Christchurch grieves and prays

AUGUST EDITION: The impact of the Christchurch earthquake continues to resonate in  this month's edition. An engineer looks at the damage done to the Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in the earthquake, during which the statue of Our Lady did an about-turn.  Philippa Winch suggests ways our families can show gratitude, again in the context of the Christchurch earthquake, and Pope Benedict expresses solidarity with the people of Christchurch in a letter to George Robert Furness Troup. Mindful of greater tragedies, a professor of Geo-Technical engineering reflects on the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004 while Bill Farrelly shares his insights in dealing with the interior turmoil of addiction.

In our Regular Features, the editor examines the Christian response to beggars, and Fr John Kelly examines Buddhist Meditation and lessons that we might draw from it. Joe McHugh continues his article on the Gospel of Matthew, Fr Merv Duffy looks at why the "old" Our Father is still to be used in the new liturgy