The Gospels, Bishop Martin Drennan believes, introduce us to features of the face of God, each in its own ingenious way. They draw us to engage with this living God and allow ourselves to be transformed by him. His word has the capacity to direct and redirect our lives, to prune us and bring about new growth. God’s presence has the power to make us the best we can be.

The Word of God was made flesh to reveal the living features of God’s presence in every corner of human life. In response, preaching sets out to offer a word that is truthful and encouraging and supporting, a word that opens up the way to forgiveness or to healing. Preaching needs, therefore, to be rooted in the reality of life, never evasive of the issues thrown up in lived experience. That way, it will draw us to where God has life for us. With understanding of the past, taking responsibility for it and taking it into account as fresh choices are made, it can produce a spirit of self-giving, a wanting to surrender oneself and be available for the Lord.

+ Martin Drennan taught Scripture in Kilkenny, Rome and Maynooth from 1973 to 1997, the year he was appointed an auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese of Dublin. He became Bishop of Galway in 2005, retiring in 2016.