A Child Is Born For Us
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- Category: Weekly reflections
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- Written by Ronan Connolly OP
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Christmas Day
Luke 2:1-14
"A child is born for us, a son is given to us" (Is 9:5).
The whole atmosphere of this marvellous night is encompassed in tonight's Gospel- we witness a scene entirely suffused with joy and light, the divine joy of the angels and the wondrous joy of the shepherds as they hasten to Bethlehem to find the new-born child. Joy is a truly defining mark of the Christian; we rejoice because in the birth of Jesus, the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace has come into our midst, our redeemer and Saviour is with us !
The Immensity of God's Love
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- Category: Weekly reflections
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- Written by Damian Polly OP
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Christmas Eve
Matthew 1:1-25
Some, charged with the task of preaching on this Gospel, much prefer to preach on the first or second readings, finding little or no inspiration in this passage. But this, I believe, is to miss the great importance of the beginning of Matthew's Gospel. One of the first questions that should strike us when we compare the opening of Matthew's Gospel to that of the other Gospels is why did Matthew decide to start with a lengthy genealogy? Rather than seeing this simply as a long list of difficult names to pronounce, there is another view that we can take of this very important passage. By means of this genealogy Matthew is making clear to his readers that the God of Israel, incarnate in Jesus, has claimed a human genealogy, and one which can be traced all the way back to Abraham, with whom God made a covenant. Now God has established the new covenant in Jesus, a covenant which is no longer limited to the Jewish people. God, in Jesus, has lowered himself from his heavenly thrown to enter fully into our human reality and take on our lowly humanity so as to raise us up to the heights of Heaven with him by redeeming us from our sins and opening the gates of Heaven to us.
Ears to Hear - Advent 7
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- Category: Ears to Hear
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- Written by Luuk Jansen OP
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Epistle to Diognetus (127)
The Letter to Diognetus is one of the most interesting documents we have from the early Church. It was probably written in the second century, and is an example of early Christian apologetics, that is, explaining the Christian faith to pagans. We don’t know who wrote this text, the author refers to himself only as ‘a disciple’. In the segment we will hear today, the writer reflects on how the coming into the world of the Son of God is a revelation of God’s love for us.
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Yes To Discipleship
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- Category: Liturgy
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- Written by David McGovern OP
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4th Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:39-45
The Blessed Virgin Mary is one of the most significant Advent people of the New Testament. In this Gospel account of the Visitation we see that she sensed Elizabeth’s need and responded accordingly by reaching out and being present to her. Mary was thus a true disciple because she shared Christ’s presence, thereby making a significant difference in her cousin’s life. She literally took Christ to Elizabeth. This is the most important challenge to each of us who claim to know Christ, to share His presence with everyone we meet. But how can we do this?
Symposium - The Mother and Child in the Old Testament
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- Category: Symposium
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- Written by Luuk Jansen OP
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In this month's Symposium, Fr. Terence Crotty O.P. presented the paper entitled 'The Mother and Child in the Old Testament'.
Ears to Hear - Advent 6
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- Category: Ears to Hear
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- Written by Luuk Jansen OP
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Augustine on the Psalms(98)
We continue our series of Advent readings today with another excerpt from St Augustine’s writings – I warned you that he wrote a lot! Today he’s talking about one of his favourite topics: desire! For Augustine, having desire in our hearts is a good thing, but it must be desire for the right things. Ultimately, he thinks, desire will lead us to God, who alone can satisfy us completely. In the meantime, we should be like lovers yearning for the presence of the Beloved. And so, as the days get darker, our yearning for the light of Bethlehem grows stronger and stronger.
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