Sunday November 22nd ~ Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King is the final Sunday in the liturgical calendar. In the Gospel today, Pilate is concerned with what type of King Jesus is and what kind of Kingdom he is talking about? To understand what type of kingship Jesus is talking about we need to lay aside a lot of the cultural baggage that we have about Kings and Kingdoms. There are no palaces, no pomp and ceremony involved here. Jesus’ Kingdom is concerned with justice for the weak and the oppressed.

At our baptism we were each anointed as ‘priest, prophet and king’ and therefore we share in this kingship that Pilate is wondering about. We are called to show the world that Jesus’s followers are concerned with love and service of others; that Jesus’ Kingdom is built on a different kind of foundation. With so much brokenness in the world we are called to transformative service. There are no shortage of causes: the refugee crisis; homelessness; climate justice…

At the end of this month, world leaders gather in Paris at ‘COP21’ to try to come to a universal agreement on addressing climate change. We pray that the ‘Kings’ and ‘Presidents’ of this world take strong action to protect our planet. “We pray for the representatives of the nations meeting in Paris, and in every government everywhere—and all business leaders and consumers—that we will see nature as a magnificent book in which God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness. (LS 12)” #pray4cop21 

Sunday November 8th 2015 ~ The Widow's Mite

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is courageously speaking out against the hypocrisy of the so-called ‘religious’ of his time. This passage is encouraging all his followers to engage in a reality check. The hypocrisy of the scribes is in total contrast to the humility and generosity of the widow in the second part of the Gospel. She gives not of what she has to spare, but everything she has. She is free. We don’t have to restrict this example to money either.  

At the end of this month, a vitally important meeting is taking place in Paris called COP21. World leaders will gather to try to settle on a universal agreement on climate change action. It is a hugely difficult task, one that has not been achieved before. We are asked to pray and to continue to put pressure on our governments to take real action on climate change. The widow gave her all in the Gospel today and we are challenged to model her behaviour rather than the behaviour of the ‘elite’ of the opening verses. 

You can join the march on November 29th @ 2pm @ The Custom's House, Dublin, to make your voice heard on climate justice. Encourage our leaders to make a strong stand at COP21 in Paris this Nov/Dec.





“The idea of infinite or unlimited growth... is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth's goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry at every limit. Yet all is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start." (Pope Francis ~ Laudato Si)