England is a country that is firmly associated with the Protestant religion because it was its King, Henry VIII who broke from Rome when the pope would not allow him to divorce his wife Catherine of Aragon. It was Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I whose compromise between Protestantism and Catholicism resulted in Anglicanism, a hybrid of… Read More
Tag: God
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
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
Respecting Our Elders?
This week saw the lifting of the government’s restrictive ban on people aged over seventy. There has been a lot of talk about it in the media, and it was greeted with delight by those in this age bracket. I listened to an interview with former government minister, Mary O’Rourke, speaking about how excited she… Read More
The Church in a time of crisis
The current unprecedented coronavirus crisis has affected all areas of life including church services. Not only are the churches closed, but we are unable to celebrate the end of life by having a funeral in the normal way. This has been particularly difficult for us Irish who are at our best on social occasions and… Read More
We are an Easter People
This week we are preparing for Easter Sunday, the highest point in the Liturgical Calendar of the Church. This is the culmination of the Lenten journey and the day that makes sense of all that went before, some of it dark and terrible. In the Exsultet we are told ‘This is the night that expels… Read More
In A World Where You Can Be Anything, be Kind
“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
The First Sunday of Advent
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
The People We Look Up To
Who are the people we look up to? In life who are the people we look up to and who influence us the most? Perhaps that is something we need to examine more closely. At the beginning of this week, the main story in the media and on everybody’s lips was the death of the… Read More