Image: www.irishmirror.ie Last weekend I had the radio on in the background, tuned in to The Brendan O’Connor Show. He was interviewing the lead singer of The Script, Danny O’Donoghue. The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin by O’Donoghue, the late Mark Sheehan, and Glen Power. They have won 3… Read More
Tag: Religion
France: Religion in a Secular State
Image: www.jusoorpost.com Earlier this week France’s Education Minister Gabriel Affal announced a ban on abayas – the long, flowing dresses worn by some Muslim women – in public schools. Secularism is a key concept in France’s Constitution, and religious markers considered conspicuous or “ostentatious”, including Islamic headscarves, large Christian crosses, and Jewish yarmulkes (skullcaps) have… 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
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
Staying in the Moment: Pray and Meditate
On Tuesday of this week, Pope Francis asked if everyone in every country, regardless of their religious faith or otherwise, would pause and come together at eight o’clock, to meditate and pray for the health of the world. Two things struck me about this call from the Pontiff: the need for prayer, especially when we… Read More
From Anti-Semitism to Auschwitz
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
A Hidden Life – A Must See
Is it better to suffer injustice than do it?; is it right to put truth above your needs and the bodily instinct to survive?; is it wrong to think that a caring God would condemn a man for signing a piece of paper when he knows what is in his heart? This week I went… Read More
Christian Persecution – Still Going On
Christian Persecution – Still Going On I was at a Mass recently where the Priest talked about how Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world today. I had heard about this before; back in 2012 the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the same thing to a gathering of the Lutheran Church. It was… Read More
Christianity and Buddhism
This Sunday sees the celebration of the birthday of Buddha according to the Gregorian calendar. The only thing I knew about the Buddhist religion was their respect for all forms of life so I decided to compare it with Christianity and learn a bit more in the process! Buddhism originated in North-East India sometime between… Read More
Religion and Young People
Religion and Young People Are you a young person aged between fifteen and twenty – nine? If the answer is yes, then there is a good chance that you no longer go to Church on Sunday, or any other day, except for funerals or weddings of course. Any Catholic will tell you the biggest challenge… Read More
Christianity and Helping Others – The Way of God
Christianity, not just a religion Helping Others: Christianity is not just a religion – it is a way of life. This would suggest that by our way of being and living people would know we are Christians without having to be told. Unfortunately this is so often not the case. There is the famous example… Read More