Medical Matters It’s now just over 50 years ago since it was first announced that smoking causes lung cancer, a moment which spelled the beginning of a decline in tobacco use. Despite all of the negative effects from smoking and restrictions on its use in public places, a considerable number of people still use…
Personal Profile Hannah Harn Fr Aidan Troy, born in Co. Wicklow, became known globally as a true symbol of courage during the Holy Cross protests in Belfast in 2001. He has been living in Paris since 2008, based at the English-speaking St Joseph’s Church. “When I finished secondary school, I decided to try my vocation…
Hell is never a nasty surprise waiting for a basically happy person. Nor is it necessarily a predicable ending for an unhappy, bitter person. Can a happy, warm-hearted person go to Hell? Can an unhappy, bitter person go to Heaven? That’s all contingent upon how we understand Hell and how we read the human heart.…
Being perpetually busy is a strange state of being. Like most working parents, there is always an epically long to-do list lurking somewhere at the back of my mind. The etymology of the word busy reveals something about the state of being busy. The word ‘busy’ comes from the Middle English word ‘bisig’, which at…
Love Notes Myself and my husband are together 15 years and managed to keep our ‘spark’ alive well beyond the honeymoon stage but in the past few years things have changed without us really realising that our attraction has faded. One of the key issues here is the really distorted reality of attraction…
Crafting cherished childhood memories Armagh Craft Fair returns for the ninth year to the the Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre. Bringing high quality craft to the heart of Armagh City, this annual event offers something for everyone. The Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre will transform into a vibrant hub of high quality craft,…
Questions of Faith It’s almost taken as a given today that the origins of humankind can be explained through the theory of evolution: the process by which different kinds of living organisms are believed to have developed from earlier forms. There’s a common assumption today that Catholics don’t believe in evolution, and instead adopt a…
Hannah Harn discusses when working hard becomes a health risk Everybody has had a long week, pulled an all-nighter, or worked overtime on different occasions throughout their life. However, sometimes an extra shift at work can turn into a much more serious issue. Workaholism is often referred to as the compulsion to do work.…
Mindful Living Dr Noel Keating Spirituality can be considered to be an innate dynamism of the human person which inspires us to live life with authenticity; for many it is linked with a specific understanding of the sacred and the transcendent in life. Western culture today tends to undermine any expression of spirituality in…
“I’m a practicing mystic!” A woman said that in one of my classes some years ago and it raised lots of eyebrows. I was teaching a class in mysticism and asked the students why the topic of mysticism interested them. Their responses varied: some were simply intrigued with the concept; others were spiritual directors who…
Dr Kevin McCarroll
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Wendy Grace
Colm Fitzpatrick