For weeks now, before Advent even started, I have found myself drawn to the image of John the Baptist. Now here he is, in our readings for the Second and Third Sundays of Advent. John, with his strange ways and his tendency to speak out, whether or not people welcome his message. John is driven…
I can feel the Christmas crazy beginning to descend. I have had great plans about being organised. I actually bought a couple of presents about six weeks ago – but then it all went pear-shaped again and I find myself with a list of things to do and a shorter Advent to do them in. Advent…
November is not my favourite month. I don’t mind the darker evenings so much but the prospect of walking the dog on cold, dark mornings does little to cheer me. The new year will be well on its way before I find myself walking in the light again. That is not a great prospect but…
I have been doing some evenings with parents whose children are preparing for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist and Confirmation. I was struck last night by one mum who talked about the importance of praying with her children. She spoke of the strength and security it gave her children. Cuddling up to pray with children…
Dorcas Lane was the village postmistress in a TV series called Lark Rise to Candleford which we used to watch on a Sunday evening when our children were younger. Any time that Dorcas was caught doing something she felt she shouldn’t be doing, like eating a cream cake, buying another new hat or reading a…
I went to the gym this morning. Actually, I went twice, not because I am wildly enthusiastic about it but because I forgot my pass key first time and couldn’t get in. On the way home to pick it up the temptation not to bother, to curl up on the couch with a cup of…
Our children always comment (or complain depending on how you look at it) that whenever and wherever we are on holiday we will end up in a cathedral, a church or a graveyard at some point of the trip. That was certainly true this year when we went to Italy. From little quiet chapels in…
Mark was preparing for his First Reconciliation and First Communion. These are important days for any child and a lot of work goes in to being ready to receive these sacraments. For Mark, there was even more work because Mark is autistic. His parents and his teacher had put a lot of thought into how…
I’m doing some work at the moment tutoring students who are training to be catechists. As a result, I have been re-reading The General Directory for Catechesis and Share the Good News which explores what that means in an Irish context. In the past when people talked about catechesis they often thought of the Catechism…
I know it happens but I was still shocked when a friend told me that after 30 years of being together she and her husband had separated. “It had got to the stage where he disliked me as much as I disliked him,” she explained. That’s what shocked me so much I think. There was…