During his long stay in Milan, Augustine entered that phase in life when, in ancient Rome, men focused on their careers and other pursuits before starting a family. In Book VI, Augustine laments: “here I was in my thirtieth year sticking fast in the same muddy bog.” Books VII-IX recount the three years that followed.…
What thoughts, I wonder, are conjured up in your mind at the mention of the Enlightenment? If you are of a traditional bent you may be a bit like the 19th century French clergy who were inclined to blame everything they did not like on Voltaire and Rousseau, two characteristic adepts of the Enlightenment in…
With Book VI we are moving ever closer to Augustine’s conversion scene at the end of Book VIII, and we are halfway through all thirteen books of Confessions. In Book VI, Augustine considers his interactions with many significant people during his three to four years in Milan (from late 384 AD when he arrived as…
It is with deep sorrow, yet profound gratitude, that I write my sacred pause for thought this week to honour the memory of Sr Anthony (Pidgeon) Timoney OSC., of the Poor Clare Monastery, Nun’s Island, Galway, who was recently called home to her eternal rest. Galway, and all whose lives she touched, have lost a…
John McGinley Across the UK & Ireland, something quiet and yet unmistakable is stirring. People are beginning to seek God. A quiet revival is breaking ground, and the Spirit is moving with fresh power and purpose. The Lord is at work, drawing hearts, shifting spiritual atmospheres, and calling His Church to consecration, and courageous obedience.…
“The support of my parish and family carried me all the way to ordination,” hears Pedro Esteva It takes a village to raise a priest,” said Rev. Tiernan Burke, reflecting on the long journey which recently brought him to the transitional diaconate – just one year away from full priesthood. Now 40, Rev. Burke described…
Nothing says “pilgrimage, not holiday” more than sleeping on the floor of an airport. The night before my early flight to Rome for the canonisation of our two newest saints, there was a certain sense of silent solidarity between all those who, for one reason or another, had to find somewhere comfortable, or tolerable, to…
In the two previous articles, we considered Knock as a uniquely silent apparition. We saw firstly the importance of silence as a necessary preparation to ponder and reflect. We focused on the absolute silence of The Lamb of God. But there is a third reason for the silence of the vision before us. Silence accompanies…
Shauna Rose Pickering The motto of the St Louis family — Ut Sint Unum — “That they may be one,” took on new life and deeper meaning this summer as 14 Year-13 students and five staff from St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena, journeyed to their sister school in Oku, Ghana. What began as a fundraising…
In this second article of the series on the Knock apparition we focus on the most important Person of the vision– the Son of God – the ‘Lamb of God.’ Jesus appeared then as He is now seen face-to-face in heaven. Last time we referenced the silent aspect of the Knock Apparition as a striking…
Fr John McCarthy