Read the scriptures for Saturday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Food for Faith now offers three podcasts. You can scroll down to view all the latest episodes or click these links to view each individual podcast:
Lectio Divina - daily prayer with the scriptures
Homily Studio - weekly discussions on the sunday scriptures
Food for Faith - talks and reflections from fr john o'connor
Read the scriptures for Saturday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for Friday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin at this link.
Join David Moxon, Jelvine Cortez and Catherine Gibbs in conversation reflecting on the scriptures for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for this Sunday at this link.
Catherine mentions my reflection on Pope Francis’ letter from last week on Literature in Formation. FFF reflection introducing the letter is at this link.
Read the scriptures for Wednesday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for Tuesday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for Monday of Week Nineteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
Read the scriptures for the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time at this link.
A 13 minute listen – if you prefer to read the written text of my reflection it is available at this link.
Literature has to do, in one way or another, with our deepest desires in this life, for on a profound level literature engages our concrete existence, with its innate tensions, desires and meaningful experiences.
Read the full text of Pope Francis’ letter this week on Literature in Formation at this link.
Read the scriptures for Saturday of Week Eighteen in Ordinary Time at this link.
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Note the physicality of today’s gospel reading.
Physical features (hearts, hands, feet, mouth, eyes) abound and emotional realities are strong (peace, alarm, fright, agitation, doubt).
I had planned to continue the daily reflections through this Easter Week but I’ve already missed Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday and now it’s early morning on Easter Wednesday. Thank you to those who emailed with “where are you”, “what happened” and “I haven’t had a FFF email this week.” Thank you for your enthusiasm and for keeping me on my toes.
There is a great old Easter greeting: “We are an Easter people” to which hearers respond “and Alleluia is our song!” I love this, and if I see you in this Easter Week, this Octave of Easter Sundays, you are welcome to greet me in this way. The reason I need to be reminded that we are an Easter people is that I too often reduce the Easter life we are offered to ideas and categories, words and formulas, customary ways of thinking and acting.
I understand Judas and I look forward to meeting him when I get to heaven.
He was not a bad man (that perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor), but he often put his own interests first, (helping himself to the common purse) and wanted to be in the “in” group (what will you give me if I hand him over to you).
There is a bad old joke that suggests that giving a homily is the art of twisting whatever the preacher wants to say to fit the scriptures.