December 2015 Advent and Christmas Advent, from Latin ‘adventus’ meaning ‘coming’, is the Church’s four-week liturgical period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of Christmas – the feast of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Around the world it is a time of family, prayer, remembering and giving. Leaders from various Church-related […]
December 2015 News The UN-accredited 2015 New Zealand Youth Delegation is a voice for the youth-climate movement at the climate-change conference in Paris, 20 November–11 December 2015. The conference is set for the world’s nations to negotiate and commit to a universally-binding agreement on climate-emission reduction. The young New Zealanders want to see a fair, […]
December 2015 Year of Mercy Fr Paul Martin SM Assistant Provincial On 8 December we begin the Jubilee Year of Mercy. This has been instituted by Pope Francis to begin on the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of Vatican II. In his letter Misericordiae Vultus (Face of Mercy) he outlines why we are having this […]
December 2015 Youth Dave Crampton Budding politician Stefan McClean has been selected as National list MP Brett Hudson’s 2016 Youth MP, representing the Ohariu electorate. Stefan, who attends Ss Peter and Paul parish in Johnsonville, is in his last year at Newlands College. He intends to study law, international relations and politics at Victoria University […]
December 2015 Opinion Joe Grayland Pope Francis calls for us to be open and to be an engaging Church. To engage is to commit – not stand on the peripheries – to get below the surface to explore the depth in a relationship so as to be able to experience, better understand and live it […]
Sport When New Plymouth’s Francis Douglas Memorial College old boys Conrad Smith and Beauden Barrett represented their country as All Blacks in England, winning the Webb Ellis Cup for the second time in a row, sharing the pride and honour was their College community. FDMC Deputy Principal and rugby coach Tim Stuck talks about both […]
December 2015 Sue Devereux For the last 21 years, I have worked for Archdiocesan Pastoral Services as the Adviser for Family Ministries, and Parish and Pastoral Area Adviser. It has been the most formative time of my life as I learnt so much about myself, our Church, and our families. I began in 1994, the […]
The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held in Rome during October this year considered ‘The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World’. The three-week-long Synod, brought together Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Sisters and Brothers, together with lay couples and individuals from around the world. They came to […]
September 2015 News Cardinal John Dew One of the world’s great works of art is the fresco of The Last Judgement by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel. Many millions of people have looked at that since it was completed in 1541. Many will have seen it as a work of art ‒ millions will have […]
September 2015 News Sr Catherine Hannan, Wellington Homeless Women’s Trust You can help Wellington’s homeless by being part of the ‘14 Hours Homeless’ sleep-out event on Friday 9 October. The event is being organised by Wellington’s many agencies collaborating to help raise funds and awareness about the new reality of homelessness in New Zealand. You […]