We may be healthier at the end, but Lent is not a diet. We may raise money for those in need but it’s not a fundraising campaign either. So what does God want from you and me this Lent? The answer is simple, beautiful and profound.
“I continue to dream of a completely missionary Church, and a new era of missionary activity among Christian communities.” Pope Francis has been banging this drum for years now, but is it getting through? If the word apostle means ‘sent one’, then to recover our apostolic identity we need to see ourselves as a Sent Church - a ‘community of sent ones’.
Music and fame are an intoxicating combination… As Elvis knew well, the magic of the gift is incredibly satisfying - like a drug in itself - so much that you can easily get lost in it and mistake it as the end goal. I know this magic well
How aptly named is the word ‘grog’? A popular relaxant and Australian social icon, I admit to availing myself of a few cool ales over the summer break in a good communal spirit. The only thing is, it tends to leave the headlights a bit ‘foggy’ and the antennae a bit less sharp, doesn’t it. To have a relaxed, joyful, wound-down heart is good thing: but a dulled and foggy headspace - not so much.
I don’t know whose home you will be travelling to this year, or if you’re busy preparing your home to welcome others into it, but there is one table we are all invited to this Christmas. Especially if you think you are the furthest away…
Have you ever been to a restaurant and thought, “I’ll have what they’re having!” Perhaps it was a dessert, a cocktail, or maybe you’re thinking of the scene in When Harry Met Sally. Whatever it is, I think we can all relate to wanting something we haven’t got, that someone else has that looks totally amazing…
