Author Archives: acollins16

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?”

At the moment I am painting. My canvas are the walls of my room. It is at times frustrating but I hope to see the benefit of the effort when it is finished. To be honest I am not loving enamel paint and how hard it is to get off your skin. Also challenging isContinue reading “Every canvas is a story to be appreciated”

The Prophet Amos talks about corruption. He is highly critical of those who ‘trample on the needy’ and those who throw ‘integrity to the ground.’ He talks of a ‘famine not of bread, a drought not of water, but of hearing the word of God’. It is very much a treatise on justice and theContinue reading

What is your truth? I thought this was a challenging but possible question until yesterday. Then I was having a conversation and I mentioned how we can’t say that our view or experience of a person is their true self as others may experience them differently. But whilst I believe that, I do think weContinue reading “The voice of truth”

In the Gospel of Matthew we read (6: 5-6): And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites; they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to yourContinue reading “to pray in secret …”

Feeling like you do not matter is the worst feeling in the world. It is worse than pain (physical or emotional) and leads to a darkness that is so deep it seems endless. We often respond to those questioning with ‘Of course you matter’ as if this is the most obvious reality in existence. ButContinue reading “Why do we matter?”

What is your truth? Do you know? In one of the Gospels it says that the Spirit of Truth will come and lead us to the Truth. It is not in the mind, not in the heart but in the soul. We talk about mindfulness. We talk about the importance of honouring or at leastContinue reading “Truth starts in the soul”

We offer our prayers to the grieving families of the victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas. In the words of Steve Kerr (Golden State Warriors Coach) ‘we should never become numb to this’. This horrific loss of life should touch our hearts and souls as we stand in disbelief at theContinue reading “And a sword will pierce your soul too …”