In his first address to the Church and the world on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica after his election in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV identified himself as “the son of St Augustine”. With these words, the new Pope was not just drawing our attention to him being the first Augustinian Pope in history,…
I listened recently to an excellent interview with Dr Hannah Vaughan-Spruce who presented a hopeful vision for the future of the Church, where parishes become centres of discipleship, evangelisation and authentic community. Hannah is Executive Director of Divine Renovation UK, a ministry that inspires, connects and equips parishes to become missionary (see www.divinerenovation.org). She also…
Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34); “Faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13); “God is love” (1 John 4:8). No matter how far the Church wanders from the primacy of love, it is always the prophets and the saints who bring us back. One…
The most convincing argument for the truth of our faith against every denial is the witness of the saints and the beauty that their lives have generated. This is particularly true when that beauty shines like a light in the darkness of a time in human history that threatened us with despair. A terrible time…
One of the three pillars of the synodal pathway is ‘communion’, the other two being participation and mission. It is no coincidence that in the listing of all three, communion comes first, followed by participation and then mission. The implication is clear – in the measure that the whole Christian community is united in communion…
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…