There’s a lot of excitement going on in today’s gospel. The locals were thrilled by Jesus’ presence among them in their synagogue. Then, the news of Simon’s mother-in-law having been miraculously healed by Jesus spread like wildfire in the neighbourhood, and soon after sunset, when the Sabbath day restrictions were over, the house where Jesus was staying was besieged by…

“You will be condemned and go straight to hell!” was essentially the message directed at my good friend and fellow priest years ago at a Pentecostal-style prayer meeting in the USA, to which he’d been invited. I’d say it was a bit harsh, considering he was a man of great personal integrity and a highly regarded leader whose contribution to…

Recently, a friend of mine came across a street preacher in Aberdeen city centre. His efforts seemed to have no traction with the city dwellers, unlike the prophet Jonah in today’s first reading. The street preacher’s enthusiasm, zeal and megaphone failed to attract any attention. I can admire his resolve as he continued despite having no effect on anyone. I…

I hope this question isn’t too intrusive… How long have you been a Catholic? I guess a good chunk of us here can be classified as “cradle Catholics”, born to Catholic parents, baptised as a baby and raised in a family where Catholic traditions were the bread and butter of everyday life. On top of that, in my case, I…