While many book reviews tend to focus on new releases it is of course important as well to call attention to works that, though they are long standing, still have much to offer. These foundational works of fiction, whether Catholic or not, can enrich the lives of readers of all ages and from all ages.…
For some years now, it has been fashionable for Catholics to declare that we’re not giving up anything for Lent but instead are doing something positive. This false dichotomy makes sense within the modern, post-Christian worldview, which sometimes seems to view self-denial as the only modern equivalent to sin; but the words of Christ himself…
Several years ago, a friend of mine made a very unromantic type of marriage proposal to his fiancé. He was in his mid-forties and had suffered several disillusioning heartbreaks, some of which by his own admission were his fault, the result of feelings shifting unexpectedly on his part. Now, in mid-life, struggling not to be…
Discipleship is a journey of trust in Christ’s sacrificial love says, Fr Barry White As a priest, I have the privilege of accompanying the dying, from the bedside to the graveside. Recently, while proclaiming the Gospel of John (11:1-44) at a funeral, a phrase stood out to me: “Come and see”. This phrase appears…
Dermot Byrne As we approach the month of March and the much longed for stretch in the evening begins to make its presence felt, we can justifiably start to think about spring. Awaiting tender shoots, daffodils and the subtle hint of green that will soon return to the canopies of the woodlands, our minds…
Peter Kasko I was in the shop earlier this week. As I was putting the items away, I nearly walked out without paying. A funny conversation ensued and at one point the cashier said: “Nothing in this life is for free.” I simply nodded while tapping my card away, and she continued: “Or in…
Bro. Denis Aherne OFM I’m a Franciscan OFM originally from Listowel in Co. Kerry. I want to share with you how God has worked in my life. On Sunday, February 2, I shared my vocation story at the Cork Cathedral for the Jubilee Mass of consecrated life. I was born totally deaf in the right…
In the rapid turns of the news cycle, it is easy for some stories to be overlooked. Recently, the Catholic world has focused on the hospitalisation of Pope Francis—and rightly so. Yet amid these headlines, another message quietly emerged: a declaration of the Jubilee for Artists. In a homily written for the occasion, Pope Francis…
Praying for vocations usually means praying for more priests. That’s a good and necessary effort, of course, because without priests, there is no Eucharist. But there’s another vocation that may be even more endangered. And what’s been happening in the Church – and in our culture – over the past few decades should prompt us…
Bill Dodds How are you supposed to have a happy Lent, a liturgical season that, to quote the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert in fasting and prayer”? The point is learning how…
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Fr Barry White
Renata Milán Morales