As the Church in Ireland approaches the National Synodal Assembly this October, one of the seven priorities that will be discussed and discerned will be ‘Formation and Catechesis’. According to the synodal preparatory document ‘Baptised and Sent’, the hope of renewal in this area of the life of the Irish Church, is to “deepen faith…that…
In last week’s edition of the Irish Catholic, I reflected on how St Macrina inspires us to share the faith with our siblings as she did with her brothers and sisters, three of whom became saints. This week, we feature two better known saints who can help grand-parents share the faith with their grandchildren. I…
In last week’s Irish Catholic, Fr Martin Delaney wrote a beautiful tribute to his late parents as he looked back on 40 years of his life as a priest. It was a powerful testimony of what we are reminded of in every celebration of baptism – that parents are the first educators and influencers of…
I have just finished reading Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. It will take some time to digest it because of its depth and wisdom. Contrary to what many perceive as the encyclical being about Artificial Intelligence, the primary focus of the document is the human person as made in the image and likeness of…
In July 15 each year, the Church celebrates the Feast of St Bonaventure, the Franciscan Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Bonaventure was born in 1217 in the Italian town of Bagnoregio. As a young man he came in contact with a new community gathered by a certain Francis of Assisi who died shortly after…
Nettuno is an Italian coastal town about seventy kilometres south of Rome. I often travel there by train on my days off to walk the beach and pray. Nettuno is famous for a huge Military Cemetery where thousands of soldiers are buried who were killed during the Second World War in January 1944 when Allied…
In St Peter’s Square in Rome, the great colonnades of Bernini begin at either side of the Basilica and wrap around most of the square’s perimeter. In the mind of the architects, the body of the basilica was designed to symbolise the body of Christ, the dome symbolised Christ the head of the Church and…
This week, our focus is not on one particular saint but on several – seventeen in fact – Irish men and women, lay and clerical, who were put to death for their Catholic faith between 1579 and 1654. They were beatified by Pope St John Paul II in 1992 and their feast day is celebrated…
On June 11 each year, the Church celebrates the feast of St Barnabas who is identified in Scripture as ‘the son of encouragement’. It is one of the highest compliments to be paid – to be known and remembered as someone who gave encouragement to others. The first mention of Barnabas in Scripture comes in…
There are many examples in Scripture of people elected by God to fulfil a special mission that involved them moving away from home. Abraham was asked by God to trust Him, to leave his homeland and travel towards a destiny known as ‘the promised land’ (cf. Gen 12:1ff). Moses was chosen by God to lead…