Suffering is something that seems to be an inevitable part of life. No one, good or bad, rich or poor, escapes suffering in their life. Hard as it might be, our experience of suffering becomes far more difficult due to two things: isolation and darkness. This is what the Apostles were entering into: and in their place of darkness, God reveals his light which changes everything. This is the light that God wants to cover us with, in our own time of prayer.

Mark's gospel presents the shortest account of the temptations of Jesus. It mentions the Holy Spirit, the Devil and even wild animals and angels but nothing of the content of the temptations themselves. But within this few, brilliantly crafted lines, we can see our own lives played out. And Christ comes as King battling forces far greater than ourselves, so we can have the victory.

We are confronted by the striking lament of Job in his suffering. In Job, all those who suffer, and suffer greatly can find a voice.Physical suffering can sometimes be relentless, leaving one with no rest and no joy. And the gospel seems to give God's verdict on this suffering - Jesus heals everyone. Does God really want to heal us? And does it happen today?

The book of Jonah is one of the most hilarious, yet completely profound books of Scripture. It has depths to plumb, all the way down to the deep! But in Jonah, we can find ourselves in our pain and our difficulties and a God who will go to the ends of the world to find us.

As we return from our own family gatherings, the Church offers us the icon of the family in the feast of the Holy Family. Our families can be the source of great joy and blessing - and also great pain and suffering. But this feast reveals the wonderful calling for our families. Jesus being born in a family means he can be born in ours too if we will ask God for this grace. Just as Christ redeemed the world being born in a family, he can redeem our world, through our families.

We continue to be confronted by the mysterious figure of John the Baptist, this third week. His actions are so puzzling that the high priests send priests and Levites to question him on what he is doing. This ominous confrontation goes to the heart of our own struggles, the challenges we face every day, in our own lives.

Advent is a season of hope, and comes with new grace to renew us in our hope. Without hope, we do not have direction in our lives; without hope, we die. The great symbol of this in the Scriptures is the figure of the Watchman. The Watchman can continue watching because he knows that finally, God is the one who watches over Israel - and when all else has failed, we can still stay awake because the One who watches over us never gives up.

Ten virgins wait for the coming of the bridegroom. In most things they are all alike; Augustine notes that they are all virgins, they have kept their hearts chaste for Christ, they have oil and light. The sleep is probably the final sleep of death. And after all their good works, only five go in. What did the foolish ones miss? And will we be caught out at Parousia?

Jesus puts the Pharisees on the stand this week and he exhorts his disciples against being called ‘Father’, ‘Teacher’ or ‘Master’, all of which we seem to routinely violate. Jesus’ words are harsh, but he is not attacking the Pharisees in anger. His Word can hurt, but it is like the surgeon’s knife which cuts only to heal. When we allow his Word to penetrate our hearts, we will also discover our own unique vocation to be father, teacher and servant-leader.

Our gospel this week brings us to the heart of Jesus' teaching: all of the Law and Prophets summed up in two commands, summing up even Jesus' own new law of the beatitudes. But how do we live this? We can often fall on one side or the other, but Jesus is uncompromising. To love this way, however is to love like Christ himself. And that is exactly what we see in the saints.