We don’t have to be embarrassed by the fact that we all struggle with prayer, writes Br Julian McDonald. We can let busyness or disappointment push it aside. We can forget that God is always present to us even when we feel alienated or disinterested.

Today’s gospel reading reminds us that reflection & contemplation and selfless service are both essential dimensions of true discipleship, writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

Today we are confronted with two fascinating but challenging readings. They are both related to living our lives with moral integrity, writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

God is sufficiently big-minded to work through people as ordinary and ill-equipped as we are, through ordinary people like us who visit the sick, the lonely and the forgotten. What these people offer matters much more than who they are or their qualifications and training. They come as messengers of peace, and their love speaks all languages and touches all hearts, writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald.

The readings of both the 13th Sunday and “Peter & Paul” confront us with the price of commitment. Despite personal risk to his life, Jesus, true to his vocation, set out resolutely for Jerusalem, writes Christian Brother Julian McDonald. Similarly, both Peter and Paul, aware of the dangers for Christians in Rome, still made their way there in order to encourage a community of disciples who had long endured persecution. For them, following in the footsteps of Jesus came at considerable personal cost.