Preaching the Word
Welcome to our Preaching the Word Space
To be a Dominican is to be a preacher. As preachers, we share the Good News that has been entrusted to us. Every day, we preach the word of God in hundreds of different ways through our work in the communities and with one another.
We also share the Word of God on our website through this Sacred Space. This is a collection of reflections, written by a Dominican Sister or a colleague. These works proclaim the Word of God and impart a message of hope and peace to those who need to take a moment out of their busy daily lives to reflect.

Second Sunday of Advent : Mark 1:1-8, 9-11 10th December 2023
Mark’s Gospel starts directly with the Proclamation ‘the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the Prophet’. Mark in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, [...]

First Sunday of Advent – 3rd December 2023
“Oh, that you would tear the heavens open and come down.” “Let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.” Dove of peace During these 4 weeks of Advent, we prepare to celebrate God’s response to [...]

Feast of Christ the King – 26th November 2023
There are many names, titles and descriptions of God in the Bible, but in the readings of today’s liturgy we see Christ as King, Judge and Shepherd. We all have some sense of what Kingship and Royalty mean. It [...]

33rd Sunday of the year – 19th November 2023
“To some he gave five talents, to another two and yet to another one talent ….” I think of talents more as gifts and blessings which I have received from God, all given freely and with love to everyone he [...]

32nd Sunday in ordinary time year A – 12th November 2023
Sacred Space reflection for the 32nd Sunday in ordinary time year A MT 25:1-13 Wisdom is a gift from God that we all can drink from freely. Christ is the fount of wisdom which we can drink from to refresh [...]

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – November 5th 2023
Readings: Malachi:1:14-2:2,8-10, Psalm 130,1Thessalonuans 2:7-9,13, Matthew 23:1-12 As always, scripture seems to know what is going on in our lives. The first part of the Synod is over, and, suitably, the demand made on us by today’s readings is that [...]

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 29th October 2023
Matthew 22: 34- 40 Next Sunday’s gospel begins with the Pharisees hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees. They decide to get together to disconcert Jesus. One of them puts this question to Him ‘Which is the greatest commandment of [...]

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 22nd October 2023
Matthew 22: 15-21 Jesus in this passage is described as someone who is not ‘swayed’ by other people, a person of integrity who teaches ‘the way of God in accordance with the truth’. And yet the Pharisees and the Herodians [...]

28th Sunday of the Year – October 15th 2023
(Isaiah 25:6-10; Ps 22:1-4; Phil 4:12-14;19-20; Mt 22:1-14) Flathúlacht (Lavishness) This is the last in a series of the parables of Jesus for the past few Sundays in which Matthew’s Gospel portrays God as a generous bestower of goodwill, as [...]

27th Sunday of the Year – 8th October 2023
In this Sunday’s Gospel passage, continuing on from last week, we find Jesus in combat mode. His actions and authority have been questioned by the chief priest and elders of the people and he responds to their challenge, not with [...]

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 1st October 2023
We live in a world where, whatever we are doing, we have directions to follow. We have to make choices. So too on our faith-journey, we make choices in how we live our lives. We have a God –given gift [...]

Reflection for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 24th September 2023
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways, says the Lord.” (Is. 55:8) This quote from the first reading for Sunday says it all. Jesus was well aware of this, and the story we [...]

23rd Sunday in ordinary time September 10th 2023
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time This Sunday’s readings did not seem at first sight to be easy to write about, all about correcting our neighbour’s faults and sins out of love. What a tough and unpleasant task! Since our earliest [...]

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time September 3rd 2023
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Today’s Gospel may not be a comfortable one for us. It presents a challenge to take up the cross, to take up a cross for the sake of the Good News and not to be [...]

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 28th August 2023
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time XXI Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario El evangelio del Domingo 21, Mateo 16,13_20 nos convoca ante una pregunta y una certeza, la pregunta de Jesús hacia sus discípulos “quién dice la gente quien soy yo” [...]

Twentieth Sunday of the Year – 20th August 2023
The theme of The Stranger – the person who comes from a different culture - runs through all three Readings this weekend. This seems very apt in the context of today’s world where we are challenged to open our hearts [...]

The Transfiguration of the Lord – 6th August 2023
When it comes to the most wonderful time of the year, the first weeks of August are up there with Christmas. For most of us, it is finally time for a break and that long-awaited holiday (if you already had [...]
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 9th July 2023
Domingo XIV del Tiempo Ordinario Jesús entra montado en un burro Este domingo se nos invita a reflexionar sobre como Dios camina à nuestro lado en todo momento. En esta primera lectura se describe el modo de entrada [...]

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 2nd July 2023
`If you want to follow Jesus, you better look good on wood’. Daniel Berrigan’s quote seems apt for Chapter 10 of Matthew’s gospel. Here we see Jesus sending the twelve ‘on mission with instructions’. He gives them some pointers about [...]

12th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 25th June 2023
Jeremiah was only 20 years old when called as a Prophet, so he was young. For forty years he warned all in Jerusalem that unless they turned back to God they would be captured and taken captive to Babylon, and [...]
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Exodus 19:2-6 Ps.99:2-3,5 Rom. 5:6—11 Matt. 9:36-10:8 Pondering over the scriptures for this 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, the themes of God’s love and mercy, being alert to God’s voice calling to us through the actions and circumstances of daily [...]
Feast of Corpus Christi 11th June 2023
When I was young, one of the highlights of the year was the Rathnew Corpus Christi Procession. It appeared that people came from all over to attend. For weeks beforehand the excitement in the village was tangible. Hedges were trimmed, [...]

Feast of the Blessed Trinity 4th June 2023
Many of us retain in our mind phrases relating to God. When things have gone well for us, we have said, “Thanks be to God”. We experience a pleasant unexpected happening and we may say. Glory be to God”. When [...]

Reflexion Del Domingo 28 De Mayo- Dia De Pentecostes
Evangelio De Juan, 20,19-23 La escena del Evangelio del día de hoy- día tan especial que es Pentecostés, donde Jesús se presenta a sus amigo/as y les regala el don de la paz, diciéndoles “la paz este con ustedes”, hoy [...]
Feast of the Ascension
Acts 1:1-11; Ephesians 1:17-23; Matthew 28:16-20 The Last Farewell! Not really! He is going but remaining! The mission is thrust upon the disciples. They are to wait. Then he is lifted up into a cloud. What a conundrum for the [...]
Sixth Sunday of Easter 14th May 2023
Acts 8:5 – 8, 14 – 17, 1 Peter 3: 15 – 18, John 14: 15 – 21 This Sunday brings us to the final weeks of Easter. It is a transitional time in terms of liturgy and season. The [...]
Fifth Sunday of Easter 7th May 2023
Acts 6:1-7, Psalm 32, 1 Peter 2:4-9, JN 14:1-12 In today’s Readings, we are called to join in the royal Priesthood of God. From before time began, we were called and chosen by God to join in His ministry and [...]
Fourth Sunday Easter 30th April 2023
En este domingo de 4º de Pascua, se nos invita a reflexionar sobre los distintos textos. En la primera lectura, habla de los discursos que son muy importantes en el libro de los Hechos, aquí se subraya la dimensión comunitaria [...]
Third Sunday of Easter 23rd April 2023
Stay with us. In today’s gospel, following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, two of his disciples set out on a journey to a village called Emmaus. However, scripture scholars tell us that the identity of this village is disputed. The precise [...]
Second Sunday Easter 16th April 2023
Nas leituras do segundo domingo da Páscoa, encontramos um chamado à comunhão com Deus e com nosso irmão Jesus. Que alegria, quando vemos que pela fé e através da fé podemos estar em comunhão. É na partilha do pão, no [...]
Easter Sunday 9th April 2023
Easter Sunday Sequence Christians, to the Pascal Victim offer sacrifice and praise. The sheep are ransomed by the Lamb: And Christ, the undefiled, Hath sinners to his Father reconciled. Death with Life contended: combat strangely ended! Life’s own Champion, slain, [...]
Palm Sunday 2 April 2023
Sunday, 2nd April. Palm Sunday. Readings: Matthew 21:1-11, Isaiah 50:4-7, Psalm 21(22):8-9,17-20, 23-24, Philippians 2:6-11, Matthew 26:14-27:66 In the readings for this significant Sunday a line jumped out that had not “spoken” to me before, the first line of the [...]
Fifth Sunday of Lent 26th March 2023
The Raising of Lazarus There are several themes worth reflecting on in today’s readings: Resurrection, New Life, Faith, Trust, Friendship, Grief, the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit and central to them all: JESUS; His humanity and divinity. When Jesus got [...]
Fourth Sunday in Lent 19th March 2023
Today we celebrate Laetare Sunday, Laetare meaning Rejoice; We look ahead in joyful hope to what awaits - the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In today’s Gospel, the healing of the man born blind invites us [...]
Third Sunday of Lent 12 March 2023
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT – JOHN 4:5 - 42 –‘ A CHANCE ENCOUNTER’ “Give me a drink.”- “ Give me some of the water that I may never get thirsty and never have to come again to draw water” Imagine [...]
Second Sunday of Lent 5th March 2023
Today, Sunday 5 March refers to the vocation of Abram but also to a very important event, the transfiguration of the Lord, which is related to the fact that the disciples who accompanied Jesus were also living his vocation, his [...]
First Sunday of Lent 26th February 2023
During the week, on Ash Wednesday, we began our Lenten Pilgrimage towards Easter. Today we are with Jesus as he is led by the Spirit, driven by the Spirit into the desert, to be tempted to compromise on his mission [...]
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 19 Feb. 2023
Readings: Leviticus 19:1-2,17-18, 1Cor 3:16-23, Matt 5:38-48 We are called to be holy - because the Lord our God is holy. Weren’t we taught that striving for holiness is what the spiritual life is all about? And ‘being holy’ is [...]

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 12 Feb. 2023
(Sir 15:15-20; Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1 Cor 2:6-10; Mt 5:17-37) A line in the Responsorial Psalm for the 2nd Sunday of the Year: “My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart” [Ps 39 [...]

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 5 February 2023
Is.58:7-10, 1Cor.2:1-5, Mt.5:13-16 Today’s readings are both affirming and challenging and, for me, are all interlinked. Isaiah in the first reading speaks of the great needs of people and the unjust situations that existed. And just in case one’s family [...]

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time 29 Jan. 2023
I Cor1: 26-31 When I saw the theme of this Sunday’s so beautifully entwined readings, I immediately thought of Gladys from San Nicolas, a town near Rosario, in Argentina, and just 10 minutes drive from our own community in Sanchez. [...]

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time 22 January 2023
In last Sunday’s Gospel, we heard how Jesus was baptized by John, the Baptist in the River Jordan. On that occasion John declared: “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) We too [...]

Second Sunday of the Year 15th January 2023
The Sermon of “St John the Baptist”, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1566, Museum of Fine arts, Budapest We Do Not Have To go Through this Life Alone The above painting by Bruegel is a perfect example of the [...]

The Baptism of the Lord, Sunday 8 Jan. 2023
Many of us are familiar with personal identity documents, compulsory in some countries and non-compulsory in others. These documents are updated at different stages in a person’s life. The first one is given in childhood, it is renewed in the [...]
Sunday 1 January 2023
Mary, Mother of God If You Want If you want, The Virgin will come Walking down the road Pregnant with the holy, and say, “I need shelter for the night, Please take me inside your heart, My time is so [...]
Christmas Day 25th December 2022
The only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. A tradition that has grown very dear to me, a blow-in to Dublin, is the pre-Christmas performances of Handel's Messiah. For many, the Oratorio is a must-see during Advent. [...]

Fourth Sunday of Advent 18th Dec. 2022
The maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel, a name which means, “God is with us”. These words came from Isaiah around 740 BC. We often say that God’s ways [...]

Third Sunday of Advent 11 December 2022
This Sunday is “Gaudete Sunday” which means “Rejoice!”. In times past when this was a time of fasting, the third Sunday was seen as a little respite from fasting. It was a time to rejoice that Christmas was very near [...]
Second Sunday of Advent 4 Dec. 2022
Today’s Gospel introduces John the Baptist, cousin of Jesus, who came as a witness to speak for the Light. There had not been a prophet for 100 years in Israel. Prophets were the conscience of the people, encouraging them to [...]
First Sunday of Advent 27 Nov. 2022
Isaiah:2:1-5 - St Paul: Romans:13:11-14 - Mt: 24:37-41 In today’s first reading, Isaiah holds up the vision for the season of Advent. A vision to prepare us for the reality of the birth of the Christ-child. What is the source [...]

Thirty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary time 20 November 2022
Feast of Jesus Christ Universal King. Those of us who live in the north eastern corner of Ireland recently witnessed the death of a monarch Elizabeth 11 and witnessed her son succeeding her as King Charles 111. Those who saw [...]

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time 13 Nov. 2022
Mourning our Losses. Too many of us, live with our regrets. The very sudden death of Siobhan leaves us with questions. Though Siobhan didn’t talk freely, freely, about her illness, we were still free to ponder with her. I still [...]

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time 6 Nov. 2022
Thirty Second Sunday - Luke 20:27-38 Second reading: 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 The start of this Sunday’s Gospel text sets the scene of an encounter between some Sadducees and Jesus. Their question is one that many of us can identify with. [...]

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 30th October 2022
EVANGELIO SEGÚN SAN LUCAS 19, 1 -10 En estas líneas del evangelio nos encontramos con un tema preferido de la Comunidad de Lucas, “la Conversión y sus exigencias”, en todo tiempo y a destiempo de nuestra experiencia humana, cristiana y [...]

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time 23rd Oct. 2022
Luke 18: 9-14: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector When Dominican Sisters or Brothers make profession – take their first or final vows - they are asked during the ceremony “What do you desire?” the response is, [...]

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time 16 Oct. 2022
Luke 18:1-8 In the parable in today’s gospel reading, the woman kept asking, and eventually the judge gave her what she wanted. It’s so easy to focus on the last bit: the woman got what she wanted. But the fact [...]

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 9 Oct. 2022
2Kings5:14-17 Naaman and Elisha were both men who wielded much power, Naaman as a successful military man and great favourite of the King of Damascus, Elisha a Man of God with a reputation for healing among the Israelite community. Unfortunately [...]

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 October 2022
1st Reading God's plans are not always the same as our plans; they are often invisible to our eyes, incomprehensible to our living and feeling. How many times do we ask ourselves like Habakkuk, where are you my God? But [...]

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 25 September 2022
Amos 6: 1, 4 – 7, I Timothy 6: 11 – 16, Luke 16: 19 – 31 Over many years I have found reading the Scriptures in the ancient process of Lectio Divina to be very nourishing and enriching. Lectio [...]

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time 18 September 2022
Amos 8:4-7, Psalm 113:1-2,4-6,7-8, 1Timothy 2:1-8, Luke 16:1-13 We should cease being surprised by scripture. Today’s readings challenge us to look honestly at our way of life, our attitude to others, our concepts of justice and mercy, our priorities, and [...]