Reflections by Fr Mathibela Sebothoma

  Homily 24 February 2026 Tuesday of the First Week of Lent Introduction My dear brothers and sisters, Lent has begun. The ashes are still fresh in our memory. We have promised to pray more, fast more, complain less (hopefully), and maybe even give up something we actually like. But already, just a few days in, we discover something: Lent is not as easy as it looked on Ash Wednesday. Today’s Gospel reminds us that Lent is not about appearances. It is about transformation of the heart. A Humorous Story A little boy once gave up chocolate for Lent. He was very proud of himself. Three days later, his mother found him in the kitchen staring at a chocolate cake. She asked, “What are you doing?” He replied, “I’m not eating it. I’m just smelling it… and telling God how much I love Him.” Sometimes our sacrifices are like that. We give something up—but we stay very close to it! Lent is not about standing near temptation. It is about stepping away so that our hearts can grow s...

  Homily 23 February 2026 First Monday of Lent Readings: Leviticus 19:1–2, 11–18; Matthew 25:31–46 1. Introduction My dear brothers and sisters, Lent has only just begun, and already the Word of God challenges us deeply. Today’s Gospel does not speak about fasting or ashes. It speaks about judgment. And not judgment based on how many prayers we said, or how strictly we fasted — but on how we treated people. Lent immediately becomes practical. 2. Life Story A man once told his priest, “Father, I pray every day, I fast twice a week, and I never miss Mass.” The priest smiled and asked, “And how do you treat your wife?” The man paused and said, “Father, let’s keep religion separate from personal matters.” Sometimes we prefer a faith that stays in church. But Jesus refuses that separation. 3. Word of God In the Gospel of Gospel of Matthew (25:31–46), Jesus describes the final judgment. The Son of Man separates people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. A...

  First Sunday of Lent – Year A (22 February 2026) Gospel: Matthew 4:1–11 1. Introduction My dear brothers and sisters, Lent begins in the desert. Immediately after His baptism, Jesus is led into the wilderness. No celebration. No congratulations. No ministry launch event. Just silence, hunger, and testing. The Gospel from Gospel of Matthew shows us that before Jesus saves the world publicly, He must conquer temptation privately. Lent is not about performance. It is about preparation. 2. Humorous Story A priest once encouraged his parishioners: “For Lent, give up something that controls you.” After Mass, one man said, “Father, I’ve decided to give up vegetables.” The priest replied, “That’s not what I meant.” Sometimes we choose sacrifices that don’t really touch our hearts. We give up what is easy, not what is necessary. Jesus did not choose a comfortable Lent. He faced real hunger. Real weakness. Real temptation. 3. Exegesis In Matthew’s Gospel, the temptations a...

  Homily 21 February 2026 Saturday after Ash Wednesday – Lent Readings: Isaiah 58:9b–14; Luke 5:27–32 1. Introduction My dear friend, We have just begun our Lenten journey. The ashes are still fresh in our memory. The words still echo in our hearts: “Repent and believe in the Gospel.” Today, the Church gently teaches us what true repentance looks like. It is not a gloomy face. It is not dramatic sacrifice. It is a changed heart. 2. A Humorous Story A little boy decided to “fast” for Lent. He proudly told his mother, “Mom, I’m giving up vegetables for Jesus!” His mother smiled and said, “But you don’t eat vegetables anyway.” The boy replied confidently, “Exactly! I’m very holy already.” Sometimes we are like that little boy. We give up what we never liked in the first place. We sacrifice what costs us nothing. And we feel spiritual about it. But Lent asks for something deeper. 3. Exegesis In the Gospel (Luke 5:27–32), Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector. Tax collectors...

Dear brothers and sisters, On 25th March 1976, I was privileged to be in this great Cathedral Church, together with a friend from school, who is also present here today, for the Episcopal Ordination of the late Cardinal Basil Hume. On that day, the text that we have just heard, from St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy, was proclaimed: “Fan into flame the gift of God… for God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim 1:6-7) God’s call to us is not a call to power as so often exercised in the world, to achieve dominion over others. Rather it is characterised by self-control, not a self-control ‘generated’ as it were from within ourselves, but a self-control guided, empowered by the Holy Spirit. It is characterised by love, a love that reflects to all the love that we see in Christ. This is a love that is total-self-giving, self-emptying to the point of the death that we see depicted so clearly in the great rood here, above the Sanctuary. This is ...

 Father Karabo Baloyi’s recent post about the possibility of another African being considered for sainthood truly excited me. I first met Bernardin Cardinal Gantin at St John Vianney Seminary in the 1990s. At that time, many of us as students and seminarians were frustrated because the seminary was reluctant to appoint the first African/Black rector. Some influential people in the Church wanted the successor of Fr Graham Rose, the last White rector of the seminary, to be another White rector. While some wanted a Jesuit to succeed Fr Graham Rose, the Jesuit in question was White. We said clearly that there were also Africans gifted in leadership who were being overlooked simply because of their African heritage. At the same time, vocations among White candidates were at their lowest. As students and seminarians, we said, “Not under our watch.” This same seminary, when it was established, was meant only for White seminarians, while Black seminarians were admitted to St Peter’s S...