From Frank Bompas, Johannesburg In reference to Mario Compagnoni’s letter (April 8), I am convinced that the beliefs Catholics have in the sacraments are founded on the continuous experience of God’s presence and power in them.
Mary and our faith
Catholics have a very special relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of our Saviour Jesus Christ — a relationship which the Catholic Church encourages and nurtures. Many Protestants, when they don’t misunderstand or reject that relationship, find the Catholic (and Eastern Orthodox) devotion to Mary attractive and spiritually enriching. Some have even made [...]
Getting to know God is like getting fit
The other day I jumped on my bike to go for a ride around where I live. The golden leaves were starting to blow off the trees and the sun was lower than in summer. As I turned a corner the cold wind blew at my back and the analogy dawned on me: faith, or [...]
Hitler, Mussolini and two Popes Pius
HITLER, MUSSOLINI AND THE VATICAN: Pope Pius XI and the Speech That Was Never Made, by Emma Fattorini, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2011. 220pp Reviewed by Paddy Kearney
Half a century later, still answering Fatima questions
By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service The feast of Our Lady of Fatima, May 13, is the occasion every year for millions of devotees to celebrate the apparition of Mary to three Portuguese peasant children in 1917 and to meditate on her call for repentance and conversion by the modern world. For a much [...]
Ancestors and faith
BY SIMANGALISO MAGUDULELA Before Christianity came to our land, Africans believed in the continuity of life after death and that is by moving into the spirit world. However, not everyone who is dead would qualify to be an ancestor (idlozi). According to Dominique Zahan, an ancestor “is first of all, a man who has reached [...]
Choose blessings not curses
The apostle Paul writes to the Romans: “Bless your persecutors; never curse them, bless them…Never pay back evil with evil…Never try to get revenge…If your enemy is hungry, give him something to eat; if thirsty, something to drink…Do not be mastered by evil, but master evil with good” (Rom 12:14-21).
Movie Review 11 May 2012: The Vow
Releases for May 11, 2012 The Vow By John Mulderig, Catholic News Service Poor Channing Tatum! Though he isn’t gone, he is forgotten in “The Vow”, director and co-writer Michael Sucsy’s well-intentioned but flawed love story based on real events.
Opening the door a chink
From Tom Drake, Johannesburg Mario Compagnoni (“A non-believer’s opinion”, April 18), welcome to the company of seekers: those who are not satisfied with what is given them, but wish to know more about themselves and their lives; those who wish to discover what our existence is all about!
The dangers of your faithful babysitter…
Bringing up children is not an easy task. I am often amazed at the glut of magazines available at any chain store – the “what you should know about” or “how to…” of child care. Diet related information, what sun creams should be used, which educational toys are best, which schools are suitable and how [...]
Pilgrimage 2013
The Digital Southern Cross
This Week’s Issue
