There are few Christian commandments more easily repeated and more difficult to obey than the one we hear in today’s Gospel: “Forgive your brother or sister not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” In other words, forgive without keeping count. But what about justice? What about those who have been wounded, exploited or humiliated? Does Christ…
I wonder if you can tell the age of a person by the number of dead people’s phone numbers he still has saved on his phone? It could be like judging the age of a tree by the rings on its core. A young person may have only a few. I feel like I must…
Lord, if a brother or sister sins against me, how often should I forgive? The Gospel Matt 18:21 Then Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Matt 18:22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times,…
I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience in a cinema quite like the last half hour of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It’s just been re-released into cinemas to commemorate its 35th anniversary. You might say it’s ho-hum today considering the incredible advances in computer generated special effects that have taken place in those years.…
September often sees the return of old shows. Sunday Morning Live (BBC One) returned recently for a new season, and among the issues discussed on last Sunday’s show was the thorny one of accountability for crimes committed by soldiers. This has a particular relevance for legacy issues in Northern Ireland. As is often the case,…
The Bayeux Tapestry, by Sue Brunning, Lloyd de Beer, Michael Lewis and Naomi Speakman (British Museum Publications, £40.00 / €46.50) Today there opens in the exhibition galleries of the British Museum in London a much anticipated exhibition of the famous Bayeux Tapestry, a visual record of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 and the…
Faith and Football: Played for the Glory, by Marc Lyden-Smith, foreword by Cardinal Vincent Nichols (McCrimmon Publishing, £7.95 / €9.50; available on Amazon, or search mccrimmons.com/shop/books/faith) This is a delightful little book which will be greatly appreciated by sport lovers and especially football fans. It provides a comprehensive account of Sunderland Football Club in the North East…
The Political world of Sir Thomas Henry Grattan Esmonde of Ballynastragh, Co. Wexford, 1862-1935, by Brian Fennell (Four Courts Press, €12.95) The Catholic Church in Ireland that attained a position of dominance in many spheres of Irish life in the nineteenth and twentieth century has always been slow to acknowledge the debt owed for its…
A new case for the cause of canonisation of two Irish priests – who were shot dead in Belfast by the British Army – has been opened by the Diocese of Down and Connor. A spokesman for the Diocese has told The Irish Catholic that the process for “the cause of the saints” has been started for…
Sometimes a small incident can provide a sudden insight into a big issue. Thus, I was struck by a personal dilemma recently published about having a baby. “My best friend told me recently that she’s trying for a baby with her boyfriend,” wrote a young woman to Katie Byrne, the ‘Modern Morals’ counsellor for the…
Fr Dominik Domagala
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello
Martina Purdy
Mary Kenny