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 of Christmas. Maybe our preparation wasn’t so...
by Toni Rowland · Published November 5, 2019 · Last modified December 1, 2019
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. The Southern Cross enters its centenary year;...
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?
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 marriage and family relationships from two families...
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 home, on how God is present in...
Christian Living / Mercy & Forgiveness / Rowland
by Toni Rowland · Published May 21, 2019 · Last modified May 25, 2019
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 when I got hold of a copy...
Christian Living / Church / Family / Lent / Rowland
by Toni Rowland · Published March 30, 2019 · Last modified March 29, 2019
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 in my family over very many years,...
by Toni Rowland · Published February 1, 2019 · Last modified January 31, 2019
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 to time, I do sometimes wonder whether...
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 year I asked sodality members if ubuntu...
Christian Living / Family / Rowland
by Toni Rowland · Published August 30, 2018 · Last modified August 28, 2018
The Australian writer and gender activist GD Anderson observed of that empowerment: “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”
Church / Faith Life / Family / Rowland
by Toni Rowland · Published July 7, 2018 · Last modified July 6, 2018
Participating in a conference of the Department of Social Development was enlightening and for me also affirming. I know that those in the DSD Family Directorate and the family services forum understand and base their...
Christian Leadership / Christian Living / Family / Mary / Rowland
by Toni Rowland · Published May 8, 2018 · Last modified May 6, 2018
Ideally two parents belong together, ideally too a dad and a mom. But this is not necessarily the case today as more children are being brought up by single moms than in two-parent families.
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