Category: Reviews

It has been quite clear in recent years that some Catholics hold what would have once been considered heterodox beliefs about the Eucharist. This was, for many traditional minded people, demonstrated by Mary McAleese taking the sacrament in St Patrick’s Cathedral. It is significant then that this book is subtitled “an aid to Christian unity” — such…

Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB has already given a wide ranging appreciation in this newspaper of some of the special qualities that characterised the late poet Seamus Heaney, whose passing has been greatly mourned. But there are other things too that might be said about Heaney from the point of view of the literary historian.  …

In this book Fr Hogan, now living in Cork after a life spent on the missions in Africa, continues his interesting investigations of the social, political and religious interactions in the early years of colonial Nigeria. The Ebira of his study maynot be so familiar a name as the Ibo or Yoruba are to many…

A sign of the changing times: this is a CD by a Connemara based priest, influenced perhaps by Eastern ideas, which allows listeners to become at home in themselves, and in doing so open up their spirit to wider influences. His insights are intended for both individuals and for prayer groups. There has been a long…

The allusion in the title is, of course, to the robe of Christ, but in these poems by the parish priest of a parish near Dublin, they might also allude to the seamless nature of life and spirit. Poets he notes write from what they know, and what a parish priest has is a very…

Majella is a familiar enough personal name in Northern Ireland, as Fr McConvery reminds us, and in past decades there was a wide spread devotion to him, especially in matters that concerned what the author calls ìthe great life- giving mysteriesî of conception, labour and birth. Though St Gerard (born in 1726 and died in 1755),…

iRosary is an innovative new Rosary for the iPhone and iPod Touch which displays a fully-animated set of Rosary beads that flows across your hand as you move it with your finger, like a standard Rosary.   For those new to the Rosary, there is no easier way to learn this perfect prayer which engages…

The official website of the next World Youth Day has been launched. The website went live just hours after Pope Francis made the announcement in Brazil that the next WYD will take place in Krakow, Poland in 2016.    The new website has a section dedicated to John Paul II, who spent much of his…

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has teamed up with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America to launch ‘Faith and Safety’, a new website to help parents keep their kids safe on the web.     The site is full of tips on how to secure devices and networks, and features some thought provoking advice.…