2014 articles                2013 articles                         2012 articles

                        Chris McDonnell     2015 articles 

 

Dec 30: A snug fit
 Sometimes we make a contact with others that is smooth and comfortable, at other times, spiky and edgy. But that is the nature of human relationships. Our understanding of each other, our tolerance and appreciation shows enormous variance. In spite of everything we are part of a pilgrim church and we must do our best together.  

Dec 23: "It’s time we were moving, it’s time we were gone”
During these days of Christmas, there will be families living in rough dwellings, tents and make-do shacks, as we share our family Christmas in the warmth of our comfortable homes

Dec 16: Advent leads to Nativity
Advent hurries on apace and leads us to Nativity, the birth of the Jesus Child and the fulfilment of prophecy. It was a time of peace. This year is very different, with the pain and strife of terrorism and war giving rise to an unending ache across  our planet. 

Dec 9: If ever there was need to be merciful
One powerful symbol of the start of the Holy Year of Jubilee, is the opening of a door, the way in, where crossing the threshold from the street, access is made to share in the hospitality of the house. To shut a door in someone’s face is an unfriendly, hostile action that makes very clear our intention of not wishing to talk or listen.

Dec 2: You will bear a son
Pope Francis told churchgoers that Christmas this year was going to be a “charade” because “the whole world is at war.”

Nov 25: What happens next?
When violence becomes the language that replaces talking, then we have failed

Nov 19: Paris massacre - a reflection:  Imagine

Nov 18: Change ain’t easy
By the time John Paul and Benedict occupied the See of Rome, the energy of the Council was in decline. During those decades, there was a concerted attempt to apply the brakes, to look back and seek the holy comfort zone of history as a place for refuge

Nov 11: Let’s have a conversation
The Ministry of Fear, to borrow the title of Seamus Heaney’s poem, has no place within the Christian community. If there are some who cannot speak for fear of consequence, then those for whom consequence is of no matter must speak for them and, willingly, be identified

Nov 4: Out in the open?
During these last few days I have re-read Fr. Don Cozzens book, Notes from the Underground, published in 2013. In many ways it succinctly touches on points highlighted by the Synod deliberations.

Oct 28: A bumpy ride
To those countless people whose hope in the outcomes of the Synod directly affects their Christian experience of faith in Jesus of Galilee, we pray that doors will not be closed and discussion ended

Oct 21: Set in stone
Our appreciation of the gift of Francis must be shown by our patience with his struggle. The Bishop of Rome requires our help, loyalty and prayer. 

Oct 14: A continuing story

As we reach the half way point of the Synod on the Family, I am half way through a fascinating book, A still and quiet conscience, a biography of the now-retired archbishop of Seattle, Raymond Hunthausen. 

October 7: Who shall be heard? The Synod, 2015
But what struck me most of all was the preponderance of images of men earnestly talking or listening. There was hardly a woman in sight. Something made me feel uncomfortable.
Great assemblies benefit from the contributions of both men and women. It would be unthinkable that the UK parliament or the US Senate could now be exclusively male.  It is time that the Christian Church led by Francis, Bishop of Rome, came to a similar conclusion

September 30: Americans remembered
An article on the life of Thomas Merton was excluded from the recent edition of the American Catechism. You can only speculate what they must now feel with the inclusion of Merton by Francis in his Congress speech. Merton himself would no doubt find his name being written in to the record of Congress the occasion for a wry smile

September 23: Give me to drink
Just as the Church, since Francis' arrival in the See of Peter, has experienced a new way of being Church, so will the people of the
US be changed by his being amongst them

September 16: Give me to eat
Still they come, knocking at the door of Europe, men, women, children, dishevelled and tired.

September 9: A never ending road
Many thousands of words have been written in recent days, discussing the plight of refugees from the Middle East , seeking safety in Europe . Yet the impact of some of the photographic images has been so much greater, none more so than that of three year old Aylan Kurdi face down on a Turkish beach, having drowned at sea.

This article also published in The Tablet
Will a picture wake us from our slumber over refugee crisis?

 

September 2: On the move
Where do we go from here, how can the Christian people offer sustenance to those whose lives have been disrupted and now seek shelter and safety with us?

August 26: Roger of Taize: May 1915 – August 2005
His reception of the Eucharistic Christ is well documented. It was a natural continuation of his personal search for a Christian unity where the intention and understanding over-rides rules, seeking a deeper faith that is life-giving.
The forthcoming Synod would do well to be reminded of his example.  c.f. NCR article:  Taizé today: A ‘new solidarity’

August 19: Let's go fly a kite or two
The Net has opened up discussion within the Church in a totally new way, for all have access and all can contribute. No longer are the issues of faith the preserve of a clerical caste, using esoteric language. Others, speaking from a different experience, have access to the exchange. And that is good. Ownership of a principle, after public examination, is a surer way to faith commitment than the imposition of an idea, with no questions asked.

August 12: Spirit-seeking lanterns
One man who was there when the first bomb exploded over Hiroshima , was Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ, later to become superior of the Jesuit order. His account of those hours is both moving and utterly painful. 

August 5: Some seventy years later…
The days that led up to that fateful morning of August 6th when the US dropped the first atomic weapon on Hiroshima gave rise to a long poem, Original Child Bomb, written in 41 verses in 1962, by Thomas Merton. He recounts in a methodical, almost pedantic, way the decisions that led up to the final go-ahead for its use. Full text of Original Child Bomb  

July 29: A much needed place
That Donald Nicholls steered the Tantur Institute through such a hazardous path is to his abiding credit. And today the Institute continues to flourish, its need never greater, its presence all-important in a troubled world

July 22: A man remembered. Dom Helder Camara
If ever a man walked the path that Pope Francis is advocating for his fellow bishops, it was Camara. He was an inspiration not only to his people in
Brazil but to the church beyond the bounds of South America

July 15: Ordination and Marriage; Exclusive options?
I cannot help feeling that we are nearing a tipping point. It is now that the laity need support the ordained and make clear that the matter is of some urgency and requires examination by a commission on behalf the Church in
England and Wales  

(Published in The Tablet):
July 9: Why necessity must be the father of invention
Against the backdrop of an ageing clergy and falling vocations, three retired English bishops are calling for the prohibition on the ordination of married men to be reconsidered

July 8: Amazing Grace in Mother Emanuel Church
Those Christian people have much to teach us about the ever-present grace of God brought to us by faith, after lives of difficulty and struggle
(+ link to story: Confederate Flag to be removed from State House grounds)

July 1: The significance of flags
The flying of a flag is a matter of significant consequence, it can have a price to pay

June 24: Desolate 
Everyone has times in their lives when things aren’t going well, either at work, socially, within a marriage or within oneself, times when long-held certainties are questioned and consolations in response are few. To cover them all with the blanket term ‘desolation’ would be an exaggeration, but just once in a while that is an appropriate term

June 17: Listening
The word ‘listen’ is an anagram of the word ‘silent’ and there are indeed connections. We hear a lot of noise in the course of a day, often a cacophony of sound is the backdrop to our waking hours, but hearing is not listening.

June 10: Eucharist
Those of us who experienced house masses in the aftermath of the Council remember the familiarity they engendered which didn’t stop with the Dismissal but continued over coffee and biscuits and friendly conversation. The extension of meal was both natural and welcome.

June 3: When the people speak
The Referendum vote in Ireland is a watershed in so many ways. The result, 62-38 in favour of gay marriage, has changed not only the Irish politico-religious context but will also have ramifications far beyond that small island nation bordering the eastern Atlantic Ocean

May 27: The symbol of Spirit
The consequences of the coming of the Holy Spirit to those gathered in
Jerusalem was to turn cautious, frightened companions into people of courage and conviction. Their experience of the Spirit should be ours too, the fruit of our sacramental life, of our confirmation in the Spirit.

May 20: We all have bookshelves ...
How sad it is that so often books (and other historical artefacts) are the target of those who seek violent overthrow of a state or a community. Treasures are lost that cannot be replaced, something is taken from the community that is part of its very life, where it came from and how it might go forward. The burning of books has so often been the mark of a totalitarian regime

May 13: Be merciful like the Father
To lose the stability of a relationship, often entered into at an immature age, and later to find solace with another, is a painful experience. That loneliness is only enhanced when sacramental exclusion is subsequently imposed on individuals
 

May 6: The simplicity of hands
Those who cannot physically undertake the Nepal recovery task, join their hands in silent prayer for those who can. Be they Hindu or Muslim, Christian or Buddhist, their prayerful action is shared in the face of great tragedy. Let us join with them.

April 29: A crowded, lonely journey
The contrast between the fisherman alone on the lake under an early morning sun and the over-crowded vessels filled with anxious, frightened humanity, couldn’t be greater.

April 22: A dry land without water
The need for rapid readjustment to changing circumstances is now a matter of real concern for only when we lose something we have so long taken for granted do we realize its value and our need

April 15: Feed my lambs, feed my sheep
The black and white sharp edged issue can, so easily with the passing years, be shown to have a blurred boundary that was not at one time evident

April 8: April come she will
We have to learn to accommodate different points of view, to be tolerant when it would be easier to be otherwise. April to September is a short time in song lyrics but a much longer time considered as a life experience

April 1: Rabboni
We have reached the middle of Holy Week. The efforts and failures of Lent are behind us. The entry into
Jerusalem has taken place and the buzz of Passover is present in the city

March 25: The Beach
Across the
Middle East is a continuing story of Christian people whose homes, churches and their very selves are under threat for no other reason than they are Christian

March 18: It won’t go away, you know
Prayer should be a welcome into an open space for listening, not a struggle to complete an obstacle course through a dense language jungle
   

March 11: After the Curtain came down
The Church in
Europe is facing a huge challenge. With falling congregations and a drastic fall in vocations to the priesthood, a continent framed in the spirit of Christian faith over many hundreds of years is rapidly changing. How does the Church proclaim the message of Christ in what is at best an indifferent culture and at worst one that is openly hostile to the faith that we profess?

March 4: Iconoclasts
The murderous treatment that we have seen in recent weeks in an attempt to subjugate people and enforce control through fear has filled our screens and newspapers, evil acts that belie the Moslem faith.  To destroy the historical and sacred links with their past only adds to their indignity

Feb 27 (in The Tablet): Our evangelisation plans rest on outdated assumptions

Feb 22: Ever Tried
That is the challenge that Francis presented to the Curia just before Christmas, look at yourselves, ask the awkward questions, if there is a problem, don’t rush to blame others

Feb 18: Lord, I am not worthy but speak the word only
With Ash Wednesday and the start of the Season we call Lent there is a call to spiritual awareness, an opportunity to strip down to the bare essentials and see what really matters. Who we are, where we are and where we might be heading

Feb 11: The smoothness of stones
It was on this date, two years ago, that Benedict XVI showed enormous courage in his resignation of the papacy, a decision that was to give Francis to the Church. It is also the date when we celebrate the feast of
Lourdes , the appearance of Mary to a small uneducated child whose faith we recognise in naming her saint

Feb 4: Getting by
What a practical way for the Church to show the caring love of Christ, by offering a shower and a haircut to those who can afford neither

Jan 28: Worn out days
Our attempts in the management of formation, both in their success and in their failure, have brought us to a point where we can no longer just accept things as they are. We must search for new ways of fostering vocation

Jan 21: A gathering of peoples
The papal plea for reconciliation in Sri Lanka, a place where there has been violent inter-community conflict over many years, as well as his request for social justice in the Philippines,  show us a fellow human being willing to speak his mind in a courageous manner

Jan 12: Je suis Charlie
In a democracy we have to tolerate the views of those with whom we disagree, arguing our position but doing so within the legal framework of the state

Jan 7: Epiphany, a time of realization
From the time of that first Epiphany to our present era so much has changed. Our individual responsibility is enormous as we continue our journey.  Let us care for each other on the way