During the 2018 Christmas Season I have published my series of reflections originally posted in 2012 . I hope you enjoy them and invite your response. Come back each of the 12 Days to read a new post.
Spirituality
Ramadan Reflection
My best wishes and solidarity to my Muslim friends during this holy time of Ramadan.
May we who are not Muslim fast from prejudice, misinformation and ignorance about our sisters and brothers of Islam.
May we who are not Muslim be generous in our willingness to understand this faith and welcome this community into our neighbourhoods.
May we who are not Muslim take time to reflect, pray and be still with the wonder of faith that calls all people to peace, collaboration, respect and love.
Worth reading
Franciscan Message for the Month of Ramadan
Pope to Muslims for end of Ramadan: Promoting Mutual Respect through Education (2013)
Web of the Cross
This online meditation was launched in 2000, the Year of Great Jubilee. I have published it each year since with updates to the links and reflections as some material goes offline and new resources become available.
The Stations in this collection are those used in theMelbourne Way of the Cross, an ecumenical devotion which began on Good Friday 2000 and has continued each year as pilgrims process to Churches around the city.
The image, Jesus of the People by Janet McKenzie is kindly allowed for use by the artist. Janet’s Stations of the Cross set has been published in a work featuring writings by Joan Chittister
The Web of the Cross
Celebrating Our Faith In Same Sex Commitment
On the day that the Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing for same sex marriage it is worth remembering and celebrating the diversity of queer friendships that punctuate our religious history and heritage.
To honour this day I publish two of my fave icons of Saints Perpetua and Felicity next to Saints Sergius and Bacchus. These ancient martyrs have been revered and honoured for their witness to same sex affection, commitment and devotion.
My thanks to FB friend Paul Halsall who in 1997 published a comprehensive Calendar of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Saints
We who are people of faith celebrating our diverse sexuality can look back to a rich history of mentors and witnesses to the grace of love among our LGBTIQ ancestors.
On this historic day let us unite in prayerful thanks for this legislation and invite our Church to begin a new journey of affirmation of our love and commitment.
Maqnmmet Alisher (Sharma) Memorial
We gathered in sadness.
We gathered in grief.
We gathered in our cultural diversity
We gathered to mourn the death of Manmeet Alishar.
We gathered to light candles in the darkness of unanswered questions
We gathered to comfort each other in the midst of distress.
We gathered with our bus drivers and cab drivers to acknowledge their service and great spirit.
We gathered with First Nations Peoples for a smoking ceremony to cleanse the place of an unspeakable act.
We gathered because we are human.
As a community photographer I look for ways to share my images with those who appear in my lens. This often happens at exhibitions, publication and through my online albums.
One year after we mourned this tragedy I have been honoured to have one of my works selected by Brisbane City Council as part of the memorial plaque to the late Mameet Alisher (Sharma) in Moorooka.
I covered the original memorial service after Manmmet’s tragic death and my reflections and images were included on the SBS Punjabi website.
The public display of my work in this setting is an honour and a witness to my commitment to cultural diversity and friendship with the Punjabi community
Mary, Mother of Equality, Pray for us
As a young boy I have a vivid memory of the first Marian Procession I attended at the local convent of Stella Maris in North Geelong. The candlelight movement of women in dark habits singing the Lourdes Hymn took me into a world where heaven touched earth and all tears were wiped away.
In my mother’s kitchen a small Icon of Our Lady of the Way sat alongside the detergent just above the sink where our daily dishes were washed. My grandmother was a member of the Legion of Mary and walked the streets of her neighbourhood to join families who prayed the rosary as the Fatima Statue moved from house to house. Each rosary with finish with a rousing chorus of Hail Queen of Heaven that echoed down the street
Whoopi Golberg brought a new generation of people the spirit of Marian Hynms and devotion spiced up and inviting with a freshness and adventure that reflected the reality of the young woman of Palestine more faithfully than the Living Parish Hymnal.
The most popular Marian prayer in Catholicism has been the Litany of Loreto. Its invocations of Mary under Biblical and popular titles has made it a feature of Catholic Spirituality in chant and languages
And just when we thought we had given Mary every conceivable title Pope Francis added a new one, Mother of the Church. For those of us who identify with the LGBTIQ faithful this feast offers another opportunity to acknowledge the spirituality of equality.
As an older Queer Catholic I continue the venerationof Mary in the Litany to which I have added invocations from my life and experience.
As well as the litany there is custom of decorating statues in popular culture with flowers and rosaries, and even money.I also continue this custom of bringing elements of my life such as the rainbow colours to decorate and honour the place of Mary in my spirituality.
In this month of May we invoke Mary Mother of Equality Pray For Us.
