Peter Blog a few random thoughts

There are two offerings today. One was Christmas eve and the other Christmas Day. Although I left the Christmas day Homily behind when I went to Rose Green. Christmas Eve In the French Catholic Church in London every year they do the most extraordinary crib scene. They build a small model village where there is the hustle and bustle of a French town. In the midst of all this chaos and what seems like confusion there is a small area where a child is born to a man and woman in a stable. He was born not in any great pomp or ceremony he was born in obscurity and poverty almost hidden from the world around. And so the Son of God Jesus dwelt among us in time. It seems a quiet event among all that is going on. So God comes among us quietly and gently into our world of chaos: Love enters in and dwelt among us. So this event happened 2000 years ago what it means for us today. I suspect that it means meeting up with family that you rarely see, watching the queen’s speech, listening to cr...

Fourth Sunday of Advent There are two very important themes that are presented to us in the Gospel today. One we have touched on which is the fact that God is with us and the other one is the words “Do not be afraid” I think both of these are worth looking at with greater detail. God is with us We live in a society that is sceptical of God and religion where people seem not to believe. Maybe there is a deeper meaning. I believe that even in those who shy away from God there is a part of us that desires something other. I have some friends who say that they do not believe in God and yet ask for prayers of me when they have someone who is ill. There are others whose road seems long and can never really get in touch with the God who is with us. And yet we believe that God is with us all the time. We notice him in the gentleness of another human being caring about us, he is with us in the kind words of another but he is especially with us in the sacraments and in prayer. Here at Mass we ...

Last week, I went back home to London for a week off before Christmas. As I got off the train at Victoria the one thing that hit me was that everyone seemed to be in a rush. There was little patience and even if you stopped for a brief second to catch your breath there was a tuts from someone behind you who seemed to rushing somewhere quite important to them. Then one of the days I ventured into Oxford Circus and again I was not surprised to see people rushing from shop to shop buying Christmas presents. The busy society seems to exemplify itself during the lead up to Christmas. For many people this is what Advent means to people. It is a time of being very busy. And yet we are asked to do something different. We are asked to look at what it means to be Christian what Jesus means to us and who this man is for us today 2000 years after his birth. John asked the question about who was this man Jesus was he really the one who was to come.   Jesus tells John’s followers to say exactly...

Second Sunday of Advent Year A When I was 18 years old I collapsed at a right angle to the bed I was rushed into hospital and the hospital told me after numerous tests that I needed a pacemaker fitted. At the age of 18 this was a tough call. I protested saying that I did not want the operation.   A little while later while I was in the hospital bed the doctor came round and said to me that if I did not have the operation I would be dead within two years.   While on the operating table I thought to myself that there must be more to life than what I was doing. It was on that operation table that I decided that I would try my vocation as a priest. In one sense looking back at this experience I could say that it was my conversion experience. It was my point of looking and seeing where my paths were not straight. In one we all go through our own conversion experiences. We all have moments where we realise where we are and what we are doing and make a choice to change what we are ...