St Mary's

Article by Tim Carter

When the Community of St Mary’s marched into exile, I as a long-time member, felt it was a community alive with zeal for the future.  I believe that most of the people who marched were not blindly following Peter and Terry.  It seemed they knew that the faith journey they had travelled so far would not allow them to stay in their Parish Church and accept the style of church that the Archbishop had ordered them to return to. To understand SMX I believe it is important to understand the nature of the Community of people who became St Mary’s Community. 

The experience of Robert, one of the many homeless, sadly is not in isolation to the 114 people that we have housed since we undertook Registry week in June 2010 of 50 Lives 50 Homes.

Over the years we have been learning and developing better processes for linking people not simply with housing but also with the supportive services that they require. Services which enable each person to develop a different lifestyle so they can pay their rent, be a neighbour, sustain good health, make community connections and reconnect with family.

http://www.catholicreligiousaustralia.org/

Significant concerns with coal seam gas mining are the potential impacts that this industry will have on water security, food production, the environment and our health.

What awareness do you have of coal seam gas mining and the related issues?

Article by Tim Carter

Peter recently introduced us to a book, Perfect Brilliant Stillness, by David Carse, which Peter described as the book to end all books.

Terence Stamp, who reads the audiobook of Perfect Brilliant Stillness, says that almost every popular spiritual writer in America and Europe is teaching that ultimate spiritual enlightenment can be yours and that reading their books, or attending their seminars, will help you towards that end. Stamp says Carse’s book will tell you that these ideas are absurd, because it is quite obvious that neither you nor anything else had ever existed.

By Gregory C. Jenks

This year we mark the 400th anniversary of the publication of the so-called ‘King James Bible’ (KJB) under the authority of King James I of England in 1611. That particular version of the Bible has had a profound impact on the history of religion in the English-speaking world, as well as playing a powerful role in the shaping of modern English. As a result of its influence on modern English and the subsequent development of English as the lingua franca of the modern world, the KJB has enjoyed an influence that its translators could never have imagined. Not  only is the Christian religion in a very different place because of the influence of this book, but even the present form of our global society owes a great debt to the KJB.

The forum for discussion is now the facebook page St-Marys-in-Exile-South-Brisbane.  This site is primarily for the purpose of accessing homilies and articles. Thank you.

Main Celebrant: Fr. Greg Reynolds.

When ?   10.30am Sunday 11th March.

Where ?  Ashburton Scout Hall, 337 High St., Ashburton.

Why ?     To welcome all Catholics, especially the disenfranchised, the disillusioned, and the excluded.

For further details contact Greg Reynolds 0400 534 557. Thank you to all those who have been forwarding on our information to your contacts.

23 February 2012: http://johnshelbyspong.com

I never thought I would live long enough to see birth control become a major political issue.  Nor did I think I would ever hear the desire to provide women with safe and effective contraception be referred to as “a war on religion on the part of the Obama administration.”  Granted that presidential election years frequently reveal the politically bizarre, it still seems that this year’s rhetoric has reached a new low on the scale of the absurd.  It also reveals some frightening realities in the body politic of this nation that I find all but inconceivable.  In this column let me try to cut through the polarizing propaganda and locate, if possible, the facts.

This gospel with its emphasis on the Forgiveness of Sins reminds me of the guy who goes into the confessional after years of being away from the Church. He pulls aside the curtain, enters and sits himself down. There’s a fully equipped bar with crystal glasses, the best vestry wine, Guinness on tap, cigars and liqueur chocolates nearby.
He hears a priest come in:

“Father, forgive me for it’s been a very long time since I’ve been to confession and I must admit that the confessional box is much more inviting than it used to be”.

‘Due to Christine’s good standing at Churchie, we were indeed fortunate to be able to arrange a eucharist at the Churchie Chapel and have our two priests participate with two Anglican priests who we knew. Whilst this was a fitting farewell for a wonderful woman, it was an embarrassing occasion for all Catholics present.’

This is an excerpt from a matter that the Catholic Church recently dealt with.

For the full response please read

Bathersby

Finnigan

Finnigan Harkin