Spirituality 
22 Men on Retreat in the Heart of Sydney(0)
The Sons of Navarone
“The Sacrament of Reconciliation has come alive for me.” When was the last time you heard that said? And by an Australian bloke? Well such talk was commonplace after the menALIVE retreat at St Patrick’s Church, which is in the heart of Sydney’s bustling CBD. Fr Ray Chapman SM and a small band of laymen managed to pull off an amazing …
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Changing Landscapes
I live across the road from an ‘occasional’ pond. When there is prolonged rain, the pond fills. A huge variety of life is attracted: swans, gulls, mallards, wading birds, frogs, model boat enthusiasts, and sculptors who create public works of art, such as the “Loch Ness Monster”!
When the rains stop and the water begins to dry up, other creatures appear. Rabbits, sparrows, butterflies, people …
ADVENT – a sacred space
A way to create one
Somewhere, over the years, I lost a sense of Advent. It had become a whirlwind of end-of-year concerts and parties; a cacophony of hackneyed music; a relentless barrage of advertising. Consumerism and Busy-ness were the gods of choice. Even churches where I sought refuge were furnished with twinkling lights and Christmas trees and fully-inhabited Christmas cribs.
I knew there had …
Why do Catholics pray for the dead?
The earliest Scriptural reference to prayers for the dead comes in the second book of Maccabees. The books of Maccabees recount the struggle of the Jewish people for freedom against the Seleucid Empire, around 100-200 years before the birth of Christ. They were written from an Orthodox Jewish point of view. In the second book of Maccabees, the Jewish leader, led his troops into battle …
