A central part of the daily ministry of the life of any priest is ministry to those who have little or no contact with the Church. The most inspiring of these...
john oconnor
1000
Food For Faith quietly celebrated a significant milestone earlier this week with the 1000th posting. Five years ago the Food For Faith blog began as a two week Holy...
foster fathers’ feast
I took this picture a few years ago at Los Angeles Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angeles. The carving is of St. Joseph with a young Jesus. It is a rare and powerful...
pocket stuff
I suspect you can tell a lot about a person from what they carry in their pockets. Examination of the contents of a wallet alone would give a lot of personal  and...
Francis’ first year
A few people have been asked to write a reflection on Pope Francis first year for the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand Facebook page. You can read my...
happy St. Patrick’s
When most people think of St. Patrick’s day they think of the saint who freed Ireland of snakes. Many people celebrate this day wearing green and enjoying good Irish...
R.E. Congress 2014
I am often inspired by the clarity, attractiveness and depth of Fr. Robert Barron's reflections. This weekend  (13-16 March) he was a keynote speaker at the Archdiocese...
you raise me up
During the week I met a young priest new to New Zealand and on loan to the Christchurch diocese. On of his tasks of that morning had been to write the reflection for...
priests & adventure
I'm not sure how I missed this great 2010 Kim Hill interview with Fr. Michael Mahoney, presently Parish Priest of South Westland. Â In this inspiring chat Michael...
Lent & Autumn
It is Lent and, at least here in New Zealand, it is also Autumn. It is different in the northern hemisphere where it is springtime, but I like our southern match. You...
Latest Posts
fire
Late this afternoon we learned that the former Holy Name Seminary in Christchurch is engulfed in flames.
sleeping alone
While loneliness is a painful reality, it is most often the result of grasping at and attaching to things, projects and people we mistakenly think will bring us happiness
in pairs
The one who fears to be alone will never be anything but lonely, no matter how much they may surround themselves with people
yes but
We might even justify our resistance by suggesting that if we keep on with our current projects for a bit longer we will be able to give Him much more in the future.
Vocations Awareness Week
National Vocations Awareness Week resources for Sunday Masses 4 August 2019 & the week following. prepared Fr. John O’Connor Acting Director, National Liturgy Office. Aotearoa, New Zealand. liturgy@nzcbc.org.nz">liturgy@nzcbc.org.nz      www.nlo.org.nz  ...