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Fatima – The Movie

This week I had an opportunity to see the film Fatima, directed by Marco Pontecorvo who said he believes it to be a “subject that can talk to everyone, not only Catholics.  It has a meaning, a very powerful meaning, for everyone, not only for believers.” The story centers around three Portuguese children, Lucia dos… Read More

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A Day to Remember: Yom HaShoah

  The Christian religion began with the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was a Jew as were his earliest followers.  In one sense it is possible to say that Christianity began as a movement within Judaism.  After the death and resurrection of Jesus, these early followers believed him to be the Messiah… Read More

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St David and Wales

This week, on Monday the first day of March our neighbours, Wales celebrated its national day with the feast of St David. They have been observing this since the twelfth century. Today the festivities usually involve the singing of traditional songs followed by a Te Bac which is a special tea with bara brith, a… Read More

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The Bells of the Angelus

Those of us of a certain age grew up with RTE’s daily Angelus broadcasts at 12.00 and 18.00 as part of the background to our lives.  They were a call to prayer which we took for granted.  At school, we would stand up in class and recite the prayer.  The Angelus is a Catholic devotion… Read More

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Violence on the Hill

Last week the world reacted in shocked amazement as an angry mob stormed in Washington and managed to enter and rampage in its hallowed halls.  Some even emerged with ‘souvenirs’! The first thing to note is that not every person who turned out to march that day intended such actions to take place, indeed many… Read More

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Christmas with Covid

One morning this week while listening to the radio I heard a news report broadcast from Dublin Airport.  The people interviewed were describing how different their workplace looked this year.  The crowds which usually pass through their portals at Christmas have dwindled, all as a result of the restrictions imposed by Covid-19.   One woman explained… Read More

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From Advent to Lent

Last Sunday, November 29 marked the beginning of Advent, the first of twenty-five days when we get ready for the great event of Christ’s birth.  The word itself has its roots in the Latin, adventus which translates as ‘arrival’, from advenire – ad meaning ‘to’ and venire– ‘come’.  Advent is a time of spiritual preparation… Read More

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The Pearl of Scotland

On Monday of this week, we celebrated the feast of St Margaret of Scotland, who was born in Hungary in 1045 and who would go on to become Queen of a country which would indeed blossom and flower under her refining and religious influence. Of her eight children three, Edmund, Alexander, and David became kings… Read More

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Mental Health in a Pandemic

I remember a long time ago seeing, perhaps on a poster, the words “Happiness is having something to do, someone to love and something to hope for.”  This would also suggest a formula for good mental health. According to the World Health Organization, Mental health is “a state of well-being in which the individual realises… 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