Prayer is a regular part of the day in a Catholic school or parish. I’m often asked by those who share the responsibility for leading prayer for ideas about how best to lead group prayer. In the video below I offer a couple of suggestions. Take a moment to watch the video then you will […]
In response to requests I am offering retreat day for men on Saturday 24 February 2018. Most men have never had the opportunity for or an invitation to this kind of reflection day. Here is your invitation and now is your opportunity. You may be at Mass regularly, or you may not have been near […]
Graeme, May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come to welcome you and take you into the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem. Note the audio of today’s homily of Fr. Rick Loughnan is available at this link. With gratitude to Peter Fleming for sharing these photos.
Here in Aotearoa New Zealand we are preparing for the start of the new school year. School staff will meet in the next few days and students will soon arrive to begin the 2018 school year. It’s an ideal opportunity for us to reflect on the goals we have for the educational endeavour within a […]
Grief is the price we pay for love, and this week the many family and friends who love and are loved by Fr. Graeme Blackburn have been gripped by grief at his tragic road accident death on Monday. We were united in speechless shock at the news. Memories began to be shared. Tears flowed and […]
Since Fr. Graeme Blackburn’s tragic death on Monday night we have been united in grief: Graeme’s mother Erin (above embracing Graeme at his ordination last year) and all Graeme’s family, his many friends, our diocesan family especially parishioners at his Sockburn parish of Our Lady of Victories, and his brothers in the priesthood in Christchurch […]
A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to take part in the annual Hearts Aflame gathering of 100 young NZ Catholics aged between 18 & 35. I was asked to share a few thoughts on discernment and I am happy to share the video with you at the link below. While it is a […]
Last evening we received the tragic news of the death of one of our youngest priests in a road accident. Graeme Blackburn was ordained on 1 July last year. Our prayers are with and for Erin his mother, his family, his many friends, and for us his diocesan family of Christchurch. Our shared grief is […]
My paternal grandfather knew his way around the night sky. In New Zealand, the Southern Cross is the most recognisable constellation. I remember grandad showing me this cross, and the “Pointers”, the two stars that seem to point to the Southern Cross. Many artistic representations of John the Baptist show him as a ‘pointer’. He […]
180 years ago, 13 January 1838, the first Catholic Mass was celebrated on Aotearoa New Zealand soil. Bishop Pompallier had arrived in the country a couple of days earlier. Here is the account of the event in from his diary: “On Wednesday, the 10th of January, 1838, we arrived at the entrance to the Hokianga River, […]
One of these years I will make it to the New York Encounter. The 2018 event will be held over the next two days and “strives to witness to the new life and knowledge generated by the faith,” following Pope Benedict’s claim that “the intelligence of faith has to become the intelligence of reality.” I […]
My friend Alex is an excellent preacher. Because he is in the US which is a day behind NZ and his homilies only appear online on NZ’s Monday I am unable to steal his thoughts and use them as my own Sunday homily! Instead I am happy to share his YouTube channel and encourage you […]
“the Magi did not set out because they had seen the star, but they saw the star because they had already set out” I enjoyed a couple of days this past week at the annual Hearts Aflame gathering of young Catholics, this year held in the small Rangitikei town of Marton. This ten-day live-in event […]
Every now and then Food For Faith followers send inspiring reflections and are happy that I share these. I am grateful to Frank Kelly who sent the above poem with the comment: “Since I am not a retail enthusiast, I was glad to miss out on all the “bargains” in store and online. So I spent […]
Today is the final email in the Advent / Christmas pilgrimage. If you have not yet completed the brief survey please take a moment to do so by clicking on the image below. The future of this Food For Faith mission depends on your feedback – even a word or two in response to one […]
