Notebook For some Irish Catholics, it’s hard to think of Corpus Christi, the feast we celebrate this weekend, without getting nostalgic about the beauty of past celebrations, and even becoming resentful about the almost total absence of Eucharistic processions in the life of the Church today. I never experienced Corpus Christi processions when I was…

Among the most interesting developments in neuro-science in recent years has been the study of the human brain, which can now be examined in great detail with the progress in medical technology. The study of the adolescent brain has yielded especially fascinating results. Teenagers have been scolded for lounging in bed for hours, and neuroscience…

The View   When the happy day comes when Covid-19 no longer constitutes an ongoing serious threat to human life, I hope that things will not go back to normal. I hope they can be better than they were and particularly in the area of the celebration of sacraments. For example, there is one Sacrament…

Letter from America   Donald Trump is the best president in the history of the United States…or at least that’s what he told Catholic leaders on a conference call recently… Twice during the month of April, the US President held conference calls with faith leaders – the first was a mix of Christians, Jews, and…

Notebook   I once heard the comedian Ardal O’Hanlon say that he would love to have his own chat show and invite famous people to be his guests. The twist was that he would not talk to them about what they expected. He gave an example: “I’d love to have Neil Armstrong on and talk…

I’m never been much of a garden person – rather concurring with whoever described gardening as ‘outside housework’. That is, chores  done to maintain some kind of domestic order, rather than for any kind of fulfillment. But the Covid-19 lockdown did make me aware that there are people who have no gardens, and no access…

As the journey back to common worship continues, parishes will need to be ready to hit the ground running, writes Michael Kelly Archbishop Diarmuid Martin spoke for many when he said on Monday evening that “as Christians, we suffer through not being able to celebrate our faith through public worship”. The suspension of public Masses…

When the pandemic is finally over, the livelihoods of very many people will be harmed and the damage will be huge, writes David Quinn   The pandemic is increasing feelings of anxiety among the population, with a bigger effect on women than men. This has now been confirmed by new data from the Central Statistics Office…