We are told that Advent is a special time of Marian spirituality and devotion. In the Marian encyclical, Marialis Cultus (1974) Pope Paul VI invited the faithful to live the spirit of Advent “by thinking about the inexpressible love with which the Virgin Mary awaited her Son.” He invited the faithful to take Mary as…
The sound of a bird singing its little heart out is like God’s trumpet call from the beginning of a new day through to the end of the day. As I attended a retreat recently, the birds didn’t adhere to the instruction of ‘silent retreat’ – from first light, through mass, lunch, evening meal and…
These April days bring with them signs of new life in all of creation. Before our eyes the buds are bursting open revealing magnificent colours. Liturgically we have entered Eastertide – fifty days of celebration until the feast of Pentecost. On Easter Sunday the reading from Colossians 3:1-4 caught my attention – your life is…
In a recent interview the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, speaking about a crisis of faith in Ireland, said, “For many, faith no longer plays a major role in their lives. Believers often view the reality of faith through a secularized lens of modern media.” Traces of God have been blurred by the endless noise…
Today in the Church we are fortunate to have a Leader who has the courage to speak out with a prophetic voice in spite of opposition from several of those to whom he should be able to look for support. He is not afraid to speak with the “Boldness, enthusiasm and freedom” that he himself…
We all claim to love it. At the mention of Poetry, the favourite poems we learned at school come rushing back: The Snare, White Fields and Danny , by James Stephens, Trees by Joyce Kilmer, The Presence of God, by Joseph Mary Plunkett, Sycamore Tree, by John D. Sheridan, A Cradle Song, by Padraic Colum,…