“I have no idea where I am going.I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so…(Read More)
Have you ever noticed how much of the account of the birth of Jesus involves travellers? The angel Gabriel was a traveller to the home of Mary, and soon after Mary was on the road to visit her cousin Elizabeth for a three month stay. Then shortly after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph…(Read More)
An interesting experience this weekend on the new Christchurch Belfast bypass road. GPS has not yet caught up with the fact that after several years of planning and construction the new motorway is open. Instead of following the road, my car’s GPS showed me driving without a road to drive on across farmland. (the…(Read More)
Even fifty years after his untimely death, Thomas Merton remains one of the great Christian writers and teachers. In Christchurch we feel a special connection with him since his father Owen was a Christchurch-born New Zealand painter, and his grandparents (Alfred, born Rangiora, and Gertrude nee Grierson) are buried in Waimairi cemetery (ref this…(Read More)
a brief reflection on Sunday’s gospel reading. The Gospels record two main reactions to the presence and teaching of Jesus. Many of those who heard Jesus found his words and person to be attractive, irresistible even. It is clear that what he said resonated with something very deep inside each of them. Others were…(Read More)
Thank you to Bosco Peters, author of www.liturgy.co.nz for his reminder this morning that on this day in 1968, Thomas Merton died. Merton books remain on best-seller lists not only in Christian circles, but also in airport bookstores. His vibrant awareness of the reality of Jesus Christ alive today, and his…(Read More)
born: 31 January 1915 died: 10 December 1968 One of the great spiritual classics of the twentieth century is Thomas Merton’s Seven Story Mountain. Within minutes of its publication in 1948 it became a best-seller, and one of the books most read by people who were seeking God both within and without the…(Read More)
