Here comes the sun

13th anniversary

I'll Find My Way Home (by Vangelis)

You ask me where to begin
Am I so lost in my sin?
You ask me where did I fall
I'll say I can't tell you when
But if my spirit is lost
How will I find what is near?
Don't question I'm not alone
Somehow I'll find my way home

My sun shall rise in the east
So shall my heart be at peace
And if you're asking me when
I'll say it starts at the end
You know your will to be free
Is matched with love secretly
And talk will alter your prayer
Somehow you'll find you are there.

Your friend is close by your side
And speaks in far ancient tongue
A season's wish will come true
All seasons begin with you
A world we all come from

A world we melt into one
Just hold my hand and we're there
Somehow we're going somewhere
Somehow we're going somewhere

You ask me where to begin
Am I so lost in my sin?
You ask me where did I fall
I'll say I can't tell you when
But if my spirit is strong
I know it can't be long
No questions I'm not alone

Sometime I'll find my way home,
Someow I'll find my way home
Sometime I'll find my way home,
Someow I'll find my way home
Sometime I'll find my way home,
Someow I'll find my way home

Little bit of love

Power of goodbye to 2010

There's nothing left to try

There's no place left to hide

There's no greater power than the power of goodbye

Freedom comes when you learn to let go

Creation comes when you learn to say no - walk away

You were my lesson I had to learn

I was your fortress you had to burn

Pain is a warning that something's wrong

I pray to God that it won't be long

Do you want to go higher?

New day

Change

In restrospect...

Dial 000 for ambos

Kate Miller-Heidke: The Last Day On Earth

Look down,
The ground below is crumbling.
Look up,
The stars are all exploding.

Hey yeah, hey yeah oh
Hey yeah, hey yeah

It's the last, day on earth,
In my dreams, in my dreams,
It's the end, of the world,
And you've come back, to me.
In my dreams.

Between,
The dust and the debris.
There's a light,
Surrounding you and me.

Hey yeah, hey yeah oh oh
Hey yeah, hey yeah

It's the last, day on earth,
In my dreams, in my dreams,
It's the end, of the world,
And you've come back, to me.
In my dreams.

And you hold me closer than I,
Can ever remember being held,
And I'm not, afraid to sleep now,
If we can stay like this until.

It's the last, day on earth,
In my dreams, in my dreams,
It's the end, of the world,
And you've come back, to me.
In my dreams.

Hey yeah, hey yeah oh oh
Hey yeah, hey yeah

In my head I play your conversations,
Over and over 'til they feel like hallucinations,
You know me, I love to lose my mind.
And everytime anybody speaks your name,
I still feel the same, I ache, I ache, I ache inside.

In my head I play your conversations,
Over and over 'til they feel like hallucinations,
You know me, I love to lose my mind.
And everytime anybody speaks your name,
I still feel the same, I ache, I ache, I ache inside.
I ache, I ache, I ache inside.
I ache, I ache, I ache inside.
I ache, I ache, I ache inside

Mum leaves on Diamond Princess

Empathy for the Haiti I know - Eureka Street

Empathy for the Haiti I know - Eureka Street

It's mine!

Sydney's "spanish quarter" near Liverpool and Kent Streets

Sydney's Botanic Gardens looking towards harbour

Mum on roof of my building during dust storm (Sydney Tower seen vaguely in background)

Sing (Wynonna Judd) lyrics

It's in the wind
Noise and steam
‘neath your skin
And in your dream
It’s who you are
It’s how you feel
A guiding star
Your driving wheel

Sing
Let it take you
Let it make you
Never break you down
Sing
Let it mold you
Let it make you bold
And never hold you down
Sing
Sing, your heart out

Its on the street
The neon glare
The hard concrete
The cold night air
It’s in your voice
The way you sound
Have no choice
But come unwound

Sing
Your songs of truth and pain
All the things you can’t explain
Sing
The way you feel inside
Let the music be your guide
Sing, your heart out

Sing it like you hear it
Like you have no need to fear it now
Sing it like you know it
Like you’re not afraid to show us how
Sing from somewhere way down deep
Sing and make the angels weep
Sing and open heaven’s door
Sing ‘til you can’t sing no more

Sing
Your songs of dark and light
Make your mark with all your might
Sing
Your songs of hope and fear
Sing the song that sent you hear
Sing, your heart out
Sing
Sing
Sing, your heart out
Sing
Sing, your heart out

catharsis

"It is the human soul that is purged of its excessive passions.”
- Aristotle

… a purification, an experience that brings pity and fear into their proper balance ...

In real life, Aristotle explained, we are sometimes too much addicted to pity or fear, sometimes too little; tragedy brings us back to a virtuous and happy mean.

Tragedy is then a corrective; through watching tragedy the audience learns how to feel these emotions at the proper levels.

In literary aesthetics, catharsis is developed by the conjunction of stereotyped characters and unique or surprising actions.

A CATHARTIC EXAMPLE

Time To Pretend (song and lyrics by MGMT)



I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.

I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and fuck with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Song information
The music video contains multiple references to Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain.
The film is based on "The Ascent of Mt. Carmel" by St. John of the Cross and "Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidean Adventures in Mountain Climbing" by Rene Daumal, a student of G.I. Gurdjieff. In particular, much of Jodorowsky's visually psychedelic story follows the metaphysical thrust of "Mount Analogue" such as the climb to the Alchemist, the assembly of individuals with specific skills, the discovery of the mountain that unites Heaven and Earth "that cannot not exist" and symbolic challenges along the mountain ascent. Daumal died before finishing his allegorical novel, and Jodorowsky's improvised ending provides a clever way of completing the Work (symbolic and otherwise.)

An oasis on the harbour

As morning storm clouds hovered over Sydney Harbour, a group of young people from The Salvation Army's Oasis Youth Support Network boarded a ferry at Rose Bay Wharf and left the bustle of city life behind them for the day.

The cruise to Shark Island at the end of 2008 was a chance to relax, chat with friends, meet old acquaintances, swim, play sport and share a barbecue lunch.

Oasis youth worker Noel Rayner said the day was a chance for the young people to get away from the city rat race.

“It’s just like going out as a family -- people sit down, have a feed and they chat to each other. In the city there are so many things to take you away from that,” he said.

Jason Poutawa, the Activity Coordinator at Oasis in Surry Hills, says the day out, as well as other activities organised at Oasis, are important ways to stay in touch with the simple joys of life like kicking a ball around a field and enjoying the outdoors.

Asha and Dennis, from the St Francis Come In Youth Resource Centre in Sydney's Oxford St, said it was great to meet up with young people from other centres.

"I had a lot of fun," Dennis said. "It was a great day. It's an opportunity to meet new friends and catch up with old ones. I look forward to it and have been to the last four or five."

The Oasis end-of-year cruise was made possible by Louise Duff, the Managing Director of Brilliant Logic -- a management, marketing and public relations firm. Louise manages to spread some joy for the day by bringing together her clients and network contacts.

Louise said her attitudes towards people experiencing homelessness and other social disadvantages have changed over the years as she became aware of the challenges they face.

Ten years ago, she used to organise an annual cruise for terminally ill children, their families and carers from the NSW Central Coast.

“If you had asked me my opinion of young people who were addicted to drugs, involved in crime or were what you would commonly refer to as wayward, I can honestly say that 10 years ago, after spending time with kids who didn’t have much longer to live as a result of illness, I would have said that these young people were selfish, small-minded and generally responsible for their own problems.”

But a few years later, Louise started working with Sydney’s Carols in the Domain where she came into contact with homeless kids with problems with drugs, the law and life in general.

“After meeting these kids, spending time with them and hearing their stories, I realised that this was one of the times in life where you realise that your perception is vastly different to the reality and that, in fact, I had made an ignorant misjudgment.

“These kids were victims of circumstances mostly out of their control, not victims of their own choices. It was at this time that I decided that I would like to become involved with The Salvation Army’s response to youth homelessness, Oasis, and try to give something back to the kids that I had once discounted as lost causes.

“My involvement with Oasis has helped reinforce that you cannot judge a book by its cover and that it is important to always remember that everyone has a story and that a lot of our youth have endured struggles and faced tremendous adversities that a lot of us will be fortunate to never experience in a lifetime,” Louise said.

From the outside looking in...

"Fallen" - Sarah McLachlan



Heaven bend to take my hand
And lead me through the fire
Be the long awaited answer
To a long and painful fight

Truth be told I've tried my best
But somewhere along the way
I got caught up in all there was to offer
And the cost was so much more than I could bear

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...

We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
That I've held so dear.

I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...

Heaven bend to take my hand
Nowhere left to turn
I'm lost to those I thought were friends
To everyone I know
Oh they turn their heads embarrassed
Pretend that they don't see
But it's one missed step
One slip before you know it
And there doesn't seem a way to be redeemed

Though I've tried, I've fallen...
I have sunk so low
I messed up
Better I should know
So don't come round here
And tell me I told you so...

Watsons Bay, Sydney

When faith becomes a battle...

While some of the theological discussions in Paul E. Nowak’s new book Guerrilla Apologetics for Catholics may be helpful, I baulked at the premise of the book - which is to avoid taking the defensive position and to take the offensive when defending the faith.
Novak says, “After all, it stands to reason that if we are standing on the rock foundation of the True Church, there must be cracks in the theology of those who challenge it.”
After reading this, I thought there also must be cracks in the theology of an author who speaks in terms of “True Church of Christ” and uses competition, boxing, challenger and warfare metaphors to describe theological discussion. Where does a book reviewer begin?
Opening any faith discussion by demeaning other Christian denominations - and by speaking in terms of the Catholic Church as the “True Church” - cannot in my mind be a Christ-centred or inspired activity. So despite some good materials throughout the chapters, I feel that all of this is wasted by the fact that nothing Christ-centred could come from the “guerrilla tactics” advice at the start of the book.
Guerilla Apologetics for Catholics is published by R.A.G.E. Media and their website is www.Dyinglight.com .
Click here for purchasing information.

MAGiS08 - For people seeking more

The Ignatian Program for World Youth Day - Sydney - Australia
For people who want to give and find more on their journeys of faith - a faith that seeks to do justice that's inspired by Jesus, and in the tradition of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
Visit the website and join our discussion forum

Terra Australis Cognita

Australia's national day activities on Sydney Harbour

 

First anniversary of Haitian victims

Twelve months have passed since 25 Haitian immigrants died of asphyxiation on their way from the Haitian border in Ouanaminthe to Santiago in the Dominican Republic. To commemorate the death of these victims and that of other refugees and forced migrants all over the world, I have compiled this photographic testimony of my experience on the border with Jesuit Refugee Service in Haiti.



Doce meses han pasado desde que los 25 haitianos murieron asfixiados en camino a Santiago desde Ouanaminthe en el 11 de enero, 2006. Para conmemorar la muerte de estos victimas y otros refugiados y migrantes forzados en todo el mundo, he hecho este testimonio fotografico de mi experiencia en la frontera con Servicio Jesuita de Refugiados y Migrantes en Haiti.

Yon ane deja te pase jiske 25 migran ayisyen yo te mouri pou asfiksyasyon pandan yon vwayag pou ale Santiago nan sandomeng. Mwen ta vle bay respe pou kek moun yo avek sa ti prodiksyon ki mwen te fe isitla ak foto yo ke mwen te koleksyone pandan travay mwen nan Solidarite Fwontalye (SJRM), Wanament, 2006.

Queensland country Christmas

Family Christmas cricket match at Athol, west of Toowoomba.

Peace on the border

Polish and Dutch Jesuit strike a peace deal on Queensland - NSW border.

BORDERING ON MADNESS: Robin celebrates being back in home territory. (Double click slowly on arrow to play 11-second video).

THE TOOWOOMBA SONG: Robin sings to show his appreciation for the big country town on the hill. Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city - second only to Canberra.

Mum celebrates 70th

Mum with her eldest daughter Bernadette at Sacred Heart Parish hall in Toowoomba on December 16.

ALL THE GANG: Aged from 34 upwards to .....(confidential)

Together with cousins.

Korean border views

Visiting the northern part of the Korean peninsula
'FREEDOM BRIDGE' ends here: Once used to exchange prisoners after the Korean War - now blocked. A sign here reads 'The train wants to run.'

'PLEASE STEP INTO NORTH KOREA' - The MAC Conference Room is now the only place where North and South Korean military and government officials can interact. The conference table delineates the border - South Korea to the left, and North Korea to the right.

DORA OBSERVATORY: Overlooking the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), North Korea's "propaganda village" and Gaesung City further north.
JOINT SECURITY AREA: South Korean soldier has one eye on South Korean side of conference room, and one eye on North Korean soldier guarding building over the border.


NEXT STOP PYONGYANG: Dorasan Station - the closest station to North Korea and all set for anticipated unification to link with the north.

TOURISM DUTY: Soldier drives bus full of Japanese and English speaking visitors. South Korean civilians are not allowed into the Joint Security Area.


WILDLIFE HAVEN: Geese flying over North Korean military checkpoint show no respect for boundaries. The lack of intense farming and economic development has made the DMZ a unique sanctuary.
Geese fly over "Freedom House" on the South Korean side of the Joint Security Area.