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Today we’re shown a foretaste of salvation and how God desires the inclusion of everyone. In the Gospel, the parable of the Wedding Banquet shows God’s eagerness to offer salvation to all, yet how easily all kinds of reasons can get in the way of our response. The...

Pope Leo made an incredible impact on the French people during his 4 day pastoral visit. He showed that he has immense stamina, going from one gathering to the next, always with a smile, attentive to the people around him and carrying a message full of hope. He was...

Praise to God, and joy in God’s merciful love, justice and peace, are themes which run through the readings for this Sunday. The First Reading from Zechariah describes how God will defeat his enemies and establish himself as king – not through war and aggression, but...

On Wednesday evening my Ordination Class from 1986 met to have our common celebration to mark the 40th Anniversaries of our individual ordinations. We came together in the little church of St Brigid in Straffan for a Mass of Gratitude in which we also remembered the...

Last weekend a group of young singers from the Mount Merrion Family Mass Choir travelled to Cork to participate in the Choral Festival there. They were accompanied by adult leaders and some of the older teens. At the same time a group of 15 boys from Oatlands College...

Today’s readings invite us to contemplate the tender image of Christ as the Good Shepherd, who leads, protects, and cares for his flock. His relationship with the sheep is one of trust, recognition, and belonging, where the sheep follow only their shepherd, the one...

The reign of the Lord glorified in today’s Psalm is a kingdom of justice for the oppressed. The other readings, too, all focus on God’s loving concern for the poor, the weak and the powerless. In the First Reading, a destitute Gentile widow gives to Elijah all that...

In November, we remember our deceased relatives and friends and pray for all the faithful departed and as it says in the Eucharistic Prayer ‘those whose faith was known to you (God) alone’. The greatest gift we can offer to those who have left us is our assurance that...

Today’s readings centre on the theme of love: the totally faithful, unconditional love of God for us. The First Reading describes a turning point in the growth of the Early Church. Peter visits the house of Cornelius, a Roman centurion and Gentile, announcing that...

I was invited to the home of a young woman whose wedding was coming up so that I could get to know her parents. The senior couple lived in a very fine house, with large well-proportioned rooms, many open fires, lovely art on the walls and then as the invitation was...