Month: March 2016

The precious wisdom of Michael Paul Gallagher

Into Extra Time: Living through the final stages of cancer and jottings along the way by Michael Paul Gallagher SJ (Darton, Longman & Todd/Messenger Publications, £9.99/€12.99) Anthony Redmond When the well-known Jesuit writer, lecturer and theologian, Fr Michael Paul Gallagher, was told in January of last year that he had cancer he began to write this book…

Crimes and miscarriages of justice

‘Fascinating’, ‘puzzling’ and ‘disturbing’ viewing ‘on the crime front’ this week, writes Brendan O’Regan A podcast has been described as ‘radio on demand’ or ‘essentially a radio show that you can get on the internet’. Serial is one of the most popular podcasts in the world and last week I listened to it from my…

Beating around the political Bush back in 2004

Truth (15A) Placed beside Oliver Stone’s coruscating indictment of the Bush regime in W. (Dubya) and Michael Moore’s in Fahrenheit 9/11, this Watergate-style investigation into the manner in which he’s alleged to have dodged the Vietnam draft by joining the Texas National Guard between 1968 and 1974 – and then going AWOL – seems an…

It is in the giving that we receive

Orlaith Barrett describes her experience of being part of a St Vincent de Paul youth conference Orlaith Barrett As Transition Year (TY) students we decided to set up the Nano Foundation (St Vincent De Paul Youth Conference) because the St Vincent De Paul Society (SVP), which was founded in Ireland in 1844, is the largest…

Patriotic Irish coffee cardamom cupcakes

These Irish coffee cardamom cupcakes are incredibly rich and just the dessert for St Patrick’s Day. You can use any whiskey of your choice but this recipe has been tried with a Bushmills and Laphroaig. For a non-alcoholic version, omit the whiskey and the syrup from the frosting and instead grind the seeds from five…

Faith in the Family

I was a speaker at the recent conference by The Irish Catholic/Iona Institute on Pope Francis and the future of the family in Ireland. Afterwards a number of people came up to talk to me. One man spoke of his work with the Society of St Vincent de Paul and how their outreach is to…

Shamrock mascot for St Patrick’s Day

St Patrick’s Day is nearly here and it will soon be time to pin fresh shamrocks to our coats. Legend has it that St Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the people of Ireland. Since then it has become a much loved and recognised symbol of our culture. This paper strip…

Practising Gratitude

Being thankful has positive impacts on your mental and physical health, and your relationships, writes Wendy Grace Perhaps many of us woke up this morning feeling thankful, but many of us probably started our day rushing around and feeling stressed. What if you could start your day a different way with a habit that will…

Pain helps open us up to deeper consciousness

In a deeply insightful book, The Grace of Dying, Kathleen Dowling Singh shares insights she has gleaned as a health professional from being present to hundreds of people while they are dying. Among other things, she suggests that the dying process itself, in her words, “is exquisitely calibrated to automatically produce union with Spirit”. In…