The first signs of the approach of Christmas appeared the very next morning after Halloween; seasonal shelves in supermarkets had been emptied of scary masks and accessories, and had been filled with new items; their packaging had subtle but easily recognizable symbols on them: snowflakes, stars, reindeer, a white-bearded man’s face. A race for customers started that very day in…

In the parish house in Buckie where I happen to live there is one window extremely inaccessible from the outside. Quite likely it hasn’t been touched since it was installed. For all those years dirt brought by rains and dust raised by winds covered the glass with a relatively thin but highly noticeable layer of filth. I’m not blaming the…

The door bell in the parish house in Elgin had quite a delicate gong, hardly audible in my flat when the radio or music was playing. A couple of times I didn’t manage to meet people who had made an appointment with me; it happened for one silly reason: I couldn’t hear the doorbell. Personally I hate failing people I…

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…