She was at the supermarket check-out again today, the woman with the God-smile. You know the sort of smile I mean. Not simply a twitch of the lips, but a light from within that changes a face, making the eyes glow, and turning a mouth into a speechless shape of love. When we see a Read more
Posts Tagged ‘God’
‘Please, Lord, Please’ — all God needs to hear
Tuesday, April 12th, 2016
Forget the fancy words and deep analogies; prayer is about relationship. ‘Your strength is not in numbers, nor does your might depend upon the powerful, but you are the God of the lowly, the helper of the oppressed, the supporter of the weak, the protector of those in despair, the savior of those without hope. Read more
Where there is pain, there is God
Tuesday, March 1st, 2016
We all know what it is to feel pain and loss. Whether from the loss of a loved one, a cancer diagnosis, or a natural disaster, everyone experiences suffering. According to Robin Ryan, an associate professor of systematic theology at Catholic Theological Union and a Passionist priest, the presence of suffering is the one thing Read more
Lighting the candles
Tuesday, March 1st, 2016
It was Friday, the sun was setting over Wellington and we were in sacred time at the dinner table. There had been other Sabbath meals with Jewish friends but on this occasion our hosts guided us, step by step, through the deeper meanings of their rituals and their separate male and female roles. The husband Read more
Francis says God both father and mother
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015Pope Francis has described God as “both father and mother”. In an interview with the magazine Credere, the Pope explained his decision to call a Jubilee Year of Mercy. The Jubilee Year might help the faithful to recognise “the maternal dimension of God”, the Pope observed. He explained that he was speaking of “the tenderness, typical Read more
God, the gods and democracy
Friday, October 30th, 2015
It’s a plain truth that democracies everywhere are witnessing the resurgence of religious bigotry. There are moments when it feels even as if something like a new global religious war has begun, on several fronts. Ignorant media hype, foul abuse of the faith or godlessness of others, ugly violence calculated to scare and kill: such Read more
On suffering, God and Stephen Fry
Tuesday, October 27th, 2015
British comedian, actor and writer Stephen Fry has a great intellect – no doubt. His intelligence, wit and extraordinary life were clearly displayed during an interview broadcast recently on the ABC’s Compass program. When asked what he would say to God if he happened to get to the pearly gates, Fry, a declared atheist, didn’t Read more
Senior Mormon apostle says Catholics don’t know who God is
Tuesday, October 27th, 2015A senior Mormon apostle has said most Catholics don’t know who God is, who Jesus is or who the Holy Ghost is. Elder M. Russell Ballard made this remark at a gathering in Argentina last year, but it has only recently come to light in media. The comment has raised hackles both within and outside Read more
Are you there God? It’s us Googling
Friday, October 9th, 2015
It is not clear whether the quirks of search actually shape people’s beliefs. But it’s worth remembering that posing a question to a search engine is not the same as posing a question to any other kind of source. The competition for authority online is governed by a very different set of rules than in previous Read more
Making God relevant for Kiwis
Tuesday, August 18th, 2015
Ron Hay, a retired Anglican minister, has written a book, Finding the Forgotten God, subtitled Credible faith for a secular age. He said he was conscious that New Zealand is a very secular country and often a Christian voice doesn’t get much of a hearing in the media. “People have a stereotypical picture that to have Read more