Stoke the fire in your soul
WE are all creatures of habit. From the moment we get out of bed in the morning until we return there in the evening, our daily routines are much the same. We drive the same way to work, during which…
Ignoring reality of abuse, resisting responsibility must end
ANYONE who still believes the abuse crisis is an "American" or "Western" problem must become properly informed, face reality and realize problems may be hidden and explode in the future, said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi. And those who think too…
Two signs of Christmas that never cease to appeal
THE tree and the nativity display are two signs that never cease to appeal to us; they tell us about Christmas and help us to contemplate the mystery of God made man to be close to each one of us.…
Listen for the poor
IT is noble to mark the World Day of the Poor with gifts of charity, but Pope Francis has challenged Catholics to go much further than that. He asks us to observe it by making a serious examination of conscience…
Music at liturgy: full expression of faith
In a recent US Catholic survey, eighty percent of those questioned said that music at Mass was very important to them. However, only thirteen percent were totally satisfied with the music that they have and actually sing. The music at Mass is…
Not just Rohingya: Pope Francis’ message to Myanmar and Bangladesh
ROME - At the end of his trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh [27 Nov - 2 Dec 2017], Pope Francis said the fateful word: Rohingya. In saying it, he did not "slam the door shut " or tear his clothes,…
The media navigate between lies and truth
Stephane Madaule, a writer in the La Croix International, gives his take on the media navigating between lies and truth in an article posted on 23 Nov 2017. What do the media and social networks prefer: lies or the truth? This…
The rosary is a weapon – but maybe not the way Rupa Huq thinks
Father Matthew Pittam is a priest of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham and currently serves as Parish Priest in a rural parish in the English Midlands. He is also a school chaplain and is passionate about ministry…
Francis’ decentralisation of authority: a realignment with the council’s intent
THE most recent papal pronouncement giving more control to national bishops' conferences over the translation of liturgical texts had the quality of another of the jolts we've become accustomed to during the Francis papacy. As his tenure advances, however, those…
How the Liturgy is healing medicine for strident times
One of the most concise and cogent descriptions of these often strident times came from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger in 1986. It is contained in, of all places, his treatise on the theology of sacred music in a book called The…