Category: Reflections

Epiphany: The showing forth of Christ

by Fr Christopher Maseko

The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha – where he was crucified – even in Bethlehem, where he was born. For to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy as first as the cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the evening and morning of the same day. As even his birth is his death, so every action and passage that manifests Christ to us is his birth, for Epiphany is manifestation. Every manifestation of Christ to the world, to the Church, to a particular soul is an Epiphany, a Christmas day.

Continue reading “Epiphany: The showing forth of Christ” →

World day of Peace 2019

Good Politics is at the Service of Peace
by Pope Francis

Pope Francis © Vatican Media

1. “Peace be to this house!”
In sending his disciples forth on mission, Jesus told them: “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you” (Lk 10:5-6).

Bringing peace is central to the mission of Christ’s disciples. That peace is offered to all those men and women who long for peace amid the tragedies and violence that mark human history.[1] The “house” of which Jesus speaks is every family, community, country and continent, in all their diversity and history. It is first and foremost each individual person, without distinction or discrimination. But it is also our “common home”: the world in which God has placed us and which we are called to care for and cultivate.

So let this be my greeting at the beginning of the New Year: “Peace be to this house!” Continue reading “World day of Peace 2019” →

Christmas’ day


“The Word was with God and is God”
by Fr Mark James OP

Today Jesus Christ is born. We rejoice and are glad. We celebrate with enormous Christmas lunches. On this day, we come together as family and celebrate with special Christmas lunches. It is a time to be festive and give one another gifts. The Prince of peace is born. However, when we look around us very little seems to have changed. The poor are still poor, many of the rich are still greedy and the powerful continue to oppress. Evil still abounds in the world and sin still dominates our lives. What does it mean that Christ is born today? Continue reading “Christmas’ day” →

Reflection for the third Sunday of Advent

by Fr Mark James OP

God will dance with shouts of joy for you 

Weddings are joyful occasions. It is no wonder that Jesus used the image of the wedding banquet as a sign for the coming reign of God. Weddings are occasions for joy and dancing. The wedding feast summed up for Jesus the God we worship. In his life and ministry, Jesus is the bringer of that joy, happiness and peace. He embodied good news. In the Gospel today, we see John the Baptist announcing the good news of the coming Messiah. John’s whole life was dedicated to preparing people for new life. John preached that it wasn’t enough just to belong to the people of Israel through the circumcision of the flesh but what was needed was circumcision of the heart too. People needed to undergo a personal change of heart and mind and a change in the way that they relate to other people if they were to experience the coming Messiah. For this reason, he emphasised repentance and conversion. Continue reading “Reflection for the third Sunday of Advent” →

Priests are chosen from among men

by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale OMI 

Samuel the Prophet of God
The story of the calling of Samuel by God is contrasted with the account of the sons of Eli who did not know God, who did not care about God. Eli’s sons are said to have been corrupt and greedy for they helped themselves to meat whilst it was cooking in the pot. (Corruption did not start in South Africa. It has a long history). Samuel on the other hand was called by God and he grew up in the presence of the Lord (2.22). God “let none of his words fall to the ground”. Every word he uttered became effective; every prophecy he made was fulfilled. This enhanced the status of Samuel as a prophet of God, as a man of God. Continue reading “Priests are chosen from among men” →

December 2018: In the Service of the Transmission of Faith

Small Group

by Fr Chris Chatteris SJ

Pope’s Intention, December 2018

In the Service of the Transmission of Faith.

That people, who are involved in the service and transmission of faith, may find, in their dialogue with culture, a language suited to the conditions of the present time.

‘In the beginning was the Word’. John the theologian has left us with a vision of God who is both love and logos, a God who is loving and intelligible and who desires to communicate with us. This is God’s nature – a loving, communicating Trinity of persons. That is why we human beings can make some sense of God. Because we are creatures of a loving self-communicating God, and we therefore reflect our Creator (though in an extremely limited fashion), God makes sense to us both on the emotional (loving) and intellectual (thinking) level. Continue reading “December 2018: In the Service of the Transmission of Faith” →

Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent

by Fr Mark James OP

Second Sunday of Advent – “Prepare a way for the Lord” 

Last week I went to visit a Deaf family near Luve. Driving back, I was conscious of all the roadworks happening on the road from Manzini to the King Mswati III airport. I noticed that modern roadworks and design follow the Biblical injunctions that are present in today’s first reading and Gospel where Baruch (5:8) says that the day is coming when the Lord God will level the mountains and raise the valleys and make the ground level and the road smooth and straight for the people of Israel. Continue reading “Reflection for the Second Sunday of Advent” →