Romans 12:2ff: ‘Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking……….’ We can and must rearrange our priorities….

How do we want to remember ANZAC or any war? To suggest changes in the way we think about Anzac is dangerous territory.

Faced with so much to say about Oscar Romero and Paul Vll, I turned to St Teresa. It seemed she was saying: keep it short and focus on what made their hearts burn as for the disciples today in the hope that our hearts would also burn when confronted with the word of God. We cannot relegate the lessons of any hero to the abstract or superficial. In lieu of platitudes, and avoid domestication, we need to make a living, active tribute to such peacemakers, whistle-blowers and prophetic voices who call for peace and justice, sound governance and responsible use of power. In both Oscar Romero and Paul Vl – there is a clear message: solidarity with the ‘poor’ must take centre stage.

On December 1, 2018, St Mary’s Catholic Parish, Erskineville, hosted a visit by a very unassuming Sr Patricia Fox snd (Sister of Sion). This event was organised by Action for Peace and Development in the Philippines and Migrante NSW. More than 40 people attended made up of religious people, parishioners and people from the Filipino community.

Reflection by Claude Mostowik msc on the Feast Day of Edmund Rice 2018

One description of Pope Francis’ papacy has been that of a ministry of gestures. Where John Paul II was a philosopher/poet and Benedict XVI the strict academician/theologian, Francis evangelises the culture and touches people’s hearts by the way of beauty where many have been captivated by stirring images of an approachable churchman — hugging children, kissing disfigured individuals, washing the feet of women and convicted persons on Holy Thursday – crucially outside St Peter’s.