This year begun unluckily in our parish. Deacon Vincent broke his foot on 1 January immediately after coming back from his holiday. Fr Colin came back from holiday with the flu. For the last two weeks I have had a serious problem with my back. At the same time I heard about many bad things happening to my friends. It…

When I was a kid, my mum used to work very hard all week, and by the weekend she was really exhausted. Sunday was her only day off, so she slept longer than usual. Mass was always the most important event for her on a Sunday. But when I was a child, I wasn’t an eager mass goer. Sometimes, if…

“The time has come and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent and believe the Good News”. These are the very first words of Jesus, recorded in Saint Mark’s gospel. Jesus begins his public ministry calling for repentance and faith as an individual’s response to the closeness of the kingdom. But do these words still move our hearts…

One year ago my mum visited me here, in Scotland, for two weeks. We travelled a lot, because I wanted to show her the beauty of this country. Once I decided to walk on the Bin of Cullen, a quite small hill behind Buckie. I assumed that there would be a nice view from there, but I had never been…

This happened many years ago. I decided to go to the seminary. One of the requirements was a talk with a bishop. He asked me, why I want to be a priest. In my youthful stupidity I honestly answered, that I knew many priests and I thought, that people deserve a good and helpful one. I was young and mindless.…