Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

A clever scribe who knows all about the Jewish law asks Jesus a question in order to disconcert Jesus and catch him out. He sees him as a lowly carpenter.

“Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?” But Jesus of course cannot be caught out. So he answers the question with another question. “What is in the law – what do you see there?” The Torah was written in Hebrew that has no vowels in it. This means that it can be interpreted in many ways according to how you change the words.

The lawyer responds “You must love the Lord you God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your heart. And your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus responds “you have answered right. Do this and life is yours.”

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Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s Homily

We have the beautiful image of Our Lady of Guadeloupe here today. This is one of 220 replicas of the original image commissioned by John Paul 2nd and as such they extend the same blessings and graces as the original image in Mexico City. We heard in today’s talk how she spreads a powerful message around Mexico and around the world.

We also heard how everything relating to the image has meaning and purpose to lead people to God. It has supernatural qualities associated with it which defy scientific research a little bit like the Shroud of Turin.

In the Gospel we hear about Jesus sending out 72 people to spread the message of the kingdom of heaven. And why 72? Was this just a random number of people?

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Our Lady of Guadalupe

Fr Dominic’s Homily

This is one of the most famous images of the Catholic world.

The Spanish army tried to convert the Latin Americans and Azteks because of their tradition of human sacrifice – especially of children but with little success. Then following this apparition of Our Lady within 10 years all of Mexico was converted – almost 9 million people.

The first apparition occurred on the morning of Saturday December 9, 1531 when a Mexican named Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin “Quote la towatzin” experienced a vision of a young woman at a place called the Hill of Tepeyac, in a suburb of Mexico City.

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Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today we remember the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. We honour them in how they lived their lives and how they dedicated themselves to spreading the faith of Jesus Christ eventually giving their very lives for it. And of course our Cathedral in Clifton is named after them.

St Peter was effectively the first Pope. He is the foundation stone of the Church that exists in all its strength and glory to this day and has handed on his authority in an unbroken line of succession down through the ages to Pope Leo today.

He was well known to make the odd mistake now and then. But this is good. If St Peter had been great, and noble, and good, we could have told ourselves that the Church is only for the saints.

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Corpus Christi

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today is the feast of the body and blood, soul and divinity of our Lord.  The source and summit of the Christian life.

Jesus said to us “I will be with you – even to the end of time”

It is through this special gift of the Eucharist that he manages this. Through this sacrament Jesus is fully present with us as food for our journey throughout our lives.

So why don’t we get a Gospel from the last supper when he actually instituted all this? Instead we get the feeding of the five Thousand where we hear that the people were assembling in a lonely place.

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The Holy Trinity

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Next Sunday we celebrate Corpus Christi – body and blood of Christ. And today we celebrate the most central mystery of our Faith. The most holy Trinity.

Over the past few weeks we have been celebrating everything that God has done for us. How he died for us and rose again on the third day. But today we celebrate simply who God is.

Today we celebrate God in a different way as being the Trinity: God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And this is actually the most important mystery of our Catholic Faith.

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Statement from Bishop Bosco MacDonald on the Air India Crash

It is with great sorrow that I learned of the devastating crash involving Air India flight AI218 earlier today. The loss of life, the fear and anguish experienced by survivors, and the uncertainty facing families who still await news of their loved ones weigh heavily on us all.

In a special way, my heart and prayers go out to the families in our own diocese who have been affected. The news that three members of the Gloucester community - Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa, and their daughter Sara - are believed to have been on board brings this global tragedy very close to home. I join the Gloucester Muslim Society in their grief and in offering our deepest condolences to all who mourn.

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Pentecost Sunday

Fr Dominic’s Homily

It was the feast of Harvest festival and a time of pilgrimage. Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims from many countries as we heard in those readings of places with unpronounceable names!

The people were celebrating the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai from the fire of the mountain accompanied with loud thunder. So really today’s feast of Pentecost is a replaying of what happens in the Old Testament at Mount Sinai as part of the Old Covenant.

So Pentecost arises from a Jewish feast. Through the person of Jesus all the Jewish feasts find their true meaning and fulfilment.

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Seventh Sunday of Easter

Fr Dominic’s Homily

Today is the 7th and final Sunday of Easter. Next week is Pentecost Sunday where we celebrate the birth of the true Church of Christ.

Today we hear this discourse that Jesus gives on the night of the last supper. It’s his final prayer before his execution. And what does he pray for? Unity in the church! That they may all be one.

Remember that God is a trinity composed of God the Father, the son and Holy Spirit which is a community of love. This is the unity he wants for us. A supernatural unity. If we want the conversion of the world we need unity first. It’s not an optional extra.

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Sixth Sunday of Easter

Fr Dominic’s homily

The scene of today’s Gospel is set during the Last Supper. Why are we hearing this now that we are in the Easter season?

It’s because Jesus is giving his last will and testament which doesn’t come into effect until he dies – so we are reading his will if you like to know what his plans were for what was to happen after his resurrection. And especially at the feast of Pentecost which we celebrate in two weeks’ time.

So the scene is that his crucifixion was just about to occur and He was giving them His last words of love and consolation and support.

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Fifth Sunday of Easter

Fr Dominic’s Homily

If you knew that you only had a few more hours to live what message would you give to your nearest and dearest?

The scene today in the Gospel is that of the last supper. Maundy Thursday. These are the last few hours that Jesus is spending with his disciples and so it is the last will and testament that he is giving them of his teaching.

Jesus speaks about his glorification. Of course he means this in a wonderful sense but also he is referring to his passion, death and resurrection. 

He speaks to his disciples and offers them not so much a new commandment but more of a commandment that is the very essence of all the others. The commandments that God gave to Moses were about how we love God and how we love our neighbour. Jesus then adds to this as only God can.

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