People have always had a need for annual moments in a year that are highly ritualised around social gatherings with food and drink. Halloween has relatively recently become one such significant day on every town calendar. The marking of Halloween (literally “All Saints Eve”), became significant for Christians who were preparing to celebrate the feast […]
It’s 500 years (31 October 1517) since Martin Luther published his 95 theses by reputedly nailing them to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church in Germany. With this gesture he intended to begin a debate aimed at reforming the Catholic Church by correcting misunderstandings of doctrine and abolishing abuses in church practice. He could […]
A good homily story I heard a number of years ago had as its punch-line “remember that the most important thing, is to always keep the most important thing, as the most important thing.” It’s a great line, even without the preceding story. For me it has become a regular touchstone, a method for taking […]
It was my paternal grandfather who first taught me about the night sky pointing out notable stars and constellations. Later when I became familiar with the scriptures I discovered that the stars are often mentioned as a way of helping people to keep perspective in the midst of human challenges. Wise people would gaze up […]
If I began this post saying “I’m going to tell you some of the reasons why I think values are so important” you might not be too curious. But here is a brief video clip about the importance of values that was created by one of our 15 year-old parishioners. He has taken time to […]
It has been a full and satisfying day of priestly ministry for me here in the Hurunui. Early this morning I drove the hour north to Cheviot for Mass with the locals. After Mass the conversation was of the great growth after the spring rains. After Mass morning tea with a few parishioners, then a […]
It’s Mission Sunday this weekend and Pope Francis’ 2017 Mission Sunday letter is inspiring. At one point he quotes Pope Benedict’s reminder that “being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a Person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” […]
Early this evening, almost four weeks after the last votes were cast in the general election, New Zealand has a new government. The 1992 national electoral reform referendum resulted in 84% of voters opting for a change from the First Past the Post system. From the four alternative options listed on the referendum, 70% of […]
It’s the feast of St. Luke today, 18 October. He is best known as the writer of the Gospel of Luke, but he also wrote the Acts of the Apostles. You might like to try reading through the Gospel of Luke and then pick up the Acts of the Apostles which continues where the Gospel […]
I’ve got a bit of a challenge on my hands. A couple of weeks ago I posted about our Hurunui parish weekend for young families held in Hanmer Springs. This morning the group met for 8.30am pancakes breakfast and formation sessions (one for children one for parents) before the 10.00am Amberley Mass. It was a […]
St. Teresa of Avila died on the night of 4 October, however her feast day is 15 October. The reason for this is that the implementation of the Gregorian calendar (which we use today) replacing the Julian calendar, required that 10 days be eliminated. This happened on what was therefore the night of 4-15 October, […]
I rarely get the opportunity to read as much as I would like to. I have a stack of books and articles waiting to be read both in my office and piled beside the bed. However technology offers easy access to talking books and podcasts that I listen to as I drive. Many video presentations […]
It’s 55 years today since the first session of the three-year Second Vatican Council began. On this day, October 11 Pope John XXIII addressed those gathered in a speech which summarised the needs of the era. Today Pope Francis also uses the “change of era” language. Here is the most often quoted section of Pope […]
This month began with news of the Las Vegas tragedy with the loss of 58 lives and the wounding of almost 500 people A number of commentators have reflected that while one man held the gun, the responsibility for such tragedies must at least partly shared by a society that is lacking in what is […]
After a long week I’ve made it to Friday afternoon. No doubt your week has been full and (in the opening words of the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) there will have been joys, hopes, griefs and anxieties. In recent days I have seen and experienced the good and the bad of […]
