In telling his faith story, C.S. Lewis shares that at the moment of his conversion, he was “the most reluctant convert in the history of Christianity”, but that he gave himself over to Christ because “God’s compulsion is our liberation”. That phrase spoke to me recently when, on September 8, I celebrated the 60th anniversary…
Mass Readings: * Isaiah 25:6-10 * Philippians 4:12-14,19-20 * Matthew 22:1-14 There are few occasions in ordinary life that bring people together quite as naturally as a wedding. Perhaps this is why the image of a wedding feast has such enduring power in the Bible. It speaks of abundance, communion and celebration, but also of…
The recent release of Knife, based on the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie in 2022 – which resulted in him losing an eye – prompted me to look back at some landmark films dealing with people who were attacked, or indeed martyred, for their religious views. In Joan of Arc (1948), Ingrid Bergman played the…
It was depressing to see community conflict raising its ugly head again in the North. After the initial standoff over the Drumcree/Garvaghy Road march it rumbled on for a week. The only sign of hope at the time of writing is that it didn’t turn violent. On Morning Ireland (RTÉ Radio 1, Tuesday) former Taoiseach…
Donegal Town, 1474-1974. Maynooth Studies in Local History, 182, by Matthew Potter (Four Courts Press, €12.95) For many years now, Four Courts Press has been publishing the Maynooth Studies in Local History and this volume is number 182 in the series. Readers will know them as short, focused and academically rigorous accounts of a wide…
Boyhood’s Fire: Na Fianna Éireann at War, 1916-1986, by James Durney, (Merrion Press, €18.99 / £17.99) The whole idea of “scouting” derives from the work of an arch-imperialist, Robert Baden Powell during the Boer War, who initiated the first groups. But others, very much anti-imperialist in Ireland, saw in the notion of boys and…
Utopia for Our Century: A Manifesto of Hope, by David Albertson and Jason Blakely (Yale University Press ($US 30.00 / £25.00 / €26.99) While in prison, awaiting his trial for high treason, St Thomas More wrote Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation. More understood the fear that drives retreat and disengagement in times of political upheaval…
On Saturday week, October 17, the National Synodal Assembly will take place in Gormanstown, Co. Meath. It will be an important moment in the history of the Irish Church and will be the culmination of five years of prayer, listening and discernment. All of the delegates and participants deserve our prayers and support as we…
Bishop Cullinan encourages return to Mary and the Rosary Ireland’s bishops should formally consecrate the country to Our Lady as part of a renewal of the Catholic faith, leading Mariologist Dr Mark Miravalle has said. Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Dr Miravalle said the Irish people have “Marian DNA” which has endured even as…
At the ‘Living Magnifica Humanitas’ conference in St Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Archbishop Eamon Martin asked the conference participants in his opening address to keep in mind the question, “Who has the power to call the current conversation about AI, and whose voice is missing from the room?” Archbishop Martin referenced Magnifica Humanitas’ emphasis on interdisciplinary…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr Dominik Domagala
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan