisters, and happy Father’s Day to all fellow dads. Alas, I’d love to preach all about the important role of Christian fathers, but today’s readings clearly follow quite a different theme: namely, the importance of preaching the truth fearlessly, even in the face of possible persecution. In the first reading, the prophet Jeremiah recounts how everyone around him is whispering behind his back trying to denounce him; even...

Good morning, brothers and sisters. This Sunday is an in-between time, between the Feast of the Ascension and the Feast of Pentecost. Our first reading is set during this time: it recounts how, after the 11 apostles went down from the Ascension on the Mount of Olives, they went back to Jerusalem, to the ‘upper room’ or cenacle. There, the 11 apostles – together with the Blessed Virgin Mary and other women – prayed. Quote: “All these devoted themselves with one accord to prayer”. This was the...