Gentle Jesus not so gentle, for the sake of the beloved. By Mark Reidy There are countless images of Jesus with a countenance of gentleness and serenity, but what I would really like to carry around in my wallet is a picture of him in a state of fury - red-faced, veins bulging and spittle flying. This is how I imagine Him when I read of His fiery barrage with the stringently la...

Q&A with Fr John Flader. This week: The meaning of forgiveness. Question: I have always had a problem understanding what we really mean by forgiveness. Some time ago a relative was very cruel to my parents and, even though I think I have forgiven them, I still feel angry whenever I think about it. How do I know if my forgiveness is genuine?   By Fr John Flader ...

How I pray now: Peter McMinn speaks with The Record's Debbie Warrier.   Peter McMinn. Photo: Debbie Warrier.   I find my prayer life changes. I remember reading somewhere that if you are praying the same way that you were praying seven years ago you haven’t advanced very much. Currently, I have been influenced by Justin Belitz, OFM, who presented a...

Case dismissed: BBC ok to depict Christians as murderous sociopaths. Guy Crouchback comments. By Guy Crouchback I try to keep my readers up-to-date on the great Culture War being waged against Christianity in Britain by various government and semi-government bodies. Here are some of the latest developments. The BBC Trust has dismissed a complaint about an episode of Bonekickers,...

Our priest this week: Fr Doug Harris - Glendalough. By Anthony Barich FOR the longest time, Fr Doug Harris was completely convinced that his calling in life was to be married and have lots of kids. Lots. Like, ten. This may have been inspired by his mother who, he said, loved children. Yet today, Fr Doug, who turns 50 on October 16, is the parish priest at Glendalough who travel...

Mostar bishop reiterates rules for Medjugorje parish.   A woman kisses a cross while another prays in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, on June 25, 2006, the 25th anniversary of the start of alleged Marian apparitions. Despite the lack of Vatican confirmation of the apparitions, millions of pilgrims have visited Medjug orje since 1981, with many reporting positive spiritual b...

UN finds fault with Vatican's role in sex crises.   By Anthony Barich National Reporter THE United Nations has published a written statement by the International Humanist Ethical Union that accuses the Holy See of covering up child abuse and allowing it to continue. Addressing the UN, IHEU’s UN representative in Geneva, Keith Porteous Wood, said in a September 22&nbs...

Holiness is still the name of the game, says Pope. STARA BOLESLAV, Czech Republic, SEPT 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Holiness is still relevant, says Benedict XVI, and more important than worldly success and glory. The Pope affirmed this when he celebrated Mass in the Czech Republic on the feast of the nation’s patron, St Wenceslaus. The Holy Father’s three day trip to the ...

How I pray: Debbie Warrier speaks with Bill Ward, Temperance Advocate. The Temperance group has been around for over 100 years and began in Ireland. Members pledge to completely abstain from alcohol intake. I am now aged 82 years and have been proudly wearing the Temperance badge of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for 70 years. Most weekends there are terrible car accidents caused by dr...

Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality, by Philip G Davis, Spence Publishing Company, Dallas, USA.   Review by Hal Colebatch   In this book, Professor Philip G Davis, a Canadian academic, proves with compelling scholarship that the present-day “goddess” cults have no detectable linkage with any ancient pagan beliefs. Apart from bei...