Near the end of his Letter to the Philippians, St Paul encourages his readers to think about “whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, anything that is excellent or praiseworthy.” Paul goes on to assure people that a result of thinking this way is…
Month: June 2026
The Irish martyrs and what they teach us
This week, our focus is not on one particular saint but on several – seventeen in fact – Irish men and women, lay and clerical, who were put to death for their Catholic faith between 1579 and 1654. They were beatified by Pope St John Paul II in 1992 and their feast day is celebrated…
When fidelity becomes costly
Fr Dominik DomagalaThere is a comforting illusion that faithfulness to God should make our life easier. Many people imagine that if one sincerely follows the Lord, prays regularly, and seeks to live according to the Gospel, then difficulties should diminish and peace should naturally follow. Yet the Bible repeatedly challenge this assumption. The readings for this Sunday…
Hearers of the Word Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69 (68); Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows!!
The Gospel Matt 10:26 [Jesus said:] “So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Matt 10:27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Matt 10:28…
How to conform to the love of Jesus with the Sacred Heart
The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus produces one ultimate, marvellous fruit: a heart like Jesus’ own. Near the end of the Litany of the Sacred Heart, we pray that “Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, touch our hearts and make them like your own”. Gentleness and humility shape the heart of the one…
A dazzling basilica and the morality of having children
Brendan O’ReganIn our search for meaning in life, we sometimes reach for the sky. In a very significant and metaphorical way, that seems to be the drive behind ‘God’s architect’ Antoni Gaudí’s massive basilica, the Sagrada Familia, in Barcelona. Last week Pope Leo XIV inaugurated a new tower in this building – the Tower of Jesus…
Big budget blockbusters coming your way this summer
Aubrey MaloneIntimate dramas are generally more quality-studded than ‘big’ movies. The latter are flattered by the opportunities provided by multiplexes, as opposed to that nightly visitor to our living rooms we call the television set. This summer the following behemoths await you should you decide to submit yourself to their not so tender mercies. Disclosure…
Out of our minds: the threat posed by AI
Peter Costello
The first encyclical letter of Pope Leo XIV opens with a focused expression of what the pontiff has to say: “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” He…
A shining star of Irish life
Here is a book which will interest and delight those many viewers who have followed the career of one of the country’s leading broadcasters. Miriam O’Callaghan was born on January 6 at Cornelscourt, Co. Dublin. Her father was a civil servant, her mother was a teacher. Miriam attended St Brigid’s, the local national school in which…
A biographer at large
Biographers are usually so busy investigating other people’s lives, as to pay little attention to their own. However, in this revealing book Anne Chambers recounts some of her experiences as a biographer, providing interesting sidelights on Irish writing and publishing. As an account of a long career by a non-fiction writer, it is a rare…