The Church teaches that Penance can take place in the framework of a communal celebration, writes Cathal Barry Like all the sacraments, according to the Church, Penance is a liturgical action. The elements of the celebration, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, are ordinarily these: A greeting and blessing from the priest, reading the…

What most moves your heart? I was asked this question recently at a workshop. We were asked to respond to this question: When do you most naturally feel compassion in your heart? For me, the answer came easily. I am most moved when I see helplessness, when I see someone or something helpless to tend…

“Our time needs credible people who can speak of God in a way that makes God real”, writes Andrew O’Connell While the rest of the country was engrossed in election tallies last Saturday morning, I was at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin where all one hundred seats were filled for a private screening of…

Fr Donal Neary SJ Catechesis on the Eucharist is needed, writes Fr Donal Neary SJ The recent document It is Good for us to be Here (Veritas 2015) from the National Liturgy Centre raises important and relevant concerns about the practice of weekday liturgy when a priest is legitimately absent. Much work over the past…

You know it was a scintillating papal press conference when, in reply to a question about Donald Trump, the Pontiff described the GOP candidate’s stance on immigration as “not Christian”, and arguably it wasn’t even the most important thing the Pope said. In the same news conference, Francis suggested he’s open to the idea of…

One small community has weathered Syria’s war, writes Paul Keenan Among the many hundreds of thousands who have died in the brutal struggle for control of Syria, the loss of Maronite Deacon Benjamin Camille, killed in 2013 as he worked in a Damascus suburb, is no less tragic and, at first glance, no more notable…

The Church teaches that reconciliation with God is the purpose and effect of the sacrament, writes Cathal Barry The whole power of the Sacrament of Penance, according to the Church, consists in restoring the faithful to God’s grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship. Reconciliation with God, the Church teaches, is thus…

Several years ago, while teaching a summer course at Seattle University, I had as one of my students a woman who, while happily married, was unable to conceive a child. She had no illusions about what this meant for her. It bothered her a great deal. She found Mother’s Day very difficult. Among other things,…

“there does appear to be something in Catholicism in America that is not present in many Irish parishes”, writes Michael Kelly I’m writing from the United States where I am attending the Religious Education Congress of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Irish Catholics who attend Mass in the US often return with memories of the…

“Conscience has to be understood more widely than the mere deification of feelings or obedience to a dominant orthodoxy”, writes Editor Michael Kelly By the time most people read this, the general election will be over. At least the vote-casting part of it. All but a few seats will be decided, and it will be…