Is the soul solid, like iron?Or is it tender and breakable….? Mary Oliver Living soulfully is not about striving, being driven, or searching for perfection. It calls out from us that which lies hidden within: a capacity for openness, wonder and awe. It asks us to attend to everything that is, with patience, sensitivity and […]
Soul – talk
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 […]
The mystery of the eucharist: bread for life
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? […]
The mystery of the eucharist: memory, the sacrament of presence
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 […]
The mystery of the eucharist: matter is the scaffolding of the spirit
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 […]
The mystery of the Eucharist: the bread that matters
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 […]
The mystery of the Eucharist: approaching the mystery
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 […]
The mystery of the Eucharist: the bread of life
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 […]
How to be alive: courage to be
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 […]
How to be alive: ‘yes’ to life
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 […]