When the former British Prime Minister, Harold McMillan was asked by a journalist what troubled him most in his political life he famously replied, “Events, Dear Boy, Events”!

This last week has seen the most cataclysmic events of our time hit the citadel of capitalism that America has become. The sheer scale of the debts incurred far exceed our comprehension. Indeed the mind struggles in trying to understand how these debts could have arisen in the first place.

We act like the humorist, Garrison Keillor’s Lutheran farmers in the Minnesota outback of Lake Wobegon who, when crisis arise, go and do yardwork!

Anything to take the mind off what is simply too big to grapple with.

It must have been a similar state of mind that prompted Simon Peter to say to his fellow Disciples “I am going fishing” and they replied “We will go with you”.

The events of the previous couple of weeks had left them bewildered. The unthinkable had happened. Jesus had been captured. P ... Read More »

It looks like the convicts are running the prison was the graphic description one commentator gave to the unbridled greed of the top Bankers who now face the liquidation of their banks. The removal of controls some years ago permitted ever higher risk lending resulting in the banks taking on the mantle normally worn by their entrepreneurial customers.

The time honoured practice of international banking also found itself drawn into the high risk environment. The trusted names with the highest credit rating have been the hit by what is now described as a financial tsunami. This particular wave may well travel around the world.

In sharp contrast to the financial disruption four emails arrived this week illustrating the way of life in Maasailand, Africa. The missionary who sent them was keen to illustrate how a relatively small sum of money had made a major impact in that society. Their struggle for survival was not helped by the disruptio ... Read More »

A Taxing Matter. 8^th September 2008.

Was it Samuel Johnston, in one of his more cynical moments, who said that nothing was certain except death and taxes?

In recent years the latter has been far from certain in Ireland but it appears that that from the 15^th Sept. that could all change.

Faced with declining revenues new measures have been put in place to obtain automatic returns of interest, from Banks and Building Societies, paid on significant deposits.

Landlords also come in for attention as the government plans a crackdown on those who fail to register their tenancies and come into the tax net.

Accountants, long thought to have been an ally of Revenue, have apparently not always been so. Those, whose clients have been convicted of evasion, may find themselves joining their c ... Read More »

“A powerful one-off drama for BBC One, Fiona's Story is a tale of trust, betrayal and the breakdown of a marriage.” This sentence taken from the “Press Pack” of last evenings TV production did little to prepare you for the terse drama which was to follow. Gina McKee stars as Fiona Mortimer, a woman who fights to hold her family together after her husband Simon, played by Jeremy Northam, is accused of downloading images of child sexual abuse from the Internet.

Faced with public exposure, a court case and possible imprisonment, Simon admits to his wife that he “touched” their daughters and later appears to attempt suicide. Fiona’s struggle to protect the family, encourage her husband and find money to pay the bills is only the beginning of her troubles. It soon becomes apparent that Simon is living in denial and these feelings are shared by his father – “its only pictures”. Simon’s ability to hairbrush any initial gu ... Read More »

In a refreshingly forthright speech, Cardinal Brady took issue with the fact that the “the claims and influence of secularism and relativism have gone largely unchallenged in the Irish culture and media”. Indeed those driving the European agenda, which Pope John Paul II described as having a “loss of Christian memory” may need to be reminded that the European Convention on Human Rights has been build on a foundation of Judeo-Christian ethics.

The removal of any reference to Christianity in the foundation of these rights has placed the European state in a value vacuum. Without the God given boundaries to govern human conduct there can be little confidence that the flow of anti-Christian decisions, listed by the Cardinal, will abate.

Ireland and indeed Europe have become places where Christ is largely absent from its institutions. In his lecture this scene was contrasted with the US where last week the political contenders were brought together by a Pastor, who spent two hours interv ... Read More »

“What strikes me when I come back here is that someone is always going to a funeral.” The community aspect of funerals was highlighted in the comment made by someone returning from the UK for Cemetery Sunday. The cohesion of the community at funerals reflects respect for the dead and sorrow and support for the family. Cemetery Sunday provides an opportunity to renew these sentiments, strengthen family ties and renew the link with the past.

Other cultures mark the right of passage in different ways. A Chinese friend, who had cared for his elderly father during his terminal illness, had a problem when it came to the burial. Ancestral worship was the family way but as both my friend and his father had come to trust in Jesus a Christian funeral was arranged. There would be no money buried with the deceased and no joss-sticks burned on the grave. Instead flowers were planted and tended emphasising love and respect for, but not worship of, the dead.

We need to be guided by the Bible on th ... Read More »

The celebration marking to opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing must rank as favourite for the title “the greatest show on earth”. It was breathtaking as our senses were overwhelmed by the sheer scale and technical complexity of the “Birds Nest” stadium. The gravity denying deeds appeared to be miraculous.

The bonus for China was that the flawless performance was witnessed by the global power-brokers from their seats in the arena.

The Olympic slogan “One World, One Dream” and the 5 interlocking circles representing the 5 continents joined by sport bear testimony to the 204 competing countries.

Behind the statistics lie years of gruelling training undergone by the competitors.

St Paul was familiar with the rigours required by athletes. He encouraged the Christians at Corinth to adopt a similar lifestyle and to go all out for the prize.

He wrote; “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives ... Read More »

Of all the definitions of faith I have heard this one is the latest! It is hard to comment on the one-liner which was used last week in the address to the annual gathering of the Legion of Mary at Knock except to say it was positive. It certainly beats the schoolboy’s “Faith is what you need to believe something that ain’t true”.

Perhaps the most often heard injunction regarding faith is the phrase “Keep the faith”. Most who use it would be surprised to learn that it was first used by St Paul, in his final letter to Timothy. St Paul used it in the past tense “I have kept the faith”. The question is, what was this faith St Paul kept, all about?

As the Apostle to the Gentiles he was well aware of the faith placed in the idols of his day. They abounded in every city he visited. He accused the people of “worshipping created things rather than the Creator”. He would probably say the same thing if he visited Ireland today! For St Paul his faith was in Christ. For him to live was Christ. ... Read More »

Warm sunshine and the attention of the media doubled the numbers climbing Croagh Patrick last Sunday. An astonishing 35/40,000 climbed the 2,510feet from the shores of Clew Bay to the boulder strewn summit. The televised Mass on the mountain top broadcast the beautiful singing of the choir sending the message that “Jesus Christ is Lord” around the world.

In his homily the Archbishop, in a play on Christ’s words, expressed the view that faith may move mountains but prayed that “this holy mountain will move faith”.

It seems that historically the mountain was not always holy. Prior to St Patrick, it appears to have been a place of pilgrimage for worshippers of local deities.

The genius of St Patrick is seen in his relatively non-violent evangelisation of Ireland by his converting wells from pagan fertility rites to places of believers’ baptism. It is present again on the Reek, recounted in the legend, when he threw a Read More »

Now that summer appears to have visited these shores and the school holidays are in full swing we can take time out to enjoy our many blessings. This is the blissful period between the end of term tests, now but a dim memory and the ominous prospect the results, still far enough removed not to intrude into the present enjoyment.

As the poet has put it: -

What is this life if full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

No time to linger beneath the bough

And stare at horse or sheep or cow!

Which brings me to another test – one which every stock farmer knows – the herd test. This devise, invented many years ago, to ensure the National herd is kept free from disease, keeps farmers and vets busy. Preparation consists of something akin to the Calgary stampede as all cattle irrespective of sex or age have to face the vet equipped with a computer in one hand and a needle in the other. Maintaining order in the face of threatening chaos requires th ... Read More »