The Gospel stories about the birth of Jesus are not a simple retelling of the events that took place then, at the stable in Bethlehem. In his commentaries on the birth of Jesus, the renowned scripture scholar Raymond Brown highlights that these narratives were written long after Jesus had already been crucified and had risen…

The Notebook   Fr Conor McDonough   “What?! You shouldn’t have!” “Mum, look what Santa brought!” Christmas is a time of surprises, usually pleasant, and that’s very fitting, because it’s a feast that commemorates the greatest surprise in history, although we often forget the great surprise amid all the little ones… How often have you…

We’ve been marking the centenary of women’s suffrage – when women over 30 in Ireland and Britain were entitled to vote for the first time, in 1918 (and women over 21 were entitled to stand for election.) An enlightened advance indeed: less well-known, or well-publicised, is the fact that the Pope of the time, Benedict…

It breaks my heart to think that this Christmas children will be born into homelessness, writes Sr Stan   Christmas is a special time in the religious year as it marks the birth of Jesus. It is a time to celebrate this and a time to reflect. It is also a time we all think of our…

Faith means taking the long view, writes David Quinn   When you read the Bible it is easy to miss important ideas when you are not concentrating. How many times have I read, or listened to someone else reading, the opening chapter of St Luke’s Gospel where the Angel declares to Zechariah that his wife,…

Christopher White   In a decision that will undoubtedly create shockwaves around the globe, Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Church official to stand trial for sexual abuse, was found guilty last week by a Melbourne Court. In one of the most closely watched trials in modern Catholic Church history, after nearly four full days…

I’ve never been happy with some of my activist friends who send out Christmas cards with messages like: ‘May the Peace of Christ Disturb You!’ Can’t we have one day a year to be happy and celebrate without having our already unhappy selves shaken with more guilt? Isn’t Christmas a time when we can enjoy…

Fr Bernard Healy   One of the beauties of our Faith is that it makes itself at home in every nation and culture. Whilst we all celebrate the same Christmas, we do so differently depending on the traditions and circumstances of our own place. One of my favourite Roman traditions is that of the Zampognari…

Isn’t Mullinalaghta wonderful? This small village in Co Longford  raised a national cheer – and a hooray among the diaspora too – when its GAA football team beat Kilmacud Crokes to win the Leinster Football Club final last weekend. Mullinalaghta has a population of only 447 and the GAA club’s membership there is just 155…

The consciences of medical staff will be abused with a seal of approval from the Oireachtas, writes Dr Noreen O’Carroll   I was very struck by the phrase “the abuse of conscience” used by Pope Francis in his apology for the abuse perpetrated on minors by members of the clergy and hierarchy; he apologised not only…