Category: Church Reform
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SHOULD ONE GO TO CHURCH NOW?
A week ago religious leaders heaved a collective sigh of relief when they came to know that places of religious worship would be opened w.e.f. 8th June. Some even issued victorious press statements hailing the decision. They had obviously not read the fine print on the distinction between places of worship, and holding of religious…
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A CATHOLIC PENTECOSTAL
Absurd! This is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. How can one be both a Catholic and a Pentecostal? When we use caps to denote Proper Nouns then it may seem contradictory. But if we use small letters to denote adjectives, then the apparent contradiction is removed. Catholic, as we know, means universal. It was…
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What’s Good This Friday?
As the Secretary of the Legion of Mary in my parish 51 years ago it was my lot to give a commentary on the Holy Week liturgy. That got me thinking on what was so unique about Jesus’ rather “limited” suffering on the cross. Take the number three. Three temptations in the desert, three years…
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NANO POWER
The Tokyo Olympics 2020 have been postponed indefinitely because of that wicked little pathogen – the Corona Virus. The irony should not be lost on the world we live in. The Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” the Latin words for “Faster, Stronger, and Higher”. The ancient Greeks held the Olympics from 8 BC to…
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HANG RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY IS THE BIG BANG!
(Concluding part of the trilogy “Is Religion Dead?” and “Was Jesus Religious?”) My previous two articles were in response to questions being raised about religion in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.They have elicited varying responses. One school of thought still clings to the belief that Religion is now dead and we have ushered in…
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WAS JESUS RELIGIOUS?
(A sequel to “Is Religion Dead?”) This query may sound sacrilegious to the pious, religious Christian. It maybe a valid question for those who claim that Jesus did not found any religion. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen a shutdown of organised religion, the naysayers would have us believe that religion…
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TOUCH ME NOT
There are certain flowers and shrubs that immediately clam up when touched, which is why they are called “Touch Me Nots”. It is a natural self-defence mechanism that is also seen in tortoises. They withdraw into their shells. Post the Corona Virus (CV) pandemic a lot of people have stopped touching, or don’t allow others…
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IS RELIGION DEAD?
“God has fled from Mecca and the Vatican…Why donate to religious places when they have closed their doors to us in our time of need?… At last my dream is realised, of spirituality without religion”. Provocative statements in the light of the Corona Virus (CV). Should we then conclude that “Religion is Dead?” Masters of…
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BOOK REVIEW: A SCATHING INDICTMENT
“Lay Catechists – Their Formation in India.” Edited by Rev C.M. Paul SDB (Nitika, Kolkata: Pages 206, Price Rs. 150.00) This book is an outcome of the Nitika Silver Jubilee seminar on “Lay Catechist Formation in India”, held in Kolkata in November 2002. It is a compilation of the various presentations by 14 resource persons,…
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MARANATHA OR MANNA?
Christmas is a time when devout Christians use the invocation “Maranatha”. It is the concluding line in the Bible that means “Come Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). It is most appropriate for Advent. This phrase is earlier used by St Paul in his benediction to the Corinthians (cf 1 Cor 16:22), where the expression means “Our…