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The Virgin of the Grapes , 1640s, Pierre Mignard  Musée du Louvre, Paris  [ Web Gallery of Art ] Winegrowers in France celebrated the Feast of the Nativity of Mary  as the  Feast of Our Lady of the Grape Harvest . Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   Matthew 21:33-43  ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition : Canada)  Jesus said to the chief priest and the elders of the people:   “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country.   When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce.   But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.  Again he sent other slaves, more than the first;

Columban Fr Noel O'Neill with Myeong Sek in Kore The  Universal Prayer Intention of Pope Francis  for September is  That the mentally disabled may receive the love and help they need for a dignified life . Fr Noel O'Neill is a Columban priest from Limerick, Ireland, who has been in Korea since 1957. In  this article  from the September-October 2014 issue of  MISYONonline.com , the magazine of the Columbans in the Philippines that I have been editing for 12 years now, he shows how he has been living this prayer intention - and how he himself has received love and help for a dignified life from two persons in particular, among others, whom he describes as 'differently abled' and who were on the fringes of society because others didn't recognise the gifts that God had given them. With Myeong Sek at the grave of  You Ha Myeong Sek, Theresa, was special. She was special because she was differently abled. She was special because it was she who a

The Crucifixion of St Peter , Caravaggio, 1600-01 Cerasi Chapel, Santa Maria del Populo, Rome [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   Matthew 16:21-27  (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition: Canada)     From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.   And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”   But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themse

Saint Peter, El Greco,1610-13 Monasterio de San Lorenzo, El Escorial, Spain [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   Matthew 16:13-20  (New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, Canada)  Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”   And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”   He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”   Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,   the Son of the living God.”   continue gospel reading> Pope Francis in Korea , 13-18 August 2014 [ Wikipedia ] In his  homily on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, 29 June 2013 , Pope Francis said:  I would like to offer three thoughts on the

Christ the Good Shepherd Murillo, c.1660, Museo del Prado, Madrid [ Web Gallery of Art ] Readings  (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)                 Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa) Gospel   John 10:1-10   ( New Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition , Canada)  Jesus said:  "Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit.   The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.   The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them,

Adoration of the Magi , Francisco de Zurbarán, 1639-40 ( Web Gallery of Art ) Readings   (New American Bible: Philippines, USA) Readings   (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  Gospel   Matthew 2:1-12   (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him." When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for fr

Ascension , Rembrandt, painted 1636 Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)  Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)  The Ascension is celebrated on Ascension Thursday, 17 May, in Scotland and the USA, and on Sunday 20 May in England & Wales, Ireland and the Philippines. I'm not sure about other countries. I won't be posting Sunday Reflections for the Seventh Sunday of Easter . Gospel Mark 16:15-20 (Revised Standard Version – Catholic Edition) Jesus said to the Apostles, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt th

A friend sent me the link to this video some months ago but I've only got round to looking at it. Possibly I'm the last person on the planet to have watched it. Nevertheless, I think it is worth sharing. The account Choi Sung-Bong gives of his life on Korea's Got Talent has been verified . It is an inspiring one. Like Susan Boyle, Choi Sung-Bong has been on the margins, though in a different way from the Scottish singer. As a Columban I have a special interest in Korea as we have been working there since 1933 and shared the hardships of World War II and the Korean War with the people there. Columban priests died violently there. I have visited the country three times and have Korean friends, Columban priests, seminarians, lay missionaries and religious who have come to the Philippines as missionaries. The song is Nella Fantasia , is based on Gabriel's Oboe , composed by Enrico Morricone for The Mission , that wonderful film based on the missionary work of the Jesui

. St Andrew Kim Taegon , (1821-1846), Myeongdong Cathedral, Seoul St Andrew Kim Taegon's last words : This is my last hour of life, listen to me attentively : if I have held communication with foreigners, it has been for my religion and for my God. It is for Him that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death, because God has eternal chastisements in store for those who have refused to know Him . Today the Church honours the 103 Korean martyrs canonized on 6 May 1984 by Blessed Pope John Paul II in Seoul. However, around 8,000 Korean Catholics were martyred during periodic persecutions between 1839 and 1868. Among the 8,000 was the grandfather of the first Korean cardinal.  In an article published in July-August 2009 in  Misyon , which I edit for the Columbans in the Philippines, after the death of Cardinal Kim Columban Fr Donal O'Keeffe told this extraordinary story:  Kim Sou-Hwan (Stephen) was born in