The first group of post-coronavirus pilgrims in the Holy Land received a warm welcome, writes Michael Kelly It was with a certain sense of the unknown that 40 pilgrims set off from Dublin Airport late last month to make our way to the Holy Land. Regulations then in place (since thankfully dropped) meant we all…
Personal Profile Fr Declan Lohan, a priest of the Galway diocese, says that he didn’t appreciate Christ or the Church in the first part of his life. He developed this appreciation over time, first through the Legion of Mary and Youth 2000, and now through his work as a parish priest in Renmore, Co. Galway.…
The Sunday Gospel If all of Scripture were to be destroyed with the exception of one passage, my choice to be preserved would be today’s Gospel (Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32), the parable of the Prodigal Son. This is the essence of salvation history, the story of sin and God’s offer of forgiveness. It describes three steps…
Channelling the Inner Fire:Ignatian Spirituality in 15 points by Brendan McManus SJ (Messenger Publications, €4.95/£4.50) The Ignatian Guide to Forgiveness: Ten steps to healing by Marina Berzins McCoy (Messenger Publications, €12.99) These are two further publications relating to the celebration around the world this year of the 500th anniversary of his wound at the battle…
I have been thinking again recently about my friends, Monica Brown and Hilary Musgrave who introduced me to the whole experience of sacred clowning. Hilary and Monica lead retreats all over the world and the sacred clown ‘Naofa’ is an integral part of their unique approach to spirituality. Sacred clowning must be experienced because trying…
French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s recital at the National Concert Hall (NCH) on Tuesday (March 29) may well fit the axiom “a little of what you fancy does you good” as he devotes his programme to fancies or fantasias from the sixteenth to the twentieth century. Fantasias While the programme is built around four of Mozart’s…
Dear Editor, Your forthright editorial [The Irish Catholic – March 10, 2022] concerning what amounts to nothing less than a scandalous denigration of Catholic education, spoke for many. That those politicians that once came from a Catholic understanding now show their true colours are shameful. The SDLP, in particular, is showing how much there is now a deeply…
I’m not a great fan of most Irish comedians. I find many of them loud, crude and unfunny, but I do realise these are subjective matters…to a point. I wouldn’t be rushing to one of his gigs, but I was impressed by the host on the Tommy Tiernan Show (RTÉ One, Saturday) when he interviewed…
Church workers are concerned because increasingly desperate South Sudanese are looting humanitarian aid supplies and attacking aid workers in an effort to get food. Some leading causes of the food shortages are armed conflict and climate change. While the violence resulting from the conflict has hurt livelihoods and caused deaths, climate change-induced floods have displaced…
In Laudato Si’ Pope Francis says: “Given the seriousness of the ecological crises our world is facing, action is urgently needed. Caring for our brothers and sisters means caring for the home we share. This responsibility is “essential to a life of virtue (LS, 217).” In November 2021, Pope Francis launched the Laudato Si’ Action…
Michael Kelly
Ruadhán Jones
Peter Costello
Brendan O’Regan