Picture the scene: sports day in a Catholic school in Grenoble, France, in February 1856, and a confident 15-year-old student named Henri Didon wins three gold medals. This was no ordinary sports day, though. It was ‘The Olympic Games of Rondeau’. This quadrennial school festival was inaugurated in 1832, six decades before the first modern…
C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on Christian care for the sick
Notebook It is 1947, and dusk is falling on the town of Drogheda. In the White Horse Inn on West St, a middle-aged writer is at work, penning a short essay. His name is Clive Staples Lewis. He had already made his name as a scholar of English literature, and as a lively proponent of…
How science and Christian faith can flourish
Notebook A few years ago I found myself in a pub – remember them? – for a friend’s engagement party. There I got chatting to a young doctor. We got chatting about our studies, and he was astonished to find out that I had studied science as an undergraduate yet somehow ended up a priest.…
The hearts of those who gave a warm welcome to the Good News
Notebook During the great season of Eastertide, basking in the light of the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, the Church loves to read the Acts of the Apostles. One way to read Acts is to focus on the energy and enthusiasm of the apostles and their co-workers.…
Creation’s praise of God endures unceasingly
Notebook During the Easter Octave we friars here in St Saviour’s in Dublin sang lauds each day in our little oratory. It’s a quiet spot, certainly quieter than our church, whose doors open to a busy street. One morning as we sang I noticed a bright, delicate voice combining with our own chant: a bird…
We shouldn’t be surprised that the Lord continues to raise up saints
Notebook What hope is there for the young people of Ireland? Just over 40 years ago, when Pope St John Paul II addressed young Irish people in Galway, he was speaking to people supported and nourished by a Catholic culture: “You come from Catholic families; you go regularly and meet Christ in Holy Communion on…
Tradition of Biblical dramas point to devout and creative laity
Notebook I had the privilege some years ago of participating in an academic conference in Athens, the city where so many elements of Western civilisation flourished for the first time: democracy, the writing of history, philosophy, and, perhaps most thrillingly, theatre. In Athens, religious festivals were marked by great dramatic competitions, in which tragedies composed…
Legionaries of Mary responded to unwed mothers with compassion
Notebook Of all the stories I’ve read about the mother and baby homes, one in particular has haunted me, that of a young woman who kept her pregnancy secret to the end, and, when labour began, went quietly to a local mother and baby home, gave birth, left her child with the nuns, and went…
Being at home means being with God
Notebook One of the most moving moments of my first four years of priesthood was celebrating the Vigil Mass of Christmas in a homeless shelter for women run by the Legion of Mary. When I was preaching the sermon, I casually mentioned that Jesus was born into homelessness. I thought it was a totally normal…
Beware unfounded and terrifying Covid-19 conspiracies
Notebook One of the more worrying aspects of this past year of challenges is the proliferation of misinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories concerning the Covid-19 pandemic. The most egregious example was one message that did the rounds of many WhatsApp groups outlining a series of utterly false claims linking Anthony Fauci, Bill Gates, George Soros,…