“Who had the good sense to build this place?” was the real question I wanted to ask when I first came to visit the Sanctuary in 2008. Having gotten past the metal gates and discovered the gardens and the sacred space, I realised I had found an extraordinary place. At that time in Dublin there was barely any mention …
Love Needs No Words – And Wins an Oscar
Oscar glory finally came to the Irish this year with Benjamin Cleary’s short film (12 mins) Stuttterer. In the -boy-meets-girl- genre, it tells the story of the build-up to Ellie and Greenwood’s first meeting, as they take their on-line relationship to the next level. One of the wonderful aspects of this story is how the writer seamlessly, effortlessly and elegantly uses …
Perspectives on Suffering &Compassion
By honouring and exploring meditation practices from different traditions, we can gain new perspectives on aspects of our own tradition, as Barbara Whelan explains. “Day after day in meditation we cast our nets out into the sea, haul them up from the depths of the ocean, sit with the flotsam and jetsam of our daily catch and hold it all in the wide and …
The Spring in David’s Old City
A video clip of a tense encounter between Palestinians and the Israeli Defence Forces pops into Facebook’s news feed. The IDF have arrested a seven-year old boy. Five of them – young, healthy, combat kitted – are walking backwards in practised military style. What’s compelling is the boy. He’s also walking backwards, in perfect step with the soldiers. No …
Breathing into Love: The Practice of Christian Mindfulness
“God has given to the earth the breath which feeds it. It is His breath which gives life to all things. And if he were to withhold His breath every thing would be annihilated. His breath vibrates in yours, in your voice. It is the breath of God that you breathe and you are unaware of it.” St. Theophilus …
