Jesus: “I am the vine, you are the branches”
The reading today from Acts (15:1-6) begins an account of what seems to have been the first really big argument in the early Church: whether Gentiles (that is Greeks, Romans,
Continue reading“They put fresh heart into the disciples”
In today’s first reading from Acts (14:19-28) Luke concludes his narrative of the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas – we see dramatic contrasts. First we’re told that Paul
Continue readingSt Pancras, the Teenage Martyr
Today is the feast of St Pancras. We don’t know much about him, but he is thought to have been martyred at the beginning of the fourth century in Rome
Continue readingDivinity and the Classics
I remember at school that going slowly through the text of Acts was a very good grounding in what was then called ‘Divinity’ – we had to draw maps of
Continue readingFifth Sunday of Easter – The Pope’s Reflections
Today is the Fifth Sunday of Easter. Both the first reading at Mass today (Acts 6:1-6), describing the commissioning of St Stephen and the first deacons, and the gospel reading
Continue readingEurope Day
Today is Europe Day, about which I have written, in conjunction with VE Day, in our parish newsletter available here on our website. For some years (and I don’t why
Continue reading‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’
Today’s gospel reading, John 14:1-6, is one of the best known passages in John, often read at funerals: its last words ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’
Continue readingFrom Peter to Paul
As you know we hear every day at Mass from the book of Acts. From roughly the point reached today (13: 13-29) the spotlight moves from Peter and the disciples
Continue readingDarkness and Light – John’s Gospel
The structure of John’s gospel, from which virtually all our gospel readings are taken in the Easter season, is mostly built around specific feasts of the Jewish liturgical year, celebrated
Continue readingThe first “Christians”
Today’s first reading from Acts (11:19-26) describes how, because of the persecution which broke out after the stoning of St Stephen many of the earliest disciples move away from Jerusalem
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