Oscar Romero

Andrew Hamilton writes:

"Thirty years ago today Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot as he celebrated Mass. His blood and the chalice were spilled together on the altar. His anniversary will be remembered around the world, for he provides one of the universal images of what living faithfully as a Christian might look like today."
Read more..
Also see a previous item on this site here...

Mount of Olives

 

Mount of Olives is located on the east of Jerusalem, Israel. The mountain is named after the olive trees that used to cover its slopes. Mount Olives is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and many religious traditions are tied to it.

Church of All Nations - The Basilica of the Agony
The Church of All Nations is at the foot of Mount of Olives. Its real name is "The Basilica of the Agony", but since the completion of the church's construction in 1924 was done through donations collected from all around the catholic world, the name "Church of All Nations" became the name mostly used. 

The old olive tree garden is next to this church.

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The Catholic Church and Hope

As agents of hope in the world, the Catholic Church must continue to challenge the non-religious world to look beneath the surface of the secular, said Bishop Greg O'Kelly SJ at the Jesuit Lenten Breakfast in Melbourne earlier this month.

Bishop O'Kelly said that the Church offers the world a vision of what it is to be a human being, challenging those who want to stay at the surface of secularism to look more deeply at their motivations and values.

‘People of little or no faith know that education without values, and knowledge without ethics, is a false education', he said. ‘If they agree with that, then what are they being invited to contemplate more deeply beneath the surface of the secular?'

This year's Jesuit Lenten Podcast Series has explored the role of the Catholic Church as ‘Voices of Hope' in an increasingly secular society. Bishop O'Kelly said the topic is an especially relevant one at a time when many are pointing at declining church attendances and vocations as evidence of religion's decreasing influence.

‘We've got people dancing on our grave', said Bishop O'Kelly, pointing to the work of popular atheist writers and commentators. ‘But I think dancing on our graves is no problem to us Christians, because the grave has never been a difficulty for Christians from the time of Jesus himself.'

He said Christians have a way of living that draws on their sense of God's presence in the universe, and His love for all of creation. It gives organisations run by the Church a stronger sense of mission, and allows Christians to live through love in God's presence.

‘What we must offer our brothers and sisters of the non-religious world is a conviction of human beings in God's likeness', said Bishop O'Kelly. ‘We must challenge any shallow description of humanity, because human nature was not made to be seduced or be restricted to economic rationalism.'

While some have sought to distance the Church from the secular world, Bishop O'Kelly said the basic tradition in the Catholic faith has been one of integration - that God loved the whole world, not just part of it.

‘The world is a theatre of God's presence, and the secular is the place of the incarnation', he said.

One challenge the Church faces is how it deals with those who have different views on issues such as abortion and euthanasia. Bishop O'Kelly said the Church cannot bully others into sharing its views.

‘Is it too much for us, as a Church, to expect that proponents of views other than ours are acting in good faith? They may not have the whole story - we must do everything we can to educate and give our vision of life - but we must respect the fact that Christ proposed, always. He never imposed.'

The Lenten Podcast Series has so far explored the role of the Catholic Church in important sectors such as education and social services, and among young people. Podcast are available at www.jesuit.org.au.

Listen to Bishop O'Kelly's talk.

Read a transcript.

Maureen Lohrey RSM

 

Melbourne Sister of Mercy, Maureen Lohrey RSM is frustrated by the fear-mongering, sensationalism and negativity of some Australians about the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the country by boat, and believes these attitudes are based on ignorance.

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The starting point of Catholic Social Teaching concerning refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced people and ‘environmental migrants’, is not their legal status but rather their status as human persons made in the image and likeness of God.
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Xt3

Have you heard of Xt3?
It's right here!

A network for young people who share in faith experiences.
It's right here!

Xt3 represents Christ (Xt) in the 3rd Millennium.
“Young people have the task of witnessing today to the faith; the commitment to bring the Gospel of Christ - the Way, the Truth and the Life - into the third Christian Millennium, to build a new civilization - a civilization of love, of justice and of peace."
It's right here!

Connect with millions.
Share the experience.
Build a better world.

The Shack

This week our Pastoral Associate, Sue Wakeham wrote in our Tranmere Parish Bulletin about the book ‘The Shack’.
She also provided the following background information:
"If you are interested, there is a website www.TheShackBook.com"
Here are just a few of the comments I found there:-
When the imagination of a writer and the passion of a theologian cross-fertilize the result is a novel on the order of The Shack. This book has the potential to do for our generation what John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for his. It’s that good!
Eugene Peterson, Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.

Riveting, with twists that defy your expectations while teaching powerful theological lessons without patronizing. I was crying by page 100. You cannot read it without your heart becoming involved.
Gayle E. Erwin, Author of 'The Jesus Style'

Don’t miss this! If there’s a better book out there capturing god’s engaging nature and his ability to crawl into our darkest nightmare with his love, light and healing, I’ve not seen it. For the most ardent believer or newest spiritual seeker, the shack is a must-read.
Wayne Jacobsen, author of 'So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore'

It is obviously a book that has raised much interest so I have added the following comments and links in addition to Sue's link.
Comments from well-known Catholic priest Fr Ron Rolheiser:
The book has been both highly praised and severely criticized across denominational lines.
Its critics struggle with its audacity (What nerve for a mere human to attempt to speak for God!) and for the way in which it conceives of God (as too gentle and non-demanding).
Personally, I do not agree with its critics. In my view, this is an excellent book that presents a wonderfully positive and healthy theology of God. I heartily recommend it.I should perhaps qualify that with this comment: I read for essence more than for detail.
No doubt, there are parts of this book that would need more qualification, more theological nuance, but that is true for all theology, especially when it speaks about the ineffable, God.
It took the apostolic community and the early Church some 300 years to agree upon even a few basic concepts about God.
So, no doubt, anyone who risks 250 pages in trying to give this a contemporary interpretation will not always and everywhere be perfect, nor to everyone’s theological taste.
The book is not perfect, but it is excellent overall.
Read the full review here. 

At Wikipedia you can read lots of background information and analysis.
On Youtube there is an interview with the author.