Milk & Honey—Trish McCarthy—Mealtimes with Jesus (Have you ever noticed how much Jesus loved food? Back in the good old days, mealtimes were not a chore like they can be today. They were a valuable and powerful times of connexion. Jesus ate with sinners, Pharisees, his disciples, and He often used food in his parables. Feeding ourselves, both physically and spiritually, is a fundamental skill of life. It strengthens us and sustains us and food brings people together.)

Wisdom from the Abbey–Mother Hilda—Have A Nice Day (After Mother Hilda found herself exposed to a great deal of “have a nice day” comments she began to see it a little differently. Recently she ordered coffee and sure enough, as expected, out came the comment, now ma'am, you have a nice day. The attendant said it was such enthusiasm as though it was an article of faith for her. Looking at all the faces of others milling around, she wondered, were they having a nice day? Some didn't look like it. That's when the inspiration hit and she thought, we need people to remind us that a nice day is always possible no matter what happens. The scriptures assure us in a zillion ways just how possible it is to have a nice day when we have it with God. Furthermore, Mother Hilda has a sneaking suspicion that every morning when you and I first wake, God whispers to us, have a nice day.)

On The Journey This Week: The Gospel reflection by Fr John Littleton on sorrow and repentance. Mother Hilda’s story about God’s interaction with St Jerome. Plus, we welcome back one of our presenters from earlier years, Marilyn Rodrigues, with her new segment, the Urban Contemplative, Trish McCarthy says keeping balance and focus in life is easy if we make Christ our focus point, and Pete Gilmore wonders how much salt do each of us needs to draw out our flavour. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, but whatever we do though, let's be careful not to lose our saltiness.

Wisdom from the Abbey–Mother Hilda— Give me your Sins St Jerome (Mother Hilda’s story of a prayerful exchange between God and St Jerome. God asks Jerome what it is that he has to give back to God? Jerome was very pleased as he had quite a lot that he considered meritorious and showed his devotion to God. That's lovely, said God, but He kept asking what else have you got to give me? Jerome was disappointed that God did not seem over impressed with all that he'd given him. God said: There's something you've forgotten Jerome. You haven't given me your sins. And so it is with you and me, Let's not worry about giving God all the things we think are so meritorious and speak so well of us. Let's as well give him our sins, our weaknesses, and our disappointments with ourselves. This will be a most loving and wanted gift to Him.)

Gospel Reflection– Fr John Littleton—Sorrow & Repentance [read by Max Norden] (Jesus devoted his public ministry to preaching about the nearness of the kingdom of heaven and to inviting people to become his disciples. He challenged his listeners to accept God’s will in their lives by rejecting sin and being faithful to his teaching. Jesus challenges us to turn away from the darkness of sin so that we can live in the light of God’s loving presence. Central to repentance is genuine sorrow for our sins. Significantly, we are saddened not only because we have offended God or hurt another person but also because we have diminished our own dignity as people made in the image and likeness of God.)

The Urban Contemplative —Marilyn Rodrigues–A Child-Like Surrender (While in isolation recovering from COVID, Marilyn spent some of the time reflecting on mindfulness and the common themes in Eastern and Western approaches. There is much peace and insight would be ours if only you would learn to surrender ourselves to the present moment. In our Christians tradition, an attitude of awareness that God sustains us in each moment and in everything that happens. Mindfulness reminds Marilyn of St Thérèse of Lisieux. St Thérèse taught her little way of holiness as a way of surrender, confidence, and love to our loving father in all the opportunities that arose throughout the day. A way that through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit is now open to everyone. The stuff of our everyday life is the stuff that God cares about. Face each day as it comes, our way to holiness is so simple that can be easy to overlook in the quest for a more spiritual life.)

Milk & Honey—Trish McCarthy—Balance & Focus (Trish says that it's interesting the parallels between keeping tour balance and not falling over when playing sport and balance in our lives. In striving to maintain all the aspects of our life, it proves a difficult task without focus. This focus point comes from Christ. Keeping close to him in our daily life activities and putting Christ at the centre of all we do and mindful of his presence, allows us to keep in perspective all the things that demand our attention.)

Living the Gospel—Pete Gilmore—Salty (Pete has been reflecting about the time Jesus said to his disciples, you are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, it is good for nothing and can only be thrown out to be trampled underfoot by men. Salt is a strange substance because without it, food is incredibly bland, too much and the food becomes intensely inedible, but just right, and all the flavours already there come alive. This week let's take that extra moment to see the people we meet as made in God's image and likeness and stop and ask ourselves how much salt does this person need to draw out their flavour. Maybe a little, maybe a lot, but whatever we do though, let's be careful not to lose our saltiness.)

Gospel Reflection– Fr Chris de Sousa CRS—Called to Serve (In the Gospel John the Baptist experiences the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, but he doesn’t keep this revelation to himself, but shares it with all who he encounters. Likewise, we are also called to share the revelation of Jesus as Messiah and to shine this light and to serve by being witnesses of the light in the world.)

God in the Everyday—Fr Mike Delaney—Unexpected Sounds (During his regular daily prayer routine, Fr Mike notices a dramatic change in ambient noise sounds because of the school holidays. Instead of children playing and parent voices, Fr Mike becomes aware of the sounds of nature. It reminds him of the pleasure of God speaking into our ordinary everyday activity and that there is so much beauty in life that we can miss if our mind is focused elsewhere. Both Francis of Assisi and John Vianney had a simple yet powerful understanding of how God works in our lives and in our world – between the two they reminded us that coming to God with the right frame of mind and listening to what is happening around us can open up a whole range of possibilities that we might otherwise miss.)