Good, perfect, holy, sweet, innocent, beautiful, kind, pure – there are so many words that described who I wanted to be ever since childhood. These were goals to achieve, standards impossible to meet, reminders to keep my behaviour appropriate, and chains that constricted my life. Stories of the saints partially influenced this. One story that Read more
“Soul Seeing” editor Mike Leach asked me to write on what I wish people knew about depression in light of Robin Williams’ suicide. Here is what I wish for. I wish people knew that the soul of someone who dies of suicide is as perfect as the moment God created it, that depression is an Read more
I used to have a strange, very naive idea that I would be closely united with my father after his death. I know that we are united with the communion of saints, and that death no longer separates us (Romans 8:38-39). I believe we can pray to the saints, and even pray to and pray Read more
Those who know me may be surprised to learn I’m saddened Hone Harawira is no longer in Parliament. I’m not in the Te Tai Tokerau electorate. I’m not Māori. I have no particular affinity towards Hone Harawira nor necessarily agree with most of what he says. Hone Harawira however was a strong voice for the disadvantaged, Read more
A few years ago, I was caught up in a big research project about contemporary hymns (or “hymnody,” as they say in the trade). I listened to hundreds of hymns on Spotify; I interviewed a bunch of hymn experts. What, I asked them, was the most successful contemporary hymn—the modern successor to “Morning Has Broken” Read more
Some say they were pursued by the Hound of Heaven, a Grace that would not take leave, not in the “nights”or “down the days,” the “arches of the years” or the “labyrinthine ways.” That poetry never much resonated with me. The first time I heard it I wondered, “At what rate did he travel, this hound?” Poetry is hard for literalists to Read more
Within the last year, the Catholic Church has garnered a bounty of something it hasn’t seen in decades: positive attention. The man responsible for the change in the Church’s public reputation is Pope Francis, a candid Jesuit who seems a world away from his traditionalist predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. His effect on the Church seems Read more
WHEN the long, grim history of Christianity’s disappearance from the Middle East is written, Ted Cruz’s performance last week at a conference organized to highlight the persecution of his co-religionists will merit at most a footnote. But sometimes a footnote can help illuminate a tragedy’s unhappy whole. For decades, the Middle East’s increasingly beleaguered Christian Read more
How many times in conversation do we hear ‘judge not lest you be judged’? Frequently this quotation from Christ is misapplied. When applied to gossiping or to a statement that is purely used to denigrate another it is most certainly correct. It should not however be seen as Christ saying we should not judge something Read more
The list of those attending the Synod of Bishops on the family is a disappointment to those hoping for reform of the Curia and for those who hope that the laity will be heard at the synod. The appointment of 25 curial officials to the synod on the family is a sign that Pope Francis Read more