Winter 2017

Dear Charlotte, When I was in Year Two, my teacher Mrs Newhard taught my class that we could meet with Jesus in our hearts at anytime, anywhere. My seven-year-old mind imagined meeting Jesus in a deep red room shaped as a heart.  In my mind, it had heavy curtains and a velvet couch, similar to…

If I had to name one place that I’ve long loved, a place that settles my soul, it’s down by the river.

Not every painting needs to be famous. On my desk at work is an image that two dear friends brought back from Brazil when they went there for World Youth Day a few years ago. I can’t even tell you who the artist is: the work is signed simply Marcelo. 

I’ve been attending church a lot lately — but it’s what happens after that has been changing me. In church I don’t put much in the collection bowl, often just a gold coin. But when I walk the city streets later, that’s when I give. 

The story of Jesuit ventures at Sevenhill described in this richly informative and illustrated book (The Vine and the Branches: the fruits of the Sevenhill Mission) is one of ambition constantly clawing at the edge of possibility. The title is ambiguous, with its reference both to viniculture and to the mission — apparently disparate things…