By DEACON BARRY MELLISH

There are people who talk all the time – or perhaps it just seems that way! We could be one of them and not realise it. Perhaps it is our personality or we are so full of ideas that we cannot wait to explain them all. Or perhaps it is our ego: what we say must be more important than whatever anyone else has to say so they never get a word in edgeways. It takes all sorts to make the world! But there is a lesson to be learned from this and it affects us all. 

By DEACON BARRY MELLISH

Time spent at home during lockdown seems an excellent opportunity to catch up with some modern or contemporary spiritual authors and their books. The problem is how to get hold of these if all the local libraries are shut.

The Open Library seems to offer a way forward, if you are happy to read or browse text on a computer, tablet or maybe even mobile phone.

Fr MATTHEW KWAGHTAVER

It was Thanksgiving season in the nursing home. The small resident population gathered around their humble Thanksgiving table, and the director of the home asked each in turn to express one thing for which he or she was thankful for. “Thanks” were expressed for a home in which to stay, families, friends, etc. One old lady, when her turn came, she said, “I thank the Lord for two perfectly good teeth left in my mouth, one in my upper jaw and one in my lower jaw. They match so well that I can chew my food.” The psalmist says, “It is good to give thanks to the Lord.” (Ps.92:1). 

By Deacon AIDAN McPARTLAN

I wonder how many stories have been told or films made about buried treasure? You know the sort of thing. A clue is found that sets the ball rolling and we quickly discover the lengths that people will go to revealing the greedy instincts, of human nature, hiding just below the surface. 

O holy angel at my side Go to the church for me Kneel in my place at Holy Mass Where I desire to be.  At offertory, in my stead Take all I am and own And place it as a sacrifice Upon the altar throne. At holy consecration bell Adore with seraph’s love My Jesus…

Fr MATTHEW KWAGHTAVER

In biblical times, it was stipulated by the Law of Moses that every firstborn child belonged to God and the parents had to buy him back on the fortieth day by presenting him to the temple and offering a sacrifice for his redemption (Ex.13:1-2, 11-15).

By Fr TOM McHUGH

If there is one word that we should never tire of repeating, it is this: dialogue. We are called to promote a culture of dialogue by every possible means and thus to rebuild the fabric of society.

By MARY CROSBY and DEACON GARRY

What was the The National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress like? This is the question that we, the delegates, have been asked since our return from Liverpool. It is not easy to distil three days of intense experience into a few words. And like any profound experience the effects begin to emerge gradually.

By Fr TOM McHUGH

Recently, a number of people who have lived to be over 100 were interviewed about what contributed to their long life. While there was great diversity in what they had to say, they had one thing in common: an “attitude of thankfulness and an interest in the world around them”.