You may have seen a movie in which a woman is in childbirth. Not much is shown, but we hear things: the mother groaning and gasping in labour, midwives offering encouragement, sounds of bystanders anxious, worried, apprehensive. And then there is one sound that resolves all the tension and brings it to a happy ending: the cry of the newborn baby. If the baby is crying, then the baby is breathing, and has thus made the absolutely essential first step to adjusting to life ou
Today’s feast marks a watershed moment in the history of salvation. It marks an end and a beginning. It is like a hinge on which turns God’s plan of salvation for humanity. We see this in the readings. In the Gospel, we heard the last words of Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, just before his Ascension. And in the First Reading, we heard the first words of the Acts of the Apostles, and the last words of Jesus as he ascended. So, the Ascension is like a hinge which connects the minis
Jesus is going away. In today’s Gospel, he is going towards his death on the Cross. In the liturgical year, he is ascending back to heaven to take his seat at the Father’s right hand. Jesus says that he is going to send his disciples the Holy Spirit so as not to leave them orphans. But the Holy Spirit is not given instead of Jesus, a substitute to make up for his absence. Jesus himself will return to his disciples through the gift of the Holy Spirit. His disciples will know J
From the beginning, St Dominic’s friars have set about preaching with the mind of the Church. Our homilies are offered here for the good of their readers and the support of homilists everywhere.
