1 June 2019 Unless you’ve been living in a monastic community, I’m sure you would be at least minimally aware of the Marie Kondo approach to ‘decluttering’. In previewing a “Life Matters” (Radio National) segment on the phenomenon earlier this year, journalist Fran Kelly said, “My socks don’t give me joy.” She was referring to […]
What spiritual practices bring you joy? Read More »
1 June 2019 In March, an appalling event took place in New Zealand when a lone gunman opened fire at two Christchurch mosques killing 50 people and wounding countless others. Outraged, people around the world condemned this atrocity against innocents. Muslim worshipers were at Friday prayers; they were at their most vulnerable; their deaths were
Viewpoint – Lack of Respect Read More »
1 June 2019 In Faith Matures Beyond the Sunday God, by Mary Beth Werdel, every experience, she says, can be ‘God-like’. “We experience these situations so we can be closer to God and each experience from the deepest can be simple and life-altering,” she writes. “Life is filled with entryways to the sacred: a conversation
An ‘adult’ relationship with God Read More »
1 March 2019 Mother’s Day honours motherhood and is observed in different forms throughout the world. Celebrations of mothers can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honour of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele. The clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as
History of Mother’s Day Read More »
1 March 2019 When my siblings and I were young, the Easter Bunny would visit: on Easter Sunday morning we would wake up to find at the foot of our beds a basket full of chocolate eggs, including a large chocolate bunny. In my excitement I would inevitably eat a handful of the eggs and
A day of surprises Read More »
1 March 2019 But it wasn’t for romantic reasons that his heart was aflutter. He was happily married and he’d just shared a pleasant breakfast with his wife. Nor was it the grey, monolithic tombstones, sprouting from the grounds of the cemetery that ran along the property’s edge. Rather it was anxiety, at the thought
Shedding loneliness Read More »
1 March 2019 “Get your shorts on,” his father said as he came through the front door. “I’m taking you to the Little League tryouts.” Joseph blinked in surprise. His father, who worked long hours as a builder, had never bought him a baseball bat or mitt, or tossed a ball back and forth in
1 March 2019 All his stories conveyed messages of love, kindness, generosity, self-acceptance, forgiveness, reconciliation and many other virtues. These are also, of course, gospel values. Consider Jesus and the way he preached the gospel through the medium of stories. In fact, several of his parables are not overtly ‘religious’ and don’t even mention God
Animals are good mentors Read More »
1 March 2019 Respect was a learned trait through the deeds and actions of my parents, grandparents and others; respect needed to be shown to my teachers at school, friends I played with in the street and the woman who ran the local grocery store. Politeness was drummed into me and even if I didn’t
1 March 2019 What makes Patrick a saint is the overall thrust of his life. And that thrust can readily be gleaned from two surviving writings namely, his Confession and Letter to Coroticus. In these letters three key elements stand out: (i) his life lived in union with Jesus Christ who is not only his
St Patrick in Irish Folklore Read More »
