100 :
11 Nov 2008

The Outward Sign of Inner Grace… Tom McMahon has been challenging us for a long time now in his series questioning the meaning of Sacraments in our present age. There can be little doubt, given the declining use of the Sacraments, that people do not attach the same importance, or meaning to Sacraments that they once did. In today's commentary Dr Andrew Kania looks at the meaning of Sacrament from a more orthodox or traditonal perspective. What do we need to rescue from these perspectives if Sacrament is to again have significant meaning in the lives of the broad masses? At its heart, Andrew suggests Sacrament is "The Outward Sign of Inward Grace". [more]

099 :
04 Nov 2008

The Long Walk to Freedom… The struggle of minorities to obtain dignity, freedom and equality has been long. On the eve of an historic US Presidential election where a black candidate faces the real possibility of being elected leader of the richest and most powerful nation on earth, Dr Andrew Thomas Kania takes a look at the ways in which we are called on to treat one another if we are true followers of Jesus Christ. [more]

098 :
29 Oct 2008

The Great Escape… The passage from the old testament which Dr Andrew Kania's bases his commentary on today is subtitled "The encounter with God" in the Jerusalem Bible. Dr Kania entitled his essay "The Great Escape (cf 1 Kings 19:9-14)". Is the "encounter with God" a "great escape"? Sadly, it probably can be. The sense in which Dr Kania intends it is that the encounter is a "great escape" from the din of life. There is much valuable food for thought in what this commentary contains. Ultimately it's a reflection on "the importance of quiet". [more]

097 :
21 Oct 2008

Ecce Homo! Dr Andrew Kania's commentary today is confronting. If Jesus Christ were alive today would we even recognise him, let alone treat him any differently? Andrew entitled his essay "Ecce Homo"* from those words in John's Gospel where the scourged Christ is presented to the mob. Dr Kania invites us to meditate on the words from Matthew's Gospel in 23: 29-32. [more]

096 :
14 Oct 2008

The River of No Return… Is life a river of no return? In the sense that it flows inexorably from birth to death and not the other way about it can be compared to the river that flows from the highlands to the lowlands and not the other way about. This essay by Andrew Kania explores the meaning of the life journey through the lens writers like Mark Twain and Hermann Hesse sought to investigate it. [more]

095 :
07 Oct 2008

The Abyss… This is a great essay from Dr Kania, perhaps too short as there is much more to be explored under this topic. He originally entitled his essay "The Abyss". What he's exploring are the complexities of having the courage to ask difficult questions or support unpopular causes and how we discern when to stand up for our beliefs and principles. Being Christian is not simply about trying to demonstrate how "different" we are to everyone else in society. The "mark" of Christ is not our unpopularity. It is our capacity to discern the moral good in the complex dilemmas of life and, when necessary, to stand up for that good not because it brings approbrium on ourselves but because that good is worth standing up for sometimes at great cost. This is a highly relevant issue today in, for example, the ways in which we discern to stand up for various principles in public life such as ethical issues like abortion, or capital punishment, or social justice issues. [more]

094 :
30 Sep 2008

O Captain, my Captain! (cf. Proverbs 17: 6) As our world reels under unfolding financial uncertainty that may have its origins in flawed political leadership, it is entirely coincidental, but greatly prescient, that Dr Andrew Kania had submitted this commentary on leadership and fatherhood. It looks at the example of the father and son team of the Theodore Roosevelts, Sr and Jr, which has perhaps some echo to the George Bush, Sr and Jr, duo whose reign is coming to an end in some ignominy. This commentary is thought-provoking towards a discussion on what sort of models of leadership and fatherhood might be most appropriate for the world we inhabit today. [more]

093 :
23 Sep 2008

Veritas Vincit! Andrew Kania entitled this reflection "Veritas Vincit". In English it translates as "Truth Conquers". Most honest people would proclaim a hope that they would die to defend other members of their families. Most of us would proclaim a hope that we would even stand up for some truths in the face of a threat of death. Today's reflection examines a number of important ideas — for example, what "truths" would we honestly put our lives on the line to defend … terrorists proclaim they are seeking martyrdom to defend some truth but do we approve of their actions and hail them as heroes? Dr Kania poses the question rather than answers it: what truths are worth dying for? The real nub of his reflection though is that, in the final analysis, martyrdom is not about dying at all — nor is it even about suffering. He posits that its about being unwilling to stuff around with "truth" in our ordinary, everyday lives! What do you think? [more]

092 :
16 Sep 2008

Searching for models to inspire young people… Today's commentary by Dr Andrew Kania is another essay originally written principally for a youthful audience seeking to inspire them about the Catholic and Jesus' message. In a discussion with Dr Kania last night, the editor of Catholica suggested the essay might also be read as an attempt to search for more effective ways in which the institution might try to enthuse or inspire young people. We both hope this commentary might lead to a vigorous discussion, particularly amongst those with experience, such as teachers and parents, with extensive experience with young people in exploring how the institution might develop better communication channels with young people — one of the demographic sectors showing the greatest disenchantment with the institution. [more]

091 :
09 Sep 2008

The importance of being… Dr Kania starts his commentary today with an Irish joke. That's always a good way to start a commentary, or a homily — particularly one that's not too "heavy". Today's commentary is a gentle one looking at that balance, and tension, between doing what we want to do and doing what God wants us to do. [more]

090 :
02 Sep 2008

Faith: an antidote to fear… It seems an intrinsic part of the human condition that we are plagued by anxiety and fear. In today's commentary Dr Andrew Kania with help from some quite illustrious thinkers, both ancient and modern, examines this challenge that all humans are called upon to surmount. In what legitimate ways can we look to Jesus, and our faith, as the antidote to fear? [more]

089 :
26 Aug 2008

Can the Eastern Churches offer us anything? Today we re-publish what is probably Dr Kania's most provocative commentary ever. "Breathing Deeply, With One Lung", was one of the first pieces that Dr Kania published after he returned to Australia from his studies in Uppsala, Sweden. The article has been published many times in various journals in Australia and overseas, and is probably the piece that Dr Kania is best known for. Recently it formed a major part of the educational material published in Australia for WYD 2008, regarding the structure of the Catholic Church. The article has become the point of reference for much that Dr Kania has written since on the Eastern Catholic Churches. As such it forms good background reading for a piece that Dr Kania has written for the forthcoming edition of The Tablet. [more]

088 :
19 Aug 2008

The Christian duty to be involved in politics… Dr Kania prompted us to bring this commentary forward a few days ago in the wake of the escalating political tensions between Georgia and Russia but it probably has wider significance than that. His essay is an examination of the imperative, relationship and tension that should exist between our religious outlook and our political outlook. He argues, contrary to the popularly accepted maxim, that it is "impossible to keep religion out of politics". Now that certainly opens up much scope for discussion — and we hope it does. While his arguments are chiefly directed at our civic responsibility to involve ourselves in secular politics it could be equally argued given all the "politics" involved in religion these days that we might also have a greater responsibility to be involved in the governance of our Church as well. Dr Kania calls on some pretty weighty intellects to support his arguments. [more]

087 :
12 Aug 2008

It is better for one man to die for the people (Jn 18:14)! This is a meaty commentary from Dr Andrew Kania valuable at a number of levels. Firstly it is simply a good summary of another of those classics in literature, Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. The heart of the commentary though is an exploration of the thinking of an important French philosopher, René Girard, who came up with a new way of understanding Jesus Christ and why he was killed. Dr Kania, through the works of Dostoyevsky and Girard, explores the role played by scapegoats in human behaviour. If Jesus Christ arrived to live in our community tomorrow would we "follow the mob" and treat him as a scapegoat also? [more]

086 :
05 Aug 2008

Paradise Found! The contest between good and evil is one of the staples in classic literature. In this commentary Dr Andrew Kania has a look at some of those classic stories in the search for "Paradise Found"… [more]

085 :
29 Jul 2008

A New Age of Iconoclasm! Although the images in the headline at left might not suggest it, no matter what one's political outlook, all might agree that there is an air of scepticism at large in the Western world today about religious imagery and symbols. Dr Andrew Thomas Kania explores the phenomenon and asks if this an area where the West might learn from the East? [more]

084 :
22 Jul 2008

Models of Leadership! Dr Kania entitled today's commentary "Lillies that Fester". He takes the title from Shakespeare's Sonnet 94: "But if that flower with base infection meet, The basest weed outbraves his dignity: For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds." It is a thought-provoking discussion starter on the subject of leadership. By way of introduction Andrew informs us that he was born on the 22nd of November, 1966 and shares his birthday with the anniversary of John F Kennedy's assassination. His interest in Kennedy began with each birthday having a documentary, or eulogy, about and to Kennedy. In time this interest developed into an admiration for the man, eventually Kennedy becoming a hero figure for Andrew as a teenager. With the focus also these days on the flaws that are evident in ecclesial leaders, the ideas that Andrew touches upon in this commentary might lead us to ponder: how do we integrate the very human flaws that all of us exhibit into our picture of leadership — do we go back to a system of hypocrisy where, for example the media, carefully camouflage the personal failings and flaws of our leaders, or do we seek out "lilly-white, goody two shoes" who lack the capacity to inspire, or are we seeking some different model? Do the sort of qualities Dr Kania articulates towards the conclusion of this commentary offer the basis for a model of leadership or is it an ideal that is unrealisable in practice without throwing up the sort of insipid leadership that makes people blanch and leads a community into the sort of irrelevant place in human affairs the Christian churches seem to be rapidly heading towards? How do we find the right balance in these matters? What modelling of leadership does Jesus Christ, or Peter or Paul offer to us? [more]

083 :
15 Jul 2008

DEATH: it's meaning! Andrew Kania explores the meaning of death: "Existential questions are at the heart of all religious faith; yet without these being personally asked and answered, an individual's spirituality cannot progress beyond that of mere religious membership … the existential question clearly requires that we place our lives within the sad context of our own physical mortality in order to complete our soul's joyful journey to immortality." [more]

082 :
08 Jul 2008

Holy Heads & Empty Hearts! This is perhaps Dr Andrew Kania's finest commentary. The man is firing on about 24 cylinders in what he writes today. He seeks to address what is perhaps the chief disjunction in Catholicism today. It's a very old problem but Andrew addresses it with a fresh slant. It's all about this unbridgeable divide that seems to have opened up in the Church between the legalists/literalists/fundamentalists and the rest. Dr Kania presents a view of what our faith and spirituality ought to be all about that most readers of Catholica will readily assent to. It might even inspire you. Enjoy! [more]

081 :
01 Jul 2008

The Snows of Yesterday… A very poignant and adult reflection from Dr Kania that seeks to give insight into the kind of relationship God seems to be calling us into. We all carry within us elements of both sinner and saint. How are we meant to navigate our way between these two polar opposites? An adult picture of a God who desires above all to love us. Not a picture of a God forever running around seeking to scold and punish us. [more]

080 :
24 Jun 2008

Euthanasia… The word euthanasia derives from a Greek word meaning "good death". In this commentary Dr Andrew Kania looks at the history of the subject, the wider moral canvas and ends with a quite succinct exposition of Catholic moral thinking on the subject. [more]

079 :
21 Jun 2008

WORLD EXCLUSIVE… In today's lead commentary we bring you a world exclusive reporting from the Ukrainian Catholic Church perspective on a highly tense diplomatic situation developing between Rome and the leaders of the Ukrainian Catholics. The tension has been caused by a perceived slight dished out to the Ukrainians by Rome in their desire to court the leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow. Rome appears to have gone back on a commitment given by Pope Benedict's predecessor to recognise a Ukrainian Patriarch. The about-face by Rome is an effort to appease Moscow but it has unleashed deep feelings of disquiet amongst the Ukrainians. Catholica readers have access to the insides of this story thanks to Dr Andrew Kania's esteemed position within the Ukrainian Catholic Church internationally as a writer who has long sought to bring greater understanding of the Eastern churches in the Western hemisphere of the universal Church. [Andrew Kanis's commentary]

078 :
17 Jun 2008

Abortion: Second commentary in a series looking at Fifth Commandment issues… Do your eye's glaze over, and do the shutters come down, when you see another article on abortion? I would urge you, if you can, to lift the shutters and pay attention both to what Dr Andrew Kania has to reveal about this subject in his commentary today and also to the arguments put in response by the Editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne. [Andrew Kanis's commentary] | [The Editor's response]

077 :
10 Jun 2008

The futility, reality and morality of war and self-defence… Human society owes an enormous debt to those hundreds of thousands of naive boys on all sides who went off to fight for King, Kaiser and Country in the First Great War. Those who witnessed the brutal reality of the trenches returned chastened, shattered and convinced of the futility of war. Humankind does not learn some lessons easily though. The other reality is that evil does exist in the world. At times we do have to defend ourselves when faced with an aggressor who is beyond contact by reason. In the first of a trilogy of commentaries looking at Fifth Commandment morality — "thou shalt not kill" — Dr Andrew Kania examines the vexed issue of the morality of war and self-defence. [more]

076 :
03 Jun 2008

A diplomatic warning to the Latin Church… The Eastern lung of the Catholic Church has long carried some sense of being treated as unequal partners in the Universal Church. Recent developments have re-opened some old wounds. In this commentary Dr Andrew Kania, who occupies a place of esteem amongst Ukrainian Catholics internationally, addresses one issue: the treatment of married Eastern Rite priests, both by bishops who have been out of step with Vatican policy, and uninformed members of the lay Church in a number of countries who have treated married Eastern rite priests and their spouses in totally unChristian ways. Possibly sparked by the increasing number of Eastern-rite Catholics now resident in Western countries, Dr Kania has informed the editor of Catholica of instances in English-speaking countries of the wives of Ukrainian Catholic Church priests receiving quite vicious hate-mail from more conservative sectors in the Latin Church. This commentary looks at some of the history of this issue and the official position of the Vatican as espoused by a long succession of Popes. [more]

075 :
27 May 2008

The wretched of the earth (cf Isaiah 49:13-26)… Today's commentary from Dr Kania draws on some of the work he is presently engaged in writing the biography of Dad Hammarskjöld. It is a poignant reflection on the moral obligation we all face to stand up for the weak and the oppressed. [more]

074 :
20 May 2008

The search for "truth". What does this really mean? There's been much discussion on Catholica recently as to the nature of truth. By serendipity or God-incidence Andrew Kania's commentary today is also related to this question of what is "truth" and how do we find it. Andrew examines the issue from two perspectives: the first is the plot of that great classic of Russian literature, Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov; the second is through the thoughts of Cardinal Newman in the struggle he went through in his conversion from the Anglican Church to Catholicism. [more]

073 :
13 May 2008

The hidden self… We are all sinners we are told. How different people handle the skeltons in their cupboards differs from person to person. Today's commentary is a thought-provoking reflection by Dr Kania looking at this difficult issue of the things from our past that embarrass us and we want to keep hidden from view. When push comes to shove though we live in the knowledge that we cannot hide anything from our own conscience, nor from God. In some ways, and as an extension of this commentary, one could argue that if God did not exist there are some powerful arguments here as to why human beings might have to invent him, or her. All of us need some place of "Ultimate Truth". A place where we can see ourselves warts and all! [more]

072 :
06 May 2008

The power of music! Dr Kania explores the power that music hath to soothe the human soul. What did St Augustine mean in Sermon 336 when he wrote: "to sing once is to pray twice"? Who else has written interesting observations on the power of music? [more]

071 :
29 Apr 2008

What's in a name? Today's commentary ought to raise a lot of interest. In it Dr Kania explores the issue of how our name can affect our personality and outlook on life. He raises many intriguing ideas that merit our quiet reflection. [more]

070 :
22 Apr 2008

Where Is Your Brother? This week both Eastern Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox celebrate Holy Week. It is an appropriate time in which we might re-visit what is perhaps still the greatest scandal in Christendom of all time — the split which occurred between the East and the West in 1054. Dr Andrew Kania's commentary today takes us back to examine the causes of the split and argues that greater effort needs to be made on both sides to heal the split. [more]

069 :
15 Apr 2008

The Moving Hand… Dr Kania explores the ever-fascinating story of the sinking of the Titanic in search of answers to some questions that perhaps lie deeper than where the Titanic ended up. What is the role of Providence in our lives? What are the ultimately important standards by which we measure the value of our lives? [more]

068 :
08 Apr 2008

The Master Knot of Human Fate… In this commentary Dr Andrew Thomas Kania leads us through the intriguing and ingenious plot of the Spanish writer, Miguel de Unamuno's book, Niebla. Andrew entitled the essay "The Master Knot of Human Fate" and draws our attention to the following passage from Genesis: "So Yahweh God expelled him from the Garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he had been taken. He banished the man, and in front of the Garden he posted cherubs, and the flame of a flashing sword, to guard the way to the tree of life." (3: 23-24, The Jerusalem Bible) In short summary, this is a fascinating way of envisaging our own adult relationship with God… [more]

067 :
01 Apr 2008

The Chaos of Mercy… Our words and actions — both the good ones and the bad ones — carry enormous power. If the flapping of a butterfly's wings in China can be felt in Antarctica do we stop to think of the power that our words and actions carry? The science might be romanticised a little, as is probably the way in which Andrew tells the tale — this was originally written for an adolescent audience — nevertheless there is much worth reflecting on in the base ideas that this essay is exploring. [more]

066 :
25 Mar 2008

Cultivating the Spirit… It seems one of the great commonalities of life is that we're all "led to distraction" by all manner of sideshows. In this reflection, Dr Kania calls on the insights of writers like Blaise Pascal to draw the focus back to what is ultimately important. [more]

065 :
20 Mar 2008

The Experience of God… Here's a timely reflection for Easter from Dr Kania looking at some pretty fundamental stuff. He's exploring the nature of our core relationship with God. It intersects beautifully with some points Fr Alex Caughey raised for discussion in our forum yesterday when he argued "Religious practice is not faith!" [more]

064 :
11 Mar 2008

The Song of Life's Experience… Dr Kania's commentary today is basically about two subjects: Being "mugged by reality", and it's about "learning from the Ancients" — in particular learning from King Solomon and what he wrote in The Book of Proverbs. [more]

063 :
04 Mar 2008

Angelic Doctor or Dumb Ox… You can approach this commentary from many angles. In one sense it is a continuation of the discussion from last week on truth. In another sense, it might form the basis for reflection on the sort of heros that might inspire us in our journey through life. Dr Kania asked us to include a rendition of "Panis Angelicus" so the mp3 file will play when you open the reflection. [more]

062 :
26 Feb 2008

Where do we find truth? This is a fascinating subject Dr Kania tackles today. It's really an essay exploring the nature of "truth" and "absolute truth". Readers of Catholica ought be much rewarded for taking on board the ideas and concepts Andrew explores in this reflection and mulling over them themselves. [more]

061 :
19 Feb 2008

What's the "reality" of your life? Perhaps the single most difficult thing any of us face is seeing ourselves in the reality that others see us, or as God sees us. Mirrors, cameras, sound recorders can help but just look at the personalities, pop stars and politicians one sees on television and do they really see themselves as the rest of us see them? There are so many things that cloud our own reality … our emotions, even a mirror presents a reversed image. Andrew Kania's reflection today explores this intriguing question and leads to the conclusion that ultimately the entire journey of our lives is to unmask this "unreality" of ourselves so that we see ourselves in the perfect way God sees us. It is powerful, short reflection which readers of Catholica will long value. [more]

060 :
12 Feb 2008

A parable of brotherly love… Andrew entitled this reflection "For Us Men and For Our Salvation" but in his email providing a summary of what it was about he wrote that it a reflection on the question "What is love?". You'll see that it is when you read what he has to say and that is why we've chosen "What is love?" as the main title. Do you know the story behind the artist Albrecht Dürer's famous portrait of his brother's hands raised in prayer? [more]

059 :
05 Feb 2008

Why we choose to support various causes and not others… The title "Elective Affinities" is taken from the title of a book by Goethe. Dr Kania uses it as the genesis for a reflection looking at the process by which we choose to support various causes, and not others — or various individuals and not others. In the conclusion he links all this in to the religious and spiritual choices we make in our lives. [more]

058 :
25 Dec 2007

The essence of following Christ? In many ways this is Dr Kania's most confronting commentary we've yet published on Catholica. It's confronting in the sense of timing: on Christmas Day he asks us if we're a Christmas people or an Easter people? It is perhaps also confronting for many in its Christology. Perhaps this is a discussion we might embark on in the new year. [more]

057 :
18 Dec 2007

Castles in the Air! Rounding out last week's commentary, Dr Kania takes a look at that passage from St Luke's Gospel where Jesus provides some advice on the sort of foundation we ought build our lives upon. [more]

056 :
11 Dec 2007

Getting through the "Eye of the Needle"! At heart this commentary is about how to develop a good attitude to wealth, money and material possessions. It's something worth meditating on often: how to thread your way through "the eye of the needle"! [more]

055 :
04 Dec 2007

What does it profit us to...? What this commentary boils down to is this: the moral behaviour of each one of us, no matter how insignificant we think we are in the grand schema of Creation, does matter. We each have a very fundamental choice: we can contribute to making our world a better place or we can contribute to making it a less civilised place. Originally titled, "What does it profit a man…? (cf. Mk. 8:36)", Dr Kania takes us on a journey looking at the core insight into Robert Bolt's play, "A Man for All Seasons" which examined the life, and death, of St Thomas More. [more]

054 :
27 Nov 2007

The Theatre of Life! In another of these delightful reflections originally composed for sophisticated and educated young men in an elite Catholic secondary school, Dr Kania wields his pen masterfully, drawing on famous characters in history that his students might relate to, to explore the ultimate meaning and purpose to our lives. You might value the reflection yourself as well as perhaps using it as dinner table conversation with young people you are seeking to establish some rapport with at this deeper level of the discussion of the spiritual meaning in our lives. [more]

053 :
20 Nov 2007

Green Wood! Another vintage commentary from Dr Kania … in this one he reflects on an insight from Cardinal Newman about how in order to grow spiritually we need to be open to change. He argues this insight is a bit like Buddhist spiritual philosophy: that a plant which is alive and fertile is green and flexible, and that which is dead or dying, is hard and brittle. [more]

052 :
13 Nov 2007

Seizing the Day in a Christian Way… This is a reflection from Dr Kania that is like the smoothest vintage wine you have ever had the pleasure of consuming. It is ageless and bears coming back to time after time after time. One might wonder if what he is getting at here is not the ultimate explanation of the objective of the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. What do you think? [more]

051 :
06 Nov 2007

Matters of Perspective… Dr Kania looks at the harm the obession with sport in contemporary society can bring and suggests we need to get these matters in a better perspective. [more]

050 :
30 Oct 2007

Being a better person… Dr Kania takes a look at this drive within us to become better individuals. The trouble is we have to constantly counter the tendency to sloth and laziness that also seems an intrinsic part of our nature. [more]