Godzdogz

Given that Lent is a time for greater focus on repentance, examining our consciences with renewed honesty is essential to obtaining that goal. I don’t know about you, but allowing myself to be more open about my own faults often feels scary. The process of getting to that state of honesty can feel a bit like dragging myself to the doctor’s office. In light of this, I have found it helpful to think of an examination of my conscience as being analogous to exploring my physical health with a first-rate medical doctor. In my experience, a good medical doctor is someone whose competency and empathy make me willing to tell that doctor anything I need to about my health, even things I might normally feel embarrassed about, because I believe that doctor is sincere and capable of giving me the right kind of care. Correspondingly, it can be helpful to think of examining one’s conscience as working with an outstanding doctor – the best doctor in existence.  Read more

There’s an all-too-common line of thought that says, ‘I’m not a bad person; I try not do others any harm’ as if that’s the extent of the moral life. I overheard it in a conversation only the other day. There are two things that bother me when I hear this and they’re really two sides of the same coin. The first is that the person has too high self-regard and the second is that they have too little self-concern. This attitude relies on the common misconception that sin is primarily about doing other people harm. Read more

In response to the news from Gabriel that she was to bear the Son of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Gospel of Luke tells us, declared ‘My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour…’ Her words, found in Luke 1:46-55, have been sung by Christians ever since. The Magnificat (the song takes its name from the first word in the Latin translation)is undoubtedly a song of praise, thanksgiving and adoration. Read more

On the Feast of St Michael the Archangel in 2013, my three co-novices and I lay prostrate on the cold stone floor of the Cambridge Chapel, making our simple profession, and we were asked by our Provincial: ‘What do you seek?’ Our response, as for many thousands before us: ‘God’s mercy and yours.’ Read more

I consider it truly providential that the Dominican Jubilee to celebrate 800 years of the Order of Preachers should overlap with Jubilee Year of Mercy. St Dominic’s life was characterised by the practise of mercy and, ever since, his example has inspired men and women to follow him in the Order as Preachers of God’s mercy. Read more