It was a pleasure for me to today accompany Bishop Barry Jones to God's furthest outpost, or, using the language of Pope Francis, to the peripheries, since no place on...
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bishop to Chathams
It is a privilege to serve as the Parish Priest of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu). Tomorrow morning Bishop Barry Jones and I will be on the plane heading for the Islands....
Advent @ school
Every day in the life of a priest has unexpected highlights. Today I was invited to lead an Advent service for Years 9 & 10 students with staff at St. Bede's...
Fr. Bernie Goulding
This afternoon bishop, priests and people of our Christchurch diocese gathered for the funeral Mass and burial of our priest and brother Fr. Bernie Goulding. Just...
let go
Have you ever heard a well-intentioned speaker talking of the life of faith as a journey of 'letting go'? Â Were their examples motivated by fear, or by the attraction...
a new beginning
Happy New Year! With the season of Advent a new church year begins. For a month now we will prepare for Christmas with scriptures of anticipation yearning for a deeper...
Advent I
There is a story told of the holy French priest Jean Vianney (Ćure d’Ars d.1859). He noticed an elderly man who would spend hours in the church before the Blessed...
a new bishop
This morning Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Steve Lowe, priest of the diocese of Christchurch, as the next bishop of the diocese of Hamilton, New Zealand. This immense...
Christ the King
the king, with the crown...of thorns. It’s the last Sunday of the Church year today. In recent weeks the readings of the liturgy have been preparing us for the end...
Consecrated Life
Pope Francis has announced a Year of Consecrated Life beginning on the First Sunday of Advent (November 30). This afternoon Bishop Barry Jones opened this Year for our...
Latest Posts
confident hope
While the visible present fear is a biological virus, the fact is that we humans face fear every day.
on our knees
Who needs God (we think)? We can achieve all we need on our own. And then a completely unexpected event brings us back to earth. We are grounded. We are on our knees.
first things first
In my class with the seminarians this morning I reflected on the importance of keeping perspective. Then I left the class and lost perspective completely.
loving fathers
In these Coronavirus days there is a strong sense of shared uncertainty and fear. I had a video meeting yesterday with several friends in Italy, each in isolation in their own homes.
living law
Perhaps the most tragic misunderstanding of Christian faith is to think that it’s all about rules and regulations. This is a reduction of faith to moralism and legalism.Â