Mark Whittall

“I’m going fishing.” What do you do when you’re at a crossroads? When you need to think? When you’re feeling a bit lost, or a little down. When you need to pray? Where do you go? What do you do? “I’m going fishing,” says Peter. Peter was certainly at a crossroads. It’s been some time now since Easter. The initial shock, the joy, the wonder of encountering Jesus risen from the dead has had time to wear off a bit. Peter and the disciples are still hanging together, but t

Evidence-based decision making. We’ve talked a lot about it since the beginning of the pandemic. We want our governments, we want our public health organizations to make decisions based on the evidence. To do the research. We spend billions of dollars every year doing research and gathering evidence so that we can make good decisions. So why is it that when Thomas declares that he needs to see the evidence, we label him as a doubter and hold him up as an example of what not

Easter is the most audacious day of the Christian year. It is the day that we proclaim that love will overcome hate, that hope is greater than fear, that life is stronger than death. It is the day we declare that a man was raised from the dead. It’s the day we promise that no matter how deep your sadness and sorrow, one day you will experience joy. It’s the day we assert that the horrors of this world, pandemics and violence and wars and the like, yes they are real but th

A few years ago, during Holy Week, the first ever image of a black hole was released. It caused quite a stir, not just in the scientific community, but around the world. It was the image of a gigantic black hole which is located at the centre of galaxy M87, 50 million light years away from earth. When you look at the image, the first thing you see is what looks like a ring of fire around the edge of the black hole. Then you see the deep, dark, centre which is the black hol

Is there a moment in your life when you knew, when you absolutely knew, deep down in your bones, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that you were loved? If so, you are blessed. You have been blessed with the most wonderful thing, a most powerful experience, a grace that makes so much more possible. For Jesus, this is that moment. “Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of