Writing
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A poem from our September scholar Lincoln Jaques.
The Disappeared is a personal poem, written during my last trip to Zagreb, in October 2018. I wrote the poem after wandering one afternoon through the old part of the city. The Zagreb cathedral sits in Gornji Grad, the Upper Town, and the poem came to me after dwelling on the deeply catholic roots of Croatia, and the effects of the Patriotic War that raged in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. There is still a sense of loss that pervades in all corners of the region; the poem was my response to that loss, to all the family members who went missing during that time, and for those who wait for perhaps someday for answers, for closure. The poem is part of a wider sequence, part of which I’m working on now. It was first published in the Australian literary magazine The Blue Nib, issue #42 more» -
“Gratitude is the memory of the heart”, wrote the French bishop, Jean Baptiste Massieu. My heart’s memories of Vaughan Park include... more» -
Prior to the 25th March 2020, the largest retreat I’d ever been on was possibly about 60 people. Imagine my surprise when it was 5 million New Zealanders, 25 million Australians and untold millions in the northern hemisphere… more» -
I never see kingfishers when I’m looking for them, they just appear magically and disappear as quickly, an unexpected grace that never fails to make my day... more» -
Even the bowerbird
builds a home out of scraps
canvassing walls with purple
blossom and blue beads... more» -
no one leaves home
unless home is the mouth of a shark.
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city
running as well. more» -
the winsome charm of Wisdom, Love and Grace
sustain me for my living in this space
and make me yearn to join them face to face more» -
We weep when holy text is used to deny others' breath.
open our eyes, our ears, our hearts
to the truth that for you,
love without justice, is not love at all. more» -
What the festival costs
is more than the price of helium
in a few small red balloons,
and a birthday cake for the church
during coffee hour... more» -
The blessing could not have happened any other way than by his departure, by his letting go of the ones whom he loved and whom he would never stop loving but had to release into their own lives so that they could enter into the blessing and live it out on earth. more» -
“We’re all like you now;” observed my self-isolating mother, “enclosed.”
She isn’t the first person to make the connection between my life as an enclosed Carmelite nun and the present lockdown. more» -
This is a service for those who want to share Communion in an online community during a time of quarantine // lockdown // sheltering place. It is a simple service which begins with an announcement on more» -
We are sheltered from the profound sense of absence of the early disciples because we know the outcome of the Gospel passion story — that Jesus rose. more» -
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Between Palm Sunday Hosannas and Easter Alleluias, Holy Saturday is a day of many overwhelmings... more» -
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If Christ should suddenly stand before me with a towel thrown over his shoulder and a pan of water in his hands, would I have the humility to take off my shoes and really let him wash my feet? Or, like Peter would I say: ”Wash my feet, Lord? Never!” more» -
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Washing hands. Well, in our gospel passage today (a long one I know) we come across someone washing their hands. Pilate. Trying to ‘wash his hands’ of his actions. more» -
In the great silence
the flowers seeded and grew,
the rain fell, the land took a breath,
exhaled.
The sun turned on its wheel
heedless to the forecast doom. more» -
Jesus is no sterile savior. He is not interested in remaining tidy and removed. With a beautiful and earthy economy of gestures, Jesus reveals himself as one who is willing to fully inhabit the messiness of our world and of our lives. more» -
Be thankful now for having arrived,
for the sense of
having drunk
from a well,
for remembering the long drought that preceded your arrival... more» -
Nor can this blackened sky, this darkened scar
Eclipse that glimpse of how things really are. more» -
Here at the outset of Lent, what can you see of the landscape that lies ahead of you? Might there be another place you need to go, physically or in your soul, before you are ready to enter the landscape that calls you? more» -
And while we seek a healer
or rider on the horizon,
God plants himself as
a diamond laid down in the rough. more»
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A partnership resource of the Diocese of Auckland and Te Pihopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau | Powered by controlroom.co
A partnership resource of the Diocese of Auckland and Te Pihopatanga o Te Tai Tokerau | Powered by controlroom.co