Daily Prayers

Prayer is Love, I want to Love

Fr Johns Weekly:

  • Pastoral Letter – (Bishop Patrick McKinney)

    Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, On this first Sunday of Lent I wish to speak to you about the connection between Almsgiving and the Eucharist. CAFOD, as you know, is our Catholic Agency in England and Wales for Overseas Development. It works closely with local partner agencies in many poor and developing countries. As…

  • Dreams

    I asked my mother if she would enjoy seeing a young man coming towards her on a yacht. She said she was satisfied with my father coming home from work on a bike.

  • Family Funerals

    A radio broadcast suggested that people need advice on funerals and their high costs – but from whom? The local minister or priest was seen as the one best placed to advise. Funeral firms can be reluctant to publish their prices, claiming that costs vary according to type of coffin chosen, number of limousines required, bringing…

  • Self-assessment!

    Don’t bother, say the smart ones. Curl up in your own little world, grumble and grouse about everything and everyone, but don’t get involved because you’ll be criticised for whatever you try and fail to do.

  • Christian Unity

    “How could you move from the Magi’s gifts to Women Priests via the Death Penalty in last Sunday’s homily?”, asked someone. Simple, by asking you to give your mind to God as a gift on the Epiphany – a wise gift as true as gold, incense or myrrh. Are you in favour of the death…

  • Two Years!

    I served under a wonderful bishop in British Columbia, Canada, 1971-73. I remembered him in my prayer this week when news of the bad weather across North America came through. My first Christmas day with him saw us 40 below zero! Bishop O’Grady was appointed to Prince Rupert in 1956. Find the port by following…

  • My Thanks

    Thank you. We had another wonderful parish Christmas. The churches looked beautiful, we welcomed many visitors, the music and singing were joyful and prayerful and our five new servers took their duties calmly and efficiently alongside our long-serving seniors. As I began my days of prayer and reflection (a retreat) on Christmas afternoon, after a…

  • A Blessed Christmas

    We have had a prayerful parish preparation for Christmas. On the Third Sunday of Advent, there was an outline of the very different stories of the Nativity which are full of fascinating symbol: an ideal invitation to read the stories at home, in our own bible. On Monday evening SPANNED came from Hinckley and sang…

  • Christmas Preparation

    Our parish Christmas has begun beautifully. On Tuesday and Wednesday St Joseph’s Table provided a delicious Christmas dinner in the tastefully decorated hall. The mood was festive and homely, the atmosphere warm and friendly and the compliments were many. The Lourdes Garden has been given its Christmas preparation and is ready for our Carols by…

  • Advent – Hope!

    A new Church year begins – Advent, leading to Christmas. If only we Christians knew how to share our joy in the remembrance and celebration of Jesus’ birth. The world knows colour and song but it worries about the costs of gifts, parties, and there is the sadness of many for whom Christmas is meaningless,…

  • Papal Audience

    Another wonderful week in Rome. We had mass three times in St Peter’s, twice at an altar reserved for our group and one of these times at the most privileged altar in the basilica – the altar at the tomb of St Peter. We saw and heard Pope Francis twice, at the Angelus on Sunday…

  • The Voice of Women

    Here are two letters from last week’s ‘Time’:(1) “Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein represents a form of extreme masculinity. To solve a problem like him we need to start by recognising men’s role in feminism. Until men act as advocates for women in their lives society will never be equal. For too long, women have been…