The Swag

The story of the caterpillar – a Paschal mystery 

Richard Francis explores the Second Sunday of Lent, with Mark’s account of the Transfiguration.

When we were kids the most prized caterpillar to find was the one that became the Emperor Moth. Pale iridescent blue green with lots of little brown feet and black spikes on its back that were obviously meant to deter predators. I haven’t seen one of those caterpillars for ages; could it be that it’s gone the way of many other species, or is it that I don’t see with the eyes of a child anymore? Little did that caterpillar know as it chomped voraciously through its favourite leaves that hidden away in its DNA was a magnificent moth, called ‘Emperor’, I suspect, because of its size.

Allegations – welcome to my world 

Paul Gooley, Parish priest, Port Macquarie NSW, explores the double standards when allegations occur in the political world and in the world of a priest. 

Not dividing the seamless garment: why we Catholics don’t fit in

Gregory Moses, retired priest Diocese of Cairns, asks how we might work together with respect and dialogue so that the seamless garment of Christ might remain intact.

Mention of ‘the seamless garment’ is a reference to the Crucifixion scene in the Gospels, the seamless garment of Jesus which the soldiers didn’t want to divide and for which they cast lots. In this context I am talking of the seamless garment of Christian ethics as understood within the Catholic tradition and possibly elsewhere in the Christian tradition as well.