All people thirst for meaning, but of what does that meaning consist? The people in the desert thirsted for water, but they misunderstood their thirst. The woman of Samaria thirsted. Her conversation with Jesus showed that she thirsted for understanding and insight as well as water…

The blessings upon which we meditate today are undeserved gifts from God. They were not earned. The graciousness of God transforms us in such a way as to effect new beginnings…

The readings for the First Sunday of Lent act as a kind of overture to the entire season. They enable us to engage in a double confession: a confession of sin and the repentance which follows…

We live in a world where appearances frequently matter more than they should. Contrary to this predominating tendency, Jesus teaches us that what we do flows from who and what we are…

To follow Jesus does not mean merely that one travels with him from place to place. It means that one learns from him, that one follows his manner of life and his way of thinking…

Discipleship is not something that we take upon ourselves. We are called to it. Some people are very conscious of this call. They are aware of it in their aspirations and dreams; they recognise it in the events of their lives…

Ours is an historical religion. It not only unfolds within the joys and disappointments of time and place, but it is rooted in actual events that took place in the lives of real people…

For the early church, this gospel incident provided something of a puzzle. Why would Jesus, the sinless One, submit to baptism by John? Why be immersed in the waters of the River Jordan…

Unlike the writers of the horoscope columns in our newspapers, these Wise Men were scholar astrologers, probably from Syria or Iraq. They believed that the stars controlled the destiny of human beings…

How often, on TV, do you see people fleeing persecution by murderous tyrants? When I was at school, some of the pupils were the sons of those who had fled from Poland to escape Nazi and then Communist persecution. It seems that generation after generation, millions of people have been forced to leave their homelands…

Joseph could not ignore Mary’s pregnancy, but he had an exceptional large-heartedness, so that he preserved a future for Mary even though she had apparently wronged him…

Half way through Advent we pause for a moment to celebrate Gaudete Sunday, a Sunday for rejoicing. Isaiah paints a picture of regeneration. The desert that once seemed to be dead is now bursting with life…

We may be accustomed to think of Advent as the time when we prepare for the coming of God, but the readings also train our attention on our own journey to God…

This feast celebrates the power and authority of Christ by creating a collage of images that capture one or more characteristics of Christ’s kingship…

The Day of the Lord was believed to be the time when God would come in majesty and power to set all things right…

The basilica of St John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome, the mother church of all Roman Catholic churches…

It is very easy for religious people to fall into a kind of self-righteousness. Their very enthusiasm and generosity can plant the seeds of religious arrogance…

The readings today offer various aspects of prayer for our consideration. There is the spiritual discipline of prayer itself, which is essential to the life of the disciple…

Some of you may remember, or at least know of, Princess Diana. She was a rather confused character. But one incident in her troubled life caught the attention of the world…

In our struggles to be faithful disciples, we frequently must endure periods when we feel abandoned by God…