Saturday, 16 May 2009

A new series of Saturday reflections...

Dear Friends,

It's a pleasure today to introduce a new series of short and lighter reflections we'll be running over the next five Saturdays from one of our readers. He goes by the name of Pewter for the reasons he discloses in this introduction. He recently sent them in for consideration for publication and we loved them. They have some of the homely quality that Cindy the Sacristan used to share with us. They reflect that love-hate relationship many mature Catholics have today for the manner in which the great hopes that were unleashed by the Second Vatican Council have been stolen from the vast majority of the ordinary faithful by the insecure minority. These reflections have been written over the course of the last 12 months.
<Read Pewter's début commentary>
www.catholica.com.au/gc3/pewter/001_pewter_160509.php

Daniel takes the knife to circumcision! No, we're not exploring porn today but the intriguing question of why male circumcision has long been seen as having spiritual or sacramental significance. The Bible certainly makes a big deal about the practice. Daniel Gullotta submitted today's commentary as part of his theological studies last year. The essay was entitled "A Covenant in Flesh". In it he examines the origins of the beliefs in one of the most ancient books of Scripture, the Book of Genesis. By way of introduction Daniel explains this is "an exegesis on Genesis 17:1-27 examining the Priestly Source's emphasis on male circumcision within the Covenant understanding of Ancient Israel". <more>

The Example of Christ... What can we learn from Jesus? Today Dr Ian Elmer comes to what he describes as one of the most important parts of Scripture that helped form our Christology — our understanding of Jesus and his meaning for our lives. Ian argues it is also perhaps the earliest source we have of the Christian understanding of the Divinity of Christ. This is a rich commentary well worth spending time with. <more>

Letters to My Children #3 For the next few weeks, while Tom McMahon continues his Aussie Odyssey he shares with us some of the letters he wrote some years ago, broadly addressed to his children, seeking to give an account of his life odyssey. Today's letter was written in June 2002. <more>

Going out on a limb in search of the Divine... Editor, Brian Coyne, presents arguments why the Eastern and Western Church need to be listening to one another and why, together we ought be listening to our Jewish forebears in our search for the authentic theologies and Christologies that help give us access to the Divine and to Ultimate Truth. <more>

The Witness (cf John 21:25): Flowing on from his reflection two week's ago speculating on the way in which Jesus' Mother would have become aware of the Resurrection, in this first of a two-part reflection Dr Andrew Kania explores the place of Mary further and leads into speculation on the special place of John, the Beloved Disciple as a witness to the Resurrection. <more>

15: The Capture of One releases Many Today's commentary is a short chapter from Tom Lee's manuscript which we bring you in full. It's an interesting episode in Christian history where the capture and humiliation of the Roman Emperor, Valerian, by King Shapur of Persia led to an unprecedented 40 years of relative freedom for the Christians of the Roman Empire. Tom also relates a little of St Gregory the Wonderworker whom he describes as "an antique PR man" and the one who brought a bit of theatrical flair into liturgy. <more>

Best wishes for a great day wherever you happen to be ... in life or in our world!

Brian Coyne
Editor and Publisher