Fr Charlie

A question we may ask ourselves today is, who is Jesus, and especially, who is Jesus for me?  Who do I think Jesus is? We remember that Jesus asked that question of his disciples just before he turned to go to Jerusalem and the fulfillment of his mission. It is the crucial question, and much depends on our answer. In the first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his last speech to the people before they enter ...

Imagine that you are setting out on a new venture, creating a new business, for example. As part of your preparation you recruit a number of people who you think will make good workers for you, workers who will learn the business and after a while will be experienced enough for you to take time for yourself, do some traveling while being able to get updates on your business. Not a big challenge to do that as we are learning. However, things do not go as ...

‘I will not leave you orphaned….’  The early Church must have relied heavily on this promise of Jesus because it moved forward even under the most trying of circumstances. In the reading from Acts we hear how Philip, the deacon, not the apostle, went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed Christ to them. The impetus for this action of Philip was the persecution that followed the death of Stephen. On that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were ...

In his epistle Peter writes, you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and the guardian of your souls. “You were going astray and now you have returned.” It is always our prayer that we not stray but remain in union with Jesus our Lord and Saviour. While that is our prayer, our reality may be somewhat different; we may act like the straying sheep more often that we should. Such was the case with the people in Jerusalem who heard ...

It had been a terrible few days, days that went from triumph to execution, from hope to disaster, from faithfulness to betrayal, from bravado to cowardice; all seemed lost and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews. If they had executed the leader, why would they not do the same to his followers? Imagine the conversations of the disciples, imagine the feelings they were experiencing – guilt, remorse, fear, maybe even rage – and into all that ...

Let us therefore, approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Could any words speak more directly to our current conditions than these? Let us approach the throne of grace. What is this throne of grace if not the cross of Jesus Christ which we celebrate this day?  Strange isn’t it? We ‘celebrate’ a most horrific event; nowhere else would we ever consider celebrating an event ...

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday but what a strange celebration – no processions, no hosannas, not even palms. Our lives do take unexpected twists, twists that can throw us off balance, make life seem strange, put so many of the things we take for granted in a spin. On the other hand, the other name for this day seems to put things in a perspective that we can understand, Passion Sunday. Our world is enduring a kind of passion or suffering during these trying times, ...

Last Sunday we reflected on the wonderful story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well, and today we have the equally compelling story of a man born blind and his journey to faith in Jesus. That fact that both these events are real, about real people interacting with Jesus, and are not just stories made up to illustrate a point, makes them even more compelling. Today’s event begins simply enough; Jesus and his disciples are passing by a blind man and his presence causes ...