Marist Messenger

By Fr Brian O’Connell
On 25 March 2009, a metropolitan NZ daily newspaper ran an editorial headed A Flat Earth Church. The context was a papal statement upholding a ban on condoms in the battle against the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and the excommunications concerning an abortion performed on a 9-year old girl in South America. Read more »

The senior NZ Marist missionaries in Fiji have written to the NZ Prime Minister John Key urging him and his government to engage with the interim regime in Fiji to assist with expertise and advice towards a return to constitutional and parliamentary order. Read more »

On his arrival in Israel
“During my stay in Jerusalem, I will have the pleasure of meeting many of this country’s distinguished religious leaders. One thing that the three great monotheistic religions have in common is a special veneration for that holy city. It is my earnest hope that all pilgrims to the holy places will be able to access them freely and without restraint, to take part in religious ceremonies and to promote the worthy upkeep of places of worship on sacred sites.” Read more »

by Catherine Jones smsm (Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary)

Let us look closely at the famous 1842 “letter of the women of Ouvea” that so captured the heart of Marie Francoise Perroton she set out for the missions of Oceania, and so began the missionary vocation we smsm sisters are privileged to continue. Read more »

By Thomas Merton
[The following is excerpted from an article that appeared in the Catholic Worker, June, 1968 – Eds. Note.]
Man is a creature of ambiguity. His salvation and his sanity depend on his ability to harmonise the deep conflicts in his thought, his emotions, his personal mythology. Read more »

Winner of Commonwealth Writers Prize 2009, Best First Publication (African region)
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MM: How do you pronounce your name, and where did Celestine come from?
UA: It is pronounced “You-wem”, and I never use Celestine though it is on my passport as my religious name. Read more »

Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan aka Fr Celestine sj [Abacus 20008]
Winner of Commonwealth Prize (Africa Region) Best First Book.
Available for $30 at Unity Books Wgtn and all good book shops
There are five stories in the collection, ranging from short stories to short novellas, set in five African countries: Kenya (An X-mas Feast), Benin (Fattening for Gabon), Ethiopia(What language is that?), Nigeria (Luxurious Hearses), Rwanda (My Parents’ Bedroom). Read more »

Maria Goretti was born in Corinaldo, Italy, in 1890. When she was six, her father died of malaria, leaving her mother with six children. From the age of nine, Maria ran the household and cared for her siblings. The young girl was devout and pious, and attentive to prayer. Read more »

Oliver Plunkett was born in County Meath, Ireland in 1629 to well-to-do parents. As an aspirant to the priesthood, he set out for Rome in 1645, and was admitted to the Irish College in Rome in 1646. He was ordained a priest in 1654, and represented the Irish bishops in Rome. Read more »

Simon was born around 1435 to good Christian parents of modest means. He grew up with a pious and responsible nature, rich in a natural predisposition toward prayer and a tender love for the Mother of God. Read more »

By Fr John Kelly O.C.S.O.
I will start this series on prayer by a long quote from the ‘General Introduction to the Divine Office’, issued by Rome. It is on the prayer of Jesus; it runs as follows. Read more »

by Elizabeth Isichei
“The Cross is the fountain of eternity”
In many ancient churches, one particular biblical text seemed a crucial element in their identity. In modern times, countless African Christians, have reclaimed the words of the Psalmist, “Let Ethiopia stretch out her hands to God.” (Psalm 68:31) For the Copts, it is the Flight into Egypt, and for Persian Christians, the story of the Magi.
The “Ethiopian” whom Philip met on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza (Acts 8:26-40) was actually a Nubian. He was the treasurer of a queen called ‘Candace’ and this was the title of the queen mother in the kingdom of Meroe, south of Egypt. Read more »

by Fr Fred Bliss sm
In April this year I had the good fortune to accompany a group of pilgrims from St Anne’s Anglican Parish in Kew, London, as they made their way round some of the holy Christian and Muslim places of Syria. Read more »

© By Bill Farrelly
THERE are two words in the Christian vocabulary that, for much of my life, have challenged me mightily. Read more »

by Pat Barrett
Poland is an enigma. Ruthlessly persecuted, opposition ruthlessly crushed, and each invading army succeeding its predecessor with new and more violent means of oppression. This history of tyranny has spanned more than 1000 years, yet even the last, that of the Soviets, which prevailed over the excesses of the Nazis, failed to erase the nation’s most enduring attribute – her faith in God. Read more »

Snow Covered Mountains
Last weekend saw the rain come in great abundance. But Monday saw a clearance and with it the opportunity of seeing the snow-covered mountains. I was driving down the road south and the mountains were a breath-taking sight and spoke of the Lord who created such grandeur and beauty for all of us to share. Read more »

One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin, wearing jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally well read Bible. Read more »

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Recently Deceased: John(Merv) Maggin, Fr Ray Scott, Noel Byford, Br Andrew Cody sm,Anna Maria Butler, Br Lawrence Cole sm, Jeanne Janssen, Fred Howard,Therese Jujnovich,Mrs E.L Gibbs
In Memoriam: July 1st Father Terry Crowley, Ian Henry, Kathleen Boag, John Kerrigan, Gerald McDonald. Read more »