This is a quick thought that was shared with me.   “Today… spend more time with people who bring out the best in you, not the strsss in you.”

“Do not praise a man before he has spoken, since this is the test of men”. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart”. These are the words we hear the end of the first reading in our mass today and the end of the gospel. They remind us of the importance […]

If we are to take seriously today’s readings – that’s a tall order. From my years of work as a priest, I have seen that a large part of the problems that people have, stem from un-forgiveness, bitterness, resentment and even guilt (which can be anger and un-forgiveness towards ourselves). The recommendations of Jesus in […]

Ghandi had called this passage of the Beatitudes: ‘the most radical piece of social doctrine that was ever preached’. Try preaching this doctrine in the mission countries where extreme poverty is widespread: ‘happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of Heaven’; try preaching to the survivors of the devastating earthquake, tsunami or […]

Many of us can empathise with Peter and his companions in the story of today’s Mass. They had done their best, they had fished all night but had caught nothing; all their time and effort had been for nothing. They were tired and dispirited. It’s possible to do one’s best, yet at the end of […]

We have the great privilege this weekend because our second reading today is one of these great texts of the Bible and indeed of world literature. It is from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 13, and this wonderful reflection on love. Love is so central, love is what God is, […]

Sometime we overlook the importance of the contributions of some of the Minor Prophets in the Bible. The first reading in our mass today is taken from one of these, the Prophet Nehemiah. Nehemiah lived in a time when the chosen people were trickling home from Babylon and seeking to re-establish their lives. One of […]

What happened at Cana happens sooner or later in every marriage in every family, and in our lives, the wine runs out. I read an interesting anecdote recently: a man was sitting on the sofa watching the TV when he heard his wife’s voice from the kitchen, what would you like for dinner love, chicken, […]

Today we celebrate the great feast day of the Baptism of Our lord. It has been said that the most important day of our lives is our Baptism, the day when we were grafted onto Christ. When St. Pope St. John Paul II went back to visit his country Poland for the first time, his […]

In todays gospel we hear the well-known story of the wise men following a star, bearing rich gifts, finding Jesus in a stable, and changing their direction as a result. In the aftermath of the 12 days of Christmas the rich message of this story can be lost in the discarded wrapping paper of the […]