Author Archives: acollins16

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?”

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