Daily Prayers

Prayer is Love, I want to Love

Category: Fr John’s Weekly

  • St Vincent de Paul Society

    Today we have our annual retiring collection for the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) to help them in their work in the parish, the nursing homes and the hospital. The SVP members regularly visit those who are lonely, who are sick and are in need in any way. The inspiration of their fine work is…

  • Our Poor & Our Love

    We welcome Fr John Garry of the St Patrick’s Missionary Society, the Kiltegan Fathers, who is speaking on behalf of their work in the developing world. Father John has worked in Kenya and the Sudan and we know what turmoil those countries have suffered. Father John will carry many memories of the people he loved…

  • St Mother Teresa

    Our beloved Mother Teresa is being canonised today: St Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta). There are celebrations in Rome and India and throughout the Catholic world. She was the best known Catholic woman of the 20th century, and her work for the poor and abandoned has inspired many – most obviously the Sisters of the congregation…

  • Italian Earthquake Victims

    We pray for the people of Central Italy, devastated by the deaths and injuries of loved ones and loss of their homes and livelihoods. We pray for the marvellous rescue workers, risking their lives to release the trapped and injured, and for the specialist teams ready to come in from other parts of Italy and…

  • Hell and Heaven

    Every now and then appear letters in the Catholic press complaining that not enough is said and written about hell these days. Do you miss hearing/reading about hell? Do you wish there were more pages and sermons devoted to hell and, perhaps, heaven, which doesn’t often have a mention either? What do the complainers want?…

  • The Gift of Life

    On the cover of this month’s Crusader Magazine is a picture of Francis Gajowniczek receiving Holy Communion from Pope John Paul II. I read Francis’ story in the Reader’s Digest when I was a boy. He had been a prisoner in a Nazi Concentration Camp in World War II and he had been sentenced to…

  • The Media

    Here is a glimpse, again, of news from the Catholic press, especially from The Tablet . . . 1. A friend of mine is a recovering gambling addict who mentors young people with a similar problem. They are in ready supply, given television adverts that promote a potentially home-wrecking activity as a harmless bit of…

  • Praying (2)

    Today’s readings at mass have “Prayer” as their main theme. Do you pray for or about, in praise and thanksgiving or asking, with hope or hardly thinking about what you say? The Cure of Ars (St John Vianney) said that he thought people prayed as though they were throwing a few crumbs in God’s direction…

  • Peace

    Another bewildering week. We are saddened by so much in our world, and we pray. The blind killings in Nice are a horrifying reminder of the everyday evil that people are capable of living. The continued violence in Southern Sudan between the Dinka and Nuer tribes, although both are Christians and fought together against the…

  • Praying (1)

    It has been a week for sitting down, moving on, going forward, taking stock and of incredible and absolutely incredible everyday events like rain, scoring a goal, winning a tennis match. Quite an ordinary week, really. This coming week you must hit the ground running, especially getting out of bed, put on a face, get…