Place 15 minutes away from the Square. Uncertain where exactly to enter with my concelebration ticket. Mass at 10. I walked there at 7am. Ten of Thousands, crowds at 7am. Follow the leader to get the way in to concelebrate. Excitement and some impatience and raised voices, Swiss guards deferential...
It’s hard for any relationship to work if you are not present to the other person, at least some of the time. That said, even if someone is there physically right in front of you, they can absent mentally or spiritually. You want them actually to be present to you,...
Well, from horror movies to walking, from exercise classes to new friends, from working hard to praying hard, Joan certainly lived a very full life outside the home – and she clearly got out of it the huge amount she put into it. But it was her husband, her son...
“Jesus went on his way through towns and villages teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem.” Journey describes a lot of things in our lives. The short journeys to the shops, to work or school; the longer journeys for things like business or holidays or family reunions; and then there are the...
The Gospel of St. Luke is the one which most tells us of Jesus at prayer. Jesus does not so much fit prayer into his busy schedule as fit his schedule into his intense prayer life. For prayer is not so much something we do as who we are. Jesus...
When I first went to see Rose a few days after Bob died, I remember thinking what a resilient person she was. Despite her profound grief, she showed an immense strength of spirit in the acceptance, in the steady eye contact and in her clear and calm manner of expression....
Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. How welcome is Jesus in myhouse, the one around me, and the one inside me, my heart and soul? Martha loved Jesus as Jesus loved her and Mary and Lazarus. Theirs was a second home to Him. But Martha and Mary teach us much...
What Jesus is saying to the disciples is: don’t be joyful because you have power (or have anything!), but because heaven knows your name, that is, because I love you. Powerful figures of history write their names on huge monuments of stone to be remembered. But the names of those...
After the Angel had freed him from prison, we hear St. Peter say, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod.” We then hear St. Paul say, “I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me...
It was so lovely to see on display the many talents and gifts of our St. Mary’s P7 children at their graduation last Thursday. It was even lovelier to hear the applause and feel the love and encouragement coming from their parents and teachers. For them, the most important gift...
