Stephen W. Need
52 Reflections on Faith - Seeing God: a way of life
52 Reflections on Faith - Seeing God: a way of life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Seeing God: a way of life Where do you ‘see God’? Where do you experience God? Where is God most real to you? There are probably particular times in your life when you sense God’s presence more than you normally do—special places where you feel close to God. You might have had a …
52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
52 Reflections on Faith - The big picture: God and evil
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
The big picture:God and evil I think most people know the expression ‘Keep your eye on the big picture’. Sometimes, when we’re getting bogged down in minutiae and arguing about detail, someone says, ‘OK, keep your eye on the big picture.’…
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
52 Reflections on Faith - Corpus Christi: Sanctifying Matter
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Corpus Christi: Sanctifying matter A lot of people are familiar with the name of the French Jesuit scientist-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), but few know in any detail what he had to say. Teilhard, as he is often known, was born in the Auvergne region of France and…
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
52 Reflections on Faith - Glorious Food: The Eucharist
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Glorious food: The Eucharist Whenever I think of food, I think of the well-known song from the musical Oliver: ‘Food, glorious food’. It conjures up images of exotic banquets and unlimited eating. I also think of the saying ‘You are what you eat’. It’s true that whatever we put i…
52 Reflections on Faith - John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus
52 Reflections on Faith - John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
John the Baptist: pointing to Jesus The bones of John the Baptist have been discovered in Bulgaria, or so some newspapers have implied. A number of remains, including a knuckle bone, have been found in a sarcophagus in the grounds of a monastery on an island called Sveti Ivan, of…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and the Poor
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and the Poor
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
11 Jesus and the Poor It’s striking, isn’t it, that God often comes to us in times of deprivation and loss, at times when we’re most down and depressed, at our weakest and most vulnerable, and perhaps feeling least religious? It’s true, of course, that we feel God’s presence at t…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and Healing: The New Creation
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus and Healing: The New Creation
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
10 Jesus and Healing I wonder if you’ve ever played any part in healing somebody. Have you ever had a role in helping somebody become whole? I don’t mean ‘Have you ever performed a miracle?’ as much as ‘Do you think in terms of healing and behave as if healing were possible?’ Do …
52 Reflections on Faith - Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering
52 Reflections on Faith - Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
25 Christ the King: Overcoming Suffering On the feast of Christ the King, at the very end of the church’s year, it’s useful to note just how many different sorts of crucifix there are. Go into a few different churches in your area and you’ll soon see quite a variety. Look also at…
52 Reflections on Faith - Prayer: Listening to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Prayer: Listening to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
21 Prayer: Listening to God Prayer is sometimes defined as ‘talking to God’ and, on the face of it, that sounds as if it might be a helpful definition. What we’re doing when we’re talking to God is praying. The Oxford English Dictionary defines prayer as ‘a solemn and humble requ…
52 Reflections on Faith - Pentecost: a deep fire inside
52 Reflections on Faith - Pentecost: a deep fire inside
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Pentecost: A deep fire inside One of the most moving songs in the popular musical Billy Elliot by Lee Hall and Elton John is ‘Electricity’, sung by Billy at his audition at the Royal Ballet School in London. Set during the 1984 miners’ strike in England, the musical is about a yo…
52 Reflections on Faith - Becoming Real: Loved into life
52 Reflections on Faith - Becoming Real: Loved into life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
7 Becoming Real: Once upon a time there was a velveteen rabbit. He woke up one Christmas morning to find himself in a little boy’s stocking with a pile of other toys. He was brand new and wondering what was going to become of him. When the little boy opened his presents, he was d…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus Christ today
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus Christ today
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
8 Jesus Christ today: ‘Who is Jesus Christ for us today?’ This is the famous question asked by Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his cell in Tegel military prison, Germany, during the last 18 months of his life. Bonhoeffer had been arrested and imprisoned by the Nazis in April 1943. He wa…
52 Reflections on Faith - God and the world: Separate or together
52 Reflections on Faith - God and the world: Separate or together
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
God and the world:Separate or together? William Blake’s best-known painting is probably The Ancient of Days. Originally done in 1794 as the frontispiece for one of his illustrated books, it’s now in the British Museum. Often reproduced as a popular art poster in recent decades, t…
52 Reflections on Faith - Emmaus: the eyes of faith
52 Reflections on Faith - Emmaus: the eyes of faith
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Emmaus: The eyes of faith During the last couple of decades or so, a series of fascinating coffee table books called Magic Eye have appeared in the shops. The books contain what, at first sight, look like fairly boring two-dimensional wallpaper patterns, but if you hold the pages…
52 Reflections on Faith - Growth and renewal: good soil
52 Reflections on Faith - Growth and renewal: good soil
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Growth and renewal: Good soil: It’s amazing how things grow, isn’t it? The story is told of a young couple who bought a house with a large garden, including a lawn and an apple tree at the front. They decided they needed to ‘clear the garden’ and, in the process, chopped down the…
52 Reflections on Faith - Faith and Doubt: seeking understanding
52 Reflections on Faith - Faith and Doubt: seeking understanding
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Faith and doubt: Seeking understanding: Richard Holloway’s autobiography Leaving Alexandria: A memoir of faith and doubt tells the story of the author’s life, from his birth and upbringing in Scotland, through his training for the priesthood at the Society of the Sacred Mission a…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the Good Shepherd: door of the sheep When I worked in the Holy Land with St George’s College, Jerusalem, we often took groups to the Sinai desert to camp overnight under the stars on the way down to St Catherine’s monastery. It was an amazing experience. Quite often I would…
52 Reflections on Faith - Ascension day: Presence not absence