A Moment to Pause - a short daily audio reflection rooted in Sacred Scripture

You are most welcome to join our reflection today with Pat Hughes from Birkenhead.
Good morning and welcome to our morning reflection on this Friday 10th July . Today’s reflection is based on Matthew 10: 16-23In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy SpiritJesus warns his disciples “I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves” and instructs them to be as “clever as serpents and simple as doves”  This passage offers a profound reflection on what it means to live out your faith in the modern world: being as ‘clever as serpents’ means to be spiritually observant, wise and discerning about the motives of the world and ‘simple as doves’ to remain peaceful, pure in our intentions and honest in our mission .If we are ever anxious as to what we are to say we are reassured as “For the words you will speak will not be yours; they will come from the Spirit of your Father”Finally Jesus promises that “ whoever endures to the end will be saved “. What an encouragement for if we become overwhelmed . Lord we thank you for your presence and your promises. AmenThank you for reflecting with the Oblates today Have a great day 

You are most welcome to join our reflection today with Pat Hughes from Birkenhead.
On this Thursday 9th July morning, welcome, wherever you are, to our Oblate moment to pause. The Gospel reading is from Matthew 10:7-15 in which the Apostles receive further instruction on carrying out their mission. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.Throughout Jesus’s ministry the message was that God’s loving reign is present in our midst. God is with us; He walks beside us even on rugged or difficult paths.Jesus’s instructions to the Apostles to take no gold, no second tunic or walking stick, is an invitation to let go of worldly securities and to rely,solely,on divine providence and the hospitality of others.By being told to “shake the dust from their feet” and move on, the Apostles were being shown that they are not responsible for the outcome of sharing the Good News. If rebuffed, when we share, we are not to carry resentment or despair.We are to peacefully let go and move forward.So in summary we should :Preach by example doing small deeds of kindness rather than argueNot hold onto things too tightlyAnd give time, compassion and resources freely . BECAUSE God is our anchor and we are not alone .Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy SpiritHave a blessed dayThank you for sharing with us today

You are most welcome to join our reflection today with Pat Hughes from Birkenhead.
Good morning and welcome to Wednesday 8th July’s moment to pause with the Oblate Family . Today’s reflection is from Matthew 10 :1-7 Let us start with the sign of the CrossIn the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. AmenThese few verses mark a profound moment of commissioning. The twelve apostles , having been with Jesus, and learning from his ministry, are now sent out to DO what they have seen Him do.The first instructions to the twelve were to only go to the lost sheep of Israel and preach ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is near’.We ,too, are empowered by Christ to preach the news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near .This means that as Christians we should turn away from a selfish , worldly way of life and embrace God’s values such as grace, love and forgiveness .We do not have to travel to faraway lands but like the Apostles, begin right in our local communities, homes and workplaces, by being instruments of Christ’s peace and love.Let us finish by praying to the Holy Spirit:Come , Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and enkindle in them the fire of your love.Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created  . And you shall renew the face of the Earth.Thank you for being with the Oblates today .I wish you a blessed day 
 

You are most welcome to join our reflection today with Pat Hughes from Birkenhead.
Good morning and welcome to Tuesday 7th July’s moment to pause with the Oblate family . The Gospel reading is from Matthew 9:32-38.We start with the sign of the Cross: in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. We hear how Jesus cured  a mute man possessed by a demon thus allowing the man to speak.Jesus then looked at the crowds and was moved with compassion saying “they are worried and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” . He then added “the harvest is large but there are few workers to gather it in . Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest .”This is the heart of Christ’s mission that we all are responsible for ; that is looking after the spiritual hearts of all .Let us pray for all priests , religious and all considering this vocation , and indeed for all of us that we, like the mute man, learn to speak the Good News and show that we are Christians by our love and compassion .Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be . AmenThank you for being here today
 

You are most welcome to join our reflection today with Pat Hughes from Birkenhead.
Good morning and Welcome to our moment to pause this Monday 6th July . The Gospel reading today is from Matthew chapter 9 verse 18-26.My name is Pat and I am speaking to you from Birkenhead .In this gospel Jesus raises a Jewish official’s daughter from the dead and heals a woman suffering from haemorrhages . What connected these two miracles ? Faith and Hope!They had both heard about Jesus and his miracles and one asked and the other had the courage,and hope,that by just touching the hem of Jesus’ s garment she would be healed .Do you have faith to ask in prayer with expectant hope? There is so much in the world today to pray for .. wars natural disasters the sick the worried and so forthLord Jesus today I just want to pray for one person . Think of the one most in need around you and let us pray togetherLord you know my friend . You are more aware of their need than I am and today I place them in your arms with the expectant hope of healing Thank you Lord .And thank you all for joining with the Oblates today.
 

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin.
Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 
Today’s gospel is from Matthew Chapter 11:25-30 
The last lines of this gospel must surely be a huge source of comfort to all who carry burdens – whether of illness, loneliness, depression:.  We just need to trust these words of Jesus:  Come to me all you who labour and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest.   …. I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.   It can be hard at times to admit our brokenness …but with Jesus, we don’t need words. This is a direct invitation, when we are weary, tired or broken, to rest in the palm of Jesus.   …he is the friend  who reaches out and wraps his arms around us.    He knows our pain.  He carries our pain for us. 
We pray:  We give you thank, O  Lord, for this new day. May our prayer be pleasing to you and may you fill our outstretched hands with your mercy and love.  Amen. 

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin.
Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection.In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 
Today’s gospel is from Matthew 9:14-17 
I found it difficult to find one single message from today’s gospel that spoke to me.  But it is the words about not putting a piece of new cloth onto well worn material, or not pouring new wine into old wineskins that have meaning for me.     Our faith must become new to us again and again, and this renewal often calls us to discard old ways, old habits, old practices that have become stale.  Our prayer must constantly be refreshed and renewed:  not that we have to lose anything of what we already have, but our faith grows and develops as we open ourselves more and more to the word of God in action in our lives. 
We pray:  May God light the fire of his love in our hearts.  Amen. 
 

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin.
Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection. 
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 
The gospel today is from John 20:24-29 and it is the story of doubting Thomas.   When told that Jesus had appeared to the apostles in the upper room, he refused to believe it.  He wanted proof – to see and feel the wounds on Jesus’ body.   So when Jesus appeared again he invited Thomas to touch his wounds.   Thomas’s response ‘My Lord and my God’ are words of faith. 
There are a lot of things that we must accept on trust ..and with faith, not just faith in Jesus but in those who spread the gospel of Jesus.    
We pray:   Lord I believe; help thou my unbelief. Amen. 

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin.
Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 
Today’s gospel from Matthew 9:1-8, is the story of people bringing a paralysed man to Jesus … Jesus first tells the man his sins and forgiven, and then , despite the challenges of the scribes, tells him to ‘get up and walk’ 
For me the comfort here is those words ‘seeing their faith’  - the faith of the people who brought the sick man to Jesus.   It wasn’t the man himself who asked to be saved, it was his friends.  .I go to Lourdes each September with the Oblates, and a lot of those who go there are praying for others at home.  For us, there are times when we can be lost, doubting, dispirited ..then when things turn around we wonder how.   They’rethe times that the prayers of others for us have worked miracles. 
We pray:  Lord, increase our faith, with all our hearts may we always follow you.  Teach us to pray – always.  Amen. 
 

You are welcome to the reflection today with Mary O'Brien from our Lourdes Team in Dublin.
Good morning and welcome to our Oblate time of Reflection. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 
Today’s gospel is from John 10:11-16 
Our gospel today is the story of the Good Shepherd.   Jesus starts off by comparing himself to a person who is hired to look after someone else’s sheep.  This person feels no real connection to the sheep.  When the sheep are threatened – in the scripture text, by a wolf- this hired person runs off and leaves them to their fate.    Jesus cares for his sheep – for each and every one of them – we know the story of when he goes after the one sheep that is lost.  He knows each sheep, each one of us …and he’ll do anything to keep us safe to the point of laying down his life, which of course he does. No greater love ..than that a man lay down his life for his friends.   
We pray:  the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, he makes me down to lie, near restful waters he leads me, he restores my soul.     Amen.