The beheading of John the Baptist occupies such a key place in the history which accompanies Christ’s mission that all four Gospels give account of it or allude to it… This story has everything – sex, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, the corruption of power, the murder of the innocent, the instability of the wicked, the doubt which eventually unseats the powerful. One needs to be very well prepared to pray this section of Scripture by entering into it with the senses.
Tag Archives: 61-70
What Kind of Christian Am I – Benedict’s Kinds of Monks
If we ever thought that the Rule which Benedict writes is just for monastics, then, interestingly, Chapter 1 of his Rule should dispel that notion. He calls it “The Kinds of Monks”, but he might well have said “The Kinds of Disciples”, or indeed “The Kinds of Christians”. Wrapped up…
Mark 6:7-13 – Being Sent Out
At its heart, the Gospel is all about proclamation. And now, quite suddenly, the group of men who are closest to Jesus – known by Mark as the Twelve – are commissioned to do just this and are sent out to get on with their work. This little account comes hard on the heels…
Sunday 2nd August – Retreat Sunday – My Role in Mission and Evangelisation
On this Retreat Sunday, we would like to introduce you to a new document which has come from the Vatican just last month, and which asks us to consider the reality of the Parish. We might be very aware of parish name and locality without being in any way aware of…
Vocation – Two Becoming One
If we haven’t already said it then perhaps we need to be explicit about it now: every vocation is about love. About a search for love; about how to give myself in love; about how to be open enough to receive another in love; about how to let another’s love transform…
Sunday 5th July – Retreat Sunday
On this Retreat Sunday we invite you to consider these words: Listen; Obedience; Scripture; The Tent; A School for the Lord’s Service; Eternal Life. Have a peace-filled day of prayer and Christ-encounter!
Setting Out Your Stall – St Benedict’s Prologue
The Prologue, or introduction, which begins the text is not in fact, according to the author, part of the Rule itself – that begins formally with Chapter 1. But it nonetheless forms a weighty, and comparatively lengthy, foreword, which cannot be skipped. Benedict lays out for us his fundamental notion of…
Mark 5:21-43 – Jesus, Life-Giver (Part 3)
We reach the closing section of this long passage in Mark Chapter 5, and the unfolding of the scenes which commonly give the passage its name. But there is much here than the restoring of the little girl to life.
Vocation – Where Do I Fit In?
Odd as it may seem, some of the most beautiful and useful texts for discerning vocation, and seeing where it is I fit into the Church’s life with regards to choosing and living vocation, can be found in the official legislation of the Church, contained primarily in the Code of Canon Law…
Mark 5:21-43 – Jesus, Life-Giver (Part 2)
We left last week’s lectio divina with a plethora of questions to ask ourselves and upon which to reflect – they may still be resonating with us, and so we should continue to allow them to resonate, as we look now at the woman who is very much at the centre of this passage…
Our Lady of Bethlehem Abbey, Portglenone 