Fr Dominik Domagala, OMI, serves in Inchicore, Dublin. Studied Theology in Poznan (Poland) and currently is working on a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture. Author of the sermon-video-blog The Social Oblate. Send your questions to thesocialoblate@icloud.com
Mass Readings: Wisdom 6:12-16 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 Don’t be foolish!” is an expression most of us have heard from our parents, teachers or someone trying to prevent us from making an avoidable mistake. Yet, when Scripture speaks of foolishness, it is not necessarily referring to a lack of intelligence. A person may…
Mass readings: Exodus 22:20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40. The Sunday Gospel There is an old joke about Stalin, a child and a radio commentator. A child approaches the Soviet dictator and asks, “Comrade Stalin, will you give me a sweet?” Stalin replies with an abrupt command to go away. The radio commentator then…
Mass Readings: * Isaiah 25:6-10 * Philippians 4:12-14,19-20 * Matthew 22:1-14 There are few occasions in ordinary life that bring people together quite as naturally as a wedding. Perhaps this is why the image of a wedding feast has such enduring power in the Bible. It speaks of abundance, communion and celebration, but also of…
There is something remarkable about the timing of Fulton J. Sheen’s beatification. On the eve of the ceremony in St Louis, Pope Leo XIV mentioned Sheen during his General Audience in Rome. He did not speak simply about the American bishop as a figure from the golden age of Catholic television. Instead, he presented him…
On September 24, the Catholic Church will beatify Venerable Fulton J. Sheen in St Louis. For many Catholics, particularly in the United States, it will be the long-awaited recognition of one of the most recognisable Catholic figures of the twentieth century. Yet Sheen should not be remembered merely as the famous bishop who appeared on…
There are few Christian commandments more easily repeated and more difficult to obey than the one we hear in today’s Gospel: “Forgive your brother or sister not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” In other words, forgive without keeping count. But what about justice? What about those who have been wounded, exploited or humiliated? Does Christ…
Jeremiah 20:7-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27 The Sunday Gospel There is a rather surprising response to St Paul’s famous question: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The readings of this Sunday seem almost to answer: everyone. We might imagine that friendship with God guarantees an easy life. But today’s…
Mass readings: Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28 Every year, on August 17, countless Irish pilgrims turn their hearts towards Knock. Many of them cannot think of the shrine without quietly recalling the familiar hymn: “There were people of all ages, gathered round the gable wall, poor and humble men and women, little…
Mass Readings: * Isaiah 55:1-3 * Romans 8:35, 37-39 * Matthew 14:13-21 *** Modern advertising has an uncanny ability to appeal to our deepest anxieties. “Don’t leave your family unprotected,” one life insurance advertisement urges. “Take out a policy today.” There is, of course, wisdom in making sensible provision for those we love. Yet there…
Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 Romans 8:26-27 Matthew 13:24-43 There is scarcely a question more frequently asked than this: Why does God allow evil? Why does He permit injustice to flourish, the innocent to suffer, the wicked to prosper, and cruelty to scar the lives of countless people? If God is all-powerful, why does He not…