Is the Church to be understood like a great department of spiritual welfare? Is it where we go when we need the kind of nourishment that can’t be obtained elsewhere? This is now the time when we Catholics should know how to talk about Holy Mother Church when so many simply understand her as an institution and when she is so prone to being criticised. Like government departments and the Health Service Executive, we recognise our dependence on these institutions … Read More
Recent years have seen a renewed interest in what is sometimes called “Celtic Christianity.” This is however, a very ill-defined term. In Ireland, where Christianity generally meant Catholicism, it seems to mean a brand of religion that has its roots in a spirituality that identifies with the natural world in the sense that the ancient druids did. This identification is always suspect as being pagan because, according to what we have learned about the druids, they were believed to have … Read More
Hazardous journeys, persecution, imprisonment, miraculous escapes, shipwreck, conversions, rejections, adulation of crowds and assaults by crowds – just some of the elements making up the thrilling adventure story of the early Church, all happening under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. Since Easter we have been hearing in the Acts of the Apostles, the narrative of a band of brothers specially commissioned by Jesus Christ to carry his mission to the furthest ends of the known world. Who … Read More
We have all heard the jokes about the soul arriving at the pearly gates who has to get past St. Peter and enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whether the jokes are humorous, offensive or rude, they have one thing in common. St. Peter is not the one to be convinced of a person’s suitability for the kingdom. That work needs to have been carried out much earlier, because after death it is just too late. Certainly, St. Peter holds … Read More
“Oh the word of my Lord, deep within my being…” is a familiar hymn based on the prophet Jeremiah. Jeremiah could say this because when he tried to evade the mission the Lord put before him, he was told not to be afraid. “I then said, ‘Ah, Lord Yahweh; you see, I do not know how to speak: I am only a child!’ But Yahweh replied, ‘Do not say, “I am only a child,” for you must go to all … Read More
“Alas, poor foolish people, what will you do now? Who will take care of you in your trouble?” Archbishop Saint Laurence O’Toole. Ireland in the late 12th century was seriously in need of Church reform. Devastation rendered by the Norse invasions had left most of the monasteries in ruins and many people were Catholic only in name. Some new monasteries had been established and others, including Clonmacnoise, had recovered, but the great centres of learning that had earned Ireland the … Read More
Fulfilling the Obligation of Mass AttendanceIn the parish coffee shop a discussion developed regarding the present-day regulations for fulfilling the obligation of Mass attendance. There was quite a divergence of opinion, with some people holding the view that it is no longer necessary to go to Mass on holy days. In fact what the holy days actually are was also a subject for disagreement, with Christmas Day and St. Patrick’s Day being the only ones that everyone was sure about. … Read More
The apparition which occurred in Knock in 1879 has particular significance in Ireland of the present day and testifies to eternal truths in a time when as never before, these truths are being attacked. The Liturgical Richness of the Apparition.This is the time of year when thousands of pilgrims make their way to Ireland’s National Shrine to honour Our Lady and to pray for many intentions. While the focus is on the novena prayers we should take time to really … Read More
“Every liturgical celebration because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the Church is a sacred action surpassing all others.” There exists a great amount of bewilderment about what is licit and what is illicit in the celebration of the sacred liturgy. When we see a young child taking up the collection during Sunday Mass it might be hard to see anything wrong in this. However according to the General Instruction of the … Read More
The early Fathers did not know the crisis in the Church as we know it, but they give clear direction on fundamental matters. Why would anyone want to study the Fathers of the Church?Learning about the early Church Fathers was something I had always believed I needed to do. Apart from a little about St. Augustine, I did not know much about these men, many of whom were martyred for the Faith. Ignatius of Antioch was one I had read … Read More
