The Hound of Heaven who drove me into the church, also led me to the right priest for instruction, dear Monsignor Tottman, who gave me the structure that was missing in my enthusiasm. While I waffled on about the spiritual experience, he smiled kindly and said. “I’m a bread and butter man, myself.” He showed Read more
Sometimes, a question in an interview can be thrown with a backward spin. Recently, I was asked, “What do you say to people who claim that religion is the cause of war?” The answer to that was easy. “Religion doesn’t cause war unless it is corrupted by politics.” Much later, I thought we had missed Read more
One of New Zealand’s best-loved writers, Dame Joy Cowley, is a finalist in this year’s Ashton Wylie Mind Body Spirit Literary Awards’ Book category for her non-fiction work Veil Over Light. She joins four other authors from all over the country writing about issues as wide-ranging as global ethics, living cooperatively, mystical and shamanic practice Read more
Years ago, a man about to be ordained was told by an older priest, “The hardest thing you will find is to be called Father.” The new priest found this was indeed true and he dropped the title, although doing so made some lay people uncomfortable. One parishioner said calling a priest by his first Read more
Some Catholics may be surprised to know that there are parables of Jesus in the Islamic faith. These Sufi parables of Jesus are not the parables we have in the gospels. Rather, they are stories written to illustrate Jesus’ teachings. The one I like that is simple and yet powerful in its wisdom. It goes Read more
The traditional separation of the three Abrahamic religions means Catholics can have some fuzzy ideas about Judaism and Islam. We are like a family that has cousins living in countries we have never visited. The events of Friday 15, March brought us home to our Islamic cousins, although there is still some fuzziness floating around. Read more
Fr Gerry Hughes SJ had a rich imagination for creating parable relevant to present times. He often used one of these in a homily. Here is a story that has stayed with me both in essence and effect. Two women won a national competition. The prize was to have a meal cooked for them by Read more
In a writing class, people were recording childhood memories of a festive family occasion. Many writers chose Christmas. A Jewish woman described her father keeping the rabbi talking at the door, while mother and children pushed the Christmas tree out of the living room and into the garage. Another story came from a man who Read more
The image of God as the Potter and us as the clay, is as valid today as it was in Jeremiah’s tme. It is our faith journey and it becomes more meaningful as we get older. God chooses the clay. God works the clay. The clay is fashioned into a vessel, then the vessel is Read more
As we move into Lent, the Church draws us inexorably towards Jesus’ last days. It is a solemn journey. I used to see the passion as dramatic crime involving evil plotting against an innocent man. Pharisees, Sadducees, Judas, Pilate, Herod, a hysterical crowd, they were all villains. There were a few goodies amongst the baddies Read more