Rosa Murray

As we remain consumed with grief and concern about war been waged in Ukraine, how do we make sense of this conflict, and who could we look into for inspiration and hope. I always turn to one of my heroes Oscar Romero, a saint of our time, during his time. During his three years as Archbishop of San Salvador, he became known as fearless defender for the poor and suffering. His work on behalf of oppressed earned admiration and love from communities he served, and sadly an assassin's bullet.

The current political events and debates emerging from Westminster and across the media, throw out questions on all of us, but what sort of society we want to live in? And what role political and social leadership have in shaping and forming our society. Questions about what we value, who we are, about what we do, about the way we want to live.

During the Christmas season of advent which began last Sunday, we were presenting scripture readings that ask us to reflect the possibility of finding new life in unexpected places. The advent readings invite us to recall our faith history, to assume the disposition of people of Israel, waiting in joyful hope for the coming of the messiah as promised in old testament.

Last weekend on Pentecost Sunday, Scottish bishops published a letter to Catholic Scotland to mark 6th anniversary of publication of Lord See, in which Pope Francis noted of the ecological damage being cause to the earth and to listen to the cry of the poor. The bishops letter reminds us the COVID pandemic required us to undergo a complete change our way of life, to defeat the virus and likewise our radical on sustain change our lifestyle is require to stop abuse our planet. They go on to say the environmental crisis raises questions about how we live, how we work, how we holiday, and how we travel, and how the goods be purchased and manufactured transport to us. These are timely questions as we continue to come out of lockdown.