Pentecost and the unveiling of God’s presence in the world
It is too easy to create our own image of God and feel at ease with that creation
Thinking Anew
Read more articles from the Thinking Anew series
Balance is a quality as precious as it is rare
There is a time to speak and a time to be silent, but both require the right measure
Thinking Anew: Let’s move towards God’s ‘community of compassion and communion of love’
The bible can teach us about making space for people the wider world considers outsiders, and about the complex matter of gender identity
The scourge of anti-Semitism was part of official Catholic teaching into the 20th century
In 1959 Pope John XXIII ordered the removal of the Latin word ‘perfidis’ from the prayer for the conversion of the Jews in the Good Friday liturgy
Let us pray for peacemakers, resilient as olive trees deeply rooted in this contested land of Palestine
Thinking Anew: The olive tree and its rugged nature is a symbol of the Palestinian struggle for national identity
Thinking Anew: The Easter hope we celebrate is difficult to hold on to at times
It is a hope given by God in Jesus Christ, a new dimension of life promised, all of it quite beyond human understanding
Thinking Anew: A powerful reminder of the story of our lives
Palm Sunday recalls life from birth to death but it’s the turn in the tale that makes it strange and wonderful
Who was St Patrick? More than one person, probably
Identity issues are central to many of today’s tensions and conflicts. Let’s embrace difference
Thinking Anew: This is indeed a terrible Lent
There are no winners in war because, as Jesus warned, ‘What does it profit a person to gain the whole world if it means losing their own soul?’
The world needs to reset the scales to tackle the huge imbalance between rich and poor
Jesus drove the merchants out of the temple, but who is standing up to today’s billionaires and oligarchs who are exploiting the impoverished and powerless?
What would Jesus make of social media?
The best answer I have come up with is this: do good with it where you can
The living truth of peace and love
Despite so much violence in the world, there can be faith in the alternative
‘It’s called looking after each other’: we will all be a burden at some point in our lives
Thinking Anew: Christ himself was a burden, becoming a liability to his friends when he was arrested and executed
Thinking Anew: We have forgotten how to walk lightly on the Earth
It is understandable that in an age of amazing progress in science and technology we have been tempted to believe that we are in control when we are not
Thinking Anew: person who speaks the loudest is not always the most virtuous
Faith-filled approach to reading good literature, including the Scriptures is key to deciphering whom to follow
Churches in Burkina Faso urge us to ‘reconnect to God’s dream for us – a dream of unity’
This requires a willingness to change and be changed which, according to Cardinal Newman, is essential for our spiritual advancement
Never mind the coming Blue Monday. Instead luxuriate in a golden warmth of epiphany
Epiphany is about the opportunity offered to each of us to look God straight in the face
In the beginning: start the new year on a positive note
We enter 2024 with hope and a belief in the good that all of us are capable of
Thinking Anew: A kind word can work wonders
Showing respect and reverence to all our fellow human beings
Thinking Anew: Christmas lets us know that God is with us, even in the darkest moments
Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem is a message of hope for those who struggle and feel forgotten and unimportant
Thinking Anew: Our anywhere and everywhere God
The power and beauty of living the liturgy through everyday ups and downs
Waiting for God-oh: Advent reminds us why we must exercise patience
Thinking Anew: Christian waiting and looking forward is never just a passive thing
Thinking Anew: the Christian message is one of adventure, and Advent is the start of a great adventure
Saturday
Thinking Anew: A chaotic world with little or no empathy for the poor and dispossessed
‘The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up … and with force and harshness you have ruled them’
Thinking Anew: Into each life some rain must fall
When rain pours into our lives, what if we can find it in ourselves to view suffering as a resource to be invested?
Even in darkest places, there are those who keep a light shining
Thinking Anew: The horrors of the Hamas assault on Israel, and now of the bombing of Gaza, should not blind us to hope
Thinking Anew: Our own role in society’s wrongs
It’s easy to make scapegoats of ‘the other crowd’ and blame them for all our woes
Thinking Anew: Philip Larkin in his `Wondering what to look for’ speaks for many today
It is a reminder that most of us seek a deeper and richer understanding of the meaning and purpose of life
Thinking Anew: We must prioritise the powerless in our prayers and actions
As Callum Bellms’ prayer goes, ‘There is no way to wrap our arms all the way around the globe. But let us try’
Horrific material on social media is reprehensible, but for many morality doesn’t compete with obsession about money
Thinking Anew: In the ordinary everyday of public conversation, much of what we encounter is abusive and offensive, often damaging the names and reputations of others
Kindness and charity are more important than doctrine and orthodoxy
Thinking Anew: Anyone who thinks that all right is on their side is missing reality by the proverbial country mile
Thinking Anew: Celebrations associated with harvest part of human experience from ancient times
Lack of understanding of agricultural themes in parables shows how out of touch urbanites are with natural world
Pope Francis: May we actively engage for a just and more peaceful world
Bear witness to faith by example
We have a Christian duty to care for the wounded and grieving – especially those who feel forgotten and abandoned
Political and religious barriers are irrelevant, something not easily accepted in Ireland, where compassion can be tribal
We behave as if we were fully in control of our lives, but deep down we know this can’t be true
Thinking Anew: Denying the self is a gain, not a loss, opening the way to a meaningful, purposeful life
There is another dimension of mystery that is easy to lose sight of in daily life
Thinking Anew: Whenever I pass an open church, I always want to go inside
Thinking Anew: In an uncertain world of constant change we are all in it together
Wealth and privilege may shield us temporarily from some uncertainties but ultimately we cannot avoid the fact that we are vulnerable and need each other
Thinking Anew: Dispatches from the narrow way that leads to life
A lost engagement ring and how it can teach us something about the long and arduous search for Christ
Thinking Anew: God’s presence permeates our every moment and guides our every journey
As well being in prayer and acts of devotion, God accompanies us in the everyday things of life
Thinking Anew: We are the children of our history
Our environment and the things that happen to us have a huge influence on our lives, and the damage done can last for generations
Thinking Anew: As flesh and blood we make sense of faith
We all struggle with right and wrong and trying to engage our best side rather than our worst
Thinking Anew: Learning not to judge
There is something about judging that diminishes and reduces us. Separating observations from evaluations can be quietly life-giving
Thinking Anew: Removing Berkeley’s name raises important issues
Changing the name of a library matters little when what we desperately need is a change of heart, mind and lifestyle
Thinking Anew: Brain surgeon serves as exemplar of Christian empathy for the sick and distressed
Just as Henry Marsh treats his patients with love and kindness, so too we all must bring hope to the harassed and dejected
Thinking Anew: ‘We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load’
Serious illness can also bring a dreadful isolation and loneliness but the gospels remind us that we aren’t ever alone
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