Courtney McGrailFr Martin Henry The opening chapter of St Luke’s Gospel mentions the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elisabeth, and the birth of Jesus is recorded in the following chapter. Both events are commemorated in the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary. Why, one may wonder, are they referred to as ‘mysteries’ rather than, say, facts…
Month: December 2016
Broadcasting watchdog BAI issues warning to RTÉ over ‘abortion bias’
Paul KeenanSenator calls for ‘serious response’ from state broadcaster on breaches
Pope: persecuted Christians witness to truth of faith
Pope Francis has urged Catholics to remember their fellow believers who suffer daily persecution because of their faith. Speaking on St Stephen’s Day – the feastday of the first Christian martyr – the Pope said: “when we read the history of the early centuries, here in Rome, we read about so much cruelty to Christians.…
Surviving past dangers only to encounter new ones is part of the story of humanity
Dr Martin ManserghEach year is marked by three important religious festivals, Christmas, Easter, and St Patrick’s Day, which recalls the coming of Christianity to Ireland at the dawn of recorded Irish history. Each of them is an occasion for families to come together or to contact each other. Christmas especially is a time to remember those outside…
Another 10 commandments that can change your life in…
Daniel Berrigan, the American priest and poet who died in April this year, once wrote a wonderful little book entitled Ten Commandments for the Long Haul. It was intended as spiritual sustenance, sustaining food, for those who walk the lonely, long road of faith and often find themselves discouraged and running out of gas. Berrigan…
Coming out of the crossfire
Casey Schmauder learns how Troubles survivor Richard Moore has coped with blindness and started a charity to help impoverished children
The flight into Egypt History, legend and parable
Peter CostelloChristmas is now generally a time of universal celebration and festivity. But the days after the Nativity were different: after the joy of the new child came cruelty and persecution. As always the Bible is pervaded by a sense of the reality of human affairs that people, swept away by sentiment, so often overlook: cruel…
Immigrants enrich our culture – bishop
Staff Reporter Ireland’s newest bishop has welcomed immigrants into Ireland in his first Christmas address. Linking how many Irish are immigrants in other countries with recent immigration to Ireland, Killaloe’s Bishop Fintan Monahan noted that at Christmas “our emigrants are very much on our minds”. Dr Monahan welcomed those who have returned to Ireland for…
News in Brief
Msgr Colm McCaughan RIP The death has taken place of Msgr Colm McCaughan, former Chancellor of the Diocese of Down & Connor. He was 89. Born in 1927 in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, Colm began his studies for the priesthood in 1946 and was ordained in 1954. He assumed his first appointment as curate in Bangor.…
For Fatima’s centenary – again, the cause of peace, and Russia?
Mary Kenny
Mary Kenny writes that the “appropriate way to mark the centenary of Fatima is to continue to pray for peace” The 2017 centenary of the apparitions at Fatima will surely be a significant focus for the devotional life of the Catholic Church. The story of the three Portuguese child visionaries is a poignant and compelling…