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REFLECTIONS | FIFTH GOSPEL LIVING
Faith in everyday life.
Every reflection is a glimpse of God at work in everyday life. Browse the collection by category or tag to discover stories that speak to you, whether they are about prayer, hope, community or the quiet moments where God is present.
As you read, we invite you to leave a comment and share how a reflection has encouraged or inspired you. Your thoughts may be a source of hope for someone else.
If these stories prompt you to reflect on your own experience of God, we would love to hear from you. Visit the Share Your Story page to submit your own reflection and become part of the growing collection of Fifth Gospel Living.
All Posts
That's Nice
Amid her father's final hospital decline, Kath's whispered prayer inviting his deceased family to gather round him was met with a sudden warmth, an opening of his eyes, and one soft word "nice", that for Kath was proof he wasn't alone when he died hours later.
Kath D
Aug 233 min read
The Rosary Kept Me Well
A lupus diagnosis nearly cost her family's NZ visa, but years of Rosary devotion carried her through until her specialist admitted in 2015 the diagnosis itself was doubtful, leaving her confident that faith, not medicine, kept her well.
M Hugo
Aug 232 min read
An Experience of God
A parish Mass full of ordinary human moments of grief, new life, family reunion, kids buzzing after their liturgy, full-voiced hymns, tea and chat afterward, added up to a felt sense of Jesus truly present, not just in the Eucharist but in the people themselves.
Pauline
Aug 231 min read
West Coast Funeral
A storm batters a graveside burial on waterlogged ground, and the mourners' defiant, drenched grief refuses to let the weather or the land itself resist laying a man to rest before his time.
John Ewen
Aug 232 min read
Our Miracle Granddaughter
Leonie & Wim In 2017 my husband and I were delighted to know that our son and his wife living in Perth, were expecting their first child in 2018. We live in Hawke’s Bay, NZ so we mostly have virtual contact. Two months later we received a brief text from our son telling us that following tests, their wee babe had a 99.9% chance of being be born with severe abnormalities, consequentially they would never live a ‘normal’ life. It was devastating news and the specialists were st
Leonie & Wim
Aug 231 min read
A Gift from God
Kate rushed from overalls-and-gumboots on a bull-calf run to a Blenheim flight, trusted God to handle the traffic and the closed gate, and made it aboard for one last precious weekend with her dying mother and whole family.
Kate Lynch
Aug 232 min read
Great things will come your way
Three months of job-hunting silence, one doubt-filled morning prayer, and the answer that arrived — not for Fidela, but for the nephew and niece they'd been praying for all along.
Fidela Antonio-Ladores
Aug 222 min read
The Art of Giving
A packet of cigarettes, and a hug that stripped away the distance between Clare and the man she'd been walking past all along.
Clare Morahan Drennan
Aug 222 min read
The Gift that keeps on Giving!
A terminal diagnosis at Christmas, a misread scan, and the moment of total surrender to God's will that carried Mike through both.
Mike Doolan
Aug 222 min read
Let go and Let God
Finally learning to let go and let God: how a health scare, a downsize, and the Surrender Prayer taught Suzanne to trust.
Suzanne Doolan
Aug 221 min read
Nudges
Pebble-drop words, gentle nudges, this is Elwyn's story of learning to hear and act on God's voice in the everyday
Elwyn Streulens
Aug 92 min read
Born again on Christmas Day
Bernadette shares a diary entry from when she was a 19-year-old lost in Paihia, and the Midnight Mass that brought her home.
Bernadette Foley
Aug 92 min read
Calming the Storm
A stained-glass window of Jesus calming the storm gave Joan peace during her son's hospital stay and years later, unprompted, he chose that same church for his wedding.
Joan
Aug 91 min read
God’s Willing and Humble Servant
After Trish's father's death at 10 shattered her faith, a bright light beside the altar during a school retreat showed her a choice of roads and she chose the long one, to heaven.
Trish Batchelor
Jul 264 min read
I always knew that God was with me
A van crash into a Nelson river took Cath's husband and two friends but as she scaled the cliff to safety, guided by their voices, she knew they were already on their way to heaven.
Cath Shaw
Jul 262 min read
The W Invitation
A white cloth shaped like a 'W' on the Easter cross opened into a meditation on finding Christ in the World, the Wind, the Water, and the Wounds of everyone around Catherine.
Catherine Gibbs
Jul 262 min read
That’s When Everything changed
Jelvine was a lifelong Catholic who'd been going through the motions found God again in a quiet moment before the Blessed Sacrament, through the words of Psalm 139.
Jelvine Cortez
Jul 262 min read
Even a dust-sized amount of Your power
Facing uncertainty about securing an accounting internship, Justin turned to prayer and discovered that even the smallest awareness of God’s power was enough to bring peace, courage and confidence.
Justin
Jul 192 min read
Ngā Roimata Whakamoemiti
Phil Cody reflects on a Good Friday experience of prayer, hope and thanksgiving after a baby whose life was uncertain was born healthy. A moment that revealed the depth of God’s presence and love.
Phil Cody
Jul 191 min read
My Psalm of Thanksgiving
Paula Robins shares a heartfelt prayer of thanksgiving, reflecting on how God’s love, forgiveness and presence brought healing, freedom and a deeper relationship with Him.
Paula Robins
Jul 182 min read
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