As the Rector of the host College for this year's Bishop Lyons Shield Competition, Justin Boyle of St. Bede's had the opportunity for a last word before asking Bishop...
john oconnor
gift of words
When I arrived at the Bishop Lyons Public Speaking competition on Sunday afternoon, Bishop Barry Jones had just celebrated Mass for the teams from our seven Catholic...
in the gaze
The image that I had prepared for last Sunday's homily on the vine & branches gospel is the Vine & Branches gold resin windows from Our Lady of Victories...
funerals
In a rural parish, funerals are a significant gathering of friends and neighbours with family. This week in the Hurunui I have assisted with two funerals; Katie after a...
choosing a g(G)od
In 1974 Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh (accompanied by his wife Queen Elizabeth) visited Vanuatu a small archipelago in the Pacific Islands. Newspaper headlines...
SMSM’s@Chatham
By the late 1940's the NZ government was finding it impossible to provide adequate medical care for the people of the Chatham Islands. The government made a request of...
a life of value
When did you last encourage someone to consider that God might be calling them to serve as a priest? This Sunday (“Good Shepherd Sunday”, Fourth Sunday of Easter) is...
Anzac Day
The entire morning of Anzac Day on the Chatham Islands is taken with dignified commemorations. The service at dawn is followed by breakfast. Then the parade from the...
Anzac dawn
Before dawn this morning here on the Chatham Islands, the Islanders gathered to remember that one morning before dawn 100 years ago this morning, New Zealand and...
flat tyres
If you are ever going to get a flat tyre, the Chatham Islands is without doubt the best place. Perhaps it was the fact that the locals saw their priest kneeling beside...
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pray big
The emails that have accompanied most of the prayer requests I have received this week have been moving and inspiring.
many rooms
It’s all very well for Jesus to tell us not to be troubled, but when we are feeling troubled it’s not easy to shift the feeling.
light in darkness
Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.
plainly speaking
I like the bold approach of the Jews, marching up to Jesus as he strolls between the columns: “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
thirsty?
People who see God as useful for a bit of a hand every now and then will quickly tire of the psalms. The psalms are too full-on, too passionate, too heart-felt, too all-or-nothing.