Peak time for depression Recently I was listening to the song ‘Love Shine A Light’ by Katrina and The Waves which was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1997. While the message is both uplifting and positive it is interesting that the song was dedicated to the Samaritan charity. At this time of… Read More
Author: Sara
The People We Look Up To
Who are the people we look up to? In life who are the people we look up to and who influence us the most? Perhaps that is something we need to examine more closely. At the beginning of this week, the main story in the media and on everybody’s lips was the death of the… Read More
The Day For All Saints
November 1st – All Saints Day All Saints Day, celebrated on November 1st commemorates all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, who have attained Heaven. For Catholics, it is a holy day of obligation. The first evidence for the November 1st date of celebration occurred during the reign of Pope Gregory III (731-741)… Read More
Celebrating Pope St John Paul II
Celebrating Pope St John Paul II This month on Tuesday 22nd, we celebrate the feast day of St Pope John Paul II. From the beginning of his reign, he captured public imagination coming as he did from Poland, long under the jackboot of a Communist regime. His election was a symbol of the Church triumphant… Read More
Gospel Conversations by Desmond O’Donnell
Gospel Conversations by Desmond O’Donnell, OMI is available from Dominican Publications for just €9.99 Gospel Conversations, a Dominican publication , was written by Desmond O’Donnell, OMI and is a collection of imaginary exchanges between various characters from the New Testament. The aim of the book is to enable the reader to engage more fully with… Read More
St Therese of Lisieux
St Therese, the ‘Little Flower’ of Lisieux St Therese of Lisieux, the ‘little flower’ is remembered especially in her feast day on October 1st. One of the Catholic Church’s most popular Saints, Pope Pius X called her “the greatest saint of modern times.” Thérèse is something of an enigma in that she died when she was… Read More
What is Life like for a Dominican Student Priest?
Life as a Dominican Student Priest For over 800 years the Order of Preachers, the Dominicans have been following in the footsteps of their founder Dominic Guzman, under the special care and patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1216 he established the Friars Preachers with approval from Pope Honorius III and later Pope Innocent… Read More
Do Animals go to heaven?
If there is a Heaven will Animals be there? Recently one of my friends was telling me about how much heartache she suffers when one of her pets dies. She has just lost a beloved cat and the whole issue of whether animals go to Heaven or not is very much on her mind at… Read More
Mary: A Possible or Impossible Role-Model?
Mary as a Role – Model The Catholic Church has traditionally dedicated the month of September to Our Lady of Sorrows and on the 8th of this month, we celebrate Mary’s Nativity. Educated by the nuns, I had devotion to her instilled in me from very early days and I remember decorating the May altars… Read More
Hinduism – Worshipping one God in many forms
Hinduism – worshipping one God in many forms On Monday morning last I went to 7.25am Mass in my local Parish Church. Generally, there is quite a small attendance unless it is a Holy Day. What really struck me was that there were five different Indian families in the congregation. This led me to wonder… Read More
The Election of a Pope – How it Works
The Election of a Pope. This time last year we were awaiting the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. Where has the time gone? Those twelve months seem to have flown by. In this blog we focus on Election of a Pope in the Vatican nd how this works when another Pope dies or resigns…. Read More
The Feast of the Assumption – What does it mean?
The Feast of the Assumption – What does it mean? The Feast of the Assumption The word ‘assumption’ means to take something for granted, even without proof. E.g. a mother might say to her child, who is off out to play in the evening, “I assume you have finished all your homework?” In the Catholic… Read More
Christian Persecution – Still Going On
Christian Persecution – Still Going On I was at a Mass recently where the Priest talked about how Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world today. I had heard about this before; back in 2012 the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the same thing to a gathering of the Lutheran Church. It was… Read More
Brexit – Love Thy Neighbour
Love Thy Neighbour As a country Ireland’s nearest neighbour is of course England, that other island just across the water. Sadly love has seldom come into the relationship between the two countries, although in recent times, and especially since the Good Friday Agreement, relations have improved greatly. Now however, to quote a speaker I heard… Read More
Our Visit to Merchants Quay Ireland
A Visit to Merchants Quay Ireland On Thursday of last week my colleague and I had the opportunity to do a Donor Tour at Riverbank, which is the home of Merchants Quay Ireland, the outreach and support service for homeless people and drug users in Ireland. On the second Thursday of every month, after their… Read More