You may have read something in your local or national newspaper about “Pope Francis performs an exorcism”. Even the more sober types over at “First Things” have got in on the act. “On Pentecost Sunday all hell broke loose in Rome. Following Mass that day, the unpredictable Pope Francis laid hands on a demon-possessed man [...]
About Martha of Ireland
Sex and Power: An Irish Perspective on the Abuse Scandal in the Catholic Church
4 Mar by
Exactly a week ago, Chaplain Mike asked me if I had any insights I would like to share on the Catholic sex abuse scandals. I said I’d try and have something in by the end of the week, and I made some preliminary notes. Then I left them sitting there on top of my desk [...]
Quo Vadis?
14 Feb by
Because of the announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he is resigning from the office of Bishop of Rome and successor of St. Peter, Jeff has asked me for my view of his theology, how that has affected the Church, and how the next pope’s theology might affect the Church. There are very short answers [...]
Martha on Lent
12 Feb by
Lent is coming! When I was young, I was confident in what Lent was and what it meant. Now I’m older, it gets more mysterious and complex. This week marks the start of the forty-day (plus Sundays) period which is one of the two seasons in the liturgical year where the purple of penitence is [...]
The Common Teaching of Holy Church
30 Nov by
Today is the last of our series on Julian of Norwich. Damaris and Martha have walked us through Amy Frykholm’s book about Dame Julian, as well as exploring themes that Julian introduced six hundred years ago. I hope you’ve enjoyed these discussions this week. JD And yet in all this time, from the beginning to [...]
Julian Of Norwich: Grounded and Rooted in Love
27 Nov by
Also in this He shewed me a little thing, the quantity of an hazel-nut, in the palm of my hand; and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereupon with eye of my understanding, and thought: What may this be? And it was answered generally thus: It is all that is made. I [...]
Julian’s Divine Revelations
27 Nov by
As mentioned, we know very little about Dame Julian. We don’t know if she was, as the saying goes, “maid, wife or widow”. We don’t even know what date she entered her anchorhold, or what were the circumstances that led her to make this choice. Frykholm has an imaginative reconstruction of Julian’s life, a proposal [...]
iMonk Book Club: Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography
25 Nov by
Editor’s note: Today we jump in to the next book in the InternetMonk book club. The discussion this week will be led by Damaris Zehner and Martha of Ireland. I’ve really been looking forward to what they have to say about a woman we know very little of other than her quote, “All shall be [...]
Reclaiming the Reclamation
31 Oct by
Once again, we are fast approaching that time of the year that both earnest Christians and earnest neo-Pagans agree is a pagan festival. I mean, of course, Easter. Oops – too early (or late, depending how you count). No, it’s Christmas, obviously. At least, you might well think so from the deluge of pre-Christmas advertising [...]
A Window upon Heaven
28 Sep by
I have been asked what is the difference between the veneration of images and idol worship, and I am going to try and give some kind of explanation. First, though, I am going to yield the field on this: often, there is no practical difference. Yes, I admit: some (okay, let’s make that “a lot”) [...]
