This has been a Lent overshadowed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the nightly reports of new and more terrible atrocities and suffering.
On the first Holy Week, Jesus experienced all the horrors of life, culminating in his crucifixion and death. The waving palm branches, the joy and the Hosannas of Palm Sunday…
God of love, listen to our prayer for Mothers’ Day. We celebrate all mothers and grandmothers on this day.
We remember the great mothers of salvation history: Sarah, mother of Isaac; Rebecca, mother of Jacob; Ruth, mother of King David; Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, and especially Mary, Mother of Jesus whom we…
We are constantly being encouraged to pray. It is very interesting to consider how people pray. There are as many ways to pray as there are people who pray. Many pray through thoughts, words, actions or before a crucifix. Some pray silently. Many like to gently sit or kneel before the blessed sacrament, spending quiet…
This week marked the beginning of the Holy Season of Lent. This is the time every year when we make a special effort to fast, do penance, reflect on our faith and perform acts of charity. In this way we prepare for the great celebrations of Holy Week; the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.…
Outside a Metro Station in Washington, DC, on a cold January morning in 2007, a man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. The man playing the Bach pieces was Joshua Bell, playing incognito as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities, organized by the Washington Post.
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Every so often the Church across the world needs to renew itself. Over the last year, Pope Francis has been asking Catholic Christians across the world to look on the Church in a new way. The name he has given to this new way is ‘the Synodal Way’. The word ‘synod’ means ‘walking together’. What…
Jesus with His newly chosen apostles have just come down from the mountain. He is quickly surrounded by a large crowd who are interested in his teaching. The crowds want to know from Jesus, how they can live, how they can love, how they can be happy.
Because the people feel rejected, they think…
“We sing a song to Brigid, Brigid brings the Spring,
Awakens all the fields and flowers, and calls the birds to sing”.
We celebrate Saint Brigid’s Day on Tuesday 1st February, traditionally, the first day of Springtime. We have noticed the lengthening evenings and the increase of light in recent mornings. The old people…
Many people are attracted to silence and solitude. They find the peace and quiet of nature very much to their liking. Some people are attracted to the sea shore to gaze on the vast ocean. Others find their way to the great outdoors. Others again take up hill walking or mountain climbing. All these activities…
We have left the Christmas season behind for another year. We have entered the period in the Church’s Year known as Ordinary Time. These calm weeks until Lent provide us with time to strengthen our faith and to nourish our spiritual lives.
In the gospel this weekend we meet Jesus at the Wedding Feast of…
