Experience the Living Word with Bishop David Walker
Migration is not an easy or a pleasant thing for a tiny bird to face. It must turn deliberately from solid land, from food, shelter, a certain measure of security, and fly across an ocean unfriendly to its life, destitute of everything it needs. We make much of the heroism and endurance of our airmen…
We arrive at the fifth Sunday of Lent. The shops have been full of eggs and hot cross buns for weeks now. Amongst all the busyness of preparing for your Easter break and catching up with family and friends, has this Lent been a time of preparation of a different kind for you? What have…
Pietro Annigoni’s portrait of St. Joseph the worker, captures a deeply contemplative and strong image of the earthly father of Jesus, humble, hardworking, and quietly devoted to nurturing and protecting Christ. I first encountered this image over 20 years ago during my first retreat as an REC. The portrait hung in the foyer of the Josephite Spirituality…
”May it be done to me according to your word.” Luke 1: 26-38 I recall a story published in America of Kristen Weston, an obstetrics nurse at Pine Ridge Hospital in South Dakota. She loved nursing and sees her work among her own Lakota people as a vocation. Kristen wrote about the night she realised…
Reflecting on my first overseas trip, I am reminded of this Gospel reading where Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness and tempted by the devil. This resonates deeply with my own experience as a young teacher, full of the Holy Spirit and joy, embarking on an adventure to explore the world. My…
Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 A smudge of ashes on our foreheads sets us on another Lenten journey. We receive these ashes aware of our failings and regret for our sins of avarice, of selfishness, of bigotry. But this day calls us to more…
Ash Wednesday’s clear message is one of invitation to enter forty days of prayer, penance and almsgiving in preparation for our greatest feast day, Easter! In the early Church these forty days were a time of retreat for those about to be baptised.
Exploring the roots of a long-standing tradition is not just an academic exercise of delving into the past but understanding the relevance of key concepts for us today. In the 1st and 2nd centuries, the fast before Easter was compulsory. The whole community kept a 40-hour fast on the Friday and Saturday before Easter Sunday…
One of the popular culture phrases that amuses me is “I live rent free in their mind”. In this Gospel reading, Luke 6: 27-38, we are invited to let that be for the positive because you’ve done something special or hold a particular place in a person’s heart. However, it is most commonly used negatively…
What a great question. I have grown to love the ancient words and stories of the Bible. I love to ponder them and am amazed at how these words resonate within me; they echo through my day. I read the Scripture because I love watching the way Jesus interacts with so many different men and…