By his Revelation, God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends, and moves among them. The adequate response to this invitation is faith. By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God. To obey in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because…
Q: I’m a new mother in the middle of a divorce. I admit that I have never been a very good Catholic, but I still want my baby baptised in the hope that he will have a better relationship with God than I’ve had. My ex-husband and I share custody, and in many ways, he is…
The religious life and spirituality of the Carmel were clear and defining calls in the life of St John of the Cross. At eighteen, after finishing his studies in rhetoric and classical languages with the Jesuits in Medina del Campo, Ávila, Spain, he started his journey into the Carmelite order in 1563. Shortly afterwards, he…
On December 29, the Church begins a Jubilee Year, with the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Maybe this is not a bad place for us to spend a bit of time, this week, as we head towards the celebration of Christmas. There is a priest in Mayo that I have admired for many years – his…
The Catholic bishops at their winter general meeting have called for the Synodal Pathway which began in 2021 and which they called a “providential development”, to “now continue” and “pick up speed during 2025”. The Synodal Pathway was essentially on hold until the Synod in Rome ended in October, however Synodal maestro Cardinal Grech has…
The European Union’s plan to import 99,000 tonnes of cheaper beef into the European market every year from a range of South American countries has provoked questions from a priest-farmer, who said that he wouldn’t be happy if the imported beef was produced at a lesser standard than it currently is in Ireland and added…
Most of us live, right now, in a world of storms. Never in history has the human being been under so much pressure from so many directions all at once. The world seems to be on fire as political systems are rocked, and new conflicts and wars are breaking out… The individual person is put…
Some readers might remember the widely-acclaimed BBC documentary series from 1969 called ‘Civilisation’ presented by the ultra-urbane, quintessential Englishman, the art critic, Kenneth Clark. In the 13-part series (which can be found on YouTube), Clark gives a personal view of Western civilisation and how it developed from the ‘Dark Ages’ down to his own day,…
The reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris happened last Saturday evening, December 7, five years after a fire destroyed part of the building. The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin attended the reopening Mass. Archbishop Martin was invited by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, to represent the bishops…
The Brazilian community in Waterford (Católicos de Waterford) gathered for a Triduum and a procession for Our Lady from December 5-8. The event, a version of the Our Lady Aparecida procession which happens in Dublin annually, brought prayer and hymns to the streets of Waterford. The request for the event, said Scarleth Tavares, one of…
Renata Milán Morales
Brandon Scott
David Quinn
Renata Steffens