If you can, stop for a moment and think about the Christmas presents you have bought for your children and those which have been asked of Santa. Ask yourself what these presents are going to do. Of course, they come with love and that is message enough in one way because we all want our…

Cian Loakman and Stephen Mulpeter The Pope John Paul II Award is an Award which is given to students who have participated in parish activities and social involvement within their parish. This year there will be 14 students who attend Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge Co. Kildare receiving this award.  These students come from Newbridge…

The unique marital bond is not meant to be compromised by parents or siblings, writes Wendy Grace

We can all remember the nursery rhyme about magpies:  “One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told”.  Seeing a lone magpie brings bad luck, seeing groups predicts the future.  Most of us are superstitious to…

Fr Bryan Shortall OFM Cap shares his path to priesthood with Paul Keenan

Katherine Daniels describes how continuing her late husband’s work has helped his goodness live on

Christine Lavin The first time I attended a Youth 2000 retreat, I went alone. I knew no one and I remember tagging along behind a girl who had started chatting to me on the bus. As I dodged between the people shouting greetings and running into hugs I felt my nerves dissolve a little. I…

Anne Joyce describes how her mother’s Alzheimer’s led her to a new way of loving

Since early childhood, I always associated November and its darker days with the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  My parents put a lot of emphasis on praying for the dead with specific mention of loved ones who’d passed on to the next life. While they carefully explained the finer points of how to gain indulgences, I…

Fr Robert McCabe tells Greg Daly about returning to parish life after 20 years as an army chaplain