Lent is the ultimate time for re-focusing on the most important things in life, writes Jason Osborne Life is a hectic thing. Work, family, hobbies and many, many other things vie for our attention and demand our efforts day in, day out. These are all very good things, of course, but none of them are…

Personal Profile Charlotte Gormley’s faith is grounded in her experience of well-run youth retreats. Having been raised in a Catholic family, retreats during her teenage years reinvigorated her faith. Now, having taken on the role of faith formation co-ordinator for the parishes of Banagher and Claudy, she hopes to give back what she has received.…

The role of Ordinary Time and the seasons in the Church year are often overlooked, but they have much to teach us, writes Jason Osborne We find ourselves a couple of weeks out from Lent yet, and smack in the middle of Ordinary Time in the Liturgical calendar. I think most of us are guilty…

Personal Profile Recently ordained as a permanent deacon for service in Clogher diocese, husband and father Paul Flynn is another bridge over the perceived ‘gap’ between the Church and the world. The ordination taking place earlier this month in St Michael’s Church, Enniskillen, it was just the latest, major step on Deacon Flynn’s faith journey…

Valentine’s Day has lost much meaning over the years, but finding the saint behind the name should reinvigorate it for Catholics, writes Jason Osborne Unfortunately, like with so many holidays these days, St Valentine’s Day has lost much of its reason for being. It’s now understood by many to be a day of token gestures and…

With remote working likely here to stay for many, it’s important to carve out a suitable workspace for ourselves at home, writes Jason Osborne With the Cabinet signing off recently on proposed laws which will allow employees the right to request remote working, it’s likely far more people are going to continue to work from home…

Everyday Philosophy Modern academic philosophy is divided into two broad camps or traditions: ‘analytic philosophy’ and ‘continental philosophy’. They each have their own stereotypes. Continental philosophers, the heirs of Sartre, Nietzche, Heideggar, and Camus, are stereotyped as being interested in big, existential questions – but writing about them in ways that range from ‘poetic’ to…

Personal Profile When Declan Lawlor was coming of age as a young man at college in the 1980s, the Church in Ireland was beginning to ebb and the secular tide was rising. Declan’s own faith was drifting, but Our Lady intervened, drawing him first to Medjugorje and then to the Legion of Mary. After this,…

Pornography is more widely available than ever before, so it’s important to be aware and educated about the threat it poses, writes Jason Osborne While technology certainly has its many advantages, one of the unfortunate aspects of it is that it allows all manner of unsavoury things to infiltrate our homes. Whereas once the television…

Medical Matters There are approximately 500 people living with motor neurone disease (MND) in Ireland with about 140 cases diagnosed every year. Though rare, in recent years, the stories of several well-known people with MND has been highlighted in the media and has increased awareness of the condition. The globally recognised ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ that…