OUT OF CURIOSITY – FAITH SEEKING UNDERSTANDING (Mimesis and Atonement in the Doctrine of Salvation – ideology or theology?) Perhaps this is what I wish I had heard more from our colleague, late Fr Tom O’Brien MHM, who always came alive and spoke profoundly with untold inner joy, conviction and passion about René Girard or…
Augustine’s faith was essentially a thinking faith, endeavouring to bring together the belief of his heart and the abilities of his mind. This is well illustrated by the fact that his favourite verse from scripture was a [mis]quotation from Isaiah 7:9, ‘If you do not believe, then you will not understand.’ Faith seeks understanding: faith…
In large groups, people listen to Jesus and follow Him. Again and again it seems like a success story that can hardly be broken. The large mass of all these attentive listeners gives the impression that they want to take His message seriously and give it shape in their lives. People follow Him everywhere, even…
Few hours to his death on Thursday, August 11, Fr. Prof. Laurenti Magesa Corneli who has been described as “the Giant of African Theology” remained the humble man he had been all his life, the President of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) has said in his tribute to the late Tanzanian-born Theologian. He had just turned…
Our culture makes us want to know who we are. It commands us to ‘be ourselves’, to be the masters and makers of our lives; this is the ultimate freedom. But the priest is not self-made; all he has, he has received. This is the mystery at the centre of his life and in every…
In a brief protest at a papal Mass in Canada, Indigenous women unfurled a banner that said, “Rescind the Doctrine.” The protest July 28 was a momentary but graphic reminder of how, when representatives of Canada’s First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities met Pope Francis at the Vatican in March and April, they asked him…
When the Holy Spirit authorises the proclamation of the Gospel in Europe, the first person to hear the preaching of Paul in the open space by the river is Lydia (Acts 16:14). In thanksgiving for receiving the word and the baptism which follows, she invites the missionaries to come and stay at her home. As…
One of the most familiar things we do as Catholics is to make the sign of the cross in the name of The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. For Christians this is the name of God, The Trinity. Whenever we go to Mass we are gathered in that name and at the end…
Speaking to the organizers of a conference on education on June 1, the pope said that it was vital to make progress by “drawing from the roots.” He said that “there is the fashion — in every age, but in this age in the Church’s life I consider it dangerous — that instead of drawing from the…
We celebrate the Ascension of our Lord. With the word ‘heaven’, I’ll say it right away, don’t start thinking about the hereafter. Jesus did not disappear in one or the afterlife. No, ‘heaven’ is another word for ‘God’, and God is not after this. God is always here and now, Jesus did not go to…
In the run-up to the forthcoming canonisation of Charles de Foucauld on May 15th I was asked to write an article on his influence on missionary thinking, spirituality and practice for the Dutch language periodical Tijdschrift voor Geestelijk Leven. What follows is a two part translation into English. F.E. Personal experience. Like most missionaries of my…
In the run-up to the forthcoming canonisation of Charles de Foucauld on May 15th I was asked to write an article on his influence on missionary thinking, spirituality and practice for the Dutch language periodical Tijdschrift voor Geestelijk Leven. What follows is a two part translation into English. F.E. Charles de Foucauld – Monk-Missionary In…
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