St Teresa of Avila said, ‘Prayer is friendly conversation with the One by whom I know I am loved.’  It is precious, this friendly conversation with You. To talk face to face with God. Are we qualified? We are poor and fragile. Are we good enough? I can’t even open my lips to pray unless…

The Solemnity of Christ the King, instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925, emerged amid a post-war Europe facing political disruption, where ideologies like fascism, socialism, and communism were spreading, challenging traditional structures and values. This feast was intended to reaffirm the kingship of Christ as an authority above all worldly powers, reminding the faithful…

Christine Mako Many are familiar with the story of Judith. She is one of the well-known Biblical women, renowned for her courage in helping rescue the Israelites from the Assyrians. With her virtue and trust in God, she was able to deliver the head of Holofernes, the leader of the Assyrian army, to her people,…

Saint of the week Patron saint of bishops, cardinals, seminarians, and spiritual leaders, St Charles Borromeo’s life of sacrifice, devotion to pastoral care, and reform is a model for bishops and clergy today of holiness. Through his efforts, priests and laity were inspired to live as true disciples of Christ. Born near Milan in 1538,…

Fr Joshua J. Whitfield Dt 6:2-6 Ps 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51 Heb 7:23-28 Mk 12:28b-34   The theology of this passage from Mark matters. Obviously so does its place within the extended debates of rabbis and theologians, arguments now millennia old. “Which is the first of all the commandments?” the scribe asks Jesus (Mk 12:28).…

From Pierre Teilhard de Chardin we get these words: “Because, my God, though I lack the soul-zeal and the sublime integrity of your saints, I yet have received from you an overwhelming sympathy for all that stirs within the dark mass of matter; because I know myself to be irremediably less a child of Heaven…

As a Lutheran priest, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would frequently offer this advice to a couple when he presided at their wedding, “Today you are in love and believe your love will sustain your marriage, but it can’t. Let your marriage sustain your love.” Wise words, but what exactly do they mean? Why can’t love sustain a…

The Sunday Gospel Jer 31:7-9 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Heb 5:1-6 Mk 10:46-52 Like so much of the gospels, Jesus’ encounter with a blind beggar this Sunday boils down to one simple question: “What do you want me to do for you?” If we met Jesus along the road, would we be able to…

On borders everywhere in the world today we find refugees, millions of them. They’re easily demonised, seen as a nuisance, a threat, as invaders, as criminals fleeing justice in their homelands. But mostly they are decent, honest people fleeing poverty, hunger, victimisation, and violence. And these reasons for fleeing their homelands strongly suggest that most of…