Homily of Archbishop Dermot Farrell for World Day of Peace 2022 We gather in Ballymun in this church dedicated to our Lady of Victories, and we gather on a day that the Church dedicates to Mary, the Mother of God, and we gather to celebrate the annual Mass for to universal peace, an important, and indeed essential prayer in this “world […]

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“When we proclaim by word and deed that marriage and family are of eternal beauty and value, that gives both a vision and support to all involved” – Bishop McKeown  Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family Homily Yesterday we began a journey through the twelve days of Christmas with the characters who make […]

Homily notes of Archbishop Dermot Farrell, St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Christmas Eve, 24 December 2021 Our lives rarely, if ever turn out as we expect.  Every human life is a profound gift that is beyond our horizon.   We dream of a job we would like to get, or a home we would like to own, or place we […]

As a Clare man looking forward to his first Christmas in Wexford, I can think of no better way to extend Christmas greetings than the opening words of the Enniscorthy, or Wexford Carol: Good people all this Christmas time Consider well and bear in mind What our good God for us has done In sending […]

Emmanuel! God is with us! Over 2,000 years ago, a young couple travelled across a difficult terrain in trying conditions. Despite fears and trials, they travelled in hope. A mother was with child. They made their way to Bethlehem, not out of any wish of their own but in answer to a political order. They […]

The road to Bethlehem was a rocky one for Mary and Joseph. The news of her pregnancy came as a surprise to both of them. Then Herod intervenes and causes them to leave home and go to Bethlehem to fill up a census form. Her labour pains came before she arrived at her accommodation and […]

It is 145 km from Nazareth to Bethlehem. That’s almost exactly the same length as our diocese, from Bunduff to Athlone.  It would take a week to walk that far, and probably more if you were in the final stages of pregnancy. Saint Luke tells us that Joseph and Mary left Nazareth to travel together […]

‘The effect of similar legislation in other parts of the world has been to screen out of existence an entire sector of humanity… the Abortion Law in Northern Ireland will send a message to all citizens that unborn disabled babies, are fundamentally less valued than those who are able-bodied. This is the opposite of a commitment […]

Just before Christmas 1937 Monsignor Ronald Knox wrote a letter to the English Catholic periodical The Tablet.  Knox was the son of a Church of England bishop and had converted to Catholicism shortly after taking a brilliant First at the University of Oxford.  He later became the first Catholic Chaplain to Oxford since the Reformation. […]