A-Z of Paul: Timothy and Titus
Labels: pauline year, preaching, study
Labels: pauline year, preaching, study
It is clear from his letters that for Paul Jesus' sonship was in some sense unique, that Jesus possessed a unique status and favour with God, that he in some way shared in the divine glory and so was worthy to be venerated with God at Christian gatherings. Yet Paul develops his understanding of the sonship of Jesus against the backdrop of Jewish tradition and Old Testament themes. In the Letter to the Romans, for example, Paul describes how Jesus was 'declared Son of God by a mighty act in that he rose from the dead' (Romans 1:4). This seems to echo the Lord's promise to David in the Second Book of Samuel: 'I will raise up one of your family, one of your own children, to succeed you and I will establish his kingdom [...] I will be his Father and he shall be my Son' (2 Samuel 12,14). Here Paul uses language and imagery from the Jewish, royal-messianic tradition to explain his belief about Jesus' place in God's plan. At the same time, he goes far beyond Old Testament ideas in his account of how Jesus was constituted God's son by his resurrection from the dead. Labels: pauline year




















The central message of Christianity is of our God who died, suffered the pain of death as we suffer it, and rose triumphant over it. In the resurrection of Jesus we are given the promise that death is not the end of our existence. Through our life in Christ, who is now living, we too continue to live. All are alive in Christ, all the faithful will reign with him.Labels: pauline year









Labels: pauline year










Is there not a deep irony in the fact that God chose a Pharisee to be the apostle to the Gentiles? Paul was a Pharisee and a son of Pharisees (Acts 23:6). Pharisaism was a lay movement, centred on study of the Torah, the Law of Moses, which believed that to study the Law was itself obedience to the Law. He trained in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel, one of the great teachers of the time (Acts 22:3; 26:4). The Pharisees were a strict sect (Acts 22:3; 26:5), zealous in their service of God and of His word in the scriptures. We are indebted to Paul himself for this striking description: I was, he says, 'as to the law a Pharisee, as to zeal a persecutor of the Church, as to righteousness under the law faultless' (Philippians 3:5-6).Labels: pauline year
fr John Farrell OP presided at the Grotto Mass which was concelebrated by priests of the English Province, Bishop Joseph Vianney Fernando of Kandy (Sri Lanka) and clergy from Ireland and Sri Lanka.
Our new Pilgrimage Director, fr John O'Connor OP with pilgrims before the start of the International Mass.
The English Prior Provincial at the altar in the underground basilica of Lourdes.
One of our pilgrims was chosen to read an intercessory prayer during the International Mass, seen here on the big screen projected throughout the vast basilica space.
Daily Masses often took place in St Joseph's chapel.
fr Alistair Jones OP proclaims the Gospel during Mass, surrounded by three altar servers from our London parish.
One of the most moving occasions is the Mass during which the sacrament of anointing is administered to the sick. Here, fr Dermot Morrin lays his hands on the sick; in the foreground is his own mother.
fr John Farrell anoints one of our sick pilgrims with the oil of the sick. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of the priests the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them."
Vespers is also celebrated with Mass each day and Lauds is sung together every morning. Here, fr Bruno Clifton OP and fr Robert Gay OP lead Vespers in Lourdes.
On Sunday we made an excursion to Gavarnie and sang Vespers in the beautiful church of Luz.
What is the Old Covenant and why would St Paul, being the Apostle of the Gentiles, be interested in the Old Covenant in the first place? Paul was a Pharisee, a devout Jew who led his life with a firm belief in the Scriptures. Inspired by them the whole people of Israel saw themselves as the heir to the promise and the blessing given by God to Abraham and to his offspring, and this is what the Old Covenant means.Labels: pauline year

Labels: preaching
The whole of the Bible can be viewed as an epic of new creation. Very early on in the narrative God’s pristine creation is marred by the ugliness of sin and its effects. But although it has its ups and downs the story told throughout the Bible is one of redemption. The Lord makes something new out of the mess that human beings have made and re-establishes his covenantal relationship with them. This reaching by God to heal the wounds of sin and division reaches its climax in the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus where those who follow Christ are given a newly created dignity, bought with the price of his blood on the Cross, that of children of God, members of Christ’s mystical body. Labels: pauline year
Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross was proclaimed a patron saint of Europe in 1999. Along with Catherine of Siena and Bridget of Sweden, she was chosen by Pope John Paul II "to emphasize the important role that women have had and have in the ecclesial and civil history of the continent down to our days." Each of these women was "connected in a special way with the Continent's history" and St Teresa in particular was described by John Paul II as "a symbol of the dramas in Europe in our time".
Labels: preaching

Labels: pauline year