Bishop John Kirby maintains that some ancient statues of the Madonna carved from local trees are proof that devotion to Our Lady of Clonfert dates back over 700 years.

In what it has to say about Mary Vatican II inserted a special chapter into the Constitution on the Church “Lumen Gentium”. By this it was signalling that it wished Mary to be seen as a prototype of the disciples of Jesus. Philip Fogarty SJ develops this spirituality.

In 2002 Pope John Paul II suddenly introduced five new “mysteries of light” to the Rosary. Was it that he recognised that there was “a gap” in the traditional Christian faith statements, like the Apostles’ Creed and used the popular devotion of the Rosary to try to remedy it? Patrick [...]

This article on the Rosary is taken from John Follan’s book, “The Light of his Face: Spirituality for Catholic teachers”. It brings out how, despite the agro the recitation of the Rosary causes in families, it can be found to have a significant place.

This article is a chapter from John Bollan’s book on religious education, “The Light of His Face: Spirituality for Catholic teachers”. I consists of reflections on the mysteries which, as he says himself, “cross over into any sphere of life and work”.