Our world loves to erects barriers and boundaries between peoples, nations and groups. God’s vision for the world is far more inclusive – Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from mass.

Readings for Saturday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

Milton Keynes, Harlow, Stevenage, Skelmersdale. These are just a few of the so-called “New Towns” created in Britain in the years following World War Two. The idea was to offer people a place to live designed from scratch, as an escape from overcrowded cities which had developed more haphazardly. One of the concepts of the New Towns was for them to be “open plan” – no walls or fences between properties, to encourage community and neighbourliness. Opinions, of course, vary on the success of the New Towns. But the radical nature of the ideas reminds us how ingrained is the human desire to put up walls and barriers around our little bit of territory – whether it be home, nation, or community.

Our readings today present to us the inclusive vision that God has for his people and his world, where barriers begin to break down. Ezekiel looks forward to a time when God will restore his people from exile in foreign lands to their own nation. The division which existed before, the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, will be no more. “My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people”, the prophet reports God as saying. This vision goes further in today’s Gospel. Caiaphas makes the unwitting prophecy that Jesus should be sacrificed to save the nation of Israel. But then the Gospel writer says that Jesus’ death would be about more than this – it will also “gather into one the children of God”. Just as the curtain in the Temple was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, so are the divisions between peoples are broken down by his atoning sacrifice.

Our world today, it seems, is becoming increasingly divided. People are keen to retreat behind their self-made borders and boundaries, and pull up the drawbridge. In the midst of this, the Church needs to model what an inclusive community looks like, where God’s love is proclaimed and shared to everyone without distinction.

Mass today is at St Mary’s at 11.30am (with Stations of the Cross at 11am).

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

Proclaiming God’s message to the world will not always be popular. What are we to do when we encounter hostility or opposition? Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Friday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

It’s a truism that politics nowadays is more divisive and angry than ever, fuelled in part by social media. There’s one commentator on YouTube who taps into this phenomenon, but with a twist. He invites those opposed to him to come on his channel and debate with him. They tend to attack him quite viciously, questioning his motives and calling him all sorts of names. Somehow, in the face of all of this, he just sits there, quite calmly, and never responds in kind. Gently, but firmly, he puts his point of view through argument not insult. Occasionally his opponents are won over by this approach and calm down. Often it makes no difference, but he carries on, seemingly undeterred and unflappable.

In our first reading, Jeremiah is feeling harangued and attacked by his opponents, but unlike the YouTuber he has not invited this, nor does he relish it. “‘Denounce him! Let us denounce him!’ say all my close friends, watching for my fall”, says Jeremiah. The reason that Jeremiah is being attacked is quite simply that he is proclaiming God’s message, and the people do not like what they are hearing. Jeremiah challenged their complacency and their sinfulness and tried to lead them back to God. The people and their leaders, however, thought they were doing just fine. In a similar, way, Jesus repeatedly came into conflict with the religious leaders of his day. Today the Jewish leaders try to stone him for whey regard as blasphemy, him claiming to be God. Again, there is a challenge to their ideas, to the status quo, which they cannot accept.

Part of the church’s calling is to be a prophetic voice to society today. We are to challenge conventional wisdom where it conflicts with God’s ways. This can lead to opposition and criticism, which is never easy to take. Both Jeremiah and Jesus continue their mission despite the attacks they face. Jeremiah is convinced that “the Lord is at my side, a mighty hero”; Jesus calmly states his case to the Jewish leaders. May we likewise have that serene trust in God so that we might preach the Word of God whether it is popular or not.

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

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

Names are important in the Bible, often indicating a person’s calling or mission. If we were to adopt a name based on how God wants us to serve him, what would it be? Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

Names are important things – they cement our identity and give us a sense of who we are, either when we introduce ourselves to others or are addressed by them. Nowadays names are given to babies on the basis of what the parents happen to like, but in former times they described an attribute or occupation of the person concerned. It’s often fun to look up the meaning of names to see how well they apply to the ones who bear them. Just to take some random examples, Dean comes from the Latin Decanus, meaning a person in charge of 10 others. Jeffrey is a form of Godfrey, meaning “God’s peace”. Richard means “strong leader” in Old French while Martin comes from Mars, the Roman God of war.

In our first reading God changes Abram’s name as a result of the covenant God makes with him. He is now to be called Abraham, meaning “father of a multitude of nations”. This name is in part related to Abraham’s vocation, but it is mainly about God’s vision for the world. His love and providence is not confined to one family or nation, but extends to all people everywhere. In the Gospel, Jesus claims the divine name of “I Am” which God revealed to Moses in the Book of Exodus. This assertion of divinity, both through the name “I Am” and saying that he existed before Abraham, causes the Jewish leaders to try and stone him for blasphemy. But as with Abraham, this alternate name for Jesus – “I Am” – tells us something about what God is doing in the world. He reveals himself to us in human form, in the man Jesus, whose glory comes not from himself but from the Father.

Whatever our name, and whatever it means, let us reflect on how God’s purposes are being fulfilled through us. What is our particular vocation, the way in which we are being called to serve him in the world? If we were to be given a holy nickname, what would it be, reflecting how we are seeking to make his love known to everyone?

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

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

Fr Richard reflects on the great paradox at the heart of our faith – the Cross, an instrument of torture and suffering, becomes the means of healing and salvation for all.

Readings for Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent can be found here.

At this time of the year, my mind always goes back to March 2020 – now 6 years ago – and the tumultuous early days of the Covid pandemic. Life changed so dramatically, and we all became familiar with terms such as “lockdown”, “social distancing” and “Zoom call”. One of the great successes of that period was the swift development of a Covid vaccine. I’m sure we all remember queuing up in some hall or centre to get our jab in the arm. The remarkable thing about a vaccine is that it often uses a portion of the virus – the harmful thing – in order to give protection.

It is curious, you might think, that God commands Moses to make a bronze serpent – the very animal that had been poisoning the people – in order to bring them healing. But often we need to come face to face with the thing that is causing us harm in order to overcome it. Jesus could be alluding to the story of Moses and the bronze serpent when he says “When you have lifted up the Son of Man …” Earlier in John’s Gospel he uses similar language when he refers to that story more explicitly: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up”. In both cases, the term “lifted up” has a double meaning. In one sense Jesus will literally be lifted up, nailed to a Cross, like the serpent on a pole, for all to see. But “lifted up” also means “exalted”. Here is the great paradox of our faith: Jesus is glorified through suffering. He brings healing – not just physical healing this time, but cosmic healing – by confronting the very things which cause so much suffering, namely sin, evil and death.

As Holy Week draws ever closer, let us give thanks that in Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross the instrument of torture becomes the instrument of salvation. As his servants in the world, let us all pledge to be instruments of his healing, bringing the saving message of the Cross to all those who so desperately need to receive it.

Mass today is in St Mary’s at 6.30pm.

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

Power can sometimes be used to dominate or abuse the vulnerable while serving the interests of the powerful themselves. As Christians we sometimes need to speak the truth to power. Fr Richard reflects on today’s reading from Mass.

Readings for Monday of the fifth week of Lent can be found here.

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. That famous line was written by John Dalberg-Acton, also known as Lord Acton. What is less well known is that Acton wrote it in a letter to the Anglican bishop Mandell Creighton in 1887. Creighton had objected to what he saw as the modern tendency to criticise authority figures. Acton disagreed – he argued it was important to hold those with power accountable. Though a Roman Catholic, he wrote that even the Pope should not be immune from criticism if he had erred.

In our readings today we see those who wield power using it for corrupt ends. The story of Susanna could be a modern-day case of the abuse of a vulnerable woman by powerful men. They desire her, and so decide that they shall get what they want. First the men try blackmail to get their way and when this doesn’t work they resort to lies to protect themselves and destroy Susanna. The Gospel reading features another woman whose fate is in the hands of powerful men. Unlike Susanna this woman has done wrong. Yet the Pharisees seek to abuse their power as religious leaders by using her case to test Jesus. They are not interested in morality but rather in finding something to use against Jesus. The woman’s life is just a pawn in their game.

Both women survive, but how are the abuses of power exposed? In the case of Susanna it is down to the bravery of Daniel who is prepared to speak out and expose the lies of the leaders. In the Gospel Jesus reveals the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by asking someone who has never sinned to cast the first stone. For him, the mercy, compassion and love of God is far more powerful than the grandstanding of the leaders. Increasingly, we are living in an age when politicians are speaking on matters of faith and religion. Often this is not borne of a desire to seek after the truth, but to consolidate their own power. May we have the courage to speak out when we see the abuse of power taking place, and so allow the love of God to shine through in every situation.

Mass today is in St Dyfrig and St Samson, Grangetown, at 6.30pm

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

Gall Duw deimlo’n bell i ffwrdd weithiau ond nid yw byth yn ein gadael. Tad Richard yn myfyrio ar ddarlleniadau heddiw o’r Offeren.

God may sometimes feel far away but he never leaves us. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Ydych chi erioed wedi chwilio am rywbeth coll, ac yna sylweddoli ei fod yno trwy’r amser? Aml waith rydw i wedi chwilio am fy sbectol heb sylweddoli ei bod ar fy nghorun drwy’r amser! Weithiau hefyd bydd panic mawr cyn darganfod fy ffôn neu fy allweddi – chwilio gwyllt o gwmpas y tŷ cyn eu gweld yn fy llaw.

Weithiau cawn yr un teimlad o fod ar goll yn ysbrydol a meddwl fod Duw wedi ein gadael yn amddifad. Fodd bynnag, mae ein darlleniadau heddiw yn ein hatgoffa Ei fod Ef yma bob amser, yn ffyddlon bob amser ac wrth ein hochor. Ni sydd ddim yn ei gydnabod.

Yn y darlleniad cyntaf cawn bobl Israel yn teimlo’n amddifad. Dywedant “Mae Duw wedi fy ngadael i, mae Duw wedi fy anghofio fi”. Ond mae Duw yn ateb yn syth gyda’r geiriau gogoneddus: “All gwraig anghofio y plentyn sy’n sugno? Efallai gall y rhain anghofio ond fydda i byth yn eich anghofio chi”. Er ei bod hi’n anodd iddynt weld hyn, ni adawodd Duw erioed mo’i blant. Bydd yn eu hadfer i’w mamwlad yn fuan. 

Yn yr Efengyl mae’r Iesu’n amlygu nad yw’r meirw hyd yn oed wedi eu colli i Dduw. “Mae’r awr yn dod, ac mae yma nawr” meddai’r Iesu, “pan fydd y meirw yn clywed llais Mab Duw, a bydd y rhai hynny yn byw”. Mae’r Iesu yn siarad o brofiad achos teimlodd Ef ei fod wedi ei amddifadu ar y Groes. Yno, ymbiliodd ar y Tad i’w gofio. Ond, mae’r Atgyfodiad yn dangos na fu i Dduw adael yr Iesu yn union fel na fydd yn ein gadael ni. Mae hwn yn brif ategiad o’r hyn a ddywed yr Iesu yn yr Efengyl heddiw, “Mae’r Tad yn caru’r Mab ac yn amlygu iddo popeth y mae yn ei wneud”. Ni ellir torri byth yr undod rhwng yr Iesu a’r Tad, beth bynnag all ddigwydd yn y byd. Mae’r un peth yn wir am ein perthynas ni â’r Iesu. Pa beth bynnag a ddaw i’n gofidio, bydd Ef gyda ni bob amser.

Have you ever thought that you have lost something, only to realise it was there all the time? Many times I have gone searching or my glasses, only to realise they are sitting on top of my head! On other occasions, I have not been able to find my phone or keys. With a growing sense of panic I go hunting around the house, and then notice I’m actually holding them in my hand!

Sometimes we can feel lost spiritually, and feel that God has deserted us. Our readings today remind us that he is always there, always faithful, always by our side. It’s just that sometimes we don’t realise it. 

In our first reading today, the people of Israel are feeling bereft during their time of Exile in Babylon. “The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me”, they say. But God immediately answers them with wonderful words of reassurance: “Can a woman forget her nursing child? Even these may forget, yet I will never forget you”. Even though it may be hard for them to perceive, God has never abandoned his people, and will soon restore them to their homeland.

In the Gospel, Jesus is clear that even those who have died have not been lost to God. “An hour is coming, and is now here”, Jesus says, “when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” Jesus is able to say this because he himself experienced that feeling of loss and abandonment on the Cross, when he cried out to the Father, “why have you forsaken me”. Yet the Resurrection shows that God had never left Jesus, just as he will never leave us. It is the supreme confirmation of what Jesus says earlier in today’s Gospel, “the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing”. That unity between Jesus and the Father can never be broken, not even by the worst thing that the world can do. The same is true in respect of Jesus and us. Whatever darkness and loss we may endure, he will always be with us, and will never abandon us.

Yr Offeren heddiw yn St Dyfrig a St Samson am 6.30pm.

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