A cracked voice, an empty bank account, a tour of duty. Who would have thought so much light could still get in? Leonard Cohen’s autumnal years have been afflicted, and his writing nuanced, by more than a simple awareness of his own mortality. The Canadian singer-songwriter spent most of the 1990s in a Zen monastery Read more
The task of evangelisation is closely linked to the work of ecumenism, Pope Benedict XVI has told participants in a plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. “We cannot follow a truly ecumenical path while ignoring the crisis of faith affecting vast areas of the world, including those where the proclamation of Read more
A hot sun and a cold wind and ‘the uncertain glory of a spring day’, wrote William Shakespeare. The grass has sprung, gardens are being hoed and sowed, capsicums planted. Azaleas fragrance the air, petalled peonies turn their faces up to the sun – never were there so many. Apple and cherry blossom have drifted Read more
The quest for perfection can never been attained in any endeavor worthy of humans. The demand for being perfect, based on Matthew 5:14, “Be ye therefore perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” became the deranged and deranging discipline that was brought to an end by Vatican II’s healthier attitude toward spiritual growth. One of Read more
Ed Miliband, leader of the British Labour Party, took the risky step of talking about faith at his party’s annual conference. ‘Not a religious faith,’ he was quick to point out, ‘but a faith nonetheless; a faith that I believe many religious people would recognise.’ ‘I believe we have a duty to leave the world a better Read more
There’s more to art and spirituality than meets the eye, ear or intellect. More is what lingers, soothing the troubled soul, leaving a bad taste, irritating beyond belief or what we thought we knew. More is about our interaction with that which is not obvious, a process that inadvertently engages us in co-creation of the Read more
In central London, a stone’s throw from St. Pancras rail station, is one of the world’s largest libraries, container of national treasures including the Lindisfarne Gospels, begun about the year 700. Recently another Anglo-Saxon Christian treasure, which predates the legendary Lindisfarne Gospels, has been added to the famed British Library’s trove, the St. Cuthbert Gospel Read more
Just because your life’s fallen down doesn’t mean there’s nothing left I thought as I gazed at the skeleton of Knox Presbyterian Church in Christchurch. Instead of being desolate, this space had a stark kind of beauty. On the whole, space, silence and nothing are discomforting. So much so that we try to fill space, Read more
Aaqil Ahmed disclosed he has reviewed Radio Four’s ‘God slot’ in response to complaints that it was “too religious”. However, the daily homily on the Today programme is intended to provide a “religious” perspective on the news and should not be opened up to people of no faith, Mr Ahmed has concluded. “We should always Read more
The Holy Father told participants of the World Seminar for Civil Aviation Chaplains focussing on new forms of evangelisation, to embody the world’s airports in the Church’s mission, to make airports as places where people encounter God. Airports “are places that increasingly reflect the globalised reality of our time. Here one finds people of a Read more