Are We Really Family-Friendly?
It’s amazing! What jumped out at me immediately on reading Pope Francis’ message for the World Day of Prayer for Care of Creation was this: “We...
Author: Toni Rowland
Let the Holy Spirit Teach Us
Happy Pentecost! That is my wish and prayer for families as we explore how we have managed our spirituality during these months of lockdown. My hope and...
To Love Is To Give Life
In response to two current social issues that need serious attention we came up with the 2020 theme for MARFAM: “Our World, A Family Of Families”. Everyone...
Treasure The Gift Of The Beloved Son
In his latest document, Pope Francis reflected on the Nativity scene. (Photo: Andreas Böhme) December is almost over and we have gone from preparation mode to the peace...
The Church and Family: Let Me Speak Boldly
Before I started writing this article I was reading the October 16 issue of The Southern Cross. A few things in particular struck me as particularly interesting....
How Do We Deal With Death and Loss?
Do you and I feel at peace with those we have loved and who have died? What about us who are left behind after a death or a separation or divorce?
What is Our Heritage?
Our family and our cultural backgrounds have a great influence on the new families we form. Ways of being and traditions — social and religious — in...
July is for Grandparents
Working with family themes month by month has been quite useful for me to reflect more deeply on the domestic church, or the little church of the...
Mercy in All Areas of Life
I had never been a very dedicated follower of the popular Divine Mercy devotion. But around 2016, the time of the Year of Mercy, and even before...
How to Make ‘Sacrifices of Love’
Someone said to me the other day that your Lenten sacrifice should be your secret with God. That sounds fine, to a point. I also know that...
Every Family Matters!
It’s quite a number of years now that I have been submitting this column under the heading “Family Friendly”. Apart from the feedback I get from time...
Is Ubuntu is Jesus’ Worldview?
This will be the last of my columns for 2018, a journey that has attempted to “Catholicise” the concept of ubuntu. At a conference early in the...
