Archbishop Raymond G Hunthausen, retired Archbishop of Seattle, died at the age of 96 on 22 July. At his funeral on 1 August, Fr Michael Ryan, Dean at St James Cathedral, Seattle delivered the homily. Fr Ryan had been Dean with Archbishop Hunthausen. This is an extract. The full homily can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/ydervwvn
Brian Gleeson CP offers a reflection on Pentecost.
For this Pentecost Sunday let me start with a true story about how strongly the Holy Spirit works for good outcomes in human situations. The story comes from Northern Ireland (with thanks to Paul O’Reilly SJ for its core).
Monique (name and address supplied) explores the spirituality through the lens of our humanity and how we learn from prayer and reflection.
We Catholics need to find and follow the real human Jesus or we will never become fully human ourselves, never surrender, never become one for others, never get near our full human potential of freely laying down our lives for others…(yes, I know that’s the work of a lifetime!).
Peter and Penny Cahalan from Teams (Equipes Notre Dame) South Australia discuss the lessons learnt from an outreach program in New Zealand. They ask whether lay movements are suffering decline because of ‘professionalisation’ of ministry.
Eric Hodgens, Melbourne priest, considers the perfect storm that is upon us in the Australian church and if a Plenary Council can save us.
The 19th century was a stormy period for the Catholic Church as the papacy battled to regain its European dominance undermined by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. How appropriate that the First Vatican Council final vote declaring Papal Infallibility was accompanied by thunder and lightning – a massive storm. Papal power won out in the long run as Paul Collins has shown in Absolute Power. But – at a price.
