“Bis orat qui bene cantat” (“Who sings well prays twice”) is the proverb with which the General Instruction of the Roman Missal introduces its section on “The Importance of Singing at Mass”. The choir, as well as sing its own parts, should fosters the active participation of the people in [...]
Clive Marsh considers how Christ is present today, and invites us to reflect on how communal human interaction can be informed and transformed through attempting to understand this question. He considers how Christ and the Church relate today, highlighting the decisive role to be played by the Church in society, [...]
Edel Quinn combined devotion with a great zest for life. Talented and expressive, she found her life’s work through the lay organisation, the Legion of Mary, and through it became a lay missionary in East Africa. John Murray tells her story.
Wilfred Harrington says that in Luke’s gospel that we find a Jesus of sensitivity, compassion and great gentleness. Luke reflects on God as the God of sinners. Luke does not seek to suppress the tragedy and mystery of the cross nor undervalue its saving role but his Jesus helps lift [...]
The military image of “soldier-saint” applied to Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits has given way to a more “mystical view” – how in contemplation he (and we)could experience the love of the Trinity, the love of God in creation, in the Eucharist and in the humanity of Jesus. Brian [...]
Michael Mullins’s commentary on Mark’s gospel is offered as a textbook for students of theology, as a guide for serious readers, as support for preachers, to the many people who practise lectio divina and spiritual reading. No prior technical knowledge of biblical scholarship is assumed.
Many Catholics and other Christians are under the impression that what we celebrate on 25th December is the actual birth date of Jesus. Catholics can become quite shocked, scandalised and even go into a belligerent mode when others, like Jehovah Witnesses, suggest that this might not be so. The fact [...]
‘Enter into your heart and you will pray.’ This is the formula Dermot Mansfield SJ gives us to tune into our own hearts where, he says, the Holy Spirit is already praying ‘with sighs too deep for words’.
This book edited by Kieran McKeown and Hugh Arthurs, is about the spiritual journeys of diverse people and their personal experiences of God and religion. It chronicles the different ways in which they have been shaped and marked by their encounters with God and religion, in the broadest sense, and [...]
Families come in a variety of configurations: divorced or separated, widowed, single-parent stepparent, childless, blended, adoptive, multigenerational, aging. Wendy M. Wright aims to adapt her spirituality to suit all configurations. It is a book that digs deep and touches many a nerve.
Serving as a doorman was the way Fr Solanus Casey used to become holy. He would listen to the story of everyas if he had all the time in the world….” Fr John Murray PP tells his story.
Angela MacNamara made her name writing as an agony aunt in The Sunday Press during the 1950s and 1960s. She also responded personally to about fifty letters a week as well as those that were published. She was then recruited to talk in schools with teenagers struggling to become adults. [...]
Margaret Winters shares her experience as a palliative care nurse in Dublin.
Tess Martin highlights the work being done by Catholic Youth Care (CYC) for young people. It is an organisation promoted by the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.
Adam Papicki and Róisín Ní Bhaoill Papicki give us some idea of what are the implications of an intercultural Irish-Polish marriage forged in Japan.
An Gaisce – the Irish President’s National Challenge Award – aims to support the development of young people, social fabric and the growth of active citizenship. Tess Martin writes about the ideas behind the scheme and some of the people working their way towards achieving the award.
Greg Heylin explores the areas of work and spirituality at individual and organisational levels. Essentially it is a book of ascetical theology which draws on wisdom from organisational consultancy, the self-help tradition, spiritual companionship and Christian faith. It aims to give saner perspectives on work and give power to act [...]
Is Uachtarán é Maurice Manning ar Choimisiún (na hÉireann) um Chearta an Duine. Tugann sé cuir síos dúinn ar thionscnamh úr idirnáisiúnta atá idir lámha ag an Choimisiún.
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 [...]
