CHRISTMAS Eve will mark the 200th birthday of the classic hymn Silent Night. The origins of the Christmas carol can be traced back to Austria where the song was first performed on December 24, 1818, at St Nicholas’ Church in the quaint town of Oberndorf in Salzburg. A young Fr Joseph Mohr had come to Oberndorf the year before, and ... Read More »
CHRISTMAS is with us again and while a time of undeniable joy, for many that is not the case. As you approach this time how does life look for you? Will this season go by without hearing from someone you most want to hear from? Has the year been such that you will ache for the presence of someone who ... 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 »
ST Vincent’s Care Services has discovered three very gifted artists in one of their residential living communities in Mitchelton, Brisbane. The aged care and retirement services organisation reached out to their residents to create a Christmas themed artwork to feature on the front of their annual Christmas card. Finding it hard to choose just one, three talented residents of St ... Read More »
ANDREW O’Brien’s had 57 Christmases in his lifetime, but his 58th will be different – the Holy Spirit is making sure of that. Married and the father of three sons, he was ordained a permanent deacon for Brisbane archdiocese only last month so he and everyone around him are still getting used to that. He’s still the same Andrew but ... Read More »
CHRISTMAS is traditionally a time where we tend to focus on buying gifts, writing Christmas cards and preparing food for a feast spent with loved ones. Yet as I reflect on Christmas 2017, I am challenged to ask myself how this Christmas season is going to be different. What is going to be different in me this year, as I ... Read More »
CHERMSIDE parish priest Fr Gerard McMorrow is beaming brighter than his church Christmas lights display after his community took the top prize in a popular festive competition. St Gerard Majella Church won the title of Brisbane’s Best Display in the 4KQ Christmas Lights competition for the first time since their first bulb lit up 15 years ago. This was despite ... Read More »
THE Christmas season is shaping up as one of extreme financial hardship for many families, while an increasing number of people are being forced into homelessness. As the St Vincent de Paul Society launches its annual Christmas Appeal, the organisation is predicting the next few weeks will be tougher than ever before for people in need. “Certainly (there is) going ... Read More »
LOCAL artists have turned a busy construction site around St Stephen’s Cathedral into a mural on the Catholic social teaching theme of solidarity. Along the left side of the cathedral, local artists helped paint a mural of Brisbane residents welcoming the pregnant Blessed Virgin Mary and her faithful husband in time for Christmas Masses. The art project, co-ordinated by the ... Read More »
The Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
