Michael R. Heinlein I’ve noticed a pattern lately. Whenever my 7-year-old son presents himself for Holy Communion to a minister unknown to him, he is routinely denied the sacrament. I find this fascinating. He does all the right things. He bows. He makes the sign of the cross. He waits patiently to say “Amen” before…

Sabine Kleyboldt (KNA) It took Bernini nine years to create his first work of art in St Peter’s Basilica. It will have taken a good nine months to free the bronze canopy from the dust of the centuries. Then visitors will be rubbing their eyes. The excitement is growing: the huge grey cuboid in the…

When I was an undergraduate, during a Renaissance module, my professor suddenly asked a question that took the class by surprise, “Imagine waking up to the news that a new continent has just been discovered. How would you react? Would you believe it?” It felt absurd, given the world we live in, where satellites map…

The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth was a historical event occurring in a particular time and place. But the cross casts a long shadow, one that stretches across all of history. As Christians, we believe that the narrative of human destiny is the story of redemption in the cross of Christ. It stands at the…

Any discussion of the differences between men and women and their roles in society seem to be particularly charged these days. As the role of wife and mother continues to be embraced and celebrated by the Church, it is often downplayed in an increasingly secularised culture. At the same time, Catholics today grapple with the…

Bishop Robert Reed It’s that time of year, again, when the waking air has a chill crispness to it, and the hallways are lined with bookbags full of fresh spiral notebooks, binders still blank of the doodles of midwinter boredom and the good old marble-covered notebooks, as yet unsullied. Pencils have been sharpened, erasers are…

I was very conscious that if I said ’yes’ my life would change in a radical way, says Bishop Paul Dempsey At the age of 18, I made the decision to enter the seminary. Some might think, “God, that was a very young time to become a priest.” Of course, I wasn’t becoming a priest…

Whether our hopes for this summer have been fulfilled or not, the season is waning. Most kids have returned to school, and the full force of the fall calendar is poised to kick in. All we can do now is hope that whatever rest and recreation we managed to get will be enough to draw…

Every week my sons stand in the pew at Mass. Like stairsteps, all five in a row by age and height. Or like a motley crew, mixed together by shapes and sizes. Five boys in the midst of becoming men. They are the reason why the short line tucked within the Nicene Creed catches me…

St Bernadette gives hope to young people facing the challenge of discerning their future, says Fr Barry White Lourdes has always been a place of prayer and healing in my family, especially during times of suffering and illness. My journey with Lourdes began in childhood, inspired by books and the 1943 film The Song of…