Image: CNN Last Saturday, 6 May was the day when Westminster Abbey in London was the setting for the first British coronation in 70 years. This event marks in a special way King Charles III’s transition from history’s longest-reigning Prince of Wales into King of the United Kingdom, which comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and the… Read More
Category: Blog
The Mystery of Holy Week
Image: Canva When we enter Holy Week and Jesus enters Jerusalem, we begin to confront the great mystery of our faith – the Paschal Mystery: the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Christians call this “a mystery” because it is a truth known only because it has been revealed to us by God. Reason alone… Read More
The Last Miracle- Lazarus
Image: walkingintheshadowlands.com The gospel last Sunday was about the raising of Lazarus from the tomb after he had been dead for three days. The only account of this event is found in John Chapter 11, verses (1-44), and is the last of the signs through which Jesus showed who he was before his passion and… Read More
Happy Anniversary Pope Francis!
Image:www.americamagazine.org On Monday of this week, Pope Francis marked 10 years as head of the Roman Catholic Church by celebrating Mass with cardinals in the chapel of the Vatican’s Santa Marta residence where he has lived since his election. He never took possession of the papal apartments in the Apostolic palace used by his predecessors,… Read More
The Transfiguration of the Lord
Image: www.catholicnewsagency.com In his apostolic letter Rosarium Virginis Maria, Pope St John Paul II instituted the Luminous Mysteries, also referred to as the Mysteries of Light. The Fourth Mystery is a meditation on the Transfiguration of the Lord and the gospel reading at Mass last Sunday was about this beautiful and glorious event. The word… Read More
Some Symbolic Lenten Foods
Image: Canva The word ‘symbol’ comes from a Greek word that means ‘to juxtapose’ or ‘throw together’. Broadly, a symbol can be an object, word, or drawing that represents another reality not directly perceivable or expressed. An obvious example is the exchange of wedding rings which symbolize the love of a couple getting married. Symbols… Read More
Visit to a Troubled Land – Pope Francis’ visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo
Visit to a Troubled Land On the afternoon of Tuesday 31 January, Pope Francis arrived in Kinshasa for the start of a 4-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR) and South Sudan. Catholics make up around half the population of each country. The Church also owns and runs an extensive network of hospitals,… Read More
At What Cost?: Russia vs Ukraine
Image: www.abc.net.au In recent days the major international news story has been the decision by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that his government will provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks and approve requests by other countries to do the same. Naturally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed his satisfaction at this development calling them, “important… Read More
Do Unto Others: The British Royal family
Image: www.newyorker.com Whatever one’s personal opinion about the British Royal family they make headlines, sell newspapers, and have been an integral part of English identity since Athelstan defeated the last of the Viking invaders and consolidated British rule from 925-939. They are very much in the news again this week with the publication of Prince… Read More
Farewell to Pope Emeritus Benedict, (1927 – 2022)
Image: www.britannica.com As I write this the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is taking place in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City, before the burial in a crypt beneath St Peter’s Basilica. The former pope died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 95, nearly a decade after he stood down due to… Read More
In Town Before Christmas
Image: www.ireland.com When visiting the center of Dublin at this time of the year we all know we can expect crowds, and we have been told that after two years of Covid restrictions there will be a great swell of people converging on the city. This was in my mind when I went in… Read More
Our Lady of Guadalupe: Patroness of the Americas
Image: www.franciscanmedia.org On December 12 we celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was December 9, 1531, when Mary appeared to a man called Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac, in Mexico. A poor Aztec Indian, who had been raised in line with the Aztec pagan religion, Juan had converted to Catholicism… Read More
Keeping the Crib in Christmas
Image: Br Sean Blackwell The crib in Bethlehem is what Christmas is all about, although with every year that passes it seems that this truth is becoming more and more blurred. We are becoming increasingly aware of the ways in which the Season has become a time for overspending and overindulging, and much has been… Read More
Left Out in the Cold
Image: StSavioursPriory Two people I was talking with recently both mentioned in passing that snow is expected later in the year. This is not good news. We have been warned incessantly that we are facing a very difficult winter ahead, mainly as a consequence of the huge rise in energy costs caused by Putin’s war… Read More
Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)– Woman of Faith
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