In times of uncertainty, people look to a solid and stable anchor to underpin their underlying values and principles. This search for something that is incontrovertible and unshakeable is a concept at the centre of the debate between absolutism and relativism. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the unique relationship of the Father and…
Persons
Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
Of Sheep and Wolves
Would you rather be a wise shepherd leading a flock of docile sheep, or be the wily leader of a band of hungry wolves? Not infrequently, this module on leadership in business school or executive training, walks participants through the pros and cons of two team-leader role-models. As the discussion and classroom scenarios play themselves…
Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
The Road To Emmaus (And Back)
There is something deeply attractive about the narrative of the two disciples who encountered the Risen Christ and walked with him from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). Countless artists have painted the Road to Emmaus, often bathe in a shade of gold as the day draws to a close, when dusk beckons, the silhouettes lengthen,…
Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
Remembering Pope John Paul II
Divine Mercy Sunday 1 May 2011 – Remembering Pope John Paul II There is a photograph by the late Gianni Giansanti (1956-2009) in John Paul II – Portrait of A Pontiff ( White Star Publishers, 1996) of the Holy Father at a working breakfast with Cardinal Stephen Kim of Korea (1). Giansanti wrote, ‘Breakfast comes after…
Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
A Season of Hope and Preparedness
For the early Christians, the Image of the Risen Christ must have been a great bulwark and source of comfort as they lived in constant threat of persecution for their faith, their right to gather to worship, and to proselytise. The symbols needed by the early Christians were ones of hope and salvation. The challenges…
Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
New Wine Into Fresh Skins!
And nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine into fresh skins! (Mk 2: 21-22) Ord. Wk 2nd. Monday, 8 January 2016 This eloquent parable by Jesus in Mark’s Gospel conveys the graphic image of fresh starts and new beginnings, only…
Books, Complex & Simple, Persons, Places, Posts
God Meets You Where You Are
God Meets You Where You Are Even though God is always calling us to constant conversion and growth, and even though we are imperfect and sometimes sinful people, God loves us as we are now. As Fr Anthony de Mello, SJ said, “You don’t have to change for God to love you.”…you are loved even…
Books, Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
Come Be My Light – Reading Mother Teresa’s Autobiography
The mission and life work of the Catholic saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta can be summed up in a few succinct comments after reading her posthumous (‘unauthorized’) autobiography. It is not a book that one can simply put down once you have started. She started her mission for the poor, the dying and the infirmed, in…
Complex & Simple, Nature, Persons, Places, Posts
Tsukiji, Tsujii, and Resilience
This is the fish market at Tsukiji, Tokyo, the busiest fish market in the world. The highly specialised world of the fish traders and their chefs are also featured as a revealing side-story in the documentary on Jiro Ono (Jiro Dreams of Sushi, 2011, David Gelb, Magnolia). Here, there is the unmistakeable scent of the pride…
Books, Complex & Simple, Persons, Posts
Bleak House, Saint Jack and Telescopic Philanthropy
The Singapore Writer’s Festival in November 2014 was an interesting experience because one of my favourite travel writers, Paul Theroux was featured in a few of the programs. Here, at the National Museum, the panel forum was (nominally) on Humanitarian Missions and the Third World, and I was reintroduced to the work of Charles Dickens by Mr…