Lord, I am sorry. My connection with You is not so good this morning. I got up late and my morning prayer was poor. I’m sub-standard as often before. Yet, somehow, You always help and redeem the day. You assist, You make the difference between good and bad days, between win and loss. What to…
Category: Features
Pope urges Christians to joyfully cultivate fruits of the Spirit
Not every Christian is called to be an apostle, prophet or evangelist, Pope Francis said, but all Christians can cultivate the fruits of the Holy Spirit by becoming “charitable, patient, humble, peacemakers.” Continuing his series of audience talks on the Holy Spirit, the pope explained that the fruits of the Spirit are different from charisms,…
Heaven isn’t the same for everyone
Daniel Berrigan once said: “Before you get serious about Jesus, think carefully about how good you are going to look on wood!” That’s a needed caution because Jesus warned us that if we follow him, pain will flow into our lives and we will join him on the cross. What exactly does that mean? Is…
Sacred Scripture
Christ is the Word of God in Scripture. God speaks to us in words to reveal Himself to us. Through all the words of Sacred Scripture, God speaks only one single Word, one speech. God inspired the human authors of the sacred books, but He is the author of them. The Church has always venerated…
Make straight his paths
On an Advent morning 12 years ago, the jazz great Dave Brubeck died, just before his 92nd birthday. Besides being a man of music, he was also a man of faith, who joined the Catholic Church as an adult. In many ways, it was fitting that he entered eternal life during Advent – in part, because (as…
St Ambrose of Milan: Doctor of the Church
St Ambrose of Milan, born in the 4th century into a prominent Roman family, is revered as one of the Church’s greatest saints and was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Boniface VIII in 1298. His life exemplifies faith, humility, and an extraordinary legacy of leadership and scholarship. Raised in a household devoted…
Social Media for the younger generation
Recently, Australia passed a bill that bans social media for people the ages of 16 and below. This is a huge step when it comes to social media laws and a first step for social media companies to realise that maybe they are going overboard. It implies to all tech giants from Facebook to TikTok.…
Getting adult children to Christmas Mass
There are two kinds of families that I notice at Christmas Mass. The first are those with young children dressed up in their best Christmas finery, excited about the whole day. The kids sing the songs they know with enthusiasm. They admire the array of Christmas trees and poinsettias in the sanctuary. They rush to…
For the eternal Kingdom
It was proper for God to crush my dreamy life and move me to Ireland because I was building my own castle instead of joining His, says Angela Suryadana As most girls growing up in the early 90s, my media consumption was dominated by stories of good-looking damsels in distress who were rescued by…
The inspiring witness of Pier Giorgio Frassati
Jason Conroy In 2011, university student Kevin Baker fell two stories and severely fractured his skull. His brain damage was so extensive that the doctors gave him little chance. Even if he survived, he would never be the same again. A few years ago, I saw Kevin give his testimony at the FOCUS student conference…