Last year, on December 8th, Pope Francis decreed a special year dedicated to St Joseph for the global Catholic Church. It marks the 150th anniversary of St Joseph being declared patron of the universal Church in 1870. The man who was given the task of caring for and watching over Mary and Jesus, would… Read More
Tag: Our Lady
Born without Sin: Immaculate Conception of Mary
On Tuesday of this week, we celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, mother of Jesus and mother of the Church. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception holds that Mary was free from Original Sin from the very moment of her conception. In 1467 the feast of the Immaculate Conception was approved by… 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
Mary’s Dowry and Our Lady of Walsingham
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
Holy Days or Shopping Days?
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
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
Mary: A Possible or Impossible Role-Model?
Mary as a Role – Model The Catholic Church has traditionally dedicated the month of September to Our Lady of Sorrows and on the 8th of this month, we celebrate Mary’s Nativity. Educated by the nuns, I had devotion to her instilled in me from very early days and I remember decorating the May altars… Read More