One of the things that most hinders the Church in its mission and makes people reluctant to interact with it is the real presence of sin in those who profess to be Catholic. Every person walking the earth is a sinner, but those who claim to be adhering to the heights of goodness, truth and…
New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote an article about a lifelong friend who died by suicide. In describing his friend and his descent into a suicidal illness, Brooks sheds some needed light on how we still have a long ways to go in our understanding of suicide. (New York Times, February 9, 2023)…
Last Sunday we had the story of Jesus sitting with the woman at the well, offering her the living water of friendship and mercy. It is a story about the grace of Baptism. Today we have a second baptismal story from John’s Gospel, the miracle of sight for the blind. In the early centuries of…
Jonathan Roumie, of The Chosen, fame says he’s doubling down on God this Lent, writes Gina Christian This Lent, Jonathan Roumie has a full plate at work – and an empty one at home, he told OSV News, thanks to some “heavy fasting” he plans to undertake between now and Easter. “Fasting is super-powerful,” Mr…
It’s hard to measure how good or great a film is, but when you’ve topped the premiere fan review site (IMDb) for more than 20 years, you must have done something right. What makes The Shawshank Redemption’s (1994) success even more remarkable is that it was a flop on release. It only came to fame…
Best known for his work in healthcare, especially in Ireland where many healthcare sites bearing his name dot the land, the Portuguese saint John of God is celebrated by the Church March 8. Born in 1495, Joao Cidade had an unsettled and haphazard early life, being orphaned at a young age before finding employment as…
Jem Sullivan Throughout the seasons and feasts of the liturgical year, the Church pauses to give special honour to Mary, mother of Jesus, the son of God. As mother of the Church, we turn to Mary as our mother in the order of grace for she brings about the birth of all believers in…
This is a common refrain in our times: I’m definitely spiritual, but I’m not religious. Or again, I personally believe in a higher power or a god, but I wouldn’t associate with a religion. I’ve heard this line personally on many occasions, and I think it expresses the fact that many people are aware that…
The night before he died, Jesus struggled mightily to accept his Father’s will. The Gospels describe him in the Garden of Gethsemane, prostrate on the ground, “sweating blood”, and begging his Father to save him from the brutal death that awaited him. Then, after he finally surrenders his will to his Father, an angel comes…
The highlight of the liturgical year is the renewal of our baptismal commitment to Christ at the celebration of Easter. Today’s Gospel (John 4: 5-42), the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well, is the first of three stories in John’s Gospel which throw light on the graces of Baptism. This is…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones