Posts By Date - Catholic Herald

March 14, 2019

Competitions expose musicians to the brutal truths of concert life

March 14, 2019

Competitions are the Marmite of the music world, applauded by the public for their bloodsports element but loathed by plenty of musicians for exactly the same reason: putting tender talent under too much pressure. Sitting on the fence, I’d say they were a necessary evil to get young performers noticed, and a timely introduction to

What it means to love America

March 14, 2019

February 22 hit me rather hard this year. There are two birthdays that fall on that date which always had a great significance for me, growing up in the 1960s and 70s: those of George Washington and Lord Baden-Powell. Now, at first glance the first president of the United States and the founder of Boy Scouting may seem

Oregon reveals the grimness of assisted suicide

March 14, 2019

Oregon, at the vanguard of the seven US states that permit physician-assisted suicide, has released its report on the Death With Dignity Act for 2018. What does it show? We should bear in mind that the document is based on self-reporting by doctors, not on independent research, so there is no assurance that it accurately

The painful lessons of the abuse crisis

March 14, 2019

What’s to be learned through failure, through being humbled by our own faults? Generally that’s the only way we grow. In being humbled by our own inadequacies we learn those lessons in life that we are deaf to when we are strutting proudly and confidently. There are secrets, says John Updike, which are hidden from health.

In defence of masculinity

March 14, 2019

With the feast of St Joseph coming up, let’s hear some cheers for men. For the male of the species. For manly courage and manly endurance, for things borne in silence, for manly strength used in the service of others. Yes, yes, I know. Women can be brave, enduring, patient and physically strong. We all know

Heretic of the week: Louis Antoine

March 14, 2019

Louis Antoine (1846-1912) was born in Mons-Crotteux, Belgium, in what we now call Wallonia. He followed his father into the coal mines at the age of 12; receiving what he believed to be a vision, he quit after two years and became a steelworker, and after that a hammerer. As was typical for a semi-skilled worker in the Europe

Prize crossword 0584

March 14, 2019

Cryptic across 6 Curing sort of a fish, girl and boy, for starters (5,7) 7 French festival that’s about names with extreme egos (6) 8 Americans are tracking raid to assassinate Persian leader (6) 9 Pilot smoked fish after sighting in the bow (7) 11 Bacteria discovered in joint at cricket club by India’s number

Mass readings

March 14, 2019

Ordinary Form Divine Office Week II Sunday, March 17: Second Sunday of Lent Gn 15:5-12, 17-18; Ps 27; Phil 3:17-4:1; Lk 9:28B-36 Monday, March 18: Weekday of Lent, St Cyril of Jerusalem Dn 9:4B-10; Ps 79; Lk 6:36-38 Tuesday, March 19: St Joseph 2 Sm 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16; Ps 89; 2 Sm 7:4-5A, 12-14A, 16;

How to… Use Mass cards

March 14, 2019

The impulse to obtain a Mass card is one of those things that arrives out of the blue for many people, usually when the death of someone close spurs a desire to help them rest in peace through the Sacrifice of the Mass. When priests celebrate Mass they usually include an intention for people in need. The faithful request

St Alphonsus would have understood the Church’s present woes

March 14, 2019

I remember when I was a teacher that one of the motivational techniques the Jesuits employed was to cultivate a healthy rivalry. There were sports competitions between houses, coupons for good conduct which could earn you a house tea, and classes were divided into Romans and Carthaginians battling to termly victory or defeat. Come the

The meaning of ‘The world, the flesh and the Devil’

March 14, 2019

In the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite this Sunday we are served a bracing slap of reality. Holy Mass begins with an antiphon taken from Psalm 25 (24) in which David invokes God’s mercy upon him, a sinner, beset with enemies. Then we have the Collect: “Deus, qui conspicis omni nos virtute destitui: interius

Second Sunday of Lent: Acknowledging our sin – and our dependence

March 14, 2019

Second Sunday of Lent Gen 15:5-12 & 17-18; Phil 3:17 – 4:1; Lk 9:28-36 (Year C) “It is your face, O Lord, that I seek. Hide not your face. I am sure that I shall see the Lord’s face in the land of the living. Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.” The psalmist’s prayer