What’s important in life
The story is told of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. “Why aren’t you out there fishing?” he asked.
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World Day of Prayer for Creation
Humanity can no longer ignore the cries of the earth that is suffering due to greed and the excessive consumption of its resources, Pope Francis said.
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Needing friends
My iPhone buzzed. I looked down at the text message on the glowing blue screen. The words took a moment to sink in. It was like being back in primary school and discovering you hadn’t been invited to your friend’s sleepover, only worse.
New laws to protect our environment
The federal government has announced new federal environment laws in response to the grim state of native animal populations and declining ecosystems revealed in a report released earlier this week.
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Pope’s message to the elderly
Dear Friends,
“In old age they will still bear fruit” (Ps 92:15). These words of the Psalmist are glad tidings, a true “gospel” that we can proclaim to all on this second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. They run counter to what the world thinks about this stage of life, but also to the attitude of grim resignation shown by some of us elderly people, who harbour few expectations for the future.
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The promise of God’s grace
A disciple says, “Lord, teach us to pray.” In reply, Jesus offers a four-point lesson in prayer.
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My greatest joy
When I was a mother, I was often busy and frustrated. I would often be yelling at my children not to do something. That’s not the way you should do things.
Sacred quality of trees
In the human religious imagination, a tree is often understood to be a symbol of the connection between heaven and earth: branches, spread out and covering all beneath them, are joined by a trunk to roots plunged deep into the ground. The foliage above gives shade and protection from the harsh heat of the day, and fruit for our nourishment. Besides water (which like fruit ‘falls’ from above) human survival depends on shelter and food, both of which the tree provides.
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Plenary Council Outcomes
The Fifth Plenary Council of Australia has concluded with agreement on all motions including (Part 4.5) ‘that should the universal law of the Church be modified to authorise the diaconate for women, the Plenary Council recommends the Australian Bishops receive this possibility with openness and examine how best to implement it in the context of the of the Church in Australia’.
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Plenary Council embraces Laudato Si
The plenary Council has passed the motion for the Church in Australia to adopt Pope Francis’ Laudato Si. This important encyclical includes the subtitle ‘on care for our common home’. Pope Francis criticises irresponsible development, laments environmental degradation and global warming, and calls on all peoples to take “swift and unified global action” to protect the planet for future generations.
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