Mindful Living Exceptional life events stop us in our tracks and can force us to see the world very differently. That truth takes on a very practical meaning in the economic and social lockdown caused by the coronavirus, Covid-19. In extraordinary times, our everyday, routine, habitual worldview, our underlying, often unquestioned, way of seeing…
How are your Easter Alleluias going? Is it, as Leonard Cohen would say, a holy or a broken Alleluia? It has been strange these weeks since Easter not being able to go to Mass and sing those vibrant, uplifting hymns to proclaim the resurrection. In some ways it feels as if we are still living…
It is funny where the lessons of our classrooms are sometimes understood. I studied philosophy when I was still a bit too young for it, a 19-year-old studying the metaphysics of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas. But something from a metaphysics course remains indelibly stamped in my mind. We learned that there are four ‘transcendental’ properties…
Sweet Treats If you can get your hands on some flour and sugar these days, why not try and create a lemon and poppy seed drizzle traybake? This adaption of a classic Mary Berry recipe is the perfect springtime treat to make with the kids. With all the ingredients going into one bowl together…
Live classes online Gyms have been closed for over a month now. Many of us will have spent hours scouring online for at-home workouts and tutorials and it’s starting to get old. Not being able to interact with a class or get tips on your form can slowly start to take the fun and the…
Looking to do some DIY in your spare time? Róise McGagh shares some tips for getting started with minimal materials Hanging around the house for such an extended period of time is no easy feat. One of the nice things about these times is that you can finally start to get stuck into that…
A parent’s perspective My husband’s uncle died yesterday. He had Down’s syndrome and spent his life surrounded by love, a valuable and cherished member of his family. He enjoyed his simple pleasures like his soft toys, his Star War figures and his cartoons. When my husband and I visited him some weeks ago in…
Personal Profile “It was a great life to live and as one says I would do it all over again.” Fr Martin Keane set off for Kenya in 1971. He had always wanted to be a missionary. Since he was in national school in his home town of Cranny, Co Clare, he recalls being…
The sky is a deeper blue than before the pandemic. It is no longer being washed pale by so many aircraft contrails. In Cork, we are on the flightpath from London to New York, so the effect is particularly pronounced. The silence is deeper too, as there are fewer cars and trucks rumbling about. People…
Most of us are familiar with Pope Francis’ comment that today the Church needs to be a field hospital. What’s implied here? First, that right now the Church is not a field hospital, or at least not much of one. Too many Churches of all denominations see the world more as an opponent to be…
Bairbre Cahill
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Maria Byrne