It is somewhat ironic that the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi, will not be celebrated liturgically by the whole Church as it falls this year on a Sunday (October 4). The Second Vatican Council instructed that Sundays, major solemnities and Feasts of the Lord were to take precedence over the…
Q: As a parish priest, I found your recent article on the Church’s teaching on Freemasonry interesting, and I have a follow-up question: How can one deal pastorally with parishioners who are quick to suspect people of being Freemasons? I can think of one or two parishioners who are convinced the Vatican is infiltrated by…
I once had the privilege of taking a course from James Mackey. In class one day he shared this story. A man he knew was part of a hunting expedition in Africa. His group was camped in a jungle. One morning he left camp early, hiked a few miles into the bush by himself, and…
The themes of wisdom, predestination, and eternal destiny are intimately connected with each other. God in His wisdom guides all things according to the designs of His Providence to the ends that are proper to them. In creating all things, He has endowed them with their distinct natures by which they seek their fulfilment. He…
Most people probably picture in their minds St Francis with birds, preaching to them. Giotto’s fresco is beautiful, rightly famous, and it captures something true about the saint’s love for God’s creatures, for he did indeed call all animals “brothers.” And little creatures St Francis loved most of all. Yet I also picture St Francis…
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone The Gospel Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: Mt 21:33 “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he…
When I was a teacher in a previous incarnation, disruptive pupils were the bane of my life. You could have 39 out of 40 children doing what you said but if the fortieth one stepped out of line, a domino effect took hold. Your day was gone. One day in the staff-room I suggested dealing…
It was a week with so many emotional and intellectual highs and lows. Among the highs was Pope Leo’s visit to France, which garnered quite a bit of attention, especially on Friday of last week, when the visit began. RTÉ gave it prominence, fair enough, but they chose to tack on, from the start, a…
My Greatest Race, by Ciara Mageean, with Cliona Foley (Gill Books, €22.99 / £24.99) This book, telling the personal story of Ciara Mageean, is a sure-fire best seller to be read by all who are engaged with Irish sport in any ways, and especially the toll on mind, spirit and body that it can…
Never a week goes by these days but there is heated discussion in Dublin or elsewhere across the country on the matter of housing provision, especially of an affordable and accessible kind. This is by no means a new problem, as two small exhibitions now on in Dublin well illustrate. The first is a display…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Aubrey Malone
Brendan O’Regan
Peter Costello