In Book IX of Confessions, we encounter Augustine in a new place: a place of conversion, following his famous conversion scene which we examined last week at the end of Book VIII. From this new perspective, he notices his detachment from earthly things that previously weighed him down. God has removed his desire for fame…
Leo XIV: An Augustinian Life in Context, by Brian Heffernan (Messenger Publications, €12.95 / £10.95) This book is the second short biography of the new Pope to arrive in the last three months. Others are doubtless on the way. And we can be sure that those 500-page volumes so typical of American journalism today…
Have you ever noticed people leaving Mass before it’s over – even right after receiving holy Communion? It can be puzzling, given that the Eucharist is the centre of Catholic life and Sunday Mass is a grave obligation. Yet arriving late or leaving early has become common enough that many people barely register it. It’s…
Jonah and Me, by John F. Deane (Carcanet Press, £12.99 / €16.99) John F. Deane is a poet who continues to bewilder us with the sheer skill of his late creativity. Like W.B. Yeats, and another more famous Person, he has kept the best wines until the late hour. This new collection comes with…
From Crown to Harp: How the Anglo-Irish Treaty was Undone, 1921 – 1949, by David McCullagh (Gill Books, €26.99 / £25.99) This is an account of the three decades in Ireland which followed the War of Independence. Those years featured a number of remarkable Irish persons. Not least among them was Alfred O’Rahilly, an…
Pope Leo XIV has used the opening weeks of 2026 to make a pointed appeal to journalists: keep communication human in an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. In a message sent to the Fédération des Médias Catholiques ahead of its St François de Sales gathering in Lourdes (January 21–23), the pope urged media professionals…
Someone once said that when you talk about your marriage problems to a third party, all you’re doing is giving evidence at an inquest. The quote was hardly a vote of confidence in counsellors. Alex (Will Arnett) deals with such problems idiosyncratically in Is This Thing On? (15A). Instead of using an individual person, he…
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven Matt 5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Matt 5:2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: Matt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,…
A month on from Christmas, most houses have returned to their ordinary shape. Decorations are packed away. Chairs are back where they belong. The table has resumed its everyday purpose. And yet, for many families, something noticed over Christmas has not disappeared. An empty chair. At Christmas, absences announce themselves. We become acutely aware of…
Baptism is a non-negotiable gift Dear Editor, it is with shock and incredulity that I heard that Mary McAleese made a broadside on infant baptism. Baptism has been described as a gift that takes a lifetime to unwrap. I find it tragic that a woman of her standing, intelligence, and qualifications could conclude her adult faith formation in this way.…
Peter Costello
Aubrey Malone