Reflections

From the pen of  Michael K. Marsh | November 13th 2022 I want to tell you about a friend who came and sat with me. They knew I was in a jar of bumpy pickles. I was feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, lonely, stuck, and grouchy.  As I talked on in ever-diminishing circles, my friend wisely and...Continue reading→

Bread for the Journey Bread for the Journey is the title of a book by Henri Nouwen. I was reminded of his book when watching a show on TV the other day. It was one of those programmes where a group of people are making a pilgrimage together. The scenery, of course, is stunning, the...Continue reading→

Treasure the Invisible. Some time ago, we had a working bee here at Christchurch Hamilton. The day was overcast and coolish, but rugged up and looking like a bit of a dag, I cheerfully joined in. The aim was to smarten up the grounds, get rid of excess vegetation, show the community that we take...Continue reading→

9/11/25 The Air is Thinner in the 7th Dimension. Today’s story really begins on Mt. Horeb, where a naive Moses turns aside out of idle curiosity to see a bush that is in flames and yet is not being consumed by the fire. Mt. Horeb is not a remarkable place. Just your average rocky elevation...Continue reading→

Todays story begins at the Queen Vic market in Melbourne. It has a large veranda and sometimes they feed those who sleep rough there with a bottle of water and a BBQ. Jeanine and I have stayed an inexpensive but comfortable hotel just around the corner from all this so we know the area well...Continue reading→

2/11/25 All Souls Day By a lovely coincidence, All Souls Day falls on a Sunday this year. Our day of resurrection. The first day of the week, when the women went to the tomb whilst it was still dark. They came expecting to find a sealed grave. But instead they found an empty tomb, a...Continue reading→

26/10/25 So What Happened Next? Our story today begins in Portland where the wise old supervising priest sends me out to visit a home where he knows I will be well received. He knows that I will be  fed delicious cream cakes and caramel slice and maybe washed down with a refreshing beverage. ‘Only one mind...Continue reading→

My Misspent College Days My college years were heady days of lectures, wine, song and prayer. We wrote essays, or tried and we used to have these things called tutorials. A hapless student would be asked to prepare a paper and the others would savagely tear it to pieces, arguing the toss and pointing out...Continue reading→

Of Bunions and Pesky Widows. Dear David, Thank you for the gift of your morning prayer yesterday. I found it particularly moving and poignant, to the point where I wanted to offer a response and engage with you more directly. I have to say that I am impressed with the way you keep on praying...Continue reading→

The Openings and Closings we call ‘Funerals.’ Even after 40 years, I still regard it as a poignant privilege to attend a funeral. Perhaps more so now that my own funeral draws ever closer. Frequently, I’m the person up front trying to make sure that it all goes smoothly, but at the same time not...Continue reading→

You Need to Hear This!? One day, a friend kindly passed on his gratitude. I quickly fobbed it off and replied that my actions were just what I do. It is who I am. Swiftly, he replied, ‘Yes, but you need to hear what I am saying. ’ He was congenially firm, and it made...Continue reading→

The Marvellous Ministry of Myf Some of you may be aware that my daughter, Jacky, and her husband, David, have a corgi named Myf. Like all pets, Myf has a marvellous, subtle, almost indiscernible ministry. Part of Myf’s ministry is that she selflessly takes the blame for other people's unsociable noises and odours. You know...Continue reading→

Want more faith? First, put on your apron. When you initially read over today’s gospel, it appears as though we have two quite distinct and different pieces of literature. First, the disciples come asking for their Faith to be increased. It seems a perfectly logical and commendable question. If only everyone would ask for their...Continue reading→

Let’s make a splash Today’s reflection was handed to me on a silver platter by a year 10 student long ago and far away. She said something like, ‘You know Fr. Oulton, I really like the way that we can splash about with crazy ideas in your class. We learn just as much from the...Continue reading→

28/9/25 Who is Mr Nobody? Over the last three Sundays, we’ve had three stories, all exclusive to Luke and all talking about the misuse of cash. On the 14th of September, we had the parable of the lost coin. Last week, we had the dodgy steward who got caught with his hand in the till...Continue reading→

23/9/25 Parents - The final frontier It’s an odd but unfightable phenomenon,  but I am finding that more and more childhood memories surface in my conscious memory. They just sort of pop up unbidden and flaunt themselves. These memories teach me a bit about myself and a bit about my parents. They always leave me with...Continue reading→

Are You Ready … Because The Jig Is Up? First up, a bit of context. Luke is the only one to tell us today's parable. He will place it between two other parables that are also unique to him. Just before today’s gospel, we have the story of the prodigal son. And following on from...Continue reading→

Going Cheap I am like many of you who have watched that elusive gift of peace disappear further and further into the future. In my little life, I had hoped that we might actually have managed to achieve some semblance of stability. The sort that we enjoy here in Australia. That we might spread it...Continue reading→

14 September 2025 That Silver Coin. One of the things that made our Lord’s teaching so attractive was that he often dressed up his message in stories. We still tell them, and they still resonate strongly with us. I strongly suspect that his parables came from real-life incidents that he had personally witnessed. The prodigal...Continue reading→

Manipulative vs Superhero Over the years, it has been my undeserved privilege to be with people in pain. To wander in, to be invited in, to be expected when someone is in pain is a compliment that is not to be taken lightly. I have watched many people gallantly march on through the rehabilitation process...Continue reading→