Send us a text Today’s Gospel from Mark describe a man asking what must I do to inherit eternal life? I want to draw your attention to the question. I am struck by the fact that the man is focused solely on his own needs. While there is nothing wrong with that the question it does say much about his level of faith development. It is very self-focus…

Send us a text Many Christian denominations have interpreted this Scripture passage differently, but I want to draw your attention to the comment Jesus made, and I quote: “What God has joined together, no human being must separate.” This is a very important line. We assume that when someone has a wedding in a Church witnessed before a priest or min…

Send us a text Being passionate about one’s faith is not being fanatical. Being passionate about one’s faith is being inspired, actively seeking deeper understanding and being committed to living the values in our faith life. The problem is that anyone’s faith can become complacent, left unchallenged our faith may ultimately becomes stale. In Matth…

Send us a text Jesus was very clear in his understanding of leadership. For example, His teachings on leadership are found in Matthew 20:26, where he states, "But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant." This reflects the principle that true leadership is about serving others rather than seeking …

Send us a text Jesus, like any good lawyer never asked a question that he did not already know the answer to. After the disciples answer his question Jesus increases the heat by asking them who they think he is. Peter responds with the perfect answer and Jesus points out that his answer is a reflection of God’s presence in his life. Unfortunately f…

Send us a text In today’s Gospel we have a description of a healing, specifically the healing of a deaf and mute man. Jesus orders the man not to tell anyone but Jesus orders falls on deaf ears, if you don’t mind the irony and the miracle is proclaimed anyway. Jesus must have known that the miracle would be proclaimed, and the people could not keep…

Send us a text Today’s Gospel reading is from a group of teachings where Mark describes Jesus challenging the Scribes and Pharisees about the practice of their faith. The Scribes and Pharisees were not doing anything wrong. They were literally following the law and the traditions of their ancestors. The point that Jesus is making with them is that …

Send us a text This Gospel is likely one of the most difficult to understand. Understandably, his first listeners are struggling to comprehend this teaching especially because they were taking Jesus literally. Jesus develops the lesson inviting his listeners to think on the level of Spirit. We have an account of a significant loss of disciples here…

Send us a text already figured out this is a very pronounced theme in John. This Gospel is likely one of the most difficult to understand. Without doubt, those who first heard Jesus speaking these words must have struggled to comprehend this teaching especially because they were taking Jesus literally. We need to remember that Jesus has taught like…

Send us a text Most loving relationships do experience the ebb and flow of relationships. Relationships go through periods of intensity and periods of distance. People sometimes like being close and other times they need their space. Its clear that God respects our space, but we can clearly see he is the pursuer in this relationship. Some people ma…

Send us a text In the Gospel, we are told that the people have found Jesus after having searched for him for awhile. Jesus challenges them to look at their reasons for following him. Ideally Jesus probably wished they were following him because they wanted to learn more in order to deepen their faith. Jesus realizes however, that most people are se…

Send us a text John describes the miracle of Jesus feeding a large group of followers. John indicated 5,000 men. We don’t know how many women or children were present. I suspect there might be some exaggeration here. Although Jesus knew what he was going to do, he still asks Philip to give an opinion of what could be done. It is a great teaching to…

Send us a text In Today’s Gospel from Mark, we learn that the apostles had returned from some mission activity and are updating Jesus on their experiences. What is immediately noteworthy is that Jesus’ first response is an invitation to get away and rest. It seems to me that Jesus is talking about the value of rest. Jesus is a head of his time. Psy…

Send us a text Jesus is sending his disciples to gain some missionary experiences. The first thing is that Jesus sends the disciples out two by two. I thought Jesus could have doubled his impact by sending them out alone. It becomes clear that Jesus is not concerned with numbers. He is making several teaching points about spirituality and faith tha…

Send us a text The Gospel Mark 6:1-6 is unusual, it seems that Jesus is returning to his hometown, likely to visit his family and friends. We don’t know if this visit occurred early in his mission work or towards the end. However, his family and friends have heard about his ministry, and they are not impressed. Jesus is understandably disappointed …

Richard Polton is a native of Paterson, New Jersey, USA, and an expert on local history. He has been actively engaged in research and public history projects on the Paterson story, delivering many lectures on the city’s development. A published author of books like ‘Paterson’s Industrial Age’ (2023), he also gives walking tours and has been involve…

2024 marked the 80th anniversary of the invasion of Europe, and in this episode we chat with Mark Scott, author of a new book on D-Day, and the men from Ulster who served. The book draws on testimony from Northern Ireland veterans who took part in the D-Day operations. Mark Scott is a researcher and author of two publications, ‘The man who shot the…

Scott Edgar has been the driving force behind the amazing WartimeNI for the last 10 years, sparked by a love of local history and an inspiring visit to Normandy for the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. His digital platform is the go-to place for info on all things Second World War-related in Northern Ireland. Scott joins us in the museum for a ch…

Send us a text Today’s Gospel is a miracle story within a resurrection story. The first is the story of a woman who is healed after many years of suffering from hemorrhages. This miracle story is unique as the miracle happens without her saying anything to Jesus. She believes that she simply needs to touch the hem of his garment for the healing. Sh…

Send us a text Today’s Gospel describes an experience Jesus had with his disciples on the Sea of Galilee. This story was well known during the early days of the Church, especially during the persecutions. The early Church community was often in crisis as it dealt with factions from within and persecutions from the Roman Empire. The people were ofte…

Send us a text We have two very short parables where Jesus is describing the Kingdom of God. The first question that comes to mind is what does Jesus mean by “kingdom of God”? The term is used 126 times in the Gospels alone. I am also reminded of the statement where Jesus said: “If you had the faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this …

Send us a text This Gospel is perhaps one of the most unusual of all the Gospels. Jesus’ family, including his mother Mary are coming to take him home believing that he is either possessed or has lost his mind. Jesus is accused of being possessed by members of his own family. Due to the lack of understanding of mental illness in those days, strange…

Send us a text Jesus and the disciples are celebrating the Passover Meal, a major feast day in the Jewish faith and history. The Passover commemorates the “passing over” of the angel of death who would strike down the first born of the Egyptians. This was the tenth and final plague that Moses would bestow on the Egyptians to force the Pharaoh to re…

Send us a text I urge you to spend some time reflecting on who God is for you? The answer may give you insight about how you see God, your expectations of God and how you allow God to impact your life. One of the questions I ask people is; “What does God have to do to get your attention?’ This is another way of looking at what God means to you and …

Send us a text Today’s Gospel is an account of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples. This account is very different from the other accounts in the Gospels. Jesus makes another appearance. He welcomes his disciples with the call to Peace. I want to point out that Jesus said this to the disciples who were afraid, the doors were locked, the…

Send us a text Jesus makes some serious claims of those who follow Him, who will be able to drive out demons, speak new languages, pick up serpents, and even if they drink poison they will survive. Jesus promises miraculous cures simply by laying hands on the afflicted. I recognize that miracles do happen. I am not questioning that, however in our …

Send us a text John is writing on his favourite theme of love. We are given a command to love one another. I struggle with this because one cannot be commanded to love. I wonder if the personality of Jesus, described in the Gospels, could shed light on how to respond to the call to love. We might start by focusing on and developing these personalit…

Send us a text In this Gospel Jesus compares himself to the true vine. There are many points I want to draw your attention to. This metaphor of the vine would be well understood by the people. There were vineyards where people would grow grapes for wine. People would understand that vines were frequently pruned to produce much more fruit. Anyone wh…

Send us a text Today’s podcast is from John 10: 11-18. This Gospel will be read in churches April 21, 2024. Jesus compares himself to a shepherd, not just any shepherd but a good shepherd. Fortunately, Jesus goes on to clarify what he means. Probably most of us have little or no experience with shepherds and likely have never met one. Jesus frequen…

Send us a text There are many stories in which Jesus is revealed to people in various communities. I am proposing that the aspect community in our faith may be more important than we realize. I want to draw your attention to Matthew 18:20 where Jesus promises, “When two or more are gathered in my name I am there”. I am beginning to realize that bei…

Send us a text In this Gospel of John, we have another appearance of Jesus. Although the doors are locked Jesus has no trouble appearing to his disciples. The first thing Jesus says is “Peace be with you”, and He will soon say it again. Jesus makes it clear that peace is an important part of his Gospel. He says it twice here and in several other sc…

Send us a text Today’s podcast is from the Gospel of John 20: 1-9. This gospel focuses on one of the earliest accounts of the resurrection of Jesus. The story starts with Mary of Magdala going to the tomb and finding it empty. I wonder what it was like for the followers of Jesus during and after the crucifixion. They were devastated! Likely, some o…

Join us as we chat with author and historian Ken Dawson on all things 1798. Who was Henry Munro? Why does 1798 matter? Find out!

Join us as we chat with Peter Forbes about Newtonards man, and founding members of the SAS, Blair 'Paddy' Mayne!

Send us a text Jesus is welcomed by the people of Jerusalem in a fashion reserved for royalty. I have no way knowing for sure how Jesus felt. On one hand he was likely pleased that the people were happy to welcome him. He probably recognized many of the people and genuinely felt welcomed. On the other hand, Jesus, who knew the thoughts of the Phari…

We speak with the fascinating Dr Jim O'Neill who has re-written the history of the Nine Years' War (1593-1693) in Ireland.

We chat wit Dr Sarah Doherty, Egyptologist, archaeologist and expert on everyday life in ancient Egypt!

Send us a text One of the unusual themes found in this Gospel is the paradox of death leading to life. What is unique here, is Jesus’ understanding about life and death, where death comes before life. One would think that you would have to live before you can die, however, Jesus turns that all around. Jesus teaches that one has to die first before …

Send us a text Jesus is sent to lead people to eternal life. God is not condemning his people, but his message is offering them eternal life. Interesting, Jesus makes it clear we are not meriting eternal life, we simply have to believe. People have a hard time with this, still under the impression that we have to merit this invitation and the invit…

Send us a text Today’s gospel event is especially significant. Scripture scholars have proposed that this event with Jesus overturning the money tables probably lead to his undoing and ultimately being betrayed and handed over to Pilate. When Jesus drove out the money changers the Pharisees started losing money and they became more serious in their…

Send us a text This Gospel is very different from all the Gospel stories. It describes a mystical vision, an experience shared with Jesus, Moses and Elijah and Peter, James and John. Peter’s offer to build three tents clearly indicates that he didn’t understand what was happening. His experience is similar to our experience of the Spirit. We often …

Send us a text Today’s Gospel from Mark just simply says Jesus experienced temptations. We have to look at the Gospels of Matthew and Luke to learn just what those temptations were. I considered focusing this podcast on those specific temptations. Upon further reflections I realized it might be a good idea to look at temptations in general first. T…

Send us a text In the Gospel Mark describes an encounter between a man with leprosy and Jesus. There are many things going on here. We hear a lot about lepers in the time of Jesus and Jesus cured many of them. Leprosy is a brutal disease. Not only did the disease attack the body but the leper was excluded from society. This reminds me of the early …

Send us a text The disciples find Jesus praying. Jesus had got up before dawn to find time and a place to pray. The first thing Jesus says is "let us go to the nearby villages". It may have been tempting for Jesus to stay. He was successful, the people responded well and people were being healed. It looked like Jesus had a very successful day. It w…

Send us a text We don’t hear very much in present society about unclean spirits. Its not a term we hear very much about. I like many thought Jesus was talking about evil possession. I propose that in today’s Gospel the unclean spirit may be aspects of ourselves that undermine our beliefs. Let me give you some examples to help you understand what I …

Send us a text We sometimes hear about the need for repentance. What exactly does repentance mean for followers of Jesus? Alongside of the call to repentance in the Gospel is the call to discipleship. I wonder if there is a connection. Understanding repentance is an important step in developing our spiritual life.…

Send us a text Today's Gospel occurs at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. We learn that community plays an important part in the development of our faith life. One of the first things that Jesus did was calling disciples to build community. Pope Francis described the Church as a field hospital for those who are hurting and in need of support. In th…

Send us a text There is a lot going on in this Gospel. There are a few points I want to bring to your attention and hopefully useful to you for reflection. Matthew 2:1-12 tells the story of the arrival of the Magi to honor the birth of the newborn king Jesus. We don’t know very much about these individuals. Theologically, they represent the Gentile…

Send us a text In Luke 2:22-44, Jesus is presented in the Temple. The presentation of the first born child in the Temple is a routine custom in the Jewish faith in biblical times. Everything changes with the appearance of Simeon and Anna. Simeon prophesizes the mission of Jesus and provides for us directions for individuals who desire to live their…

Send us a text Today’s Gospel focuses on Joseph, the foster father of Jesus. We don’t hear much about Joseph. The Gospel of Matthew 1:18-25 gives us insight to what kind of man Joseph was. In this Gospel, Joseph learns that Mary, the woman he is betrothed to is pregnant by someone else. Joseph’s response is powerful and based on his values and beli…