A Catholic Monthly Magazine

Fr Jean Hénaff SM (0)

Born in Brittany, France 23 November 1924

Professed 24 September 1948

Died at the Médipôle Hospital at Dumbéa, near Nouméa 9 March 2018.

Edited eulogy by Fr. François Grossin SM- Translated by Elizabeth Charlton

Aged 93, Father Jean Hénaff was the oldest of the Archdiocese’s priests and of the Marists in Oceania.… More

Fr Brian Quin SM (0)

Born 6 February 1937

Professed 11 January 1968

Ordained 24 June 1972

Died 24 March 2018

Edited eulogy by Fr Phil Cody SM

Pikitia ki te tihi o tōu maunga kia pupuri ai te ātaahua o Rangi rāua ko Papa.
Climb to the top of your mountain and there you will grasp the harmony of Heaven and Earth.… More

St Bede the Venerable (0)

By Fr Brian Cummings SM

25 May

St Bede is not a particularly well-known saint in New Zealand.

Bede was born in the north of England, near the monastery of Wearmouth. He joined that monastery at the age of seven, and spent all his life there or at Jarrow, teaching and writing.… More

The Our Father and the Breaking of the Bread (0)

A summary of the General Audience March 14

In the Last Supper, after Jesus took the bread and the chalice of the wine, and gave thanks to God, He “broke the bread.” In the Eucharistic Liturgy of the Mass, the breaking of the Bread corresponds to this action, preceded by the prayer that the Lord taught us, namely, the “Our Father.”

The Our Father

And so we begin the rite of Communion, prolonging the praise and supplication of the Eucharistic Prayer with the recitation of the “Our Father.” This isn’t one of the many Christian prayers, but THE prayer of the children of God; it’s the great prayer that Jesus taught us.… More

A Mother’s View Of Our Lady (0)

by Irene Mackle

When we are troubled, and pray for help, Mary has been there before us. She understands how we are feeling, and can ask God to strengthen and help us. She lived through so many crises in her life.… More

Judaism in New Zealand (0)

Orthodox and Progressive

by Juliet Palmer

Rabbi Yitzchak Mizrahi

As with Christian denominations, a range of Jewish religious movements have emerged over the years.

Until the 19th century, Jews were simply “Jews”: the observances were uniformly the same. However, after some Jews redefined themselves as “Conservative”, “Reconstructionist” and “Reform”, for example, Jews who adhered to traditional observance were labelled “Orthodox”. … More

Can You Bear It? (0)

A shoplifter was caught red-handed trying to steal a watch from an exclusive jewelry store.

“Listen,” said the shoplifter, “I know you don’t want any trouble either. What do you say I just buy the watch and we forget about this?”

The manager agreed and wrote up the sales slip.… More

A Case of Spirit! (0)

Fr Kevin Bates sm

Have you ever wondered why certain alcoholic drinks are called ‘spirits’? A note in Wikipedia enlightens us on this question thus:

The term ‘spirit’ in reference to alcohol stems from Middle Eastern alchemy. These alchemists were concerned with medical elixirs.… More

Tris Officer (0)

Tris died aged 97 on 12th January 2018. She will be particularly remembered by our readers as Business Manager for the Marist Messenger. Tris fulfilled this role for 15 years. The latest copy of the magazine was in her room when she died.… More

Jesus Dreaming (0)

Fr Merv Duffy SM

A Theological Reaction to Michael Galovic’s
Creation of Lights in the Heavens

The religious historian, Mircea Eliade, wrote of the ‘eternal return’ the religious belief that liturgy and prayer can put the believer in touch with the ‘mythical age’, the time when the foundational events of their faith occurred.… More

A School for Prayer (10) – Evagrius of Pontus (2) (0)

By Fr Craig  Larkin SM, 1943 - 2015

‘Thoughts’ are the most significant things for Evagrius of Pontus, and he considers that these are at the beginning of difficulties for anyone on the spiritual journey. What causes us trouble is not our feelings or even our actions, but first of all our thoughts.… More

Who Are You, Jesus? (0)

Fr Tom Ryan

5. Learning from The Velveteen Rabbit

‘What is REAL?’ asked the Rabbit one day. ‘Real isn’t how you are made,’ said the Skin Horse. ‘It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.’

Let’s think about this comment from Margery Williams’ The Velveteen Rabbit (see below).… More

May Saints (0)

by Kilian de Lacy

Saint Ursula Ledochowska  (1865-1939)

Guilia Ledóchowska was one of a large family.  Professed at age 24, Guilia took the name Maria Ursula of Jesus and spent her whole life working to fulfil the desire she expressed at that time, “If only I knew how to love, to burn and consume myself in love.”

In the convent at Krakow, she became known as a talented teacher, sensitive to the needs of children in the changing social, political and moral conditions of the time. … More

Our Three Divine Friends (0)

Fr Tony King SM

However much we may get to know about God, even know God in a true personal way, God always remains a mystery. “Mystery” is almost another name for God. But a mystery of love, a mystery of incomprehensible goodness.… More