In harmony with heaven

Scotland’s leading composer expresses his Catholic faith through music, suggesting the medium remains the most numinous of the arts. It is not only a means of connecting with the sacred, but also shows how to be human in a dehumanised world...

Price of making money

In the face of the current global economic crisis, many people are questioning the way business is conducted and its pressures. A leading global financier has found meditative prayer offers a practical way through the stresses and strains of modern corporate capitalism...

Of rice and yen

Japan’s new Prime Minister is a Catholic, which is just one of the factors that contribute to his colourful image. But the big question is whether Taro Aso will get to grips with his country’s serious economic woes...

When it can be right to do wrong

Elected governments regard protesters engaged in direct action as a distraction from proper democratic debate; others see them as heroes or martyrs. It is the view the public takes of the morality of the protest that determines the difference, and the public is often very wise...

Held to account

Some of the best brains in business, academia and charities are involved in a group based in the United States whose mission is to make the Church more effective by applying up-to-date standards of business management. And in the current chilly economic climate, such a mission is more vital than ever...

Gary’s story: from violence to becoming as vulnerable as God

In the stressful space that is modern Britain, more than 250,000 people are admitted into psychiatric hospitals each year. Marking this week’s World Mental Health Day, a chaplain to a secure unit explains how developing a spiritual life can aid a patient’s recovery...

Prayers that rise like smoke

As the root meaning of the noun ‘faithful’ is ‘trust’, the faithful are those who put their trust in the Lord, which they express by the offering the Eucharist. Daniel McCarthy examines this Sunday’s Prayer Over the Gifts, which takes that as its theme...

Facts at your fingertips

Parish life can offer an astonishing range of activities, programmes, groups and events, and often what is needed is simply for parishioners to know about them so that they can get involved. A comprehensive, well-presented parish directory could be the key...

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