Mar 5, 2012
Newstalk’s Moncrieff Show National Priest Survey 2012
Sean Moncrieff
Last week I got a hurried phone call from a friend to switch on Newstalk, because Sean Moncrieff was doing a show on priests in Ireland. My first reaction was not again! Sometimes you can script these programmes, from the questions they raise to the issues they discuss, without ever having to listen to them. When I finally drummed up the energy to listen in, and download the full programme later, I found one of the most thoughtful reflections on the state of the Church in Ireland today. (more…)
Mar 3, 2012
Olympic Spirit
Students from our MSC school, Princethorpe College in Warwickshire who formed the Olympic Rings as part of their charity fundraising efforts.
We are hearing a lot about the Olympics these days as London prepares to host the 2012 Games. But it would be a pity if we only focused on the fastest, strongest, best and brightest who will bring home gold! There is much more to it than that. On school Sports Day one of our teachers would say, “It’s not the winning; it’s the taking part that is important!” We had no answer to that!! (more…)
Feb 29, 2012
[youtube NnClOk-VWTg nolink]
Oscar night is all about the stars and the fashion. But last Sunday night during the Oscars one of the people turning heads wasn’t wearing Gucci or Dior. It wasn’t the rapper Nicki Minaj either. It was Sr. Dolores Hart.
It is a story straight out of Hollywood. A beautiful young star walks away from a blossoming movie career to become a nun, and 50 years later she returns to the Academy Awards ceremony — as the subject of an Oscar-nominated film on religious life. (more…)
Feb 28, 2012
Dara O'Briain
A couple of weeks ago I managed to pick up a couple of tickets to see Dara O’Briain’s new show Craic Dealer. For those of you who haven’t come across him Dara is a stand up comedian from Ireland who has made a huge career for himself in the UK with shows like Mock the Week and Stargazing Live. His humour is sharp, original and genuinely funny.Ó Briain has said he sees himself as an atheist but ethnically Catholic. In one interview he said “I’m staunchly atheist, I simply don’t believe in God. But I’m still Catholic, of course. Catholicism has a much broader reach than just the religion. I’m technically Catholic, it’s the box you have to tick on the census form: ‘Don’t believe in God, but I do still hate Rangers.'” (more…)
Feb 26, 2012
It’s called the Camino de Cork by some. However comparisons fail to do justice to the ancient pilgrimage route originally traced by St. Finbarr some 1,400 years ago. One of the most wonderful developments in our Church over the last number of years has been the resurgence in traditional walking pilgrimages. So much of our travel these days involves traffic jams, scurrying through passport control and security checkpoints and the only prayer we say is that we won’t be told our bags are too heavy and will have to be checked in! (more…)
Feb 22, 2012
This was the command of Christ for his disciples after the Resurrection, to fulfill their vocation by sharing their faith with people everywhere. It is also the motto chosen by Pope Benedict for the forthcoming World Youth Day in Rio in 2013. It is fitting then that we use it as the opening theme to launch our vocations blog for the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart.
The call to be a Catholic priest can be challenging, but for some people it is the way of life God intends for them in order to find fulfillment, inner peace and a way of serving others. A Missionary of the Sacred Heart is called to share the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus with all those he meets. This may be in a community in Ireland, a prison in Venezuela, a retreat house in England, a parish in the USA or a hospice in South Africa. (more…)
