Sunday, 17 April. This afternoon I took a room at Casa Santa Marta. Setting down my bags, I tried to open the shades, as the room was dark, but it was impossible. One of my brothers had the same problem, and asked for help from the sisters in charge. He
News on many fronts: Bishops endorse computer games classification, building of the Catholic Leadership Centre in Melbourne, a petition in Toowoomba in support of Bp Morris, and students in Brisbane raise $30,000 for Timor. Development of Catholic
WYD has started to dominate the agenda: the Pope says it is a time for solemnity, organisers sponsor a sacred art exhibition in Madrid and separately, refuse to approve a catechesis from an American media source. In America, the Papal nuncio passed
Cardinal who survived the Gulags
30-Jul-2011
Born on October 21, 1914, the son of a Polish family in Valga, Estonia, Kazimierz Swiatek had first hand experience of the great sufferings of the 20th Century. His father died in 1920 in the Polish-Russian war, while defending the city of
Story of Jewish monk a religious contradiction
30-Jul-2011
Daniel Stein: Interpreter, by Ludmila Ulitskaya, translated by Arch Tait, Scribe Publications, $32.95 This novel is a patchwork of letters, diaries, official notes, reports and recorded speeches that seem to both hide and explore the extraordinary tale of
A label for Anders Behring Breivik
30-Jul-2011
When news broke about the bombing in Olso, many commentators assumed links with Islamic extremism. When reports came of the massacre on Utøya island, perpetrated by a “tall, blonde, Nordic, man,” speculation subsided
Satanist on a path to sainthood
23-Jul-2011
Pompeii has more to offer than dusty ruins filled with plaster casts of people, and one unfortunate puppy, frozen in time. It is also, coincidently, home to the only church in Christendom built by an ex-Satanist, reports the Catholic Herald. It’s the
Matthew 13:44-52 Jesus said to the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
The value of quiet listening
23-Jul-2011
Recently the Miles Franklin Award was granted to Indigenous writer and academic, Kim Scott for his novel That Deadman Dance. As a work of fiction, it is inspired by, and draws on the early history of the region known today as Albany, Western Australia, writes
As the former Archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun continues to be one of the most outspoken defenders of religious freedom in China. Fr Thomas Rosica spoke with Cardinal Zen prior to his retirement, on Salt + Light.
With a month to go before half a million young Catholics descend on Madrid, "there are an infinite number of small problems to solve," said the executive director of World Youth Day 2011, the Catholic News Service reports. Yago de la Cierva said this
Teachers taught, bishop's jubilee
23-Jul-2011
A diverse week: in regional NSW, Catholic teachers were given an update and so, too, were a group of Catholic school parents. Bishop Peter Connors in Ballarat (pictured) marked 50 years of ministry. Fr Bob's challenge to producers of The Block (Herald
The Pope's brother has written a book about him, Mexican laity have been invited to an exorcism congress, China prepares for another illicit ordination, and New Zeland banned the use of Lucifer as a first name. In the UK, a funding row over a statue of John
Gough Whitlam's campaign to end 23 years in opposition took an unexpected turn in Sydney during the afternoon of November 12, 1972. Archbishop James Carroll, one of Sydney's auxiliary bishops, was opening a Catholic school library. His statement that the
Father Ted McGrath's lonely road
23-Jul-2011
John Hosie, A Lonely Road: Fr Ted McGrath, MSC. Adelaide, ATF Press, 2010Father Ted McGrath had barely reached his seventh birthday before experiencing the death of his father (who literally drank himself to the grave), the demise of his mother
Wind set to rustle among Philadelphia Catholics
23-Jul-2011
“He is brash, outspoken and fearless -- energetic, colourful, cultured... indeed, even hard-core,” says Rocco Palmo of Archbishop Charles Chaput, the 66 year-old Capuchin Franciscan and New York Times best-selling author who’s led the
Magical journey into the Nepalese sun
16-Jul-2011
The track is a thin slash of uneven rocks and dirt wriggling around the most breathtaking of mountain regions. Trudging in mid morning heat we skirt a ridge and suddenly there is Tari, a small, weathered settlement in this craggy eastern part of Nepal,
While everybody was asleep, an enemy came
16-Jul-2011
Matthew 13:24-43 Jesus put before them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26 So when the
Wisdom hidden from the learned
16-Jul-2011
I've lived and worked within academic circles for most of my adult life, studying in various universities, teaching within university circles, and having university professors as close friends and colleagues. What's that world like? What kind of folks inhabit
The source of Ignatian spirituality
16-Jul-2011
In this segment from the film Who Cares About The Saints?, Rev James Martin discusses the life of St Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order.
From Parish of Our Lady of The Way, North Sydney & Lavender Bay. The first Mass of the day on YouTube. 
All your daily readings, reflections and prayers can be found here...
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