The Good Word

In many ways South Africa is a laboratory of social change Most unexpectedly our little Catholic community has become an experiment in the minor religious department of that laboratory I refer of course to the new English texts of the Mass which have generated such surprising friction It appears

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B All the readings show pairs of galvanizing moments Jonah s choice to preach preceded by a refusal the Ninevites decision to turn to God and amend their evil ways Paul s reversal to preach instead of persecute Jesus the Corinthians challenge to

This Sunday s Gospel is a selection from the Gospel of John specifically a passage that tells of two of John s disciples becoming disciples of Jesus To preach on this text can be made relatively simple certainly to change one s religious dedication and devotion in the light of new understa

Nothing less than pivotal is the baptism of Jesus Matthew our Gospel writer of Sunday tells us nothing about Jesus after the notice that the Holy Family settled in Nazareth nothing till this moment when Jesus seeks baptism from John Lest this turning to John for a religious act seem

In the last installment of our Advent and Christmas video series Fr Jim Martin reflects on the Feast of the Three Kings Tim Reidy

The ancient world in all its parts had what we strictly or loosely call Philosophers that is those who love wisdom which is what Philosopher means Wisdom is avidly searched for because wisdom is the prerequisite or requirement for happiness and happiness perfect happiness is what we al

T S Eliot and W B Yeats both wrote poems about the visit of the three kings They re notable for the stark challenges they pose Eliot s poem particularly in the last verse shows the whole world of the three kings challenged radically just by the birth of Jesus Yeats has them seeking the

There is no getting around it if you grew up as a Protestant or an Anabaptist Mary is often a confusing figure Not I would say an essentially divisive figure not a troubling figure but confusing The confusion stems from how to accept Mary There is a sense that Roman Catholics say too much a

There was nothing so vulnerable in the ancient world as the life of a child The same is true in many ways even today a child s life is dependent upon those who will care for that child before the child can even know faith or trust her life is in the hands of others Yet other vulnerabilities

Editorial director Karen Sue Smith reflects on the importance of slowing down during the Christmas season Tim Reidy