R.I.P. Ray Rutter
R.I.P. Ray Rutter

In memory of Ray the beloved town wizard, Merlin of Glastonbury. He is seen here at the annual Glastonbury Pilgrimage in July 2024 waving to Bishop Bosco and the pilgrims as they process through the town.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today we have Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Slightly different to Matthews in that it is given on a flat area rather than on a mountain and it has four blessings and four woes as opposed to the full eight blessings we get in Matthews gospel.

Jesus tells us that we will be blessed in four ways if we live our lives in a particular way but we will also be cursed if we live out our lives in other ways.

Jesus of course is often described as being a second Moses and so what he says today actually emulates what Moses said to his people all those years ago. We can read it clearly in the book of Deuteronomy.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

What’s the only thing that we can give to God that we didn’t get from him in the first place? The answer is of course - our sinfulness.

Sometimes this is the only thing that Jesus wants us to give to him. We might well try and give him everything else in our lives thinking that’s what he wants. Our gifts, our money or our very lives when we don’t realise that he gave us all these things in the first place.

God wants to redeem us. This means that we have to have a good look at ourselves and take that step of humility and give to God what he really wants from us.

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Glastonbury Shrine
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Fr Dominic’s Homily

What’s the main message of today’s feast? That Jesus is the light of the world that we so desperately need.

At the time of Jesus it was the custom that the new born child would be taken 40 days after birth to the temple to be presented and offered for service of the lord. And the Mother would be purified so she could again enter the temple for worship.

The light of the candles represents that presence of Jesus, hence the other name for this celebration Candlemas.

It all began with Moses. The Israelites formed a new covenant with God, using the sacrifice of lambs. They were asked to sacrifice the best of what they had, ‘a lamb without blemish’.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

We all have stories of our history and how we have arrived at this point in our lives. But sometimes we ask ourselves: Who am I? Well I am sure we would answer that question differently. Many people often define themselves according to their job. You might say I am:

  • a doctor

  • engineer

  • a computer programmer

But if you define yourself by your job - that’s fine as long as it’s fulfilling or successful. But what happens if you retire, or are made redundant or if you have a mundane job? Other people define themselves by what others say about them.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

So why does Jesus start with this particular miracle? Why doesn’t he start his ministry with:

  • A wonderful healing to show his power

  • Or a dramatic raising from the dead to show his divinity

  • Or a powerful exorcism to show his authority over evil?

Because he wants to emphasize his love for us as a divine bridegroom. So he inaugurates his ministry here at a wedding. It’s deeply symbolic.

The story says that Jesus was at a wedding party when his Mother notices that the wine is running out. Mary plays her intercessory role. She notices what help is needed and then asks her son to intervene.

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Glastonbury Shrine
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Fr Dominic’s Homily

John the Baptist was very popular. He was well loved and had thousands of followers. People really thought that he was the Christ and the Messiah. The one they had been waiting for and god’s son. But he makes it clear that he isn’t. He says that he isn’t even worthy to be a slave to the one who is to come. He can’t even undo his sandal.

John was baptising a repentance and the forgiveness of sins with water which was really important for the people. Jesus however would soon baptise with the Holy Spirit and with fire because he is divine. He is God.

So Jesus finally meets John and is baptised by him. The whole trinity is present. Jesus as Gods son, God the Father speaks from heaven approving his son. (Remember that it’s very rare that God the Father speaks. It only happens three times during the whole of the scriptures. And this is one of them.) And the Holy Spirit appears visible and rests on Jests as a dove rests on a branch.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany. When someone has an “epiphany,” it means they’ve had a sudden inspired insight into the deeper meaning of something. It is an experience that changes our hearts.

So why is today’s feast called the Epiphany? Because it presents the reality that the Messiah was not just for the Jews, but is the fulfilment of the whole world.

All goodness, truth and beauty finds its deepest fulfillment in Jesus. The light shining in Israel and on that manger, is meant to be the light for the whole world. Jesus unveils his divinity as the one true king of the universe and saviour of the world.

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Glastonbury Shrine
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Fr Dominic’s Homily

How often in this life we want to write our own story. We want to become the person we choose to be. We want to be in control and we don’t want anything to restrict us.

We want a sense freedom to be who we want to be rather than having to conform to any regulations – regardless of if they happen to be right.

But the danger is that by doing this we actually lose our sense of living. By doing this we actually become closed in on ourselves – though we would never admit it! And actually that’s not true freedom but a distorted sense of license that we feel we are somehow entitled to.

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Glastonbury Shrine