“The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things,” J.R.R. Tolkien says in the opening of his essay “On Fairy Stories.” Author Karen Ullo is one storyteller willing to brave this fantastical land, embracing both its highs (fairies) and lows (vampires in search of salvation and the next kill). Read more
Jessica Bryan grew up in Sydney, where her family has close historical links to St Patrick’s Church Hill. Jess attended Marist Sisters’ College, Woolwich, and in her last year at school, having attended Marist Youth Leader in Christchurch, she was invited to join the Marist Youth Leader team. Over the next five years, while she Read more
When it comes to Christians, news from Pakistan in recent years has seldom been good. An increasingly beleaguered minority in an Islamic republic, they have become targets of harassment and violent attacks, often motivated by tensions and conflicts between Islamists and the West on the world stage. This week, however, brings a notable exception. On Read more
ROME – On August 21, a large part of the United States will witness one of the most stunning and awe-inspiring spectacles offered by nature: A total eclipse of the sun. Those who will be looking up on the path of totality, where the eclipse is best visible, will watch as the light turns gradually Read more
“Annabelle: Creation” opened in theatres in NZ on August 10. What children read, what they see on the screen, can inspire them toward greater faithfulness. Conversely, Father Robert warns, it can lead them into the sordid world of the occult, even opening them to demonic possession. Father Robert is not exaggerating. A priest for more Read more
Asked what it was like to march through the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend, evangelical author and FreedomRoad.us founder Lisa Sharon Harper was blunt. “It really felt like every step you take could be your last,” she said, later adding: “With each step, I just kept holding on to the call to love.” Read more
We live in chaotic times. If perchance you doubt this, I suggest you view a few episodes of the television comedy, The Simpsons. It is the longest-running American cartoon series ever. It is frequently on our screens also. Like Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, it is primarily written for adults, but it is more especially loved Read more
St Francis Retreat Centre on Hillsborough Rd in Auckland is closed for renovations until the end of August. This is the first time the friary has been closed for retreats since it was opened in 1940. The current work is the second stage of a project which grew from earthquake strengthening work to include renovation, Read more
In 1922, Edith Stein read the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila through the night. The spiritual account rocked her world, and led her to the peripheries of her own heart. And there, in the avoidance of religious truth and its call to love and mercy, Edith found peace and consolation — a peace that Read more
Of all the people Donald Trump could blame for the opioid epidemic, he chose the victims. After his own commission on the opioid crisis issued an interim report this week, Trump said young people should be told drugs are “No good, really bad for you in every way.” The president’s exhortation to follow Nancy Reagan’s Read more