April Messenger: Discovering God’s signature
How do we recognize and include women in the Catholic church?, asks Pope Francis. What’s the difference between hoping and hope? What God is NOT. These are some of the themes explored in this month’s Messenger. Ireland’s biggest-selling religious magazine, with a monthly circulation of over 30,000. Click here to subscribe or for more information »
This month’s edition also marks ‘the end of Easter’ in which Donal Neary SJ reflects on Jesus’ actions after the resurrection and how his way of being after death can inspire us in our daily lives. Margaret Naughton, a healthcare chaplain, shares her insights on living the message of the resurrection. “We all have felt the desolation and hellishness that is part of being human,” she says; “I try to remember in these moments of witness that Christ too suffered, that he carried his pain and his turmoil”. David Breen continues his series on people of the Gospel, this month focusing on the story of Peter the Apostle, whom he describes as “the professional fisherman and the fledging disciple”.
Deirdre Powell, a retired post-primary teacher, reminds us that “It is not the extravagant displays of affection that truly matter in life but rather the little things that people often take for granted”. Sr Stanislaus Kennedy RSC, founder of Focus Ireland, shares ‘Random Wisdom’ on the theme of silence, spring and gratitude. In giving thanks she says “we become less concerned with what is missing and more focused on what we have”.
“The garden is the place of encounter with God,” according to Jesuit gardeners Goncalo Machado SJ and Jean Pierre Sonnet SJ who both live in Rome and have created a hanging garden in the rooftops there.
Gisele Mpia, a thirty-five year old refugee and survivor of gender-based violence, writes about why she was forced to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo to “save her life”.
Finally Father Brian Grogan SJ, author and spiritual director, “makes the message simpler” for a lady and her grandchildren. “There’s so much to believe and my head is like a tumble dryer with my grandchildren and their questions about God,” she says. Brian suggests that “at the heart of our world is love; this love which believers call ‘God’ pours itself out in a cascade of creative activity that is woven into everything. This ‘Lover’ loves her and her grandchildren to bits”.
The Messenger has all its regular features as well, – reflections, scripture, cookery, crosswords, children’s pages, nature focus, and RE:LINK.
