I know a few people, including several Food For Faith followers, who are nearing death. Some of these are elderly and accepting that their life on earth is naturally coming to an end. Others, well before their time, are struggling with poor health and living with diagnoses of terminal illness.
Transfiguration
This Mystery of the Rosary opens the door between earthly routines and ordinariness and divine eternity and life.
opening the door
The Transfiguration of Jesus is the event that opens the door between earthly ordinariness, days and weeks of routine, mundane and struggling existence, and divine eternity.
earth & heaven
Mountain tops are significant places in the Bible. In the Old Testament God was thought to dwell in the distant heavens therefore if you wanted to get close to God you...
transfiguration
It is Saturday evening as I write and I have just arrived back in Amberley after the Vigil Mass at Hanmer Springs. The Christian Sabbath has begun. In my homily at...
a new earth
This week-end's (6 August) feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus has got me thinking again about church building. Let me explain the connection. In recent weeks I have...
heavenly realities
Today's feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus has got me thinking again about church building. Let me explain the connection. A couple of years ago with a group of...
It is good for us …
It was on this Second Sunday of Lent two years ago (24 February 2013) that Pope Benedict gave his last Sunday Audience in St. Peter's Square. On that Sunday, the gospel...
transfiguring
Today's feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus has got me thinking again about church building. Let me explain the connection. A couple of years ago with a group of...
you raise me up
During the week I met a young priest new to New Zealand and on loan to the Christchurch diocese. On of his tasks of that morning had been to write the reflection for...
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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.