Spirituality
Are virtues and vices relevant today? Listen to the 5 practical tips to develop virtues in your life.
No matter what level of faith people have, Lent is a time of year that always captures attention. Not least because we mark the beginning with ash on our forehead! Maybe it’s because of long established cultural norms here in Ireland that we’ve always associated Lent as a time when we ‘give things up’ and you might find, in conversation with others, that it’s never really considered as a time people look forward to!
In this podcast episode, we delve into the radical meaning of Lent - our personal identification with the death of Christ.
Would you like Christmas 2023 to be more meaningful for you? If so, join us as we delve into the significance of Christmas beyond the gifts and festive lights. Learn about Mary’s unwavering faith and Joseph's acceptance of human limitations.
A true friend supports and helps us through the ups and downs in life; someone who is there for us not only when the going gets tough, but also in times of joy.
St Augustine is noted to have famously said to God, prior to his conversion to the Christian faith, “give me chastity and temperance, but not yet!” After many trials and tears, this man went on to become a renowned saint and Doctor of the Church - meaning his writings and teachings have particular importance and value.
Being prepared to give an answer for the hope that lies within you can be daunting. It might seem like no one is really interested in their faith anymore.
Recently on a work trip to London, I took advantage of the opportunity to visit The National Gallery. One painting which took me by surprise was one by an artist I’d not heard of before, Annibale Carracci. In his painting ‘Domine, quo vadis?,’ he depicts Peter the Apostle as appearing stunned when he sees Christ walk past him with great vigour, carrying the cross.
Many people think faith is naïve – childish – superstitious a pre- science space. The idea that science has replaced religion is often left unchallenged by believers. In today's podcast we explore how science and religion ask different questions.
I do not think anyone would argue with the breathtaking beauty of our planet. God’s creation is a true wonder for us. Our faith tells us, however, that this world is just our temporary dwelling and that there is an eternal dwelling that far exceeds anything we could imagine.
The first time I heard anyone publicly speak about sex was at a ‘chastity workshop’ in school when I was 16 years of age. We received a workshop that felt more in line with a talk about what is ‘forbidden’ by purity and abstinence, rather than learning about how the virtue of chastity might enrich our understanding of sex and its purpose in our lives.
Mary is Jesus' mum. Mary was with Jesus his whole life. What does that tell us about Mary's role in His life?
One of the great things about being the mother of a large family is that there is always someone to hand the baby to when you need a few minutes to get something done. One of my little girls is the ‘go-to’ second mum in the house and she delights in being her little brother’s first choice!
What does Easter mean for you? Is it just another of those feasts that turn up on the calendar charting the arrival of spring? Bringing in its wake hosts of golden daffodils fluttering and dancing in the breeze, as the famous poem says? Or does Easter have another deeper meaning in your life’s trajectory?
Here we are in Holy Week, on the cusp of Easter. In a sense, this final week of Lent is like that last final stretch of a marathon; we are nearly there and the end is in sight. Yet this is also the time when we might feel most tempted to give up on those resolutions we’ve set ourselves because…well it’s almost Easter.
Walking through Dublin city centre on Ash Wednesday, I exchanged glances with a gentleman passing me on the footpath. Both of us were wearing ashes on our foreheads. It was a moment of connection, acknowledging each other's faith and observance of the holy day.
As a child, one of the first things I often heard people mention about Lent was to ask the question, “what are you giving up?” Random strangers or people who never seemed to talk about anything else to do with matters of faith, would suddenly speak about what they were ‘giving up.’ And the default was always chocolate and sweets!
Perhaps you feel like you're skimming the surface of life or stuck in a rut ... from a Catholic perspective, it can be a very positive reality because renewing yourself is very much anchored in Christ.
Thick in the trenches of parenting small children and balancing professional work, I’ve had my fair share of overwhelm over the years, and in quiet moments of prayer I’ve often thought does God really care about all this? Does any of this actually matter to Him? Do I really matter to Him?
Sometimes I ask myself the question: am I happy to live an ordinary, normal life? To be an ordinary person? Happiness, defined as “an emotional state characterised by feelings of joy, satisfaction, contentment and fulfilment”, is something I think we’re all after.
Grace Hoffman is a Fellow at the American Council on Women, Peace, and Security. In this episode, we talk about how her studies in Trinity College, Dublin influenced her professional and personal journey to the current position at the Defense Security Cooperation University.
Maybe you’ve been distracted by the run-up to Christmas - frantically buying last-minute gifts, worrying about the budget that was stretched too far or dealing with tough family dynamics. To quote the well-known cliché, we can end up forgetting the real reason for the season - God made man - and that all these things we do, are a means not an end.
Advent can be a bit of a blur for most people. And yet, if you can give it a moment it can really make an impact on these last few weeks before Christmas. It is a time of opportunity - or grace as we would say in the Catholic tradition.
Hands up if you’ve started your Christmas shopping? Even if you’re the last-minute type, I can almost guarantee you’ve got a list somewhere - even if it’s only in your head! You may even have managed to add a bottle of Shloer or a jar of cranberry sauce to the weekly shop.
Pope Francis has reminded us that our faith is a revolution. It always asks for something new, something radical. Do we inspire others in the way we practise and show up in our religious faith?
“Do you want to be a saint? Do what you have to do and put yourself into what you are doing.” - Saint Josemaría.
How often do we say to ourselves and others “I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have time?” It’s the oldest and dare I say, laziest excuse for not organising our time properly. It’s never true that I don’t have time - I have tons of it.
In this podcast episode, we explore humility as the virtue of greatness. Why did Saint Teresa of Avila describe it as the only truth?
In this episode, we speak with Sally Read, the well-known British poet. Sally was once an atheist and as she says herself, deeply anti-Catholic. Sally tells us about her conversion story and how her views on the teachings of the Catholic Church shifted over time and how she began to get closer to God.
While Easter weekend has passed, the reflections and meaning of this date must remain in our Hearts and Minds. Grace is God's life within us and we want to remind you of this.