The OLA Blog
Human Trafficking: A Modern Reality and the Call to Act on St Bakhita’s Day
On 8 February, St Bakhita’s Day offers us a solemn opportunity to reflect and act on the global crisis of human trafficking. The day honours St Josephine Bakhita, a Sudanese woman who was trafficked as a child, endured years of exploitation, and later found freedom in...
Living Consecrated Life Today
As we approach our 150th Jubilee year, we find ourselves reflecting on the meaning of consecrated life in today’s world—looking back with gratitude, looking forward with hope, and standing firmly in the present. Consecrated life is neither a solitary pursuit nor...
In Brigid’s Hands – Rushes and Renewal
St Brigid’s Day arrives as a hinge moment in Ireland’s calendar — the first day of spring, when winter’s weight begins to lift. There’s a quiet shift in the landscape. Snowdrops and crocuses push through damp soil, daring to colour the grey earth. The...
Jubilee Year 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope, Stepping into Grace
This Jubilee year Pope Francis calls us to understand pilgrimage as something far more profound than travel. It’s a moment to renew our understanding of what it means to live the call of the Gospel—both as individuals and as a global community—at a time when the world...
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025: A Call to Reflect and Unite
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity invites Christians around the world to pause and focus on what unites us: our shared faith in Jesus Christ. This year, the theme, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26), draws us into deeper reflection on the hope we have in the...
Pope Francis’ Prayer Intentions for 2025
Pope Francis’ prayer intentions for 2025 offer an opportunity to reflect on the world around us. Each month, the Holy Father highlights an issue that calls for our attention, inviting us to reflect on the challenges facing humanity and the Earth, and encouraging us to...
Breaking the Silence Around Gender Based Violence
From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence beckons us to pause, reflect, and act. These days are not merely symbolic; they are an...
Prayer intentions for November: Violence Against Women
In November, we turn our attention to one of humanity’s deepest scars—violence against women. This month, we lift this reality in prayer, not to simply plead for an end but to open ourselves to the mystery of change, to be touched by the courage of those who have...
Standing Together in Faith – Lives Beyond the Headlines
The human spirit, they say, endures much, but what we’re witnessing across the Middle East and beyond stretches even the hardest of hearts. To read about airstrikes, displacements, and lives fractured by violence is one thing; to know people living within that...
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