(L-R) David Tunley, Victoria Rogers and Cyrus Meher-Homji, authors of a recent book on pianist Eileen Joyce, which was launched at the University of Western Australia on 4 December. Photo: Caroline Smith. By Caroline Smith When David Tunley, Victoria Rogers and Cyrus Meher-Homji set out to write about the career of Eileen Joyce, their task was a significant one: not only to reveal how...

By Daniele Foti-Cuzzola It was only fitting that Melbourne based photographer and journalist Fiona Basile named her debut children’s book Shhh…God Is in the Silence, as it was in the silence that she found her inspiration. After working for several years at the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne’s Kairos Catholic Journal, Basile took a period of extended leave and enrolled in a 30-day silent r...

The biography of the fifth Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal Norman Thomas Gilroy, was launched last month on 26 October at the University of Notre Dame in Broadway by Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher OP. Authored by historian, John Luttrell FMS, this first extended biography of Cardinal Gilroy examines his life and his significance as a religious leader in twentieth century Australia and beyond.

As a former Jesuit seminarian and current writer and literary critic, Gerard Windsor is well-placed to explore Catholic faith and identity from both a theological and personal standpoint in his recent book, The Tempest-Tossed Church. Indeed, personal experience infuses each chapter as Windsor reflects on his own journey of faith and the issues and people who have affected it. By Caroline Smith.

Dr Ryan Messmore has broadcast his love life to the world.
The Catholic theologian, who is based in Brisbane. Queensland, has written a book about his four-year courtship and subsequent marriage to his wife Karin Messmore. Born to a devout Methodist family as one of triplets and later became an Anglican then a Catholic, Dr Messmore said writing a book had always been in the pipeline. By Emilie Ng.

For West Australian poet and writer Andrew Lansdown, Japan has long been a subject of fascination, for its literary styles, its history and landscape – and this is something he draws on again in his most recent release, Kyoto Sakura Tanka.

The Kimberley region of far-north Western Australia has long been a place of faith, with churches and schools being established there from the late 19th century onwards, and a recent book, A Photographic History of the Catholic Church in the Kimberley, collates this well, with images and stories of the parishes and local people in the area.

Throughout history, there have been numerous debates about the various aspects of Catholic belief and teachings, and a recent book by Australian theologian Tracey Rowland attempts to compile and explain these for a lay audience.

In reading the recently released In God’s Hands: The Spiritual Diaries of John Paul II, it would be normal to question one’s worthiness in having the opportunity to gain such an insight into one of the greatest minds the Catholic Church has seen.

Stories of faith journeys can be beneficial in a number of ways, in particular by illuminating how individuals encounter God throughout their lives and revealing the daily practices that strengthen this connection.