Welcome
Welcome to St Bede Catholic Church
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
his clothing became dazzling white...
On the second Sunday of Lent, we move from Jesus’ retreat to the
wilderness and temptations by the devil to the glory shown in
Jesus’ Transfiguration. The context for the transfiguration story is
similar to the stories in Matthew and Mark. The transfiguration
happens after the confession of Peter that Jesus is
the Messiah and Jesus’ prediction about his passion. The
placement of the transfiguration story close to Peter’s confession
and Jesus’ prediction encourage us to examine the transfiguration
in the larger context of the Paschal Mystery. The transfiguration
takes place on a mountain in the presence of just three of Jesus’
disciples, Peter, James and John. These are among the first
disciples Jesus called in Luke’s gospel. Only Luke’s gospel,
which often describes Jesus at prayer, indicates that Jesus was
praying when his appearance changed to bright white. The three
disciples were sleeping while Jesus prayed. They will be sleeping
again as Jesus will be praying in the Garden of Gethsemane before
his passion and death. On witnessing Jesus’ transfiguration and
seeing Jesus with Elijiah and Moses, Peter offers to construct three
tents for them. Perhaps Peter’s offer was made in confusion having
just awoken. We also notice that Peter reverted from his earlier
confession that Jesus is the Messiah, calling Jesus’ “master” instead.
As if in reply to Peter, a voice from heaven affirms Jesus as God’s
Son and commands that the disciples listen to him. This voice from
heaven recalls the voice that was heard at Jesus’ baptism which, in
Luke’s gospel, spoke directly to Jesus as God’s Son. In his
transfiguration, we see an anticipation of the glory of Jesus’
Resurrection. In each of the reports of the transfiguration, the
disciples keep secret what they have seen. Not until they also
witness his passion and death will they understand Jesus’ transfiguration. We
hear this story of Jesus’ transfiguration early in Lent, but we have
the benefit of hindsight. In our hearing of it, we anticipate Jesus’
transfiguration even as we prepare to remember Jesus’ passion and death.
God bless you all. Fr. Henry
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In the twelfth year of his pontificate, Pope Francis marked several key events for the Catholic Church, during which he turned 88 years old.
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Cardinal Hollerich: Restoring a morality of peace
The Archbishop of Luxembourg and former president of COMECE, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, reflects on what he describes as the "decline in moral awareness that seems to pervade the leaders of much of the world" in light of the erosion of the "taboo on war" and the rampant push for an arms race.
Churches in Ireland and Poland express solidarity with abuse victims and survivors
Churches in Ireland and Poland express solidarity with abuse victims and survivors
Irish and Polish dioceses commemorate the Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Abuse on the first Friday of Lent, which is March 7 this year.
In 2016, the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors established a Universal Day of Prayer for Survivors and Victims of Sexual Abuse. In the press release announcing its creation, the Commission explained that a “survivor of clerical child sexual abuse made the proposal of a Day of Prayer.”
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