The Landscape: Nature and Emotions
I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, 'This is what it is to be happy.' - Sylvia Plath, writer, in The Bell…
Stepping Into Another World
From my window I gaze daily at the falling leaves of many mighty trees and columns of green shapes and designs. Yet, at a closer look, nothing seems to be…
Exploring Green Spaces: Dr Michael Mosley
Recently, the people throughout the UK, Ireland and across the world have been shocked and saddened by the sudden and untimely death of Dr Michael Mosley, a well-known author, broadcaster…
The Magic of Beauty
The new season of Spring has arrived in New Zealand and life is singing in all her splendour. It is such a wonderful time to just wander in the beauty…
Beginnings and Endings
I have recently been to two Catholic funerals for dear friends and was once again struck by the older theologies that so often underpin such events. We were back in…
Ordinary Time
In Balay Euphrasie, Davao this week we have been having conversations about Liturgy. I was reminded of how my eyes were opened to celebrating the Liturgical Season of Ordinary Time,…
The Taste of Things IV
Elm and arborist It was the ‘orange dot of death’ that caught my eye, and then my heart. It was the sign that she would be brought to her knees,…
My Dad’s Prayer Practice
My dad grew up and lived in the country all his life until about 20 years ago. He is very closely connected to the earth, the weather, the animals, the…
The Birds of the Air, They Will Tell You
As I write this, it is mid-October here in Aotearoa New Zealand and so half way through spring. It has certainly been the birds and bee season around our home…
How Spring Came to Oxford House
Jackpine swayed in South-East Wind and Spring stirred ever-so-slightly in her snug nest near the Crown. Ice boomed and crackled in the cold and Slush formed slowly under Snow’s warm…