In an increasingly insane world, we urgently need communities that foster generosity, creativity and kindness. Author and Anglican priest Michael Wood* reflects on a new book by American writer Margaret Wheatley exploring how sanity can be lived communally and restored to humanity.
In this world of woe, is there any reason to hope?
Michael Leunig – a rare genius who re-enchanted our world
Leunig was a great artist who believed the world is full of enchantment and spoke of the ‘ecology of the soul’. So said Emeritus Professor David Tacey at Leunig’s memorial service in St Paul’s Cathedral, Melbourne, on 30 January. The following is the longer version of his eulogy which had to be shortened for the occasion.
Trump, the body and the God who dwells within
Camaldolese monk, author and musician Fr Cyprian Consiglio visited Australia in November last year. Recently retired Prior of New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California, he is now based in Rome, having been appointed the International Secretary General of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. He spoke to me in Melbourne in the wake of the US election, and reflects on what this means for Christians; what the East has to teach Western Christianity; and his practice as a devotee of meditation and yoga.
Vale Michael Leunig – cartoonist, artist, mystic and prophet
When Australian national treasure Michael Leunig died last week aged 79, the sense of loss was profound. I had the great privilege of interviewing this man of extraordinary creative gifts, insight and sensitivity, in 1996 and 2000. The following extracts from the interviews explore his yearning for beauty, enchantment, the transcendent and eternal, and his desire to be a voice for the voiceless.
Mary’s invitation to come closer to Jesus this Christmas
An icon is a window onto the divine, and the word ‘iconic’ has become a favourite word to describe our heroes. One of the most famous icons is the 12th century Byzantine icon, The Virgin of Vladimir, as shown above. It depicts Jesus as a child being held in the arms of his mother Mary, and it still speaks poignantly to us today.
The spark of love that can never be extinguished
One of the greatest privileges of my life was recently to spend time in prayer and meditation with a dying and dear friend, Rosslyn Lam. I last prayed and meditated with her in hospital, accompanied by her sister and three adult children, two days before she died last month, following a long battle with cancer.
We are created from love, of love, for love – St Ignatius
Through the spiritual exercises developed by the founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius of Loyola, Roland Ashby has experienced Christ’s loving and healing presence as a physical reality. Roland, who is contributing editor of Living Water (www.thelivingwater.com.au), reflects on how Ignatian spirituality has for him been life-transforming, a spring of living water*.
Desmond Tutu remembered
How an atheist poet nourishes faith
Philip Larkin, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century, was an atheist. Australian poet John Foulcher*, who has a deep Christian faith, reflects on how Larkin’s poetry has been a source of nourishment for him, how it has helped him to face his darkest fears, and how, with all good poetry, it lays bare our common humanity.
Francis of Assisi - a saint for our time
Into the growing darkness of our world, St Francis of Assisi shines a light of peace, hope and beauty. Anglican priest and third order Franciscan Pirrial Clift reflects on why this joyful revolutionary, who is commemorated on 4 October, has drawn her ‘like a magnet’, and speaks so powerfully to our time of war and ecological crisis.
Drinking living water from the well of poetry
Poetry can open our hearts and minds and provide a source of living water for our lives, says author Sarah Bachelard. Dr Bachelard*, who is the founder of the Benedictus Contemplative Church in Canberra, Australia, reflects on how poetry can illuminate our understanding and nourish our lives and faith. This reflection is based on a talk on 8 September at The Well, a monthly online meditation and talk on a mystic or poet*.
Meditation and dementia: A personal perspective
Leaving the house of fear
The power of weakness
The ‘gold-standards’ of power, perfection and privilege, which dominated Greco-Roman society, continue to capture us, writes poet and scholar the Rev’d Dr Mark S. Burrows.* But Christianity, he says, is a radical rejection of this ‘false gospel’, believing that true strength and freedom lie not in naked self-interest, but in the ‘weakness’ of compassion and putting others’ interests before our own.
Transfiguration or annihilation? Humanity at the crossroads
The joy of finding God in times of ‘holy uselessness’
Bird watching is akin to praying. Or, more precisely, bird waiting is an act of contemplative prayer. The Welsh poet and Anglican priest R.S. Thomas, who lived by the sea in North Wales, was a passionate bird watcher. His poem ‘Sea-Watching’ (below) explores the relationship between prayer and bird watching while looking out to sea.