Friday's email commentary... We're in the middle of making some significant changes to the Catholica website. A preview of the new home page is now available online and we'd appreciate feedback from visitors. Click the image above to see the draft of the new front page or read the editor's post yesterday on the discussion forum. To appreciate why musician, Matt Zarb, makes it to the front page of Catholica today you can read today's email commentary. <more>

Go the Mass is ended!This may seem at first to be a curious reflection that Peregrinus leads us through. It is well-worth the investment though for the interesting facts he unloads on the way to exploring the attitude we are encouraged to gird ourselves with when we walk out of our Church each Sunday. On another note could I also point out that Catholica today reaches another milestone with our 300th day of publication. <more>

The nature of our religious quest... This is a particularly thought-provoking reflection by Dr Kania on the nature of our spiritual quest. It is a plea for a more mature form of faith expression than the often parodied picture of religiosity that is presented in the media — and which some religious people give cause to the media to parody. He argues: "God calls for an awareness of self, an awareness of neighbour, an awareness of Him, rather than flagellation, which can become a source of morbid enjoyment and pride". <more>

Learning from accidents... Shortly after Catholica was published On Sunday there was a terrible road accident on the Great Western Highway less than 600 metres across the short valley that separates the editor's house from the highway. One person died, another is reported to be in a critical condition in Nepean Hospital, two rescue helicopters were brought in and landed on the highway to evacuate the injured and the traffic on the Highway came to a standstill for over two hours. In his regular Monday commentary today Brian Coyne explores what lessons can we draw from the accidents that erupt on our lives. He suggests there are both personal lessons and also larger lessons that cut to the heart of this big question society seems to be grappling with as it searches for a new understanding of our relationship with God. <more>

The Spirituality of Thomas Merton... It is an enormous thrill, and honour, to be able to bring you the series of reflections that begin today. Fr Patrick Collins recently sent me a long book-length essay he's written on the spirituality of Thomas Merton which he has gleaned from the private correspondence of Merton which has been published in a much lengthier 5-volume series on Merton. In a sense then, what you are about to read is an exclusive insight into the mind of Thomas Merton from an acknowledged expert commentator on Merton. As far as I am aware this has not yet been published anywhere else on the net. I would like to extend my personal thanks to Fr Collins for trusting us in the publication of his work. We will serialise the essay over coming Sunday's in bite-sized chapters. As Fr Collins writes: "When viewed chronologically, one can note Merton's own developing ideas of spirituality as they developed through his epistolary conversations with his correspondents. In these at times free-wheeling writings, Merton's thought was uncensored. He could speak without external or internal hindrance in ways he thought would be meaningful and comprehensible to the recipients of the letters. Here we find, then, not well-honed theories of spirituality but very personal responses to particular person's questions and issues." <more>