On listening to today’s Gospel and the comings and goings of the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from Israel to Egypt and back again, it’s almost as if you can hear the strains of “the Grand Old Duke of York” in the background! Poor Joseph! He is...
There are three little words without which life hardly seems worth living. If no-one says them to you, and if you don’t say them to someone else, it would be as if your life were cursed, no better than a living death. Those words are: I, love, you. ...
As my dad drew near to the end of his life, I remember him saying to me on one occasion when I was home visiting him “it’s good to know there is someone with me.” It was uncharacteristic of him to express such things and, even on that occasion,...
Remember Fagan? The old thief in Oliver Twist who trained boys to pickpocket! I remember a scene from the 1960’s film showing a pile of “loot” on a table in the hovel where he lived with the boys. Fagan and the boys were very happy, celebrating in dance and...
In February and March of 1972, the UK experienced power cuts up to as much as nine hours per day. I remember it well. My father had just retired as a docker from Ardrossan harbour and had received his “golden handshake.” My mother talked him into spending a good...
I’ve taken of an evening to watching old episodes of Sherlock Holmes with Jeremy Brett as the man himself (there are 41 free episodes on YouTube!). Holmes is already a quirky character, but Jeremey Brett’s own quirkiness ups the ante quite considerably. He is annoyingly toffee-nosed but is all...
The Gospel of the “Good Thief” today places us squarely on Calvary. I’ve always noticed as a priest that the numbers who attend Good Friday services are considerably higher than those who attend the Easter Vigil. Some say it is “Catholic guilt”! But I think it’s because the Cross...
If Jesus were trying to market his own brand, he would be an abject failure by current standards, at least if we take today’s Gospel at face value. “Buy into my name and you will be hated by all men!” “Buy my brand and you will be persecuted and...
All that God has ever wanted for us is that we be free. His laws and teachings are given to us, not to hamper our freedom, but to guarantee its fulfilment. And its fulfilment is to be like God, with God and in God. The real enemy of freedom...
The name Jericho means “fragrant.” And, in fact, at the time of Jesus, there was in Jericho a very lucrative business in the production and export of balsam. This means that Zacchaeus, one of the chief tax collectors, will have been an important and wealthy figure. Even so, he...
