Preach by your actions

“Actions speak louder than words.” Here’s our daily reflection from today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Thursday of week 12 of ordinary time can be found here

St Francis has many words and sayings associated with him, many of which he probably never said! One such example is the instruction to “Preach the gospel. Use words if necessary.” There is no evidence that he ever wrote or said this but perhaps it has grown from the rule of the Franciscan Order which instructed the brothers to “preach by their actions.” St Francis, of course, valued words and preaching but the rule expresses how important it is to live out our faith. To coin as well-known phrase in everyday use: “Actions speak louder than words.”

In the gospel reading today, Jesus says, ‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.It is natural for us to cry out to God when we are in need, whether it is a request or a cry of anger. Likewise, we can easily call ourselves Christian, tick the box on the census page, or claim that a local church is “our church,” whilst rarely worshipping there. However, the daily living out of our Christian lives, seeking to do the will of God, obeying his commands and putting Jesus’ teaching into action is what is required of us.

  

Mass today is in St Dyfrig and Samson’s at 10am

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

The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule is present in many of the world’s religions. Find out more in our daily reflection from today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Tuesday of week 12 of ordinary time can be found here

The Great Get Together weekend is over until another year although the values which run through it continue to be important as we try to make and value the connections we have with people who are different from us. In any kind of interfaith conversation and friendship there is one common thread which runs through many of the world religions. Known as the Golden Rule, it is the principle of treating others as one would want to be treated by them. It is sometimes called an ethics of reciprocity, meaning that one should reciprocate to others how one would like them to treat the person (not necessarily how they actually treat them). A multi-faith poster showing the Golden Rule in sacred writings from 13 faith traditions has been on permanent display at the Headquarters of the United Nations since 4 January 2002.

 

In the gospel reading today, which forms part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” He is, then, encapsulating something so important about how we should relate to others. Regardless of how different or distant we are, we are called to treat others as we would have them treat us. “Love one another as I have loved you,” said Jesus on another occasion. In a world of difference and division, we pray that we may always put this teaching into practice in our daily lives.

  

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.

“Pray for me, a sinner too.”

Today’s reflection from the daily Mass explores what it means to get our own house in order with a little help along the way!

Readings for today can be found here

The sacrament of reconciliation (or confession as it is popularly known) is often feared by some. The idea of identifying your sins in the presence of another is often too much to take. Perhaps there is a sense of embarrassment or the fear of being judged or viewed differently by the priest. Perhaps, one of the most helpful and profound parts of the rite are the final words said by the priest after absolution and a blessing have been given. “Go in peace, and pray for me a sinner too.” Every priest who hears confessions is themself a penitent, someone who sins and needs reconciliation. The parting words are both a comfort and an acknowledgment, that sin is something common to every human soul.

In the gospel reading, Jesus warms us against judging others without acknowledging that we too can be judged. We can easily point out the sins of others and forget about our own propensity to sin.  There is a sense in which he is telling us to get our own house in order before we try to help others with ordering theirs. Perhaps there is something of that safety announcements on aeroplanes, to place our oxygen masks on first, before we help others with theirs.

Jesus, of course, expresses it in a very different way. “How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye”, when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.’ 

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

The values we hold

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.

How we see the world

We can all view the same situation in different ways. As Christians we are called to look upon all people – including refugees – with the eyes of love, compassion and hospitality. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

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

Have you ever seen one of those optical illusions where one picture contains two different images at the same time? At first glance, you may think it is a picture of an ornate white vase; but look again and you can also see the outline of two faces in shadow looking at each other. Another one might look initially like a duck with a long beak; or seen in a different way, a rabbit with long ears! Often in life, how we view a situation will depend on the eyes, or the attitude that we bring to it.

Athaliah the queen mother of Israel sees her infant grandson Joash as a rival in her bid for power. To her, he is not a beloved relative but a problem to be eliminated. She would rather that he be killed along with the rest of the royal family. Joash’s aunt, Jehosheba, sees him through quite different eyes. To her he is a vulnerable child, the heir to the throne, and someone who must be protected. She hides Joash away in the Temple. Fittingly for this week, Joash becomes a refugee in his own country, his safety dependent on the love, courage, and hospitality of another. Throughout this week, as we have reflected on the daily Mass readings in the light of Refugee Week, an important theme has emerged: how do we see refugees? With what eyes do we view them? Are they a political football, to be used to score points in our ever more divisive national debates? Are they a problem to be gotten rid of? Or do we view them as human beings, as Jehosheba did with Joash, who need love, support, and a safe place in which to live? The latter is surely the attitude of organisations such as Oasis whom we pray for in our Mass intention today.

Jesus says “the eye is the lamp of the body … if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” How we view others not only affects them, important as that is. It also says something fundamental about ourselves. Are we full of light or full of darkness in the way we look upon the most vulnerable in our 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.

Prayer and action

The Lord’s Prayer contains some of the most radical lines in any prayer. Yet it is not just a formula of words to be recited, but also a call to action to transform the world. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

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

Imagine that a community decides to build a new playground for children. Many meetings are held to discuss the location, the facilities, how the money will be raised, and who will do the work. And then … nothing actually happens. So much talk, and no action. Everyone would be left feeling very frustrated and disappointed. However, if after all those meetings and discussion, everyone got on and built a splendid playground, the feeling instead would be one of accomplishment and satisfaction.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives his followers a formula of words to say when they pray. No doubt several sermons could be preached on every line of the Lord’s Prayer, but there is one part which is striking because it is so radical, even revolutionary. “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven” is calling for nothing less than the transformation of this world into the life of heaven. This means the removal of everything from our present world which is contrary to the will of God – no more war, hatred, violence or suffering. We may say these words several times every day, but how do we move from words to action, like our imaginary team building that playground? How do we build God’s kingdom on earth?

Our first reading reminds us of those great figures from the Old Testament, Elijah and Elisha, who were never afraid to speak the truth to power when God’s values and kingdom were being violated by kings and rulers. Christians today are called to follow in that great tradition, inspired by our daily reciting of the Lord’s Prayer. We are called not only to speak out when refugees are treated inhumanely, but also to build that world where no-one needs to become a refugee in the first place, a world where justice and peace prevail for everyone. This requires action, but action that must be fully rooted and steeped in prayer. 

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

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

God knows every name

Many people are not remembered in the pages of history, especially refugees who have died seeking safety far from home. However, God knows and loves everyone; our love should extend as far as his does. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

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

In recent years there’s been a growing interest in oral history projects. This is where historians sit down with a tape recorder (or nowadays a mobile phone) and listen to the stories of ordinary people – soldiers, miners, factory workers, dinner ladies, shopkeepers and countless others. These are people whose name would never normally have been recorded by history, whose lives would never have been noticed. Yet oral historians recognise that history is not only made by the powerful and famous. Everyone’s story is important and deserves to be heard.

The name of Naboth would never normally have been remembered. He was not rich, influential or powerful. The ones who wielded power in the land, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, had Naboth killed so they could steal his vineyard. They assumed he would soon be forgotten. Yet God knew who Naboth was, God remembered him and loved him. And so he sends the prophet Elijah to confront the king over what he had done. Jesus’ command to “love your enemies” comes from the idea that every life matters. It can be all too easy to divide up the world into those who are like us, deserving of our love, and those who are not. For Jesus, our circle of love extends far beyond those we know to embrace everyone, everywhere.

Many refugees who die in the process of fleeing war, persecution or terror will never be remembered by history. They may not even have a grave, and their families might not know what happened to them. But the God who remembered Naboth and was angered by his death, remembers and loves them all. In this Requiem Mass we claim that love for those who have died as refugees. We protest at a world that divides people up into those worthy of love and those not, a world that views some lives as expendable. And we pledge to extend our circle of love beyond those we know or who are like us, to all those forgotten by history but whose lives and stories are imprinted on the heart of God.

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.

Respecting everyone’s story

Often in our world the rights of ordinary people get trampled over by the rich and powerful. Jesus shows us a radically different way to treat others. Fr Richard reflects on today’s readings from Mass.

Readings for Monday of the 11th week of ordinary time can be found here.

A priest friend of mine once experienced a burglary at the vicarage. The police called to examine the scene and went from room to room. One of the officers said to him “my goodness they’ve made a right mess of the study”, to which my friend, never the tidiest of people replied, “no, this is exactly how I left it”! Luckily I’ve never been burgled but if you have, or have had anything stolen, you will know the sense of violation that comes with it. Often people say it is the sentimental value of things stolen that saddens them the most. It is as though a part of their history has been taken; the thief shows a lack of respect for this, and by extension to the owner themselves.

In our first reading Ahab the king of Israel wants something that someone else owns – Naboth’s vineyard. As with an item of sentimental value, Naboth doesn’t want to let go of the vineyard, which he calls “the inheritance of my fathers”. The vineyard is more than an asset: it represents Naboth’s heritage and family history. But this matters little to Ahab’s wife Jezebel, who arranges to have Naboth killed so Ahab may have the vineyard. She has no respect for Naboth’s heritage, or even his very life. These are things she is willing to trample over in order to get her way. In the Gospel Jesus presents a radically different way of dealing with people. Even the one who has wronged us should be treated with respect, the respect due to every human being, rather than be crushed in our desire for revenge.

Very often, refugees are treated as less than human. They are the collateral damage of someone else’s war, a source of income for people traffickers, or the football of domestic political debates. Yet like Naboth they all have a history, a heritage, and something important to contribute to the places where they end up. This week let us pray for the grace to build communities where every person is valued, every story is listened to, and God’s justice and mercy can flourish.

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.

Sacred Heart

As we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus, give thanks for Love Divine, all love excelling,”

Readings for today can be found here.

A cursory glance at this weeks Top 40 Uk singles gives several song titles which include the word love, particularly the number one single by Ariana Grande “I hate that I made you love me.” Love in all its forms is something so often used by songwriters. And you’d expect the church to be no different! Some of our favourite hymns like “Love divine, all lives excelling,” or “Love that wilt not let me go,” are just a few which come to mind straightaway. In the Bible, the word “love” features hundreds of times, and our readings today are no different— both from the Book of Deuteronomy and the first Letter of John: “God so loved the word that he gave us his only begotten Son.” 

John tells us that “love is from God,” and today as we celebrate the feast of the Sacred Heart, we give thanks for the love of God in Christ. It was the Medieval Mystics who fostered devotion in the Sacred Heart as they contemplated God’s love. God loved us first, and it is in that love, that we live and grow. It shapes and fashions us, changes us, transforms us. We love because we have been loved.

In a world where hatred can so easily be sown, and where division exists between so many different groups of people and between whole nations, we pray that the love of God in Christ will so transform us, that we will love one another, a love which can transform, and shine through the world like the rising dawn.

Mass today is in S Saviour’s at 10am

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

St Barnabas

“As we celebrate the memorial of St Barnabas, we ask what it would mean to be remembered as “a good person, full of the Holy Spirit and of Faith.”

Readings for today can be found here.

In his book, The God of Surprises, Fr Gerard Hughes provides a number of questions and reflections at the end of each chapter. One of them was to write your own eulogy. Not what someone might say about you—but what you, in your wildest dreams, hoped might be said about you by the end of your life. It is a sobering and very profound activity, inviting us to look back at our life and stirring us to reach for the goals and achievements we had thought about.

Today, as we celebrate the memorial of St Barnabas, his whole life is summed up in in the Acts of the Apostles in one sentence: “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” Barnabas eventually became a companion of Paul, spending time with him in Antioch, where followers of Jesus first became known as Christians, and joining him on his missionary journeys.

How would you like to be remembered? As someone who liked to play Bingo, or have a good laugh? Someone who partied or enjoyed shopping? Someone who had a good sense of humour, enjoyed football, was straight talking, hard working or “quite a character?” Some of these things may go a little way to describe some people, and there is nothing wrong with any of it. Or we could be remembered—as St Barnabas was—as “a good person, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” Of course, that would take a different shape in each of our lives, depending on our circumstances and what God is asking of us. But perhaps today’s memorial can stir us to look at our own lives and the impact we make upon the world, considering what it means to be “a good person, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.” 

Mass today is in Ss Dyfrig and Samson at 10am

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