WHEN the new academic term began a few months ago we were subjected to the occasional round of ‘padding’ – a lecturer, who had seemingly not prepared sufficient material for the first lesson, allowed the students to dissipate a considerable amount of time by discoursing at some length upon the intimate details of their lives. This was ostensibly undertaken in ... Read More »
IN conversation recently I have had occasion to notice an increasing number of people making ready reference to their “conscience” as justification for a particular decision or course of action. On the face of it this would seem a rather laudable development, were it not for the fact that the rapidity and regularity of the invocation has led me to ... Read More »
‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?’ (John 2:4) I KNOW many people who visibly wince whenever the ‘Wedding at Cana’ is the Gospel of the day. It is certainly jarring to hear those words spoken by Our Lord to Our Lady – it seems rather rude at first. I know of a priest in South Australia ... Read More »
I THOUGHT it was just me. However, upon discussing it with my fellow friars over lunch – and even other students from different religious orders at the theological college – it turns out we have all had the same experience. Upon meeting for the first time, wherever the location and whatever the occasion, my conversation with a fellow Catholic will ... Read More »
I READ a terrifying story recently. It recounted the story of a couple who, rejoicing in the birth of their first-born child, learnt but a short while later that she suffered from a rare, terminal illness and that she was unlikely to live beyond her first year. As predicted, their daughter died when she was seven months old – she ... Read More »
Cycling into the theological college every day brings with it many unexpected benefits. It is a 22km round-trip and this affords me the opportunity to have many an interesting interaction with my fellow road-users; sometimes we even exchange words as well as hand-gestures. A few months ago, I was rather taken aback by a question posed to me by the ... Read More »
“WHO said poverty couldn’t be tasty?” These were the profound words of one of my fellow student friars as he sank his teeth into an expertly assembled ham-and-cheese sandwich, while resting in the shade of a gum tree on a knoll overlooking Apollo Bay. Our common student holiday this year entailed a prolonged, scenic drive along the Great Ocean Road ... Read More »
THE brilliant Marist Brother who taught me Latin while I was in the seminary celebrated his 80th birthday a few years ago. At the party held in his honour there were people from all walks of life – men and women whom Br Roger had met and ministered to over the many years of his religious life, as well as ... Read More »
WHEN attending Mass in Brisbane a few months ago I had my first experience of déjà vu. Every time I left the church, a local parishioner would grab my arm, fix me with an enquiring look and ask with great earnestness: “What order are you from?” After a few days of repeating the words “Dominicans” or “Order of Preachers” I ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
