Thoughts and Reflections

Exodus 34:4b-6, 8-9/ Dan 3:52. 53. 54. 55. 56/2 Corinthians 13:11-14/ John 3:16-18 Imagine trying to explain the colour blue to someone who has been blind from birth. You could describe the wavelength of light, compare it to the feeling of cool water, read them every poem ever written about the sky and the sea. In the end they still would not really know what blue is. This is a little like trying to describe the Most Holy Trinity, trying to understand a reality that is far be

Acts 2:1-11/ Ps 104(103)/1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13/ John 20:19-23 Some years ago, I was privileged to accompany a group of young people who travelled to Poland for World Youth Day with Pope Benedict XVI. One of the tours arranged for the groups attending was a visit to the Auschwitz extermination camp. Here we learned the story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest who was a detainee there. A prisoner had escaped and the camp commandant had ordered the deaths of

Acts 1:12-14/ Ps 27(26)/ 1 Peter 4:13-16/ John 17:1-11a Most of us know only too well what it is like to be delayed at the airport. The flight is delayed, no information, no departure time, and no explanation. The frustration can be seen all around, people are restless, pacing up and down, even getting angry with staff, or they just give up and try to sleep on the seats. We feel trapped, with no control over when we might get going. We know this feeling of waiting, with littl

Acts 8:5-8, 14-17/ Ps 66(65) 1 Peter 3:15-18/ John 14:15-21 Imagine being in the work staff room having a break, when a colleague says, "I noticed you go to Mass. Can I ask you something? Why do you believe all that?" This comes out of the blue, no warning, no time to prepare. What would we say? We might mumble something about it being a family tradition, try to change the subject, wish for a moment that the ground would swallow us up. Without judging I would suggest this wou

Acts 6:1-7/ Ps 33(32)/1 Peter 2:4-9/ John 14:1-12 Today the corner or foundation stone is often just a plaque on the wall. In ancient times the cornerstone was critical to the construction of a building. All subsequent stones were aligned on that first stone. If the laying of that first stone was faulty, the entire building could eventually crack, divide, and collapse. That is the context in which we should hear Saint Peter's words in the second reading today. He challenges u