Sometimes when the force of Jesus teaching penetrates, I’m amazed that there’s a Christian anywhere – even more amazed that there’s anybody at Mass at all!   It’s as if Jesus has set it up to ensure that there’ll be just a few!   Of course, that’s what his teaching always says – the few […]

Yes, almost everywhere parish life is a struggle, but fear not, everything is in hand. Here in St. Senan’s we’re struggling financially, we’re struggling to get a days adoration covered – last Tuesday I had to repose the Blessed Sacrament to make a house call – and we’re struggling to pass on the basics to […]

This is so simple.   It’s nearly too simple for many of us. I suspect it’s much too black and white!   The Spirit arrives into our lives – remember it’s the Spirit that brings us into intimacy with God – in a very ordered way.   There are steps and each step builds on […]

The context is death. They’ve seen Jesus – the one they’d given so much of themselves to – brutally murdered. They were terrified, for them this is terror. For all they knew they could be next. So, try to put yourself in their heart-spaces. Jesus strides into this locked room – the locked room itself […]

So… I’ve been writing about the severity of God’s justice… or in other words the price that Love has to pay for each and every injustice. And about discovering the fear of the Lord. Of course God’s love will cover God’s justice – it’s called mercy – but we’ve lost all sense of the cost […]

I’ve noticed a change in myself recently. Now with the benefit of hindsight I know it’s been there for some time. Here’s what triggered my awareness. I’d bought an item and it turned out to be faulty… My closest friends, aware of the situation, became angry, outraged. They wanted justice. But I wasn’t angry at […]

I bought something recently. A cosmetic job had been done to disguise serious problems. It’ll be an expensive fix but I’m happy to fix it… and to be honest I did anticipate that the problems might be there. But suppose there’s been deliberate deception in this transaction. Suppose there’s been a quick stroke… what happens […]