It is a privilege for me to spend a couple of days twice a year with members of the Anglican Roman Catholic Commission of Aotearoa New Zealand (ARCCANZ). This forum is the national dialogue between the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia and the Roman Catholic Church of New Zealand. Yesterday afternoon we concluded one […]
I am often surprised and saddened to hear people speaking about their own experience of prayer with a degree of uncertainty and lack of confidence. But when I hear them speak it is clear to me that they have no reason at all to be uncertain because they are praying beautifully. They are in relationship […]
It was on this morning four years ago that in New Zealand we woke to the news that Pope Francis had been elected. I recall being in the Cheviot Four Square store a few months later in a conversation with others waiting at the check-out line when a tourist, learning that I was the local priest, […]
If you were asked to name the greatest journey ever made, I wonder what you would answer. Take a moment to think about it. Maybe you’re thinking about a journey made by great explorers to the poles of the earth, to the depths of the oceans or to the top of the highest mountains…
It is Saturday evening as I write and I have just arrived back in Amberley after the Vigil Mass at Hanmer Springs. The Christian Sabbath has begun. In my homily at tonight’s Mass I recalled a pilgrimage I made to the Holy Land a few years ago. One of the distinctive natural landmarks about half […]
On this Saturday morning you perhaps you are able to look ahead to a weekend that is a bit more relaxed than the work or study week. However I know too that is is very easy for time off to be filled with yet more work. Many people struggle with getting good rest and recreation. Perhaps this […]
I call it the magic carpet idea of prayer: the thought that prayer is a way of escaping from our present reality, floating away to a peaceful place before at the end of the time of prayer I have to come back to life’s worries and demands. But this is not Christian prayer. Christian prayer […]
It is perhaps surprising that in a time when fewer people have a sense of sin, more people seem to suffer from a lack of self esteem. Could it be that a deep awareness of personal sinfulness becomes, by the grace and mercy of God, our capacity for personal experience of God’s forgiveness and love?
God cannot work in your past or your future today. God has worked in your past, and God works in the present to heal the past, but God cannot today work in your past. In the same way God cannot today work in your future. God will work in your future, and God works in your […]
Thank God it’s Tuesday! Last week the parish was involved in six ecumenical services, two for Ash Wednesday and four for the World Day of Prayer. It is a moving experience to pray together remembering that the heart of our faith, relationship with Jesus Christ who is God with us, is something we share across […]
While “Thank God it’s Friday” (T.G.I.F.) is a common end-of-week cry of relief, it’s a rare person who welcomes Mondays with the same enthusiasm. As you begin the new week you probably have some idea of what the next few days will bring for you. Perhaps there are some moments in the week ahead that […]
In the Gospel reading for today, the First Sunday of Lent, we hear of Jesus being tempted. His response to the temptation seems remarkably calm; he simply gives one sentence put-downs to Satan. What is it that enables him to reject these attractive temptations of power, wealth and glory with such (apparent) ease. I think […]
Here in the Southern Hemisphere we don’t associate Lent with spring since in these March days we are entering Autumn. But there is a real connection, and in this brief video (filmed in the beautiful Cheviot Hills Domain) you will discover the importance of the relationship between spring and Lent.
Fasting has become a bit fashionable which is an encouragement for we who observe Lent. People who fast for reasons of health and fitness help us Christians to embrace fasting for reasons of faith and freedom. For many Christians Friday has traditionally been a day of fasting. It’s Friday today, the end of the working and school week for many […]
In yesterday’s brief video clip I encouraged us all to remember that Lent is much more about what God is doing than about anything that we do. We usually think of Lent as a time when we try to do more or focus on doing better. This can be helpful, but the broader context is that […]
