A sneaky marketing tactic has crept in during the last decade or so. Traditionally, there were 12 days of Christmas beginning on Christmas Day and ending on either the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany or the Epiphany itself. The Church counts a little differently, celebrating the Octave of Christmas, which ends on the…

The name of my house is “Living Hope”; these words, on a sign by the front door, light up at night, a great reminder of St Peter’s message in his first letter:  “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us a new birth…

Predictions, they say, are difficult to make, especially the ones about the future! But we need neither a crystal ball nor the gift of prophecy to know that 2026 is going to be another immensely challenging, if rewarding, year for everyone engaged in the leadership and management of Catholic primary and post-primary schools. At primary…

Predictions are always a risky enterprise, since nothing is certain in this life – “we live in no abiding city,” as the Gospel puts it. Yet the world we are entering in 2026 has already been ascertained, in one predominant aspect: Europe is an ageing society. The EU is already the oldest society in the…

The Iter Europaeum is a pilgrimage of 28 churches in Rome, celebrating the link between the Holy See and the European Union. It was one of four official pilgrimage paths in the city for the jubilee year. Each of the 28 churches is, for historical or cultural reasons, associated with one of the member states…

Ireland will hold the presidency of the EU from the middle of this year until the end. The presidency is held by EU member-states on a rotating basis for six months at a time each. When the EU was smaller, we got to hold the presidency much more regularly. But with 27 members, we only…

Anti-Semitism is on the rise. It is hard to believe that within living memory of the Holocaust this should be happening, but it is. The latest and most extreme example in a Western country in the last few years took place on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, shortly before Christmas, when 15 Jewish people were…

For many Ukrainians living in Ireland, this will be the fourth Christmas spent far from home — under the shadow of a war that continues to shape every aspect of their lives. For them, Christmas is one of the greatest and most revered Christian holidays; however, for those who have fled the war, in particular…

American songbird Mariah Carey bags up to three million dollars every year for her romantic Christmas hit – ‘All I want For Christmas is You’. This notion made me ponder: what do I want (knowing that Christ is already a given!)  The answer came loud and clear during my December spiritual reading. This  included a…