I cannot attend Mass but that does not mean I am somehow distant from God writes Bairbre Cahill When I wrote a couple of weeks ago about sometimes finding prayer a struggle I could not have contemplated the situation we now find ourselves in. I know many of us share a deep loneliness that…
Creation Walk: The Amazing Story of a Small Blue Planet by Brian Grogan SJ (Messenger Publications, €9.99) Brian Grogan is a well-known writer and teacher, author of many books. But this new book may well be one of the most effective that he has written some may feel. I have often wondered, reading or listening to…
A cloister of nuns in Bangladesh is asking God to provide consolation to the sick, doctors, nurses, volunteers and all those fighting the coronavirus every hour of the day. The Poor Clares are engaged in a continuous prayer, 24 hours a day, for the world to overcome the Covid-19 crisis, according to Mother Mary Rose,…
Eduardo Campos Lima Catholic leaders in Brazil have criticised the response of the country’s President Jair Bolsonaro to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, saying he has not implemented common measures such as social distancing. The Church in Brazil has defended the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations, an attitude that many of Bolsonaro’s backers see as…
Fr Eamon Aylward SSCC believes online video conference platforms for streaming Mass, such as Zoom, are redefining the Eucharist. “I felt in my heart that it touched a spot and, out of this ‘evil’ (coronavirus) touching our world, is coming something good,” he told The Irish Catholic. “It is forcing us as a Church, and…
Pope sets up commission to study women deacons A new commission which will look into the possibility of having women deacons in the Church was instituted by Pope Francis last week. The Holy See released an announcement in their daily noon bulletin which contained the information that the Pope had decided to create a new…
Soren Kierkegaard once wrote that the Gospel text he strongly identified with is the account of the disciples, after the death of Jesus, locking themselves into an upper room in fear and then experiencing Jesus coming through the locked doors to bestow peace on them. Kierkegaard wanted Jesus to do that for him – to…
Ignatian spirituality, being ‘contemplative in action’ and ‘finding God in all things’ has always seemed a very good fit for my life as a busy working woman, a mother,and a laywoman. I never felt that the monastic model fitted well and I would have questioned those who offered it as a model for laypeople. Over…
Everyday Philosophy In this time of pandemic, we are keenly aware of the global scope of the crisis. We’re glued to the news, comparing different rates of infection and containment measures. At the same time, our spheres of immediate concern have shrunk. We are stuck in our houses, and our minds are occupied with…
My husband and I are really starting to feel the stress of the coronavirus restrictions. We are both trying our best to juggle work, the children and managing the home, but the tension is starting to affect our relationship. I would imagine many couples across the country would echo the struggles you are having.…
Bairbre Cahill
Peter Costello
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ben Conroy
Wendy Grace