171 :
19 Apr 2011

The Whole Story (cf John 14:26) Dr Andrew Thomas Kania commentary today looks at the provocative issue of how we define our faith. It's a question that many readers of Catholica confront in their life and faith journey — particularly for those who are finding themselves increasingly distanced, alienated or disenchanted from the institution they have supported for so long. Dr Kania draws largely on some definitions provided by the Jesuit writer and theologian, William O'Malley. Do you agree with this set of "non-negotiables" or would you nuance it slightly differently? Andrew's original title for this essay is "The Whole Story (cf. John 14:26)". [more]

170 :
12 Apr 2011

Come Back to Me (cf Ezekiel 33:11) Catholicism is paradoxical — a contradiction. It insists on Christ being the truth but it is gentle, rather than insistent in forcing belief in the truth of Christ on any person. The way some fundamentalist Catholics carry on one could be forgiven for not believing that. In the lead-up to Easter Dr Andrew Thomas Kania's examines this paradox through the Gospel story of the Woman at the Well and through some observations of Desiderius Erasmus on how to respond to Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers. Andrew's title for the essay is "Come Back To Me" (cf Ezekiel 33:11) This essay fits so well with the style we encourage here at Catholica. It is an essay arguing against Catholic fundamentalism — and essay seeking to rediscover the essential teaching style of Jesus. [more]

169 :
05 Apr 2011

Lip Service (cf Matthew 25:31-46) Dr Andrew Thomas Kania's commentary today is a reflection poignant to this Lenten time of the year and with a certain poignancy to today's editorial on Catholica [LINK]. It draws together insights from one of Australia's great writers, Henry Lawson, and marries them in with insights from one of the ancient seers of the Eastern Church, John Chrysostom. It's a reflection on our constant struggle as human beings with hypocrisy — paying lip service to what we really believe. In fact, Dr Kania titled the essay "Lip Service" and presents it as a reflection on these verses in Matthew's Gospel: Chapter 25 vs 31-46 [LINK]. [more]

168 :
29 Mar 2011

The meaning of the Hypostatic union to us... Today's commentary by Dr Andrew Kania is one you might want to spend a little time with. At one level he's looking at this age-old puzzle of the two natures of Christ — the Divine and the human. At a second level it is all about us. In fact his original title for the essay is "God with Us (cf Jeremiah 1:5)". Why did Jesus choose uneducated fisherman as the leaders of his movement? Does that tell us something of the nature/natures of God and Jesus? What does it tell us about us and our mission in life? [more]

167 :
22 Mar 2011

To make Catholicism strong: let all the lights shine! Today's lead commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is with little doubt the single most powerful and incisive commentary we have yet published on Catholica. It is written with an eye to events on an international canvas. In fact it is not new. It was published in 2008 in the print edition of The Tablet and was under an embargo not to be published anywhere else for 12 months. It is now online in The Tablet HERE. The timing in publishing the article here on Catholica today is probably even more poignant. Catholicism, if it is to become a vibrant force again in the world needs to re-discover the strength that comes from its diversity in rites, cultures, liturgical expression, prayer forms, and its thinking. As Andrew says in ending the article, in the prelude to a quote from Friedrich von Hügel "Christ is too large for any single culture fully to comprehend!" We need diversity to get our head around Christ ... and the Divine. ...Brian Coyne, Editor [more]

166 :
22 Feb 2011

The Impossible Dream: Part 2 Jesus Christ is not logical but paradoxical. Following Christ is about learning to live with paradox. Christ, like many other great leaders in history was seen as a fool in his own time, his insight and greatness only recognised after his death. The pursuit of truth is an exercise in foolishness in a rational world and one that places great store on social conformity and wanting to be liked and respected. These are the essential lessons Dr Andrew Kania seeks to draw out from this conclusion to his exploration of the novel Don Quixote. [more]

165 :
15 Feb 2011

The Impossible Dream: Part 1 We all love watching films and reading novels. Dr Andrew Kania today begins an exploration of one of the most successful stories of all time, Don Quixote. We think of the name Don Quixote in association with the phrase, "the impossible dream". Life for all of us is something of an "impossible dream" as it was for the characters in Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra's novel. Andrew suggests we hold in our mind this verse from 1 Corinthians as we read this commentary: "If it was God's wisdom that human wisdom should not know God, it was because God wanted to save those who have faith through the foolishness of the message that we preach". (1:21) [more]

164 :
08 Feb 2011

Part 2 of a series on leadership: Last night on television across Australia we had two programs which were effectively critiques of the leadership of this country's first female prime minister, Julia Gillard. She is not the first agnostic to lead a nation but her example might provide fodder for a discussion that contrasts with the picture of leadership Dr Andrew Kania explores in today's commentary. Dr Kania argues King Alfred the Great earned his greatness from two explicit qualities: his ability to unify a nation; and his emphasis on the education of his people. Ms Gillard certainly places an emphasis on the importance of education. It's probably still up for debate if she is a unifying force. Andrew also argues another quality in a leader is a sense of humility — a sense of being "a servant to a higher calling and Reality". It's an interesting topic for discussion both regarding political leaders and spiritual leaders. How important do you think it is that no leader think of themself as God? How important do you think it is that every leader have some sense of humility that they are also subject to a reality or power greater than any of us? [more]

163 :
01 Feb 2011

Part 1 of a series on leadership: Now here's something to think about ... and have a good conversation about: Dr Andrew Kania introduces a two-part series today exploring the nature of leadership. In this commentary the focus is on King Alfred the Great and is more or less background to what he wants to open-up on next week. The last paragraph today is the crucial one: we'd all agree that leadership is important. The question is does good moral leadership necessarily lead to all the nice things Andrew outlines in the last paragraph? So often in history it seems the crooks and bad guys win. Life for many is marked by injustice and unfairness meted out at the hands of tyrants. What are the lessons in all of this? What is the reward for courage and moral integrity? Why do we need public behaviour to be matched with private integrity in our secular or spiritual leaders? Dr Kania provides meat for a good discussion. [more]

162 :
07 Jan 2011

Celebrating the Byzantine Christmas... A special commentary from Dr Andrew Kania today as we wish our readers from the Byzantine Rite — and we have quite a few of you especially from Canada, Australia and Europe largely thanks to Dr Kania the blessings of this special season of the year. In this commentary Andrew relates the sad, but instructive, story behind a Byzantine Carol that has become a great favorite in the West as well. [more]

161 :
25 Dec 2010

Of Stories and Truth... With this Christmas commentary from Dr Andrew Kania we wish all our readers and members of Catholica a deeply happy Christmas and total spiritual fulfilment in whatever your New Year brings. [more]

160 :
14 Dec 2010

The Goats... BEWARE: Today's commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is as likely to be seen as confronting to conservatives as it is to liberals. It is the long-delayed second part of a commentary from Andrew we published back in April this year looking at the clerical abuse crisis in the Church. You may or may not agree with everything that Dr Kania argues but we are sure you will agree that this is a thought-provoking and powerful commentary. [more]

159 :
07 Dec 2010

The will to live against the odds... There ar some inspiring lines in this commentary from Dr Andrew Kania. Broadly he's exploring the will to live in times of adversity using the story of New York Yankees baseball legend, Lou Gehrig. It's about character building and finding the Spirit within. [more]

158 :
30 Nov 2010

On Commitment... In many ways this commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is in significant contrast to the discussions we've been having on Catholica concerning the decline in Sacramental meaning and participation. It is a commentary that cuts to the meaning of Sacrament and Sign and obliquely raises questions as to why Commitment has declined in contemporary society. Or has it simply started to find expression in new ways? [more]

157 :
23 Nov 2010

The importance of conscience in guiding us to happiness and heaven... Dr Andrew Kania begins today's commentary examining Shakespeare's play, Henry VI. He then links these insights into the observations of an earlier writer, St Gregory of Nazianzen looking at the follies of human behaviour. By coincidence the editor of Catholica had earlier today written some comments about the human aspiration for heaven in today's email which readers might like to also reflect on. [more]

156 :
16 Nov 2010

Searching for an authentic Christology to live by... Today's commentary from Dr Andrew Kania is not a long way removed from many of the present discussions on Catholica discussing alternative ways of reclaiming our spirituality. The authentic Christian is not driven by some deep need to prove how much better, or more holy, they are than anyone else. They are driven by a desire to befriend those who might think differently — a desire to understand their perspectives on life even if they themselves do not accept the alternative perspectives. Andrew suggests Jesus is the model but so are saints like Dominic, Francis and Ignatius. [more]

155 :
18 Oct 2010

SAINTHOOD REALITY CHECK! After the emotional high so many experienced yesterday at the events surrounding the canonisation of Australia's first saint, Dr Andrew Kania brings us back to earth in this reality check essay which he entitled "All Saints (cf. Matthew 21:31)". Many are saints though few will get the sort of acknowledgement given to Mary MacKillop! [more]

154 :
28 Sep 2010

Our aspiration to see the "goodness" of God... It is arguable that buried deep down in the human spirit is this quest for what we describe as "goodness". The word "goodness" is related to "Godness". We aspire to the goodness of God. But can we measure the "goodness" of God? In this commentary, Dr Andrew Kania explores this quest for goodness and Godness in this essay which he originally entitled "Godness"... [more]

153 :
21 Sep 2010

The power of a good story to teach... The acclaimed Czech novelist Milan Kundera has written a number of books exploring deeply the things that drive, or characterise the human spirit. In this commentary, Dr Andrew Kania explores some of the territory covered by Kundera in his sixth novel, Immortality. It is largely an exploration of the shifting social and cultural paradigm that drives our behaviour and thinking. Rich material here for quiet meditation. [more]

152 :
07 Aug 2010

The importance in getting our communications right... Today's commentary from Andrew Kania provides much fuel for discussion on a number of fronts. The principal thrust of his reflection though is all about the importance of using appropriate language and symbol in our communications. The genius of Jesus was his ability to communicate using parable and symbol. Andrew titled this essay "On Teaching" and reminds us of the awe expressed by the companions of Jesus after he had left their company on the Road to Emmaus [Luke 24:32]. [more]

151 :
01 Jun 2010

Our Life Journey... Most people remember Malcolm Fraser's dictum "Life wasn't meant to be easy". It's a phrase many people themselves use at one stage or another about their own life journey. Today's reflection from Andrew Kania is a reflection on the life experience of one man who narrowly escaped the Hindenberg disaster. At the time he was a cabin boy on the Hindenberg when it crashed in 1937 at Lakehurst Airfield, New Jersey. What lessons might all of us learn from reflecting on the experience of this cabin boy, Werner Franz? [more]