Peter Blog a few random thoughts

The Gospel today presents to us a contrast between a man and a woman. One is the host and the other is the woman who is uninvited. Simon is a Pharisee and prides himself in being at a distance between himself and those who are sinners. He gives Jesus a place at table and speaks to him with respect. This would have been considered a risk because Jesus had already got a reputation for being a blasphemer. For Simon a meal like this would have been a good and I am sure would told the world and their mother about it. You can imagine his annoyance that in fact a woman, with no name, steals the limelight. She may well have been a prostitute and not a welcome guest at the table. Her welcome of Jesus is completely different to that of Simon. She is overcome by emotion kisses the feet of Jesus and dries his feet with her hair. Notice the difference between the two. Simon is proper and correct with his greeting of Jesus and the woman although a sinner is over flowing with love. Jesus res...

back The Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) Eucharistic Service Malcolm McMahon O.P. Email Readings: Exodus 24:3-8 Hebrews 9:11-15 Mark 14:12-16,22-26 Dominicans from St Thomas Aquinas onwards have been very articulate in helping the Church understand more deeply the mystery of the Blessed Eucharist that we celebrate today. A modern Dominican, the late Father Paul O’Leary from Ireland has helped me personally in making the vital association between the Eucharist and justice. The constant mistake that we all make about the Eucharist is that is a thing rather than a person. With a person, we can develop a relationship which of its very nature is dynamic and healing, consoling, and loving. This is no less so with the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Personally I do not like the term adoration, which has become fashionable nowadays, because it can so easily makes me think of idolatry. The Blessed Sacrament is not a thing to be adored but a perso...

On Wednesday morning I was sitting in St Peters square. The square was packed and there was not a spare space to have had. We were waiting for Pope Francis and you could feel the expectation as the moment for his arrival got closer. What struck me was the crowds and what impressed as well was the fact that they all came from the four corners of the globe. A lot of these people were young people.  In this carnival like atmosphere I was thinking about two things and they are in a way related to this feast we celebrate today. The first thing that we notice is the gift of  waiting Jesus promises the disciples that there will be the Holy Spirit to help them. He will never abandon his people. The joy of waiting is that it gives us time to truly understand the significance of what we will receive at Pentecost. Waiting can be hard and sometimes painful but the rewards are great. Just think about the joy of a couple who love each other very much meeting after a time apart....

This week I came up to Gaston Farm to have a look at the lambing with my parents. One thing that I was struck me was the fact that each of the Lambs that had been born were painted a number on the side of them so that the Shepherd knows whose lambs belongs too. For the ewe also had the same number on them.  This is a device used just for the shepherds and not for the ewes who seem to know instantly which lamb belongs to them. At our baptism we are signed with a sign of the cross on our foreheads. It reminds us that we belong to Christ. He knows us and loves us into being. Notice in the Gospel today that Jesus calls Peter by name. He asks him three times. It reminds us of the denial that Peter did about knowing Jesus just before his trail. We are asked the same questions so often imagine your name being in place of Peter. He is calling us by name into action. By loving the Lord and responding to his call we act in love to others around us. We belong to him and so should re...

I want you to imagine that you have some really good news. You are itching to tell others about it: It maybe a birth of a new grand child or a new loves of your life it maybe just something that you just want to share with another person. And when you tell them they are not excited as you are and say something like “Oh that’s nice” Imagine how let down you are, how disappointed you will be the next time you want to share with them some good news. In fact you may not even bother. Now imagine that you are one of the women who had gone to the tomb to see Jesus on that first Easter Sunday morning.  You are told “Why look among the dead for someone who is alive?” As you leave your head is filled with all the things that have happened over the last few days and its all clicked into place.  You go back to tell the others and they don’t believe you. It takes a little convincing but to stop you going on about it they go and see for themselves and when they go into the tomb ...

Holy Thursday 2013 Jesus asks us today to “Do this in memorial of me.” And so for over two thousand years we have been celebrating the Mass countless thousands of people have been doing the same as we do this evening.  Also for countless number of years we have been arguing about what Jesus actually meant by these words. We as Christians have argued and have caused many divisions. But maybe we are missing an important issue and it’s something that we notice in the Gospel of John. Notice that John’s Gospel we have just heard is set at the last supper but it does not describe to us the last supper it describes another event. It tells us about Jesus washing his disciples’ feet in service to them. He gets down on the floor and does this profound act of humble service to those who have followed him. He asks them like the breaking of bread to do the same. “I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.” This “Do this in memory of me” then I think ha...

I think one of the things that I find very difficult is not to judge others. We don't mean to do it sometimes but it just happens. We may judge a person by their looks or by the way they act. Sometimes we list can't help ourselves doing it. We may use the words " I never do that" where in fact we know that we might. We may even get into a crowd and accuse the person almost safety in numbers. This is what happened in today's gospel. The people take it on themselves to condemn the woman and bring her to Jesus. What is the reaction of Jesus. He appears to be writing in the ground during their questions to catch him out. But, what does he write? We are not told but, because of the writing in the ground no one was able to cast the first stone. I like to think that Jesus was writing one of three things. Some say that he was writing their names on the ground as they were picking up their stones. Others say that he was writing the crowd sins on the ground and they f...