A doctor of the Church, St John of the Cross is also one of its great mystics and poets. Born Juan de Yepes de Alvarez in Spain, he was the son of poor parents from Castile, near Avila, but was mostly raised by his mother after his father died early in his life. In 1563, he…
Meditation awakens the heart to the spirit who dwells within every person. Each of us is called to continually renew that spirit as we follow our life’s path. We might express this in another way by saying that we are each called to give birth to Christ in our hearts just as Mary did in…
Godly Play seeks to help children explore their innate spirituality in a Scripture-centric way, writes Jason Osborne How many Catholic parents over the years have longed to see their children engage with the Faith with the same degree of enthusiasm as they engage with their play? While I don’t have the answer to that, it’s…
Faith in Film Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo star in the subtle rom-com Just Like Heaven. Last week, I wrote about how great art can turn our eyes to God to appreciate his beauty. But not everything has to be deep and serious to warrant our attention. Light, sincere films can be just as effective,…
Saint of the Week It wouldn’t have been proper to focus on anyone else this week other than Mary, the Mother of God. The Church celebrates on December 8 the Solemnity of her Immaculate Conception, which is such a momentous occasion that it’s a holy day of obligation – meaning that Catholics must attend Mass…
by Lindsey Weishar I love the hymns that accompany us through the Advent season. A term I sometimes hear used for them is ‘haunting.’ Some are played in minor keys, which fills them with a special mystery, a particular kind of longing. I think haunting is such an appropriate word as the earliest usage of the word haunt…
One Dublin parish is looking to contemplative prayer as the way forward for faith in Ireland, writes Jason Osborne Balally parish in south Co. Dublin is staking its future on the power of prayer. As the Church wanes in Ireland, parish priest Fr Jim Caffrey and chaplain Fr Dermot Lane insist that the decline in…
Faith in Film I mentioned last week that while the Vatican is an unlikely source of film criticism, it does have its own list of ‘great films’. It’s a list I encourage you to check out, easily found with a quick Google search. Their selection is broken up into three categories, religion, values and art.…
Saint of the Week The Church’s thoughts turn to St Andrew, one of the first apostles of Christ and brother of St Peter, around this time of year, his feast day being November 30. Before meeting Jesus, Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist – a sure mark in favour of his powers of…
Faith Development Synodal cries for faith development must not go unanswered, writes Jason Osborne One of the key themes to emerge from the Church’s synodal journey so far is the need for comprehensive, ambitious faith formation. Many of those who’ve turned out have expressed a deep desire to better know and understand their faith. At…
Ruadhán Jones