March 29, 2019
Reflecting on the gospel for Mothering Sunday, Linda from our Theology team reflects on the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) and the love of all parents around the world.
Continue reading “Lent reflection: God is love, compassion and mercy”March 22, 2019
This Sunday is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Saint Oscar Romero. Reflecting on Sunday’s gospel (Luke 13:1-9), Catherine from our Theology team reflects on the great saint’s example and his reminder that we all need constant conversion.
Continue reading “Lent reflection: Another chance to change”March 19, 2019
Nalini Nathan, who coordinates our work with supporters, reflects on the challenge of making time for daily reflection throughout Lent. This year she has been following the CAFOD online Lent calendar, and here she shares her thoughts.
Continue reading “Lent: Making space for daily reflection”March 15, 2019
In this reflection on the Transfiguration of the Lord (Luke 9:28-36), taken from our Lent calendar, Catherine from our Theology team reflects on how lives can be transformed by hope.
Continue reading “Lent reflection: A future transformed”March 8, 2019
In this reflection on Jesus’ temptation in the desert (Luke 4:1-13) taken from our Lent calendar, Catherine from our Theology team considers the dark shadow that hunger can cast on people’s lives.
Continue reading “Lent reflection: The shadow of hunger looms”November 9, 2018
This reflection and prayer were written by Joy Wanless from Our Lady of Grace parish, Manchester.
Based on the gospel for Sunday 11 November – Mark 12:38-44
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“But she in her poverty has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.”
It’s easy to judge by our own standards, to sometimes forget that all good gifts come from God. Some have gifts to offer to foodbanks. Some are dependent on food banks for the basics to feed their families. There are those who are permanently hungry who Jesus watches just as closely.
Margaret in Batiama, Sierra Leone, experiences the “hungry season”, while they wait for the harvest.
Margaret was struggling, but her life was changed with a small loan from CAFOD which enabled her to buy supplies and set up a shop in her home.
She received training on how to make her business a success. Margaret now earns enough to support her children. She can pass on the gift of the loan and another family’s lives have been changed.
Change a life with the gift of a small loan
She says, “I want to thank CAFOD for appreciating women – especially widowed women fending for themselves.”
What loan can we offer to others? Prayer, friendship, time, money, comforts? What do we have to put in the offering?
What can we give which, like the widow’s mite, isn’t just in excess of our needs but is a genuine gift from the heart?
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Dear Lord, we thank you for your abundant provisions for our lives. We thank you that you show us the way. You don’t judge. You love. Let’s put our wealth, a gift from you, in the offering and share your love. Amen.
November 2, 2018
In this reflection on Mark 12:28-34, Roisin Beirne from our Legacy and Remembrance team considers the command to love God and our neighbour.
Based on the gospel for Sunday 4 November – Mark 12:28-34
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Continue reading “Gospel reflection: There is no commandment greater than love”
October 21, 2018
Roisin Beirne, in our Legacy and Remembrance team, reflects on this week’s gospel (Mark 10:35-45). She considers the legacy that our loved ones who have died have left in our lives and their impact on the world.
Based on the gospel for Sunday 21 October – Mark 10:35-45
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“Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant.”
Continue reading “Gospel reflection: The importance of serving others”
October 11, 2018
Francis Stewart works in our theology team. In this blog he looks at the links between the two new saints whose lives have such prophetic meaning for CAFOD.
By canonising Oscar Romero and Pope Paul VI together, Pope Francis is surely pointing out to us the connections between two humble yet courageous men. So what links these two great advocates of “a Church of the poor and for the poor”?
Both men have been inspirational for CAFOD’s mission. This is because of what the teachings of one and the life of the other show us about a true encounter with people who are poor.
Find out more about Romero’s life, with our timeline.
Continue reading “Our newest saints: St Oscar Romero and St Pope Paul VI”
October 10, 2018
Tania Dalton was a member of CAFOD’s Latin America team for nearly 13 years. In this blog she explains how Archbishop Oscar Romero has inspired her to begin a new chapter in her life.
Two big things are happening in my life right now:
It might seem conceited to say the two things are related, but in my mind, they are.
I first heard about Archbishop Oscar Romero when I started working in CAFOD in 1999. I am inspired daily by Romero’s unwavering option for the poor, although I was a small child when he was killed for his defence of basic human rights and social justice.
