A common line of thought these days among critics of religion, and Christianity in particular, is that God must be a major narcissist, creating a world full of people, animals and more, to sing his praises from now through to eternity. Commandments from throughout the Bible to love and worship God, a ‘jealous’ God, have…
Scripture tells us that in this life we have no lasting city. True enough. But, it seems, we also don’t have a lasting house, school, neighbourhood, town, zip code address or most anything else. Eventually nothing lasts. Perhaps my case isn’t typical, but a lot of things in my life haven’t lasted. My grandparents were…
The Sunday Gospel Deacon Greg Kandra 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time Zec 9:9-10 Ps 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14 Rom 8:9, 11-13 Mt 11:25-301 Jesus makes us an invitation that is irresistible: “Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from…
Emily Stimpson Chapman In Rome, the churches are legion. Little parishes and great basilicas alike meet travellers on every block of the ancient city, their facades mingling with shops and restaurants, apartments and ancient ruins. Although unique visions of beauty and faith greet all those who cross the thresholds of these churches, on the outside precious few…
The real world that we experience firsthand and every day is a real setting in which faith really is meant to take form and grow. But does our firsthand acquaintance with our real world leave us wondering how it possibly could serve as an authentic faith environment? Think about it. Does your real world bear a full share of…
Saint of the week Arguably the most famous of the Church’s saints on June 29 we celebrate the feast of Sts Peter and Paul. Their influence permeates the entire Church and the world – Peter being the ‘rock’ upon which Christ chose to build his Church, Paul’s letters of guidance and encouragement being read out…
Effie Caldarola St Charles de Foucauld became one of Catholicism’s newest saints on May 15, 2022. This Frenchman was murdered in Tamanrasset, Algeria, in 1916 where he lived in a hermitage among the remote Tuareg people. At this point, eyes may glaze over. A saint who was a hermit? In the Saharan desert? What possible…
The Church has a long history of celebrating martyrs – those who died “in a supreme act of love, witnessing to their faithfulness to Christ, to the Gospel and to the Church” (Pope Benedict XVI, apostolic letter to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints). That logic is somewhat incomprehensible today, though. A certain amount…
www.ronrolheiser.com More than 50 years ago Philip Rieff wrote a book entitled The Triumph of the Therapeutic. In it, he argued that widespread reliance upon private therapy today arose in the secularised world largely because community has broken down. In societies where there are strong families and strong communities, he contends, there is less need…
Jem Sullivan 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19 Rom 6:3-4, 8-11 Mt 10:37-42 After Pentecost the Church returns to Ordinary Time in the liturgical calendar. The outpouring gift of the Holy Spirit begins a graced time of renewal in the power of God’s divine life and love that we each…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser