Thomas’ request to see the wounds of the risen Jesus enables us both to understand that Jesus is truly God, but also that he still bears the scars of the Cross. As a wounded God he stands with all those who are wounded in the world today. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle can be found here.

One of the hardest jobs for an author, playwright or movie screenwriter must be knowing how to end their book, play or film. Do you draw all the strands together neatly, so that everyone lives happily ever after? Do you end with something dramatic and unexpected, to shock your reader or viewer? Or do you leave it open-ended, so that those reading or watching have to guess what happened next? 

Today’s Gospel represents the ending of John’s Gospel. Yes, in our versions there is another chapter after this one, but most scholars think that was a later addition. This is the conclusion enviaged by the apostle John. The very last words spoken by someone other than Jesus are from Thomas, his wonderful declaration “My Lord and my God”, just after Jesus revealed his wounds, showing that he really had risen from the dead. Why does John end his Gospel this way? It is surely to bookend those famous words from the opening verse, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. In a literary master stroke, John is telling us what his Gospel is all about – the fact that the human being Jesus is none other than God himself. It is Thomas, and his famous moment of doubt, that made this possible.

Jesus’ encounter with Thomas tells us something important about the nature of the divinity revealed in Jesus. Thomas demands the see the wounds, and Jesus agrees. And so we see that the risen Lord is a wounded God, one who still bears the scars of the Cross even after the Resurrection. As a wounded God, he stands alongside all those who bear scars – the physical ones of illness, injury or disability, or the internal ones of doubt (like Thomas himself), failure or abuse. Today as we give thanks for Thomas on his feast day, let us rejoice that he helps to reveal to us who Jesus is – “my Lord and my God”, of course, but a Lord and God who loves and suffers alongside his children.

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.

Christians are called to proclaim God’s word to the world, regardless of how unpopular this might be. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of week 13 of ordinary time can be found here.

What is your reaction when the smoke alarm goes off at home, or the fire alarm sounds in a public place? A lot of people I know assume that it is a false alarm – someone at home has burnt the toast again or the system is being tested or has gone off by accident. One friend, whose smoke alarm was located just outside the kitchen, kept it permanently with the cover open and the battery removed, because it was always going off. That was certainly a case of ignoring or disabling the messenger, rather than heeding the message.

We see this attitude at work in our first reading today. The prophet Amos has been warning the king of Israel about the disaster that will come upon the nation if it doesn’t mend its ways. Amaziah, the king’s right hand man, tries to get rid of Amos: “Go away seer, get back to the land of Judah … we want no more prophesying in Bethel”. Amaziah and the king want to take the battery out of the alarm, or silence Amos, rather than heed the warning and respond to it. But Amos replies that he cannot stop prophesying, for this is what God has called him to do.

In the Gospel, Jesus is also proclaiming a message, but this time through his actions. In healing the paralytic and declaring his sins forgiven, Jesus is doing several things. He is declaring to everyone that he is God’s Son, with God’s authority; he is announcing that God’s will is for healing and wholeness for people and creation; and he is announcing that God’s kingdom has arrived. Yet there are those there as well who do not want to hear or heed his message – some of the scribes accuse Jesus of blasphemy.

The church is called upon to be the smoke alarm in the midst of the world, to prophesy to power like Amos, and to announce God’s kingdom like Jesus. As they both discovered, this is never easy work. There will be those who simply won’t listen, or who try to silence us. But we must continue with this important work, for it has been entrusted to us by God. As Amos says, “it was the Lord who took me from herding the flock, and the Lord who said, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’”. Let us be bold in proclaiming God’s message to the world, knowing that he is always alongside us.

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.

Storms can often assail us in life, whether it be a personal crisis or global events. The Gospel reminds us that Jesus is always with us in the midst of the storm and will lead us to a place of calm. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Tuesday of the 13th week of ordinary time can be found here.

The British, it is often said, love to talk about the weather. Perhaps the reason is that our climate is so changeable. One minute we are complaining that it’s too wet and chilly for early June, then a couple of weeks later we are all moaning that it’s far too hot. No doubt in a week or two we will all be asking when it will stop raining. “It’s one extreme or the other”, we say; “there’s no happy medium.”

Those who were used to fishing on the Sea of Galilee knew all about changeable weather. The lake’s location, lying 700 feet below sea level and surrounded by hills and valleys, mean that storms can suddenly arise out of nowhere. The storm we read about in today’s Gospel was surely very real, and very scary. But it can also stand as an image for the storms of life that can suddenly come along and disrupt us, just like a sudden British downpour can spoil a lovely spell of warmth and sunshine.

Amos writes of the storms that will engulf the nation of Israel because of its disobedience to God. “I will punish you for all your iniquities”, God says through the prophet, and then asks “Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?”. We might balk at the talk of God punishing a nation for its sins with defeats and disasters. And yet, we cannot deny that in many cases it is the actions of sinful humanity that bring about the storms of catastrophe we see around us today. If people wage war, it should be no surprise that casualties increase and refugees multiply. If we poison the air with pollution, we can hardly complain if climate change results. Yet we often act like these storms come out of nowhere.

In the midst of all the storms we face, personal and global, today’s Gospel reading gives us hope. Jesus is always with us in the midst of the storm. It rages around us and around him, but he gently encourages us to have faith – the faith that he will always be with us, and the faith that he will us through the storm to a time of great calm.

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.

It can be all too easy to put off important things, such as following Jesus wholeheartedly and working for justice in the world. However, God calls us to immediate service, and will equip us for the challenge. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Monday of week 13 in ordinary time can be found here.

Like many of us, my father was renowned for putting off tasks – fixing a shelf, servicing the car, or calling the plumber. “I’ll do that when I get a round to it”, was his refrain. One day in a novelty shop I bought him a decorated plate with the inscription “A ROUND TUIT”. Underneath the title were the following words: “This is an indispensable item. It will help you to accomplish all those things you put off until you got a Round Tuit”. Now he had no excuse! Of course, the danger with putting things off is that we forget to do them entirely, and so important tasks never get done.

In our first reading the prophet Amos criticises the nation of Israel for neglecting one of the most fundamental commands of the law, namely treating everyone with justice and equity. They have forgotten to do those important things which God expects of them. Just like ourselves, when watching the TV or scrolling the internet seems more attractive than cleaning thre fridge, the leaders of Israel have enriched themselves instead of looking after others. They have let other things get in the way of doing what is right. “…They have sold the virtuous man for silver and the poor man for a pair of sandals … they trample on the heads of ordinary people”, Amos says.

In the Gospel, a would-be disciple wants to follow Jesus, but not yet. He wants to go and bury his father first. Jesus’ reply, “leave the dead to bury their dead” seems harsh, but it reminds us of the demands of following Jesus – there can be no delay, no question of saying “let me just do this first”. Jesus’ comment also remind us that discipleship is challenging. In fact, any time we stop our delaying tactics and get on with an important job, in can be tough. The task at hand might be difficult, messy, or not to our liking. In a similar way, working for justice, which Amos reminds us is crucial, can also be hard. So is always putting Jesus first, and not letting other things get in the way. Thanksfully, we always have God’s grace, given in this sacrament, to help us and to sustain us. 

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.

Every nation is founded on a set of values. Jesus calls us to be faithful to God and to seek his kingdom, which means loving and caring for all, not fuelling division. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Saturday of week 11 of ordinary time can be found here.

Many people at the moment are taking part in World Cup sweepstakes, at home, in the office, or even at church. For a modest sum you draw one or more teams at random, and if yours wins the whole tournament, you get a cash prize. Some people take the opportunity to find out something about the history and culture of the countries they have drawn. Every country has a set of values which shapes the kind of society it is today. They may be founded on an ancient civilization, have been forged through revolution, or won independence from a colonial power.

The ancient Kingdom of Judah was supposed to be based on fidelity to God, who had led his people to the promised land and founded a royal dynasty with King David. However, King Joash abandoned these values and led the people into worship of idols. Even the witness of Zechariah, who tried to bring the people back to God, had no effect, and Joash had him killed. The result of Judah abandoning its founding principles was defeat and disaster for the nation.

Jesus challenges his disciples and by extension us to consider the values that we follow. He is clear that we must make a choice, for we cannot both follow God and a path that is opposed to his will. The Great Get Together, our Mass intention for this Saturday of Refugee Week, reminds us of the important values which ought to shape us as a society. These values are summed up in Jo Cox’s famous words from her maiden speech in the House of Commons, that as a nation we have more in common than that which divides us. We live in difficult and anxious times, and when anxiety takes root the temptation is to find someone to blame for our problems. Often the target ends up being the most vulnerable in society, such as refugees. This in turn breeds division rather than unity. In the Gospel Jesus tells us not to be anxious about the future but to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness”. May we hold fast to those values as we seek to build a society where everyone has an honoured place.

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.