Fiona, a follower of Christ Jesus, by the will of God, To God’s people in Blackrock and beyond, the faithful community in Urban Junction: Grace and peace to you. I always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when I think of you. For you have faithfully, with perseverance and enduring patience, served […]
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This week a pastor and several of his followers were sentenced to 30 years in prison for a “fatal exorcism” in Nicaragua. The accused testified that they believed the 25-year-old victim was possessed by the devil (or some reports say “demons”). They reportedly tied her up without food or water the chapel of an evangelical […]
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Last week the Traveller Community was formally recognized as an ethnic group in Ireland. This was a low-key affair – the Taoiseach simply stood up in the Dáil and announced it. No laws had to change, no cases were brought to court. It was simply a statement by a powerful man. This low-key affair however […]
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On Sunday Simon talked about giving thanks. It is the key to joy. That is what I’ve been learning over the past few weeks. It started with a book that was given to me at Christmas; ‘One Thousand Gifts’ by Ann Voscamp. She is a farmer’s wife in Canada who discovered the simple truth that […]
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The Camino is fast approaching, the time when we take a motley crew of students and others down the ancient trails of pilgrimage, to the sacred city of Santiago on the western tip of Spain. Along the way we stop to camp in rural villages, and gather before the evening meal to sit on scratchy […]
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I believe that in 20 years time we will look back at this point in history and think, what were we doing when that huge war that changed Europe was going on? When Syrians will be writing biographies and making films about the great journeys they have made (largely by foot) to Sweden and Germany […]
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Next Friday people across the country will flood to their national schools to pick up pencils, scribble on a scraps of paper and post them into boxes. There’s something simple and child-like about voting. One of the first things we learn in life is to call our preference – “I want that one,” “she’s my […]
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Today I went to visit one of the poorest families in Dublin. They live in a small one-room basement apartment. The room is flanked on two sides by sofa beds, carefully made and arranged as if it were a sitting room. There is a cooker brimming with food in one corner and a bathroom tucked […]
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What does it mean to stand with someone? Popular response to the atrocities unfolding in France has to been to declare solidarity with the victims. Michael D., Obama, Merkel, Cameron, even Putin, the leaders of the major religions and countless others have vowed to stand with the victims. Many people have changed their profile pictures […]
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