Scripture came alive in Roscrea through Dominican teaching, lively fellowship, and quiet revelation of Christ at the centre, says Dominic Gallagher. The Logos Summer Scripture school was held in Roscrea between the June 27 and July 1. Amidst the forests of the monastery and the prayerful contemplation of the Cistercian monks, the participants were blessed…
Thinking about the end has helped me prioritise and actually do what’s truly meaningful, , writes Jason Conroy A 2018 letter, available online, the straight-talking Cardinal Eijk from Holland indirectly ‘dropped the A-bomb’ – that is, he brought up the dreaded word ‘Apocalypse’– and, worse ‘Antichrist’! He did this by referencing Catechism of the Catholic…
Q: There’s a really beautiful Eastern Orthodox church in my neighbourhood. Every time I pass by it, I always wonder, is this one of the churches that Catholics can attend? (Ohio) A: I think you might be confusing the Orthodox with Eastern Catholics. While the Orthodox have valid sacraments and very similar doctrinal teachings as…
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen, which premiered in Paris in 1875. A scandal at the time, Carmen revolutionised opera—no kings or noble heroines, but instead soldiers, smugglers and bullfighters. Bizet’s heroine, Carmen, is bold, unpredictable, and free-spirited, living by her own rules. She captivates Don José; whose obsessive love…
Who still reads poetry? In a digital age and in a time when the empirical has for the most part replaced the spiritual, what’s the value of poetry? What does it bring to the table? One of the intellectual giants of our generation, Charles Taylor, in a recent book Cosmic Connections, Poetry in the Age…
An ‘invitation-to-parish-groupings’ approach to outreach, might distract us from the essential place of faith in outreach, writes Fr Chris Hayden A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a piece on the nature of membership of Church and parish. I made the point that the most fundamental ‘thing’ about membership is not belonging to parish groups…
By Peter Kasko I have been on the journey of discovering, or perhaps re-discovering, faith for some time now. I am a cradle Catholic: baptised as a child, receiving First Communion and Confirmation, checking all the boxes as expected. But I reached the point where I realised I didn’t actually know what faith truly…
I spent two very happy weeks in Canada in June — my longest holiday since COVID. One of my great holiday treats is to sit into the pews for Sunday Mass, while another priest does the work — and I watch, critically. On Trinity Sunday I found myself in Lindsay, Ontario, right in the middle…
This may seem a frivolous or impious question, it’s anything but that. It’s an important question and a reverent one as well. Why? Because healthy humour and playful banter help bring joy, lightness of heart, and healthy perspective into our lives. Can we imagine all that wonderful lightness of heart having no connection to God?…
The Rosary can help us meditate on the world which awaited Christ, writes Pedro Esteva The first time I encountered the Hopeful Mysteries, my immediate reaction was – can they do that? I was casually browsing Catholic blogs and articles when I stumbled upon this devotion recently approved for public prayer in the Diocese of…
Fr Barry White
Fr Ronald Rolheiser