Fr Bobby Gilmore recalls John Gordon's patient and compassionate approach within the faith community in Chester Castle in Jamaica, including his deft handing of one member intent on 'policing' the faith of others. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own...
Cancelling Masses and sacramental services in favour of direct aid to flood evacuees - is this the ‘new normal’ for a priest on Sundays in the Pacific, asks Columban missionary Fr Pat Colgan. Heavy rain began in Ba on the night of 4-5 February. It continued right...
Phasing out plastic by reducing demand is the only option writes Columban missionary, Fr Shay Cullen. It is encouraging to see active youth groups walking along beaches and riverbanks scooping up discarded plastic wrappings, bottles, bags, slippers and plastic junk...
Fr Frank Hoare recalls the arrival of the first Columban missionaries in Fiji 70 years ago this month and highlights some of the challenges missionaries faced in adapting to a new culture. Thirteen young Columban priests arrived in a hot, humid, and...
Sr Abbie O’Sullivan recalls how Lady Frances Moloney and twelve companions began their training one hundred years ago in February 1922 as members of the Missionary Sisters of St Columban. People’s activity is usually their response to the historical situations in...
New Year sees many of us resolve to tackle our destructive habits. Kwon Byung-hee [Augustine] recalls Columban missionary Fr Paul White who established a recovery programme for gambling addicts and helped thousands of Koreans turn their lives around. Fr Paul White...
Fr Shay Cullen asks why is there a growing level of violence, physical and sexual, against women and children among males? Most people turn away from bad news especially during the coronavirus pandemic but it is causing greater levels of sexual abuse and violence...
The eco system of the mighty Mekong River is on the verge of irreversible collapse warns Columban missionary Fr Alo Connaughton. The Mekong River, Mae Nam (mother water) Kong, as the Thais call it, starts from the melting snow of Tibet and flows for 2,800 miles...
Beginning the Vigil Mass on Christmas Eve, a gentle word from Fr Paul encouraged the people to be grateful for the opportunity to gather to celebrate the Nativity at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Xiantao, about 100 km west of Wuhan. From where I was sitting in...
Fr Bobby Gilmore recalls an unexpected arrival on Christmas day and challenges us to ask who is being excluded this Christmas? Just as we are never sure that we love God unless we love our fellow men and women, so too are we never sure that we have love at all...