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Favourite prayers and reflections
BOOKS
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| By JANE NEWSOME
17 August, 2008 |
MOSAIC:
Favourite prayers and reflections from inspiring Australians
Edited by Rosalind Bradley
ABC Books, Sydney, 2008; pb, 212pp; $35.
Reviewed by JANE NEWSOME
If you were asked to share with others an inspirational prayer or poem or quotation which is a source of strength for you in your life, what would you choose?
In essence, Rosalind Bradley put this very question to 450 people of various faiths and traditions, who have made a significant contribution to Australian life through their extraordinary capabilities, or by their courage in adversity, or for the magnitude of their good works or for the position they hold in society.
Over a third responded.
Some are quiet achievers while others are well known.
Particularly close to Rosalind’s heart are those who have dedicated “their time and energy to building bridges across the divisions of Australia” as, indeed, we are a diverse nation “of many beliefs, faiths and backgrounds”, and hence her chosen title for the book, Mosaic, and her hopes for it as a contribution towards our peaceful future.
The result is a veritable treasure trove.
For each of the offerings there is a biographical note, a reflection and a source.
What caught the eye?
Cardinal Pell offered The Memorare, attributed to St Bernard of Clairvaux, which the Cardinal says was taught him by the Christian Brothers when he was in his teens.
It is a prayer he says before and after Mass.
Phillip Aspinall, the Australian Anglican Primate, has looked to Michael Leunig for his, and provides the enigmatic
Love is born
With a dark and troubled face
When hope is dead
And in the most unlikely place
Love is born:
Love is always born.
Ajahn Brahm, a Buddhist monk and author, has provided his own: an excerpt from his book, Opening the Door of Your Heart; a wish for the various religions of the world to be in harmony as the parts of the orchestra are when they play a symphony.
Aboriginal historian and author of Don’t Take Your Love to Town, Ruby Langford Ginibi, also has written her own, in the form of a moving and very personal autobiographical reflection.
John Eales, former captain of the Wallabies, has provided a thoughtful, simple and beautiful poem about the influence of his father.
Anglican minister, and former General Secretary of the New South Wales Ecumenical Council, Ray Williamson, has offered some words of hope and encouragement by the late Br Roger Schutz, founder of the genuinely ecumenical community of Taizé in France.
Mike (This is Your Life) Munro responded with The Hail Mary which he used to pray for many years for the rescue of his alcohol-addicted mother.
Shakespearean actor and director, John Bell, in a self-revealing quotation, chose “This thing of darkness I
acknowledge mine” from The Tempest!
Sir William Deane, the much loved former Governor-General, has contributed what is surely the guiding inspiration for all Catholic Weekly readers:
For I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink; I was a stranger and you made me welcome; naked and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me... (Matthew 25: 35-40, Jerusalem Bible)
As Sir William reflects: “The passage says it all.”
These are just a few of this rich and wonderful collection.
There are two indexes; one for contributors and one for sources.
The proceeds from the sale of the book will go to non-profit organisations: The Asylum Seekers Centre of New South Wales and Bethlehem Communities Australia.
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