Irish people are not usually designed for the sunshine. In fact, the stereotypically Irish fair skin evolved so as to enable people to manufacture vitamin D under the murky grey skies of northern Europe. It’s therefore quite a shock to the system when Ireland, without warning, becomes a tropical paradise. We become fish out of…
I wrote my doctoral thesis on the value of various philosophical arguments that try to prove the existence of God. Can there be such a proof? Brilliant philosophers, from Anselm, through Aquinas, through Descartes, through contemporary intellectuals like Charles Hartshorne, submit that the existence of God can be proven through rational argument. Except, a lot depends…
Laudato Si’ This month, the Vatican highlighted the potential good that the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics can bring about during the ‘Season of Creation’, which starts on the September 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and ends on October 4, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint…
Bringing fun from all around the world to kids The Building Bridges Community Theatre (BBCAT) in Lurgan, Co. Armagh are gearing up to deliver their ‘All Around The World Summer Scheme’ for children. It runs for five days from August 2-6 for children aged 7-11 years old at Market Street in Lurgan. There will be…
Painting is an activity for any time of year, but it’s great for occupying the family during the long summer days, writes Jason Osborne I feel as though everyone has some painting experience buried in their past, even if it’s as simple as a former primary school activity or something our parents occupied us with as children.…
Mindful Living Meditation awakens us to the illusion of separateness. When we see only through the ego, everything becomes a competition, a comparison. It is all about ensuring my survival, my security, my salvation. But meditation awakens the heart and gives rise to a more expansive way of seeing. And when that way of seeing…
Personal Profile The Church’s emphasis on older people as “treasures of the Church” and “teachers of wisdom and prayer” is a much-needed antidote to our age’s tendency to side-line the elderly. So says Catherine Wiley, founder of the Catholic Grandparent’s Association (CGA) and herself a mother and grandmother. She and the CGA have been on…
Christina Malone Three weeks ago, we finally got to celebrate Grace’s First Confession. A week before the clothes were picked and laid out on her bed every day. The excitement was unreal. Grace asked me if I remembered my First Confession. Yes, of course I do. I was about eight years of age and like…
“Some things need to be said and said and said again until they don’t need to be said anymore.” Margaret Atwood wrote that. I quote it here because each year I write a column on suicide and mostly say the same thing each time because certain things need to be said repeatedly about suicide until…
Sweet Treats Banana bread is a staple in any baker’s repertoire and this recipe doesn’t even call for a hand mixer so it’s perfect for beginners. If you don’t even have a loaf tin you could always make mini banana bread muffins, a delicious breakfast treat, just adjust the cooking time down as necessary. A…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Ruadhán Jones