What we assume to be happiest time of the year is approaching; we will be denying the doom and gloom of the shortest days and the longest nights of the year, enjoying the festive atmosphere and the company of family and friends. Of course it will not just happen. In order to make it happen we have already made a…

One of my first public appearances as parish priest of St Mary’s was at the official opening of the Fochabers bypass. I didn’t do much – I was just standing among other officials and spectators, looking handsome (that was the most demanding bit). After about 30 minutes the first cars were allowed to pass along the route. Since then drivers…

When the liturgical year finishes our attention is drawn to the end of time. Most of the biblical visions concerning it are associated with natural disasters like earthquakes, powerful storms, volcanic eruptions and so on. For centuries those phenomena were so unpredictable, damaging and powerful that people referred them to supernatural powers: gods and demons. In people’s minds those events…

Today’s gospel speaks about Zacchaeus – a man of great wealth and small size. I find it hard to understand the problem with his height. I’m quite tall and actually I’ve never had a problem watching anything or someone over the heads of other people in a crowd or a cinema. My problem is different: sometimes I feel guilty when…

Once I was coming down from the mountains. Pretty close to the end of my route I met a girl standing on the side of the path. She asked me if I knew how far she was from the car park. I was familiar with that area, so I told her that she was about ten minutes away. But she…