Jackie Pallas tells about her work as National Secretary of the Society of Missionary Children, and how it links children in Ireland with children in Africa in helping and praying for one another.

How a parish of 30,000 people can become a vibrant community if lay volunteers are trained and used well – former leader of the Columbans in England, Ed O’Connell, now back in Peru, explains.

Murambatsvina is a Shona word meaning “clean-up”. This story describes how a supposed “clean-up” operation is used to bring to heel the urban dwellers consistently opposed to the ruling political party. Fr Michael Bennett, a Kiltegan missionary, has worked for fifteen years as a justice and peace activist in Mutare, [...]

Thirty years after the publication of Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhoration ‘Evangelii Nuntiandi’ many still seem to see “evangelization” in the restricted sense of winning individual converts to the Church.

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.

Although we understand that the cross is central to Christianity, we tend to avoid the disturbing questions which this raises in practice. Kenneth Leech explores and exposes these questions and shows that they are what gives Christianity its real bite.

D. Vincent Twomey SVD sees Mission Sunday as an opportunity to reflect on the question “Why mission?” and to think about what our response we can make.

Stephen Cottrell’s vision of an evangelising church embraces Christians of every tradition, and explores practical ways of developing structures and ministries that will establish a culture of evangelism in local churches.

Fr Richard Leonard SJ is a visiting professor at the Gregorian University, Rome. He directs the Australian Catholic Office for Film & Broadcasting and is the author of “The Mystical Gaze of the Cinema”, “Movies That Matter: Reading Film Through the Lens of Faith in the Light of Christian Faith” [...]

J. Andrew Kirk has selected a variety themes for thoughtful consideration of what present day ‘Christian mission’ looks like in a world that is post-modern, post-Christian and post-Western, post-everything! It should be helpful to for church leaders, students and all thinking Christians, inside and outside the academic world, wishing to [...]

How to minister in contemporary Irish society is the question addressed by the articles in this interesting book edited by St Patrick’s Missionary Fr Thomas Grenham. Topics include the roles of conversation, presence, systems theory, supervision and reading the signs of the times play in pastoral ministry.

Donal Dorr SPS begins with the idea of mission as dialogue between Christianity and other religions, spiritualities and value systems. He goes on to look at mission as evangelisation, as inculturation, as struggle for liberation, as option for the poor and as power from the Spirit. He also looks at [...]

Séamus Greene is Director of the National Parents and Siblings Alliance. Thirty years ago his daughter was born with a severe disability which it was difficult even to categorise. Little did he know that she was to become the centre of his and his wife’s life, and how much she [...]

Cardinal Seán Brady commends CatholicIreland.net as a method of proclaiming the Gospel.

Michael McGuinness, SVD, looks at the Divine Word Missionaries’ presence in Siberia, where we help HIV/AIDS victims, the intellectually disabled and the poor. But it should not be seen, he believes, as an attempt to proselytize the Orthodox faithful.

Irish Catholics should welcome the open space that secularism provides, not fear it, writes Sean O’Conaill.

Tess Martin looks at the SLÍ EILE movement which is aimed at attracting young people who maybe don’t go to Mass any more and to try and make the faith more relevant to their lives.

Michael McCabe SMA views missionary activity as a manifestation of God’s purpose for his creation and an active involvement in the transformation of the world on the model of Christ’s resurrection.

The Medical Missionaries of Mary’s newest mission is in the city of Feira da Santana in north-east Brazil. Sisters Siobhán Corkery, Ursula Cott, and Sheila Linehan are the Irish sisters involved. They are helped by local lay missionaries Sirlane Santo Silva and Ligeane Cardoso dos Santos.

Michael McCabe SMA views missionary work as an extension of contemplation and as participation in a dialogue already established between God and his people.

Irene Christina Lynch lived in Nigeria from 1998 to 2003 as the wife of the Irish ambassador. During that time she got to know many Irish missionaries there. Her book is a celebration of the many sisters and priests – along with some Nigerians – with whom she talked freely [...]