Soul Food for the Third Sunday of Advent, 15th December 2024
Today, we celebrate the third Sunday of Advent, known also as Gaudete Sunday. We light the pink candle on our Advent wreath, marking a time of joy and anticipation. In the first reading the imagination of the prophet Zephaniah goes into overdrive as he imagines God’s joy in his people. In the Gospel, the crowd asks John the Baptist, “Then what are we supposed to do?” His response invites us to shift our focus from self-centred concerns to...
Author:
- November 25, 2024
Soul Food for the Second Sunday of Advent , 8th December 2024
Every year we take our Grade 11 students on an academic tour to Johannesburg. Part of the tour is a visit to the Constitutional Court. It is built on the site of the Old Fort which was a notorious prison. Prisoners of conscience such as Nelson Mandela, Joe Slovo, Mahatma Gandhi, Fatima Meer and Albertina Sisulu were held there under brutal conditions. The court, which is tasked with protecting and upholding South Africa’s constitution, includes bricks from the Old Fort; the stones of oppression are now literally part of the mountain of liberation. On the great wooden doors of the court are carved the human rights that underpin the constitution.
Author:
-
Soul Food for Sunday 1st December 2024, the First Sunday of Advent
The calendar on the wall says 1st December, the first day of the last month of the calendar year. The supermarkets, billboards and television ads have long ago announced the beginning of the Christmas season. They tell us to spend more, to buy that perfect gift “while supplies last.”
Author:
- November 21, 2024
Soul Food for The Feast of Christ the King, 24th November 2024
Every diocese in Ireland must have at least one statue, church or school of Christ the King, maybe not as impressive as the statues in Rio de Janeiro or overlooking Lisbon – or even the one in the Glen of Aherlow! – but just as cherished. Often Christ has his arms outstretched in the form of a cross, but he can be standing with the globe in his hand or seated on a throne.
Author:
-