The nineteenth-century American poet Emily Dickinson famously wrote, “Tell all the truth but tell it slant — / success in circuit lies.” She meant that the truth should be delivered indirectly and kindly to avoid overwhelming or shocking the recipient. This does not seem to be St Augustine’s style in Book II of Confessions. We…
Bethlehem is more than the place where Jesus was born. It is the place where the mystery of the Eucharist first begins to shine. In that small town, under the shadow of an empire and in the poverty of a stable, the God who made the universe chose to become our food. St Luke is…
Recently I was listening to a religious talk show on the radio when a caller asked: How do we know that God exists? A good question. The radio host answered by saying that we know it through faith. That’s not a bad answer, except what needs to be teased out is how we know this…
Young people’s engagement with social media is definitely problematic, and became a hot topic last week as Australia moved to ban young people under 16 from social media, YouTube included. The Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk, Wednesday) explored the issue, but with a loaded start – reference was made to extreme content online, instancing “negative commentary…
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them Matt 11:2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples Matt 11:3 and said to him, “Are you the…
Whose side were you on during the Civil War? I’m not talking about the 1922 one caused by the rift between Dev and Michael Collins. I mean the one that impassioned maybe even more people in 2002. Yes, my friends, that was the year Mick McCarthy sent Ireland’s best player home from the World Cup.…
Priorswood Parish is proposing a new development with two apartment buildings, communal spaces and landscaping on the land around St Francis of Assisi Church. In a recent update, PP Fr Martin Bennett made clear, “No plans have been submitted yet,” as they are looking for parishioners’ opinions and feedback. The development was thought of as…
Readers with a subscription to Sky Atlantic or NOW may have come across Succession, a HBO television series about a big media family like the Murdochs, where an aging patriarch wonders who will succeed him. It’s popular because it portrays a real-life dilemma; — a reflection on how to plan for the future. Succession seems…
Congrats on Herzog, now reinstate Villa Spada Dear Editor, this is a letter to An Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Minister for Defence Helen McEntee. We wish to commend you on your opposition to the proposal to rename Herzog Park. As Irish citizens who place great…
J. Anthony Gaughan As a keen follower of Gaelic games, I found Eamonn Sweeney’s The Last Ditch: How One GAA Championship Gave a Sports Writer Back his Life the most interesting book of the year. In the first two chapters Eamonn reveals the challenges – phobias – which he has to overcome in plying his…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Renata Steffens
Peter Costello