The Better Part

Matthew 4.1-11 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection We will notice at church this week that the colour changes! Instead of green, the priest wears purple . We arrive in the season of Lent, a time of preparation for the great feast of Easter. At Easter, we will celebrate Jesus dying and rising to new life, never to die again! But before we celebrate, we prepare . There will be six purple Sundays to prepare for the feast. This first Sunday of Lent , we hear about what happen

John 1:29-34   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n After weeks of preparing and celebrating the feast of Christmas, we return to Ordinary Time. The church changes the colour back to green. However, in only a few short weeks we will enter another season of preparation and we look toward the feast of Easter. Always, Jesus' death and Resurrection is with us. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, though, Jesus' death and Resurrection is still in his future. He just got bap

Luke 23.35-43 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday is a special feast day called Christ the King. "Christ" is a title given to Jesus that means "One Who Is Anointed"—one who is chosen by God for something special. The reading for this Sunday talks about Jesus dying on the cross. Is this the "something special" God chooses him for? Is this our King? "Forget-me-nots" (Image by RÜŞTÜ BOZKUŞ from Pixabay.) The reading begins: And the people stood by, watching...

Luke 21.5-19 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n (Adults, this Gospel speaks of end-times and the cost of discipleship-—two topics that are beyond the needs and questions of the 3-6 year old child. This reflection focuses on the first two verses and on the gift to God that endures, which ties into the last verse of this reading.) When we listen to the Word of God, we often hear about Jerusalem, the most holy city in Israel. Within Jerusalem, the most holy place is the T

Luke 7.11-17 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Each year we celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st and then All Souls Day on November 2nd. On All Saints, we remember the crowd of people that the Church knows for sure are filled with the Risen Life of God. On All Souls, we remember the crowds of people who died before us. We begin this month, the last month of the Church year, thinking about death. Why? Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large

Luke 9.11b-17   Listen to the Gospel and Reflection This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Body and the Blood of Christ. On this...

Abbreviated reading for 3-6 year olds: Luke 22:14, 19-20   (f ull reading: Luke 22.14 - 23.56 ) Click here to listen to the Gospel and...

John 6.53  and 60-69   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n We know that Jesus, the Good Shepherd, feeds his sheep. We know that...

John 6.53  and 60-69   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n For weeks now, we have listened to Jesus speak about himself as the...

John 6.53  and 60-69   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n This Sunday, we return once again in our thinking to the moment when...

John 6. 51-58   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Last week, we heard Jesus tell us again that he is the Bread of Life. Living...

John 6. 51-58   Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n In the middle of the summer, we find ourselves still in the middle of the sixth...

John 6.48-51  (abbreviated) [ John 6.41-51  (full)] Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n Last week we heard Jesus say, "I AM the...

John 6.48-51  (abbreviated) [ John 6.41-51  (full)] Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n For the last few weeks, we listened to the...

John 6.41-51 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflectio n For the last few weeks, we listened to chapter 6 of the Gospel of St. John. The...

John 6.24-35 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week we heard Jesus make a great crowd of people sit down so that he could...

John 6.24-35 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week, we heard about a few loaves of barley bread placed in Jesus’ hands to...

John 6.24-35 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Last week, we heard about Jesus satisfying the hunger of five thousand people. We...

John 6.1-15 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel reading last week ended with Jesus beginning to teach a great crowd of...

John 6.1-15 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel reading last week, Jesus has compassion on the crowd of people. He...

Mark 14.12-16, 22-26 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for this Sunday, we listen again to the account of the Last...

Mark 14.12-16, 22-26 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection Two Sundays after Pentecost, the Gospel reading returns to the moment of the...

Mark 14.12-16, 22-26 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel reading for this Sunday returns us to the account of the Last Supper...

Mark 16.15-20 (for the youngest child, just verses 19-20) Listen to the Gospel and Reflection This Sunday is the seventh Sunday of the...

John 10.11-18 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection For many of us, the parable of the Good Shepherd is one of our favourites. When the...

Mark 14.12-17, 22-24, 26 (full reading: Mark 14.1 - 15.47) (Adults, the VERY abbreviated reading is for the 3-6 year old. The full...

Matthew 22.15-21 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection In the Gospel for this Sunday, some people come to Jesus and tell him what they...

Matthew 22.15-21 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection For the last few Sundays, our Gospel readings have been about Jesus in...

Matthew 22.15-21 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection Often in the Gospel readings we hear about Pharisees. Many of them are good and...

Matthew 22.1-14 Listen here to the Gospel and Reflection (Adults, here we are again with a difficult parable! For the 6-9 year old, who...

John 6.51-59 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection This Sunday has a great long name: The SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF...

John 6.51-59 and the first reading: Deuteronomy 8.2-3, 14-16 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection This Sunday is the SOLEMNITY OF THE...

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The feast continues! We celebrate the feast of Jesus dying and rising to new life,...

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection The Gospel for this Sunday again takes place on the day that Jesus rises from the dead,...

Luke 24.13-35 Listen to the Gospel and Reflection On this third Sunday of Easter, we hear an account of people meeting Jesus, raised from...

Matthew 26:17-20, 26-30 (full reading: Matthew 26.14 - 27.66) (Adults, the VERY abbreviated reading is for the 3-6 year old. The full...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Better yet, ask someone to read it to you. The Word is meant to be heard.) John 1:29-34 After weeks of...

(Adults, this Gospel speaks of end-times and the cost of discipleship-—two topics that are beyond the needs and questions of the 3-6 year...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the scripture passage to your child. Alternatively, read the intro to the reflection, then the...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the Gospel aloud to the child. Alternatively, you could read the first paragraph of the reflection to...

(Begin by reading the Gospel, or better yet, ask someone to read it to you. The Gospel is better heard.) Luke 9.11b-17 This Sunday, we...

John 20.19-31 The Gospel for this week takes place the evening of the Resurrection. Only Mary Magdalene has encountered Jesus Risen from...

Luke 22:14, 19-20 (full reading: Luke 22.14 - 23.56) (Adults, the VERY abbreviated reading is for the 3-6 year old. The full reading is...

(Adults, you could begin by reading the first paragraph of the reflection to the child, then read the Gospel, and then continue with the...

(Adults, the Bread of Life discourse concludes this week. It is complicated--for adults as well as for children :) You could begin by...

(Adults, the Bread of Life discourse concludes this week. It is complicated--for adults as well as for children :) You could begin by...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Sometimes it is good to have someone read it to you. The Word is meant to be heard.) John 6.53 and 60-69...

(Adults, the full Gospel this week is complicated. This reflection for the 3-6 year olds focuses on the last four verses beginning with...

(Adults, the full Gospel this week is complicated. This reflection for the 6-9 year olds focuses on the last four verses beginning with...

(Begin by reading the Gospel. Sometimes it is good to have someone read it to you. The Word is meant to be heard.) John 6.41-51 For the...