Oct 28 – Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude, Apostles St. Simon was an apostle called the Cananean or Zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law. He was not from Cana, nor a member of the Zealot party. Like all the Apostles, he was a convert, and was trained by St. Peter the... Continue Reading →
6 October, Friday — Acedia, the lack of care
Oct 6 – Memorial for St. Bruno, Priest St. Bruno (1030–1101) was educated in Paris and Rheims, France. He was ordained in 1055. He taught theology, and one of his students later became Blessed Pope Urban II. He presided over the cathedral school at Rheims from 1057 to 1075. He criticised the worldliness he saw... Continue Reading →
4 October, Wednesday — Loving Jesus, Following Jesus
Oct 4 – Memorial for St. Francis of Assisi Francis Bernardone (1181–1226) was the son of Pietro Bernadone, a rich cloth merchant. Though he had a good education and became part of his father’s business, he also had a somewhat misspent youth. He was a street brawler and some-time soldier. He was captured during a... Continue Reading →
28 September, Thursday — Focusing on what matters
Sep 28 – Memorial for St. Wenceslaus, martyr; Memorial for St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions, Martyrs St. Wenceslaus (907-929) was the son of Vratislav I, Duke of Bohemia, whose family had been converted by St. Cyril and St. Methodius, and Drahomira, daughter of a pagan chief, who was baptised on her wedding day but apparently... Continue Reading →
27 September, Wednesday — Talking to God
Sep 27 – Memorial for St. Vincent de Paul, Priest St. Vincent (1581-1660) spent four years with the Franciscan friars getting an education. He was taken captive by Turkish pirates and sold into slavery, then freed when he converted one of his owners to Christianity. He started organisations to help the poor, nursed the sick,... Continue Reading →
6 September, Wednesday — Called to Mission
Wednesday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time Col 1:1-8Lk 4:38-44 The Good News which has reached you is spreading all over the world and producing the same results as it has among you ever since the day when you heard about God's grace and understood what this really is. One of my favourite candies underwent... Continue Reading →
5 September, Tuesday — Group bonding
Sep 5 – Feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu (born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), honoured in the Catholic Church as Saint Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary. She was born in Skopje (now the capital of North Macedonia), then part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. After living in Skopje for eighteen years, she moved to Ireland and then to India,... Continue Reading →
4 September, Monday — Consoling Thoughts
Monday of Week 22 in Ordinary Time 1 Ths 4:13-18Lk 4:16-30 With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another. The first reading of today holds a special place in my life, because it was the commonly used reading whenever I used to serve Mass as an altar server. It always struck me as... Continue Reading →
15 August, Tuesday — Preserved from death
Aug 15 – Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Mary is taken up body and soul into the glory of Heaven, and with God and in God she is Queen of Heaven and earth. And is she really so remote from us? The contrary is true. Precisely because she is with God... Continue Reading →
13 August, Sunday — Trust in God
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 Kgs 19:9,11-13 Rm 9:1-5Mt 14:22-33 'Man of little faith,' he said 'why did you doubt?' Today's world seems to thrive on the desire and need for certainty. There are always booking confirmations to be provided and the need to ensure that everything goes according to a plan. There is an... Continue Reading →