The Sunday Gospel “The Word of God came to John son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.” I really love Advent. Each season of the liturgical year has its own rich spirituality, but I think Advent has the message that is most relevant at the moment, at least in the state of the Church in Western…
NASA launches spacecraft to kick asteroid off course A NASA mission to deliberately smash a spacecraft into an asteroid – a test run should humanity ever need to stop a giant space rock from wiping out life on Earth – blasted off last week from California. It may sound like science fiction, but the DART…
Last week we discussed the practicalities of getting married, but a more topical question might be how to date well in Ireland in 2021, writes Jason Osborne Dating is difficult, there can be no doubt about it. Dating in its current form is only a recent-enough development, but finding a suitable spouse has always been…
Advent, Advent ein lichtlein brennt… is a famous German saying, meaning “Advent, Advent a light is burning…” I used to love this time of the year, Advent, as a child but even more now as an adult because I learnt to appreciate the memories my parents created. The traditions around Advent are so wonderful. From…
Everyday Philosophy What do St Thomas Aquinas’s position on divine command theory and factory farming of animals have to do with each other? Plato’s Euthyphro dilemma asks whether things are good because God wills them, or whether God wills them because they are good. Divine command theory takes the first position: that the only thing…
Our greatest strength is often our greatest weakness. Sensitivity is a gift, but as any sensitive person will tell you, that gift can be a mixed blessing. Sometimes a thick, calloused skin can save you from a lot of suffering, particularly from heartache. The popular spiritual writer Henri Nouwen was a highly sensitive person. That…
This Christmas will be my first Christmas as a married person. Myself and my husband have still not decided where we will spend it but we are getting pressure from both families as to where we should be spending Christmas day. For some families, who is seated at their Christmas table on Christmas day is…
Apple to sell spare parts to consumers to repair apple products Apple said it will for the first time start selling spare parts and tools to the general public to perform their own repairs on some iPhones and Mac computers. The self-service repair programme comes after years of pressure from consumer groups which have resulted…
The Sunday Gospel T he First Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the liturgical year. The Gospel of the day is about the end of time (Luke 21:25-28.34). It might seem odd that Advent begins, not with preparation for the coming of Christ at Christmas, but his coming for us at the end of…
Personal Profile Dr Marian Mortell developed a love of Scripture from her school days, and it was a love the really began to flourish ten years ago. She took early retirement from her teaching career to return to study, and along with other lovers of Scripture in Cork set up the Cork Scripture Group. Dr…
Ben Conroy
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Wendy Grace
Ruadhán Jones