by Paul Senz One of the challenges we Catholics face is the way in which our liturgical calendar almost becomes like white noise in the background. There is such consistency in our liturgical year that we often don’t give much thought to the changing of the seasons, the feasts, the memorials, the solemnities, as they…
Questions of Faith Recent polls in the US have indicated that belief in Jesus’s presence in the Eucharist is at a historic low. A famous 2019 survey found that 69% of all self-identified Catholics said they believed the bread and wine used at Mass are not Christ, but rather “symbols of the body and blood…
The biblical story of Saul is one of the great tragedies in all of literature. Saul’s story makes Hamlet look like a Disney character. Hamlet, at least, had good reasons for the bitterness that beset him. Saul, given what he started with, should have fared better, much better. His story begins with the announcement that,…
The Sunday Gospel On the first Sunday of Lent each year, the Gospel is about the temptations of Jesus before he commences his public ministry. “Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1). We will reflect initially on the nature of temptation, then on the…
The goal of Lent is nothing other than freeing ourselves up to follow God more faithfully, writes Jason Osborne Lent begins Wednesday, February 22, this year, and so in preparation it’s worth turning our mind to it in advance. At least in my case, it often comes upon me like a thief in the night,…
In a 2000s poll, the British Film Institute canvassed film and TV professionals to find the 100 best English TV series. At number 10, the highest ranked TV Mini-series, was a famous adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. The classic book by Catholic author Evelyn Waugh became a classic series, beloved by audiences, critics – and even…
Despite the singular name of this column, this week we’re focusing on two saints: February 14 the Church esteems Ss Cyril (originally Constantine) and Methodius, who were declared co-patron saints of Europe by St Pope John Paul II. These brothers were born in the Greek city of Thessalonica in the early ninth Century, but it’s…
The Wisdom of Pope Francis Ash Wednesday, marks the beginning of the Lenten journey of 40 days, which will lead us to the Easter Triduum, the memorial of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection and the heart of the mystery of our salvation. Lent prepares us for this most important moment; therefore, it is a…
A near age-old accusation levelled at the Catholic Church is that it encourages and actively worships Jesus’s mother, Mary. The same accusation is applied when it comes to saints – Catholics are accused of being polytheistic, essentially: of worshipping saints as gods, rather than God alone. The short answer to this is no, Catholics do…
More than a half century ago, Flannery O’Connor wrote a short story, A Good Man is Hard to Find. One of the main characters in the story is an elderly woman who is a difficult, stubborn, and not a particularly happy person. Traveling to Florida with her family, she is constantly whining and complaining. Then,…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones