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Reflections on John 1:35-39

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Reflections on John 1:35-39 Read the text over a few times and reflect on the questions below………………… " The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.[a]   John the Baptist In John’s Gospel – the Baptist is a somewhat enigmatic figure. The contours of his life, his message and his ministry are perhaps given more definition by Matthew, Mark and Luke. But what is important, in John’s Gospel, is that He points the way to Christ. His task, his noble task, is to guide others to Christ. Reflect on our text - its J
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Margaret Carswell Funeral Homily This morning we gather as a family of faith to celebrate the Requiem Mass of Margaret , our dear sister in Christ.  A couple of days after Margaret passed from this life to eternity, Pope Francis put out a document to the entire Church. The document was entitled 'Christus Vivit' - Christ. Although in many ways the document is aimed primarily at young people, it speaks to all of us who are on the journey of faith. One of the ideas, Francis explores in that book is the idea or notion of beauty. The Pope asks what does it mean to be beautiful? Whee we do encounter beauty where encounter it? This may sound a bit abstract but the Pope is making an important point. He exhorts young people not to confuse beauty with appearances.  For him beauty isn't encountered in the pages of a magazine or in a picture on social media. Beauty is something more. For Pope Francis there is beauty  in the laborer who returns home grimy and unkempt, bu
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I remember watching Mastermind as a kid and Magnus Magnuson posed to a contestant the following question - 'in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us the beattitudes on the Mount...where does He give them in Luke'. Ther answer is, as we've just heard, that in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talks about the 'Beattitudes' - the values of God's Kingdom - not on a mountain but on the plain, on a piece of level ground. The question becomes why is there this difference? Why in Matthew does Jesus talk about the Beattitudes on the mountain and Luke place this episode on a piece of level of ground? It's not a mistake or a misunderstanding - something deeper is going on here. In the Scriptures, the Mountain is the place of encounter between God and humanity. It's the place where people talk to God, discern His will, receive his instruction and access His laws. The plain, the field, the level ground - that's different. That's the place where the dramas of hum
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