Columns

Why does God allow suffering and oppression at the hands of the powerful?

Jul 11, 2020

This is a timeless question that was asked long before Jesus arrived on the scene, by those who had to live through oppression under cruel rulers or imperial overlords.
Deeper things under the surface

Jul 11, 2020

We connect to each other at different levels. How we do that through words is one thing, but that isn’t the only thing or often even the most important thing.
Why the Apostles’ transformation at Pentecost was so extraordinary

Jul 05, 2020

The events after Pentecost showcase the extraordinary courage among the disciples of Jesus following his death and resurrection.
Praying when we don’t know how

Jul 04, 2020

He taught us how to pray while not knowing how to pray. That’s a comment sometimes made about Henri Nouwen.
A guide as we venture out into a post-lockdown world

Jun 27, 2020

As the world gradually opens up after the coronavirus pandemic and people emerge from their homes, many are uncertain.
Our deep failure in charity

Jun 27, 2020

St Eugene de Mazenod, the founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Religious Congregation to which I belong, left us with these last words as he lay dying: “Among yourselves, charity, charity, charity”.
The fork in the road ahead

Jun 20, 2020

As we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic, the road before us reveals a fork. One path ahead will take us to a familiar place – the world we left behind before the pandemic, which was probably the result of human beings encroaching into natural habitats.
Dying with dignity

Jun 20, 2020

The movie Million Dollar Baby tells the story of a young woman who becomes a professional boxer. Young, strong, and physically very attractive she captures your heart as, against all odds, she eventually rises to the top in her sport.
When Trump ‘triumphantly’ held up a Bible outside a church

Jun 14, 2020

A lot of things have happened since Pentecost Sunday, days after African-American George Floyd was murdered at the hands of several police officers in Minnesota. We witnessed in the media the peaceful protests and the riots, and then Donald Trump “triumphantly” raising a Bible in front of a church close to the White House (which someone suggested should be renamed the President’s Residence because of the racial overtones of the existing name).
A magnificent defeat

Jun 14, 2020

In his book The Magnificent Defeat, the renowned novelist and preacher, Frederick Buechner, takes up this question by focusing on the biblical character, Jacob. He, as we know, twice cheated his brother, Esau. Catching him hungry and vulnerable, Jacob buys his birthright from him for a meal.