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The Word on the Week
January 16, 2010

A Stove Wins

There is something satisfactory when, in a National scientific competition for schoolchildren the winner out of the 1,000 plus entries was the designer of a home-made stove. It heightens the satisfaction to learn that he did not make it for the cash prize nor for its marketing potential but to have it taken up by […]

January 10, 2010

Sin makes a Comeback

Word on the Week. 9th January 2010. We thought postmodernity had put it out of the house but in it comes through the back door. The “A” word was heard in the media just when it seemed adultery had been dropped from the vocabulary. After all the current descriptions of “having an affair” blunts the […]

January 4, 2010

Auld Lang Syne

This New Year’s Eve, at a family gathering, I was asked to quote the words of the above Scottish song. Traditionally it is always sung at the start of a New Year, usually by people gathered in an out of door setting who mangle the words! I, coming from Scotland, was asked to supply the […]

December 27, 2009

Idols

Among the greetings from the East this Christmas came one from someone who was to be in Cebu (in the Philippines) during the early days of January. He was lamenting the influx of Filipinos to worship the effigy of Santo Nino – a representation of the baby Jesus – dating back to 1521. The feast […]

December 20, 2009

Modern Martyrs

This week a friend sent me a homily recounting the martyrdom of Bishop Fisher for opposing Henry Vlll’s divorce. He wrote, “in defending the King’s first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Fisher noted how John the Baptist, as Friend of the Bridegroom, Christ, had laid down his life in defence of marriage, “since,” he said, […]

December 13, 2009

X Factor

Carol services all over these islands will take a hit as millions stay glued to the telly as Olly and Joey battle it out in the final of the X factor. From an alleged 200,000 entrants the numbers are whittled down by a combination of judges’ decisions and the volume of calls from the fans […]

December 7, 2009

The Red Hand of Thierry

There seems to be no end to the story of Thierry Henry’s foul deed on the playing fields of Paris. He was caught, red handed so to speak, by the ever watchful TV cameraman. The referee was unsighted and the linesmen were no help to him. The goal that put us out of the world […]

November 30, 2009

St Peter’s Keys 28th November

When St Peter was promised the Keys to heaven at Caesarea Philippi it was never imagined that his successors would use them to lock up so many childhoods as has been revealed in the Dublin diocesan report on clerical child abuse. The devastation caused to so many young lives by an organisation alleging to control […]

September 26, 2009

Ploughing a straight furrow

Rural Ireland descended on the Ploughing Championships at Athy in large numbers making the event the largest outdoor agricultural show in Europe. Aided by the dry weather and numerous cups of tea, business was brisk in the Baptist Associations Marquee which was our “home” for the 3 days. Some things never change and again we […]

September 19, 2009

Roots

There is an old joke of the Australian lad who asked his father where he came from. His father sat him down and tried to explain about the birds and the bees. When he was finished the lad said, “that’s interesting Dad but my mate Patrick says he is from Ireland and I was wondering […]

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