Dn 7:9-10 Mt 17:1-9 Peter’s comment in this morning’s gospel reading, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here’, can find an echo in our own lives. It can remind us of those moments in our lives when we too felt it is wonderful to be here. Each of us is likely to have at least one experience when we could have said with Peter, ‘Lord, it is wonderful for us to be here’. The experience that moved Peter to say this was the vision of Jesus transfigured on the mountain. The gospel reading says that Peter and the…

Jer 31:1-7 Mt 15: 21-28 The pagan woman in this morning’s gospel reading has been described as one of the great heroes of the gospel tradition. She displays a mother’s identification with her child. Although it is her daughter who is in need, her prayer to Jesus is ‘take pity on me… help me’. Her daughter’s distress is her distress; her daughter’s need is her need. Twice she appeared to be rebuffed by Jesus. On the first occasion, he responded to her plea with silence. On the second occasion, Jesus declared to her that his mission was to the people…

Patron of priests, known as the “Curé of Ars”. Saint John Mary Vianney, born during the days of the French Revolution, was ordained a priest in 1815. Three years later he was made parish priest of Ars, a remote French hamlet, where his reputation as a confessor and director of souls made him known throughout the Christian world. His life was one of extreme mortification. Accustomed to the most severe austerities, beleaguered by swarms of penitents, and besieged by the devil, this great mystic manifested a imperturbable patience. He was a wonderworker loved by the crowds, but he retained a…

Is 55:1-3 Rom 8:35, 37-39 Mt 14:13-21 We have all had the experience of our plans not working out. We have it in our minds to do something and we are prevented from doing what we had intended. Somebody unexpectedly calls as we are about to go out, or while we are on the way somewhere someone crosses our path and we get delayed. We can have a negative reaction to that kind of experience. We view the unexpected caller or the unplanned encounter as an interruption. Yet, from another perspective, attending to the interruption can often be turn out…

Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 Mt 10:1-7 Jesus has been gathering a growing number of disciples since the beginning of his public ministry. According to today’s gospel reading, from this larger group, Jesus called twelve to whom he gave authority and power to share in his healing ministry. The number twelve was significant; it is a reminder of the twelve tribes of Israel. This group of twelve were to symbolize the renewed Israel that Jesus was working to form. Jesus chose these twelve very deliberately. They were to receive intensive training and instruction so as to share in his ministry in…

Acts 12:1-11 2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18 Mt 16:13-19 Today we celebrate the feast of two of the great pillars of the church, Peter and Paul. They came from very different backgrounds. Peter was a fisherman from rural Galilee. Paul was a learned Pharisee from the university city of Tarsus. Peter’s first language was Aramaic; Paul’s first language was Greek. Peter knew Jesus from the time of Jesus’ baptism and was with Jesus until the time of Jesus’ passion and death; Paul only ever met the risen Lord, in the vicinity of Damascus. For all their differences, they had at least…