Study suggests 20 quadrillion ants on Earth There are at least 20 quadrillion ants on Earth, AFP reports. This is according to a new study that says even that towering figure likely underestimates the total population of the insects, which are an essential part of ecosystems around the world. Determining the global population of ants…
Mindful Living The Garden of Love by William Blake I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen: A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut, And Thou shalt not. writ over the door;…
Recently I received a letter from a friend who shared that she was afraid to accept a certain vocation because it would leave her too much alone. She shared this fear with her spiritual director who simply said, “Charles de Foucauld died alone in the desert!” That answer was enough for her. She went ahead…
Personal Profile Barry Noel FPM came into contact with the Presentation Brothers while attending their secondary school in Grenada. The Irish missionaries’ commitment and dedication made a great impression on the young man, who decided to follow them into the missionary life. There was only one secondary school on the island before the Presentation Brothers…
Children’s Corner If you don’t know what invisible ink is, or how to make it, you are missing out. It can be a great way to send secret messages to your friends that won’t be intercepted by anyone else. It’s a method that can be tracked back for thousands of years and has been used…
The Sunday Gospel There are 10 meals in Luke’s Gospel and each one is not only a table of food but also a table of the Word…just as we have in the liturgy of the Eucharist. Each meal is the setting for some important teaching. We are familiar with the Last Supper, the revelation of the Risen…
Taking your faith seriously is bound to benefit your relationship, writes Jason Osborne A recent study from the University of Exeter caught the public eye when it boldly proclaimed that more religious people have higher sexual satisfaction. Except that it isn’t that bold, because it’s adding to a growing body of research that’s supporting that surprising…
A Parent’s Perspective There’s a lot of worry and concern about the dwindling numbers of young people attending Mass. Reactions to this often fall into two broad categories – one stance is to brush over the facts and take the focus off the issue by praising the efforts of teenagers and young adults in other…
Cravings for fatty foods traced to gut-brain connection New research investigating the source of our appetites has uncovered an entirely new connection between the gut and the brain that drives our desire for fat. At Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute, scientists studying mice found that fat entering the intestines triggers a signal. Conducted along nerves to the…
The heavy exhale. The almost lifeless body beneath the covers. You beg, you plead, you offer the ultimatum that threatens a loss of phone or PlayStation. Slowly their overtired, hormone-driven corpse emerges from the darkness, bloodshot eyes rolling back in their heads as they make their way to the bathroom in hopes of being presentable… for…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones
Chai Brady
Maria Byrne