The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 7 John G. O’Dwyer In times of great uncertainty, we need reassuring anchors to cling to. Links with our ancestors who survived even greater travails become increasingly important and a walk along one of Ireland’s pilgrim paths is the perfect way to reconnect in this way. Until recently, few…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 7 Lorna Siggins “Wanderer, there is no road, the road is made by walking” is an oft-quoted observation by late Spanish poet Antonio Machado. It’s one that might resonate with “quiet pilgrims”, as in the growing numbers of people in recent years who have sought solace in landscape as…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 7 Louise Nugent Throughout the medieval period many people made pilgrimage in times of crisis such as personal illness, outbreaks of disease and natural disasters like drought. The Black Death was one of the biggest crisis to be faced by people during the fourteenth century in Ireland. The Annals…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. Today’s Gospel, Matthew 10:37-42, is part of the instruction given by Jesus to his apostles as he prepared them to carry on his mission after his departure. He told his followers that it would be costly at times. Sometimes great personal sacrifices would have to be made.…
As the Church prepares to honour teenagers who lived lives of heroic virtue, the message is that holiness is for everyone writes Michael Kelly During his long pontificate, St John Paul II canonised 482 saints – more than his predecessors had raised to the altars of the Church in the previous 600 years. His critics…
A vital link with the universal Church and a broader ecclesial horizon will be lost writes Michael Kelly It’s been said that when the Irish nation couldn’t exist at home, it existed in Rome. The eternal city has long been a home for Irish people abroad and since its establishment in 1628, the Irish College…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 6 Críostóir Ó Floinn, who has published over sixty books in both Irish and English, has produced this trilogy recounting the lives of three famous French saints – Joan of Arc, Bernadette Soubirous and Thérèse of Lisieux. Written in a very readable and simple style, each book gives a…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 6 Exclusive Excerpt from Padre Pio of Pietrelcina: a brief biography by Fr Francesco Napolitano In the Friary of San Giovanni Rotondo, Padre Pio occupied cell No. 5 for more than twenty-five years. It was here that the most beautiful – and also the most painful – events in the…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 6 Exclusive Excerpt from Early Irish Saints by John J Ó Ríordáin C.Ss.R Saints seem to be people of many parts and Colmcille more than most: he was a prince, priest, prophet, poet, diplomat, monk, abbot, scribe, and scholar. In terms of family background, he sprung from the Cenél…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 6 Emma Tobin When trying to understand addiction, it is important to remember what every human is addicted to. We are all addicted to breathing, for example. It’s easy to test, just start holding your breath and soon enough your body will want some air. A little longer,…
Michael Kelly