These January days in the parishes are much quieter than the rest of the year. Â This give a good chance for packing. Â It is not a task that I enjoy, although there are...
john oconnor
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Epiphany II
Early this morning a group of five couples joined their pilot for a hot air balloon trip of a lifetime. Some on board had received their trip as a Christmas present....
600th birthday
It's Joan of Arc's 600th birthday today.A couple of links and clips to inspire us.The Wikipedia entryPope Benedict on Joan of Arcand some video clips:tGo to youtube for...
Epiphany I
The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated today (6 January) in most parts of the world. Here in New Zealand the feast has been shifted to the following Sunday enabling...
liturgy.co.nz
packing
I am only one person living in a couple of rooms. Yet packing is a nightmare. I cannot imagine how an entire family moves.A couple of weeks ago a family of new...
St. John Neumann
A couple of years ago while on retreat in Philadelphia, I visited the shrine of St. John Neumann. Today, January 5, we celebrated his feast day.His life ended suddenly...
blog links
Some people have been asking to read the 2010 Holy Land Pilgrimage blog once again. Â I have linked to this from the 'Galilee sunrise' image to the right. Â You can also...
think of the love
Now here is a great motivation and inspiration for prayer, directly from the first reading of today's Mass."Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by...
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what a privilege
"You have been chosen by Christ to receive the imprint of his own priesthood in your souls so that your destiny is linked to him in a bond that lasts into eternity. What a challenge, what a demand that is upon you but what a privilege too." An inspiring 3 minute video...
healed
Today I'm in Hanmer Springs , a beautiful town in the north of the Good Shepherd Hurunui parish. One century ago ago the first soldiers began to return home from the First World War. Many of them were suffering greatly and they came to this place aware of their need...
ministers of hope
I am grateful to the Christchurch Press for taking the initiative to present a feature this morning on the recent Christchurch ordinations. A brief interview can do little more than convey an idea or two slanted with a personal, populist and often negative bias....
disarming beauty
Too often we see Christian faith presented as and reduced to moralistic and legalistic adherence to cultural norms and moral ideals. However our experience of life with Jesus is that of an encounter with something, no someONE much more, a relationship with the divine...
cats mice & grace
One of this morning's Press cartoons reminded me of a moment of grace I experienced last weekend. Tragically my moments of grace too often get ignored or quickly forgotten as other stuff overwhelms the moment of awareness of the presence and action of Jesus. Then...