Manchester, Monday, 22 May 2017, 10.30 p.m.
Late evening
No words
only
tears
No laughter
only
fears
Darkness as
the music died
Late evening
No words
only
tears
No laughter
only
fears
Darkness as
the music died
What is it that makes changes to church life and practice so difficult and why does change happen so slowly? Life though is not static, life is dynamic and this implies evolution, growth and maturity.
Brian Eyre continues to reflect on priesthood in the light of his own experiences in Brazil.
Richard Gaillardetz, a lay theologian from the U.S., puts the current exercise of authority within the Catholic Church into a historical perspective. The magisterial activism that we are witnessing today is not traditional, he maintains: it is quite novel and its merits will need to be assessed in that light. (First published in the 1-14 Feb issue of the NCR under the headline: The church’s shifts in spheres of authority.)
Chris McDonnell writing in the Catholic Times reminds us that despite the many forms in which the written word can be expressed ” it is the spoken word that is our basic currency of exchange.”
“In our own times, we have been continually reminded by Francis that conversation is important, that listening is part of understanding. That is why within parishes open conversation leads to involvement and pastoral care, one for another. …. we must not give up seeking conversation that is honest and purposeful.”
‘Whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.’ The words are St Paul’s, from today’s second reading. We gather here to give glory to God, marking the Day of Prayer for Temperance — and preparing for the online Lenten Spring of 2021, a Lent like no other.
The liturgy that begins this Tursday evening continues until we reach Easter. We are at the start of a three-day celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. We journey from the Last Supper to Gethsemane tonight, from there to Calvary tomorrow, and from the tomb to resurrection and new life at the Vigil of Easter Sunday.
On All Saints Day and today, we remember all the dead, those in heaven and those still be on the way there: God alone knows where each soul is. Today…