Pope Francis concluded his three-day visit to Singapore on Friday with a powerful message of unity. The pope set aside his prepared text during his address and spoke candidly to the audience. Using an analogy, Francis said “All religions are a path trying to reach God”. “They are like different languages in order to arrive Read more
Many people give up on religion when what they really need to do is change their image of God and how they relate to him. Too many people, when they grow older, give up on the God they learned about as children. What they really need to do is think about God in a more Read more
God is not in the minority… This is an assertion I can make only through faith and Scripture. I believe that God’s presence is expressed in every heart and in every reality, beyond the signs and words (religious or otherwise) that express this presence. “The wind blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, Read more
The small marble table from a Roman-era home was adorned with carved acanthus leaves and the body of Dionysus. When I saw it in the archaeological museum of Thessaloniki, Greece, I broke down crying, though I had no idea why. Several months later, while giving a talk for my diocese about Scripture and the Eucharist Read more
It was a crowded church in Singapore, and a young priest was talking about a recent first communion. A little girl had run back to her parents, shouting, “I just ate Jesus!” Later, the child asked her mother, “How does Jesus get from our stomach to our heart?” The mother replied, “Jesus can do anything.” Read more
The short answer to this question is no. Gender is something that belongs to humans; God is beyond gender. But because we believe in a personal God, and people are gendered, some of us can’t help but envision God as having a gender. Throughout Christian tradition, believers have leaned heavily toward depicting God as male. Read more
Growing secularism among younger people is no secret. A 2019 Pew Research Center Survey of Americans aged 13 to 17 found that only 50 per cent believed religion was an important part of their lives, as opposed to 73 percent of their parents. This trend has caught the attention of the United States Conference of Read more
I have written about mathematics for The New Yorker and, lately, also in my book “A Divine Language: Learning Algebra, Geometry, and Calculus at the Edge of Old Age,” and I thought that I had said everything I had to say about mathematics and my simple engagement with it, but I find I can’t stop Read more
Most of my adult life I have learned to be logical in my choices. Now, however, it is logic itself that I am doubting. You hear people saying ‘everything happens for a reason’, and so they attach a reason to things. Reason is not the explanation. It’s a face-saving gimmick we humans import to cover Read more
Despite the sins of its members, the Christian faith is far greater than opinion polls in the news. It shouldn’t surprise, given the 2021 census results concerning religion, those critical of Christianity and the Catholic Church have used the fall in numbers to suggest religion is moribund and no longer relevant to Australian society. With Read more