Weekly newsletter (Sunday 2 December, First Sunday of Advent) for the Catholic Parish of the Good Shepherd, Hurunui District, and the Chatham...
john oconnor
the big bell
Yesterday I touched the 'big bell' from the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament. It has been rescued from the rubble and is on its way to the "Quake City" exhibition...
Cathedral belfry – earthquake 1929
I had the opportunity today to see some parts of the Cathedral up close as work continues to preserve as much of the art and history as can be saved. The door to the...
The Hobbit
I was introduced to Tolkein's "The Hobbit" forty years ago. I was in Standard Four (equivalent of Year 6 today) at Marist Brothers Intermediate school in Timaru. We had...
soul by soul and silently
There is a great Cecil Spring Rice poem that is better known for the Gustav Holst music it is often sung to. It is an appropriate anthem for today's feast of Christ the...
anticipating Christ the King
In 1925 Pope Pius XI spoke strongly against secularism. The secularist wave then (as now), promotes worldly achievement and wealth as the ultimate human success. ...
Carey Haines. Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice
Carey HainesPro Ecclesia et Pontifice Citation18 November 2012The source and summit of every parish activity is the Sunday celebration of the Mass. Without the Mass...
built in faith, at Brackenbridge
Thank you to those who replied to the earlier post titled "Brackenridge." I had raised a question about the spelling. It seemed that secular accounts of the Church...
newsletter 18 November
Follow this link to read the weekly newsletter for the Catholic parishes of the Hurunui District and the Chatham...
better than sex
A recent Canterbury University study invited 173 people to rank 30 common activities according to “what makes you happiest?”I haven’t seen the complete survey, but the...
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get up
Today's gospel is one of Jesus' best known parables. The account, usually named the Prodigal Son, is really about the loving father. That change of name is an important shift if we want to appreciate what Jesus is teaching us: it's really about God, not about us. The...
dust shaking
Take a moment to read today's brief gospel: Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick –no food, no sack, no money in their...
success
What is that you hope for your children? In today's gospel reading we meet the "mother of the sons of Zebedee." She was ambitious for her boys, but in the conversation with Jesus she comes to see that something more is offered than an earthly understanding of human...
highway of hope
Take a moment to read the opening verses of today's gospel reading : Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but...
in every age
Something a bit different today from the life of a country priest. Yesterday morning we celebrated the Sunday 10.00am Amberley Mass in the meeting room behind the church. It was a bit cramped but all for a good cause since the historic Amberley Church of the Holy...