I remember a long time ago seeing, perhaps on a poster, the words “Happiness is having something to do, someone to love and something to hope for.” This would also suggest a formula for good mental health. According to the World Health Organization, Mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realises… Read More
The main topic in the news this week and the only one to topple Covid-19, albeit temporarily, was the death of John Hume, the man without whom peace would never been attained in Northern Ireland. Those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s here in the south were used to the daily… Read More
This week we saw the beginning of what is referred to as the opening up of our country. Hand in hand with this is the notion of ‘the new normal’, a phrase which strikes fear in the hearts of some, intimating that things have changed irrevocably. I am still getting used to the idea of… Read More
Following the huge success of the High Hopes Choir and Choir of Age, David Brophy assembled a choir from among Ireland’s 355,000 family carers. He wanted their involvement in the choir to be therapeutic and fun. In a two-part documentary for RTE, the viewers hear the various different stories as they watched the participants prepare… Read More
Pope St John Paul II was born one hundred years ago last Monday. When future historians look back on the most influential personalities of the 20th century, his name will undoubtedly loom large in their accounts. Even his critics would agree that few individuals have had a greater impact-not just in the field of religion-but… Read More
Every year on April 22, Earth Day marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. Its aim is to raise awareness of the negative impact our actions as human beings have on the environment and the earth as a whole. Since it began in 1970, Earth Day has continued to… Read More
Beside my desk, in the office, I have two Noticeboards, one of which I just use for pictures I like, animals, landscapes and photographs. One of these shows Pope Pius XII with a tiny little bird perched on his hand. Pius was head of the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958. The story behind the… Read More
COVID- 19 (Coronavirus) Message to Our Supporters At this time of unprecedented COVID-19 crisis in our country, and across the globe, we would like to assure you that all of you are in our thoughts and prayers. Please take the utmost care in terms of personal safety, and to follow the HSE guideline. This may… Read More
International Women’s Day – Celebrating Progress & Change This Sunday is the 8th of March and on that date every year we celebrate International Women’s Day. It originated from the trade union movement in America in the early twentieth century, particularly in the activism of the women who worked in the clothing industry “sweatshops” of… Read More
“Be friends with one another, and kind, forgiving each other as readily as God forgave you in Christ”. These were some of the words written by St Paul in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. Kindness is an example of love in action as well as being a gift of the Holy Spirit, something… Read More
Cancer, the very word in itself is enough to strike fear in the hearts of us all. Almost every one of us, at some point or another, will be affected by it and even if we have not had it ourselves we will know a friend or family member who are battling with the disease. … Read More
On January 27, 1945 the notorious Nazi death camp at Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet forces. On Monday this week, hundreds of Holocaust survivors joined delegates from world governments, (including our own President Michael D. Higgins) at the site where more than one million people were murdered when the Nazis occupied Poland during World War… Read More
Just last week when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would be taking a “step back” from the royal family and its duties they did so on an Instagram post. The BBC posted via Twitter that the royal family was not made aware of Harry and Meghan’s decision before they posted the news… Read More
Different Ways to spend Christmas People are different, but at Christmas, there is somewhat of an expectation that we will all do the same thing. The emphasis, of course, at this time is on family. The little family of Bethlehem points us towards the importance of spending time with the people in our lives who… Read More
December the 8th is a holy day and was once the biggest Shopping Day of the year. It was traditional for the people living in the country to visit Dublin to do their Christmas shopping. Indeed, for many, it was a big day out that they looked forward to with anticipation. To the present generation,… Read More
First of December; First Sunday of Advent This Sunday marks a lot of Firsts… yes the first day of December, but also the first Sunday of Advent, the first season of the Church year, leading up to Christmas and including the four preceding Sundays, during which we prepare for the birth of Christ. It is… Read More