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.
Anne Power recounts her experience of deepening in prayer and meditation and discovering that this was bringing her back, after many years away, to the Catholic Church of her youth.
Magali Nicole takes a look at gardening. In it she finds a model of ‘subduing the earth’ which does not involve exercising absolute mastery over it, but rather entails working with God and helping to create heaven on earth.
Philip Fogarty SJ takes a look at the circumstances behind the writing of the Gospel of St John, which emerged from the tension between early Christian communities and Jewish leaders.
Christopher Moriarty takes a look at the life of Haydn, one of the greatest composers of classical music and a devout Catholic.
Raymund J Festin SVD from the Philippines writes about his work in Angola, where he learned some important lessons on being a missionary.
This handbook is designed by editor Brian Magee CM to help the reader prepare the readings for a wedding, so that their message can be conveyed in a way that is meaningful for the couple and the congregation. Each reading is prefaced by a short commentary, and there is a [...]
Has the Church made mistakes in its pronouncements in the past? If a person today finds themselves in conflict with Church statements, what should they do? Seán Fagan SM tries to shed some light.
Archbishop of Dublin during the takeover of Ireland by the Normans and King Henry II, his efforts in the peace process and his frustration with King Henry probably caused his early death. Highly honoured at Eu in Normandy, France, where he died. Kevin Doran, parish priest of Glendalough, tells his [...]
