Author Archives: acollins16

Just saw a presentation from the Pat Cronin Foundation. A powerful story. An emotive story. How important it is to reinforce to young men that violence is never entertainment, it is never ok. That we all can feel angry but what matters most is what we do. And not just how we respond to ourContinue reading “Men fear women will laugh at them, women fear men will kill them.”

Ah Lent we meet again. And yes, I am invoking the Sunday loophole. (If you hadn’t noticed there are 46 days in Lent – so my brain translates that to – Sundays don’t count as they are days of celebration). I think Lent is ultimately a personal choice. How do you get ready to celebrateContinue reading “Lent”

In a week when Oceania has seen a huge change, I was fortunate to see an art show that strangely took me back mentally to the massacre in the mosque in Christchurch. The note ‘They are us’ written by Jacinda Ardern captured the essence of our multicultural societies and the shift to a more inclusiveContinue reading “I’m only human”

A new year. We develop our own rites of passage to mark the shift from one year to the next. What will our approach be to the next 365 days and nights? If the last few years have taught us anything it is that there are so many things beyond our control. We can onlyContinue reading “Hello 2023!”

Christmas, the religious festival that transcends most cultures. Perhaps it is a nod to the power of the Church in the Middle Ages, but somehow Christmas speaks to those of the faith and not alike. Of course, the meaning of Christmas is very different to religious people such as myself; Jesus is (after all) theContinue reading “The light of Christmas”

As the sun begins to wane in the sky at the end of the first week of Advent, we are called to light the second candle. The faith candle reminds us of the faith of Mary and Joseph as they made the journey to Bethlehem. What a journey that must have been! Perhaps we allContinue reading “Faith”

Today we light the first candle of Advent, the prophet’s candle, which reminds us we have hope because Jesus is coming. Today more than ever we need hope. Hope is something you cannot fake, cannot buy, cannot command and it comes from our deepest desire to be all we were called to be. Without hopeContinue reading “Hope”

Several years ago I discovered the TED talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about the danger of a single story. It was a fabulous presentation that I used many times with students to encourage them to think about thinks from a wider perspective and to avoid stereotyping. Just recently I came across it again and itContinue reading “The danger of a single story”

At Mass yesterday the responsorial psalm had the antiphon – our help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth. We face so many difficulties in life and at no point does a celestial being sweep in and fix everything. Even so, the refrain stuck with me as true. Our help is from God,Continue reading “Healing”

Let us love one another, for love is from God. Love has to be one of the most ill-defined and yet most universal terms known to humanity. From a faith perspective we are called to love everyone. As individuals we seek to be loved because feeling loved is the easiest way to find self-validation fromContinue reading “What’s love go to do with it?”