Section Archive: Faith in the Ordinary
The wonderful mystery of conversion of life

The wonderful mystery of conversion of life

“Not conscious that you have been seeking suddenly you come upon it,” wrote the Welsh poet R.S. Thomas in his poem “Arrival”. Has this ever been your experience, asks Good...

Posted on: May 17, 2016

Vague wanting

Our lives, yours and mine, are too precious to fritter away on lukewarm commitments and half-hearted vows, writes Good Samaritan Sister Patty Fawkner.

Posted on: February 16, 2016

The power of language and literature

The power of language and literature

In this Jubilee Year of Mercy, if I could grant a special mercy to the women of Australia, it would be this: to amend the English text of Scripture used...

Posted on: December 8, 2015

A world in need of mercy

Surely we can hope that by renewing our understanding and practice of mercy in this Year of Mercy, our often unmerciful world, our world of fatigued compassion will be transformed,...

Posted on: December 8, 2015

Life as it happens

Life as it happens

When, as is so inelegantly said, ‘life sucks’, it’s tempting to lose heart, to indulge in a spell of self-pity, to feel depressed, writes Judith Scully.

Posted on: November 17, 2015

Are you a “maybe person”?

Have you considered how you might give someone the gift of hope? The gift will exact a price, which is like the treasure you store up in heaven, writes Garry...

Posted on: October 20, 2015

How life can change in a minute or less

How life can change in a minute or less

Who am I five years on from being diagnosed with a brain tumour, asks Good Samaritan Sister Margaret Keane. I am not the same. And yet, in essence, I am...

Posted on: September 15, 2015

A fundamental gesture of faith, hope and love

A fundamental gesture of faith, hope and love

Baptism acknowledges our primal dignity as God’s good creation, and gives us our identity – heirs to the Kingdom of Heaven, writes Margaret-Mary Flynn.

Posted on: September 15, 2015

The miracle of love

The miracle of love

A recent experience reminded me of the words of the Swiss philosopher and theologian Max Picard: “There is something holy in almost every silence”, writes Good Samaritan Sister Pam Grey.

Posted on: August 18, 2015

There’s no place like home

There’s no place like home

The homes I knew growing up were indeed humble by the standards of today’s glossy magazines, but they were truly homely places, and I remember with gratitude the shelter they...

Posted on: July 21, 2015

A doting God

A doting God

One of the gifts we can give children today is the kind of love that opens the way for them to know, without a doubt, that God, like their parents...

Posted on: June 16, 2015

A reasonable question?

If the physical universe is governed by forces, then it might seem reasonable to ask if the non-physical – the spiritual reality – is also governed by forces, writes Garry...

Posted on: April 21, 2015