-
Sacred Violence
In October 1993, Robert Latimer, a Saskatchewan farmer, looked at his severely handicapped daughter, Tracy, and decided she should no longer have to live with her constant pain. He gently
-
The Effects of Pornography
Some years ago, CBC TV aired a drama that ran something like this: Three middle-aged couples from Ontario decided to take a summer camping holiday together. The holiday was meant
-
Managing an Ascension
A friend of mine, who is somewhat bitter and cynical about the church, recently remarked: “What the institutional church today is trying to do is to put the beat face
-
A Crisis Of Imagination
J. R. Tolkien, the famous novelist, was one of the persons who helped C.S. Lewis to accept Christianity. As a man of considerable imagination he was not one to easily
-
1998 The Year of the Holy Spirit
For a great number of people the date, January 1, 2000, is of immense significance. They conceive of this date as, literally, something that comes along only once every thousand
-
The Mysticism of the Crib
When Pablo Picasso was a young child, a huge fire broke out in the city where his family lived. A night of chaos followed with people rushing about the streets
-
Wrestling With God
Some years ago, counseling a young nun who was trying to make sense of her struggle with religious life, I learned something about religious ambivalence. Her life embodied it. On
-
Longing At The Centre
At the core of experience, at the centre of our hearts, there is longing. At every level, our being aches and we are full of tension. We give different names
-
One of Isaiah’s Visions
In this life there is no such a thing as a clear cut, pure joy. Everything comes mixed. As Henri Nouwen once put it: Every bit of life is touched
-
Purgative Embrace
“Let me be punished by a kiss.” That is a prayer Therese of Lisieux used to say. What a curious, paradoxical phrase! Few of us, I suspect, pray that way,