And then I was reminded at my uncle’s 90th birthday party last month of the priest who married my grandparents telling them at their 1927 wedding: “Do your best, and leave the rest to God.”
rain
it’s raining
It is early Sunday morning here at Hawarden in the heart of the drought-stricken Hurunui district. Apart from a few hours of periodic drizzle throughout 2014 there has...
rain for our roots
There is never a dull moment as a priest living parish life, especially on a Hurunui Sunday. It is now just after 2 on a Sunday afternoon and I am back at Hawarden...
rain
Here in the Hurunui district of Canterbury, the Good Shepherd parish is suffering a lack of rain. By the end of every February into March, the end of the New Zealand...
skype & sun & rain
Many readers will remember Pope John Paul’s visit to New Zealand in November 1986. I had been ordained as a priest just twelve months earlier, and because our...
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Ascension
Most people think of the Ascension of Jesus as being a ‘departure’ moment. Jesus was here and now he is gone. We imagine Jesus going up into the clouds and the disciples waving farewell from below.
This is an unhelpful image.
It is essential that we understand what does happen and what does not happen in the Ascension event.
It would be easy to wrongly think that in his ministry showed us how to build the city of God on earth, and now he has gone and the mission is left to us.
touching the sacred
A few years ago I was on Rēkohu Chatham Islands for what has become one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most sacred days, the ANZAC day of remembrance in gratitude for those who gave their lives, their health, their youth, their service that we may live in peace.
The art above was produced by one of the students at the local Te One school.
every which way
A good number of Food For Faith readers have discovered one of the more recent FFF initiatives, the weekly Homily Studio.
The recording of this half-hour podcast is one of the highlights of my week.
in the room
Today’s reflection marks the end of the FFF Lent-to-Easter daily email posts. Thank you for your company on this journey. While these daily posts (for those who have signed up for the Lent / Advent reflections at this link) will take a break until Advent, those who have signed up to receive every post or regular posts at this link. You might take a moment now to visit this page now to check your email preferences.
During retreat this week I found myself pondering just how difficult it is to accept that God, in Jesus, is really with me today.
disciplined discipleship
As I write I’m nearing the end of retreat days with a group of fifty priests from across the USA. As I mentioned a couple of days ago the diversity and youth of the group is remarkable with the majority being aged under 40 and a good number ordained for fewer than five years.