“It is the Mass that matters”, was how the Irish put it the penal times. Pope Benedict recalls how much the Christians of Abitene in Tunisia relied on the power of the Sunday Eucharist to sustain them spiritually in the early 4th century.

Thomas O’Loughlin has given us a book that is helpful for the priest who prepares the Sunday liturgy (perhaps with a group) with a full participation of the people in mind. Rich in helpful comments and suggestions, it integrates the homily within the context of the total celebration of the [...]

Written by Steven Croft, this evolving Advent tale can be read on many levels and is suitable for adults and children alike. It is packed with codes and secrets and invites the reader to explore the deeper meanings of Advent and Christmas.

The paradox of Good Friday is that Jesus courageously, willingly and deliberately goes to his disgraceful death. This has meaning for how we live. Click below.

Breda O’Brien, columnist with The Irish Times reflects on the meaning of Lent and its place in today’s world.

Thomas O’Loughlin provides a guide to any priest or liturgy preparation group wishing to make the Sunday liturgy a real encounter where the participants can experience God speaking to them.

Fr Thomas O’Loughlin offers a treasure trove of extra resources, insights and practical suggestions for the liturgy of every Sunday and major feastday in the seasons of Advent and Christmastide for the three-year cycle. It is ideal for celebrants, coordinators of liturgy and interested layfolk.

Holy Thursday marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred three-day event of Easter. Click below

Italy has had an important impact on how we celebrate Christmas, but Italians also have some unusual practices, writes Fr Michael Collins from Rome.

This book aims to get both the parents at home and the parish community involved with the candidates for confirmation as they prepare for the day they receive the sacrament and insure it will be a fruitful experience for all. John-Paul Sheridan is diocesan advisor for primary religious education in [...]

James Wallace C.Ss.R. proposes that we take three model characters as our ‘companions’ for Advent: John the Baptist, the prophet Isaiah, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

How can the liturgical year help us grow in holiness? This talk given by Clifford Howell in the 1950s explains how in some beautiful analogies from nature and biology.

A book by Veritas catechetical writer Tom Gunning that helps you celebrate prayers and rituals in the home for all the important occasions and times of the year. For birth and death, for going out and coming home, for the living and for the dead. Every Christian family would love [...]

Chronicler of village life in Ireland, Alice Taylor, recalls some of the Christmas traditions of her childhood for John Scally.

What we present here is the table of contents and a brief review of this practical booklet which will help those who undertake to read in church. The booklet is available from Fr Colm Kilcoyne, PP, Cong, Co Mayo. Phone 087 95 46030 or 087 2402 486 Email: [email protected]

Fr George Wadding remembers back to childhood Easters and prays that Easter would recover its former status as the most important feast in the Christian year.

This well-illustrated book is a course of fifteen lessons for children preparing for First Confession and First Holy Communion. It will be an invaluable resource in any home, parish and school which wants to hand on the faith to their children.

This month the Pope asks us ‘that Sunday be lived as the day on which Christians gather to celebrate the Risen Lord in the table of the Eucharist’. Fr Michael Paul Gallagher SJ explains.

Jim Auer reflects on how all of us end up, like Christ, on Calvary, over and over in our lives; yet we can be assured that there is no dying without a rising, no Good Friday without an Easter.

“Bis orat qui bene cantat” (“Who sings well prays twice”) is the proverb with which the General Instruction of the Roman Missal introduces its section on “The Importance of Singing at Mass”. The choir, as well as sing its own parts, should fosters the active participation of the people in [...]

Thomas O’Loughlin’s book is aimed at those who regularly read the word of God during the liturgy. It explains in simple terms why we use certain readings, and why the readings come up when they do – in the belief that a deeper appreciation of the scriptures can be gained [...]

Antonin Dvorák died on 1 May 1904. One of the few practising Catholics among the great composers, he left us some of the world’s most beautiful melodies, writes Bro Paul SVD.

The recent Synod on the Word of God (October 2008) highlighted ways of more effective proclaiming the Word of God in today’s world and Have it inspire the lives of Christians. In anticipation of this, the Cloyne Commission for Liturgical Formation last year produced two beautiful companion booklets, of which [...]

Have we lost the sense of leisure in our lives? Paul Andrews SJ shares some thoughts on appreciating Sunday as a day of leisure.

Advent means ‘coming’. “The advent of the motor car”, means when cars first came to the streets. During advent we look forward to the coming of Jesus. At the end of Advent, on Christmas Day, we celebrate the feast of the coming of Jesus – the birth of the baby [...]

Christopher Moriarty takes a look at the life of Haydn, one of the greatest composers of classical music and a devout Catholic.

Joe writes: Some Protestant denominations are almost as strict as the Jews about Sabbath observance. Why are Catholics so lax about it? Fr Bernard McGuckian replys.

Christopher Moriarty introduces one of the greatest composers who ever lived, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, examining in particular his fraught relationship with his father.

A 3 hour video training workshop, demonstrating the effective use of ritual, symbol, music and the Arts in Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic liturgical celebrations, as well as providing input and formation on the nature and structure of liturgy.