On Ash Wednesday we always listen to the same part of Saint Matthew’s gospel, where Jesus speaks about three ways of self-denial: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Last Sunday’s gospel told us about Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the desert. Today’s gospel speaks about prayer. “Jesus took with him Peter, John and James and went up the mountain to pray.” They…

In the year 2009 I was taking photos of the churches for the diocesan website; among them the unusually splendid, majestic St Peter’s in Buckie. Its tall spires, distinctively dominating the Buckie skyline, looked invincible. But when I became parish priest here it turned out the towers had been all but mighty and invincible. And when the scaffolding was put…

When I came to Scotland six years ago, one of the most noticeable differences between here and my homeland was the slower pace of life. Driving in Poland was like taking part in a continuous hectic chasing race. Here most of the drivers were going within the speed limit. But since then I’ve noticed a substantial change in this attitude:…

Years ago I was reading a book on the train. In many aspects it undermined my well-established opinions on many matters. At one point the book was so controversial that I wanted to chuck it out through the window of the train. Fortunately my respect for social rules prevailed and the book left the train in my bag. Later on,…

As far as I remember I’ve always been a practising Catholic. By practising I mean going to church regularly, making confession regularly, attending catechesis regularly. It was quite an achievement considering it was happening in a communist country officially irreligious and openly anti-clerical. But before I reached the age of seventeen I’d never had the Bible in my hands, and had never…