“Whenever we achieve good things, we give praise to Christ.” Here’s today’s reflection from the readings at Mass

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BIBLE READINGS: You can find the readings for Friday of Week 31 here

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Have you ever been proud of yourself? Maybe you’ve achieved something, but you didn’t want to boast about it. Or you did something that made a real difference, and no one seemed to acknowledge it.

We have a strange relationship with our own achievements. Some people flaunt their successes, whilst others hide behind them.

In his letter to the Christians of Rome, St Paul says, “I have reason to be proud of my work for God.” That may sound rather arrogant and self opinionated. Except he goes onto say, “For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”

Each of us has the potential to do great and good things. Depending on our personality, we may or may not want to take credit for them. If we can say, as St Paul does, that we won’t speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through us; then we will be leaving our selves behind and give praise to him who works through us. Whenever we achieve good things, we give praise to Christ. So, don’t be afraid of acknowledging your gifts. They are God given. And they give God glory.

 

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MASS TODAY

Mass today on Friday 7 November is at S Saviour’s Church, Splott at 10am. You’re welcome!

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DAY BY DAY

If you’d like more resources for daily prayer then check out our DAY BY DAY pages.

 

In today’s reflection from the Daily Mass readings, we reflect on the church of God and the banquet of heaven.

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You can find the readings for Tuesday of Week 31 (St Charles Borromeo) here

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Depending on your personality and circumstances, a full house can be either  a burden or a joy. Or maybe you enjoy having visitors to stay, and have an equal joy when they leave.

Whatever is the case for you, if you arranged a party or a special celebration, you’d be left rather joyless and disappointed if nobody came.

It’s the picture Jesus paints in his parable. Like all parables, he reveals something of the mystery of God’s kingdom. There is an open invitation to all. God has a desire for all to be saved.  But each of us can make the simple decision of whether we wish to accept this invitation.

Our churches may not be as full as they were. The church may not be blessed with numbers as before or as is experienced in other countries.  But we can fill this house of prayer with joy at the presence of Jesus. We can fill this house with prayer and praise. We can fill this house of the church with a generosity for all that God has given to us, and all that he promises. Though life may be difficult and our hearts not always in it, we can keep our sights set on God’s Kingdom, of which, in this Mass, we receive the first fruits. Here we have a taste of the heavenly banquet, and a vision of what life will be.

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Mass today on Monday 4 November is at Ss Mary’s Church, Butetown at 630pm

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Today is the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls. Here is our daily reflection

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You can find the readings for All Souls here

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In the prophecy of Isaiah, Christians see the image of the suffering servant as referring to Jesus, where the prophet described him as “Acquainted with grief.”

Each of us, in our own way, is acquainted with grief. Not just the grief of bereavement when a loved one dies, but so many other griefs which puncture our lives. Break ups and farewells, leaving behind our good health, our past—through all the changes we experience in life.

In the village of Nain, Jesus meets a woman who has already experienced the grief from the death of her husband. And now she is grieving for her only son. She is more than acquainted with grief—and Jesus is filled with compassion for her, doing the unimaginable by raising him from the dead.

We do not experience the same miracles in our lives—except that, through Christ’s own grief-stricken life and death, and his resurrection from the dead, the possibilities of our life has now changed: the gates of heaven are flung open, and the life of heaven is within reach.

It’s with this confident hope, that we commemorate all our faithful departed brothers and sisters. We pray that they (and one day so will we) hear the voice of Jesus as he reaches out to them and us, and says—as he did the young man in Nain—“I say to you arise.”

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Mass today on Monday 3 November is at Ss Dyfrig and Samson, Grangetown at 630pm

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“He has exalted the lowly,” sang Mary of her own life and all that God is doing in the world. In today’s reflection from the Daily Mass Readings we explore what it means for the humble to be exalted.

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The readings for Saturday of Week Thirty can be found here

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Every river, no matter  its length, width or depth begins somewhere—maybe a small spring or a lake, slowly gathering momentum, washing through the earth until it becomes the size it is and then out to sea to even great depths.

Great rivers like the Amazon and Nile, the Tiber and the Thames all have its source, even though the source of some of them are disputed.

There may be no mention of a river in the gospel reading today—Jesus is dining at the home of a ruler of the Pharisees. Whilst they are watching him, he is observing them, and sees how they assume great privilege by taking the seats of honour. They have such a high opinion of themselves. However, he advises them to do the opposite. Humble yourselves so that you may be raised higher— which is less shameful than being asked to give up your seat for someone more important than you are.

As a small spring can become a surging river, so too can those who consider themselves little become exalted. God can make a mountain out of a molehill. We only have to looks to Mary, whose memory we venerate today, to see how God regards the humble. In her Magnificat song in the hill country of a Judah that’s what she sings. “He has exalted the lowly and pulled down princes from their thrones.”

One old proverb says, “No river can return to its source but every river has its beginnings.” Tomorrow, we celebrate the feast of All Saints—how God’s grace has triumphed in the lives of so many and exalted them to the life of Heaven. It may be worth remembering, to quote Oscar Wilde in his play, A Woman of No Importance, that “Every saint a has a past and every sinner a future.”

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Mass today is at S Mary’s Church, Butetown at 1130am

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How do we view others who pass through our lives, those people we see from a distance? Do we make snap judgements about them? It’s what we explore in today’s reflection from the Daily Mass Readings.

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The readings for Friday of Week Thirty can be found here

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 Some people enjoy being people watchers. They may spend time sitting outside cafes or waiting for a train, watching the world go by, taking delight in the snapshots of people’s lives, observing them and how they relate to one another.

In the gospel reading, Jesus is being watched carefully. The intention, though, is more serious and intense than simply watching passers by as they glide through life. His watchers are trying to catch him out. Once again, they are waiting to see if he will break the rules of the Sabbath. When Jesus throws it back on them as to whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath, they remain silent.

It is easy to make quick judgements about people who pass through our lives. It could be something about the way they dress, behave or talk, and yet we have no idea what is happening deep within. We can tut at a badly behaved child screaming in the supermarket without realising that he or she is autistic. We can complain about the homeless man and not know that as a child he constantly lived in care because his mother was an alcoholic. We can beep impatiently at a car in front of us and not realise it is an elderly man driving away from the hospice where his wife is dying.

Perhaps at times—as we observe the world around us—we can pause and consider the passing acquaintances. Can we show less judgment and more patience? Who knows—we could be a blessing to them. And they, in turn, could be a blessing to us.

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Mass today is at S Saviour’s Splott at 10am

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Each of us has longings and desires. Jesus longs for us. He desires to gather us in, like a mother hen, so that we can be close to him.

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The readings for Thursday of Week Thirty can be found here

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“You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.” There have been many different versions of this proverb dating back to the twelfth century. Its meaning is obvious. You can’t always force someone to do what they don’t want to do, particularly a stubborn mule.

Perhaps Jesus’ version of this proverb, would be, “The mother hen can gather her chicks, but she can’t make them stay.” That is what he’s saying of those people who reject his invitation and his loving embrace. The imagery is powerful. Jesus has a longing, a deep desire, to gather all beneath his protecting wings. But many choose not to come or stay. Then he provides a prophecy to his Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. ‘You will not see me until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”  Days after that welcome they call for his death.

As he walks on the edge of danger, with Herod’s bounty on his head, he continues to long for the children he has come to save.  He navigates his way through the dangers presented by that old fox Herod, and the Pharisees who warn him away. His way is not the easy path.

Whilst much may be asked of us, and life may sometimes be difficult, the first calling comes with Jesus gathering us. All we must do is listen to his voice and be warmed by his desire for us. To know that he longs for us for it is to him that we belong. As St Paul’s says, “Nothing can separate us from the love of shod in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

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Mass today is at Ss Dyfrig and Samson, Grangetown at 10am

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Our lives are already filled with so many of God’s gifts and blessings but we can easily take them for granted.

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The readings for Wednesday of Week Thirty can be found here

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Earlier this month, the famed American Restaurant chain, Popeyes opened a new outlet in Swansea for the first time, with many people queuing overnight, some waiting for up to 18 hours to be the first to try their iconic Chicken sandwich.

Long queues have become synonymous with the chain’s brand name. How long would you queue to get your teeth into a Chicken meal?

In the gospel reading today, Jesus reverts to one of his favourite images of eating and drinking. He says, “People will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the Kingdom of God.” It’s a powerful image of the lengths that some people will go, to be in God’s presence and to be part of God’s Kingdom, and it is a reminder that God’s call is to the whole world, and to people of all nationalities and cultures.

It is so easy for us to take for granted the gifts that God has given us – for us to ignore his invitation, to turn our back on his call.  Every Mass is an open invitation for us to feast in God’s presence, to listen to his word, and be nourished by food from heaven. There may be times when we feel a little lacklustre, when we can all too easily find something else to do, or be somewhere different. But the table is set, the doors are open, the food and drink has been prepared and Jesus calls us forward. Come, sit and eat.

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Mass today is at St Paul’s Church, Grangetown at 10am and St Mary’s Church, Butetown at 11am

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As we celebrate the life and witness of the apostles, Simon and Jude, we are reminded that each of us is known by God by name.

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The readings for the feast day of SS Simon and Jude (October 28th) can be found here

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Some people seem to have a great gift for remembering names whilst others, like me, can so easily let a name slip especially if it’s not a name I use very often.

Having said that, there are probably many other things I forget. Getting someone’s name wrong can be embarrassing , whilst having our names remembered by someone we may consider to be more important than us, makes us feel a little more important too.

 

The list of twelve names given in the gospel reading today may be well known to us although it can be confusing when different gospel writers give alternative names for the same person. Whilst Simon and Jude are listed, we know very little about them. For centuries, Jude himself became so confused with Judas Iscariot that he became more overlooked.

 

Despite the lack of detail, Simon and Jude were —and remain—significant individuals, called by Jesus as apostles and sent out with the good news of God’s Kingdom. At St Paul reminds us we are citizens with the saints, part of the church built upon the back of the apostles. Because of them, we can stand tall, being built with Jesus into a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit. There is one thing for certain—God knows each of us by name, and like Simon and Jude, has a design for our lives.

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Mass today is at St Mary’s Church, Butetown at 630pm

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In today’s homily, Fr Dean explores what it means to do the right thing, even when others think the opposite!

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You can find the readings for the Monday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time here

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Many years ago, some priests and their parishioners provided a free Christmas Day lunch for some families on the local council estate. They were assisted by an industrious nun who came scuttling into the kitchen in quite a panic.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said. “We haven’t even served the soup, and they’ve already eaten the after-dinner mints!” Dining etiquette did not feature on their menu that day!

Knowing the right thing to do at the right time can often save us from embarrassment. But, sometimes we can get so hooked up on what we think will be acceptable that our wings get clipped. Hesitation and a lack of faith and confidence to do what we think is right, can mean we end up doing nothing at all.

Whilst Jesus was more than aware of all the laws of Moses, and the many rules and regulations of living a religious life, he knew the right thing to do on the Sabbath was to heal that faithful woman. She had suffered for eighteen years. He didn’t allow fear of what others may think, to stand in the way of doing good. In the end, the disgruntled synagogue official is the one who walks away with his head bowed, whilst the unnamed woman is the one who stands tall in more ways than one.

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Mass today on Monday 27October is at Ss Dyfrig and Samson, Grangetown at 630pm

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