One of the three pillars of the synodal pathway is ‘communion’, the other two being participation and mission. It is no coincidence that in the listing of all three, communion comes first, followed by participation and then mission. The implication is clear – in the measure that the whole Christian community is united in communion…
My name is Johnny Higgins and I am a pilgrim. This is a sentence that only two or three years ago would have been a stretch of the imagination for those who know me. Although I was still attending Mass at Easter and Christmas, I had gone through a period of a decade where I…
When I was growing up, as part of our family prayer we used to pray for a happy death. In my young mind, I had a certain conception of what that might look like. A happy death would be to die inside of grace, warmly cradled in the loving arms of family and church, fully…
Q: I try to have a Mass said for my deceased grandparents every year around the anniversary of their deaths. But this year, my parish said their Mass intention calendar is very full, and people are requesting dates as far as six months out! Then I went to Mass last Sunday, and the priest offered…
The Gospel *** Matt. 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. Matt. 14:23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, Matt. 14:24 but…
*** Bless our hearts, when my husband and I had been married all of three months, we signed up to become a team couple with our local Engaged Encounter program. We had enjoyed the retreat that we took as a requirement of our pre-Cana preparation, surprised to find it fun and helpful, not the drudgery…
People often complain these days about a coarsening of public debate, but it’s not just happening on social media. I’ve noticed a tendency for bad language to become more common in mainstream media, both from interviewees and even worse from presenters. The practice has long been common in film and TV drama and if you…
I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, ‘He’s about as funny as cancer.’ It’s used to describe dour individuals. The unique thing about the cancer film Sunny Dancer (15) is that it is indeed funny. The characters in it, all teenage sufferers from the disease, gather together at a Scottish summer camp where they interact in…
Passage to America: the story of Ulster’s emigrants Taking ship: Essays in transatlantic migration from Ulster, edited by Sophie Cooper, Patrick Fitzgerald and William Roulston (Ulster Historical Foundation, £11.99 / €13.99) Felix M. Larkin *** An Post has recently marked the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence with a stamp featuring a portrait…
I’m back from my sabbatical. On July 14, I left the glorious sun- shine of Victoria and was soak- ing up the glorious sunshine of Dublin the very next morning. And that wonderful weather con- tinued awhile, helping to ease me back into Ireland. But into every life some (met- aphorical) rain must fall. I…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Brendan O’Regan
Aubrey Malone
Peter Costello