"The four stages of Lectio Divina are like having a good meal: You take a bite (lectio), you chew on it (meditatio), enjoy the taste (oratio) and then swallow it (contemplatio). Fr John Dupuche reminds us that 'feasting on the Word’ that leads to a better knowledge of Christ. This article includes a guided reflection on the readings for weekend of Sunday 16 July, which Pope Francis has encouraged as a 'Sunday for the Word of God' in dioceses around the world. 

"St Athanasius said a psalm ‘is a mirror in which you contemplate yourself and movements of your soul’. This beautiful insight encourages us to pray the psalms and to allow them to teach us about ourselves and to give expression to our deepest feelings, concerns and desires." Mary Reaburn nds reflects on the Psalms and how they can be a prism through which we see differently. 

"Her faith, I learned, gave her a particular place in our collective religious history. For a beginner little Catholic, it was also an introduction to the world of the mystical." Cathy Jenkins recalls the tradition of the 'travelling Mary.' 

Tricia Murray reflects on the unique opportunity that parish celebrations of First Communion and Confirmation provide for hospitality toward families and visitors.

On 13 May this year, Pope Francis will visit Portugal to mark 100 years since the Virgin Mary appeared to three young children in the town of Fatima. Bishop Peter Elliott reflects on the events of 1917, their message and what Pope Francis can expect when he arrives.

Rev. Anthony J Kelly reflects on the unique way that the celebration of the Eucharist brings nature and culture together, inspiring an integral ecology of nature and culture, person and community, creation and God.

Music is integral to our Eucharistic celebrations, and can help participants experience God’s presence. Maeve Louise Heaney examines sacred music’s value for liturgy, and what it can achieve that other art cannot.

Fr Denis Stanley explores eucharistic faith, practice and dialogue among the different Christian churches in relation to our journey to Christian unity.

Neil Ormerod notes that as a Church we are made by the Eucharist when we take Jesus’ own self-sacrificial love as the template of our lives. However, as Church we can be broken when we sacrifice the less powerful to maintain our own power.