On the first Sunday of this Extraordinary Mission Month convoked by Pope Francis, we looked at the first thing he wanted us to reflect on, i.e. the personal encounter with Jesus as the motivation for us to be missionaries. On the second Sunday, the second theme of the Pope...

  Following the lead of Pope Francis, the second thing he invites us to consider in this Extraordinary Mission Month is this: to treasure and imitate the witness of those who have gone before us. He mentions especially the missionary martyrs, confessors of the faith and other saints. The martyr...

  So, October has begun! It is the month of the Rosary, and so a time for us to renew our devotion and commitment to this powerful prayer, both personally and as families and parish. We have the Bishop visiting us on the third Sunday of the month, and so...

  “The tax collectors and the sinners were all seeking the company of Jesus.” What hope that line gives us! To sin is to leave the company of Jesus or to refuse to seek it again. To repent is to return to close companionship with him, to seek his company...

  When I was first ordained a priest, I was sent to St. Teresa’s Church in Dumfries. As you know, Dumfries is the hub of the universe! I.e., not a lot happens in Dumfries! Don’t tell anyone from Dumfries I said that! Dumfries was at first a bit of a...

  Imagine you are hosting a dinner and one of your guests starts lecturing the other guests on how to behave; or says to you that your motive for having the dinner is only so that you can be invited back. It would be rude! But that’s precisely what Jesus...

  There are no pockets in a shroud. While we can accumulate external riches during our life, it’s only the internal riches that we save up which will survive the grave. Jesus nowhere teaches that money and wealth are bad in themselves, nor is he saying that we mustn’t practise...

  Just imagine the Apostles watching Jesus at prayer. It must have drawn their hearts deeply to the mystery of his Person. Jesus prayed often, for long periods, sometimes for the whole night. Together with his teaching, his miracles and just the way he was as a man, his prayer...

You’ve just got to love Martha! You can picture her standing there at the door of her house with open arms to welcome Jesus. I imagine her to be five-foot tall, on the plumpish side, of lively eyes and always on the go. I’m sure Jesus will have loved being...

Jesus outwits the lawyer in today’s Gospel who asks him two questions to trip him up.   The first is, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus turns the question back on him: you’re the lawyer, answer your own question from what the law says. The lawyer does...