Prayer Articles
by Andy Hamilton SJ
Fr Andy Hamilton SJ is editorial consultant at Jesuit Communications

Toward a return of spring
Many paintings of Easter depict springtime: green grass, flowering shrubs, colourful birds and lush growth. That is understandable, because most painters were European and Easter...

Pray for Christian communities
Pope Francis’ Intention for March: That Christian communities, especially those persecuted, feel close to Christ and that their human rights are respected. We sometimes think...

Feast of the Epiphany
The Feast of the Epiphany reminds us that in their Gospels Matthew and Mark gather together stories about the childhood of Jesus, each pointing to...

Day of peace
The fact that most people do very little on New Year’s Day, may just make it ideal to be a ‘Day of Peace’. Australians seem...

Faiths that embrace the whole of life
In our society religion is usually seen as a private thing. We pray in churches and our rooms, don’t mention our faith in social conversation...

St Mary MacKillop went where the need was greatest
One of the features of St Mary Mackillop’s life was the way in which she instinctively moved beyond narrow boundaries to look to bigger horizons...

Against the flow
Some years ago a young friend asked me how I was. Deciding to vary the ritual answers–good, or OK–I said that I was going with...

April 1: Easter Sunday – Recognising God’s Presence
The events of Easter and Christmas are shrouded in mystery. It takes faith to see God as present in Jesus. The stories of Easter are...

Celebrating Cultural Diversity
21 March is World Day for Cultural diversity In nature diversity is a good thing. Lack of diversity makes for inbreeding and impoverishment of the...

Flexibility of mind and heart
A central part of the Ignatian tradition we inherit is its emphasis on flexibility. In plants flexibility means being able to stretch, to fit into...

The gift of God’s self
Lent is a reminder that Jesus is the dearest gift that God can give us. Lent’s most vivid memories are often of the things we...

Christmas
In the ancient world, people always told stories about the childhood of famous people. The stories illustrated the direction and qualities of their adult lives...