News and Blog
MGL Sisters Newsletter - April 2021
Did you get a chance to check out our latest newsletter?
Resurrection Reads #7 - Thomas. Doubt and Square Watermelons
As the Easter Octave draws to a close, we join with Thomas and his experience with the Risen Jesus.
If I told you there in Japan, they grow square watermelons because they will stack better in the shops, would you believe me, or would you be filled with doubt? Leave that one in the back of your mind for a moment, and come with me on a journey with Thomas, commonly referred to as the doubter.
Resurrection Reads #6 - Go out to all the world
Today, once again, there is a very clear call to proclaim the Good News, to share the gift of our own story and relationship with Jesus with the whole world. This call to share what we have been given reminds me of a television show that was around a number of years ago.
Resurrection Reads #5 - Breakfast with Jesus
Today, as we continue to ponder the Resurrection, we join Jesus on the beach as he eats breakfast with his disciples.
Resurrection Reads #4 - The Gift of Peace
No doubt you have heard people say that the peace that Jesus can bring is like nothing else. But what does this really mean, and what might it look like in our lives. In today's Resurrection Reads, we pray with the story of Jesus offering the gift of peace to his disciples.
Resurrection Reads #3 - On the Road to Emmaus
Today’s blog is a reflection written from the point of view of the disciple who was walking with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. I pray it helps you to enter in to the story.
Have you ever gone long distance walking? Most people have at some stage in their lives, and it was something I enjoyed doing, even though it was the primary means of travel anyway. Somehow it helped to clear my head, so I would go when I was worried, stressed, confused, sad. I would walk to all kinds of places, along clearly defined paths and through scrubland, through desert like places where the dust would coat my feet, and along the shore where the gentle waves would cool me after a long day, over rocks, up mountains, through tall grass, – you name it, and it is likely to be territory that I have traversed.
Resurrection Reads #1 - Responding to the Resurrection
Happy Easter – He is Risen – Alleluia.
I love the Easter Octave. Everyday this week we are celebrating Easter Sunday. It is a clear message to us that this is monumental – that Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead really is at the centre of our faith, at the centre of our lives.
Each day this week, we will reflect together on the Gospel of the day – you guessed it – a resurrection story. Today we turn our attention to Matthew 28:8-15.
Easter Sunday - Resurrecting
Happy Easter – Christ has Risen – Alleluia!
Today is a day of joy, today is a day of hope, today is a day of grace, today is a day of promise, today is a day of love, the greatest and most amazing love that we can ever encounter. Jesus has conquered death, Jesus has risen – and because of this everything is different.
Holy Saturday - Silence
I know we’ve been reflecting on songs just recently, but I actually don’t think that there is a song that fits the awkward nothingness of Holy Saturday better than stark silence. As in, no sound at all!
It’s the day we don’t know what to do with. Friday is all invested in the grief and sorrow of watching Jesus suffer and die. And Sunday is all about the joy of the resurrection. So for us who believe, Saturday is the awkward-inbetween: we know the resurrection is coming, but we can’t shake the solemnity of what we just witnessed the day before.
Good Friday - How can it be?
Today is Good Friday, and we continue on this solemn day to reflect and pray through the use of songs. The song chosen today is How can it be? (Lauren Daigle)
Holy Thursday - Stay with Me
Today marks a shift in Holy Week as we now head into the Easter Triduum.
We continue to pray in song, and today reflect on Stay with Me (Taize).
Wednesday of Holy Week - Anastasis
During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating.
Today we pray with Anastasis, from Hillsong Worship.
Tuesday of Holy Week - At the Foot of the Cross
During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.
Today, we pray with At the foot of the Cross, by Fr Rob Galea
Monday of Holy Week - Love Ran Red
During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.
Today, we pray with Love Ran Red, by Chris Tomlin.
Palm Sunday - King of my Heart
During Holy Week, each day our blog will invite you pray with a song as a way of entering into the mystery of what we are celebrating. Before you have a read of the blog, listen to the song and ask Jesus to speak to you through the power of the words.
Today, we pray with King of my Heart written by Bethel.
Vocation Views #2 - One Rule, Endless Possibilities - An Ode to the board game BLOKUS
I really love board games! My sisters could testify that when we were growing up, I would often ask them to play games with me, but the problem was that for them they were more like bored games.
Have you ever played Blokus? It is a strategy game that involves putting down as many of your coloured pieces onto the board as possible. Each new piece played must touch another piece of your colour, but the one rule is that only corner-to-corner contact is allowed
Lent and the Gift of Almsgiving
In his Lenten Message for 2021, Pope Francis reminds us that Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to “make his dwelling” among us (cf. Jn 14:23). We are invited and challenged to grow closer to God and to allow him to draw nearer to us. He also reminds us that "Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity". In this three-part series, we will consider the place of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in our Lenten journey to Easter and beyond. Today, in part three, the focus is on almsgiving
Lent and the Gift of Fasting
In his Lenten Message for 2021, Pope Francis reminds us that Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to “make his dwelling” among us (cf. Jn 14:23). We are invited and challenged to grow closer to God and to allow him to draw nearer to us. He also reminds us that "Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity". In this three-part series, we will consider the place of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in our Lenten journey to Easter and beyond. Today, in part one, the focus is on fasting.
Lent and the Gift of Prayer
In his Lenten Message for 2021, Pope Francis reminds us that Lent is a time for believing, for welcoming God into our lives and allowing him to “make his dwelling” among us (cf. Jn 14:23). We are invited and challenged to grow closer to God and to allow him to draw nearer to us. He also reminds us that "Fasting, prayer and almsgiving, as preached by Jesus (cf. Mt 6:1-18), enable and express our conversion. The path of poverty and self-denial (fasting), concern and loving care for the poor (almsgiving), and childlike dialogue with the Father (prayer) make it possible for us to live lives of sincere faith, living hope and effective charity". In this three-part series, we will consider the place of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in our Lenten journey to Easter and beyond.
Today, in part one, the focus is on prayer. Immediately I am reminded of a story.
Eating Chocolate is Self-Denial
What? Eating chocolate is self-denial – are you crazy. Hopefully the name of this blog got your attention because it is actually true. When you think about Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, what comes to mind? Are you excited for the opportunity to embrace a season where we are encouraged to deepen in relationship with Jesus or do you feel dread at the things you are challenged to give up or take on.
Vocation Views #1 - Discerning - Maybe its time to get moving
Songs I Love #1
This is a new series for our blog. Music and songs can speak to us and nurture us in powerful ways. Every month or so, we will feature one of these posts from one of our sisters, sharing with you a song they love and why and how it has changed them, brought them alive, reached into the depths of their being in a given moment etc etc. The songs will be a whole range – because songs from many genres can become songs that we love!
Enjoying Summer #4 - More Beach Walk Ponderings
Here is another story to reflect on during your beach walks (or at any time really).
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Enjoying Summer #3 - Turn over and Float
I am not sure if you had the same experience, but last year often felt like one of treading water for me. I felt like I was waiting for so many things, so of which seemed to take forever to be possible. The image of treading water was powerful because it seemed to encapsulate my experience. I definitely felt like I was going nowhere, and I sure was getting tired.