Many people with a curiosity about faith find that studying theology brings them to the next level, writes Deirdre Soffe The thought might have crossed your mind that someday, you would like to know more about theology. Perhaps while your knowledge and skills in an occupational field advanced, your knowledge of the core issues of…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. In today’s Gospel (Matthew 13:44-52), Jesus continues the seven parables about the kingdom of Heaven in our lives. What is this Kingdom? In the scriptures, the Kingdom of Heaven has several different shades of meaning. In today’s parables it refers to the hidden treasure in the heart:…
A pilgrimage steeped in religious, cultural, historical, and political significance writes Jason Osborne A group of seven intrepid walkers set out beneath an overcast sky, guided by former BBC Northern Ireland Political Correspondent Martina Purdy. Drops of rain threatened to sour the occasion, but in keeping with the example of the saint they were following,…
Matt Talbot’s devotion to the Eucharist allowed him to make an offering of his entire life writes Fr Hugh O’Donnell SDB As the centenary of the death of the Venerable Matt Talbot approaches (2025), maybe it’s time to recall one of Dublin’s acknowledged – though somewhat neglected – holy people. When too narrowly represented as…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. The mission of Jesus was to establish the rule of God, the Kingdom of God, on Earth. The taskforce for the continuation of his mission would be the community of believers known as the Church. Today, in Matthew 13:24-43, three parables show how this Church is a…
Zoom orchestras and WhatsApp quizzes: Dublin charity St Agnes CCMA have had to innovate to bring music to their community writes Ruadhán Jones The lockdown may be coming to an end for many, but for those with underlying conditions caution will continue to be the order of the day. Pauline McHugh is 75 and suffers…
Supporters of Catholic education should not be passive in the face of threats to an authentic, faithful and confident religious ethos in Irish schooling writes Dr Tom Finegan The term ‘religion’ is mentioned only once in the 139 page Programme for Government (PfG) adopted by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party. On the…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. “The reason that I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding.” Jesus knew that people would listen to stories and remember them. Parable sounds like parallel. A parable is a story that runs parallel to life, like…
The Sunday Gospel Fr Silvester O’Flynn OFM Cap. “I bless you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, for hiding these things from the learned and clever and revealing them to mere children.” It’s easy to return thanks when things are going well and we are aware of God’s favours but it takes great Faith to…
The Irish Spirit – Issue No. 8 Exclusive excerpt from Holistic Healing, A Christian Approach by Pat Collins Postmodernism maintains that the human mind cannot know absolute truth, so at best all truth is probable, partial, and provisional. Writing in par. 91 of his encyclical Faith and Reason, St John Paul II observed, “the time…