Category: Spirit matters

My soul is a strange country Randolph Stow Soul language is slippery. “My soul is a strange country” (Randolph Stow) and is impossible to define. It bears out what Erasmus said: that “every definition is a misfortune”. I am trying to keep a soul alive in times not hospitable to the soul.J.M. Coetzee No-one can […]

Breaking open the bread of our lives Breaking open the bread of our lives – carefully and gently – in the presence of the One who broke open the bread of his life for us. Look back……..       Christ has died           What has died in my life? What needs to die? What can I mourn? […]

Re-membering: putting ourselves back together as the sisters and brothers we once have been. Carter Heyward ________________________________________ I thought: strange word, remember. To put the members together again, to re-configure. The past passing through one’s heart.Andre Brink ________________________________ Re-membering: putting ourselves back together as the sisters and brothers we once have been.Carter Heyward Image: The […]

Matter is the scaffolding of spirit R.S. Thomas ______________________________________ Sacramental vision is not instant photography of the world in which we live. It is something learned by patient education of our sensitivity to the engagement of God with the world.Alan Ecclestone [A sacrament] is an outward and visible sign ofan inward and spiritual grace.Book of […]

That we might be what we receive St Augustine It is impossible to celebrate the mystery of Christ who is poor, gentle and humble of heart, who is merciful and a peacemaker, without being ourselves converted to these values.Jean Vanier We have caught a glimpse, and been attracted by “everything that makes Jesus the person […]

To be human is to be hungry Monica Helwig approaching the mystery – with faith Image: Jackie Howard, Inside Information (detail) Faith is the fundamental openness of heart, the basic readiness to see and hear what is really there, the devotion to being which refuses to tamper with reality, no matter how frightening or costly […]

Happy are those called to the supper of the Lord “Happy are those called to the supper of the Lord”: the assembly which celebrates the Eucharist is rooted in this invitation which God addresses us…. ….the initiative belongs directly to Jesus Christ. He comes to meet his friends and take his place in their midst […]

Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid Matthew 14: 27 Spend some time with Matthew 14: 22-33. Jesus walks on the sea towards the disciples in the boat being battered by the waves and the wind, and says to them:  “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid”. They are frightened but […]

For all that has been- THANKS!To all that shall be- YES! Dag Hammarskjold Practise resurrection.Wendell Berry God is not exterior evidence but the secret call within usOlivier Clement As you spend time reflecting on your life – become aware of those things in your life that are destructive, which lead nowhere, which are negative and […]

I find that there is a crucifixion and a resurrection every day Michael Leunig _______________________________________ I find that there is a crucifixion and a resurrection every day; in some sense or other there seems to be lots of little crucifixions and occasionally some big ones, and if it is gone into and almost embraced, if […]