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Popes in Peril – Times of crisis

It came as an unpleasant shock this week when news emerged from Rome that a threatening letter containing three bullets addressed to Pope Francis had been seized by Italian police.  The discovery was made in a postal facility in the small town of Peschiera Borromeo on the outskirts of Milan.  The suspicious package, believed to… Read More

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Upon St Swithun’s Day

On Tuesday, July 15 we celebrated St Swithun’s Day.  He was even mentioned on the RTE news, not an accolade afforded to too many saints in these times of religious indifference!  However, this saint may be an exception because of his association with a topic close to the hearts of us Irish, namely the weather…. Read More

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London Bombings Remembered

Tuesday of last week marked the fifteenth anniversary of the London bombings, an atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people and injured more than 700 others.  I well remember the event and seeing on the news the image of the mangled number 30 bus in Tavistock Square, which became the symbol of that terrible… Read More

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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

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Love Thy Neighbour?

Within the last two weeks the usual headlines regarding Covid-19 have been replaced by another huge news item; sadly not a good one. What should have been a minor incident in Minnesota turned into a world news story, leading to scenes of mass protests and demonstrations across the United States. On May 26, George Floyd… Read More