'A new teaching - with authority!' Sunday Reflections, 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

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St Joseph and the Christ Child, El Greco, c.1600
Museo de Santa Cruz, Toledo, Spain [Web Gallery of Art

They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, Jesus entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.  They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.” At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Remains of the 4th century synagogue, Capernaum
[Wikipedia, David Shankbone]

On Friday 9 January my brother Paddy, with many of his classmates, attended the funeral in Dublin of the man they knew in 1954-55 as 'Mr O'Donohue' when he taught them in Second Class (Grade Two) in O'Connell Schools, Dublin. At the time they saw him as very senior in age but he was only 22, starting out as a primary school teacher. Years later they were to come to know Sean Gerard O'Donohue as their friend 'Gerry' because of the enormous and formative impact he had on their lives.

Full post here.

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