I know a few people, including several Food For Faith followers, who are nearing death. Some of these are elderly and accepting that their life on earth is naturally coming to an end. Others, well before their time, are struggling with poor health and living with diagnoses of terminal illness.
By looking at the graves, before which countless memories return, we remember how they lived, what they loved
A life lived abundantly will touch the reality of suffering and death daily.
The experiences that feel like death are very often more like a birth offering different opportunities and invitations.
The storm exposes our vulnerability and uncovers those false and superfluous certainties around which we have constructed our daily schedules, our projects, our habits, and priorities.
I have often quoted the High School principal who when asked to name the specific reason for the existence of her school responded: “We exist to prepare our students for death.”
We spend most of our lives running from death and the daily moments that feel deathly. We do our best to avoid such uncomfortable realities and expend time, energy and resources trying to avoid anything that hints at death.
Grief is the price we pay for love, and this week the many family and friends who love and are loved by Fr. Graeme Blackburn have been gripped by grief at his tragic...
This week the End of Life Choice bill has been debated in the New Zealand parliament resulting in the decision to send the bill to Select Committee and consult citizens...
It is 40 years ago today that my paternal grandfather William O'Connor died. Grandad spent the last few weeks of his life not on the Gray's Corner Farm where he had...
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Most people think of the Ascension of Jesus as being a ‘departure’ moment. Jesus was here and now he is gone. We imagine Jesus going up into the clouds and the disciples waving farewell from below.
This is an unhelpful image.
It is essential that we understand what does happen and what does not happen in the Ascension event.
It would be easy to wrongly think that in his ministry showed us how to build the city of God on earth, and now he has gone and the mission is left to us.
A few years ago I was on Rēkohu Chatham Islands for what has become one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most sacred days, the ANZAC day of remembrance in gratitude for those who gave their lives, their health, their youth, their service that we may live in peace.
The art above was produced by one of the students at the local Te One school.
A good number of Food For Faith readers have discovered one of the more recent FFF initiatives, the weekly Homily Studio.
The recording of this half-hour podcast is one of the highlights of my week.
Today’s reflection marks the end of the FFF Lent-to-Easter daily email posts. Thank you for your company on this journey. While these daily posts (for those who have signed up for the Lent / Advent reflections at this link) will take a break until Advent, those who have signed up to receive every post or regular posts at this link. You might take a moment now to visit this page now to check your email preferences.
During retreat this week I found myself pondering just how difficult it is to accept that God, in Jesus, is really with me today.
As I write I’m nearing the end of retreat days with a group of fifty priests from across the USA. As I mentioned a couple of days ago the diversity and youth of the group is remarkable with the majority being aged under 40 and a good number ordained for fewer than five years.