When I was growing up in the 1980’s, there was a dream that most of us had of meeting the right person, falling in love, settling down, getting married and having a family. Somehow, that was the goal and the norm of how life was meant to work out. There was a natural connection between…
Catholics and people worldwide associate St Valentine’s feast day with love and romance. Here are five married couples who are saints today because they lived out a vocation of love for each other – and for God. 1. Sts Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin (Zélie) Pope Francis canonized the French couple Louis Martin (1823-94) and…
I’m getting married this year. As the day draws closer, amid all the preparations, we’ve found ourselves watching a run of wedding rom-coms. And a familiar pattern kept resurfacing. For example, in Runaway Bride, the problem isn’t that love is absent, but that it is perpetually deferred. Maggie (Julia Roberts), the titular runaway bride, repeatedly…
What is a liveable life? What is needed in order to make life, if not perfect, then as decent and as tolerable as it can realistically be? Questions like these are at the very heart of our so-called culture wars. They are personal questions, but also deeply political since the way we answer them will…
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil The Gospel Matt. 5:17 [Jesus said:] “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. Matt. 5:18 For…
The renowned anthropologist Mircea Eliade once issued this warning: “No community should botch its deaths.” He’s right. Death washes clean and only after someone is gone can we fully drink in the gift that he or she was for us and the world. On January 22 the Christian community, and the Catholic Church in particular,…
Q: Why are there so many different kinds of convents out there? I don’t understand why a young woman who feels called to give her life to God would need that many choices. A: The short answer to the question of why there are such a variety of convents out there is: You would have…
Ecclesiasticus 15:16-21 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 Matthew 5:17-37 An enlightened Christian — one touched by the light of God’s wisdom — knows how to live. There is no need for constant excuses, no room for clever manoeuvring around God’s commandments. Such behaviour does not befit a disciple of Christ. The follower of Jesus is called to…
We all have a story. Every heart carries unseen chapters. Every soul is shaped by love and loss. “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18) Last week, for my birthday, my caring and loving wife Jacqui and my two fabulous daughters, Mia and Sophie, brought…
Picture your favourite place to sit. A cozy recliner near the TV, a reading spot on your couch or your usual chair at the kitchen table. Remember how your body sinks into that space without a second thought. After a long day, there’s nothing better than settling in where we feel most at home. Now…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr Dominik Domagala