Daily Prayers

Prayer is Love, I want to Love

Category: Fr John’s – Most Popular

  • Isaac And Jesus: Moriah And Jerusalem

    Last Sunday the first reading at mass was the story of Abraham and Isaac, of the father’s being asked by God sacrifice his son, but stopping him at the last moment, satisfied that Abraham had been willing to do as God requested. I warned the people it was a story of torture and was ugly.…

  • Original Sin and the Immaculate Conception (2)

    On 8th December we celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. Could you explain if someone asked you sincerely? See it this way. The first time we do wrong is our original sin. We know there was a first time because we can remember other times. We are guilty of our own…

  • Praying (3)

    A daughter was telling me of her wonderful father who had recently died. She spoke of his many good qualities, of how the family had loved him and would always remember him. She was glad he had not suffered too much and this compensated for losing him relatively young (65) and quite quickly. She told…

  • Heaven, Hell And Purgatory

    Feast of All Saints is 1st November, of the Holy Souls is 2nd November. What is the difference between a saint and a holy soul? The old answer was: “A saint is in heaven, a holy soul in purgatory.” It is the wrong answer now – don’t use it. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict…

  • Priesthood Past And Present

    A bad priest is far worse than no priest. Studying for the priesthood must be a mature choice and can only be made by someone who is mature. A case may be made for temporary priesthood (10-20 years), as in every work way of life, but the Church sees the priesthood as a life-long commitment,…

  • Forty Days

    February 2nd is the Feast of The Presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the Purification of Our Lady and the last day of the 40 days of Christmastide. “Forty” is a powerful symbolic number in the Bible. It carries the force of God’s eternity within our time – days, weeks, years. It is…

  • Time

    People don’t like going out in the evenings. We must accept that. Maybe for a meal, for a drink, to play bingo, to watch a football or rugby match, to go shopping, to go to the cinema or theatre, visit family or friends, to go for a walk or run or a cycle ride. But…

  • Dark & Light

    A little while ago I wrote of the love in some of our parish homes felt by those who had lost their spouse. They were aware of their seeming to be still near, small acts of teasing love being played, sometimes vivid awareness of their presence, even occasionally hearing or seeing the loved one. Whatever…

  • Our Peoples Cry

    A railroad track ran behind our small church and each Sunday morning we would hear the whistle from a distance and then the clacking of the wheels moving over the track. We became disturbed when one Sunday we noticed cries coming from a train as it passed by.

  • Praying – Blessed Sacrament

    (5) I told them about children who had no home, no school, lived on the streets and had no one to care for them, and about Fr Peter and ‘Let the Children Live’. Would they pray for girls and boys who had no home, no school. They did . . .