Give me a drink. Jesus meets the woman of Samaria doing an ordinary chore of the day. He is tired and thirsty, so He wants a drink. The woman seems to resist at first. She puts up the barrier: you’re a Jew, I’m a Samaritan. Jesus gently ignores that and...
You’ve got to feel sorry for that blind man! Jesus practically accosts him and orders him about, even if it is to heal him. Then, before he knows it, he becomes the object of curiosity for the people who had been used to seeing him blind and who then cart...
Given Agatha’s albeit tenuous connection with Stalin, I’d better be very careful of what I say here! But, in truth, it would be hard for anyone to improve on the lovely eulogy which Caitlin delivered. And while it’s impossible to fit someone’s life – all 97 years of it –...
I’m only sorry that I did not get to know May until the last, and tenth, decade of her life was underway. By all accounts, she was a woman with many talents and interests and with many friends from across the various communities in whose lives she shared. She was...
Our freedom is decisive – literally. When we take a decision, we do it in the power of our freedom. Our freedom expresses our autonomy and our dignity. Using our freedom we exercise self-determination. By our free choices, we become who we are and what we want to make of...
If we have true faith, hope and love for Jesus, every sacrament is a personal encounter with Him, especially Holy Communion. True faith: both in what the Eucharist is (the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine) and as total trust and confidence...
Christian unity already exists. It’s just that we Christians are blind to it. We don’t see it because we are too lost in ourselves. We don’t realize it because we are too focused on our own traditions. We don’t perceive it because we are too concerned with how right we...
The River Jordan is very grimy and muddy. It is also the lowest river in the world, ending in the dead sea at 1300 feet below sea level. Yet the Jordan was important for the Jewish people, for many reasons. Most importantly, they crossed over it to take possession of...
On the occasions when I spoke with Mary, either casually or when I would bring her the sacraments, I was always touched and edified by her great gentleness of heart. Her devotion in receiving the sacraments reminded me of my own Scots Irish mother (also called Mary Bridget). It was...
“For behold, darkness shall cover the earth … but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. …. So, arise, shine, for your light has come.” What hope and joy these words of Isaiah give us! As we look around the world today, it...
