A SEMINARIAN I know recently sent me a message that ended with the words – “Don’t lose optimism!” Being a Dominican, the innate “sed contra” that dwells within me could not help but respond – “Optimism is the belief that things will keep getting better and better; it is not the same thing as the infused Christian virtue of hope”. ... Read More »
‘YOU dug up the wrong pipe.’ These portentous words were uttered by the student master on the occasion of a recent student meeting. It was during our ‘break’ from formal studies and the students in the priory had each been assigned a variety of fascinating and engaging tasks, in keeping with the prevailing philosophical disposition of the student master – ... Read More »
EVERY Friday night during my novitiate in Hong Kong we would gather to discuss the readings from scripture that would be proclaimed at Mass on the following Sunday. We were expected to have prayed with the Word of God, contemplated the meaning conveyed by the scriptures, perhaps read a biblical commentary or two and – if we were able – ... Read More »
SOMETIMES I feel that Advent may be the forgotten liturgical season. Lent has fasting, prayer and almsgiving; Easter exults with the joy of the resurrection; Christmas has so many gifts, baubles and decorations associated with it that to recount them would almost be redundant; and for the rest of the year we seem to readily respond to the whirligig of ... 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 Catholic Leader Keeping Faith with You
