Sunday’s Gospel Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. I like the story about an ageing flower-lady with an outdoor stall. Her clothes were old and shabby, her face weather-beaten and wrinkled. A regular customer asked how she was always in good form. “It’s my friend Jesus,” she replied. “Good Friday was the worst of days. Three days…
High blood pressure and child development issues High blood pressure in pregnancy, or pre-eclampsia, an already established threat to a mother, has been found to increase the risk for several developmental problems in children. The study published by JAMA Psychiatry, using a Norwegian health database, observed 980,560 children. Of these, 28,068 were exposed to pre-eclampsia…
From the moment he was introduced to the world after his election, Pope Francis has emphasised his identity primarily as ‘Bishop of Rome.’ The 2020 Annuario Pontificio, the official Vatican yearbook, has now made the same emphasis typographically by listing other descriptions of the papal office as “historic titles.” Like the 2019 edition, there is a page that says simply,…
The RTÉ broadcast of daily Mass currently has an average audience of 34,600 people per day. However, Mass on Wednesday drew an online congregation of 65,000 according to Roger Childs Commissioning Editor for religious content for the national broadcaster. Most of the Masses are being broadcast from the Cathedral of Ss Eunan and Columba in Letterkenny,…
Exclusive Excerpt Treasured and Transformed Vision for the Heart, Understanding for the Mind While Easter, with its beautiful liturgy, is a joyous feast, that same liturgy without sacrifice is false worship. The ‘Triduum’ is rooted in human suffering, and to encounter it is to encounter Christ. Easter is painfully recognised and experienced mainly in broken places…
Fr Simon Sleeman OSB, a monk in Glenstal Abbey, has been sharing weekly videos on techniques to help cope with being in isolation. “I have some preparation for a lockdown let’s put it that way,” Fr Sleeman told The Irish Catholic. Last year he spent some time in St John of God Hospital recovering from depression…
A cardinal in Sri Lanka says he will make a vow to Our Lady this week to save his country from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, has promised the Faithful that he will hold televised prayers and make a special plea to Our Lady of Lanka at the National Basilica…
In the streets and towns of Ireland, these days have taken on a real Lenten feeling of desolation, writes Fr Jeremy Corley One cold morning a few weeks ago, just before receiving the ashes on my forehead, I heard the traditional Ash Wednesday reading from the prophet Joel: “Proclaim a solemn assembly. Call the…
A Dublin-based charity has vowed that it will continue to carry its food services for the most vulnerable despite the coronavirus. However, while Merchants Quay Ireland said it will still offer urgent essentials at its Riverbank base as take-away, all other activities such as hot showers, counselling and contact work must be restricted. The homeless…
The number of Catholics are increasing worldwide as well as permanent bishops and deacons, but priests, seminarians and religious figures are decreasing, according to recent statistics. These findings were released by the Churches’ Central Statistics Office, which drafts the Pontifical Yearbook 2020 and the Annuarium Statisticum Eccleasiae 2018, last week. Between the years 2013 and 2018, there…