“Near the Cross of Jesus stood his mother.” Once upon a time, she had been nearer still to him: when he was in her womb, when he was in the crib. But those former nearnesses did not yet have the depth and maturity of her nearness to the Cross. In...

The truth about Christmas emerges in its fullness in the three holiest days ofthe year, the Sacred Triduum, which begin today with Holy Thursday. In theCreed we profess that the Son of God came down from heaven and took fleshof the Virgin for us and for our salvation. What is...

I always remember as a boy finding it difficult to make a Cross out of the palm yougot on Palm Sunday. I also remember how quickly the palm placed behind thecrucifix at home went from green to that faded, dried-up, yellowish colour. By thetime Palm Sunday came around again the...

We don’t hear what happened to the woman in the Gospel after her encounter with Jesus. I think it likely that her life would never be the same again. Whatever the reason for the way she had been living before, her reason for living from then on was Jesus. He...

In this most beloved of the parables of Jesus, great spiritual benefit can be had from looking more closely at the figure of the father. We are usually inclined to focus on the two sons and ask ourselves where we might fit in with them. That is surely also very...

God always takes the first step. Look at creation. Look at his appearance to Moses in the first reading. Look at the coming of Jesus in the flesh. God is always motivated by love, especially when we are in difficulty. He appears to Moses to tell him that He is...

Jesus had just told his apostles that he would be going to Jerusalem to be killed and to rise again on the third day. The Gospel tells us that they were saddened at his words about death and did not understand his words about rising again. Jesus knew it and,...

A relative of mine was very good to my father in the last years of his life. I was abroad during those years and my siblings all lived at quote a distance from him with their families and commitments. My relative would keep an eye out for dad who was...

The darkness that covered the earth at the time of the Lord’s passing seems to have been covering the Church for the past generation or more, at least when it comes to the question of abuse. And as we open our newspapers, phones or tablets each day, it seems that...

There is something sacred about the pain you witness at a funeral. It is not only severe in its affliction but powerfully expresses a depth of love. The loss of a loved one to death seems to be a living death as well for the one left behind. And we...