Since the celebration of Easter, the Church has invited us to reflect on the origins of the Christian community.
Love is a word that we always hear. Every time we hear the word ‘love’ our eyes light up and somehow our heart beats just a little bit faster. However, the word love is one of the most misunderstood and one of the most abused words, in my opinion.
Today as we celebrate the Good Shepherd Sunday, we are called to reflect on Jesus as our Good Shepherd. He knows us and we are called to follow him.
Peter is a colourful character with surprises, a man of all seasons. He showed courage in defending Jesus, but was also cowardly and ran away too. Swearing to stay faithful, even laying down his life for Jesus, shortly after that he denied Jesus three times.
Dear Friends,
Happy Easter! Christ is risen, he is risen indeed. Alleluia.
After our last two Easters where the communal celebration of this pinnacle of our faith life was severely limited due to COVID-19, what a joy it was to gather in numbers again to welcome the Risen Lord.
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31)
To borrow a story from my friend, Fr Bel San Luis, there was a man who was visiting a seminary. He saw a poster with a phrase in big letters, “Christ is the answer”. Puzzled he wrote at the bottom of the poster, “What is the question?”
The Easter Season is almost drawing to a close with the feast of Pentecost approaching in two weeks’ time. Next week we will celebrate the solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord.
We just celebrated Easter last month. Each Easter season presents a deep meaning of salvation. As we celebrate each season of Easter, it moves us toward a deep meaning of the mystery of death and resurrection of Christ, writes Fr Phuong Vu SVD.
The death of Christ on the cross is reflected in many salvation aspects of Christian life. The cross becomes an icon for salvation, and it has no end, and it represents this for all nations on earth. It becomes a personal attachment as well. It empowers us into life.
It was 32 degrees on Palm Island and close to 10am on Holy Saturday. Standing on a molten rock a few metres from the sea with my fishing line tugged firmly in my hand, I waited. No bites for almost two hours. Still, I enjoyed the stunning vastness and beauty of the Pacific Ocean. It is awe-inspiring. From biologists and scientists to divers and sailors and indigenous peoples, the ocean and its entire ecosystem is the subject of fascination, curiosity, and joy for millions of people all around the world.
Recently, I attended a virtual workshop in Melbourne marking the sixth anniversary of Pope Francis’ apostolic letter Laudato Si’ calling all Christians to live into a new paradigm of Integral Ecology. It was organised by the Sisters of Mercy in partnership with the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at ACU. Presenters were Professor Celia Deane-Drummond – Director Laudato Si’ Research Institute, Campion Hall, Oxford, Rev Dr Peter Loy Chong - President of the Federation of Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania and Archbishop of Suva, Fiji and the famous Catholic Professor Brian Swimme from the US- Director of the Centre for the Story of the Universe and professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. The three-day conference was framed around contemplating the signs of the times and contributing towards imaginative outcomes for oceans, rivers and creeks, and explored the effects of climate change in the Pacific islands, advocacy, project planning and ways Australia can help.