Ruadhán Jones explores how religious orders around the country celebrate Christmas We are blessed in Ireland by the presence of so many different religious orders, men and women. Cistercians, Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscans and many, many more – each have a lively presence, even if it’s one we may not always see. The way in which…
Letter from Rome Like everyone else, Pope Francis’ 2020 was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdowns, livestreamed Masses, video messages and even something akin to Zoom meetings became a regular part of his life, just like for millions of people around the world. But when he walked alone into St Peter’s Square March 27 for…
What does Christmas mean? Christmas is like a perfectly-cut diamond twirling in the sun, giving off an array of sparkles. Here are just some of its meanings: A four-year-old child woke up one night frightened, convinced that there were all kinds of spooks and monsters in her room. In terror she fled to her parents’…
Art teacher defends Vatican’s much-maligned nativity scene Since it was unveiled last Friday, the Vatican’s nativity scene in St Peter’s Square has elicited diverse reactions on social media, many of them strongly negative. “So the Vatican presepe has been unveiled….turns out 2020 could get worse…” wrote art historian Elizabeth Lev in a post that went viral on…
Religious schools must accept ‘gender identity’, LGBT activists tell Biden A leading LGBT activist group is calling for the Biden administration to create accreditation regulations of religious schools that would enforce acceptance of so-called transgender rights. The pro-LGBT Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued its list of policy priorities for the incoming Biden administration, The Daily…
O little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting light The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight. We all have our favourite Christmas carols. My own is probably…
Notebook One of the most moving moments of my first four years of priesthood was celebrating the Vigil Mass of Christmas in a homeless shelter for women run by the Legion of Mary. When I was preaching the sermon, I casually mentioned that Jesus was born into homelessness. I thought it was a totally normal…
Sometimes when I look back on the year in TV and Radio there’s a certain sameness, but not this year. So many columns I wrote featured Covid-19 in some shape or form. One effect of the coronavirus was the proliferation of repeats in the media schedules with broadcasters finding it increasingly difficult to make programmes…
Dear Editor, As all Christians know the birth of the baby Jesus is the reason for the festive season. Indeed without Christ there would be no Christmas. However, our society has now become so secular that Jesus is increasingly not invited to his own birthday party. How can so called Christians send a secular Christmas…
Some of our regular reviewers select the book or books they most enjoyed or were impressed by over the course of the last year… TJ Morrissey SJ The most interesting book of the year for me was Paul: A Biography, by Tom Wright (SPCK Publishing, £19.99). The author is recognised as one of St Paul’s…
Ruadhán Jones
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Michael Kelly
Brendan O’Regan