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 [...]

Over 30 per cent of the verses of St Mark’s Gospel is taken up with stories of miracles. The Latin word ‘miraculum’ means something that causes wonder. James McPolin SJ says the miracles of our day are those which speak to our world of liberation, of human dignity, health, justice [...]

The recent Synod of Bishops in Rome on the Word of God (October 2008) highlighted ways of more effective proclaiming the Word of God in today’s world and having it inspire the lives of Christians. In anticipation of this, the Cloyne Commission for Liturgical Formation last year produced two beautiful [...]

God speaks to us in the Bible. But, in using human writers, of necessity He speaks in human words, in a variety of literary forms, and in a culture that is different from our own. Jim McPolin SJ explains how we can find meaning in the Bible for us today.

In most countries there is a census of the people, where all the people are counted. Today every ten years a census form comes to every house and the head of the house has to fill it in and list all the other people in the house. That is the [...]

The prophets were people who lived in Israel before the birth of Jesus. They didn’t really see the future like a fortune teller, but they would predict the likely outcome of behaviour. For example, if they saw the rulers enjoying a rich life and not bothering about the poor people, [...]

Fr Oliver Treanor reflects on the miracle of the marriage feast of Cana and tries draw out what it means.

By telling the story of how his people responded to God in various situations of the past, we can discern what our best response to him in the present situation might be. James McPolin SJ explains

“There were shepherds in the fields, watching over their flocks by night.” Shepherds were poor people, they were not paid good wages. Usually they did not own the sheep, but were just paid to look after them by the owner. Jesus talked about the hired shepherds running away from the [...]

The prophets, says James McPolin SJ, transmit and interpret God’s words for the time, especially in order to call people to address the injustices of their world.

Fr Oliver Treanor looks at the miracle of the woman who was healed by touching the hem of his garment and explores what it means.