Confirmation as rite of passage must end

Notebook Next year in both parishes I now have responsibility for, we will celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. That means that eight different 5th and 6th classes in four schools are eligible to celebrate the Sacrament. In recent weeks I have been visiting those classes to begin a conversation around Confirmation. One thing that I…

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Finding God by opening to his love

You might very well think it is an obvious thing for a priest to say but recently, I have been thinking a lot about Faith. A few weeks ago, the Harvard business school professor, Arthur C. Brooks, shocked RTÉ radio presenter, Brendan O‘Connor by suggesting that the two most important things that guarantee a happy…

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Grasping the nettle and cutting Masses

Thirty years ago, I was invited along with a colleague to lead a parish mission in Newfoundland on the east coast of Canada. It was an interesting and memorable experience. Newfoundland has very close connections with Ireland and indeed most of the population spoke with distinct Irish accents. Many of the family names were ones…

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Healing a divisive world…

As someone who is regularly tasked with preaching, I am always looking for examples of people who live out their faith in practical ways, loving God and neighbour in the bits and pieces of life. Within the last year I came across two films which I found inspiring. The first film, which I discovered by…

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The intimate connection to the bog

Notebook I have lived and worked in a predominantly rural parish in the midlands for the last ten years. In that time, we have had national debates about many issues including same-sex marriage, abortion, Brexit and the demise – and possible resuscitation – of the Celtic Tiger. All of those issues and many more have…

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Why do I remain a priest?

I’m writing these reflections in Holy Week and later this evening I will join my colleagues to celebrate the Chrism Mass during which we will renew the promises made at ordination. Much has changed since that July evening in 1986 when I first made those promise and so this annual renewal causes me to reflect…

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A reunion at a border post

Notebook Recently I drove across the border from Northern Ireland into the Republic. To be honest these days you have little sense that you are crossing from one jurisdiction to another but I was reminded of how different it was when I first travelled that route in the late 70s and 80s. It was a…

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