How to Hear God: A Simple Guide for Normal People by Pete Greig (Hodder and Stoughton, £14.99/€18.00) Author Peter Greig is pastor in Emmaus Road Church in Guilford, England. This is his eighth book, but his books are only a part of his life. He says that he often finds himself bewildered, but his bewilderment…
Month: March 2022
Go, and sin no more…
The Sunday Gospel Our Sunday Gospels this year are taken from Luke, but today’s story of the woman accused of adultery is found in John’s Gospel 8:1-11. But it is very likely that it was originally a portion of Luke that somehow found its way into the manuscripts of John. Its present location breaks the continuity of…
Ethiopian cardinal welcomes humanitarian truce in Tigray
Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Addis Ababa welcomed a humanitarian truce to allow aid to reach millions of people in the war-affected region of Tigray. The government announced the indefinite and immediate truce March 24 and urged the Tigray defence forces to desist from all acts of further aggression. In response, Tigrayan military leaders said they…
Football star turned faith-filled disciple
Former Irish international and Premier League player Keith Fahey tells Chai Brady about his winding road to faith Looking back to the time he played professional football, Keith Fahey says he received a lot of compliments and “pats on the back”, but ultimately that didn’t serve him in the long run. Nowadays, each morning, Mr…
Having the courage to back up your convictions
Personal Profile Dr Dermot Kearney, past president of the Catholic Medical Association (CMA) UK, believes that we must always be prepared to invite people to talk about faith and spirituality. His Catholic faith has helped him deal with the challenges being a doctor presents and he wants to share that gift. Irish born but based…
The therapy of a public life
Forty years ago, Philip Rieff wrote a book entitled The Triumph of the Therapeutic. In essence, he argued that today in the Western world so many people need psychological therapy mainly because our family structure has grown weak and many community structures have broken down. He contends that in societies where there are still strong…
CGA gets grandparents’ life coach in for next Faith Café
Staff Reporter An award-winning life coach will help the Catholic Grandparents Association’s promote grandparents’ wellbeing and empowerment on their next Faith Café. Life coach, author and speaker Tara Rafter will speak via Zoom on the theme of “the wellbeing and empowerment of Grandparents in a post-pandemic world”, on Tuesday April 12 at 7:30pm. Time “As…
The hidden hand of the women around Jesus
Women Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples by Joan Taylor and Helen Bond (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99) Published last week on St Patrick’s Day itself, this may seem an unusual book to read for Lent. But on deeper consideration I think not. Many readers will welcome it. Inspired by the authors’ Channel 4 documentary, which was filmed…
German bishops’ leader responds to Polish synodal criticisms
The chairman of Germany’s Catholic bishops’ conference has responded to a strongly worded critique of the “Synodal Way” by his Polish counterpart. Bishop Georg Batzing said in a March 16 letter that he sought “a real theological exchange” with Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki over the direction of the controversial multi-year process bringing together Germany’s bishops and…
Celebrating a Chicago parish
It’s nearly 25 years since I spent a year in Chicago, studying liturgy. It was a great opportunity for me, mind-blowing and perspective-enhancing. I got to understand how the US works, but I also learned about what makes Ireland unique, something you can only appreciate from outside it. I stayed at St Bernadette Parish on…