The official in the registrar’s office carefully removed the bubblewrap from the portrait of Queen Elizabeth and hung it on the wall (the portrait, not the bubblewrap). Then, he invited a lovely lady and me to stand in front of him and repeat the prescribed oath religiously, word by word. Seen from the side, it looked very much like a…

A group of people with a priest stood on the side of the road holding a banner that read: “You are on the way to perdition. Abandon it before it’s too late!” The priest’s frustration eventually reached boiling point as drivers completely ignored the group. “Why don’t they listen?!” – he burst out. One of the parishioners turned to him…

In the Sunday Gospel readings over the last couple of weeks, it seems Jesus has been challenging our built-in attitudes with his demands. Moreover, the challenges he sets for us are getting more demanding every week. Today’s non-negotiable demand to forgive every time we have been wronged is pretty much impossible. What’s next? Loving our enemies?

Since moving in a couple of days ago, I’ve met and talked to a number of parishioners. That was a really scary experience! The level of hope, expectations and undeserved (as yet) admiration was terrifying because I know I can’t possibly fulfil those hopes, meet those expectations or match that admiration. It is so because – to paraphrase the classic…

The donkey couldn’t believe his eyes and ears! “A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting.” (Matthew 21:8-9) The donkey couldn’t understand their words but sensed that what was happening was something intensely…