Following the ‘clues’ to our vocation
For many, finding one’s vocation can be a slow-burning realisation, even a trial and error exercise, writes Sister Patty Fawkner.
The Church – to include or not to include?
If I include myself in any critique I make of the Church… I will be taking a step in “fostering ecclesial community”.
Chittister, censorship and an adult Church
Patty Fawkner SGS asks whether censorship in the Catholic Church underestimates the intelligence and maturity of the faithful.
Religious women: The sowers of prophetic hope
There is a rich tapestry in the life of Religious women across the world, writes Sister Patty Fawkner, woven together through a shared mission of hope and compassion.
Unveiling Mary
The month of May is dedicated to Mary of Nazareth. Patty Fawkner reflects on her own Marian journey from ‘naïve piety’ and disillusioned critic to contemporary model and spiritual companion.
The gift of spiritual companions
God sends spiritual guides into our lives, reflects Patty Fawkner, who are messengers and mediums of the divine flow of God’s presence in our lives.
A community in crisis
“Though hard to recognise, God is there,” writes Sister Patty Fawkner in response to the crisis of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.
Vague wanting
The first of three editor’s picks for the February edition of The Good Oil, Patty’s 2016 Faith in the Ordinary is a timeless invitation to live purposefully and boldly.
Preparing the way for the writer's voice to be heard
The legendary William Shawn, who edited “The New Yorker” for 35 years, said “the work of a good editor, like the work of a good teacher, does not reveal itself...
Honouring the stranger-guest-host relationship
Something insidious is happening throughout our world that is threatening the intrinsic human nexus between stranger, guest and host, writes Sister Patty Fawkner.
How power has hijacked the parable of the Good Samaritan
We can easily highjack the parable of the Good Samaritan, says Sister Patty Fawkner, if we don’t see it within the context of the overarching message of the Bible.
Silence is golden - and it also kills
Will we be loyal to the silence or will we interrupt the silence that has left many Catholics feeling disenfranchised within their own Church, asks Sister Patty Fawkner.