Author Archives: John McKenna

LISTEN, KINGS, AND understand; rulers of remotest lands, take warning; hear this, you who have thousands under your rule, who boast of your hordes of subjects. For power is a gift to you from the Lord, sovereignty is from the … Continue reading →

The spiritual life has humility for its point of departure. A spiritual man is a saint who confesses himself a sinner. Humility in the presence of God is not an act but more of a permanent attitude of awareness of … Continue reading →

Experience shows that hearts respond more generously when they are shown trust; we do not conquer people for divine love with fear, imprisoning them in their misfortune….  The image of the fig tree planted in the vineyard suggests, perhaps, that … Continue reading →

 Mass and Mission Father Richard Veras In Sacramentum Caritatis, Pope Benedict XVI explains the integral relationship between Mass and mission through the phrase Ite missa est. This dismissal which concludes Mass has a deeper implication which has to do with the mission … Continue reading →

The Solemnity of All Saints confirms that we, too, can have a place with God, not because we are good, but because the sanctity of God has touched our life. We can compare the saints to the Church windows which … Continue reading →

Great Conversion Stories. John Janaro  The immense labours of Matteo Ricci and other Jesuits to evangelise and “inculturate” Christianity in 17th century China initiated a small but enduring presence of the Catholic Church.  Among the first dynamic Chinese converts, we … Continue reading →

A conversion is never planned or conceived as a personal project. It is not a prepared item on a life’s journey. It may have a time of gestation, but that is difficult to measure. Most souls have no realisation until … Continue reading →