Faith & Spirituality In Review

The story of Jesuit ventures at Sevenhill described in this richly informative and illustrated book (The Vine and the Branches: the fruits of the Sevenhill Mission) is one of ambition constantly clawing at the edge of possibility. The title is ambiguous, with its reference both to viniculture and to the mission — apparently disparate things…

Where is God in all this?

Bridging faiths

Sister Cheryl Camp rsm has never shied away from a challenge. Like many Sisters of Mercy through the decades she has packed up and gone where ever she was needed, no matter how remote, or foreign, the place may be

Beauty in defiance

How does an artist capture the essence of someone like Mother Teresa of Calcutta? Jemimah McMurray talks to Paul Newton, whose painting of the newly canonised saint has been placed on display at Domus Australia in Rome

An attentive moment

As a young Jesuit I learned philosophy. Most of it has washed away, but the saying that ‘all that exists is true, good and beautiful’ stayed with me. It seemed then to be the triumph of wishful thinking over experience – think of election campaigns, Hitler and slugs

In the eye of the beholder

On a recent family holiday to Cape Otway we took a day trip to the iconic 12 Apostles. I’ve visited a few times in my life and never failed to be captivated by their glorious obstinance in the face of the pounding surf. This was the first time that I have been there with my

Faith & spirituality in review

Gerald O’Collins SJ, Letters to Nevie: Learning from the Scriptures, St Pauls, ISBN 9781910365120 By any measure Gerald O’Collins has been a prolific author in his life as a world-class theologian. In what one believes is his 66th published book, we see the consummate teacher writing a series of beautifully crafted letters to his teenage grandniece, Nevie…

'I am the light of the world'

In this Autumn edition of Madonna, our daily prayers feature a more personal and intimate exploration of the Gospel stories of the Lenten season. Each day, our guest writer delves into the Gospel to find a way out of the darkness that they find themselves in. 

Making music with what remains

Readers of the Melbourne Herald Sun might remember the very moving interview journalist Hamish McLachlan conducted with Angie Cunningham over a five-month period. Angie was a young woman who was afflicted in 2012 with a terrible motor neurone disease. She was also a friend of mine, and recently I wrote something on the theme of ‘connection’ which centred around her story.

A search for hope amidst grief

After 27 years in the funeral business, Patsy Healy has come to the fierce belief that death is not the end, but the beginning. She knows how much life and energy goes into dying. She felt grief's raw and brutal touch when she delivered a stillborn daughter many years ago. She's journeyed with hundreds, maybe thousands, of families as they prepare to bury their loved one.

Life and loss at Gethsemane Community

A seismic event happened in December 2014. Gethsemane Community - an organization in Sydney who offer disability services and support - had been home to four long-term residents with mental illness and other disabilities. On 18 December, just before dinner, we heard an ambulance siren. Robert, one of the Community residents, was due home - but we didn't make the connection until we got a call from Neuro ICU at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Robert had fallen on the street, hit his head on concrete and suffered severe inter-cranial bleeding.

The same old crowd

The week leading to Easter begins with the account of Palm Sunday where Jesus is caught up in that rather triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The mood of the crowd, at first ecstatic with joy and hope, takes a turn. The Palm Sunday story has long fascinated me – it paints an aspect of human nature that has changed little over the millennia.