November Messenger: Living presence
Two theologians answer two interesting questions in this month’s November Messenger. Jim Corkery SJ responds to the question of why we pray for the dead, and Kevin Hargaden explains why we sing in Church.
Patrick Carberry SJ reminds us of the Pope’s intention for the month that “All parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community, and may receive peace of heart from the Spirit of Consolation.” Fr Carberry notes that these parents do not need ready-made remedies for their suffering or textbook answers to their questions, but they do need our presence through their suffering and grief.
Father Gerard Condon is parish priest of Killavullen County Cork and a regular contributor to the Messenger. He asks an important question in his article ‘What will become of us after we die?’ He sheds light on the topic of death through the lens of Christianity. He says “Fortunately Christianity offers optimistic answers to the dreadful questions raised by our mortality.”
Advocate and activist Father Peter McVerry SJ works with the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice. In his piece ‘Poly addiction’, he explains that the term ‘poly addiction’ refers to people struggling with three or more substance addictions at the same time. According to the Rutland Centre in its annual report for 2023, there has been a 62% rise in those seeking treatment with multiple addictions, says Father McVerry.
Father Bill Toner SJ reflects on a dream he had, in his article ‘Recognitions’. He says when he related the dream to a colleague who knows more about the psychology of dreams than he does, she wondered if the dream might relate to what Carl Jung would call his ‘persona’ the social face that an individual presents to the world.
Father John Cullen is a priest of Elphin Diocese and works with the homeless in London. He has written an article entitled ‘Living presence’. In it, he reflects on the life of a woman named Madeleine Delbrel, who had a spiritual awakening in her early twenties and moved from communism to Christianity. She then set up a house of hospitality in the poorest suburb of Paris. When she spoke about her work and new relationship with God she said, “In the practice of living presence we are no longer observers, we enter into a relationship that is always growing and deepening.”
The Messenger has all its regular features as well, – reflections, scripture, cookery, crosswords, children’s pages, nature focus, and RE:LINK.
