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The Mystery of Holy Week

Image: Canva When we enter Holy Week and Jesus enters Jerusalem, we begin to confront the great mystery of our faith – the  Paschal Mystery: the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Christians call this “a mystery” because it is a truth known only because it has been revealed to us by God.  Reason alone… Read More

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The Good Shepherd

Image:shcct.com Last weekend on 8 May the Church celebrated the Fourth Sunday of Easter which is also called Good Shepherd Sunday.  Even in these industrial and technological times, the image of the Shepherd is an instantly recognisable one.  The Shepherd is the person who looks after the sheep and traditionally protects them from predators, animals,… Read More

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The Five days before Holy Saturday

Image:www.canva.com Holy Week is the precursor to the central event of Christian belief, the resurrection, and is therefore considered the focal point of the ecclesiastical and liturgical year.  It is no surprise that each day has a title and a specific significance for the last stages in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Palm Sunday… Read More

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Palm Sunday: Reception of a King

Image:www.canva.com On 10 March we celebrate Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday and the day which sees the commencement of Holy Week. The jubilant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem marks the high point of his earthly ministry. On this important day, the Catholic Liturgy is like an overture for all of the week ahead, a… Read More

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In the Upper Room: Holy Thursday

We are now in Holy Week, the most important time in The Church’s year, even greater than Christmas because Christ brings to fruition the mission he was born to accomplish.  From Holy Thursday through to Easter Sunday we celebrate the Triduum, the three days we recall the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I remember… Read More

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Monica and Augustine

There is a well-known saying that, ‘Behind every great man there is a great woman.’  This certainly applies to St Monica, whose feast day we celebrate last week. Monica’s son, St Augustine, has been described as the most Significant Christian Thinker after St Paul.  His adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological… Read More

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We are an Easter People

This week we are preparing for Easter Sunday, the highest point in the Liturgical Calendar of the Church.  This is the culmination of the Lenten journey and the day that makes sense of all that went before, some of it dark and terrible. In the Exsultet we are told ‘This is the night that expels… Read More