CHRISTIAN Brother Brian Grenier is rare as far as writers go. That’s because he was more interested in his readers’ answers than his own. Having just released his new book, Listen to Him!, Br Grenier was reminded of a theologian who said “it is the question rather than the answer that educates”. “And you could say that in the book ... Read More »
A SPORTS injury that blocked his road to the Rome Olympics, a Christian Brother who offered him a “free ticket to Heaven” and a persuasive aunt all played a part in Br Chris Pritchard’s vocation story that’s spanned 60 years. Br Chris, a key man at St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe, was well on his way to representing Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe) ... Read More »
IN my childhood I was introduced to the story and the image of the Sacred Heart. We were gently taught that June was a special month in which – in small but meaningful ways we focused on the total and unconditional love of our God for us. I don’t believe in a God of fear. I don’t believe in a ... Read More »
‘Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.’ – John 20:30-31 REPUTABLE scholars assure us that, before the ... Read More »
AS I write, the stand-off between the United States Congress and President Donald Trump over his campaign commitment to build a “big and beautiful wall” along the border with Mexico continues. Trump would not be the first leader to erect a protective barricade of this kind. There have been many such structures across the ages. Partially effective in their own ... Read More »
I ONCE worked in a school with a rowing program. I was in awe of the students’ ability to get up long before dawn and be on the water by 5am. Occasionally I would accompany them in the coaches tinny and loved the early-morning freshness of the Brisbane River at dawn. These same students would put their bodies through so ... Read More »
ON my way to night lectures at the University of Queensland many years ago I often paused to read an inscription emblazoned on the wall above the entrance to the Forgan Smith Building: “Great is truth and mighty above all things”. A quotation from the First Book of Esdras in the Hebrew Scriptures (4:41), it is an appropriate proclamation of ... Read More »
LEADER, teacher, village ambulance driver – Christian Brother Frank Hennessy has laboured for the best in people from Ballarat to East Timor. Br Hennessy was recently in Brisbane for the final thanksgiving at St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace as the Christian Brothers withdrew from East Timor. He worked in East Timor for five years as ministry leader where he changed the ... Read More »
“BLESS yourself before you go”, my mother often said to me as I left for St Anthony’s School in the Brisbane suburb of Kedron. It was a perfectly natural thing to do; for, as Catholic primary-level pupils in those days, we lived in a world of blessings. Before school business began we chanted a long, drawn-out greeting to our teacher: ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
