Today’s post suggests a hymn that you might like to listen to and pray with as you drive to work today. But first a bit of background to the saint of today and why this hymn comes to mind…

A healthy awareness of personal sin is a great gift since this places us in right-relationship with the God who desires to meet us in our imperfect reality and so lead us into life. Yesterday on the feast of…

Today’s first reading is the magnificent hymn of love from St. Paul’s first letter to the people of Corinth. I recall once meeting with a couple to prepare their marriage ceremony. They were insistent that there be no…

This week in Christchurch the annual Rochester lecture is presented by Bishop Paul Martin SM, the new(ish) Catholic bishop of Christchurch. This is an opportunity to hear Bishop Paul share his view of the challenges and opportunities for Christianity…

I was working at my desk this morning just after 10 with the Concert Programme playing quietly in the next room. A mention of the Son of God caught my attention and I got up from my desk to listen…

Just after 8 each weekday morning the NZ Concert Program features a few minutes highlighted as the day’s “Beauty Spot”. These minutes regularly include some of the most beautiful music of all time, chosen I suspect to entice people…

It may have been a coincidence that Fr. Richard J. Hauser SJ died at 10:10 on Tuesday morning of this week, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Holy Spirit was smiling on Dick and on us knowing…

Today, February 22, marks seven years since the devastating 2011 earthquake which brought tragic loss of life to our city of Christchurch where we continue the long and difficult process of rebuilding lives and livelihoods. There are many signs of…

A couple of weeks ago I was privileged to take part in the annual Hearts Aflame gathering of 100 young NZ Catholics aged between 18 & 35. I was asked to share a few thoughts on discernment and I am…

Surrounded by gifts, good food and Christmas goodwill, it is easy to forget the full reality of the birth of Jesus.  At the time of the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were travellers. Pope Francis made this the central…

I was a student in the seminary when I was first introduced to Handel’s great oratorio, Messiah. This work is widely considered to be a master-work both of composition and of communication of the Old Testament prophecy and…

a talk on discernment given at hearts aflame 2018…

I rarely get the opportunity to read as much as I would like to. I have a stack of books and articles waiting to be read both in my office and  piled beside the bed. However technology offers easy access…

After a long week I’ve made it to Friday afternoon. No doubt your week has been full and (in the opening words of the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World) there will have been joys, hopes, griefs…

I have mentioned The Liturgy Guys a few times before. Their liturgy podcasts from St Mary of the Lake University in Mundelein have become essential formation material for any person seeking to grow in their understanding of the liturgy of…