Within the Catholic fold, there are all sorts of ways of being religious or spiritual – as the Mary Chapin Carpenter song says, “There’s a Keeper for Every Flame”. Some focus a lot on the sufferings of Jesus, and on various devotions not essential to the faith. There has been much interest scientifically and spiritually…
I’m very pleased to note programmes that give us a sense of hope. I found one this week. Ireland’s Catholics: Signs of Hope (EWTN, Friday) was a timely report from Colm Flynn about the current situation as regards faith in Ireland, especially in relation to young people. We saw 60 of them at a eucharistic…
Sometimes you need an antidote to the darkness of war, and comedy will do for a while. One of the most charming shows on TV in recent weeks is Small Prophets (BBC Two, Monday) – it maintained its whimsical tone consistently up to last Monday’s satisfyingly dramatic final episode. It’s funny, quirky, warm, moving and…
Sadly, the new war in the Middle East continued, worsened and widened last week. In fact, it was something of a hellscape when I woke up last Monday morning. On It Says in the Papers (RTE Radio 1) there was talk of rocketing fuel prices, “apocalyptic scenes”, “fireballs” and “rivers of fire”, as middle-east oil…
Blessed are the Peacemakers”, said the greatest peacemaker of them all. This week my headline might be ‘Man who seeks peace prize starts war’. And so it was that I woke up last Saturday morning to the horrible news that the USA and Israel had launched an attack on Iran, including its capital Tehran. And…
Unsurprisingly, quite a few Lent related items featured in the media last week. The News in Depth (EWTN, Friday) covered Pope Leo’s Lenten Message, with its striking call for a worthy type of abstinence – refraining “from words that offend and hurt.” He called for a “disarming” of language, “avoiding harsh words and rash judgement.”…
So, Lent has begun again and many of us fall into familiar patterns – hopefully we will celebrate Easter as better people, closer to God. Divine Sparks with Aine Lawlor (RTÉ Radio 1, Friday) delved into past and present Lenten practices. Aine Lawlor believed things hadn’t changed much over the years in that respect, especially…
Sometimes you get unexpected good stuff in unlikely places – always a positive experience! Abuse survivor David Ryan’s visit with Pope Leo received lots of coverage and what I heard was hugely positive. Initially, it was in the news programmes, but then on the Claire Byrne Show (Newstalk, Tuesday) the presenter got off to a…
This week there’s one show on the way out, two on the way in and one getting well established. Last week there was no more of the long-running show Press Preview, (Sky News) a disappointing development I thought. It was essential nightly viewing for avid news heads, as two prominent UK journalists pored over the…
It’s nice to find something to get optimistic about at the start of a new year. And so, I bring you glad tidings. Education Nation (Spotify) is a new podcast from The Irish Catholic stable, exploring various aspects of the Irish education system. And it’s complicated! This was certainly clear in presenter Nicholas Cuddihy’s interview…