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
Palm Sunday: Reception of a King
Image:www.canva.com On 10 March we celebrate Palm Sunday, also called Passion Sunday and the day which sees the commencement of Holy Week. The jubilant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem marks the high point of his earthly ministry. On this important day, the Catholic Liturgy is like an overture for all of the week ahead, a… Read More
The Annunciation of the Lord
Image:www.reddit.com Mach 25th, marks the Feast of the Annunciation, where the Archangel Gabriel, with Mary, begins the journey of Christianity. This is the moment when God’s decision to break into human history is revealed to the person who is essential for its progression. As Jesus came to earth to do the father’s will, Mary… Read More
Paying the Price of War: Russia vs Ukraine
Image:www.forbes.com One morning two weeks ago I was travelling into work when I noticed a lovely blackbird on the wall of a garden in which bloomed two bright pink cherry blossom trees. Just around the corner was a green bank full of daffodils. All sights to gladden the heart and herald the onset of Spring…. Read More
The Desert Road: Lent
This week on Wednesday the Church began its Lenten journey with the distribution of the ashes at Masses. These are a reminder that our life here is not forever. On this day we start to put into practice the promises we have made, whether to abstain from or take up, various things as we move… Read More