St. Thomas of Canterbury Catholic Parish, Newport, Isle of Wight

12/06/2026

*_Sunday reflection!_*

_Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, June 14, 2026. Have a blessed & joyful weekend!_

*Jesus names his team*

By Rev’d Dr Emmanuel ODOEMENE

In the scriptures, the number twelve is a constitutive number, and this applies to both the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles whom Jesus names today in the gospel. They would take on a foundational role as had the twelve Hebrew patriarchs. Arriving at the foot of Mount Sinai on their journey, Moses communicated to the people of Israel God’s mind in counting them as His chosen people: “a kingdom of priests and a consecrated nation” (1stR, Exodus 19:2-6). God’s choice of this nation is gratuitous and is in keeping to his covenant to their forebears (Deuteronomy 7:7-9).

In the gospel reading, God’s choice is extended to the new Israel represented by the twelve apostles who are sent on apostolic work. The Church, the new Israel, is built on the foundation of the apostles with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22). And he constituted the Church as a sign of salvation for the world. Having been chosen too, all Christ’s faithful are called to the holiness of life – a life defined by love, service and sacrifice.

The gospel shows the human side of Jesus in his expression of love and compassion. He is moved with pity at seeing the crowds who were harassed and dejected like sheep without a shepherd (today’s gospel Matthew 9:36 – 10:8). Realising that there are too many needs to meet, he rallies his team to go to work, whilst also requesting prayers from the Lord of the harvest to people his vineyard with workers. And at this stage, the mission of the twelve is limited to the region and culture which they were most familiar with. From the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”, their mission would later expand with the mandate to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

In his team-sheet, we find imperfect people from diverse backgrounds. Peter is always named first and Judas always named last (suggesting a form of hierarchy). Judas’ betrayal was explicitly noted – a fact that human imperfection has always been with the Church even before its inception. Jesus brought people from opposing political beliefs to be team players. Matthew and Simon, the Zealot are a good example. They are meant to be enemies: Matthew collected taxes for a foreign power and in the eyes of the people, he collaborated with their oppressors. Tax collectors were generally despised for their corrupt practices.

On the other hand, Simon the Zealot belonged to the group of Zealots whose activities challenged the oppressive elements in the land that Matthew worked for. They removed the aristocratic priests, attacked other revolutionary groups and the occupying Roman forces. However, another school of thought posits that the zealots were those Jews who were intensely zealous for the practice of the Mosaic Law and insistent that their fellow Jews strictly observe the Law as a means of distinguishing themselves from the Gentiles.

By bringing people of various hues together, Jesus is making a statement that he wants to break down the barriers of division among people. Yes, we might hail from different political, religious, ethnic, or racial backgrounds, but we must know that even in our differences, we all belong to Christ who wants us to be one. In John 17:21, Jesus prayed that “may they all be one even as you Father are in me, and I am in you.” The expressions of love and unity will convince the world that we are indeed the disciples of Christ.

Chosen, gifted, and sent, the apostles were to proclaim the kingdom of heaven. The signs of the presence of the kingdom are seen in the work of reconciliation (see: 2ndR, Romans 5:6-11). They are found in real life situations as we strive to minister to the needs of the sick in mind or body, in those we raise from death-dealing despair, in casting out destructive addictions, and in radiating the joy of the gospel. These apostles were gifted freely, and freely they must also give.

_How lovely on the mountains:_ _

"How Lovely on the Mountains (Our God Reigns)" was written by Ameri...

07/06/2026

O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament
have left us a memorial of your Passion,
grant us, we pray,
so to revere the sacred mysteries of your Body and Blood
that we may always experience in ourselves
the fruits of your redemption.
Who live and reign with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.

07/06/2026

BROKEN BUT BLESSED

At every Holy Mass, the Holy Host is broken before it is shared with the faithful. This sacred action reminds us of Jesus, whose Body was broken for our salvation.

Many of us carry brokenness within us—broken dreams, broken plans, broken relationships, broken hearts, and broken spirits. Yet Corpus Christi teaches us a profound truth: what is broken in the hands of God can become a blessing for many.

Jesus chose to remain with us under the appearance of a small, fragile Host. Though broken, it becomes the Bread of Life. Though divided among countless believers, Christ remains whole and present in each one. The Holy Eucharist reveals that brokenness is not the end of the story when God is involved.

The Cross seemed like defeat, yet it became the source of redemption. The Body of Christ was broken, yet through that sacrifice the world received salvation. In the same way, our wounds, sufferings, and struggles can become places where God's grace shines most brightly.

If you feel broken today, bring your heart to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Place your pain before Him. Let Him transform your wounds into wisdom, your sorrow into hope, and your weakness into strength.

On this Corpus Christi Sunday, remember:

The Host is broken, but it remains holy.
You may be broken, but you are still blessed.

"This is My Body, which is given for you." (Luke 22:19)

Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist, heal our brokenness and make us instruments of Your love. Amen.

06/06/2026

*_Sunday reflection!_*

_Solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, (Corpus Christi), Year A, June 7, 2026. O sacrament most holy, O sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving, Be every moment thine._

*The Eucharist as ‘radiation therapy’*

By Rev’d Dr Emmanuel ODOEMENE

When he lived, Pope Francis used to wake up at 4:30a.m. every day and for two hours prayed before the Blessed Sacrament before celebrating Mass at 7a.m. in his chapel at St. Martha. It is from this encounter with the Lord that he drew inspiration and energy for the day’s tasks, and he reminded all Christ’s faithful about the need to be close to Jesus in the Eucharist. In his Apostolic Exhortation, _Evangelii Gaudium,_ he said that: “the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak” _( #47)_ .

Reflecting on the power of the Eucharist, the American Archbishop Fulton Sheen (who will be beatified this year on September 24th at St Louis, Missouri) once said: “We become like that which we gaze upon. Looking into the sun, the face takes on a golden glow. Looking at the Eucharistic Lord for an hour transforms the heart in a mysterious way.” Following on from Archbishop Sheen's submission, his compatriot Bishop David Leon Toups called his daily hour of adoration before the Eucharist his daily “radiation therapy.”

The Eucharist is the greatest gift Jesus gave to his Church – the gift of His Own Self. A gift so overwhelming and humbling where our Lord becomes a tangible and tiny piece of bread we can hold in our hands. His teaching on this gift evolved gradually. First, as a promise as we see in the gospel reading (John 6:51-58). In the synagogue at Capernaum, He said: “the bread which I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”

Further at the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the context of the Jewish feast of Passover. The ritual words are familiar when He takes bread and says: “Take; this is my body.” And over the cup after giving thanks, He said: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many”, followed by the grand mandate: “Do this in memory of me.”

Then on Easter evening, the Eucharist was celebrated at Emmaus when the disciples recognized Jesus at the breaking of bread (Luke 24:35). Therefore, the gift that was promised, instituted, and celebrated is to be remembered, now as a sacrament that makes present the paschal mystery of Christ and gives nourishment for eternal life. This act of remembrance lies at the heart of our lives at Catholics as we relive the sacred moments of grace offered to us in the eucharist.

In the 1stR, Moses admonished the people to engage in this act of remembrance (Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16). Remember and do not forget he told them! They were to remember the generous acts of God’s loving care in providing them food and drink during their tortuous journey in the desert. The manna they ate is a figure of the Eucharist that gave bodily strength to reach the Promised Land; whilst in the Eucharist (an act of thanksgiving), we celebrate Jesus who is truly, really, and substantially present in the species of bread and wine for our spiritual nourishment leading to eternal life.

But since man cannot live by bread alone, we must always listen to God’s Word. That is why we must heed the invitation to see the Eucharist as the celebration of our unity in Christ (see 2ndR, 1 Cor. 10: 16-17). As we gather around the Lord’s Table we partake of the one bread and the one cup as one Body of Christ; that although many, we are one. It is in contemplation and appreciation of this mystery that the Pope got up early for his daily ‘radiation therapy.’ As the last great Sunday celebration before the feast of Christ the King in November, we have food that nourishes us through the Ordinary Time – a kind of liturgical viaticum – food for the journey.

_One Bread One Body:_ _

We are all baptized into the One Body of Christ...... One Bread One Body is a beautiful reflective prayer/song. I made this for times when we do not have any...

05/06/2026

31/05/2026

https://youtu.be/oe2HK-nsGKw?si=iQNpjHZsWDNVmmEK

SOCIAL MEDIANewsletter: https://breakinginthehabit.org/newsletter...

31/05/2026

*_Sunday reflection!_*

_Solemnity of The Most Holy Trinity, Year A, May 31, 2026. May the grace of Almighty God, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always._

*When love spilled over*

By Rev'd Dr Emmanuel ODOEMENE

At an international festival of families in Philadelphia, USA, in 2015, Pope Francis shared with the audience an experience with a little boy who asked him a tough question. Ryan, eight, a Canadian, asked the Pope: “What did God do before creating the world?”

The Pope conceded that it was a ‘really difficult’ question before proceeding to answer as follows: “Before creating the world God loved; because God is love. He has so much love – God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…that God would not be egoistic; it had to be poured out of Him so as to share that love with those outside of Himself and then God created the world.”

This Q & A encounter gives an illuminative background to the great mystery of the Holy Trinity we celebrate today. It’s a dogma, which is a truth revealed by God and declared by the Church as infallible and binding. Otherwise, how could it be logical, that: “There is one God, Who has Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each Person is God, yet there is still only one God” _(Catechism of the Catholic Church #234, #253-256)._ The Church presents this dogma not for us to solve the mystery of the Trinity, about how arithmetically, 1+1+1 = 1 and not 3, but to grow in our understanding of the triune God.

Even the word Trinity is not explicitly written in the bible. This is the futility of trying to fully comprehend this mystery with the human mind, but can only stammer with inadequate human concepts; which is why St Augustine declared: _“Si enim comprehendis, non est Deus”;_ if you have understood, then what you have understood is not God _(Sermon 117.5)._ St Paul had also written: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!” (Romans 11:33).

Yet the bible gives us clues that help us make sense of the Trinity. In the Old Testament, indirect references are made of the Trinity; for example: Genesis 1:26 presents God speaking to Himself: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”. In relation to the Tower of Babel, God says, “Come, let Us go down among them and confuse their language (Genesis 11:7). These references imply, but not state the doctrine of the Trinity. Today’s 2ndR (2 Cor. 13: 11-13), is an apostolic blessing given in the name of the Holy Trinity: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

To each Person of the Trinity is ascribed a function proper to Him: to God the Father the work of Creation, to God the Son the work of Redemption and to God the Holy Spirit the work of Sanctification. But they neither exist in separation nor act in isolation. There is intrinsic unity.

In the encounter with Nicodemus in the gospel (John 3:16-18), Jesus speaks of the love of the Father who sent Him. And He in turn has given the Holy Spirit as the love between Him and the Father. This shows not only the unity of purpose in the Trinitarian family, but also the constant communication of love. By his nature, God is relational, and He invites us to this relationship of love, mercy and graciousness (1stR, Exodus 34;4b-6,8-9).

And so, we bow in humility before the immensity of the Holy Trinity and should preoccupy ourselves with the lessons we can learn from the Trinitarian life overflowing with love, mercy, and goodness. Love is God’s identity revealed in His works. We share in the Trinitarian life insofar as we reflect that identity. Like Ryan we too seek to know more about God who is love and whose love spilled over to beget all of His creation.

_Father, I Adore You:_ _

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