Archdiocese of Harare (8)

In Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, much of the comedy revolves around the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice, who use their razor sharp wits to duel with one another in a game of brinkmanship that becomes increasingly acerbic and antagonistic as the play …

In our first reading today, we see the people of Israel moaning about the hardships of life in the desert and looking wistfully back at their life of slavery in Egypt. We might be surprised at this attitude – surely freedom is far better than slavery no matter the cost. If …

In today’s first reading we see the prophet Elijah suffering from classic burnout syndrome. He is sitting forlornly under a broom tree and prays for death in these words: “This is enough, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Many of us know all too well …

in Macheke. As I was due to leave the parish I had been ministering at and move on to a new mission, I used my retreat to review the four years that I had spent at this parish. I could point to solid structures that I had built that would be my legacy in Mbare: I had turned …

A number of years ago, a certain priest had gone on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. While he was there he bought a beautiful wood carved Nativity set. It was so delicate, he did not want to risk putting it his checked luggage, and so decided to carry it in his hand luggage. …

It is said that on the evening of June 18, 1815 a man stood in the tower of England’s Winchester Cathedral gazing anxiously out to sea. At last he found what he was looking for – a ship sending a signal by use of lights. He strained to see the message. All of England held …

Japanese culture is one of the most highly stratified and hierarchical on the planet. I have been told that until you know a person’s social ranking relative to your own, you cannot talk to them, because you do not know how to address with the correct protocols of respect. …

There is no free lunch. Or so we have been taught to believe in the capitalistic societies that we live in. Even if it’s someone’s else’s charity we are benefitting from, the lunch that we get free has to come from somewhere, value is not just created out of thin air – …