Home schooling has many parents figuring out how to explain new concepts to their children. I found myself teaching about hibernation and migration. And in the midst of talking about geese migrating and bears hibernating, my six-year-old reflected that Coronavirus meant we were all having to hibernate this winter and no one could migrate to...
Lent-A Season of Grace-Fr Aidan Mullan
A Community of Faith, Hope and Love in Pandemic – Geraldine O Connor
As we approach the anniversary of the first case of Covid in Northern Ireland few could ever have predicted, twelve months ago, how a virus originating from the far side of the world would impact our school community. With a heavy heart I closed the gates of Saint John’s Primary School on 19th March 2020...
Saint Brigid – A Woman of Inner Strength and a Listening Heart
On February 1st, 2021 we celebrate the feast of Saint Brigid of Kildare (Church of the Oak) who along with Patrick and Colmcille/Columba is one of the three principal patrons of our Island. Brigid had a burning desire to help the poor and the sick, but her father tried to dissuade her. Despite this, she...
Catholic Schools – Communities of Faith and Resilience-Bishop Donal McKeown
A couple of weeks before Christmas, I was walking round in the deserted Derry city centre. There I met one of our local teachers and her nine-year-old niece. They had gone to one local charity shop that supports children – and they were so disappointed because they had found it closed. Why, I wondered to...
Reflections on Catholic Education- Carmel Dunn
“The mission of schools and teachers is to develop an understanding of all that is true, good and beautiful.” Pope Francis (October 2017) In writing this article, I have been provided with an opportunity to reflect on my 40 years as both a teacher and Principal in the Catholic system of Education. I have recalled...
“I am Constant in my Affection for You” – Marguerite Hamilton
A New Year filled with Hope, expectations of Great Joy and many Blessings-Roisin Rice
New Beginnings-Fr Declan Boland
Every year at this time we spontaneously and genuinely wish each other ‘Happy New Year.’ We have all being doing it for decades and it is a heartfelt wish for all that is good, prosperous and blessed towards family, neighbours, relations and friends. Like all gestures religious or otherwise it can become mechanical and routine....
The Importance and Gift of Christmas-Stephen Orr
This year has been very difficult with COVID-19 and has presented families with many challenges, for example, being unable to visit each other freely. As a family we always look forward to spending time together at Christmas however this year it will be restrained. We enjoy at Christmas celebrating many gifts like family, friends, presents,...
‘The Magnificat’ – Anne Marie Hickey
Advent – a time to wait?
Tell me, O rose, what thing it is That now appears, now vanishes? When the American poet Edwin Markham wrote these words, he was referring to a humming bird, hovering delicately around a rose. However, his words serve to accentuate the life which is encouraged by a single rose – the wide ecology it supports:...
Advent- Niamh McLaughlin
On Sunday the 29th of November, the Church will begin to celebrate the season of Advent and the beginning of the new liturgical year. When the word Advent starts circulating, it is for many the start of the Christmas countdown. The decorations if not already up, will be dusted off and put in their places;...
Preparing to Celebrate the Feast of Christ the King
On Sunday 22nd November, the Church celebrates the feast of Jesus Christ, the universal king. Jesus is king, not only of the world, but of the entire universe. As we move towards this great feast, we offer daily reflections using the words of Pope Francis. We invite you each day to find some quiet time...
Learning Sanctity from Children-Lisa Hendey
Although I began my writing career penning non-fiction for adults, in recent years my emphasis has strongly shifted toward crafting work that will speak into the hearts of children. This happened accidentally. After a flirtation with fiction, an imagined daydream turned into an opportunity to write a series of stories based upon the lives of...
The Gift of Care – Isobel Mc Dowell
I am increasingly grateful for the gift of growing up in a family of unconditional love, faith and care. God was ever present in our family and this legacy remains so today. The spiritual nourishment we encountered has journeyed with us as a family. As a mental health nurse, I have had the privilege of...
Scaffolding-Monsignor Andy Dolan
Many people are inspired by Seamus Heaney’s Poem, ‘Scaffolding’ which is so often recited as a reflection piece at weddings. It is of course a metaphorical poem about marriage, said to have been written by Seamus to appease Marie after a difference between them. I must say at the outset these words are not prompted...
The Beauty God Intends for Each of Us-Rosemary Finan
Perspectives on the Pandemic -Sr Margaret Rose McSparran
On March 19, 1930, the Sisters of the Cross and Passion moved into Drumalis, the ‘big house’ in Larne, a staunchly Unionist town on the Antrim Coast. It was almost a military operation because of the apparent need of secrecy! Who could have guessed that 90 years later, on March 19, 2020, we would not...
The Day We Are Born For!- Fr Patrick Lagan
On a recent visit to St. Eugene’s Cathedral, a music teacher was taking a group of young people for a quick lesson before the Sunday Liturgy. Normally, such practices are straightforward and uneventful, but upon a closer glance there was something peculiar about this particular rehearsal. There were no words, there was sound, but the...
Season of Creation-Diocesan School Prayers
In a change from our usual Thought for the week, we are sharing Season of Creation Prayers from our diocesan schools. The prayers were presented at the Diocesan Mass for the start of the new school year, celebrated by Bishop McKeown, in Saint Eugene’s Cathedral on Friday 25th September. Our prayers today are from Saint...
The Father’s Lap-Yvonne Rooney
Holding Close While Letting Go-Bernadette Sweetman
We are surrounded by changes in our daily lives at the moment. Schools are reopening, workplaces are resuming on-site practice, people are moving on. Life for many, though not all, is suddenly ‘unpaused’ after six months of a reset. My daughter, my only child, started secondary school this week. Commencing secondary school is an exciting...
The Free, Simple Things – Yvonne McGowan
“Beyond the Stars must Dwell a Loving Father!” -Willy Krause
In this strange year of 2020, many things work a bit differently. One of these are big celebrations: weddings, funerals, anniversaries, festivals, birthday parties – all of these have scaled down, postponed or cancelled all together. All kinds of events are affected, from the Olympic Games and the European Football Championship, to the Cannes Film...
With God You Will Never Walk Alone -Thérèse Ferry
A friend, an avid Liverpool Football Club fan, recently sent me a picture message. It was an image of the cup presented to the 2020 Premier League Champions, bedecked with ribbons, and underneath it, the caption read, ‘With God by your side, You’ll Never Walk Alone!’ It made me smile. Having grown up in a...
The Catholic Church as a Field Hospital-Raymond Friel
Become a Saint – Martina Purdy
When I was a journalist, and John Hume was a politician, there were a few things that stood out about him: his courage, his fortitude and his stubborn refusal to compromise his message. In fact, political reporters, who love something new and unexpected, would often complain that John Hume was forever delivering his single transferrable...
