Martin Tierney has written a series of inspirational essays on the changes that are taking place in our world and how we can respond to God’s love in that world.
‘When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.’ These words of Fr Ragheed Ganni were spoken as his testimony at the Italian Eucharistic Congress at Bari. The [...]
Continuing his series of articles on St. Ignatius, Brian Grogan SJ details the saint’s recovery after his crushing defeat at Pamplona.
Many find going to church to be boring and pointless. It is to these that Timothy Radcliffe OP speaks. He suggests that the Eucharist works at a deep level, transforming our humanity so that we share God’s life. He shows that the Mass can transform us right where we’re at.
John Drane offers the follow up to The McDonalization of the Church – where he puts forward arguments for a reinvigorated style of ministry, questions what it means to be Christian in a post-Christendom context, and asks what values might inspire the leaders of the 21st century.
“An extraordinary change has come about, transforming the recluse into an apostle.” This is how Brian Grogan SJ describes what happens to Ignatius in Manresa.
For his journey to Rome Ignatius wanted to give up all human security and rely completely on God’s providence. Brian Grogan SJ explains how he got on.
Philip Fogarty SJ sets the context of the disputes out of which arose the idea that the preaching the gospel of Jesus and his resurrection was not just for the Jews but for “all the nations”. At the centre of this is St Paul and the story is told by [...]
This book by Ena Gray gives a factual account of the origins and development of anti-Semitism. Its purpose is to facilitate the confession and repentance of sins against the Jewish people and in this it is highly successful.
A brief note on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is a celebration of the forgiveness of God, and it helps us to put the the past behind us and go forward in optimism.
Edmond Grace SJ provides some helpful thoughts to a disappointed believer, stricken by an illness and feeling rejected.
My husband, who is not a Catholic, says that seven is far too young for a child receive Communion. What do you think?
Cardinal François Nguyen Van Thuan died from cancer in September, 2002. In 1975 he was named coadjutor archbishop of Ho Chi Min (Saigon). Just three months later he was imprisoned by the communist government. He spent thirteen years in prisons of the regime, nine of them in solitary confinement. In his [...]
For Eileen and Brian Foley, their daughter Catherine has been a blessing and a joy, in spite of her severe health problems.
A 3 hour video training workshop, demonstrating the effective use of ritual, symbol, music and the Arts in Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic liturgical celebrations, as well as providing input and formation on the nature and structure of liturgy.
The death of a child mocks our sense of the natural order of things. It tests and sometimes breaks our faith in a loving God. Martha Manning, a clinical psychologist, explores the emotional upheaval experienced by families of children who have died or who are terminally ill, and suggests ways [...]
Reform of the Irish prison system will take place only when society demands more than simple retribution and vengeance and starts to look for restorative justice, writes Fr Fergal McDonagh, chaplain to Arbour Hill Prison, Dublin.
I gceartlár an uafáis a bhí á fhulaingt i gcámpa Auschwitz sheas fear amháin amach agus d’ofráil sé a bheatha féin a thabhairt ar son duine eile. Nuair a d’fhiafraigh ceannaire an chámpa de ‘cé thú féin?’, dúirt sé; ‘Is sagart caitliceach mé.’ An tAthair Maximilian Kolbe a b’ainm dó. [...]
“Mary gave birth to her baby in a stable and wrapped in in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger.” Although the stable would have been a bit smelly and not very clean, I’m sure Joseph and Mary did their best to make the place as cosy as possible [...]
Robert McClory takes some well-known instances of dissenting voices in the Church, from Galileo to John Courtney Murray, and explains how they have helped the Church to see more clearly.
Soon after he returned at last to his people, Patrick heard ‘the voice of the Irish’, and he knew he had to prepare himself for his return.
Carmel Mongey SSC finds a rich vein of knowledge about God’s motherly love for us all in a parable from St Luke’s Gospel and she suggests an Ignatian approach to exploring this text.
Kevin O’Higgins SJ reminds us that refugees are ordinary people like ourselves, caught in a life-shattering situation, and in need of our solidarity and our practical help.
Tony Baggot SJ identifies a common problem of people who earnestly seek to develop spiritually – the problem of not coming to terms with their psychological experience and trying to graft a spiritual outlook onto this unresolved reality.
Peter Ward C.Ss.R. proposes St Alphonsus Liguori, founder of the Redemptorists, as patron for all those suffering from arthritis, sciatica, muscular pains, and the like.
‘Status anxiety’, argues Sean O’Conaill, is far from the spirit of the gospels and from Jesus’ own low birth and preference for poverty.
Paul Murray OP sets the images of ‘descent’ and ‘falling’ alongside the more familiar images of ‘ascent’ and ‘rising’, in explaining the motion of the soul towards God.
James Wallace C.Ss.R. proposes that we take three model characters as our ‘companions’ for Advent: John the Baptist, the prophet Isaiah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Fr George Wadding remembers back to childhood Easters and prays that Easter would recover its former status as the most important feast in the Christian year.
Roderick Stronge, Rector of the Beda College in Rome, is aware of the controversies surrounding the Catholic priesthood, but what he focuses on is the essential nature of ministerial priesthood and its pastoral practice, and restoring it to its place of honour.
