I wish to share the striving, risk and chaos I have experienced in my life as well as the growth and fulfilment that has come my way. It is a way of “writing upon the wall of humanity”, sharing with innumerable people the task of searching for the meaning of all that is around and within us. I invite you to join with me in this enlightening and creative process.
A critical juncture at which unstoppable change takes place. There is sufficient consensus that the earth has reached a tipping point in regards to global warming. There is concern that the United States is nearing a tipping point in regards to social division and acrimony. Has the Catholic Church reached a tipping point in regards to its demise as a relevant and integral witness to God’s Kingdom...
This account was written on May 18 1998, a year after Dad passed away. It is a very hard story. It touches the heart of our family, but it can also be the story of every family, a human story of struggle with the pain and grief of a couple who loved each other so much for so long, but were unable to manage the insidious workings of dementia in their last years. This is the reason I make the...
Article 1 in a series of 5 Articles It was on October 6, 1990, that we arrived in Brisbane from Manila, then transferred to a connecting flight to Rockhampton. For my wife Remy and our young son Angelo, it was their first time out of the Philippines, to meet a new family and live in a new land; also for Angelo to learn English as a new language. For me, it was not exactly a coming home; having...
This is my tribute of homage and respect for two men who radically impacted my life, Ton and Pat. They were not anchors upon my journey, rather were prophets and mentors challenging me forward, showing me the way by word and example. Within a short period of 10 weeks they both Crossed Over to Further Shores. They are not lost to me yet I feel deeply their absence in person. Ton...
The excellent charity work of the St Vincent de Paul Society (Vinnies) is well known throughout the length and breath of Australia. However, perhaps not so much is known about the person of Vincent, his background and life story. It is an amazing and confronting story and is told in the reflection below. The reflection was written by Fr Daniel Franklin E. Pilario, C.M. of the St...
Growing up in a Catholic Family was the dynamic exerting most influence upon my childhood. Being a Catholic for me was going to a Catholic School run by the Sisters of Mercy, going to Mass on Sunday and being an Altar Boy, saying the Rosary every night, knowing the Ten Commandments off by heart, being lined up to go to Confession while at school and singing the hymn to Mary, “Hail Queen of...
Article 2 in a series of 5 Articles Friday September 7, 2012 was hot for a day in early spring. A day never to forget. The day the Crocodile Company aka Elders Financial Planning* and hereafter known as EFP – launched their physical assault upon our business. (*Not to be confused with Elders Insurance and Elders Rural) Their representatives backed a lorry up to the front door and...
KAALAGAD Gospel Reflection – October 11th 2020 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Banquet Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come. Again he sent...
During Australia’s mad summer of ravaging bushfires, more than 11 million hectares were burnt out. That is, more than 110,000 square kilometres, or 30% of the total land size of the Philippine archipelago. It is nigh impossible to imagine the destruction in terms of lives lost, houses and property destroyed and the catastrophic impact upon the environment. It is estimated more...
I am fascinated by bugs and spiders. Little ones to be specific. Big ones don’t do much for me. It is their COMPLEXITY that draws my camera eye to them How does he hang on like that? What ARTIST has worked the colors in such manner? Smaller than the cherry tomato flower, how does it find its way around the universe? What CREATIVITY, the amazing SYMMETRY! Who was the tutor? So small, so...