Category: Church Reform
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FEAR NOT…
Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, done and dusted. Life can now return to normal. Really? If the preceding 50 days was a drama, then “Yes”. If it was a spiritual experience, then “No”. Post Resurrection we cannot possibly return to normal life. A believing Christian’s life can never be “normal”. Nor is it abnormal. It…
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TRANSFIGURED, CONFIGURED, DISFIGURED?
This morning (13th March) the Church celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration. While the gospel was being read my thoughts raced ahead. The three Synoptic Gospels refer to the Transfiguration (cf Mat 17:1-8, Mk 9:2-8, Lk 9:28-36). Peter, who was present then, also alludes to it (cf 2 Pet 1:16-18).Significantly, all three synoptic writers situate…
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MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
As teenagers in the 1960’s we were exposed to the anti-establishment pop culture of the Beatles, and the anti-war protests of the hippies. The latter’s war cry (sic) was “Make love not war”. As I write this the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its second week. Time will tell how and when it will…
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HOW FAITHFUL IS GOD?
The mandate given to me was to write about “How great is the faithfulness of God”, in the context of FOCUS completing 9 years. This sounded like a categorical statement that brooked no argument. The best answer would be “Please read the Bible. You will discover how faithful God is”. Unfortunately, this seemingly innocuous question…
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SHISHU BHAWAN TO SHISHU MANDIR?
2022 dawned bleakly. Not just because of the resurgent Covid, but because of the events of 3rd January. On that sad day Mother Teresa’s “Missionaries of Charity’ (MC) sisters handed over their Nirmala Shishu Bhawan, Kanpur, to the Indian Army. Will Shishu Bhawan now become a Shishu Mandir, the term that the RSS uses for…
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MIXED FRUIT JAM
This is not a food recipe, but it could be a recipe for disaster for those who oppose it. I am referring to inter-faith marriages, sometimes referred to as Mixed Marriages (MMs). For some they bear much fruit, like a hybrid that is greater than the sum total of its parts. Take the Eurasian or…
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WOMEN RELIGIOUS REPORT – A LAY PERSPECTIVE
One must appreciate the lengthy report by Ladislaus D’souza on the status of women religious in India, as published in The Secular Citizen (9/8/21). It is based on an international webinar organised by Voices of Faith on 10/7/21, occasioned by an 86 page book “It’s High Time: Women Religious speak up on gender justice in…
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CUSTODIANS OF WHAT TRADITION?
The magician was dressed in .flowing robes. He had his back to the audience. He claimed to be an alchemist that could change lead into gold – transubstantiation. In between his secret mumbo-jumbo he would suddenly turn around to face his audience, raise his arms, with his index fingers touching the thumbs, as in a…
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WEAPONIZING COMMUNION – DEMONIZING PEOPLE
(A sequel to “Hello … Can you hear me?”) A middle aged man with a shock of dishevelled straw-yellow hair approached the altar of the cathedral in London, in wedding attire. He had been born a Catholic and subsequently joined the Anglican Church. He had been twice married and divorced, and now had a child…
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HELLO … CAN YOU HEAR ME?
“Ciao,questo e` Papa Francesco” (Hello, this is Pope Francis calling). “Aap jis number ko call kar rahe hain,vah kaphi samay se network coverage se bahar hai” (The number you are calling has been out of the network area for some time)! Pope Francis was desperately trying to get through to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of…