Today’s feast of the Dedication of the Roman basilica of St. John Lateran might seem like a strange focus for a feast. It is however a timely feast for our Christchurch diocese embarking on the rebuilding of Catholic churches destroyed by the 2010 / 2011 earthquakes. It was the emperor Constantine who built the first basilica on the Lateran site in the early […]
Earlier this year I wrote a piece in response to a Christchurch Press advertising feature page in which several city colleges promoted their schools. Included on the page were presentations from some of our Catholic colleges. My point was that while there is an environment of excellence in our Catholic Schools, most Catholic schools do […]
Without a doubt friendship is the greatest gift in life and in this regard I am very fortunate. In conversations with some people I have met in recent weeks I see the seeds of friendship, and others have been my friends for a decade or two or three or more. More than four decades ago […]
There’s nothing like a good fireworks display to bring crowds together with ooh’s and aah’s in an atmosphere of celebration. I really enjoy a spectacular display accompanied by great music, but I’m always a bit uncomfortable with a few aspects of today, 5th November (Guy Fawkes Day), as New Zealand’s annual fireworks day. Basically we […]
Today’s offering from The Liturgy Guys is especially timely for the parishes in our Christchurch diocese that are in the process of building or restoring churches. The building or restoring of a parish church is a great opportunity for a parish to grow in appreciation of the nature of a Catholic church building. Such deepening […]
It is the evening of All Souls day. Always this day is, for me as for many others, a day filled with memories of those loved and loved by who have died. As we pray in the preface fof the Mass for the Dead, “life is changed not ended.” It is for them of course, […]
It’s the feast of All Saints today. Happy Feast day! Perhaps the most common daily ailment in citizens of the western world is stress. Most mornings many of us wake with the sense that the things we have to do today simply won’t fit into the time available. At the end of the day we […]
