Image:www.skynews.com The first words spoken by Queen Elizabeth II when she rose to her feet on the occasion of a dinner given in her honour at Dublin Castle, during her State visit to Ireland in 2011 were, “A Uactaran agus a Chairde.” Undoubtedly this gesture on her part contributed to the acknowledged success of… Read More
No Catholics Need Apply !
Image:members.parliament.uk History was made on two accounts this week when Liz Truss was elected Prime Minister in the United Kingdom. For the first time the Leader and the Deputy Leader are both women and the latter, Thérèse Coffey, is the first Catholic to serve in this position. There has only been one baptized Catholic… Read More
A Brother to All-Brother Kevin Crowley OFM
Image:www.radiomaria.ie When history looks back at poverty and homelessness in Dublin in our times and at the attempts which were made to tackle them, three names, in particular, will be to the fore: Brother Kevin Crowley OFM, Sister Stanislaus Kennedy RSC and Father Peter McVerry SJ. Recently the first of these, at the age of… Read More
Saint Rose of Lima
Image:www.catholicnewsagency.com This week on Tuesday the 23rd we celebrated the feast day of St Rose of Lima who was the first canonized saint of the Americas. She was born in Lima in 1585, the eleventh child of Spanish Indian parents. From her earliest days, she showed an awareness of God and His Son Jesus. When… Read More
Death of a Statesman: David Trimble 1944-2022
Image: www.theguardian.com Early this week the death was announced of Northern Ireland’s first First Minister, Lord David Trimble. Many of the younger people may not even recognize his name, but for those of us who lived through the tortuous period of time before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in April 1998, he… Read More
A Glance Behind Peter’s Pence
A Glance Behind Peter’s Pence Last Sunday at Mass the second collection which is usually for Share was replaced by one for ‘Peter’s Pence’. This is an annual suggested offering which is taken up throughout the Catholic world either on 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, or on the Sunday closest to… Read More
No to Nuclear Weapons
Image: www.skynews.com The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted by a United Nations diplomatic conference on 7 July 2017. It is the first applicable multilateral agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons. The first meeting of States Parties to TPNW took place in Austria last week. The aim was to set the tone… Read More
Defender of the Faith: Then and Now
Image:neemopani.com Last weekend was a very special one for the citizens of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as they observed 4 days of celebration to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British History with the previous record-holder being her great-great-grandmother, Victoria who was on the throne… Read More
Heartbreak in Texas
Image: www.buzzfeednews.com Last week we watched and listened in horror as news broke of the mass killing of 21 people at the Rob Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Two teachers and nineteen children, all under twelve, had been finishing their last day of school before breaking up for the summer when the killer, eighteen years… Read More
The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Image: www.olmcsandiego.org Next week we celebrate the lovely feast of the Visitation when Mary went to visit her much older cousin, Elizabeth. This came about because Gabriel, the Angel who told her she was to be the mother of Jesus also gave her more extraordinary news when he said Elizabeth was going to have a… Read More
The Good Shepherd
Image:shcct.com Last weekend on 8 May the Church celebrated the Fourth Sunday of Easter which is also called Good Shepherd Sunday. Even in these industrial and technological times, the image of the Shepherd is an instantly recognisable one. The Shepherd is the person who looks after the sheep and traditionally protects them from predators, animals,… Read More
Dominican Vocations – Br Desmond Conway’s Story
I was born in Panama, famous for its Canal, to an Irish father and a Panamanian mother. They had met in the British Virgin Islands, which is where I subsequently spent my childhood. Though I grew-up in paradise amidst a loving family, I carried a great sadness with me. I had walked away from the... Read More
A Letter from Ukraine – Fr Jaroslaw OP in Kiev
Dear sisters, dear brothers, “Father, the air raid alarm has been going for over two hours. Are you in the shelter?” As I was beginning to write, I received this message from Vera, from the House of Saint Martin in Fastiv. Tonight, just like yesterday, the air raid was announced covering almost the whole country;… Read More
Justice For All: Ukrainian Humanitarian Crisis
Image:www.independent.ie Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered one of the largest and fastest refugee movements that Europe has witnessed since the end of World War II. By 22 March, only seven days into the war, 874,000 people were estimated to have fled to neighbouring countries. Ireland, a nation of just five million people that in… Read More
Giving Prisoners Hope
Image:www.thejakartapost.com As I write this the Annual Conference of the Association of Prison Officers are meeting in Sligo and some of the issues that have arisen were a subject of a news report headline. While I listened, I was further reinforced in my view that there are few things in life worse than the prospect… Read More
The Five days before Holy Saturday
Image:www.canva.com Holy Week is the precursor to the central event of Christian belief, the resurrection, and is therefore considered the focal point of the ecclesiastical and liturgical year. It is no surprise that each day has a title and a specific significance for the last stages in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Palm Sunday… Read More