In just a few days, at this end of this week, news reports, political commentaries and documentary channels will be flooded with memory of the assassination of John F....
john oconnor
Filipino gathering
It was a privilege to celebrate Mass earlier this evening with members of the Filipino community and friends in our parish of Good Shepherd, Hurunui. We offered this...
exam encouragement
Spare a thought and a prayer in these weeks for New Zealand students spending the rest of the month sitting public NZQA exams. I have never been a good student, and...
now, & not yet
Early each week I read the scriptures for the following Sunday. This gives me time to prepare, not only by consulting a commentary or two (to find out what the...
typhoon donations
Our concern for the people of the Philippines following the earthquake last month and Typhoon at the weekend continues and deepens. Our thoughts turn to how we can...
exam encouragement
Spare a thought and a prayer in these weeks for New Zealand students spending the rest of the month sitting public NZQA exams. I have never been a good student, and...
11 11 11
At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, World War I concluded with an armistice. The hope was that this was the end of the war to end...
Philippines – light a candle
In the last few minutes news reports have estimated that the death toll in yesterday's Philippines Typhoon is in the vicinity of 10.000 people. Â A number of readers of...
This Town – Chathams
In 1997 New Zealand historian Michael King published a well-received history of New Zealand Catholicism. He titled his work "God's Farthest Outpost." If New Zealand is...
open door church
Recently I was driving in Mid Canterbury, and was surprised to find an attractive small church in the most unlikely of places, inland from Bankside / Dunsandel, about...
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forty days of growth
It’s Ash Wednesday and today’s reflection takes the form of a five minute podcast. You might listen sitting at home with your morning coffee, or perhaps on the drive to work.
there is a way
It's Monday morning and for many a new work and study week begins. These first hours of the week can be difficult. Perhaps the weekend didn't give the rest we needed and the tasks of the week ahead feel like too big a burden. Often it's just a line from the day's...
a man, a boy & a donkey
The man and boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, until at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders.
lest we forget
Why are you a part of the Church? I’m part of the church not because of the priests and the people of the church…
Oscars inspiration
There are some some notable exceptions including Matthew McConaughey’s 2015 acceptance speech when awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club.