Gethsemane provides the final lesson in discipleship given by Jesus before his execution and exaltation, and that lesson... more »
We have two readings from Mark's
gospel, and each describes a crowd. There is the enthusiastic crowd of people
who cheer... more »
It's often said that St Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles are two volumes of a single work. Almost certainly they are... more »
Holy Thursday
In the first Harry Potter film, one of the great scenes is the beginning-of-term banquet. Amid all the... more »
My mother used to remind me before every meal to wash my hands, and despite my juvenile reluctance, as with so many maternal... more »
On Holy Thursday, throughout the Catholic world, we celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper - Missa in cena Domini -... more »
At the liturgy of Maundy Thursday we read the account of the Last Supper from John's Gospel. There we see Jesus very much in... more »
This evening the Church begins its celebration of the Paschal feast, of Jesus's journey from this world to the Father bringing with him the host... more »
At the Last Supper Jesus is a dead man. His betrayer is at hand, the trap set for him is about to be sprung. The words and actions of a dying man... more »
The Gospel brings us more than we could ever have conceived of or imagined. But in this way -- this higher way -- it also fulfils our basic... more »
Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, Jesus' last meal with his disciples on the evening before he died. Our word 'Maundy' comes from the... more »
Have you ever tried to get a dog to look at the moon? Whatever you do or say the dog is more likely to look at your finger. Dogs don't seem to get... more »
I am always very moved every year at this time, as I look up into the sky and see the full Paschal moon, and remember it is the very same moon... more »
In Gosford Park, the relationship between those above and below stairs is very interesting. Those above stairs often treat the servants as... more »
A recent TV documentary asked why it was the Japanese treated prisoners of war so much more harshly in the Second World War than in the First. The... more »
Good Friday
When the first high rise flats were built in Britain, it soon became apparent that among the many signs of negligence... more »
The liturgy of the church on Good Friday has four parts. First we read the passion of Jesus in John's Gospel. Next we intercede... more »
This is a day of fasting and abstinence. A day of silence and desolation. And when we arrive at its hour of glory, we witness the... more »
When the evangelists write about the Passion of Jesus they are quite discreet. They do not go into any detail about the horrors of... more »
Jesus's death has saved us. But how? A single, neat explanation cannot exhaust something so awesome. Scientists use several models for an ordinary... more »
Why did Jesus die? That's a question that arises for us all today of all days. Often I think it gets its charge from a piece of mistaken thinking,... more »
No single answer is given to this question nowadays, and no single answer was given at the time.
Anyone who has been at a public reading or... more »
The liturgy of Good Friday is one of the most ancient and the most stark of all of the Church's ceremonies. Traditionally, there is no homily... more »
One can hardly ignore the existence of Mel Gibson's film of The Passion, and though it is by no means a perfect film, it does serve to... more »
Today the Church gets rid of the cross for a while. When we come to church the cross is veiled or even removed from the sanctuary.
But would... more »
Isaiah tells us of the suffering servant:
Ours were the sufferings he bore, ours the sorrows he carried ...
By his sufferings shall my... more »
'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Good Friday, we call this day. What's good about it? The day Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was... more »
CHRIST IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!
We have been following Christ through Lent, with... more »
Here's something odd about the Resurrection scenes in the Gospels: in all the scenes where the disciples encounter the Risen... more »
Why did Mary Magdalene visit the tomb of Christ? Was it simply an act of sight-seeing? St John doesn't tell us, and St Matthew... more »
Cycle: A - 24th April 2011: Enduring Love
Tonight we celebrate the defeat of death. St Paul wrote to the Romans: 'As Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glory,... more »
Cycle: B - 16th April 2006: Being Someone
They say you learn by your mistakes. I wish that were the case. A few weeks ago I found myself watching a film which told the story of a family on... more »
The Gospels are reticent about the Resurrection. Having described Our Lord's Passion in relentless detail, they do not describe the Resurrection... more »
Second Sunday of Easter (Low Sunday) View all sermons
Just as the bands that had shrouded him in death could not hold him, nor the stone seal the tomb, so now the locked doors, behind... more »
It is often said that society today is disfigured by a culture of suspicion and mistrust – distrust of our... more »
Cycle: C - 11th April 2010: Blind Faith?
If I told you that I had won the lottery last weekend you would probably not believe me. You know, probably, that the odds against... more »
Cycle: A - 8th May 2011: The Stranger
Gospels come to life as we imagine ourselves taking part in them. In this Gospel, with the disciples walking on the road, we might... more »
The scope of the appearance of the risen Jesus given in the gospel extract... more »
In today's Gospel we hear that when Peter recognized the Lord, he got out of the boat and 'sprang into the sea'. At this point in... more »
The Gospel from Saint John speaks of Our Lord not only as
the Guide and Saviour in salvation, but more particularly of the unique... more »
Why should Jesus be the one we should follow? Why should we place absolute trust in his voice among all the voices... more »
The fourth Sunday of Easter is known as 'Good Shepherd Sunday'; in a narrow understanding this refers to vocations to the... more »
Cycle: B - 6th May 2012: Face to Face
In the Acts of the Apostles the suspicion of the early Christians in Jerusalem towards Saul is treated as perfectly... more »
In the Gospel for this Sunday we have what seems to me to be a very stark contrast in terms of discipleship. The passage begins... more »
Jesus has already told his disciples about his coming suffering in disgrace and death on three different occasions; each time they... more »
In the readings this weekend we are given some insight into how our requests to God relate to time, our time and God's time.
...
more »Today we honour the countless holy men and women who have loved God and loved neighbour fully in their lives. As the first reading... more »
It's always sad to meet someone with a lack of imagination. Not the kind of imagination you need to think about mythical... more »
It is said that Pope John Paul II canonised more Saints, and created more Cardinals, than any one of his predecessors. Could it be that such large... more »
As the year moves on once more towards its end, and the daylight hours grow shorter, we begin to think again of those who have gone before us in... more »
An elegant Italian lady strode up to me. 'Look at this!' she commanded. I obeyed and surveyed the scene. It was the folk Mass, best described as... more »
Listening to homilies isn't everyone's idea of having a good time. One of the benefits of being a preacher, you might think, is getting to inflict... more »
The celebration of a feast of All the Martyrs goes back to the first centuries AD, according to the testimony of St Ephrem of Damascus and St John... more »
Every celebration of the Church is really a celebration of the goodness, the love, the truth, the holiness of God.
On Trinity Sunday, the... more »
All Saints is the feast of the ordinary saints of the church, the huge number, impossible to count of every nation, race, tribe and... more »
Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed
After the Falklands War, there was a service held in St Paul's Cathedral. The Anglican archbishop, Runcie, has been remembered as criticizing... more »
The commemoration of All the Faithful Departed is, I think, one of the most consoling days of the Church's year. We both celebrate Christ's offer... more »
Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
When the late Cardinal Heenan was asked what was distinctive about the Catholic Church, he answered quite simply with one word: authority. ... more »
No one can really doubt that the establishment of a cathedral church in Rome, then the heart of the empire that had put Jesus to death, is worth... more »
0.50615310668945
