31 March, 2020. Tuesday of Week 5 of Lent
The symbol of Israel’s sin, the bronze-coloured snake with its poisonous bite, eventually became a symbol of healing and salvation…
30 March, 2020. Monday of Week 5 of Lent
God does not judge us by our weakest moments, knowing the full story about us, not just a couple of episodes….
29 March, 2020. 5th Sunday of Lent
Like all others, we are humbled by the inevitability of death. But we trust in the goodness of God, demonstrated in the life and words of Jesus….
28 March, 2020. Saturday of Week 4 of Lent
Like Nicodemus, we need to know the facts before we reject or accept. And as we try to understand, we need to respect differences of opinion…
27 March, 2020. Friday of Week 4 of Lent
The fourth Evangelist tends to distinguish between the Jewish religious leaders and the people as a whole…
Presider’s Page for 29 March (Fifth Sunday of Lent)
In under a fortnight’s time, the Easter Triduum will begin, on Holy Thursday evening. It will be a Triduum like no other, with no public celebrations because of the Coronavurus pandemic. But in our own homes, each of us can recall the great events that Easter remembers. We ask God’s help in the last 10 days of Lent.
26 March, 2020. Thursday of Week 4 of Lent
Perhaps our faith community will eventually cross the river Jordan. Our deeper aim is not to win arguments but to win people for God…
25 March, 2020. The Annunciation of the Lord
Mary’s total YES to God’s call brought the divine mercy within our reach, with the grace of salvation…
24 March, 2020. Tuesday of Week 4 of Lent
The lame man could have waited forever and remained lame, if he was not alert for the coming of the Lord….
23 March, 2020. Monday of Week 4 of Lent
We may often feel that the Lord is ignoring our prayer, or does not answer in the way we had hoped. When that happens…
Presider’s Page for 22 March (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
Traditionally, this Sunday is called Laetare Sunday, which means ‘a day for joy’ — although few will feel much joy this year, as the COV-19 epidemic draws ever nearer. But at this midpoint of Lent, it is traditional to honour mothers, treasuring those still with us and praying for those we have lost to death.
22 March, 2020. 4th Sunday of Lent, Year A
He is in our midst, he walks among us as the supreme healer, his hand ever ready to touch us, to take away our blindness…
21 March, 2020. Saturday of Week 3 of Lent
Two men went into a church to pray, but the attitudes they brought in their hearts were quite different….
20 March, 2020. Friday of Week 3 of Lent
The first commandment calls us to love God with all our might, and the second to love our neighbour as ourselves. The interplay of those two loves is the vital point…
19 March, 2020. St Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Saint Joseph serves as an inspirational patron for all parents who rear their offspring and then have to set them free to live their own lives…
18 March, 2020. Wednesday of Week 3 of Lent
Our Lord’s example tells us not to toss aside all the religious devotions of our past but neither are we to canonize them….
Presider’s page for 17 March (Lá ‘Fhéile Pádraig, English & Gaeilge)
In the heart of Lent, we keep the feast of Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We mark the day by praising God the creator, who sustained Patrick in good times and bad, and who will sustain the Irish even in the face of coronavirus.
17 March, 20020. St Patrick, Patron of Ireland
“Mise Pádraig, peacach ró-thuatach… Más lochtach féin mé, is mian liom fios a bheith ag mo bhráithre agus ag mo ghaolta cén saghas duine mé, agus dúil m’anama a thuiscint.”
16 March, 2020. Monday of Week 3 of Lent
Jesus’ vision of God is to be still embraced by us, because it is fundamentally “good news” for all who are willing to receive it.
Presider’s Page for 15 March (Third Sunday of Lent)
Today’s readings about water and thirst remind us that this is a baptismal season. The holy water of baptism blesses and protects the faithful in every danger, even as the threat of the coronavirus bears down upon our world.