Happy Easter on this second day of the Octave of Easter. At one of our Lenten evening sessions I asked the question, "how many Easter Sundays are there in ten years"?...
john oconnor
Easter morning
Happy Easter. It is late Saturday evening as I write. I am just back from the Easter Vigil at Hanmer Springs, a wonderful celebration of faith and new hope. Happy...
where do you live?
Most of us if asked "where do you live" would probably respond with a street address. But imagine that someone asks you this as a significant meaning-of-life question,...
Ave Verum
The depths of human pain, Â suffering and grief can produce some of the most exquisite beauty in art. The suffering and death of Jesus is an example, and one of the most...
the CROSS road
This evening I plan to be at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament choir and orchestra performance of Bach's St. John's Passion. Details below. But before then, at...
these three days
This Holy Triduum beginning with this evening's Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper is at the heart of our Christian faith, and therefore at the centre of our human...
Fred Dagg
In the midst of Holy Week I can't resist paying a tribute to John Clarke, best known in New Zealand for his Fred Dagg role which made him a part of our national lore...
gratefully
The Monday evening of Holy Week is a highlight for a priest in the diocese of Christchurch. At 5 in the afternoon we gather to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation...
savouring grace
You will read this on Monday, but I'm writing on Sunday night, the end of a full day. It's brisk outside, "a touch autumnal" as Bishop Ashby used to say. But the cool...
Holy Week Retreat
You might like to join me in considering this week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday as a week of retreat in daily life. For a Christian, to retreat is not to run...
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foolishness
I feel a bit torn today between the solemnity of the Holy Thursday commemoration of the Last Supper, and April Fools Day
just a moment
All things both good and bad, begin in a single moment.
turning tables
Pope Francis concluding last night’s Francisco documentary: “God bless you! And while you’re there, pray for me!”
THE cast
The reading of the Passion is a bit of a marathon requiring some stamina of body, mind and soul.
THE week
In Holy Week we don’t simply recall past events, but we engage in a here-and-now re-membering