In the 16th century, it could take years for messages between Rome and Asia to arrive — if they arrived at all. Local missionaries made critical decisions without central guidance. Faster communications give rise to centralised authority.

August 6 marks both Hiroshima and the Transfiguration — a date of devastation and divine hope. One event shows what humans can destroy, the other what we can become. The contrast urges us to reflect on who we are and who we are meant to be.

Like children begging for sweets, the Church pleads for more vocations. But maybe it’s time to stop asking—and start listening to what the Spirit is actually saying.