Today’s gospel is part of quite a long speech by Jesus. It is taken from the thirteenth chapter of St Mark’s gospel. This text is quite complicated, because it’s a mixture of forecasts concerning the downfall of Jerusalem, persecution of the disciples and apparently the end of the world. Actually it’s hard to separate the parts telling about the end…

Last night I took part in a celebration of Poland’s Independence. At one point the Polish consul approached. When I was introduced she was really surprised to see a catholic priest from Poland dressed in a kilt outfit. I assume she expected to see a man in a long black robe and a collar – which is a very popular…

Once a famous photographer had an exhibition. Among many visitors there was an equally well-known writer. When they met, the writer said: “I’ve watched your photographs and found them amazingly inspiring: the colours, composition… Every picture is absolutely stunning! You must have had a very good camera!” The photographer politely thanked him for his opinion. A few months later the…

Last Sunday a couple of young Catholics approached me about ten minutes before mass. I had not met them before. The couple hoped to get married and they asked me about marriage preparation. I explained our procedure to them. Because they are planning a wedding in August next year I told them that we should start our preparation after Easter.…

Yesterday evening I showed some people a few pictures that I had taken during my last hike in the Cairngorms. The viewers were amazed by what they saw, which of course didn’t surprise me at all. Some of the people even expressed their desire to go and see these places for themselves. But their eagerness was dampened somewhat when they…