Jennie Blayney tells us of a summer she spent as a volunteer working in Kenya. She says she got back a lot more than she gave.
What does ‘handing on the faith’ mean in present-day Ireland. There are no longer the many Religious-run institutions, like schools and university halls. It seems one has to be living it with conviction oneself to be really able to hand it on. Fr John Looby SJ explains.
This book, edited by academic Eamon Maher, Director of the National Centre for Franco-Irish Studies, and former President of the National Priests Council of Ireland Fr John Littleton, gives an analysis by clergy, educators, journalists, and artists of what is happening to Irish Catholicism today and makes suggestions toward creating [...]
On 29th May 2008 the Catholic Bishops of Ireland issued a pastoral reflection on the occasion of the referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. While not explicitly urging a yes vote, it is an endorsement of the European project.
Canon 285 par 3 of the Code of Canon Law states: “Clerics are forbidden to assume public office whenever it means sharing in the exercise of civil power”. Columban missionary Fr Shay Cullen asks us not to judge too hastily those who have felt the struggle for justice has warranted [...]
Paul Andrews SJ says: “Teachers need pastoral care for themselves. Their daily work exposes them to a merciless manipulation of their weaknesses by sharp-eyed and clever teenagers.”
This extract by Brian Grogan SJ tells of Ignatius’s experience of life change when he made his general confession at Montserrat and how he set out on the adventure of being a poor Christian.
Wisdom is not just a thing of the mind, says Celine Mangan OP, but is a practical thing too. Being in close touch with creation is a practical wisdom that keeps us close to God.
Brian Lennon SJ worked for many years with people affected by conflict in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. In a way that is both compassionate and challenging, he explains the myths and misunderstandings of what forgiveness is and the demands that society often puts on those who have suffered. He then [...]
Brian Grogan SJ points out how in Barcelona in the years 1524-25 St Ignatius’s person radiated something that brought veneration and affection in others. Many made mention of a light that lit up his face.
Etty Hillesum was a vibrant young Jewish woman who lived in Nazi occupied Amsterdam in the early 1940s and died ad Auschwitz in 1943. In the months before she was arrested she underwent a profound transformation through psychotherapy. She refused to give into hate and in this way overcame the [...]
Rob Clarke was born in 1956 in Wellington, New Zealand, the third eldest in a family of nine children. From an early age, I felt occasional stirrings towards God, but as I grew older, my life became filled by many competing interests – girls, alcohol, sport – and Mass ceased to [...]
Jim Corkery SJ provides some clarification on the inquiry about God’s plan in our lives and why sometimes things just go wrong.
Gerry O’Hanlon SJ writes some consoling words to a family member who has undergone much suffering.
How soon after birth should my child be baptised?
On 24 March 1980, Archbishop Romero was assassinated while celebrating Mass. He was the most high-profile victim of El Salvador’s civil war between powerful landowners and the dispossessed. This tribute is by Haydee Rodriguez, who moved to the US from Guatemala in her early teens. While studying philosophy at Loyola [...]
Rev. Lawrence F. Murphy’s personal recollections of the epoch-making election of Pope John XXIII.
Hell, for many people, is a fiery place full of horned creatures wielding pitchforks. Theologian Lawrence Cunningham explains what the church really teaches.
Kevin Seasolts OSB traces the significance of the clown or the fool in Christian spiritual and cultural perspectives. Invoking the visions of such artists as Fellini, Rouault and Picasso, he reminds us that the only way to climb the ladder of holiness is to climb down the ladder of humility.
The survival of so many Irish round towers is a tribute to the monks who built them, writes Paul Ross. Along with the harp and the shamrock, the round tower has almost become a symbol of Ireland. From Armoy in north Antrim to Aghadoe outside Killarney, there are sixty-five of [...]
Deir an tAthair Mícheál Mac Eochagáin: “Is é an t-aon díomá sa saol seo ná gan a bheith naofa.” Múineann sé an diagacht i gCliarscoil Mhór Pheadair i Zomba, Malawi.
Ralph F. Ranieri explains how excessive shyness can cause children severe emotional pain. Once you understand the causes, you can take steps to resolve the problem.
In this public lecture, Diarmuid Martin, Coadjutor Archbishop of Dublin, assesses the need for change and renewal in the Church, looking especially at the necessity for the Church to listen and be humble, after the model of the Virgin Mary, mother of the Church.
Éilis Ní Thiarnaigh a scríobh.
Bishops and theologians differ over whether Communion should come before Confirmation. Cian Molloy looks at the tradition behind both sacraments and the stresses and strains involved in what have become social rights of passage as much as religious events.
From the Veritas ‘Into the Classroom’ series: Benedict Hegarty OP introduces the bible as a classic – and still living – literary text and as a sacred text, and he examines the reception of the bible in the community. This series, edited by Eoin G. Cassidy and Patrick M. Devitt, [...]
Scott Detisch gives us five essential things to know about the Mass so that we can dispel our ‘eucharistic worries’. It’s time, he says, to move from anxious worry to vibrant worship.
Carmel Wynne urges parents to take direct action to protect their children from television programmes with inappropriate sexual content.
From the Veritas ‘Into the Classroom’ series: Christopher O’Donnell OCarm examines the role of ritual, prayer and contemplation in different faith traditions, paying special attention to the Christian tradition.
