As a Lutheran priest, Dietrich Bonhoeffer would frequently offer this advice to a couple when he presided at their wedding, “Today you are in love and believe your love will sustain your marriage, but it can’t. Let your marriage sustain your love.” Wise words, but what exactly do they mean? Why can’t love sustain a…
The Sunday Gospel Jer 31:7-9 Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6 Heb 5:1-6 Mk 10:46-52 Like so much of the gospels, Jesus’ encounter with a blind beggar this Sunday boils down to one simple question: “What do you want me to do for you?” If we met Jesus along the road, would we be able to…
Fr Martin’s life is a proof of the Church’s missionary spirit that continues to inspire priests, religious, and laity, says Renata Milán Morales “May that missionary spirit never decline in the hearts of Irish priests, whether members of missionary institutes or of the diocesan clergy or of religious congregations devoted to other apostolates,” said St John…
Brenda Noriega-flores Have you ever found yourself pondering the meaning of life? If so, you’re not alone! Most people, especially between 13 to 30 years of age, frequently wrestle with these big questions. Wonder is part of what it means to be human and, as St Thomas Aquinas wisely noted, it’s a deep desire for…
Jackie Whelan My brother, Paul McLeod, was diagnosed with a brain tumour at the age of twenty-five. He died eighteen months later, in March 1990. He was the youngest in the family, loved by everyone. We were totally devastated, but our parents’ faith was strong. They spoke about ‘God’s will’. I questioned how a loving…
On borders everywhere in the world today we find refugees, millions of them. They’re easily demonised, seen as a nuisance, a threat, as invaders, as criminals fleeing justice in their homelands. But mostly they are decent, honest people fleeing poverty, hunger, victimisation, and violence. And these reasons for fleeing their homelands strongly suggest that most of…
‘Choose your battles’ is generally good advice. It’s wise to acknowledge that not every fight can be won; that we may not have the resources to sustain a war on many fronts; that victory sometimes costs us more than we can afford. But if you’re born (or baptised) on the battlefield, things become more complicated.…
The Sunday Gospel Is 53:10-11 Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 Heb 4:14-16 Mk 10:35-45 or 10:42-45 Fr Joshua J. Whitfield Simone Weil, that strange yet beautiful soul, once wrote that genuine love of neighbour meant being able to ask the question, “What are you going through?” What she meant was that neighbourly love demands sympathy…
Q: I have heard some priests refer to ‘non-sacramental’ marriages on the annulment question. I presume these are civil marriages. Is it so? Or do these marriages become ‘non-sacramental’ due to the various other faults in the couple’s status? A: Terms like ‘sacramental marriage’, ‘non-sacramental marriage’, ‘civil marriage’, and ‘valid marriage’ all refer to slightly…
D.D. Emmons In Church history, few lay people have had more positive effect on the success of Catholic worldwide missionary activities than a Frenchwoman named Pauline Jaricot. Born into an aristocratic family in 1799, she used her influence to not only help spread the Gospel but rejuvenate devotion to the rosary and highlight deplorable conditions…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Renata Milán Morales