As a way of honouring St Mary of the Cross today, would you mind my sharing with you some reflections on the mystery of the Cross?

“Taste and see how good the Lord is!”, the words of response to the psalm in today’s liturgy, beautifully sum up for us the invitation and challenge within the three readings of today’s liturgy.

The SVD seminary that I attended in the USA was located in the midst of the richest suburbs of Chicago. Those suburbs were not there when the seminary was built in 1909.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” The request of the disciples is one that Christians have had down through the centuries.

A contractor needed one more man to chop down trees for export. One day, two men appeared willing to do the job but only one can be employed so what the contractor did was to put the two men to a test,

Last weekend I was with our Darwin Diocesan youth for the Breakaway retreat in Noonamah, NT. I drove up with two young men from Alice Springs for this retreat.

A good master teaches his apprentice how a work is done so that if ever the master goes, he knows that at any time the apprentice could take over and continue the work.

This Sunday’s Gospel reading reminds us of two important lessons to be learned if we are to be sincere followers of Christ.

To borrow another story from my friend, Fr Bel San Luis, SVD: There was a man who just came back from church after attending mass.

The liturgy of the day invites us to ponder over the theme of forgiveness. Jesus, in today’s Gospel forgives the woman who was considered a sinner by the people of her town.

The Widow of Nain
The story:
The story of the Widow of Nain in Luke’s Gospel is extraordinarily short.

In almost all cultures, we show our hospitality by offering people food. For many of us, we see food as a way to connect, we see food as a way forge relationships.

Jesus said, “All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that [the Spirit] will take what is mine and declare it to you”

During my holiday in the Philippines a couple of years ago, I visited some of the Holy Spirit Sisters at their convent in Manila.