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
Category: Faith
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
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
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
World Day of the Sick
Image:www.cardinalsblog.adw.org Friday 11 February is World Day of the Sick and was instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1993 to be celebrated annually on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. People around the world are asked to take time on this day to pray for the sick and for those who work very… Read More
Saint Agnes and the Lamb
On Friday 21st January we celebrate the Feast of Saint Agnes of Rome, a virgin and martyr, held in esteem by the Church since her death circa 304. Her grave near the Via Nomentana was recognized soon after her death. She was young when she was martyred; St Ambrose stated that she was only twelve,… Read More
The Princess Nun – St Margaret of Hungary, O.P.
Today the Dominican Order Celebrates the Feast Day of the Princess Nun, St. Margaret of Hungary, O.P. St. Margaret, was the first daughter of King Bela IV, champion of Christendom, and Queen Mary Lascaris of Hungary, and was offered to God before her birth, in petition that the country would be delivered from… Read More
The Word was made Flesh and Dwelt among us
In the first week of the New Year, on 6 January, we celebrate the Epiphany, which is one of the three principal and oldest festival days of the Christian church (the other two are Easter and Christmas). The Gospel of Matthew (2:1-12) speaks of Magi, or wise men, who followed a star from the east… Read More
The Gentle Queen- St Elizabeth of Hungary
This week on Wednesday, November 17th we celebrated the feast of St Elizabeth of Hungary who was born in Pressburg in 1207, a daughter of the King, Andrew III, and his wife Gertrude who was later murdered. Those were very different times and in infancy, she was betrothed to Louis IV, son of Hermann I,… Read More
The Value of Retreat
When I was in Secondary School, back in the ‘70s, we had a retreat with the Chaplain and a team once a year and I always looked forward to those few days. Of course, it made a change from the daily routine and afforded me a break from the dreaded Maths classes! It provided… Read More
The Devastation of Bullying and Praying for Change
The Devastation of Bullying. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29 Bullying, it’s a word that parents dread and something that a great many people have had to… Read More
The Saint of our Time: Padre Pio
On Thursday, 23rd we celebrated the feast day of the man we still refer to as Padre Pio, but who is of course a saint of the Catholic Church, with the title St Pio of Pietrelcina. Born in 1887, to peasant farmers in the Campanian Uplands, he later said… Read More
A Visit to Knock
Last Saturday I was in the west of Ireland for the weekend and took the opportunity to pay a visit to Knock Shrine in Co Mayo. The journey from Ballaghaderreen, where we were based, is a pleasant one through tranquil countryside. We made our way past houses and shop fronts festooned with Mayo flags in… Read More
St Brigid of Sweden
We in Ireland are proud of our two famous Patron Saints, Patrick and of course Brigid, who is also known as “the Mary of the Gaels”. Until quite recently, I am ashamed to admit, I did not know that there is another saint of the same name, Brigid of Sweden. We celebrate her Feast Day… Read More
A Day to Remember: Yom HaShoah
The Christian religion began with the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was a Jew as were his earliest followers. In one sense it is possible to say that Christianity began as a movement within Judaism. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, these early followers believed him to be the Messiah… Read More