The following essay is an excerpt from the forthcoming book Open Mind, Faithful Heart: Meditations on Christian Discipleship by Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis. A theologian of our time tells us that “our dialogue with God is of a precarious nature; it is really just compensating for our lack of deeper communication and understanding with Read more
Blogger Mark Shea says that every few days, he gets some variation of “You are a jerk. I will pray for you” or “You fat pig. You make God puke. I will pray for you.” He says the messages almost invariably from Christians and usually Catholics upset with him about this or that. He asks Read more
Have you ever told someone sincerely, “I’ll pray for you!” and then wondered, “Oh no. What have I done?” You have the best intention of praying for them, but you feel like you don’t know how. I’ve been there, too! Until this past semester, in fact. Up until then, if I wanted to pray for Read more
Keeping our nation free from antiquated religious influences is a thankless task but someone’s got to do it. Dr Pita Sharples, Maori Party Co-Leader, supported Kelston’s initiative saying that ‘schools have to reflect and respect the culture of our kids to make them feel welcome and connected’ and noting that karakia, ‘is a vital part Read more
Prayer is not “magic” and Christians do not pray to a “cosmic God”, Pope Francis has said. “To whom do I pray? To the Almighty God? He is too far off. Ah, I can’t hear Him. Neither did Jesus. To whom do I pray? To a cosmic God? That’s quite normal these days, is it Read more
Getting any kind of help from Jesus didn’t seem likely when I was propelled onto a praying exploration by my friend Marcia’s decision to go on pilgrimage. Neither did I expect preaching at a local church, an unusual experience for me these days, the preaching and the going to church, to be a tipping point. The gospel I Read more
The trouble with the godstuff is that you can spend an awful lot of time wrestling with things that make no apparent sense. Like this prayer exploration I’ve been tangling with after my friend Marcia asked me to pray for her before merrily tripping off on pilgrimage. Prayer has always been a mystery to me, which you Read more
It starts with the slightly awkward heave — leg up and over the seat, feet locating the stirrups — and the indrawn breath that says ‘Let’s go.’ This is a new discipline for me, this stationary bike, and I make sure to pace myself. I tip from side to side, easily and rhythmically, with a Read more
Members of the Legion of Christ and its lay movement, Regnum Christi, will enter a period of atonement and prayer in preparation for upcoming meetings that will determine their future. A series of assemblies will redefine the mission and governing structure of the organisations. These events follow a period of turmoil in the Legion after 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