Palm Sunday– a day of joy, celebration, and praise as Jesus is welcomed into Jerusalem. The anticipation and excitement would have been amazing. They had recently witnessed Jesus performing miracles—healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, calming storms, and teaching with an authority they had never seen before.

Now, they were waiting for their new King.

Are you like me and find the story of Lazarus frustrating? For those of us who have lost family members or loved ones, everything in us - our prayers, dreams, desires, plans, pleas, and cries - longs for Jesus to bring our loved ones back to life, just like he did with Lazarus. Or perhaps you feel like Martha, crying out to Jesus to change a particular situation, to heal a hurt/pain, mend a broken relationship or to lift you from despair.

As our Lenten journey continues, the readings are intensifying towards the crescendo of Holy Week where Jesus will be arrested and crucified for his claim to be the Messiah. In today’s Gospel, we see the chaos and confusion of the people who are unsure whether to believe Jesus’ claims and follow the way he is teaching.

If you had to give your only child to someone else to bring up, what kind of qualities would you be looking for in the person of your choice?  Today’s gospel describes Joseph as a man of honour, but the story it tells is perhaps a more potent illustration of why God’s choice fell on Joseph. 

While reflecting on today’s Gospel, I could not help but think of the life story of one of my sisters in our community before she joined us. She believed she was living her best life—surrounded by great friends, completed her degree, and had a boyfriend. However, her perspective began to shift when she attended a Catholic event. There, she and her friends engaged in a deep conversation with a priest, asking many questions about faith and Church teachings.

One of the things about living a radical vow of poverty is that it’s not uncommon that I find myself in a position where I have to beg.  I find it a deeply humbling and usually uncomfortable experience to be in a position where I know that there is no real reason for the other person to help me except for the generosity of their own heart.

Well, well, well, (pun intended)—isn’t our God an adventurous God? In Week One, we were led into the desert with Jesus. Week Two, we took to the mountains with Peter, James, and John to encounter the transfigured Christ. This week we meet Jesus and the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well.

You’ve probably seen those little water or snow globes often found in souvenir shops. Inside is a serene scene—a cosy cabin, a snowy landscape, or a sparkling city. When you shake the globe, a flurry of glitter swirls around, creating a moment of wonder that draws you in, as if inviting you to step inside and escape life’s chaos.

At the beginning of this year, Pope Francis declared 2024 to be a year of prayer in preparation for the year of Jubilee (2025). The Holy Father explained that the Year of Prayer is dedicated “to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer - prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, prayer in the world.”

As breakfast finishes after the miraculous catch of 153 fish, Jesus asks Peter, ‘Do you love me?’ In fact, as the story continues, we learn that Jesus asked Peter this question three times. He then invites Peter to ‘feed my sheep’. Many scholars suggest this happens three times to mirror Peter’s three-fold denial during Jesus’ passion. It helps Peter to know he is forgiven and loved and helps him to look forward to where he is now being called.

Scripture does not tell us why Peter decided to go fishing not long after Jesus’ resurrection. Did he know it to be an activity which would enable him to think, process and ponder what had happened in recent days? Was he wanting to get in touch with the many experiences he had with Jesus, even miraculous encounters on the very lake where he was now out fishing? How was he feeling when he spent a long night out and caught nothing?

Today’s blog is a reflection written from the point of view of the disciple who was walking with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. I pray it helps you to enter into the story.

Have you ever gone long distance walking? Most people have at some stage in their lives, and it was something I enjoyed doing, even though it was the primary means of travel anyway. Somehow it helped to clear my head, so I would go when I was worried, stressed, confused, sad. I would walk to all kinds of places, along clearly defined paths and through scrubland, through desert like places where the dust would coat my feet, and along the shore where the gentle waves would cool me after a long day, over rocks, up mountains, through tall grass, – you name it, and it is likely to be territory that I have traversed.

A beautiful resurrection story worth reflecting on during Eastertide is that of Mary Magdalene (John 20:11-18). In this reflection, Mel shares what the experience of Jesus calling her by name could have been like. Have a read, and ponder with Jesus how he calls you to respond.

If I told you there in Japan, they grow square watermelons because they will stack better in the shops, would you believe me, or would you be filled with doubt? Leave that one in the back of your mind for a moment, and come with me on a journey with Thomas, commonly referred to as the doubter.

There’s a story told about yet another flight cancellation where a single member of staff was left rebooking a long line of inconvenienced travellers when one angry passenger pushed to the front of the line, insisting that he be served immediately, and given a first-class seat on the next flight out. The staffer replied, “I am sorry sir! I’ll be happy to try to help you, but you’ll have to take your place in the line, and I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

Do you remember what it was like to learn to share? That grudging allowing of someone else to have or use a toy that you wanted? Do you remember how excruciating it felt? Like it was killing you on the inside?

When I was sixteen, I participated in the local cathedral passion play. As there are never enough boys wanting to be part of such things, I was given the role of St Peter. At the second-last rehearsal, we were given our costumes, and I was somewhat disappointed to find that mine was a purple sheet folded in half with a slit for my head and two seams up the sides to create arm-holes. Surely St Peter deserved something better!

I’ve stopped counting the number of engaged couples who have moaned to me about the all-consuming nature of planning a wedding. Their desire is to commit their lives to one another, not to host a huge event! But for almost the entirety of their engagement, the relationship is subsumed by details that seem far away from the heart of what they are doing: invitations, menus, clothes, decorations…

The musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Matilda begins with a Tim Minchin song: “My mummy says I’m a miracle.  My daddy says, I'm his special little guy.  I am a princess, I am a prince.  Mum says I'm an angel sent down from the sky.” The song lyrics form an ironic contrast with the story of Matilda, an unwanted child whose remarkable intelligence is not just ignored, but sneered upon by her parents.

Even if you try, we know all too well it’s kinda hard to ignore global superstar Taylor Swift right now. As the one most listened to female artist worldwide and an influential voice for the young (and not only the young) it’s worth asking the question whether as Christians we should be listening. This blog will dive headlong into why Taylor’s mastermind has earned her a unique place in this world and why I should have my eyes open to this if Jesus is the real king of my heart.