There is a long tradition of historical fiction that seeks to imagine the interior lives of minor Gospel figures. Pär Lagerkvist’s Barabbas, or even parts of Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita all step into the inner world of figures who appear fleetingly in Scripture. Works like these opt to reimagine the figures through the lens…
When I sit down to write my review of the media year, I always start with what comes to mind without having to trawl through this year’s columns – in this way, I find what has made most impact. I feel we have a much more unstable world, and the media is relentless in pointing…
Christmas being a time when many people get book tokens or an especially generous tip from Auntie Maureen, allows children and young people to feel that special joy of buying books for oneself. These titles are arranged more or less in age order, youngest to oldest. I’m Very Busy, A (Nearly Forgotten) Birthday Book,…
A CELTIC Carol service in West Belfast has raised around £6,000 to feed hungry children. Around 500 people filled St Michael the Archangel Church on behalf of Mary’s Meals for more than an hour of music from Ireland, and other Celtic nations. The Celtic Carols by Candlelight was an initiative of Patrick Davey of Davey…
Our Christmas cribs generally include a more or less fixed set of characters: the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Wise Men, some shepherds, the ox and the ass, an angel, and perhaps a lamb or two. In Italy – especially in Naples – there is a tradition of extending the Nativity scene to include…
The Netflix mini-series Adolescent was the most talked about one of the year. It raised all sorts of questions about peer pressure, cyber-bullying, toxic masculinity and what children get up to when they’re not being monitored by their parents. The King of Kings told the story of Christ’s life in animated form using a neglected…
Every Christmas I am struck again by how unstructured the first Christmas really was. Our Nativity scenes are tidy and serene, but the reality was far more fragile. There was no priest, no sanctuary, no official ritual. God entered the world without the religious structures we normally consider essential. The beginnings of salvation were entrusted…
Reflecting on the Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025, the Bishop of Meath has said that now more than ever “our world needs hope”. “The year was a good one. The message of hope is important and is intrinsically linked to Faith. The whole purpose of Faith is Hope; hope in eternal life, hope in…
Listening to the news on Sunday about Jews murdered on Bondi Beach for being Jewish, one detail lingered. The newsreader reported that Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, had condemned the attack, noting that it took place at a Jewish bar mitzvah. Herzog. The same name Dublin City Council recently sought to erase from a public park.…
Exclusive Archbishop Eamon Martin has said Ireland is “in some ways lost” and in need of a renewed spiritual conversation, expressing hope that Pope Leo XIV could visit Ireland as part of a wider effort to re-energise the Church during a period of reflection and transition. Speaking exclusively to this paper about the Catholic Church’s…
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Martina Purdy
Aubrey Malone