For the believer, Holy Week and Easter are the culmination of the Faith when we mark the saving death and lifegiving resurrection of the Saviour. Even if some people sometimes relegate Easter to a mere festival of over-indulgence in chocolate eggs, the glory of this festival transformed our world. The Carpenter of Nazareth revealed in…
In our calendar, Holy Week is one which turns from triumph on Palm Sunday to breaking bread together on Holy Thursday, betrayal in Gethsemane, death and humiliation on a cross on Good Friday, the silence of Holy Saturday and ultimately the victory over the grave of Easter Sunday. On the first Holy Thursday at the…
As a journalist, one of the great barriers to working as effectively as one would have liked during Covid-19 was the lack of ‘in person’ opportunities to meet. Many have hailed the revolution in communications brought about by zoom and other online platforms. Others have embraced the idea of working from home with an enthusiasm…
Editor’s Comment Pope St John XXIII was reportedly once asked by an impressed visitor to the Apostolic Palace how many people actually work at the Vatican. The Pontiff is reported to have quipped back: “Oh, about half of them”. The story is probably apocryphal, and I have since heard it said about many large organisations.…
When I made my Confirmation in 1990, our teacher excelled at helping us to memorise the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Each of us boys could rhyme them off one by one. Probably not to the same extent that previous generations could recite the catechism from heart, but certainly in a way that is probably…
Editor’s Comment As I write, a piece of legislation is making its way through the northern assembly. If passed, the legislation will seriously disadvantage Catholic schools by prioritising scarce resources towards what are commonly called ‘integrated’ schools. Catholic schools along with ‘controlled’ schools (in effect, Protestant schools) will be in second-place when it comes to…
Editor’s Comment There are few things that test faith as much as suffering and the presence of evil in the world. The Christian tradition has always recognised the reality of evil as a profound temptation against the Gospel message. The world we live in often seems very far from the one promised us by Faith.…
Editor’s Comment “And now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem,” proclaims the psalmist. And it is from Jerusalem that I write this reflection as part of The Irish Catholic Christian Solidarity Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I am leading the first post-coronavirus group of Irish pilgrims walking in the footsteps of Jesus.…
Female Government TDs cut a pathetic figure at the weekend lining up to express their sadness at not being invited to the latest come-all-ye. You see, the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) – a group funded by successive governments from taxpayers’ money to lobby said governments – is organising a campaign to ensure that…
There is much talk about the rising cost of living on both sides of the border. There is a broad consensus from politicians that something must be done. Invariably, the same politicians are divided on what should be done. What was it that Chesterton said about reformers: the reformer is always right about what’s wrong.…
Michael Kelly