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Chris McDonnell 2018 articles
Dec
25: Beads of
prayer
Handling
prayer beads helps us be aware of the presence of God
Dec
18: In a time of preparation: The Great Antiphons of Advent
"A poetry that fills the liturgy with splendour"
Dec
12: Isaiah the prophet of the Nativity
We need encouragement in the darker times
Dec
5: The Bishop of Rome visits Hiroshima
The
possession of atomic
weapons is immoral
Nov
27: Advent leads to light
May this Advent Season touch our heart and spirit
Nov
21: A day in November - The assassination of President John F. Kennedy Nov 22, 1963
We are better for his passing with us on our journey
Nov
13: The
people's voice matters
The task of healing the rifts and divisions of the last three years will be
considerable
Nov 6:
After the Synod
Recognition that celibacy and the priestly celebration of
the Eucharist are not essential partners is long overdue
Oct
30: The Christian Imagination
That vibrant image, strong in colour
and vital in movement, mirrored two very fruitful ideas to inspire the challenge
of Primary Education
Oct
23: At home in the parish
The church is our family writ large
Oct
17: The theologian of Liberation
During the Amazon Synod is a good time to reflect again on the life and work of
the Brazilian theologian, Leonardo Boff
Oct 10: Young Mr
Newman
But what of the early years?
Oct 2: A time to
dream
The life of a Christian is the continuing experience of the dream of the
Gospel
Sep
25: One who passes by
We are unaware of the long term consequences of what we do or say, so our
care must be that, in both words and actions, we are sensitive to others
Sep
18: A crisis of conscience
Listen,
talk and listen again before taking action that solves nothing and only leads to
regret.
Sep 12:
Symbols of trust
It hurts when nationally recognised institutions are abused
Sep
4: Telling someone's story
Each of us writes our own story by the manner in which we live the Gospel
Aug
28: The loss of Liberty
In seeing Liberty handcuffed and
face down on the hood of a car, remember the cost our forebears paid for the
precious gift of democracy
Aug
21: Time to
pause
We can be surprised by a pause in the headlong rush so many of us experience
Aug
14: Prayer of
the people
Prayer is about a relationship with God we carry with us wherever we find
ourselves
Aug
7: Two days in August
This week is marked by two significant dates from 1945: the use of atomic
weapons first on the city of Hiroshima on August 6th and three days later on
Nagasaki
July
31: The uncertainty of change
There is one thing that is certain, we live in a changing world
July
25: Can we talk politics & faith?
Casting a vote in an election demands an informed background that our life
experience has shaped
July
18: My
courteous Lord
Who welcomes you when you arrive for Mass on Sunday, or do you walk in to church
without anyone speaking to you?
July
10: In the shadow of prophcy
We need to respond to changing circumstances or we will find ourselves talking
in an empty room
July
3: A cry from the depths
"How much corruption can we tolerate in the church before we leave?"
June
25: A shared festival, Peter and Paul
We know that Peter, one of saints we mark this weekend, was married
June
19: High Summer days
Those of us who have reached the Autumnal days of life have experienced a degree
of change that has been monumental
June
12: The spirit of vocation
The
Church's
insistence on compulsory celibacy .... this unnatural, un-incarnational and
mandatory condition for becoming a loving servant of God's people is at the root
of most of the current tragedies raging in the heart of Christ's community
June
5: The
Yin and Yang of politics
Honesty has given way to deceit, falsehood has become the currency of power and
the denigration of individuals commonplace. And of course global warming doesn't
exist
May
30: How did you do that?
It is worth while examining the status of the teacher within our own culture
May
22: Our new poet Laureate, Simon Armitage,
a cared-for use of language
Poetry is a cared-for use of language, a song reflecting the times, words that
demand a response
May
15: Faith
and Doubt
With the passing time, faith is framed by circumstance and does not, should not,
remain the same
May
8: A voice worth listening to
This sixteen year old girl has met with world leaders, including Francis, in a
personal effort to raise our awareness of the critical decisions that we must
now face.
May
1: A raging fire storm in the heart of Paris
The cool grandeur of our cathedrals offers a space for those of faith and for
those still searching
April 25: Marking the occasion
April 18: Red Dusk
at Compline
(Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral)
April
17: Water the gift of life
We must know how to how to be dead with the God who is dead, in order to rise
with the Lord of life
April
10: The nature of Truth?
Our being honest in telling the truth is an important link in the
protective link of trust in the caring fence of family and friends
April
3: April, come she will
The prayers we learnt as a child remain with us, yet they are only the
soil in which our prayer life grows.
March
27: A light in the darkness
'Maybe death isn't darkness after all but so much light, wrapping itself around
us'.
March
20: The days of March
Listening to each other has become a rarity
March
13: The
days we call Lent
We have all met the occasional person who manages to live their life at a
gentler pace, those who have slowed down and show a greater consideration for
others, those whose response to a question or comment is not rushed and
ill-thought through but values the quality of the exchange
March
6: Listen to my people
Any discussion of abuse within the Church must begin with
our listening to survivors
Feb
27: Every picture tells a story
Icons are venerated for the story they tell, the message they give, the truth
they represent.
Feb
20: A cinder-block home
Prayer was the source and strength of all Thomas Merton did
Feb
13: A movement for change, Bauhaus years
Just as those who gave spirit to the Bauhaus movement did not always get praise
for their efforts so too have those who have had the courage to write, speak and
be in these recent years been challenged
Feb 6:
The Journey Man
A tribute to
Fr
Daniel O'Leary and Mary Oliver
Feb 1: For birthday, Jan 31, of Thomas Merton:
Words at
the margin
Jan
30: The
cult of clericalism - we look after ourselves
We need to ask questions relating to our perception of priesthood within
community
Jan
23: Ours to
care for
Things happen when we least expect them. Events change us. Gifts console us.
Jan
16: "If
you go down in the woods today... "
- a tribute to Sr Wendy Beckett
Jan
9: And the walls came tumbling down
Why all this talk about walls? Because we don't seem to have learnt the lesson
of history
Jan
2: December
Song
In memory of BBC presenter Sr Wendy
Beckett