Today the preparatory document for next year's Synod of Bishops titled "Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization" was published in Rome. It...
john oconnor
Latest “Inform”
The November 2013 issue of the Christchurch Diocese magazine "Inform" is now available. Click on the image to read. The front page story covers Denis McNamara's visit...
ChCh Diocese "Inform"
The November 2013 issue of the Christchurch Diocese magazine "Inform" is now available. Click on the image to read.The front page story covers Denis McNamara's visit to...
Guy Fawkes
There's nothing like a good fireworks display to bring crowds together with 'ooh's' and 'aah's' in an atmosphere of celebration. I really enjoy a spectacular display...
Pope Francis – interview
I had a phone call from Radio Rhema yesterday morning asking for an interview about Pope Francis. The call was prompted by the news that Pope Francis is ranked fourth...
just remember
The first spring blooming of the roses in my garden is a welcome sight.It is surprising that there are only a couple of references to roses in the Bible, since the rose...
God and beer
No more sleeps till tonight's "Theology on Tap" gathering at Robbies bar in Elmwood Christchurch. View the Facebook Event information at this link. As I spend today...
God and beer
No more sleeps till tonight's "Theology on Tap" gathering at Robbies bar in Elmwood Christchurch. View the Facebook Event information at this link. As I spend today...
life, radically transformed
At our Masses this weekend, the feasts of the past couple of days, All Saints and All Souls, have been uppermost in our minds. These first November days focus us on...
life, radically transformed
At our Masses this weekend, the feasts of the past couple of days, All Saints and All Souls, have been uppermost in our minds. These first November days focus us on...
Latest Posts
the new and the old
Buildings are important. The best of them are not only at the service of the people but by their beauty they lift our minds and hearts above what is simply routine and mundane.
plainly speaking
I enjoy and appreciate robust and fearless debate among people who are seeking to get to grips with what it is to be human. Inevitably they (albeit unintentionally and often unwittingly) end up on common ground about the purpose of human existence.
surely not ?
As a priest, a leader in the church, I know that what Brian Holdsworth says about church leaders in this brief video clip is true because it’s true about me.
our hope
God constantly breaks into our personal histories, challenging our “conventions”, those fixed ways of thinking and acting that end up paralyzing us.
just follow
It is significant that the disciples had already worked hard all night. They would have been tired and hungry and ready for a sleep. But it was precisely when all their human efforts had brought no results that they were open to divine power.