Category: Church Reform
-
NUNC DIMITTIS NUNCIO
This title would be intriguing for those who don’t know Latin. Neither do I! It is the title of the prayer in the Breviary that priests are expected to recite before going to sleep at night. It is the prayer of the Prophet Simeon who had been waiting unendingly for the coming of the Saviour….
-
SUICIDE MISSION
During the Second World War this term referred to Japanese pilots who went on suicidal missions, where death was certain. The Kamikaze pilots flew their bomb-laden aircraft straight into enemy targets. Then we had the LTTE suicide bombers, like the one that assassinated former Prime Minister Rajive Gandhi. It gave rise to a host of…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…