The White Parasol

A bit of my journey. It was a long journey, within the context of Christianity, that I began thinking about “what about everyone else in the world?”.  Indeed, what if the apparent exclusivity of “Christianity” was actually contrary to its own teachings? I did become a baptised Catholic, as an adult and from no particular [...]

Blaming the Church for its supposed stance on world issues is a popular and ageless pastime. And who can blame us? But that is not altogether fair. Catholic means universal and its Church is part of a political and spiritual tool on earth. It easily can be blamed for not allowing, by decree, certain acts [...]

Back in 2005, I visited Mount St. Bernard’s Abbey in Leicestershire.  There is an altar there to Blessed Brother Michael Tansy. I was in some desperation;  my son’s illness had come back again. So, I asked him “What do I have to do?”  I was desperate for instructions. And I startlingly got an answer.  From [...]

I am with the sinners. Straight up, might as well face it. That is, to be aware of being a sinner and that being saved has nothing to do with how good we judge that we are, or can become. In the gospels: MAT 10, 9-13 MRK 3, 15-17 LUKE 5, 27-32 Matthew (also known [...]

When I consider my soul. . . . it is full of surprises (or sur-prizes)! It exhibits such patience, for it never appears to be encumbered, restricted or limited by my physical aspect. It is large and wholesome, whilst I am small and fragile. How can this tiny frame of my body carry a soul [...]

At some point on our spiritual journey we have to meet and conquer what is sometimes referred to as “the dweller on the threshold”.  It is a reference to the “being” or “entity” that is sum total of all the negative deeds that we have performed during our many lives, and every act of suffering [...]

Early 2005. Driving along in my yellow mini on the way back from town to my house I was pondering on the illness of my son.  He had been cured we thought and now it was back with a vengeance. It had shown itself by appearing above the clavicle so now we knew that we [...]

Well, they have no right here do they? They are taking our jobs, our social security, our houses, our schools, our communities. They cause us all the problems of a country which is too full: crime, lack of resources. Well, the thing is that we are not seeing clearly. We are looking for someone to [...]

There is the greatest of difficulties for me to understand myself. I am full of contradictions. My Mother said once that I was “…so contrary” when I was a small child. I never forgot this even though I did not then understand. Now I know that she is right and it has taken me most [...]

Can we ever really understand The Lord’s Prayer? The truth is that we do not know what truth is so how can we know what foregiveness is? The Way forward is what then? Perhaps the Power of the Not Quite There Yet (towards Eckhart Toll’s “The Power of Now” that is) will do – for now? Sometimes [...]