Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

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

Posted on Leave a comment

St Peter and His Chair

Image:www.ncregiste.com This week, on Tuesday 22 February, we celebrated a feast with an unusual and intriguing name, The Chair of Saint Peter.  However, whatever it may sound like this has nothing to do with a piece of furniture, even though there is a physical object with the same name.  More anon! We all know who… Read More