by Richard Houwing | 16 Oct, 2022 | Quote for the Week
To you I call; for you will surely heed me, O God; turn your ear to me; hear my words . Guard me as the apple of your eye; in the shadow of your wings protect me.
by Richard Houwing | 10 Dec, 2021 | Quote for the Week
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you; a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27) “I have said these things to you so that my joy...
by Richard Houwing | 26 Nov, 2021 | Quote for the Week
Advent: The Lord invites us to ‘stay awake’ in a spirit of preparation, expectation and waiting. The word “advent,” from the Latin adventus, means the “coming” or “arrival.” The Advent Season of four weeks is focused on the...
by Richard Houwing | 16 Jul, 2021 | Quote for the Week
One of the most obvious characteristics of our daily lives is that we are busy. We experience our days as filled with things to do, people to meet, projects to finish, letters to write, calls to make, and appointments to keep. Our lives often seem like over-packed...
by Richard Houwing | 25 Sep, 2020 | Quote for the Week
Celebrating the Eucharist during the time of the pandemic. In the Rite of the dedication of a new church, the prayer of the Bishop asks that a church be what it should be by its very nature: Make this for ever a holy place. Here may the flood of divine grace overwhelm...
by Richard Houwing | 30 Mar, 2020 | Quote for the Week
When we think back over the recent Sundays we realise that thirst, blindness and death are all metaphors for what our spiritual life can be like: – we are thirsty, and unable to quench that thirst; – we are blind, and unable to see; – we are dead,...
by Richard Houwing | 21 Mar, 2020 | Quote for the Week
Lent: a time in the Desert Wilderness An explanation of the ‘desert space’ in front of the altar In the Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent, Jesus is led into the desert wilderness, by the Spirit. For Jesus, as for us during Lent, the desert is: a place of encounter...
by Richard Houwing | 8 Feb, 2020 | Quote for the Week
The People of God is marked by characteristics that clearly distinguish it from all other religious, ethnic, political, or cultural groups found in history: It is the People of God: God is not the property of any one people. But he acquired a people for himself from...
by Richard Houwing | 23 Aug, 2019 | Quote for the Week
“The desire for God is written in the human heart at man’s creation. God has created man for himself and never ceases to call him to communion which is the fullness of life, truth and happiness…… This desire for God demands a concerted effort, an...
by Richard Houwing | 10 Aug, 2019 | Quote for the Week
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary “The Magnificat praises the loyal and merciful God, who carries out his design of salvation with the little ones and the poor, with those who have faith in Him, who trust his Word, like Mary.” “On the feast of the...
by Richard Houwing | 28 Jun, 2019 | Quote for the Week
“Let no one mourn that he or she has fallen again and again: for in Jesus forgiveness has risen from the grave!” St. John Chrysostom “What has He done for me? He has loved me and given me His whole self. What shall I do for Him? I shall love Him and give myself to Him...
by Richard Houwing | 15 Jun, 2019 | Quote for the Week
The sign of the cross reminds us of the Trinity which resides in us, of God’s name and of our commitment to the faith from the moment of baptism. Benedict XVI “Most Blessed Trinity of love For whom the human heart was made, To You be praise in timeless song, And...
by Richard Houwing | 7 Jun, 2019 | Quote for the Week
“The Church of Christ is always, so to speak, in a situation of Pentecost: she is always gathered in the Upper Room in prayer, and at the same time, driven by the powerful wind of the Spirit, she is always on the streets preaching.” Pope John Paul II (June 8, 2003)....
by Richard Houwing | 11 May, 2019 | Quote for the Week
The Shepherd’s Calling – Read Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” (verse 1). Remembering the context of the time when the psalmist wrote this beautiful prayer, shepherding was a common profession. The shepherd provided everything that the sheep...
by Richard Houwing | 18 Apr, 2019 | Quote for the Week
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” Pope St John Paul II “If humanity had its way, the plan of redemption would be an endless and bloody conflict. In reality, salvation was bought not by...
by Richard Houwing | 22 Feb, 2019 | Quote for the Week
The wall hanging in Mother Teresa’s Office (St Teresa of Calcutta 1910-1997) People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centred; … Forgive them anyway! If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; … Be kind anyway! If you are...
by Richard Houwing | 14 Dec, 2018 | Quote for the Week
At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you; a peace the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14.27) “I have said these things to you so that my joy...
by Richard Houwing | 10 Nov, 2018 | Quote for the Week
Mother Teresa told a story how one day she was walking down the street when a beggar came up to her and said, ‘Mother Teresa, everybody is giving to you, I also want to give to you. Today, for the whole day, I got only thirty cents. I want to give it to you.’ Mother...
by Richard Houwing | 5 Oct, 2018 | Quote for the Week
“The plan inherent in marriage is truly wonderful! It is expressed in the simplicity, and also in the fragility, of the human condition. We are well aware of the many difficulties and trials there may be in the life of a married couple..… It is true that married life...
by Richard Houwing | 21 Sep, 2018 | Quote for the Week
A prayer that does not lead you to practical action for your brother or sister — the poor, the sick, those in need of help, a brother or sister in difficulty — is a sterile and incomplete prayer. But, in the same way . . . When time is not set aside for dialogue with...
