The Church’s liturgical year, which began with Advent, is ordered in such a way as to guide the faithful on their spiritual journey throughout the year. Currently we are in “green season”, sometimes referred to as “Ordinary Time”. This began after last Sunday’s feast of...
In the final devotion from the Advent booklet “And the Word was God”, featuring the reflections of the spiritual writer Henri Nouwen, there is this important insight: “The disciple is the one who follows Jesus on his downward path and thus enters with him into new...
God sometimes nudges you in a particular direction - either in thought or action - by using a series of coincidences. Even the smallest ones can be significant. In morning prayer last Thursday, I read these words, “Give us the strong faith of the apostles,...
I will remember the year 2020, but not for the reasons you might think. It is the year of Covid, of course - although I share the sentiments of the person who recently complained: “I’m getting tired of being part of a major historical event.”...
The origins of Thanksgiving can be traced to the early seventeenth century, when pilgrims commemorated a good harvest and safe passage to the New World. They were followed years layer by those escaping persecution for their religious beliefs, who came to a country rich in...
“Catch a falling star an' put it in your pocket, Never let it fade away!” Perry Como’s song hit the airwaves in 1957, and this week I found myself singing a variation of it as I walked along the leaf strewn paths of Brandywine Creek State Park....
Many of us have spent the best part of our lives going to church, but what is “church” exactly, and why do we go? There are many ways of describing ‘church”, but in my understanding, church is a place where the community of faith gather...
In case you didn’t know it, there is an election next week. It’s an unusual one, being played out against the backdrop of Covid-19, (which mercifully made the election campaign period shorter than usual). At this point you will be expecting me to tell you...
My father believed in the power of positive thinking. He always saw the glass as “half-full”, rather than “half-empty” and never dwelt on setbacks or disappointments. He had experienced some of those in his lifetime. His own father died when he was a teenager, and...
“Please pray for me.” The request which comes from someone in need of healing, or strength, acknowledges the power of one individual to affect the life of the other, through the power of prayer. It’s also an admission of vulnerability: we are no longer self-sufficient...