In his first encyclical Deus caritas est, Pope Benedict XVI drew our attention particularly to the unity of faith and life, in which, as he wrote, “the usual contraposition between worship and ethics falls apart” (n. 14).  As he expressed, “Only my readiness to encounter my neighbour and to show him love makes me sensitive to God as well.  Only if I serve my neighbour can my eyes be opened to what God does for me and how much he loves me.”[1] It is a fitting commentary on the gospel that is given us to today in which the love of God and the love of each other are brought…

The mystic, Chardin wrote, “Seeing.  We might say that the whole of life is in that verb . . .  To see more is really to become more. Deeper vision is really deeper being. [1]    It is, however, no simple thing to see reality as it is.  And yet, seeing reality – as it is – is the most important part of becoming whole and holy.  It is the foundation stone. That is why as Christians we commit our whole life to the task. Seeing reality – as it is – is the means into truthfulness, and it is the truth which sets us free. Often, however, we are afraid…

One of the most memorable Masses I have attended was in a little parish church in the Chianti district of Tuscany. In many ways it was a rather ordinary liturgy but what made it extraordinary for me was the presence on the sanctuary throughout the Mass of a Downs Syndrome man and an intellectually disabled man.  They were there in the form of altar servers although most of the work was done by the intellectually disabled man.  Nonetheless the Downs Syndrome man was with the priest throughout the liturgy:  sitting beside him high on the presidential step and even standing beside him throughout the Eucharistic Prayer.  That was the amusing part because at this…

In so many ways the Gospel reverses the ordinary way that we think about things.  It certainly reversed the ordinary expectations that first century Palestinians had about God and the signs of God’s favour.  In the society of the time wealth was a sign of God’s favour, a sign of God’s blessing.  The underlying logic ran that the wealthier you were the more God was smiling on you. Therefore, those who were poor were looked upon as those who had missed out on the blessing of God, and at worst, who were cursed. Jesus, however, confronts this logic.  And he confronts this logic by putting forward poverty as a virtue.  The first hearers of the…

In a beautiful comment on the gospel for this Sunday Pope Francis observed some year ago:   “God did not want to come into the world other than through a family. God did not want to draw near to humanity other than through a home. God did not want any other name for Himself than Emmanuel. He is ‘God with us’. . . He is the God who from the very beginning of creation said: ‘It is not good for man to be alone’. We can add: it is not good for woman to be alone, it is not good for children, the elderly or the young to be alone. It…

A very happy Father’s Day to all our fathers, grandfathers, and mentors! We pray that this day be one of blessing for each of you, and that you grow in your amazement of your God-given vocation to truly encourage the life of another.  The populist American writer, Robert Fulgham once told of a story of Frank Marshall, an international chess player. During a competition many years ago, Fulgham relates the incident in which Marshall made what is often called the most beautiful move ever made on a chessboard. In a crucial game in which he was evenly matched with a Russian master player, Marshall found his queen under serious attack.  There…