Jenna Marie Cooper Catholics don’t pray that souls in purgatory won’t wind up in hell, because hell is no longer a possibility for them. We do pray because we hope that, through our prayers and sacrifices, the sufferings of their purgation might be eased and their journey to heaven might be hastened. Let us recall…
Christian discipleship calls all of us to be prophetic, to be advocates for justice, to help give voice to the poor and to defend truth. But not all of us, by temperament or by particular vocation, are called to civil disobedience, public demonstrations, and the picket lines, as were Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Daniel…
Deacon Greg Kandra May 14, 2023 – Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 Psalm 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20 I Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21 A few years ago, a colleague of mine made a pastoral visit to one of the forgotten corners of the world: Armenia. Here is a country suffering from devastations…
Cultivating the imagination of a toddler is the best way to pass along the Faith, writes Jonathan Lewis Parenting a toddler involves allowing them to transport you into their world of adventure and imagination. Passing along faith to our toddler has involved introducing our child to a Catholic imagination for the world around us. Like a growing gallery wall, each year…
The Vatican film list from 1995 contains two films that Pope Francis declares to be his favourites. The first I’ve reviewed, Babette’s Feast; the second is an Italian film famed Italian director, Federico Fellini, his 1954 Oscar winner La Strada. ‘Fellini-esque’ is an important descriptor in film criticism these days. It denotes something whimsical, comic…
May 5 the Church celebrates a man who has indirectly affected the lives of a great many people on our shores, even today: Blessed Edmund Rice, the founder of the Presentation Brothers. As many readers will be aware, the Presentation Brothers are an order dedicated to helping and “forming Christ in the young,” particularly through…
OSV News Whether we want to admit it or not, life is full of changes. Some changes are easy, fun, and helpful: trying a different hairstyle, buying a new car, learning a new skill, landing a new job. Some changes challenge us – losing weight or quitting smoking – or transform us, like letting go…
Our paper’s headline last week, “Euthanasia committee promises fair hearing for concerned voices,” will have come as welcome news to many pro-lifers in Ireland who are tired and disheartened by the cold shoulder we’ve received from Government on the abortion front. Perhaps a few people read it, though, and wondered why there would be concerned…
Inside the rite for Christian Baptism there’s a little ritual that is at once both touching and unrealistic. At one point in the baptismal rite the child is clothed in a white garment symbolising innocence and purity. The priest or minister officiating says these words: “Receive this baptismal garment and bring it unstained to the…
The Sunday Gospel Jem Sullivan May 7, 2023 Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 6:1-7 Ps 33:1-2, 4-5, 18-19 1 Pt 2:4-9 Jn 14:1-12 In those early days of the global pandemic in spring 2020, our parish food pantry saw an unexpected and dramatic increase in the number of families in need of food assistance. The…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones