“The kingdom of God is very near to you”. The Gospel passage which we have just heard is not specially chosen for our celebration of the Jubilee of Marriage. It is the one assigned for the fourteenth Sunday of the year. Jesus sends his disciples out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and tells them...

“Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call to him while he is still near.” These are the words of Isaiah today and they reminded me of something that happened recently. A few weeks ago, the President of the United States came to Ireland on a private visit and spent two nights here. Just...

Why Look Among the Dead for One Who is Alive? Shock and Disbelief When I was twelve years old, St. Michael’s Church in Dun Laoghaire was destroyed by fire. Even though I saw it with my own eyes I could scarcely believe it. As far I was concerned, St. Michael’s had always been there. It...

Anointed for Communion and Mission   Jesus, the Anointed One of God   Our Scripture readings introduce us to the hope of the people of Israel. They are described in the prophecy as “a race whom the Lord has blessed”. They are blessed in the land that they have been given and in the produce...

Friday 15th February 2019 The Lord always finds a way to speak to us through his Word. All of this week the first reading has been from the Book of Genesis and today the reading invites us to reflect on the mystery of sin. People often speak of the apple tree in this story of...

Catholic Schools Week 2019 Begins! Homily by Rev Dr Michael Duignan, Vicar for Education Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Sligo 27th January 2019   A truly Catholic school, firm in its catholic identity and precisely because of its catholic identity can at the same time see itself as a living “Courtyard of the Gentiles”. A...

“Justice And Only Justice You Shall Pursue” Homily of Bishop Kevin Doran at Ecumenical Service for Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Friday 25th January 2019, St John’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Sligo What do Confucius and Buddha, Socrates and Plato have in common? They were, of course, great teachers, lovers of wisdom and seekers...

On Christmas Day, we celebrated the Feast of the Nativity, and the focus was on Jesus, the Word made flesh. A week later, the Church invites us to celebrate the Solemnity of the Mary, the Mother of God. This is not about taking the focus off Jesus. It is about reminding us whose mother Mary...

Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. I remember, as a child, being told at school, that Caesar Augustus was an arrogant man; that he was not interested in people, but only in finding out how many people’s lives he controlled and how powerful he really was....

I spent a few days on retreat in November and, as I walked along the woodland paths, I enjoyed watching the squirrels darting around gathering beech nuts and acorns for the winter. It may be my imagination, but they seem to have been even more active on Black Friday.  There is something of the squirrel...