Ours is an historical religion. It not only unfolds within the joys and disappointments of time and place, but it is rooted in actual events that took place in the lives of real people…

For the early church, this gospel incident provided something of a puzzle. Why would Jesus, the sinless One, submit to baptism by John? Why be immersed in the waters of the River Jordan…

Unlike the writers of the horoscope columns in our newspapers, these Wise Men were scholar astrologers, probably from Syria or Iraq. They believed that the stars controlled the destiny of human beings…

How often, on TV, do you see people fleeing persecution by murderous tyrants? When I was at school, some of the pupils were the sons of those who had fled from Poland to escape Nazi and then Communist persecution. It seems that generation after generation, millions of people have been forced to leave their homelands…

Joseph could not ignore Mary’s pregnancy, but he had an exceptional large-heartedness, so that he preserved a future for Mary even though she had apparently wronged him…

Half way through Advent we pause for a moment to celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a Sunday for rejoicing. Isaiah paints a picture of regeneration. The desert that once seemed to be dead is now bursting with life…

We may be accustomed to think of Advent as the time when we prepare for the coming of God, but the readings also train our attention on our own journey to God…

This feast celebrates the power and authority of Christ by creating a collage of images that capture one or more characteristics of Christ’s kingship…

The Day of the Lord was believed to be the time when God would come in majesty and power to set all things right…

The basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, the mother church of all Roman Catholic churches…

It is very easy for religious people to fall into a kind of self-righteousness. Their very enthusiasm and generosity can plant the seeds of religious arrogance…

The readings today offer various aspects of prayer for our consideration. There is the spiritual discipline of prayer itself, which is essential to the life of the disciple…

Some of you may remember, or at least know of, Princess Diana. She was a rather confused character. But one incident in her troubled life caught the attention of the world…

In our struggles to be faithful disciples, we frequently must endure periods when we feel abandoned by God…

Both the reading from the prophet Amos and the gospel narrative pointedly condemn the lifestyles of the rich. It is not wealth itself, but the complacency and the disregard for others that it too frequently generates…

We are creatures of this world. We are made of it and we are totally dependent upon it for our very existence. We require its air, its water, its food, its heat…

Today we concentrate on the power of the cross in our lives. It is the ultimate demonstration of the nature of God. Christ gave of himself even to death on the cross…

The wisdom tradition from which the first reading is taken is rooted in the fact that life is a series of choices…

The goodness of God is seen in the extravagant generosity with which God gives gifts…

The vision of a disciple must be the vision of God. Disciples must see with wide angled lenses that enable them to recognise that God offers the grace of salvation to all…