The summer months bring an increased flow of pilgrims to the Eucharistic and Marian Shine at Knock in Co. Mayo, one of the encouraging signs of Irish people’s enduring faith. Devotion to Our Lady in particular has always been a feature of Irish piety and a day in Knock is a means of revitalising that…
Imagine spending your life contained inside an opaque bubble. Everything that you need – or, at least, everything that you think that you need – is there in the bubble with you. You were placed within the bubble when you were born, and since the day of your birth you’ve never had any interaction with…
God’s presence inside us and in our world is rarely dramatic, overwhelming, sensational, impossible to ignore. God doesn’t work like that. Rather God’s presence is something that lies quiet and seemingly helpless inside us. It rarely makes a huge splash. We should know that from the very way God was born into our world. Jesus,…
Is laughter good medicine? Maybe, but it’s rare that we hear about the laughter of a saint. In our current historical moment, I think we need a saint’s laughter. This month we’ve been celebrating 31 days of St Ignatius of Loyola, leading up to the anniversary of his death July 31, 1556. People who love…
Q: When I was in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (commonly known as RCIA, now the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults), the instructor said normal weekly Eucharist counts as a ‘confession,’ and reception counts as ‘absolution.’ She said in most cases, most people “don’t need to bother” the priest with their sins,…
Bookshelves are being emptied, boxes packed, and removal vans crisscross every diocese in the country. Yes, it’s that time of year when priests are on the move. If there were an appropriate dish for these moments of transition, it would involve sweet and sour sauce—there’s always both elements when a priest moves from one parish…
Shauna Rose Pickering The motto of the St Louis family — Ut Sint Unum — “That they may be one,” took on new life and deeper meaning this summer as 14 Year-13 students and five staff from St Louis Grammar School, Ballymena, journeyed to their sister school in Oku, Ghana. What began as a fundraising…
In this second article of the series on the Knock apparition we focus on the most important Person of the vision– the Son of God – the ‘Lamb of God.’ Jesus appeared then as He is now seen face-to-face in heaven. Last time we referenced the silent aspect of the Knock Apparition as a striking…
The only thing I can boast about is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). These words of St Paul lay bare the dynamics of the Christian life in which the Cross of Christ is central. The great mystics have…
In a book entitled Peculiar Treasures, the renowned novelist and spiritual writer Frederick Buechner reflects on the character of Judas, the man who betrayed Jesus with a kiss and then died by suicide. Buechner, who had lost his own father to suicide, speculates on the reasons why Judas dies by suicide. Referring to an ancient…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr John McCarthy