Sometimes as Christians it can feel that no-one wants to listen to what we have to say. Yet this was also the experience of the prophet Jeremiah and even Jesus himself. Like them, we should simply persevere, knowing that we are doing God’s work.

Readings for Friday of week 17 of ordinary time can be found here.

In December 1837, the newly elected MP Benjamin Disraeli rose to make his maiden speech in the House of Commons aged only 33. Criticising the previous speaker, he was met with laughter, shouts, and jeers from the opposition benches. Eventually he had to give up and sit down, saying “one day you will hear me”. Thirty years later Disraeli would have the last laugh as he began the first of his two stints as prime minister.

It’s never very nice when other people do not listen to what we have to say. Yet this was the experience of both Jeremiah and Jesus in our readings today. Jeremiah stands in the court of the Temple in Jerusalem and prophesies its destruction, saying that it will go the same way as Shiloh, the original Israelite sanctuary which was destroyed by the Philistines. The priests react angrily to Jeremiah’s words, threatening to kill him for what he has said.

In the Gospel reading the citizens of Jesus’ own hometown react to his ministry with a mixture of mockery and disdain. They cannot believe that the person they have known growing up can be anything special. This leads to Jesus’ famous declaration that a prophet is without honour in his hometown. Often the church’s message is met with either opposition, derision, or even both. This can discourage us and tempt us to give up, or even not bother in the first place. Like Disraeli, Jeremiah, and of course Jesus himself, we should persevere, regardless of the response, sure in the knowledge that we are proclaiming God’s word to the world.

Mass today is in St Saviour’s at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Like a potter, God shapes us by his very own hands. Patient and loving, he is willing to reshape us when we go astray. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of week 17 of ordinary time can be found here.

My dear late mother had many gifts, but being good at knitting was not one of them. She told the story of how, before I was born, she tried knitting something for my older brother. Sitting in front of the open fire in her mother’s living room, mum dropped a few stitches and got into a bit of a tangle. In a fit of frustration, she threw the whole lot – knitting needles and all – into the fire! When my dad said “oh I expect my mum could have sorted that out” he was not popular! Have you ever had a moment of frustration like that, trying to do or make something and it just won’t work? And so you feel like throwing it away and giving up.

This is not the attitude of the potter whom Jeremiah visits in our first reading today. The pot he is working from clay on his wheel goes wrong, so he patiently reworks it into another vessel. He doesn’t give up at the first sign of difficulty, and all is not lost. God then likens himself to the potter, and Israel, his people to the clay. Israel has been rebellious for many centuries, continually falling out of shape like a wobbly piece of clay. And yet God promises never to give up on his people, and says that just like the potter he will remould Israel back into his own image.

In the Gospel reading we have another image of God’s patience with his people. The kingdom of God is compared to a net which gathers in fish of all kinds. God’s kingdom, and God’s world, as we know, is full of all sorts of folks – with plenty of misshapen pots and scraggly pieces of knitting included. Judgement, we are told, comes at the end of the age, only when all have had the chance to turn to God and follow his ways. 

God does not require us to be perfect vessels. Aware of this, may we always refrain from passing judgement on other fish who are in the net alongside us. All he asks of us is that we are willing to be held in his hands, the loving potter, who desires and promises to continually reshape us more and more into his likeness.

Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Grief is a common human experience. The Bible does not shy away from this, as Biblical characters encounter their fair share of loss. Yet with God there is always hope for a way through. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Wednesday of week 17 of ordinary time (memorial of Ss Mary, Martha and Lazarus) can be found here.

There’s one thing that unites all human beings, of all ages, nationalities, creeds and colours, from the very richest to the poorest of the poor. And this is the experience of grief. Every person in the world has some experience of bereavement and loss, of losing someone that they love. Some, of course, will have endured more than others, and it will affect everyone in different ways. And yet, it is a common experience that unites all humanity. This means that we can identify with others going through grief, and maybe even be able to help them.

In our first reading, Jeremiah is full of grief. His pain is not actually because of the loss of a loved one, but it might as well be. “Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me”, he says. “Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?” Many people who have gone through bereavement could identify with these words. The Gospel reading concerns the death of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend, and the response of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha’s words to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”, can be taken two ways. She might be blaming Jesus, accusing him of taking too long to arrive. Or she might be expressing a longing for a different outcome, or a mixture of the two. Either way, those words show that Martha has trust in Jesus’ power. This is reflected in what she says later on, affirming that her brother will rise again and that Jesus is the Son of God. In the first reading it is God himself who addresses Jeremiah in his sadness. “I will restore you”, God says, “for I am with you to save you and deliver you”.

The Bible never shies away from the harsh realities of life. Characters such as Jeremiah and Martha experience the same pain and suffering as we do. God never promises that those who believe in him will have a trouble-free life. What he does promise, however, is to walk alongside us in our darkest times, and that in the end hope will always win out over despair.

Mass today is in St Paul’s at 10am and St Mary’s at 11am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Sometimes in life we are simply watching the clock, waiting for something happen. God promises that one day he will bring in his Kingdom; we not only wait for it, but can also play our part in bringing it about. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Tuesday of the 17th week of ordinary time can be found here.

Have you ever “watched the clock”? You’re enduring an experience that you wish would be over and so you keep checking the time, almost willing the clock to tick round a bit faster. Perhaps it was a lesson you hated at school, a boring church meeting (no such thing exists in South Cardiff, of course), or a football match where your team is hanging on for a win. Although wishing time away is probably not to be encouraged, watching the clock is, in a strange way, an expression of hope. We have the hope that whatever torture we’re going through will eventually be over, and better times will follow.

In different ways our readings today express this hope that, despite all its problems, the world is moving towards some kind of salvation. The prophet Jeremiah is famous for his bleak messages of doom, and at first glance today’s passage fits this bill. He talks of the nation being shattered, people pierced by the sword and diseases of famine. Yet the reading finishes on a note of hope, with Jeremiah acknowledging that only God can bring the nation out of this terrible moment.

The hope in our Gospel reading focuses on God’s judgement at the end of the age, when he will get rid of all that is evil (the weeds) and reward the righteous (the wheat). Christian hope is not just about watching the clock, however. We have a role to play in hastening God’s kingdom, whether by repenting and trusting in God, as Jeremiah did, or seeking to be the good wheat in the world, witnessing to God’s love through our words and deeds.

Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Growing apart from God or becoming closer to him rarely happens in an instant – it’s more often a gradual process we need to be aware of. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Monday of week 17 of ordinary time can be found here.

Do you enjoy shopping for shoes, clothes, or home furnishings? Some people love it, while others hate it. I definitely fall into the latter category, and only buy new clothes, a mattress or sofa when I absolutely have to. I wait until things are literally falling apart and really must be replaced. If you’re like me then no doubt you will have noticed something about how things wear out. Although they can suddenly tear or break, it’s usually more gradual. After miles and miles of walking, a favourite pair of shoes get more and more worn down until finally a hole appears in the sole – usually when it’s raining. A shirt or jacket we wear a lot becomes gradually more and more frayed until it really has to go in the bin.

In our first reading today God commands Jeremiah to buy a new item of clothing – a linen loincloth of all things! The loincloth – the equivalent of underwear – is something intimate, which clings to the waist. The cloth in this reading symbolises God’s people, and how he intended them to be close to him at all times. Then God tells Jeremiah to place his new garment in a hole in the rock near the River Euphrates. After leaving it there for many days, it is ruined. This symbolises how Judah has turned away from God and spoiled their relationship with him. Just like our clothes wearing out over time, the loincloth took a while to get spoiled in that hole. Similarly, Judah did not abandon God in one moment – it happened gradually over time, bit by bit.

In the Gospel we have two images of things happening gradually, but in the other direction. The kingdom of heaven, Jesus says, is like a mustard seed or like yeast. Both things are small and yet will do something remarkable: the seed turns into a great tree, while the yeast leavens the dough. Neither happens immediately, however. A seed takes time to sprout and grow, while dough must be left to prove before being baked so that the yeast can do its work. May we always be aware of the gradual nature of things – the small habits which can lead us away from God like the people of Judah, or those daily practices which help us to grow strong in our faith. Above all, may we be patient, knowing that God’s purposes will be fulfilled in God’s own time.

Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 6.30pm.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Power can be used to control and oppress others, or it can used to heal and liberate. Jesus as the suffering servant offers a model for all those who wield power. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Saturday of week 15 of ordinary time can be found here.

Monday will see the United Kingdom gain a new prime minister, the sixth changeover in that office in 10 years. No doubt such a moment makes us think about power, especially those who seek it, what they want to do with it, and how they conduct themselves when they have it.

Micah has harsh words for those who lie as awake at night plotting how they might use their power to control and oppress others while enriching themselves. The prophet says that God will punish their wickedness. In the Gospel reading we see the Pharisees using their power to plot against Jesus so that they might destroy him. A sharp contrast is shown between the approach to power of the people Micah talks about and the Pharisees, and the approach shown by Jesus. As Son of God no human being has ever had as much power as him. Yet Matthew’s quotation from Isaiah shows that in Jesus this power is not used to oppress, to dominate or to control. Instead, it is all about bringing justice to those who need it, healing to those who are suffering and spreading God’s love in the world.

We may not be the new prime minister but all of us are able to exercise power in different ways. In all our dealings with others may we follow the servant model of Jesus and pray that our leaders will do likewise.

Mass today is in St Mary’s at 11.30am (preceded by morning prayer at 10.50 and Rosary at 11).

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

The essence of faith is not blind adherence to rules or traditions but a living relationship with God and a desire to good. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Friday of week 15 of ordinary time can be found here.

Have you ever heard stories of people religiously following the directions of their car or lorry satnav, only for the journey to end in disaster? Sometimes people have followed the satnav down a road, past a “road closed” sign, and ended up in a ditch. Or lorry drivers have robotically followed the given route into the narrow streets of a town centre and got completely stuck. It’s a case of following instructions come what may and not allowing natural reason to play a part.

It’s this attitude from the Pharisees that Jesus is criticising in today’s Gospel. They are keen to enforce the rule about not working on the Sabbath, but as Jesus points out they have ignored three crucial things staring them in the face. First, that the disciples’ need for food can outweigh the rule about the Sabbath – and Jesus quotes the example of David to back this up. Second, that priests in the Temple are allowed to work on the Sabbath so the rule is not absolute. Third, and most important, Jesus’ as God’s Son is Lord of the Sabbath, greater even than the Temple.

When King Hezekiah of Judah prays to God for healing, he does not cite his observance of rules, regulations and the law. Instead he says, “I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” Hezekiah has understood the meaning of the Old Testament saying quoted by Jesus, that mercy is more important than rituals. In the church and the life of faith, rules traditions and customs have their place. But may they never get in the way of doing what is right or responding in to God at work in our midst.

Mass today is in St Saviour’s at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.

Jesus invites us to come to him with all our burdens and he promises to help us bear the load. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of week 15 of ordinary time can be found here.

Imagine that a person goes to the local garden centre to buy a large bag of compost. Unfortunately, there are no trolleys available, so the customer attempts to carry the compost to their car. However, it is far heavier than they expected, and they are unable to carry it properly. They try dragging it along the floor but even that is a struggle. Then suddenly another customer comes along and offers to help. The two each take one end of the compost bag and suddenly the task becomes much easier. They carry it successfully to the car and the customer is all set for a happy day of planting! The burden has not been totally removed but shared and so made much easier to bear.

In today’s Gospel Jesus issues an invitation to all those carrying heavy burdens, just like our friend at the garden centre. The burdens we carry are often much more significant than a bag of compost, however. They may be health concerns, financial problems, worries about families or friends, a sense of not being worthy, and much else besides. In all these situations, Jesus offers rest. He does not promise to remove the burden entirely but like with our kindly helper in the garden centre, he offers to share the burden and so make it easier to bear. But Jesus offers something else as well. He actually tells us to “shoulder my yoke”, that is to take something upon ourselves. This sounds odd, when he has just promised rest. But his yoke is not an additional burden. Instead, it is taking on a way of life, an assurance that we are loved no matter what, and that there is hope in every situation. That is a yoke to rejoice in!

In our first reading, Isaiah is acknowledging the human need of God. “At night my soul longs for you”, he says, and “Distressed, we search for you, Lord.” Isaiah is acknowledging that we cannot carry the burdens of life alone, much as we might try or think that we have to. Instead, God is always there, ready and willing to come to our aid. Let us not be too proud to long for him, to search for him, and allow him to share our burdens.

Mass today is in St Dyfrig & St Samson at 10am.

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer, check out our Day By Day pages.