China: Christmas in Xiantao

China: Christmas in Xiantao

Beginning the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, a gentle word from Fr Paul encouraged the people to be grateful for the opportunity to gather to celebrate the Nativity at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Xiantao, about 100 km west of Wuhan. From where I was sitting in the...
Wuhan: Catching up with people after lockdown ends

Wuhan: Catching up with people after lockdown ends

A phone call this morning from Han Weiwei led to further discussions about our planned meeting later in the week at his side of Wuhan. One year ago, his daily phone calls became a familiar part of the 11 weeks of lockdown. The return to normal life in the city has...
What to do with the Eucharist in a Time of Lockdown

What to do with the Eucharist in a Time of Lockdown

This time last year, Columban missionary Fr Pat Colgan wrote an article entitled, ‘How to be People of the Eucharist, when there is no Eucharist?’ It was during Fiji’s first lockdown when Mass was not celebrated with a public congregation for three months...
Lent, Covid and Lockdown

Lent, Covid and Lockdown

As we enter the second season of Lent in our never-ending lockdown, Fr Jim Fleming invites us to stop and to reflect on what it is all about and what effect it’s having on us personally and collectively. The international rollout of the Covid vaccination is...
Finding God during our times of confinement

Finding God during our times of confinement

Fr Paul Glynn is the Regional Director of the Columbans in the Philippines. He has drawn on his experience of confinement some years ago when the situation was tense in the Southern Philippines to help him through the Covid-19 lockdown. Like many other Columban...