It’s Jesus’ own mission you have been given: ‘As the Father sent me, so do I send you’ writes Jason Conroy Why live? Now there’s a question! To put it another way: what is it that makes life worth living? What are we living for? Many of us know how to give the ‘correct’…
Gilbert K. Chesterton, the renowned Catholic apologist, was great friends with George Bernard Shaw, the famous playwright, even though Shaw, an agnostic, had major issues with Chesterton’s belief in God and especially with him becoming a Roman Catholic. Indeed, when he heard that Chesterton had become a Roman Catholic, he wrote him a letter expressing…
Last week I had the privilege of attending the National Ploughing Championships in my home county of Offaly, where I represented Self Help Africa, the charity I work with. It was a joy to be part of the Global Solidarity Tent, supported by Irish Aid and launched by Minister Neale Richmond, alongside five other inspiring…
What the Knock apparition teaches us about being bearers of light One of the outstanding features of the Knock apparition, to those who saw it, was its brilliance. The apparition occurred on August 21st, 1879, as the evening was beginning to darken in the relentless rain. The figures were described as “all lit up”…
When I texted my brother to ask if he would like to go to Lough Derg, he responded that he’d already been in 2015, and it would be still another ten years before he would go through that again. Lough Derg is trauma. I remember the first time I was there as I walked round…
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…
Genesis 18:20-32. Colossians 2:12-14. Luke 11:1-13 The first reading (Genesis 18:20-32) from today’s liturgy offers a very intriguing example of Abraham’s prayer for the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah. By examining his attitude, we can already grasp what a genuine prayer should look like. Sometimes, people think that prayer is merely a set of devotional…
CS Lewis, one of the great Christian apologists, didn’t become a Christian without resistance and struggle. He grew into adulthood nursing a certain scepticism and agnosticism. He wasn’t drawn naturally to faith or to Christ. But he was always radically honest in trying to listen to the deepest voices inside and at a certain point…
Acts 14:21-27 Apocalypse 21:1-5 John 13:31-33,34-35 It is becoming increasingly evident that religious objects, such as crosses and holy medals, are not only symbols of people’s faith but are also often incorporated into jewellery or decorative items. Instead of being signs that communicate one’s identity and serve as sources of strength and direction in…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr John McCarthy
Fr Dominik Domagala