Whether of pagan or Catholic origins, Hallowe’en is more than a commercial holiday writes Ruadhán Jones An infrequent and unofficial “battle”’ takes place between Christians, Neo Pagans and sometimes New Atheists. It comes to the fore every time we have a major feast in the Church. Easter and Christmas, it is erroneously claimed, originated in…
Personal Profile With Ireland having entered a second period of full restriction, making an effort to communicate is more important than ever, and Fr Eamonn McCarthy finds himself at the forefront of those efforts through his work with Radio Maria. The Dublin-based priest is well-known on Irish airwaves, helming Radio Maria’s mission in Ireland with…
An only child, my seven-year-old daughter is already acting like a teenager, losing her temper over the smallest thing, shouting at me, banging doors and telling me she hates me. Her emotions are out of control and my husband and I don’t know how to help her. It is likely that a combination of factors…
Everyday Philosophy Popular aphorisms, proverbs and phrases sometimes pithily summarise good ideas. And sometimes, well, they don’t. The enemy of my enemy is my friend You might figure that ‘strong opposition to the government and general programme of Josef Stalin’, might seem to be a pretty good indicator of virtue and wisdom. Not, however, if…
I had checked the readings for the Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time and it was the psalm which caught my attention. It was beautiful and I decided it would be a good basis for writing. Then today, as I sat down to write, I realised that we won’t have those readings because it is…
What’s right and what’s wrong? We fight a lot over moral issues, often with a self-assured righteousness. And mostly we fall into that same self-righteousness whenever we argue about sin. What constitutes a sin and what makes for a serious sin? Different Christian denominations and different schools of thought within them lean on various kinds…
Evolution at work? Babies born without wisdom teeth More people are being born without wisdom teeth and an extra artery in their arm as a result of rapid evolution, according to scientists in Australia. Dr Teghan Lucas, of Flinders University in Adelaide, has discovered that people are undergoing a micro-evolution which allows evolutionary changes to…
Ruadhán Jones shares ideas for celebrating the unofficial triduum of Hallowe’en, All Saints and All Souls Hallowe’en as it is celebrated today comprises a mishmash of different cultural traditions, some pagan – mostly Celtic – and some Christian. Even the origins of the celebration are somewhat controversial, with Neo-paganists attempting to ‘reclaim’ it from its…
Medical Matters Last month saw the marking of World Alzheimer’s Day as part of an international campaign to raise awareness of a condition that is still stigmatised and often misunderstood. It is estimated that there are about 50 million people in the world with dementia and this figure continues to rise with an ageing population. …
Personal Profile Canon Patrick Marron’s ministry spans both time and experience, childhood and adulthood, lay and religious, carefree life and stressful life. However, given his time back, he says he would do it all over again. “I love my ministry. I found it very challenging, and I regretted that I wasn’t a better priest. I’ve…
Ruadhán Jones
Wendy Grace
Ben Conroy
Bairbre Cahill
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Dr Kevin McCarroll