Neh 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10 Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 15 1 Cor 12:12-30 Lk 1:1-4; 4:14-21 Every good love story has something from a personal and emotional note. I remember, for example, one of my favourite movies, the famous Sleepless in Seattle, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. After losing his beloved wife, Sam Baldwin…
The recently completed restoration of Notre Dame in central Paris has absorbed the interest of so many people over the last five years that other such work in other places have been sadly overlooked. Central Paris gets millions of visitors each year; Palermo, the capital of the Island of Sicily, is less popular, for various…
We Live in Time (15) is a flashback-filled love story starring Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Pugh has cancer but is upbeat about it – and indeed about everything. The film narrowly avoids being a tearjerker as she navigates her way through her medical problems. There are some cringy scenes, most of them engineered by…
Fr Adrian Crowley St Francis of Paola was born in 1416 in the south of Italy. His parents were childless and prayed fervently to St Francis of Assisi for a child. In thanksgiving they named their son Francis. At birth the boy had a serious eye infection, and his mother once again prayed to…
The long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza has boosted the hope of people directly impacted by the devastating conflict that has been raging in the region since October 2023, but while there is “a great sense of rejoicing”, history has shown that peace can be fragile and according to an Irish priest based in Israel, the only…
It is disappointing – if not surprising – that the newly-formed Irish government does not plan to celebrate the 200th centenary of Catholic emancipation in 2029. They have earmarked several other important dates which will occur under their stewardship: 2026 for the 250th Declaration of US Independence; 2027 marking the birth of Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington and…
Dear Editor, The concept of ‘Dry January’ has gained popularity in recent years, with many people abstaining from alcohol for the month as a way to reset or cleanse after the excesses of the holiday season. While commendable in its intentions, I believe this initiative falls short of addressing the deeper, more enduring struggles some…
We have a new Government, but will a new leaf be turned in Church/State relations? That is to say, will relations between Church and State begin to thaw, and will there be any kind of formal, structured dialogue between Government representatives and Church leaders, not just Catholic ones? The question is very relevant, because no…
There’s “something special” afoot in the city of Derry since the path to sainthood began for one of their own, Sr Clare Crockett, according to a local priest. Speaking to The Irish Catholic newspaper, Fr Gerard Mongan Administrator of Long Tower Church in Derry, said that the magnitude of the local Derry girl’s sensational path…
God’s little island Ireland, Lord, Your little emerald isle, has had faith in You since St Patrick lit the fire on Tara, a fire of divine love. On the hills minding sheep he prayed to You hundreds of times, by day and by night, in snow and rain, hail, sunshine… he prayed. He knew…
Fr Dominik Domagala
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone
Brandon Scott
Mary Kenny
David Quinn