Personal Profile Fr Ronan Sheehan (28) went straight from finishing his Leaving Certificate into seminary. While some people said he was too young to start, he has no regrets and is “excited” to begin his ministry as curate to the Cork family of parishes Ballincollig, Ovens and Ballinora. His decision to join the priesthood didn’t…
Shortly after ordination, doing replacement work in a parish, I found myself in a rectory with a saintly old priest. He was over 80, nearly blind, but widely sought out and respected, especially as a confessor. One night, alone with him, I asked him this question: “If you had your priesthood to live over again,…
Children’s Corner A very popular experiment which always delivers quite spectacular results is the Diet Coke and Mentos geyser. It’s a lot of fun and sure to amaze your friends and family (assuming you do it outside rather than inside your house). Apparatus: Large bottle of Diet Coke About half a pack of Mentos Geyser tube…
The Sunday Gospel In this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 19:1-10), Jesus calls Zacchaeus by name and brings salvation to his house. Zacchaeus was the one above who looked down while Jesus was the one on ground level who looked up. Jericho was a wealthy town – set in a green, fertile oasis between the River Jordan…
Fear is a fact of life but our faith equips us to deal with it well, writes Jason Osborne We’re fast approaching the time of year when children will be donning every kind of costume under the sun and taking to the streets as darkness descends to scare people into giving them sweets. For many…
Fifty years ago, on an overcast, cold, Autumn day in the gymnasium of the local public high school, I was ordained to the priesthood. Beyond the grey sky, another thing marked the event. This was a tender season for my family and me. Both our parents had died (and died young) within a year and…
Several months ago I was in a group discussion in which the question was posed: “How do we make it easier for young adults to be Catholic?” The keyword is young adults. The eighteen and up age group that we are missing. I’ve thought about this question a lot! The question does not imply that…
The Sunday Gospel The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) was addressed to people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else. In the traditional list of the roots of sin, known as the seven deadly sins, the first in the list is pride, and rightly so, because pride…
Marriage is full of grace for those who seek it, writes Jason Osborne Just as in any state of life, it’s very easy to grow complacent and lazy in marriage. I’ve been married for just over a year now, and I already see how easy it is to slip into bad habits – scrolling rather…
Four women chosen to run world’s most remote post office in Antarctica Four women are to travel to a distant part of Antarctica to take up jobs including running the world’s most remote post office and counting the island’s penguins. Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone beat a record number of applicants…
Ruadhán Jones
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Chai Brady