It’s with good reason that Pope Benedict XVI drew attention to the story of St Josephine Bakhita in his encyclical, Spe Salvi (In Hope we Were Saved), for her’s is a story of the “hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God,” as the late pope put it in that same encyclical. Born…
Fr Stuart Wilson-Smith A faith slump can happen to anyone. Prayer isn’t working or we don’t feel motivated. When we do make it to Mass, we struggle to focus or we don’t feel God any more near to us than when we went in. God seems distant, or we may wonder if God is even…
For many of us growing up, there wasn’t much more to Lent than a certain dourness and less chocolate. I remember in school the main focus was, ‘What are you going to be giving up?’ The answers were generally things that it would be a nuisance to do without, but things that weren’t too great…
Creating the human race may be the single biggest mistake that evolution made. Douglas Abrams writes this in The Book of Hope, a book he co-authored with Jane Goodall. While that is a rather despairing view, in the end, this book is a book of hope, though not without it issuing a dire warning: There…
Jesus proclaimed that his mission was to bring people back from evil ways to the reign of God in their lives. His words were backed up by healing people and casting out evil spirits. The charter of his kingdom was set out in the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s Gospel (Matthew 5:17-37) is about getting back to…
God gave all of us gifts that can be put to use in service of our parishes, writes Lorene Hanley Duquin Today, parishioners are expected to feel a true sense of ownership in their parish. That means looking at your parish as more than just a place where you go to Mass. A parish can…
You might think, reading this column over the last few months, that religion is a common subject in movies. However, it isn’t very frequently, at least as a positive subject. There are plenty of films that attack it or misunderstand it; in the past there were films that made it into a kind of spectacle,…
Saint Brigid is, perhaps unexpectedly, at the forefront of the public’s mind, what with her feast day becoming the occasion of a public holiday this year. However, many have chosen to focus instead on the pre-Christian goddess of the same name – some going so far as to say that there was no historical St…
Woodeene Koenig-Bricker Advent has its wreath, its candles, its hymns – all of which culminate in Christmas. Lent has ashes, fasting, Stations of the Cross – and the Resurrection. It’s easy to be energised and excited about the Faith during the High Holy Days. But Ordinary Time in the Catholic Church? It’s just so, well,…
Sometimes when chatting with those of different denominations, or even with those of no faith at all, Catholics are asked why they confess their sins to a priest. Confessing sins directly to God is usually understood easily enough, but something about sharing our sins with another person in order to receive forgiveness is puzzling to…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones