Last Sunday I attended a Mass which was celebrated by the Archbishop of Dublin, Dermot Farrell in the Church of Our Mother of Divine Grace in Ballygall. As required by Covid restrictions the number of people in the congregation was limited. Still, it feels good to be back again in the company of others and… Read More
Tag: Catholic
In the World’s Spotlight: Pope Francis
On New Year’s Eve, 2019 Pope Francis made headlines news when he slapped the hand of a woman as he greeted pilgrims at the Vatican. Francis’ patience snapped when the woman suddenly snatched at his hand and yanked him towards her as he reached out to greet a child during a visit to the… Read More
In the Upper Room: Holy Thursday
We are now in Holy Week, the most important time in The Church’s year, even greater than Christmas because Christ brings to fruition the mission he was born to accomplish. From Holy Thursday through to Easter Sunday we celebrate the Triduum, the three days we recall the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I remember… Read More
In Praise of Letters and Cards
In the years when I was young and growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, we were all used to sending and receiving letters on a fairly regular basis. I even had a pen pal in England whom I corresponded with diligently for a few years. When I was in my twenties a friend… Read More
Holistic Healing: A Christian Approach by Pat Collins CM
Please note: Fr Pat Collins is a priest of the Vincentian order, if you would like to contact him please call Vincentians Ireland on 01 810 2561 or email parishmissions@vincentians.ie. We are living in a time of Pandemic which has affected us all and the topic of healing has never been more relevant. With healing comes hope and hope… Read More
October: The Month of the Holy Rosary
The Rosary is a much-loved prayer of the Catholic Church and probably the most popular after the Our Father. Its purpose is to help us meditate on the great mysteries of our salvation. In it, we immerse ourselves in Christ’s life from birth, through death, to his glorious Resurrection. It is a celebration of the… Read More
The Guardian Angels
One of the most appealing images remembered from religious instruction in childhood was that of the guardian angels protecting us all from danger, both physical and moral. Just as parents sometimes entrust the younger members of the family to the care of their elder brothers and sisters, so our Father in Heaven commits us to… Read More
Remembering New York’s Saddest Day
Sometimes, when I am watching a film or TV series based in New York, I am saddened when the Twin Towers appear in the background. Not only does it date the program as pre-2001, but it is also a reminder of a time when what happened on 11 September nineteen years ago, was unimaginable. On… Read More
Someone Beautiful For God- Mother Teresa
On the fifth of this month, we celebrated the feast of St Teresa of Calcutta, fondly known to almost everyone as Mother Teresa. The woman who for much of her life was described as “the living saint”, was canonized on September 4, 2010. Teresa, forever associated with India, especially Calcutta (now known by its local… Read More
Monica and Augustine
There is a well-known saying that, ‘Behind every great man there is a great woman.’ This certainly applies to St Monica, whose feast day we celebrate last week. Monica’s son, St Augustine, has been described as the most Significant Christian Thinker after St Paul. His adaptation of classical thought to Christian teaching created a theological… Read More
Religion and Spirituality
When the Taoiseach, Micheāl Martin spoke to the nation on Tuesday evening, at one point he commented that the government did not want to interfere with the spiritual life of people. This was in response to a reporter’s question with regard to people going to Mass. His response was interesting because going to Mass is… Read More
What is the meaning of Religion?
The Coronavirus and resulting Lockdown have taken their toll on many areas of life, including religious practice. Religion and its meaning in peoples’ lives have been the subject of much comment as places of worship across the country were closed for weeks on end. Such a state of affairs was unprecedented in modern times. What… Read More
John Hume – Blessed be the Peacemakers
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
Anti-Catholicism, and the last Irish Martyr
This week we celebrated the feast of St Oliver Plunkett, who when canonized in 1975, became the first Irish saint for almost 700 years, as well as the first of the Irish martyrs to be beatified. It was an honour that he had paid for dearly – with a life on the run filled with… Read More
Brotherly Love – Pope Benedict’s last trip
The news from the Vatican this week was a reminder that we are living in a unique period of history because we have a reigning pope Francis, and a retired pope Benedict both alive at the same time. Benedict was the first pontiff to resign in 600 years and still lives within the walls of… Read More
Life after Covid19
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