How sharing dinner is a ritual at the heart of a family’s life. Many of our fondest memories from childhood relate to meals we have enjoyed with our family, such as long Christmas lunches, the weekly roast, or fish and chips on a Friday night. The humble family meal is a powerful daily ritual
The Christian bible has two sections: the Jewish scriptures (Old Testament) and Christian writings (New Testament). Jesus, and his mother Mary, were devout Jews, deeply immersed in the scriptures and both testaments were written or recorded by Jews (with the exception of the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles which were written
Some fifteen years ago, I began to meet regularly with several women to support each other in prayer. Called ‘Women of Wisdom’ we committed to prioritising prayerful listening to balance our never-lost-for-words conversation. The format was simple and has been adapted here for private reflection. Breathe: Sit with your back straight and your feet firmly grounded
Catholic Mindfulness with Dr Gregory Bottaro Mindfulness aims to ‘fill the mind’ with a focussed awareness and is proven to be very effective in managing anxiety. Catholic Mindfulness grounds this practice in prayer and invites the active engagement of God in the process. The Sacramental Pause was designed by Dr Gregory Bottaro as a daily
The word: Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “My kingdom does not belong to this world; if it did, my followers would fight to keep me from being taken by the authorities. You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this
Lection Divina is an ancient and powerful way of praying with scripture. It is so simple that it can be used every day. Yet it is also powerful, drawing forth deep riches from The Word of God. Following five steps, preparing, listening, reflecting, responding and acting on The Word, this prayer is like a dialogue
Microcalligraphy, or micrography, is a Jewish form of contemplating scripture developed in the 9th century. It uses minute hand-scribed passages of the scriptures to trace the outlines of an image. Two forms are commonly used. The first uses geometric or decorative patterns to organise the text into a non-representational work. In this form, the pattern
No one puts their feet on the floor each morning with the intention to cause harm to others... write Vic & Liz O’Callaghan. Sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes they go wrong regularly. This can happen anywhere, but it can often happen at home, and it is hard to talk about it. What can we do?
How important grandparents are for family life, for passing on the human and religious heritage which is so essential for each and every society! How important it is to have intergenerational exchanges and dialogue, especially within the context of the family. Children and the elderly build the future of people: children because they lead history
St Therese of Lisieux, also called The Little Flower, was known for her simple yet profound faith. She reportedly carried a string of ten beads in her pocket as a means of counting the good deeds that she would perform as a daily devotion to God. St Therese's devotions and spirituality became so popular, she
