Jer 17:5-8 Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20 Lk 6:17, 20-26 If anyone was expecting Jesus to deliver this sermon from a mountain, they got a shock. The first thing we notice in this Sunday’s reading from Luke is this detail: “Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a…
Dear Editor, Three cheers for historian Fr Conor McDonough OP for exposing the ‘paper thin’ reasoning for deposing St Brigid in favour of some pagan goddess. The latter, he tells us, is only mentioned once in the 10th-century manuscript, ’Sanas Cormaic’. She never enjoyed any importance in Ireland. Where, one might ask, does that leave…
On January 27 last, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was marked on Holocaust Memorial Day. It is a sombre annual commemoration that recalls one of the darkest periods of human history. Almost every year, the calls of ‘Never Again’ are made in speeches by political leaders and survivors. However, mature leadership must also…
Q: Can a Catholic receive holy Communion twice in one day? Also, is it possible to ask to receive Communion outside of Mass under normal circumstances, or is this something that is only possible for the sick? A: To start with the second part of your question, the short answer is yes, it is possible for…
Heidi and Cory Busse The images of love and marriage that surround us in popular culture reinforce the idea that real love is easy, and experiencing hardship means you’ve married the wrong person. The reality is, we are all human beings struggling to find our way through relationships. Successful spouses know that putting time…
Journey Without Maps, a travel book by Graham Greene (Vintage Classics. £14.99) At the end of January President Trump issued a proclamation on Black History Month promoting to all officials and members of the public that it might concern, naming as he did so a short roster of notable Black Americans. But it is…
Where does evil come from? The revelation of divine love in Christ manifested at the same time the extent of evil and the superabundance of grace. We must approach the question of the origin of evil by fixing the eyes of our faith on Him. Without the knowledge Revelation gives of God we cannot recognise…
A view from the Quays “He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Isn’t this one great line! Isn’t it so descriptive. Isn’t it a line that, though written two centuries ago, brings many things to mind today? We have situations where flocks are being destroyed and…
President Donald Trump’s new policies concerning undocumented immigrants have been causing shock and outrage among many in Latin America. The region’s Church is one of the institutions currently trying to figure out how such changes will impact its work and is establishing strategies to deal with them. The new US president’s pledge to promote “mass…
The 11th Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition took place at the National Concert Hall at the end of last month following auditions held in several European centres as well as in New York. The triennial competition, set up by the redoubtable Ronnie, who died in 2021 and to whom there was a repeated and fitting…
Peter Costello
Renata Milán Morales