It is not I who pray but the Spirit of God who prays in me. Indeed when God’s glory dwells in me, there is nothing too far away, nothing too painful, nothing too strange or too familiar that it cannot contain and renew by its touch. Every time I recognise the glory of God in [...]
Parish Articles
Advent Prayersaa
23rd Dec – Advent Prayer
When one falls in love, life becomes suffused with new colour, new life, new energy and new hope. All this is experienced as an unexpected and unmerited gift. Some are content to revel in the gift, aware now that life is far richer and deeper than they had realised. Others experience the Giver in the [...]
22nd Dec – Advent Prayer
An old schoolteacher used to bow to her students before each class. When asked why she did this, she said, “because I don’t know what one of my students might become.” This was something similar to the respect people had for John the Baptist. This mysterious respect for John is the kind of respect I [...]
21st Dec – Advent Prayer
A shoeshine boy was plying his trade in New York’s Grand Central Station. A silver medal danced at his neck as he worked his shine cloth again and again, across a man’s shoes. “Sonny” said the man curiously, “What’s the hardware around your neck?” “It’s a medal of the Mother of Jesus,” the boy replied. [...]
20th December – Advent Prayer
An angel appeared to Mary and said; “You shall conceive and bear a Son and shall name him Jesus…” “I am the handmaid of the Lord,” said Mary, “let it be done unto me according to your word.” Lk., 1:31, 38.
Mary’s response to the angel boils down to “Thy will be done.” It is the [...]
19th December – Advent Prayer
In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus, Joseph takes the leading role. It might be a good idea to put aside the familiar picture of Joseph as a white-bearded old man leaning on a stick if we are to capture the human drama of his story! Marriage was arranged at the time in a [...]
18th December – Advent Prayer
You often hear people saying, ‘Christmas is for children’. Maybe they should be saying, ‘Santa is for children’. Because Christmas is definitely for adults. It is the celebration of our God sharing our humanity in all that entails. ‘God so loved the world, that he sent his only son, so that whoever believes in him [...]
17th Dec – Advent Prayer
‘The best things in life, are not things’. I heard these words spoken by a young mother who had experienced a lot of hardship and bereavement in her life. It struck a chord with me, and helped me to put some of life’s problems into perspective.
Prayer for Today
Thank you Lord for the gift of today, …
16th Dec – Advent Prayer
A man in his forties told me recently that he gave up going to mass about 10 years ago because he thought he was only going there out of habit. Now he is beginning to wonder is it also a habit to not go to Sunday mass. The mass is a community celebration of thanks to [...]
15th Dec – Advent Prayer
Yesterday someone said to me, ‘everyone I meet is in bad form’, – and many have good reason to be. But in this Advent season of hope I was reminded of something. You might like to try it. Take a blank piece of white paper and draw a large circle on it. Then put a [...]
14th December – Advent Prayer
In the snowy days of last winter I met an elderly lady who had braved the icy paths with the aid of her walking stick. I stopped to talk to her. ‘You know’, she said, ‘you are the third person to stop to talk to me in the past few minutes’. And she was delighted. She [...]
13th December – Advent Prayer
In these gloomy days it can be difficult to stay positive. But even in our struggles we must try to see the good in life. Every day I wake is a gift. There is so much goodness around; parents who give of themselves and their lives to their children, a neighbour who sits and drinks tea [...]
12 Dec – Advent Prayer
Facing the shadow side of myself… “I encourage you to discover anew the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to avail yourselves more frequently of the transforming power of its grace.” Pope Benedict XVI.
Well how is your Advent journey going? We’re over half way there! We lit the third candle on our Advent Wreath this weekend, the …
11th December – Advent Prayer
Jesus affirms that it was John of whom it was said, “He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah.” Jesus also affirms that he himself will suffer, as John did.
Jesus readiness to suffer to accomplish his Father’s will on earth invites me to explore my own readiness to suffer [...]
10th Dec – Advent Prayer
Jesus said; “When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, “He has a demon in him.” When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, “Look at this man, he is a glutton and a drunkard!”
A Peanuts cartoon shows Lucy looking at the sky and saying, “Sometimes [...]
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