Today marks 175 years since the martyrdom St Peter Chanel, first martyr in the South Pacific and patron of Oceania. Wikipedia reports:Â Â The group was initially well...
john oconnor
power of music
One of the great satisfactions of driving for 300 km every weekend is having the time (and ideal place) to listen to podcasts. Last weekend Radio New Zealand broadcast...
opportunities
One of the Hurunui district's many beautiful places is the reserve in the heart of Hanmer Springs that until 2003 was home to Queen Mary Hospital. In my 4+ years in the...
Chatham ANZAC
One year ago today I was on the Chatham Islands for Anzac Day on the centenary of the Gallipoli campaign. The painting above is by one of the young Chatham Islanders....
in flanders fields
The poppy from Flanders Field in Belgium has become the most visible symbol of Anzac remembrance. When I was a very young child my father taught me the John McCrae...
here’s a challenge
Every Sunday of the year is Vocations Sunday when the scriptures and a good homily help baptised people to appreciate the beauty of their calling to live vocationally,...
the joy of love
Late last night NZ time Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Amoris Laetitia - The Joy of Love" was promulgated. While it is directly the follow-up document after the...
moments of light
You might have clicked to the fact that Good Friday this year was marked on March 25 which would normally have been the feast of the Annunciation celebrating the...
divine mercy
In the Jubilee year 2000, Pope John Paul initiated this Sunday, the Second Sunday of Easter, as Divine Mercy Sunday. In his homily on that first Divine Mercy Sunday, as...
Easter Morning
It is before dawn on the first day of the week, still dark, and I am just prayed Morning Prayer here at Hawarden with a team from the Liturgical Institute as they lead...
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light in the dark
A feeling of darkness often serves to highlight the limitations of our pre-packaged ideas
lighten up
I don’t know of anyone who would describe 2020 as a “year of favour” but there is real hope here
here & now
Perhaps we struggle to believe that God will work miracles for us here and now
living
While few of us would admit that we are people-pleasers it is easy to get caught in the trap.
reflecting
“My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.