November is the month of the Holy Souls writes Columban missionary Fr Michael O’Loughlin. Every year in the month of June a Memorial Mass is celebrated in Dalgan Park on Cemetery Sunday for deceased members of the Columban Fathers. Families of those who have died...
Fr Bobby Gilmore wrote this last year as he watched the swallows gather on the roof in the sun as they prepared to leave. The Chill As if awakening to the tinkle of alarm clock On cue they arrived from a seeming elsewhere Lining up on the apex of the roof In single...
Three significant events keep niggling at me as I reflect on life in recent months: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the presidential election in the Philippines, and the synodal process in the Church. There might be no obvious connection between these three but...
Made to Feel Welcome By Monalisa Esteban A few months ago, I had the strange experience of having my hands washed by an old lady in a village in rural Pakistan. She grabbed my hands and started washing them. I did try to stop her, but then I decided to surrender to...
Giving Honour Every day in our lives we meet people of various ages from different backgrounds. Many of them we don’t know but some of them we get to know and interact with. Sometimes certain people, whether we know then personally or not, have an impact on our...
“Faith disturbs us and continually upsets the balance of our mental conceptions and our social structures. Bursting into a world that perpetually tends to close in upon itself, God brings it the possibility of a harmony that is certainly superior but is to be...
As we enter Holy Week the thoughts and prayers of Christians will centre around the events which lead up to the Passion and Death of Jesus. These are described in the Four Gospels by the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and Johh. The vast majority of Catholics have...
When hope and horror collide Home no longer a hide People are forced to seek Havens in the belief That humanity will offer relief To the destitute, evicted, grieved. No time to look back Remembering will have to wait Be...
‘Tempus fugit’ – ‘Time flies’ as the ancient philosopher proclaimed. How right he was! We are now beginning 2022. Some people will make New Year Resolutions to try to live in a more authentic and meaningful way. Many of us quickly forget our promises or are...
She was a young Jewish girl who was engaged to the young village carpenter. Her parents, Anna and Joachim, were very happy with her choice. Mary loved Joseph who was an upright man, gentle, well known and well liked in the village. He made the best furniture and...