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Audio Divina

204 episodes - English - Latest episode: 23 days ago -

Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the upcoming Sunday's gospel, presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM.
The podcast offers a fantastic resource to those who are studying, or simply hunger for the gift that comes from listening and understanding the Word of God.
Presented in a medium easily accessible to all ages in the modern world, it is a perfect example of Don Bosco's teaching that ministry must be presented to the young in a realm and a method that they can understand.
New episodes will be released each Wednesday of the week reflection on the coming Sunday's gospel.

Produced and Published by the Salesians of Don Bosco - Australia-Pacific

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Episodes

A crucified King - Good Friday

March 25, 2024 23:00 - 28 minutes - 41.9 MB

Good Friday: A story of Jesus' lifting up and enthronement as King on the Cross. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Good Friday, Year B. Gospel Reading: John 18-19 This week’s readers are Carlos and Jacqui Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information visit: www.salesians.org.au/info/audiodivina

I give you an example - Holy Thursday

March 24, 2024 23:00 - 15 minutes - 24.9 MB

Holy Thursday: Jesus symbolically shows his limitless love for his own in his self-gift for “his own.” His loving care for others is the way all his disciples are called to follow. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Holy Thursday, Year B. Gospel Reading: John 13:1-15 This week’s readers are Paige and Michael Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more in...

My God, why have you abandoned me? - Passion Sunday

March 19, 2024 23:00 - 21 minutes - 32.4 MB

Passion Sunday: The passion account of the Gospel of Mark is full of violence and pain. But in his suffering he shares bread and wine with those who deny, betray and flee, and exercises his Messianic role on the Cross. He cannot “come down from the Cross.” That would be failure. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B. Gospel Reading: Mark 15...

The hour has come - Fifth Sunday of Lent

March 12, 2024 23:00 - 16 minutes - 25.2 MB

Fifth Sunday of Lent: With the arrival of non-Jews who wish to see Jesus, he recognises that the hour of his lifting up and glorification on the Cross has come. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B. Gospel Reading: John 12:20-33 This week’s readers are John and Rose Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information vis...

God so loved the world - Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 05, 2024 23:00 - 14 minutes - 23.2 MB

Fourth Sunday of Lent: The heart of the message of the Gospel of John: the reason why God sent his Son into the world: to love, and not to judge. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the 4th Sunday of Lent, Year B. Gospel Reading: John 3:14-21 This week’s readers are Laura and Trezur Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information visit: www.sal...

Destroy this Temple - Third Sunday of Lent

February 27, 2024 23:00 - 13 minutes - 20.7 MB

Third Sunday of Lent: John uses the traditional account of Jesus’ purifying presence in the Temple to place his whole ministry under the shadow of the Cross and resurrection. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Year B. Gospel Reading: John 2:13-22 This week’s readers are Steph and Michael Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For mo...

Listen to him! - Second Sunday of Lent

February 20, 2024 23:00 - 14 minutes - 22.8 MB

Second Sunday of Lent: As Jesus calls disciples, his transfiguration shows and tells who he is, and why all who claim to follow him must listen to him. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year B. Gospel Reading: Mark 9:2-10 This week’s readers are Dino and Julia Narrated and Produced by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information visit: www.sa...

He was with the wild beasts - First Sunday of Lent

February 13, 2024 23:00 - 16 minutes - 25.6 MB

First Sunday of Lent: Mark’s very brief account of Jesus’ temptation tells of his re-establishing God’s original created design. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Ash Wednesday. Gospel Reading: Mark 1:12-15 This week’s readers are Bridie and Declan Narrated and mixed by Br Jeff Miller SDB For more information visit: www.salesians.org.au/info/audiodivina www...

Reward from your Father in Heaven - Ash Wednesday, Year B

February 11, 2024 23:00 - 15 minutes - 23.1 MB

Ash Wednesday: Jesus instructs his disciples to focus upon the God who makes sense of life and love, rather than themselves and their glory. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Ash Wednesday.

"If you want to... Of course I want to!" - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

February 06, 2024 23:00 - 11 minutes - 16.4 MB

"If you want to... Of course I want to!" The opening cycle of Jesus' miracles comes to a close in this encounter with a leper, who is ostracised from society and regarded as ritually impure. The sick man recognises Jesus' authority, convinced that Jesus can heal him. Jesus' response breaks through the evil of ill-health and of man-made taboos. Jesus does not want to be known simply as the local miracle worker from Capernaum - he came to break down divisions, to bring joy, health, goodn...

The Kingdom of God Must Go Elsewhere - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

January 30, 2024 22:00 - 13 minutes - 18.3 MB

The Kingdom of God Must Go Elsewhere: Jesus remains closely associated with the town of Capernaum as the goodness and healing of the Kingdom of God that comes in his words and deeds impact upon Simon Peter's mother-in-law. Taking her by the hand, and allowing her to serve a meal not only restores her to health, but breaks through the many socially determined taboos associated with women at that time. Miracles multiply, and those possessed by demons are freed. Jesus' authority sweeps al...

An Authoritative Teaching That is New - 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

January 23, 2024 23:00 - 13 minutes - 18.6 MB

An Authoritative Teaching That is New: No longer alone, Jesus teaches in the Synagogue in Capernaum. All wonder at the newness and authority of his teaching. Then he teaches in a different way. He overcomes the presence of evil in the demon possessed man, reducing the demon to silence, even though the demon knows that Jesus is "the Christ of God." The people recognise that this is also a "new teaching." Jesus shows that he is bringing in the Kingdom of God by overcoming the power of evil m...

A Vocation that Costs no Less than Everything - 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

January 16, 2024 23:00 - 13 minutes - 18 MB

A Vocation that Costs no Less than Everything: Bursting onto the scene alone, Jesus announces that the Kingdom of God is at hand. His first action is to call others to follow him. As he journeys towards a destiny that only God can determine, he asks that others join him as followers. They must come after him. Leaving all that their peers would regard as the sign of their great success as fishermen at the Lake of Galilee, they will be associated with Jesus in bringing the Word of God and the ...

What is it that you expect from Jesus? - 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

January 09, 2024 23:00 - 12 minutes - 18 MB

What is it that You Expect from Jesus?: Like all the Gospels, John opens with the call of the first disciples. The Baptist points away from himself, directing his disciples to the Lamb of God. The first disciples seek him out, and he asks them what they are looking for in him. They have their own answers and expectations. They are not wrong, but they still have a long way to go in their journey as disciples. Jesus will not be the Messiah they expect, but the one who has come to do the will...

My Son, the Beloved - The Baptism of the Lord, Year B

January 03, 2024 23:00 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MB

My Son The Beloved: The Baptism of Jesus leads us from our celebration of the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus, to reflection upon the ministry among us that lies ahead of him. The Baptist introduces Jesus, who has not yet appeared in the story, as the more powerful one who baptises in the Spirit. At the baptism the heavens open and a voice announces who Jesus is. The divine communicates with the human: Jesus is the beloved Son of God. Someone from God will exercise his messianic mi...

A Child Reveals God to the World - The Epiphany of the Lord, Year B

January 02, 2024 23:00 - 15 minutes - 21.5 MB

A Child Reveals God to the World: Within the Christmas cycle we meet the wise men from the East who are not Jews but know that a King has been born. Their obedient journey brings them to Jerusalem, where they learn that the Scripture says the child will be born in Bethlehem. The wise men represent the world outside Israel who enter God's design, recognise and honour the newborn King. Obedience to the ways of God leads to the revelation of God to the whole world. Presented by world-renowne...

Unshakable Trust in the Ways of God - The Holy Family, Year B

December 26, 2023 22:00 - 14 minutes - 20.1 MB

Unshakable Trust in the Ways of God: Mary and Joseph respond without question to the Law of Israel as they present their first-born in the Temple. They are told that their child brings Israel's story to a turning point, bringing salvation to Israel and all other nations. However, suffering lies ahead. A sword will pierce Mary's heart, and Jesus' life and ministry will lead to the rise and fall of many in Israel. This family is not able to understand what all this might mean, but they do ...

The Word Became Flesh - Christmas Day Year B

December 25, 2023 23:56 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MB

The Word became Flesh: The Prologue to the Gospel of John is among the most profound passages in the Bible. It tells of the pre-existent union of love between God and the Word, the Word's saving gifts of light and life, and our ambiguous response. But the Word is Jesus Christ who dwelt among us, showing us the wonderful presence of God's saving truth. Those who accept that truth become children of God. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, A...

Swaddling Cloths and a Manger on the Road - Christmas Night, Year B

December 25, 2023 23:50 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MB

Swaddling cloths and a manger on the road: Luke's account of a birth of Jesus, as with the appearance of John the Baptist, is fixed in a given time and place. But it is surrounded by the symbols of swaddling cloths, only used for a king, a manger, from which Israel should be nourished, recognition by the simplest of people, the Shepherds, and the heavenly proclamation of God's glory. Jesus is born on a journey, for a journey. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Fran...

Accepting the Word of God - 4th Sunday of Advent, Year B

December 25, 2023 23:00 - 14 minutes - 20.1 MB

Accepting the Word of God:  The final Sunday of Advent points toward Christmas Day with a Gospel reflection on the Annunciation to Mary of Nazareth. One of the most beloved Christian images of Mary, we need to recognise that she struggles to accept what God is asking of her. In the first moment she is dumbfounded, wondering what this might mean. Then she asks a perfectly logical question - how can this be? Only when she recognises God's active presence, making the impossible take place, ...

I am not the Christ - 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year B

December 12, 2023 23:00 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MB

I am not the Christ:  The Roman liturgy devotes two Sundays to the figure of John the Baptist to help us prepare for Christmas. In the Gospel of John he is presented as being "sent by God", the only character in the Gospel who has this status and thus renders authentic witness to Jesus. He does it negatively, by refusing to accept the messianic roles that the leaders of Israel would like to pin on him: the Christ, Elijah, the Prophet. He insists: "I am not"! In this way he prepares for...

The Witness of John the Baptist - 2nd Sunday of Advent, Year B

December 05, 2023 23:00 - 14 minutes - 20 MB

The Witness of John the Baptist:  The opening page of the Gospel of Mark presents two amazing witnesses to the coming of Jesus. First of all, the voice of God calls out, through the prophecy of Isaiah, promising someone who will prepare the way of the Lord. God is coming to us in "the Lord," and his messenger will go before him. The second witness is John the Baptist who also uses images and language to tell us that the divine is entering our story: the mightier one, someone who will b...

The Two Advents of Jesus - 1st Sunday of Advent, Year B

November 28, 2023 23:00 - 12 minutes - 17.7 MB

The Two Advents of Jesus:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the end of Jesus' ministry in the Gospel of Mark,  repeating much of what we encountered in the final weeks of our reflections on Matthew. Advent opens with a parable about a Master who leaves his servants to administer his household while he is away. The servants know their Master as they wait for his return. Advent is about the two comings of Jesus. He is already among us because of the incarnation, the coming we celebrate ...

Recognising Jesus in the Least of his Brethren - Christ the King, Year A

November 21, 2023 23:00 - 16 minutes - 22.6 MB

Recognising Jesus in the Least of his Brethren:  Closing our year of reflection upon the Gospel of Matthew, we hear of Jesus’ Lordship over the good and the evil. In a remarkable account, we are told that we will not be judged by our achievements but by the way we have treated the least of the brethren of Jesus – those who are in most need. The parable of the talents that we reflected on last week told us that we have been greatly gifted and our final encounter with the Word of God fro...

Living the In-Between-Time - 33rd Sunday of the Year, Year A

November 14, 2023 23:00 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MB

Living the In-Between-Time :  Jesus instructs us on the seriousness of our commitment to the in-between-time. The Master leaves for a distant land and gives his servants a large sum of money. Some use it well but one of them digs a hole and hides it, out of fear of the Master. God showers abundant gifts upon us and we are to receive them gladly, using them as we make our contribution to the world and society. We are not to dig a hole to hide our gifts, waiting for the return of an angr...

The Gift of the Now and the Promise of the Not Yet - Thirty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A

November 08, 2023 10:57 - 14 minutes - 20.5 MB

The Gift of the Now and the Promise of the Not Yet: As Jesus' life-story comes to an end, he focusses his attention upon the end of all history, and God's final judgment. With the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, he instructs on the importance of both our current Christian experience, and the end-time that lies in the future. The parable presents the virgins who will welcome the bridegroom and his bride with lighted lamps. Some are not prepared for a possible delay and are subseq...

A Program for Holiness - All Saints Day, Year A

October 31, 2023 23:00 - 13 minutes - 18.1 MB

A Program for Holiness: We pause our reading of the final pages of Matthew to go back to the beginning of Jesus' ministry in his sermon on the mount, where a new and perfect Moses gives us a new and perfect Law. We celebrate the "saints," those who have not been raised to the altars, but whom we know in our hearts are "saints," by recalling the gifts God gives us that make us holy. This program for holiness places the Christian somewhat at odds with a secular world, but there is much t...

The greatest commandment - 30th Sunday of the Year, Year A

October 25, 2023 13:18 - 13 minutes - 19.4 MB

The greatest commandment: Bringing the conflict between Jesus and the leaders of Israel to an end, Jesus astounds them as they attempt to trap him in a debate over the most important law in Israel. He responds by taking them back to their Law, reminding them that Moses instructed that that they must love God (Deuteronomy 6) and love their neighbour (Leviticus 6). These laws have always been with them. But for the first time in history, Jesus brings them together. To love God calls for love o...

Give to God what belongs to God - 29th Sunday of the Year, Year A

October 17, 2023 22:02 - 13 minutes - 18.9 MB

Give to God what belongs to God: The leaders of Israel take the initiative, sending representatives of the Pharisees and some Herodians to trap Jesus. Righteous Religion - the Pharisees - and political convenience - the Herodians - join to pose a question where whatever Jesus answers will be wrong. He will support the Roman tax, and thus offend the Pharisees, or reject it, and thus offend the Herodians. But he asks them for a coin that bears the effigy of Caesar. There are matters that belon...

Invitation to a wedding feast - 28th Sunday of the Year, Year A

October 11, 2023 03:27 - 15 minutes - 21.7 MB

Invitation to a wedding feast: Through the parable of the wedding feast, Jesus continues his questioning of Israel's leadership. But this is no ordinary wedding. It is the wedding feast the king is giving for his son. Continuing the theme of last week's parable, the vineyard becomes a wedding feast. Those invited to the feast reject and even murder those who invite them to the wedding. The king slays them, and turns elsewhere: the good and the bad are invited from the highways and the byways...

The challenge of being a disciple of the Son of Man - Twenty-Second Sunday of the Year, Year A

August 30, 2023 00:47 - 14 minutes - 20.1 MB

The challenge of being a disciple of the Son of Man: The faith-filled Peter, the rock upon whom the Church is built, today becomes another rock: a stone, a stumbling block. Jesus must overcome this as he journeys to death and resurrection in Jerusalem. Peter is happy that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. But he has not accepted all the implications of Jesus' being the Son of Man. The disciple must follow Jesus, not tell him what to do. Jesus turns to all disciples, instruct...

The Gift of True Faith in Jesus - Twenty-First Sunday of the Year, Year A

August 22, 2023 23:55 - 14 minutes - 21.2 MB

The gift of true faith in Jesus: We have seen Peter's little faith in the storm. Today he responds well - on behalf of all believing disciples - to Jesus' question, "Who do you say that I am?" But his confession that Jesus is the Son of Man, the Christ, the Son of God - a faith that we all share - is not something he has arrived at through his own virtue and intelligence. It has been given to him by God. He is blessed because he is open to the reception of that gift. Openness to the truth ab...

Scraps from the Master's Table - 20th Sunday of the Year, Year A

August 16, 2023 00:19 - 14 minutes - 20.9 MB

Scraps from the Master's Table: Jesus has fed Israel from his table. But they prefer their own ways to his gifts. A Canaanite woman highlights their weakness, and point out the way of true faith to all of us. Aware that she brings nothing to the encounter with Jesus, all she asks is that he fills her emptiness with scraps from the Master's table. Her faith exceeds anything he has met in Israel, and brings healing to her daughter. She teaches us to bring our nothingness to Jesus that we might...

Jesus' presence to those of little faith - 19th Sunday of the Year, Year A

August 09, 2023 00:05 - 14 minutes - 21.1 MB

Jesus' presence to those of little faith: One of the most evocative Gospel stories follows immediately upon the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Jesus, after a moment with his Father, alone on the mountain, comes out of the darkness to his disciples who struggle with the stormy sea but they do not recognise him.After he reveals himself, Peter responds to his summons to come across the sea, but he falters. Peter has faith, but only a little. He needs to be held and saved by Jesus, who i...

Treasures both old and new - 17th Sunday of the Year, Year A

July 26, 2023 02:44 - 14 minutes - 20.8 MB

Treasures both old and new: Jesus has spoken of the inevitable victory of the Kingdom, and the fact that it is gathered from a mixed bag of believers and non-believers. Today Jesus pauses to reflect upon the wonder of the Kingdom but we must not think the Kingdom is a treasure or a pearl. Jesus says we should be prepared to give all we have and can do in order to possess it. But we don't, so he adds the further parable about the dragnet, containing a good and a useless catch. Where do we fit...

Growth in the midst of challenges - 16th Sunday of the Year, Year A

July 19, 2023 00:01 - 17 minutes - 24.1 MB

Growth in the midst of challenges: Jesus continues to teach in parables, so that he might unveil "what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." The presence of God's Kingdom and the presence of evil must always co-exist in our society. What was tiny grows into a great tree, a pinch of yeast produces a beautiful loaf of bread. We must accept that Christian lives have always lived in a mixed situation. Ultimate trust must be placed in the God and Father of Jesus. The wheat and the d...

Seed is sown. Will it bear fruit? - 15th Sunday of the Year, Year A

July 12, 2023 00:22 - 18 minutes - 26.6 MB

Seed is sown. Will it bear fruit?: Jesus begins to tell a series of parables that will be received by some and rejected by others. The leaders of Israel remain "outside" the Kingdom because their hearts are hardened and yet, the seed is sown, and whatever its reception, an abundant harvest will follow. The growth and spread of the Kingdom cannot be stopped. Turning to his disciples, he explains that the seed is also the word that must be accepted joyfully and fruitfully. God's word surrounds...

The Necessary Yoke and Burden - 14th Sunday of the Year - Year A

July 05, 2023 01:30 - 13 minutes - 19.2 MB

The necessary yoke and burden: As the Gospel of Matthew moves away from the description of Jesus as a preacher and a healer, he will begin to encounter opposition. Before that begins, we are told that Jesus is so crucial because only He can make God known to those who are open and receptive to his teaching. Once members of his family, we must take on the family discipline: a yoke and a burden that is unlike any other. The burdens that will come our way as followers of Jesus must be borne, bu...

The costs and rewards of discipleship - 13th Sunday of the Year - Year A

June 28, 2023 00:44 - 12 minutes - 18.3 MB

The costs and rewards of discipleship: Today's Gospel is dominated by the expression "anyone." That means all of us! We are first challenged by need to put the love of Jesus Christ before all loves, without playing down the centrality of love in our families and elsewhere. Then we are told that there is only one way to find true life, and that is by giving it away. The Gospel closes with examples of this self-gift, welcoming others and helping those in need. When we do these, we welcome no l...

Do not be afraid - Twelfth Sunday of the Year

June 21, 2023 04:14 - 14 minutes - 21.3 MB

Do not be afraid: Sent out as missionaries of Jesus, he instructs us that we must not fear. There will be difficulties, but we are to trust in God, who cares for the smallest and simplest creature. But we must be prepared to courageously witness to Jesus in society. He will then speak up for us when we come to meet our heavenly Father. Sisters and brothers of Jesus, we must show our preparedness to be loyal to him and to his word, so that he might stand by us before his - and our - Father. ...

To be Missionaries of Jesus

June 14, 2023 02:13 - 14 minutes - 19.9 MB

To be Missionaries of Jesus: After a long story of Jesus as a teacher on the mountain (Matt 5-17) and a worker of miracles for the less fortunate (Matt 8-9), Jesus turns to his disciples and commissions them to be missionaries as he is a missionary: dependent upon him, receiving without charge and giving without charge. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for the eleventh Sun...

We are the eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ - Body and Blood of Christ

June 07, 2023 02:56 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MB

We are the eucharistic presence of Jesus Christ: All of the Gospels tell of Jesus' multiplication of the loaves and fish by the Lake of Galilee. John reports Jesus' words to his audience who cannot accept that his gift of bread is greater than the gift of manna, a body broken and blood spilt for the life of the world. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for Body and Blood of ...

The oneness that Love creates - Trinity Sunday

May 31, 2023 01:00 - 13 minutes - 20 MB

The oneness that Love creates: This brief Gospel is one of the most famous texts from the Bible. Behind these few famous words of Jesus lies the secret of what we call the mystery of the Trinity. Try as we may, and many have tried over the centuries, the inner workings of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are not known to us. We do know that God the Father so loved the world that he sent his Son . We know that the Son, in order to make that love known, gave himself unconditionally to t...

The gift of the Spirit puts and end to fear - Pentecost Sunday

May 24, 2023 01:00 - 13 minutes - 19.4 MB

The gift of the Spirit puts and end to fear: In the Gospel of John's account of the encounter between the risen Jesus and his disciples, they gather again in the upper room. Before he suffered and died he promised them that he would give them the Holy Spirit. After his resurrection, he comes to them, but they are gathered in fear, the doors firmly locked. Jesus sets them free. The gift of the Spirit brings joy, courage, freedom to be missionaries of God and Jesus Christ, and the authority to...

I will be with you always!

May 17, 2023 01:44 - 14 minutes - 20.7 MB

I will be with you always! The celebration of the Ascension of the Lord marks the end of an era. Jesus is no longer with us. The Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles tell of a departure of Jesus through an ascension. But the Gospel of Matthew reads this period between Jesus' presence and his final return differently: It will be a time when he will be with us. He is Lord of all, calling all nations into a community of the baptised, attempting to observe everything that Jesus has taught...

To love Jesus and to keep the commandment of love

May 10, 2023 02:00 - 13 minutes - 19.8 MB

To love Jesus and to keep the commandment of love: Anyone who claims to love Jesus must live according to his commandments. We all hope to love Jesus, but wonder if we can keep the commandments. But we are not alone. As Jesus was the "first Advocate," teaching and showing us what love is all about, his return to the Father will lead to the gift of "another Paraclete who will equally journey with us as we attempt to live the single commandment that lies at the heart of all the commandments: "...

I am the way, the truth, and the life - 5th Sunday of Easter

May 03, 2023 01:00 - 15 minutes - 22.6 MB

I am the way, the truth, and the life: Last week, we heard Jesus present himself as "the gate," and now we hear why - he is the way, the truth, and the life. On the night before he died he delivers a long discourse to the disciples. He is about to leave them, and they must continue on in the world in his absence, calling on them to have faith so that they might continue his "way" in the world, until such time that he returns. Jesus points out, however, that we cannot simply go on doing what ...

I am the gate!

April 26, 2023 01:00 - 14 minutes - 20.5 MB

I am the gate!: The tenth chapter of the Gospel of John eventually identifies Jesus as the Good Shepherd, as do other passages in the Gospels (see John 10:11-18; Luke 15:3-7; Matthew 18:12-14). However, the opening ten verses to John 10 that we use in the Liturgy today do not identify Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He is presented as the gate. This is surprising, but the Gospel passage on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, first of all insists that all who wish to nourish and guide God's people must d...

From Jerusalem to Emmaus, and back again!

April 19, 2023 01:00 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MB

From Jerusalem to Emmaus, and back again!: For Luke, the centre-point of God's saving presence among us is Jerusalem. There all the Paschal events take place. There the community will begin. But two disillusioned disciples have had enough. They walk away from Jerusalem. The risen Jesus sets out to journey with them. They know everything, but they do not see Jesus. By explaining the Scriptures and breaking bread with these weak disciples, Jesus brings them back to the home they should never h...

Blessed are Those Who do not See, Yet Believe

April 12, 2023 01:00 - 17 minutes - 24.4 MB

Blessed are those who do not see, yet believe: Today’s reading focuses upon the risen Jesus’ gift of peace to his frightened disciples. Most importantly, it blesses all subsequent disciples who, unlike the first disciples and Thomas, believe without seeing. John wrote his Gospel for these subsequent disciples. Presented by world-renowned biblical scholar Rev. Professor Francis J. Moloney SDB AM, Audio Divina, is a Lectio-Divina styled reflection on the gospel for 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year...