THE more I reflect on the call to follow Jesus as a consecrated woman, the more convinced I am that religious life is just as relevant and just as essential to the Church as it has ever been. Religious life is radical. Now more than ever, the Church needs young people who are ready to witness with the totality of ... Read More »
Category Archives: Spirituality
Japanese samurai who ‘remained rock solid for Christ’ beatified
Takayama Ukon was be beatified on February 7. Marist Father Paul Glynn shares some history from his amazing life. ST Francis Xavier strode manfully from a small boat into feudal Japan on the feast of Mary’s Assumption, August 15, 1549, the day he had taken his vows as a Jesuit. There was no semblance of a dictionary that translated Japanese ... Read More »
The only eternal thing you can give is love
“O COME let us adore him.” This is what we sing at Christmas and in our hearts throughout the year as we adore the one who: “came not to be served but to serve”. (Mark 10:45) As an aunty of nine nephews and nieces spending time with them in the Christmas season helped me receive the joy of the Christ ... Read More »
Finding silence in the secular setting
SATURDAY-morning breakfast writing club was the closest encounter I have had to a “religious experience” at university. What made this so special was not what people said, rather, what they did not say – four hours spent with people respecting each others’ silence. The purpose of the silence was for each individual to contribute, albeit in a small, possibly miniscule ... Read More »
Memories of a beloved teacher
OUR memories are selective. We know so very little about how the computer that is our brain functions. Why does one memory get stored and not others? Why does it surface just at specific moments of our lives from somewhere deep inside? My school days were happy days. I remember Year 3 in particular. Our teacher was Miss Arthur. In ... Read More »
Timor Leste veteran returns to confront his past
VETERAN Nick Hodge admitted feeling trepidation as he prepared to return to Timor Leste. “(It’s) going back to places that weren’t that nice. I’ve been up and down, gone off the rails, but it’s something I want to do,” he said. Mr Hodge, a veteran of multiple deployments with both the army and the Australian Federal Police, is one of ... Read More »
Prayer group leader remember as spiritual grandfather
THE former Australian spiritual leader for the Pope’s personal prayer group Jesuit Father Charles Vincent Hurley has died in Brisbane, aged 85. Between 1993 and 2013, Fr Hurley was the national director for the Apostleship of Prayer, an international prayer network that receives prayer intentions directly from the Pope. He died of a heart attack at 9.45am on Tuesday, December ... Read More »
A woman of zeal and faith
MANY people of Brisbane archdiocese and beyond have remembered Sister of Mercy Kathleen (Kath) Mary Burke as a woman of great mercy, vision, wisdom and justice. She died in Brisbane on July 23, aged 86 in her 59th year of religious profession, and her funeral Mass was celebrated at St Vincent’s Chapel, Nudgee, on July 30. Many Sisters of Mercy, ... Read More »
An “unmerited gift”
AIRPLANES might take Dominic Orichukwu from Australia to his home country Nigeria, but it was “on eagle’s wings” that the 30 year old found his calling to the priesthood. After entering the seminary at 12, the Nigerian-born was ordained a priest with 12 other Nigerians in his home diocese of Umuahia, Nigeria on Saturday, July 25. Redcliffe parish priest Fr ... Read More »