I read “I’m a Catholic but …” in CathNews NZ on Tuesday 6th August, and pondered upon it as I stacked the firewood. I walked over a carpet of camellia flowers – some pink, some brown, some crackly, some squishy. They need to be collected and put on the compost to be transformed, and later, Read more
I caught a segment of Campbell Live (Monday 10th June). John Campbell was sharing the stories of Christchurch’s most vulnerable living in caravans and sub-standard accommodation. He was also following up these stories – demanding we listen, demanding we act. By the end of the half-hour episode, many had offered support and accommodation. My faith Read more
I often see scaffolding wrapped around buildings. Rigid metal poles bolted together. Planks and ladders providing safe passage from one place of work to another. Scaffolding is needed for major repairs and maintenance, such as replacing a roof, or painting a tall building. Sometimes, this scaffolding is then plastic-wrapped, to provide privacy, safety, and a Read more
I travelled several hours on a bus recently. 50 people all travelling in one direction: a pilgrim people. 50 people all in one vessel. Some in front: others loving the back. Some by the window. Some alone: others in pairs or groups. Some wanting interaction: others seeking ‘personal space’. All adapting to their time in Read more
I read … “I am amazed how often I meet people who ‘once were Catholics’. You never ask why they left the church. There will be umpteen reasons why just as there are umpteen people. But millions have remained true to their Catholic faith.” Merepeka Raukawa-Tait in The Daily Post, March 19, 2013 I wondered Read more
I soooooooo don’t get it. John Main says, “Language may not be able to lead us into the ultimate communion but it is the atmosphere in which we first draw breath of consciousness.” I have spent more than fifty years acquiring language – a spiritual language, that is, not my native tongue – and suddenly Read more
I read, with a sickening mix of disbelief and recognition, about the mother of a shark attack victim trying to change a flight so that she could cradle her dead son. She encountered an impersonal, inflexible CALL CENTRE. The bereaved woman was left on hold; and finally only offered expensive alternatives. Governed by protocols and Read more
“I don’t know that I’ve ever felt the presence of God in prayer,” writes Jess in ‘Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared In Letters’, “He seems to show up when we least expect him. But even if we don’t feel that presence, should we pray anyway?” I worry about prayer – my prayer – my seeming inability or Read more
It is the season of Lent. I struggle to find a meaningful, significant, relevant means of living this season – consciously, authentically, deliberately. Attending the Stations of the Cross is a traditional Lenten practice. But my recent experience seems to make a mockery of this devotional prayer. A formula recited at such a rapid pace Read more