122 :
19 May 2013

The Holy Spirit lives in us... The Y-not Question the Sunday Readings reflection by CathyT on Pentecost has already been generating a good response in our forum [LINK]. John Chuchman's reflection today might be considered as an extension of that as he offers a reflection on this role of the Spirit in our lives. [more]

2477 :
18 May 2013

Pentecost: Tell us how the Spirit influences you today... It's Pentecost Sunday already this year. CathyT is leading the reflection for us this weekend and she suggests that rather than focusing on what happened two millennia ago at the first Pentecost we might focus on our present "Now": How does The Spirit influence or guide your life today? It's a topic in various ways we've been discussing on Catholica quite a bit. The theme of Cathy's own reflection is that "The Spirit challenges us". And she certainly challenges us also in the provocative thoughts she puts forward. We invite you to be challenged enough by Cathy's thoughts to share with us how you feel challenged today in your beliefs. [The Reflections of CathyT and others in our forum]

274 :
17 May 2013

Will the priesthood of the future be anything like the priesthood of the past? (Continued)... For some reason Tom McMahon's commentary last week attracted a higher than usual number of readers. It might be worth a bet that this one will attract even more. It's still concerned centrally with his exploration of the priesthood and you might not at first see the connection with the headline: where would you like to be buried – what sort of funeral are you planning? Read on and you'll soon work out the connection. Does it come down to an afterlife; or does it all, like so much else in life, come down to money? This will provide much food for thought for many today. [more]

2474 :
15 May 2013

8th National eConference: The Gospel of Mark Today on Catholica for anyone interested we are following the e-Conference on The Gospel of Mark being sponsored by the Broken Bay Institute and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. [more]

126 :
14 May 2013

For Christ's Sake : here's a positive contribution you can make to our world... Internationally, the Catholic Church continues to slide towards oblivion — or at least towards the "smaller, purer Church" envisaged by Pope Benedict. There are possibly only three ways the slide can be reversed: by the offering of more rosaries and masses for God to intervene and send more vocations and halt the slide; Brian Pitts in our forum today outlines, with the help of Dr Hans Küng, the second way — by a return to the simplicity of the Gospel message of Jesus [LINK]; or the third way, for those who believe if it is to have any chance of restoring credibility in the educated, first world might well be by the program being offered by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson in his new book "For Christ's Sake: End Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church ... For Good". The editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, today offers a review and overview of Bishop Robinson's new book and what he is proposing. [more]

010 :
13 May 2013

Michael Morwood responds to the critique of Brian Pitts... We have provided considerable exposure over recent days to Michael Morwood's new book "It's Time: Challenges to the Doctrine of the Faith" including a review by Brian Pitts which was in part critical of Michael for seeming to adopt an argument from Bishop John Shelby Spong. Today Michael responds basically rejecting the Spong linkage but re-asserting that it was Paul's Christology that changed the direction of what Jesus himself was offering to humanity. [more]

274 :
10 May 2013

Will the priesthood of the future be anything like the priesthood of the past? (Continued)... Tom McMahon provides his own introduction to this commentary: This is a series examining the impact of the Documents of Vatican Two (1962-65) on the seven sacraments of the Council of Trent (1545-63). Friend/editor Brian will say that Tom is again rambling through the centuries and Brian is right. The little boy from 15th Street is looking at a massive historical experience of different forms of priesthood in ancient cultures and modernity. The priest is a sign/sacrament of the times. Tom is telling it as he sees the sign through personal stories, particularly his own. [more]

005 :
08 May 2013

A "ground-breaking" book... Michael Morwood's new book "It's Time: Challenges to the Doctrine of the Faith" is attracting a lot of interest judging by the feedback we've been getting. As promised here is a second review from Brian Pitts who himself is attracted by a lot of what Michael Morwood writes. He calls the book "ground-breaking". At the same time he believes Michael uses a flawed argument blaming St Paul (rather than the institutional Church itself) in getting to his conclusions. [more]

125 :
07 May 2013

A book to challenge the very foundations of your faith! The editor of Catholica, Brian Coyne, today offers a review and overview of Michael Morwood's new book "It's Time: Challenges to the Doctrine of the Faith". The reviewer concludes: "if this book doesn't make you think about what you truly believe nothing will. It's a book to challenge, and paradixocially strengthen, the very foundations of your faith!" [more]

2437 :
08 Apr 2013

There's some big news buried here... There is some big news breaking here but we are deliberately being muted in how we alert you to it. An embargo has been broken concerning this news and we don't want to cause any more damage than has been already caused. Some "quiet publicity" though in light of the breaking of the embargo might not be amiss. Australian Bishops, Geoffrey Robinson and Bill Morris, are launching a petition to the Vatican calling for action to be taken to end the sexual abuse scandal for good. See the post on our forum at the link below and especially my word of caution about this within that string which you will find HERE. [more]

121 :
05 May 2013

Translucence... We're told often enough that religion is not science. This is true. The spiritual domain of our lives cannot be approached with the precision that a scientist or mathematician might bring to their work. Essentially religion is dealing with the biggest Mystery that exists inside and outside of Creation. We can only approach it through the tools of the creative artist and writer: metaphor, analogy, art, poetry, mystery and myth. John Chuchman's reflection today has as its focus this challenge we face in our attempts to penetrate the Mystery of the Divine. [more]

2463 :
04 May 2013

The guru has to leave the disciples... The Gospel reading from John this Sunday is the discourse Jesus has with his disciples warning them that he is to leave them. Sue leads the discussion on our forum today seeking to deepen our understanding of the meaning of this passage. To do that she turns to a perspective from the Hindu tradition in India discerned by the French Benedictine monk who lived in India for an extended period, Henri le Saux (1910-1963). The idea that the guru has to leave their followers is not unique to Christianity. Sue's reflection leads to discussion of the role of a guru and the meaning of this parting with their disciples. [The Reflections of Sue and others in our forum]

273 :
03 May 2013

Will the priesthood of the future be anything like the priesthood of the past? Tom McMahon spent last Saturday back at his old seminary in a reunion with his colleagues from that pre-Vatican II era of priesthood and church. It's given him reason to ponder on the roller coaster ride the institution of priesthood has been on down through the centuries and where it is heading now. Will the priesthood of the future be anything like the priesthood of the past? [more]

013 :
02 May 2013

Sustainable Solutions for Global Warming (Part 3 of a series on Climate Change) A recent string on our forum [LINK] continues to demonstrate that the conversation over the environment and climate change can generate passionate responses even in our little domain. The responses there by AJB were part triggered by Dr Don Fausel's two earlier commentaries on the subject. Our editorial position on this subject here at Catholica is more in line with what Don is arguing in this third part of this series. Whatever the merits of the debate as to whether we're experiencing climate change, or whether or not it is human induced or as a result of long term natural cycles in the global and solar climate, what seems inescapable is that our theological beliefs are changing. Humankind might have been given some kind of "dominion" over the rest of Creation but there is a dawning realisation that we are not given license to exploit the rest of Creation. Dr Fausel today places a focus on our spiritual and moral responsibilities towards our environment. [more]

004 :
01 May 2013

Win a Free Book... Over the next nine days you have the opportunity to win this reflection a copy of Dr Hermes Kreilkamp's book "Come, Lord Jesus! A Guide to Revelation as Sacred Reading". On the tenth day the opportunity to win a gift voucher from the Catholica Spiritual Marketplace. [find out more!]